December 2, 2016
CapitalPress.com
3
Marijuana testing poses regulatory quandaries
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
WILSONVILLE, Ore. —
Marijuana testing is creating
several quandaries for Oregon
regulators at a time of overall
uncertainty for the newly le-
galized crop, according to a
state official.
Testing for pesticides pos-
es one challenge, as the nec-
essary instrumentation is ex-
pensive and complicated, said
Jeff Rhoades, senior adviser
on marijuana policy for Gov.
Kate Brown.
While state regulators want
to protect public health, testing
is a large barrier to entry into
the legal recreational marijua-
na market, he said during the
Oregon Board of Agriculture
meeting in Wilsonville, Ore.,
on Nov. 30.
An overly strict testing re-
gime would be a disadvantage
to small growers while favor-
ing large out-of-state compa-
nies, Rhoades said.
“It’s a very delicate balance
with testing here,” he said.
One pesticide that’s com-
monly used on grapes, for
example, breaks down into
hydrogen cyanide when set
aflame, he said.
Meanwhile, marijuana is
sold not just as a flower, but
also in the form of various
tinctures and extracts that re-
quire specific testing methods,
Rhoades said.
“It can’t be just a one-size-
fits-all approach,” he said.
There are also no federally
approved pesticides that are
specific to the psychoactive
crop, Rhoades said.
Currently, Oregon has 18
laboratories accredited to test
marijuana, but just four are
able to test for pesticides.
Other marijuana traits that
are tested for include microbi-
al contamination, solvents and
potency.
Potency testing has also
encountered problems since it
became mandatory on Oct. 1,
said Rhoades.
Marijuana growers were re-
ceiving greatly variable results
from different labs, and were
flocking to those providing
the highest potency ratings, he
said.
“Lab shopping was hap-
pening all over the place,” he
said.
Regulators are now trying
to create a standardized testing
protocol for potency so grow-
ers can expect uniform results,
Rhoades said.
Taxes from marijuana sales
in Oregon are expected to be
a boon to state coffers, but
first the Oregon Liquor Control
Commission must be repaid for
its extensive work in creating a
regulatory system for the crop,
he said.
The Oregon Department
of Agriculture has also been
heavily involved in regulations
involving pesticides, food safe-
ty and accurate scale systems,
Rhoades said.
Exactly how the agency will
be repaid for these efforts is
currently unclear, though the is-
sue is being discussed and will
likely surface during the 2017
legislative session, he said.
Marijuana remains illegal
under federal law, which has
made banks leery of dealing
with marijuana companies — a
complication that raises addi-
tional issues, Rhoades said.
“It’s an all-cash business
at this point, which creates
public safety concerns and tax
collection concerns,” he said.
Regulators in Oregon and
the seven other states where
recreational marijuana is now
legal were hoping for clarity
from the federal government
that would enable more bank-
ing involvement, he said.
With the recent election
and upcoming change in pres-
idential administrations, how-
ever, there’s great uncertainty
about federal marijuana poli-
cy, Rhoades said.
The Obama administra-
tion’s approach — which al-
lows recreational marijuana
as long as it’s kept out of the
black market and away from
children, among other mea-
sures — can be immediately
reversed by the Trump admin-
istration, he said.
Portland hosts national Women in
Sustainable Agriculture conference
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Beef company recovers
from rough patch
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
EUGENE, Ore. — An Or-
egon beef processing facility
is re-opening after a rough
patch that included an oper-
ating suspension ordered by
the USDA and an expensive
equipment upgrade.
Bartels Farms, an organ-
ic and grass-fed beef com-
pany based in Eugene, Ore.,
planned to restart its slaughter
facility in late November af-
ter shutting down for several
weeks.
The interruption in oper-
ations has cost the company
roughly $8 million to $10
million in lost revenues, as
it has been unable to process
about 11,000 head of cattle,
said Chris Bartels, the firm’s
president.
The shutdown also cre-
ated problems for livestock
producers who expected to
sell cattle to Bartels Farms, as
well as retailers who couldn’t
get their orders for meat filled,
he said.
“The ripple effect is tre-
mendous,” he said.
Despite some negative at-
tention in the local media, re-
tail buyers have stuck by the
company after the suspension,
said his wife, Kandi Bartels.
“If we had lost our custom-
ers, it would have been a dif-
ferent story,” she said.
The USDA’s Food Safety
and Inspection Service began
enforcement action against
Bartels Farms in Septem-
ber after several incidents in
which cattle weren’t imme-
diately rendered unconscious
from a stun with a captive-bolt
gun, requiring a repeated stun,
according to agency docu-
ments.
The agency suspended in-
spections at the facility — ef-
fectively stopping operations
— in mid-October, citing
“continued failures to main-
tain and implement humane
handling controls” after find-
ing a cow had become trapped
in a head restraint.
Bartels Farms appealed
that decision, arguing the cow
simply pulled back against the
head restraint, which was not
a violation.
The USDA ultimately re-
scinded its suspension in ear-
ly November after finding the
“events described did not rise
to the level of a non-compli-
ance per the regulations,” but
the facility remained closed
for improvements.
Chris Bartels said the sus-
pension resulted from an inex-
perienced USDA veterinarian
misinterpreting regulations,
but he nonetheless decided to
invest $150,000 for upgrades
to the facility to ensure hu-
mane handling.
The company installed a
serpentine “drive alley” lead-
ing cattle to the facility that
avoids sharp corners and thus
reduces stress on the cows, he
said.
The alley was also covered
in panels to prevent contact
with humans and distresses
to livestock. A new restrainer
was installed to prevent cat-
tle from moving their heads
prior to stunning, rather than
simply holding their necks, he
said.
The system was based on
designs from Temple Gran-
din, a well-known animal
scientist at Colorado State
University who specializes in
humane handling, and were
inspected by a former USDA
veterinarian, Bartels said.
The improvements to the
facility’s “knock box” are
aimed at preventing future
mis-stuns, he said.
Eric Mortenson/Captital Press
Oregon State University small farms specialists Melissa Fery, left, and Maud Powell check in people
registering for the Women in Sustainable Agriculture conference in Portland.
ranch took the spotlight when
the Ralph Lauren clothing line
found them while looking for
American yarn with which to
make USA uniforms for the
opening ceremonies of the
2014 Winter Olympics in Rus-
sia.
Other speakers were to be
Diane Green of Greentree Nat-
urals, a small acreage and CSA
farm near Sandpoint, Idaho;
and Joan Thorndike of Le Mera
Gardens, a fresh-cut flowers
operation in Southern Oregon’s
Rogue River Valley.
Thirty percent of U.S. farm-
ers are women, according to
the USDA’s 2012 Census of
Agriculture, but the number
has been in flux. The cen-
sus counted 969,672 women
farmers in 2012, a 2 percent
decrease from 2007. The rea-
son for that is unclear, but
some in ag speculate that the
deep recession that hit in 2009
forced some new farmers out
of the profession.
Women made up 14 per-
cent of principal operators in
the 2012 census, but they tend
to be older than principal op-
erators overall. Only 4 percent
of women principal operators
were under 35, according to
census.
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Chris and Kandi Bartels, who own the Bartels Farms beef compa-
ny, are re-opening their cattle processing facility after a USDA-or-
dered suspension and self-initiated equipment upgrade.
PORTLAND — A national
conference of Women in Sus-
tainable Agriculture wasn’t the
place to go looking for tradi-
tional farm wives. Try farm
operators, owners and ag re-
searchers, brokers, marketers
and educators instead.
The conference, held Nov.
30-Dec. 2 in Portland, attract-
ed 400 women from across the
country, and two dozen speak-
ers and panelists. The event,
held this year for the first time
on the West Coast, provid-
ed extensive networking and
education opportunities, said
Maud Powell, a small farms
specialist with Oregon State
University Extension in Jack-
son and Josephine counties.
“Women are increasingly
important in agriculture across
the country,” Powell said.
Once marginalized as farm
wives, she said, women can
now be found in every agricul-
tural sector.
Oregon saw the early for-
mation of two women farmers
networks, one in Southern Or-
egon and one in the Willamette
Valley, Powell said. Similar
organizations developed in
Iowa, Pennsylvania, Vermont
and elsewhere, and the nation-
al organization of Women in
Sustainable Agriculture grew
from there.
Within the organization,
“sustainable” means farm op-
erations that support long-term
success in economic, environ-
mental and social aspects, Pow-
ell said. That includes support-
ing the local community and
local businesses, she said.
“For me it’s always fascinat-
ing to see how the issues of sus-
tainable agriculture are similar,
with local flavor,” she said.
The conference began with
tours of farms in the Columbia
River Gorge, Willamette Valley
and the Portland area. Other
events included a “Trailblazers
Panel” in which three women
who assumed leading roles in
ag early on described their ex-
periences.
Among the scheduled panel
speakers was Jeanne Carver,
who with her husband, Dan,
operates the historic Imperial
Stock Ranch in North Central
Oregon. Wool produced by the
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