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February 3, 2017 CapitalPress.com 3 Snow damage to onion industry nears $100M By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press NYSSA, Ore. — As much as $100 million in damages were caused when dozens of onion storage sheds and pack- ing facilities collapsed under the weight of deep snows that have buried Idaho and Eastern Oregon. About 50 onion buildings collapsed under the weight of up to 40 inches of snow that has fallen during the harshest winter in memory. “It’s an absolute catastro- phe,” said Shay Myers, gen- eral manager of Owyhee Pro- duce in Nyssa. Three of the company’s storage sheds and the building housing one of its packing lines collapsed. Myers estimated the total damage to the onion indus- try in southwestern Idaho and Malheur County, Ore., could be near $100 million. The region’s 300 onion farmers and 30 shippers pro- duce about 25 percent of the nation’s big bulb storage on- ions. The damage is devastating. In many cases, it looks like a tornado tore through the build- ings, said Partners Produce co-owner Eddie Rodriguez. Courtesy Photo A demolition machine clears 500,000 pounds of onions that were lost when a large storage facility in Nyssa, Ore., collapsed under the weight of several feet of snow. The record-setting snow in Idaho and Eastern Oregon has caused damage estimated at up to $100 million. Sean Ellis/Capital Press Hundreds of thousands of pounds of onions were lost when this onion storage shed in Nyssa, Ore., collapsed under the weight of several feet of snow. About 50 storage sheds and packing facilities have been destroyed. “They’re still going down as we speak,” he said. “Now, it’s just happening every- where. The snow is heavy and there’s too much of it.” Partners has lost four buildings, including its main packing line in Payette, Ida- ho, which will be out of commission at least seven months. The lost production has pushed the prices shippers receive for their onions up dramatically. For example, the price for a 50-pound bag of yellow jumbo onions was around $3.50 before the col- lapses but is nearly $10 now. “There have been a lot of sheds that haven’t been able to pack onions. That’s why the market’s gone up,” said Paul Skeen, president of the Mal- heur County Onion Growers Association. This region produces more than 1 billion pounds of Span- ish big bulb onions annually, but the building collapses have claimed a good chunk of last year’s production. That’s be- cause once the onions are ex- posed to the cold and freeze, they are no good. Owyhee Produce alone lost 20 million pounds of onions when its buildings collapsed. Snake River Produce in Nyssa lost the equivalent of 35, 40,000-pound truckloads of on- ions when four of its buildings collapsed. “That’s peanuts compared to what some have lost,” said manager Kay Riley. “Every- where you go ... there’s a build- ing on the ground. It’s pretty dramatic.” Onion industry leaders have contacted state and federal rep- resentatives to ask for help in finding assistance for the re- gion. An estimated 150 farm- and non-farm-related buildings have been destroyed. “I’ve personally seen at least 40 collapsed buildings, probably more,” said state Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario. “It real- ly looks like they were hit by a bomb. It’s really shocking.” U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., have asked the federal govern- ment to begin the process that would result in a federal di- saster declaration for Malheur County and other Eastern Or- egon counties impacted by the severe winter. Farm groups sue California over Tillamook pledges $1.5M gray wolf’s endangered listing to new OSU dairy facility Capital Press SACRAMENTO — Two farm groups are suing the state Fish and Game Commission over its 2014 decision to list the gray wolf as endangered in California. The Pacific Legal Founda- tion filed the action Jan. 31 in the San Diego Superior Court on behalf of the California Farm Bureau Federation and California Cattlemen’s Associ- ation. The groups contend the listing was based on flimsy ev- idence, as it came after a single wolf — OR-7 — wandered into the state in 2011; that regulators undercounted the wolf’s pop- ulation by looking only at its numbers in California; and that it shouldn’t be covered under California’s Endangered Spe- cies Act because it is a non-na- tive species. The groups further argue the listing, which took effect Jan. 1, puts ranchers’ livestock at risk by taking away what they con- sider reasonable measures to ward off wolf attacks. “(T)here are better ways than through the gray wolf’s listing to protect the wolf while preserving the livelihoods of California ranchers,” PLF at- torneys Damien Schiff and Tony Francois wrote in the complaint. They noted that the CCA and Farm Bureau have been “active participants” in a state Department of Fish and Wild- life-established working group to develop a wolf recovery plan for California. “But the wolf’s listing will undercut any value such a plan might otherwise have by sub- stantially limiting the depart- Courtesy of USFWS OR-7 became the first known gray wolf in California when it arrived in 2011. It has since returned to Oregon. ment’s management discretion and foreclosing various live- stock production measures that (ranchers) might otherwise pur- sue,” the attorneys wrote. California Secretary of State Xavier Becerra’s office referred inquiries to the Fish and Game Commission, whose spokes- woman, Jordan Traverso, did not immediately respond to messages from the Capital Press seeking comment. A legal challenge was wide- ly anticipated after the commis- sion’s 3-1 vote on June 4, 2014, to list the species despite Fish and Wildlife’s recommendation that the wolf not be listed yet because no packs had become established in California. The Center for Biological Diversity and other environ- mental groups requested the petition in 2012 shortly after the arrival of OR-7, the first known gray wolf in California. That wolf later returned to Or- egon and mated and produced pups, but another pack became established in far Northern Cal- ifornia. “I think they’re really tilting at windmills with this lawsuit,” said Amaroq Weiss, the Center for Biological Diversity’s West Coast wolf organizer. “The arguments they’re making ap- pear to be pretty baseless.” The PLF argues that nev- er before had a listing been initiated by a single animal’s occasional wanderings into the state, and that the com- mission failed to consider that the wolf’s overall status has improved to the point that the federal government has consid- ered removing it from its own “endangered” list. On whether the gray wolf is a native species under the law, the foundation acknowledges there is evidence that Great Plains and Mexican wolves once were present in Califor- nia. But there is no evidence the Northwestern wolf subspe- cies, which includes the wolves introduced into Idaho that spread into Oregon and Wash- ington, ever lived in California, the attorneys assert. Weiss countered that the Department of Fish and Wild- life had already been studying wolves for about two years before OR-7 appeared and that the state was preparing for the species’ eventual re-entry into California. She said that between OR- 7’s pack and the Shasta Pack, there are at most about 10 wolves in California. And as for the wolf’s origin, she point- ed to research that shows at least three different subspe- cies of wolves lived in Cali- fornia before the 1920s and that she believes the state’s endangered species law is consistent with the federal law, which only considers species and not subspecies. 8th Annual By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press The Tillamook Coun- ty Creamery Association has pledged $1.5 million to help build a new dairy science cen- ter at Oregon State University. The facility is part of a planned food and beverage center that will include wine and beer making and other food made through fermentation. The dairy section will include an automated, small-scale man- ufacturing plant to produce cheese, ice cream, cultured products and powders. Oregon State’s small dairy herd, housed a quarter-mile away, will pro- vide milk for the facility. OSU already has a “beauti- ful little pilot plant” to make ar- tisan cheese but the new facility will expand the opportunities for students, said Lisbeth God- dik, dairy processing Extension specialist and a food science professor. “This is taking the training to a new level,” Goddik said. She said the dairy industry, particularly on the West Coast, is doing well. Exports to Mexi- co, China, Japan and elsewhere have fueled the industry’s rise, she said. The industry’s strong position has paid off in jobs for program graduates. Goddik said national dairy companies now send recruiters to OSU. “The industry realizes we have some pretty good students come out of here,” she said. The dairy part of the food building will cost about $6 million, of which $3 million is projected to come from dona- tions such as the one from Til- lamook. The rest is proposed to come from state bonds, pending legislative approval this year. Patrick Criteser, president of Courtesy of OSU Oregon State University food science students, left to right, Danton Batty, Julia Cresto and Kyle Lackey muscle the heavy curds toward one side of the vat to squeeze out the whey. OSU master cheese- maker Robin Frojen, in the blue apron, supervises. the Tillamook Creamery group, said in a prepared statement that the donation demonstrates the co-op’s confidence in OSU to train the next generation of dairy scientists. The group is a farmer-owned cooperative that produces the familiar Til- lamook brand cheese and oth- er products. 5-1/#4x By TIM HEARDEN • Fertilizer and Irrigation Water Management • Crop Diseases • • Falling Numbers • Soil Health • Precision Ag • • Unmanned Aerial Systems • Drone Flight Demo • SOIL HEALTH SYMPOSIUM “SCRATCHING THE SURFACE” Presented By CROPPING SCHOOL Payette SWCD, Malheur SWCD, Canyon CD, and Adams SWCD Best Western Plus Caldwell Inn & Suites 908 Specht Avene, Caldwell, ID 83605 Four Rivers Cultural Center, 676 SW 5th Ave., Ontario, OR 97914 SYMPOSIUM WORKSHOP Thur., February 16, 2017 8:00am - 4:30pm Fri., February 17, 2017 8:00am - 12:00pm (Registration begins at 7:30am) (Registration begins at 7:30am) (Includes lunch) $25 through February 10 $30 after February 10 NO RSVP required; Cost: $20 (cash or check please) 1.5 CCA - Soil & Water Management • 4.5 CCA - Crop Management Morning coffee/doughnuts and lunch provided Host: Olga Walsh, University of Idaho, Parma Research and Extension Center, owalsh@uidaho.edu, 208-722-6701 8:30-9 a.m. Registration, coffee & doughnuts/welcome Registration Fee 9-9:45 a.m. (Lunch not included) Efficient irrigation methods $50 - Including Packet 9:45-10:30 a.m. Crop disease update 10:30-10:40 a.m. Break 10:40-11:10 a.m. Precision fertilizer management 11:10 a.m.-noon Low falling numbers demo noon-1 p.m. Lunch Noel Garcia - VP & Certified Crop Advisor, Texas Plant & Soil Lab Steve Leonard - Cowdance Range & Riparian Consulting, Idaho Marlon Winger - NRCS Soil Health Specialist for WY, ID & MT Kent Whittig - Allied Seed Cover Crop & Biofumigant Specialist Local Producer Discussion Panels • CEU Credits Are Pending www.payetteswcd.org | (208) 642-6129 Mon-Fri 10am to Noon 5-1/#17 Come Learn Soil Health Principles From: 1-1:45 p.m. Soil health demo 1:45-2:30 p.m. Unmanned aerial vehicles 2:30 p.m. Adjourn ROP-4-2-4/#17 Registration Fee Feb. 10, 2017 • 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
