November 4, 2016
CapitalPress.com
Idaho’s
proposed
field burning 10-member panel
interviewed
changes
applicants on Nov. 2
under fire
3
Three candidates compete for ODA chief
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
By SEAN ELLIS
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Katy Coba, former Oregon Department of Agriculture director. Three candidates have been inter-
viewed to replace her.
man of the Oregon Board of
Agriculture; Lynn Youngbar,
board president of the or-
ganic certifier Oregon Tilth;
Bryan Ostlund, executive
director of several commod-
ity commissions; and Jenny
Dresler, state public policy
director for the Oregon Farm
Bureau.
Jas Adams, an adjunct law
professor at Willamette Uni-
versity; Michelle Delepine,
member of the Oregon In-
vasive Species Council; and
Shawn Miller, president of the
Northwest Grocers Associa-
tion, are also on the panel.
Each applicant rotated
through 45-minute interviews
with three groups of panelists,
who evaluated the candidates
on the following criteria:
• A “depth of understand-
ing” of how to work with
diverse “stakeholders” rep-
resenting the farm industry,
the environmental community
and other interests.
• Experience working with
legislators and representing
farm, ranch and natural re-
source issues while working
for a state governor or federal
official.
• Filling a “leadership
role” at a state agency or oth-
er entity “similar to the scope
and complexity” of ODA for
at least 10 years.
It’s possible there will be
a consensus of support for
one candidate, or the panel
members may be divided in
their recommendations, said
Study: Some farmers ignore precision ag tools
Yield monitoring
data often not used
for detailed maps
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Many growers aren’t fully
using the precision agriculture
technology with which their
farm machinery is equipped,
according to a recent USDA
study.
Though roughly half the
corn and soybean farms sur-
veyed by USDA had ma-
chinery that automatically
monitors yields, only about
one-fourth of the operations
used that data to create yield
maps, the study found.
“More farmers actually
have a yield monitor than use
it,” said David Schimmelpfen-
nig, a senior economist at the
agency’s Economic Research
Service who wrote the report,
“Farm Profits and Adoption of
Precision Agriculture.”
Equipment manufacturers
believe the proportion of farms
with yield monitors is likely
even higher than half the op-
erations, as reported to USDA,
he said.
It’s possible that some
farmers aren’t aware they own
the technology, while others
simply don’t bother turning
data into maps, Schimmelp-
fennig said.
“They don’t feel like they
need it to manage their produc-
tion operation,” he said.
Some farmers may down-
load the data to get a basic
sense of their yields without
incorporating it into a map, but
others may just ignore it alto-
Courtesy USDA
Harvested feed corn is transferred
from combine to trailer. Though
roughly half the corn and soybean
farms surveyed by USDA had ma-
chinery that automatically monitors
yields, only about one-fourth of the
operations used that data to create
yield maps, the study found.
gether, he said.
As they pass through the
field in a combine, it’s often
obvious which areas are the
most productive even without
yield monitoring, he said.
The full usage of yield
monitoring may increase if
manufacturers improve the
process of gathering data and
turning it into maps, Schim-
melpfennig said.
“All of this might become
more simplified if companies
keep making products that are
easier to use,” he said. “The
ones that make it seamless are
going to do the best.”
Schimmelpfennig points to
the popularity of satellite-guid-
ed or auto-steered combine and
tractor systems, which allow
for more precise field opera-
tions. Such systems were used
on roughly one-third of the
farms studied by USDA and
were highly adopted across
crop types, largely because
they’re easy to implement and
their usefulness is immediately
apparent to growers, he said.
“They don’t have to keep
their eye on the row every
minute,”
Schimmelpfennig
said.
According to the study, pre-
cision ag tools have a relative-
ly modest impact on profits.
Yield mapping based on
Grass
Expertise.
“global positioning system”
coordinates boosted net re-
turns by about 2 percent, com-
pared to 1.5 percent for guid-
ance systems and 1 percent for
“variable rate technology,” un-
der which the rate of fertilizer
or pesticide application chang-
es across the field.
“I expected the differences
between the technologies to
be bigger,” Schimmelpfennig
said.
While the percentage of
farmers who use precision ag-
riculture varied from 16 per-
cent to 51 percent, depending
on the crop and tool, the pro-
portion of acreage managed
with these technologies was
higher in each case.
“Adoption rates haven’t
been stellar. They’ve been
moderate, I think,” Schim-
melpfennig said.
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BOISE — A proposed
rule that would make chang-
es to Idaho’s field burning
program is under attack from
public health advocates and
environmental groups, which
have used strong language to
oppose it.
In public comments sub-
mitted on the rule, those
groups said the changes
would endanger public health,
and they accused Idaho De-
partment of Environmental
Quality officials of siding
with agricultural interests.
“In proposing to weaken
Idaho’s protections against
pollution from field burning,
DEQ is irresponsibly en-
dangering people’s health,”
states a letter submitted joint-
ly by Conservation Voters for
Idaho, Idaho Conservation
League, American Lung As-
sociation of Idaho and Safe
Air For Everyone.
SAFE’s 2007 lawsuit re-
sulted in field burning being
temporarily halted in Idaho, a
situation that resulted in nego-
tiations that led to the state’s
current crop residue burning
program.
“This proposal represents
a deplorable breach of the
agreement reached by all par-
ties in good faith on a resolu-
tion of the field burning issue
in 2008,” the letter states.
Former SAFE executive
director Patti Gora-McRavin,
who represents safe air advo-
cates on the crop residue burn-
ing advisory committee, told
Capital Press opponents of the
proposed rule change will “do
everything in our power to
make sure this bad faith rule
does not go forward.”
Farmers and farm groups
applauded DEQ for its pro-
posal, which is designed to
prevent a large reduction in
the number of allowable burn
days for Idaho growers and is
subject to legislative approv-
al.
“I think DEQ used some
common sense and did a good
job of protecting public health
while still allowing farmers
to utilize field burning,” said
Rockland farmer Cory Kress,
a member of the crop residue
burning advisory committee.
Farmers use field burning
for a variety of reasons, in-
cluding to eradicate and pre-
vent pests and diseases, main-
tain yields and decrease their
use of chemicals and diesel
fuel.
DEQ can only approve
a burn request if ozone and
small particulate matter levels
aren’t expected to exceed 75
percent of the national stan-
dard for those air pollutants.
The federal standard for
ozone was tightened last Oc-
tober, which would result in
the number of burn days in
some parts of Idaho decreas-
ing by one-third to one-half,
according to DEQ estimates.
To avoid that, DEQ has
proposed loosening Idaho’s
ozone standard to 90 percent
of the federal standard.
Environmental and safe air
groups wanted to tighten the
state’s small particulate mat-
ter standard to offset the loos-
ening of the ozone standard,
an idea that DEQ rejected.
SALEM — Three candi-
dates seeking to become the
Oregon Department of Agri-
culture’s next director met in
Salem, Ore., with a panel of
interviewers on Nov. 2.
The state’s Department
of Administrative Services,
which is overseeing the hiring
process, refused to disclose
two of the candidates’ identi-
ties because it could damage
their relationships with cur-
rent employers.
The third candidate, Lisa
Hanson, has served as ODA’s
interim director since early
October and before that was
the agency’s deputy director
for 11 years.
The Department of Admin-
istrative Services did release
the names of the 10 panelists
— drawn primarily from state
government and the farm in-
dustry — as well as the crite-
ria upon which the candidates
would be evaluated.
Among the representatives
from state government are
Katy Coba, the ODA’s for-
mer director and current chief
of DAS, as well as Madilyn
Zike, Oregon’s chief human
resources officer, and Lauri
Aunan, a natural resources
policy adviser to Gov. Kate
Brown.
Panelists from the farm
industry include Pete Bren-
tano, nurseryman and chair-
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Matt Shelby, communications
strategist for DAS.
The ultimate hiring deci-
sion will be up to Brown, he
said.
Ostlund, the executive di-
rector of several commodity
commissions, said he’s look-
ing for a candidate who can
provide “creativity in leader-
ship” in conflicts over pesti-
cides, water quality and sim-
ilar concerns — particularly
when urban and rural interests
collide.
“The Willamette Valley
is becoming a tighter and
tighter neighborhood all the
time,” Ostlund said, adding
that other communities face
similar situations. “It is just a
big cauldron of complicated
issues.”
The ideal candidate will
display a solid understanding
of the business side of running
a state agency and interact-
ing with the Legislature, said
Brentano, nurseryman and
Board of Ag chairman.
“They all have experience
with agriculture,” Brentano
said of the candidates.
The next ODA director
should recognize the effects
of climate change on agri-
culture and how the industry
can conserve natural resourc-
es, said Youngbar, of Oregon
Tilth.
The agency’s chief walks
a fine line in advocating for
farmers while also regulating
them, Youngbar said.
“I’m not saying it’s impos-
sible, but it requires someone
in the leadership position to
be really attuned to that ten-
sion,” she said. “It’s a big
job.”
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