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2 CapitalPress.com September 23, 2016 People & Places Ranch maintains research tradition Jim Morris seeks solutions to region’s water worries Capital Press Capital Press Managers Mike O’Brien .............................Publisher Joe Beach ..................................... Editor Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Barbara Nipp ......... Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager Entire contents copyright © 2016 EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing ofices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Tim Hearden/Capital Press Jim Morris of the Bryan-Morris Ranch in Etna, Calif., points out the differences in alfalfa growth between a standard center-pivot irrigation system and one outitted with sprinklers to water more eficiently. He is working with University of California researchers to test the system. History of involvement Western Innovator Jim Morris Occupation: Sheep, cattle and hay producer Age: 56 Residence: Etna, Calif. Family: Wife, Katie; daughter, Emma; sons, Ben and Will Field day Morris and his wife, Ka- tie, and father-in-law, Mike Bryan, hosted a ield day for about 50 other growers in late August to demonstrate their research. The event was spon- sored by the UC Cooperative Extension and local cattle- men. In one UCCE-aided proj- ect, Morris is hanging mi- cro-sprinklers from a section of his pivot-irrigation system and comparing how his alfal- fa ield responds to the two types of watering. So far, the section with the micro-sprin- klers is showing higher yields while using less water, he said. The sprinklers have enabled him to get 20 percent more water directly to his plants and achieve about 20 percent more growth than the plants watered conventional- ly, he said. In the other, Morris ob- Established 1928 Board of directors Mike Forrester ..........................President Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Sid Freeman .................. Outside director Mike Omeg .................... Outside director Corporate oficer John Perry Chief operating oficer By TIM HEARDEN ETNA, Calif. — Rancher and hay producer Jim Morris has long been aware of the important role research plays in agriculture. His operation, the Bry- an-Morris Ranch, has been in his wife’s family since the 1850s, and was taking part in soil-conservation and other research projects as early as the 1940s. Morris has also embraced the mission. He is working with University of California researchers on projects to re- plenish the groundwater basin and ind more eficient ways to irrigate alfalfa. “I have a deinition for sus- tainable farming,” said Mor- ris, who co-owns and manag- es the ranch. “That deinition is, (the family) having done it for over 150 years, that seems sustainable to me. We would like that sustainability to con- tinue into the future. ... “You can’t really fake it,” he said. “It needs to be here later for my kids and grand- kids. We’re looking for things that are real … things that will allow this opportunity to be sustainable well into the fu- ture. That’s a big part of the reason we do this research.” Capital Press Website: http://www.bryan-morrisranch.com/index.htm tained permits to take storm- water from a local water district’s irrigation canal and use it in one of his fields to replenish the aquifer. He also tried applying different amounts of water in different segments of the field earlier this year to learn how much water his alfalfa could take without losing yields. The trials demonstrated that alfalfa fields could work for groundwater-recharge projects if grown on suit- able, well-draining soils. The project’s goal is to show that replenishing the aquifer in the winter could help river levels later in the season, Morris said. “I think everyone is real- ly concerned about having a sustainable, long-term sup- ply of water,” UCCE farm adviser Steve Orloff said during the field day. The president of the Scott Valley Irrigation District, Morris said one benefit of conducting the trials on his ranch is it shows detractors that farmers care about water savings. “Sometimes we feel like we have a target on our back, and when we do these things it helps to reduce that tar- get,” he said. The ranch in the heart of the scenic Scott Valley about 30 miles south of the Oregon-California state line has been in the Bryan family since 1856. It currently has more than 300 acres in alfal- fa and grass hay production and raises Suffolk/Hamp- shire cross sheep and Angus cattle. The ranch has a history of getting involved — in the community and the industry. Katie Morris’ grandfather started working with Siskiy- ou County’s soil conservation service in the 1940s, Jim Mor- ris said. The service later be- came the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District, and the ranch has worked with the district on resource-related is- sues over the years. Morris and others estab- lished a groundwater advisory committee, which advises the county on issues related to the Scott River, and is “doing all we can to understand ground- water,” he said. Morris has experimented with different crops, too. He started growing sunlowers about 15 years ago, but when the market for sunlowers “went out from under us,” he started planting carrots for the seed market, he said. “We’re always looking for anything else, too,” Morris said. “We live in a pretty well isolated environment with not a lot of seed crops being grown (which could pose problems with cross-pollination).” But water is never far from the minds of growers along the Scott River, a key tributary of the beleaguered Klamath River and spawning ground for endangered salm- on. Low levels in the Scott have triggered legal challeng- es by Indian tribes and envi- ronmentalists and led to state restrictions on irrigation. Morris takes heart that the coho salmon run in the Scott “seems to be slowly growing over time, which makes me think some of the measures that have been taken are help- ing,” he said. In recent years, Scott Val- ley landowners have taken other water-saving steps, such as replacing old wells with new ones in more strategic locations and installing more eficient irrigation systems. Morris said growers in the valley have learned to work together to resolve water is- sues, and he expects his ranch to continue to be part of those solutions. Research will play a big role in identifying any solutions. “I want to know the truth,” he said, “so we can be sustain- able for another 150 years.” Toll free ............................. 800-882-6789 Main line ........................... 503-364-4431 Fax ................................... 503-370-4383 Advertising Fax ................ 503-364-2692 News Staff N. 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(AP) — Politicians, farmers and hunters dominated a Great Lakes summit on wolves, ex- pressing hope that the animals will soon come off the federal endangered species list. Participants at the meeting Sept. 15 in the northwest- ern Wisconsin community of Cumberland talked about solutions to wolf problems, including attacks against do- mestic animals, in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Calendar Sponsored by: To submit an event go to the Community Events calendar on the home page of our website at www. capitalpress.com and click on “Sub- mit an Event.” Calendar items can also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR 97301. Saturday, Sept. 24 Yamhill-Carlton FFA Alumni Beneit Dinner and Auction, 5 p.m. Carlton Legion Hall, 158 E. Main St., Carlton, Ore. All proceeds from this event directly beneit the Yam- hill-Carlton FFA Chapter through the funding of scholarships, student leadership training, travel to events and more. The social hour and si- lent auction start at 5 p.m. and will be followed by the dinner and live auction at 7 p.m. Cost: $15 per per- son. Tickets can be reserved online at ycffa.alumni@gmail.com or pur- chased at the door. Washington State Fair, 9 a.m.-10 p.m., 110 Ninth Ave. SW, Puyallup. (253) 845-1771, http://www.thefair. com/ Sunday, Sept. 25 The summit was organized by two Republican lawmak- ers from northern Wisconsin, Sen. Tom Tiffany and Rep. Adam Jarchow, who hope control of the wolf population returns to state governments. As long as wolves are con- sidered endangered, killing them is illegal unless it’s for personal protection. The Humane Society of the United States called the event one-sided, USA Today Network-Wisconsin reported. Washington State Fair, 9 a.m.-10 p.m., 110 Ninth Ave. SW, Puyallup. (253) 845-1771, http://www.thefair. com/ Sunday, Oct. 2 17th Annual Salt Spring Island Apple Festival, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Over 450 varieties of apples are grown on Salt Spring Island, with an apple history back to 1860. Fulford Hall, 2591 Fulford Ganges Road, Salt Spring Island, B.C., Canada. http://saltspringmarket. com/salt-spring-island-event/the- 16th-annual-salt-spring-island-ap- ple-festival Tuesday-Saturday Oct. 4-8 World Dairy Expo, Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wis. worlddairyex- po.com Friday-Sunday Oct. 7-9 Schafer Meadows Fiber Arts Festival, noon-5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. Sunday. Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds Rabbit and Poultry Barn, Elma, Wash. The Alpaca Ranchers of the Northwest will take part. Others argued that wolves have a place in the Great Lakes ecosystem. “A few wolves are OK,” said Don Peay, founder of Sportsmen for Fish and Wild- life and a speaker at the sum- mit. “They’re part of the sys- tem.” Peay and most others at the summit wanted to manage the wolf population by kill- ing some off. Roughly 4,000 wolves roam the Great Lakes region. Complaints of attacks on domestic animals have been rising with the wolf popula- tion, said David Ruid, wild- life biologist in the U.S. De- partment of Agriculture, who helps manage complaints of wolf attacks on farms and ranches. Ruid said the wolves aren’t affecting the cattle industry’s bottom line, but they are caus- ing great hardship for farmers who live within their territory. “These things are occur- ring on the local family farm,” Ruid said. It’s not just fatal attacks on livestock that’s a problem, ei- ther, because wolves will ha- rass animals, which can cause livestock to damage fences or slow their eating because they’re on guard, he added. Congress will likely debate the bill to delist the wolves after the November election, according to staff at the ofice of Sen. Ron Johnson, who in- troduced it. GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE www.oxarc.com Monday, Oct. 10 Why Save Farmland Discussion. 6 p.m. Boise State University Jordan Ballroom, 1700 University Drive, Boi- se. The Treasure Valley Food Coalition is launching this initiative with a series of questions: Why is the time right for preserving farmland in the Treasure Valley? What is the value of farmland preservation in the Treasure Valley (economic, cultural, environmental)? Who is already working on farmland preservation in the region? How can we work together moving forward? www.treasurevalleyfoodcoalition.org Tuesday, Oct. 11 Why Save Farmland Discussion. 6 p.m. College of Idaho’s Langroise Auditorium, 2112 Cleveland Blvd., Caldwell, Idaho. The Treasure Valley Food Coalition is launching this initia- tive with a series of questions: Why is the time right for preserving farmland in the region? What is the value of farmland preservation in the Trea- sure Valley (economic, cultural, envi- ronmental)? Who is already working on farmland preservation in the TV? How can we work together moving forward? www.treasurevalleyfoodco- alition.org 20 Northwest Locations Saturday-Sunday Oct. 15-16 All About Fruit Show, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Clackamas County Fairplex, Canby, Ore. This is an opportunity to taste hundreds of pears, apples, kiwis and grapes and order a custom-graft- ed tree. Speakers will answer ques- tions and an ID Team will identify “mystery” apples. www.homeorchard- society.org/events/2016-fruit-show/ Gorge Fruit and Craft Fair. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Hood River County Fair- grounds, 3020 Wy’east Road, Odell, Ore. www.hoodriverfair.org Wednesday-Saturday Oct. 19-22 2016 National FFA Convention and Expo. Bankers Life Field House and Indiana Convention Center, Indi- anapolis, Ind. www.ffa.org Saturday, Oct. 22 Oregon Agriculture in the Class- room 16th Annual Fall Harvest Dinner and Fundraiser, 5 p.m. CH2M Hill Alumni Center, Oregon State Univer- sity, 725 SW 26th St., Corvallis. The social hour and silent auction start at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 and 1-800-765-9055 the oral auction at 7:45. oregonaitc. org/ Friday-Sunday Oct. 28-30 To get information published Mailing address: Capital Press P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048 News: Contact the main ofice or news staff member closest to you, send the in- formation to newsroom@capitalpress.com or mail it to “Newsroom,” c/o Capital Press. Include a contact telephone number. Letters to the Editor: Send your comments on agriculture-related public issues to opinions@capitalpress.com, or mail your letter to “Opinion,” c/o Capital Press. Letters should be limited to 300 words. Deadline: Noon Monday. Capital Press ag media www.capitalpress.com www.FarmSeller.com www.AgDirectoryWest.com marketplace.capitalpress.com www.facebook.com/capitalpress www.facebook.com/farmseller www.facebook.com/onlyAGdotcom twitter.com/capitalpress www.youtube.com/capitalpressvideo www.blogriculture.com Oregon State Beekeepers As- sociation Fall Conference 2016, The Oregon Garden, 879 W. Main St., Sil- verton, Ore. The theme for this confer- ence is “Beekeeping Out of the Box.” Other topics such as honeybee health will be covered as well. Speakers in- clude Tom Seeley, George Hansen, Ramesh Sagili, John Skinner, Elina Nino, Judy Wu and Miksa Queens. There will be a beginning beekeeping class running concurrently with the main meeting on Saturday. OSU will have a bee lab on site to analyze bee samples. Index Sunday, Oct. 30 If you see a misstatement, omission or factual error in a headline, story or photo caption, please call the Capital Press news department at 503-364-4431, or send email to newsroom@capitalpress.com. Farm Succession Planning Work- shop. 4-8:30 p.m. Forest Grove Unit- ed Church of Christ, 2032 College Way, Forest Grove, Ore. Hosted by Tualatin SWCD, Rogue Farm Corps and Dairy Creek Community Food Web. RSVP requested at 971-409- 6806 or nellie@roguefarmcorps. org, http://www.swcd.net/event/leav- ing-a-legacy/ California .............................. 12 Idaho ...................................... 9 Markets ............................... 13 Opinion .................................. 6 Oregon .................................11 Washington ........................... 7 Correction policy Accuracy is important to Capital Press staff and to our readers. We want to publish corrections to set the record straight.
