Capital press., March 10, 2017, Page 7, Image 39

March 10, 2017
CapitalPress.com
7
Farm diversifies for the future
By BRENNA WIEGAND
For the Capital Press
At Blue Line Farms near
Salem, the Dettwyler family
grows turf type tall fescue and
perennial ryegrass seed, blue-
berries, hazelnuts and green
beans.
About 70 percent of the
1,000 acres they farm is in grass
seed. There’s no disputing Or-
egon is the world’s major pro-
ducer of cool-season forage and
turf grass seed and the center of
expertise in seed production.
Oregon grass seed grows on
golf courses, football fields and
landscapes all over the country
and is used as a cover crop.
However, the lawn is often
misunderstood by homeown-
ers.
“There has been a big push
in the urban areas to get rid
of lawns because it takes up
water,” Karl Dettwyler said.
Brenna Wiegand/For the Capital Press
From left, cousins Leland and Karl Dettwyler on the seed cleaner at
Blue Line Farms. Karl owns the farm with his brother, uncle and father.
“There’s one thing I think a
lot of people are overlooking:
There are new varieties out
there that don’t need as much
water. Grass is also important
in urban areas because it creates
oxygen, is a filter for surface
water and has huge cooling
power.”
The Dettwylers see the
blueberries and hazelnuts as
crops for future generations.
“We are looking at the long-
term future because this is our
livelihood and we’re looking
for the family aspect of it,” Karl
said. “We’re not a lot different
from the small farmer or the
huge farmer. We’re all trying
to take care of the land and
preserve that livelihood for the
next generation.”
Blueberries cost $15,000
to $20,000 an acre to put in,
he said. “We’re just starting to
plant hazelnuts and you don’t
get a return on those for several
years.”
That’s what the family farm
is all about, he said. “Uncle Bob
took the farm over in 1964. My
dad, Bernie, came back from
Vietnam in 1973 and now it’s
my dad, Uncle Bob, my broth-
er Jonathan, me and three em-
ployees.”
Bob Dettwyler recalls driv-
ing tractors and working by
hand at 8-10 years old.
“When I graduated from
high school my older brothers
left for other work and Dad was
pretty much alone,” Bob said.
“I was thinking of going to
college but if I did maybe Dad
would have to sell the farm so
I decided to help him on the
farm and in a few years I took
it over.”
As the family grows the
farm must grow to support it.
The Dettwyler family prefers
not to add a lot more land. In-
stead, they are diversifying
and growing more high-value
crops.
However, each new crop
requires a different agrono-
my perspective and requires
research and working close-
ly with an agronomist — and
more industry meetings. To-
gether the Dettwylers attended
some 100 hours’ worth of meet-
ings in January.
Meanwhile, complications
ensue with ag’s rapidly grow-
ing technology.
“You’ve got to be a special-
ist in everything where it used
to be you weren’t a specialist
in anything and you learned
enough about everything that
you could take care of it,” Bob
said. “With the high-tech ma-
chinery coming out it’s getting
to where you can’t work on
your own equipment.”
To be competitive in the
global marketplace, the farm
must increase efficiency wher-
ever possible.
In recent years, Blue Line
Farms installed driplines in
the blueberries, transitioned to
modern lighting in the shop,
put variable speed drives on
irrigation pumps, built its own
seed cleaner and purchased a
blueberry picker.
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