December 23, 2016
CapitalPress.com
3
Hazelnut growers cleaning
up after severe ice storm
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Hop cones provide extract or oil needed in stabilizing and flavoring
beer. Production has been increasing for years to meet the growing
demand of craft breweries.
Hops set acreage and
production value records
Capital Press
MOXEE, Wash. — U.S.
hop growers set records in
acres harvested and value
of production in 2016, and
reached second best in produc-
tion volume.
Increases have been fueled
for several years by growth
of the craft beer industry but
now supply has caught up with
demand, said Pete Mahony, di-
rector of supply chain manage-
ment and purchasing for John
I. Haas, a major processor and
grower in Yakima.
“Some varietal re-balanc-
ing needs to occur but total
U.S. acreage now seems suffi-
cient to meet demand,” Maho-
ny said.
Extract from hop cones is
used in making beer.
A total of 50,857 acres
were harvested, up 17 percent
from the 2015 total of 43,633
acres and besting the record of
44,653 set in 1915, according
to a Dec. 16 report from the
USDA’s National Agricultural
Statistics Service.
Value of production is esti-
mated at $498 million, up 44
percent from the previous re-
cord of $345 million in 2015.
The increase in value is driven
by greater production of higher
value aroma varieties for craft
breweries over lesser value
alpha varieties for mass-pro-
duction brewers. That shift
caused higher average prices
per pound in Washington, Or-
egon and Idaho for an average
of $5.72 per pound up from
$4.38 in 2015, NASS said.
Pacific Northwest growers
wrapped up harvest this past
fall with pre-harvest stocks
just 2 percent greater than the
year before, indicating supply
is catching up with demand.
“It’s my suspicion we will
probably see the rate of plant-
ing decrease but will see some
new acreage this (coming)
year,” Ann George, executive
director of Hop Growers of
America and the Washington
Hop Commission in Moxee,
said. “Some varieties are at
equilibrium or a little above.
Some specialty varieties are
still in short supply.”
Determining equilibrium in
varieties of just a few hundred
acres can be difficult, she said,
because weather plays a role in
yield and export demand still
is increasing for some variet-
ies.
Mahony said new plantings
will continue due to contracts
made 6 to 12 months ago,
but the rate of increase will
be much lower than in recent
years.
“It could be at least 1,500 to
2,000 acres going in for 2017
but it is questionable whether
any of this is truly needed in
the slowing market. I would
expect no expansion in 2018,”
he said.
Acreage in Washington
was up 16 percent to 37,444;
up 17 percent to 7,765 acres in
Oregon and up 16 percent to
5,648 in Idaho, NASS said.
With more acreage comes
more investment in equipment
and labor, George said. Qual-
ity control of new food safety
programs required by brewers
also are driving up costs, she
said.
“While some varieties —
most notably bittering hop
CTZ — didn’t fare as well due
to mildew and climatic pres-
sure, brewers are putting in
orders for hops that have excit-
ing aromas but simply do not
yield as much per acre,” said
Blake Crosby, vice president
of Hop Growers of America
and president of Crosby Hop
Farm LLC, Woodburn, Ore.
U.S. production gained 11
percent in 2016 for the sec-
ond year in a row, reaching
87.1 million pounds for Wash-
ington, Oregon and Idaho,
compared with 78.8 million
pounds in 2015 and 70.9 mil-
lion in 2014.
Courtesy of Dwayne Bush
A flash freeze in the Eugene, Ore., area toppled hazelnut trees like dominoes as the weight of ice
pulled them down. Orchardists in the area reported heavy limb damage.
Dwayne Bush, a third-
generation hazelnut grow-
er, said his trees in the Fern
Ridge area west of Eugene
came out of the storm OK,
but his orchard next to Hen-
derson’s was heavily dam-
aged.
He said trees he planted
16 and 17 years ago tended
to lean to the south due to
the sun’s position and a pre-
vailing wind. The weight of
12-month waiver
TRACTORS
JD 9560R, 604 hours, premium cab,
Autotrac ready, 520/85R-42 triples, 5
SCV’s, bareback.....................................
..............PRICE REDUCED! $266,200
Moscow 4729
JD 9320, 5291 hours, premium cab, PS,
bare back, 4 SCV’s, 710/70R-38 duals........
...................$115,000 Moscow 0P031662
JD 9300, 9631 hours, 4WD, standard cab,
24 spd trans., 3-pt hitch, 4 remotes, 710-
42 duals.........$55,000 McMinnville 40643
ice sent them toppling into
each other and “dominoed
down the row.”
But Bush said a freeze
three years ago was worse.
In that case, Bush and his
crew trimmed the tops of
trees, dug out dirt on the
back sides, pulled them
upright and backfilled the
dirt.
Of 4,000 to 5,000 trees
that fell over, only a small
percentage didn’t bounce
back and survive, he
said.
Ironically, the crop that
year was one of the biggest
he’s had.
“Filbert trees are pretty
resilient,” he said, using the
alternative name for hazel-
nuts.
Bush said he’s already
started the same process this
year.
3 Years @ 0%
5 Years @ 0.9%
TRACTORS
TRACTORS
OAC
JD 9510R, 4440 hours, 4WD, premium JD 9510R, 847 hours, premium cab, PS
cab, new engine, PS trans., 4 remotes, trans., 1000 PTO, 5 SCV’s, 800/55R-46,
bareback, 800-38 duals.............................. Opti trac duals..............PRICE REDUCED!
.................................... PRICE REDUCED! $272,105 Ponderay 2997
$300,250 Tekoa 12464
JD 7330, 3310 hours, ROPS, open station,
MF 8650, 1553 hours, susp. cab, susp. 16x16 trans., 741 S/L loader, 3 remotes.....
axle, CVT, 4 remotes, 480-50 duals, front ................$62,000 McMinnville 0D021808
weights.............$138,000 Merrill C048047 Kubota M125, 2570 hours, cab, MFWD,
16X16 trans., LA1601S loader, 3 remotes,
JD 8400, 7786 hours, cab, MFWD, PS newer front tires $45,000 Hillsboro 51442
trans., 4 SCV’s, 710-38 duals, newer front
tires..........$64,500 Harrisburg 0P002592
JD 6170R, 422 hours, premium cab, 20x20
trans., MFWD, 3 SCV’s, mid SCV, 710-38
singles.............$139,500 Walla Walla 5142
JD 8295R, 1030 hours, premium cab, ILS,
IVT, 5 remotes, complete A/T system, 620-
46 duals.......$260,900 McMinnville 93728
2017 Idaho
Irrigation Equipment
Show & Conference
JD 9460R, 273 hours, premium cab,
PS trans., bareback, 5 SCV’s, 880/70R-
38 duals.................PRICE REDUCED!
$266,737 Tekoa 11474
Challenger MT685D, 670 hours,
susp. cab, susp. axle, CVT, 5 remotes,
620-46 duals, 480-34F dual...................
....................230,000 Salem ENGL1032
CASE IH 435, 2745 hours, 4WD, PS
trans., 55gpm pump, 4 remotes, 710/
70R-38 duals...........PRICE REDUCED!
$162,250 Four Lakes 117203
MISCELLANEOUS
MISCELLANEOUS
MISCELLANEOUS
JD 640FD, 40’ Flex Draper cutting
platform with cart.....................PRICE
REDUCED! $62,125 Moscow 746276
JD 2625, 30’ 8” wing fold tandem
disk, 22” blades, hyd. depth controls..
................PRICE REDUCED! $48,500
Moscow 750111
Thursday, January 12
Burley Inn & Convention Center
800 Overland Ave, Burley, Idaho
8 am - 4:30 pm - No Registration Necessary
FREE TRADE SHOW & CLASSES
Class schedule available at
www.idahoirrigationequipmentassociation.com
52-1\#17
By DAN WHEAT
Hazelnut growers in the
Eugene, Ore., area are still
cleaning up damage from a
nearly instantaneous flash
freeze that snapped limbs,
split trunks and uprooted
some trees.
“We had a lot of break-
age,” said Jared Henderson,
who grows hazelnuts in the
River Road area north of Eu-
gene.
Older, larger trees were
particularly hard hit as ice
accumulated on limbs and
the weight bent them past
the breaking point. Hender-
son said his younger, more
limber trees fared better.
The ice arrived as part of
a winter storm that draped
much of Oregon with snow
beginning Dec. 14. In Eu-
gene, about 110 miles south
of Portland, it took the form
of freezing rain and did hor-
rendous damage through-
out the area. About 15,000
customers lost electrical
power as limbs snapped off
and fell across utility lines.
Some people were without
electricity for up to four
days, and area motels filled
up with people who had no
heat or no way to cook at
home.
The ice damage was odd-
ly localized. Springfield,
next door to Eugene, had
much less damage and only
a couple hundred electrical
outages. Henderson said his
brother, who grows hazel-
nuts near Corvallis about
40 miles north, wasn’t hit
as bad. “They got snow
and we got ice,” Henderson
said.
Henderson, who is pres-
ident of the Lane Coun-
ty Farm Bureau, said he
couldn’t place a dollar figure
on the damage. “I wouldn’t
know where to begin,” he
said. The damage will in-
clude the labor cost of crews
that would normally be
pruning or training caneber-
ries instead of cleaning up
broken limbs, he said.
“It’s part of the business,”
he said. “We’ve had it before
and we’ll probably have it
again.”
JD 640FD, 40’ Flex Draper cutting
platform with cart.....................PRICE
REDUCED! $66,500 Four Lakes 755268
NH H8040, 3578 hours, cab, 14’ sicklebar
hay platform, rubber conditioner
$39,900 Merrill 7G660270
JD R450, 195 hours, 16’ 995 rotary
platform, steel conditioner, R3 button
tires.............$118,000 Madras DD391148
Bag needs?
Bag solutions!
Case IH 800 air seeder, 60’, 10”
spacing, hoe type openers, single
shoot, air drill.........PRICE REDUCED!
$65,000 Tekoa YAS004010
Premium 2940 Windrower, 1550
hours, cab, 14’ grass seed special
platforms, R3 button tires, 5 to choose
from..............$38,550 Salem/McMinnville
Case IH 800 air seeder, 60’ hoe
openers, air drill.....PRICE REDUCED!
$65,000 Tekoa 4012
COMBINES
COMBINES
COMBINES
SMITH PACKAGING
YOUR MAIN SUPPLIER FOR:
• Polyethylene Bags
• Polypropylene Bags
• Paper Bags
• Bulk Bags
• Stretch Films
• Hay Sleeves
• Mesh Produce Bags
• Plastic Pallet Covers
• Bag Closure Products
• General Warehouse
Supplies
JD S680, 881 hours, small grain, 35%
Rahco Leveler, 635F platform and cart...
PRICE REDUCED! $388,700 Four
Lakes 755668
JD 9770 3079 hours, small grain, 35%
JD 9650, 4730 hours, small grain,
Rahco leveler, 630R platform & cart...... JD 9770, 3688 hours, small grain, level 914PU platform, small wire concave......
....................$225,000 Colfax OS730470 land, 635F platform and cart.................. .............$49,000 McMinnville 0S685800
.................. $189,000 Colfax A0736737
JD S680, 1002 hours, small grain, 35%
Rahco leveler, no platform PRICE
REDUCED! $408,222 Colfax 755718
Competitive pricing!
Great quality products!
Service you expect and trust!
JD S680, 664 hours, small grain, 35%
Rahco leveler, duals, 635F platform
and cart.................PRICE REDUCED!
$386,222 Walla Walla 747035
JD 9600, 3253 hours, small grain, level
land, 925R platform w/standard and
peabar cutterbars, w/cart ..........................
......................$40,000 Moscow 0X662911
JD 9870, 2335 hours, small grain, 35%
Hillco leveler, duals, 635F platform and
cart..............$289,000 Colfax 0S730229
JD 9870, 2355 hours, small grain, 27%
Rahco leveler, duals, 635F platform and JD S660, 196 hours, small grain, Vari-
car PRICE REDUCED! $386,222 stream rotor, Powercast TB, 615P BPU
Tekoa 715774
platform......$363,700 Salem E0775100
JD 9860, 2472 hours, small grain,
35% Rahco leveler, no platform..........
PRICE
REDUCED!
$177,111
Tekoa 7207222
19 Ag & Turf locations in Oregon,
Washington, Idaho and Northern California.
• Halsey, Oregon: 541-369-2850
• Eastern Washington, Ed Kropf:
509-936-2652 or ed@smith-packaging.com
papemachinery.com
541-681-5363
www.smithpackagingservices.com
52-2/#5
All financing on approved credit. Financing special applies only to select pieces of equipment.
See dealer for details and qualifying units.
52-1/#5