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CapitalPress.com
March 24, 2017
People & Places
Guarding plants against sneak attacks
Cindy Cooper of
WSDA works to
prevent spread of
plant diseases
Western
Innovator
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA — Bugs hop
from leaf to leaf nibbling and
spitting Xylella fastidiosa,
a plant-scorching bacterium
that bedevils Europe.
Across the globe, the
Washington State Department
of Agriculture’s Cindy Coo-
per will lead a far-reaching
probe to show Europeans that
the pathogen doesn’t live in
her state.
At stake is the export to
Europe of thousands of blue-
berry, grapevine, raspberry
and other fruit plants cultivat-
ed in Washington nurseries.
Because of X. fastidiosa,
the European Union bars 179
species of plants from en-
tering the 28-nation market.
Washington wasn’t singled
out. The ban goes for any-
place that can’t say it’s free of
X. fastidiosa.
To say that, WSDA will
have to check thousands of
plants this summer in nurs-
eries and on the landscape.
Plants that look suspicious
will be tested in a laboratory.
The USDA has granted
WSDA $217,000 to help pay
for the search. If everything
goes right, Europe and Wash-
ington nurseries will resume
the trade by Thanksgiving.
Battling diseases
That’s one example of the
work done by WSDA’s plant
services program, which Coo-
per manages. Fending off
plant diseases is a constant
battle. “With plant movement,
with fruit movement, you
have pest movement,” she
said.
Calendar
Cindy Cooper
Position: Washington State
Department of Agriculture
plant services program
manager
Age: 56
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Friday-Sunday
March 24-26
18th Annual Northwest Horse
Fair and Expo. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday
and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Linn
County Fair and Expo Center,
3700 Knox Butte Road, Albany,
Ore. Three days of clinics, semi-
nars and performances for horse
enthusiasts. Cost: Adults $12 a
day, children ages 6-12 $6 a day.
Parking $4. www.equinepromo-
tions.net
Friday-Monday
March 24-27
Oregon FFA State Convention.
Deschutes Fair & Expo Center,
3800 S.E. Airport Way, Redmond,
Ore. www.oregonffa.com
Saturday, March 25
Clackamas Tree School. 8:15
a.m.-5:15 p.m. Clackamas Com-
munity College, Clairmont Hall
Room 117, 19600 S Molalla Ave.,
Oregon City, Ore. Tree School
attendees can learn about basic
forestry from “A to Z” — tree iden-
tification, woodland management,
pest management, wildlife en-
hancement, chainsaw operations,
safety and maintenance, truffle
hunting and cultivation, among
many other topics. Advanced ses-
sions focus on business manage-
ment, managing for timber, forest
roads, wildlife and biodiversity.
Cost is $50 per person in Clacka-
mas County, $65 per person out-
side Clackamas County and $25
for youths 13-18 with an adult.
http://bit.ly/1Txt8Lk
Monday-Thursday
March 27-30
Outlook 2017 Agribusiness
Conference. DoubleTree Hotel,
2233 Ventura St., Fresno, Calif.
This is California’s premiere agri-
business conference where key
agricultural issues are addressed,
commodity updates are provided
and the highly regarded Trends
in Agricultural Land and Lease
Values publication is released.
Appraisers, farm managers, con-
sultants, lenders, accountants,
real estate brokers, government
employees, farmers and educators
will benefit from the education,
networking and the Trends publi-
cation. agprolink.asmfra.org
Memorable: The discovery
in 2003 of sudden oak death,
a tree disease, leading to
the destruction of thousands
of nursery plants. “It was
terrible,” Cooper said. “We
had to dig holes, bury plants
and burn them.”
Washington State Department of Agriculture plant services program manager Cindy Cooper at her
desk in Olympia. She helps keep plants shipped to and from nurseries free of pathogens.
Cooper, 56, has worked for
WSDA 17 years. She start-
ed as a plant inspector and
worked her way up, becoming
the program manager about
two years ago. She’s on the
board of the National Clean
Plant Network, an association
overseen by USDA dedicat-
ed to keeping the country’s
planting stock pathogen-free.
Cooper earned a degree in
horticulture from Washington
State University and owned
a nursery before becoming a
state employee. She gardens,
of course. “A new nursery is
like a candy store to me,” she
said. “I knew from the age
of 10 that I wanted to grow
plants.”
Her program includes 10
plant inspectors. In a year,
they do about 700 inspections
at nurseries. There are more
than 5,000 nurseries. Cooper
said they have to pick their
spots. High-volume garden
centers, big-box retailers and
nurseries that export plants
get the most attention.
‘Ebola of olive trees’
The unexpected happens.
Again, X. fastidiosa is an ex-
Sponsored by:
To submit an event go to the
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capitalpress.com and click on “Sub-
mit an Event.” Calendar items can
also be mailed to Capital Press,
1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR
97301 or emailed to newsroom@
capitalpress.com.
Education: Bachelor’s
degree in horticulture, Wash-
ington State University
Wednesday, March 29
Exploring the Small Farm
Dream. 5-8 p.m. OSU SOREC
Research Building Library, 569 Ha-
ley Road, Central Point, Ore. This
three-session course provides an
excellent framework to help new
farmers assess their skills and in-
terests, learn the realities of farm
business ownership, and become
connected to local resources. The
aim is to help those thinking about
small-scale commercial farming
learn what it will take to start and
manage a farm business, and de-
cide whether that is something
they really want to pursue. $50 per
person, $75 for two from the same
farm. Website: http://bit.ly/Jackson-
SmallFarmDream
Wednesday-Thursday
March 29-30
International Mass Timber
Conference. Oregon Conven-
tion Center, 777 NE Martin Lu-
ther King Jr. Blvd., Portland,
Ore. Explores the entire supply
chain for cross-laminated tim-
ber, nail-laminated timber, glu-
lam panels, laminated veneer
lumber and other mass timber;
and the opportunities and ob-
stacles for mass timber building
in global construction. Benefit
from 80 speakers, four focused
educational tracks, 60 exhibits
in the exhibit hall, multiple net-
working receptions, and one of
the largest gatherings of CLT and
mass timber experts in the world.
www.masstimberconference.com
Friday-Saturday
March 31-April 1
High Desert Stampede. 6-10
p.m. Bank of the Cascades Center,
3800 SW Airport Way, Redmond,
Ore. High Desert Stampede, in
concert with the Professional Ro-
deo Cowboys Association, will be
presenting a full rodeo performance
lineup complete with bull, bareback
and saddle bronc riding, steer wres-
tling, team roping, calf roping and
barrel racing. www.highdesertstam-
pede.com
Saturday-Sunday
April 1-2
Spring Farming Days. 9 a.m.-4
p.m. Eastern Washington Agricul-
tural Museum, 99 Fairground Road,
Pomeroy, Wash. Old-time horse
and mule farming on 13 acres, plus
static and active equipment and
vehicle displays and artisan dis-
plays. RV and camping available
and hot lunch available both days.
Cost: Free. www.co.garfield.wa.us/
museum
Tuesday, April 4
Understanding and Applying
ample. The disease is known
in the Americas. A strain
commonly referred to as
Pierce’s disease has long
bothered California grape-
vines.
X. fastidiosa crossed
overseas and was found in
Italian olive groves in 2013.
To stem the disease, a Euro-
pean court ordered Italian ol-
ive farmers to destroy thou-
sands of trees. X. fastidiosa
still spread to France and
Spain. A Spanish newspaper
coined a phrase constantly
used since in press reports,
calling the disease the “Eb-
ola of olive trees.”
In May of 2015, the EU
barred the importation of the
large number of plants vul-
nerable to X. fastidiosa and
set rules for regaining mar-
ket access.
To complicate matters,
the disease was found the
following October in pear
plant material at the USDA
germplasm repository in
Corvallis, Ore. The only oth-
er time the disease had ever
been documented in pear
trees was in Taiwan in the
1990s. The disease had nev-
er been found in the North-
west.
“It was a huge surprise to
everyone,” Cooper said.
The glassy-winged sharp-
shooter spreads the disease
in California, but Northwest
winters are too cold for that
bug. The blue-green sharp-
shooter and common spittle-
bug are under suspicion for
carrying the pathogen in the
Northwest.
Infected plant materi-
al from Corvallis had gone
to a nursery in Hood River
County. From there, material
went out, including to about
40 residences in Washington.
Search continues
Oregon responded by sur-
veying for X. fastidiosa. By
February 2016, the USDA
told the EU in a letter that 12
Oregon counties were free of
the disease.
The following summer,
two Washington nurseries
funded a WSDA search for
the disease in Thurston and
Grays Harbor counties. In
November, the USDA told
EU those two counties were
clean.
Farm Market Reports. 6-8 p.m. OSU
Extension Auditorium, SOREC, 569
Hanley Road, Central Point, Ore.
Have you ever wondered what that
Market Report at the back of the
Capital Press really means? Per-
haps you just ignore those pages,
hoping it won’t hurt your business
too much. This class will teach you
about market reports. You need to
understand the terminology, where
to find reputable market reports,
get a market report update and
learn how to apply the information
gleaned in market reports to your
operation. Cost: $20 one/ $30 two
from same farm. http://bit.ly/Jack-
sonSmallFarms
Wednesday, April 5
Exploring the Small Farm
Dream. 5-8 p.m. OSU SOREC
Research Building Library, 569 Ha-
ley Road, Central Point, Ore. This
three-session course provides an
excellent framework to help new
farmers assess their skills and in-
terests, learn the realities of farm
business ownership, and become
connected to local resources. The
aim is to help those thinking about
small-scale commercial farming
learn what it will take to start and
manage a farm business, and de-
cide whether that is something
they really want to pursue. $50 per
person, $75 for two from the same
farm. Website: http://bit.ly/Jackson-
SmallFarmDream
Wednesday-Saturday
April 5-8
86th Idaho FFA State Leader-
ship Conference. College of South-
ern Idaho, Twin Falls. www.idahof-
fa.org/conferences-conventions/
Thursday, April 6
Second Annual Friends of Idaho
FFA Banquet. 4:30-7 p.m. Canyon
Crest Event Center, 330 Canyon
Crest Drive, Twin Falls, Idaho.
The silent auction and social hour
start at 4:30 p.m., followed by din-
ner, a program and live auction.
Cost: $25 per person, or $300 for
a table of eight. Website: http://bit.
ly/2nGk2zQ
Saturday, April 8
Goat Seminar. 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
7211 40th Ct. NE, Olympia, Wash.
Learn about goat healthcare and
nutrition, along with a short session
about packgoats. Cost: $25 public;
$7.50 4H/FFA. Website: http://edel-
weissacresobers.com/
Tuesday, April 11
Do Your Kids Want the Busi-
ness? Planning for Yes or No.
7:30 to 9 a.m. Hayden’s Lakefront
Grill, 8187 SW Tualatin-Sherwood
Road, Tualatin, Ore. Presented by
Steve Bennett, Farleigh Wada Witt
20 Northwest Locations
and the Austin Family Business
Program, Oregon State University.
800-859-7609, http://bit.ly/2h3k8Ck
Wednesday, April 12
Exploring the Small Farm
Dream. 5-8 p.m. OSU SOREC
Research Building Library, 569 Ha-
ley Road, Central Point, Ore. This
three-session course provides an
excellent framework to help new
farmers assess their skills and in-
terests, learn the realities of farm
business ownership, and become
connected to local resources. The
aim is to help those thinking about
small-scale commercial farming
learn what it will take to start and
manage a farm business, and de-
cide whether that is something
they really want to pursue. $50 per
person, $75 for two from the same
farm. Website: http://bit.ly/Jackson-
SmallFarmDream
Local Meat Marketing and
USDA Processing Workshops. 11
a.m.-2 p.m. Expo Center, 45224
284th Ave. SE, Enumclaw, Wash.
Workshops will focus on market
demand for local meats, eco-
nomics and processing options
to help determine what is best for
your livestock enterprise. Contact:
Patrice Barrentine at King County
Agriculture Program at Patrice.
Barrentine@kingcounty.gov
or
(206) 477-1556. Cost: Free. Web-
site: https://goo.gl/forms/JENmH-
1PAWkQfZDaH2
Saturday, April 15
Oregon Women for Agriculture
30th annual auction and dinner. 5-9
p.m. Linn County Fair & Expo Cen-
ter, 3700 Knox Butte Road E, Alba-
ny, Ore. Website: owaonline.org
Friday-Saturday
April 21-22
Second Annual Horsedrawn
Vehicle and Equipment Auction, 10
a.m.-5 p.m. Yamhill County Fair-
grounds, 2070 NE Lafayette Ave.,
McMinnville, Ore. Preview starts at
8 a.m. both days. Auction benefits
the Youth Educational Scholarship
Foundation. www.pacificoverland-
expo.com
Saturday, April 22
Local Meat Marketing and
USDA Processing Workshops. 10
a.m.-2 p.m. Carnation Farms, Car-
nation, Wash. Workshops will focus
on market demand for local meats,
economics and processing options
to help determine what is best for
your livestock enterprise. Contact:
Patrice Barrentine at King County
Agriculture Program at Patrice.
Barrentine@kingcounty.gov
or
(206) 477-1556. Cost: Free. Web-
site: https://goo.gl/forms/JENmH-
1PAWkQfZDaH2
Established 1928
Board of directors
Mike Forrester
Steve Forrester
Kathryn Brown
Susan Rana
Mike Omeg
Capital Press Managers
John Perry ................................Publisher
Joe Beach ..................................... Editor
Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director
Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor
Barbara Nipp ......... Production Manager
Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager
Entire contents copyright © 2017
EO Media Group
dba Capital Press
An independent newspaper
published every Friday.
Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is
published weekly by EO Media Group,
1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301.
Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR,
and at additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: send address changes to
Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR
97308-2048.
To Reach Us
This summer, WSDA will
extend the search to Ben-
ton, Chelan, Clallam, Clark,
Franklin, Grant, King,
Lewis, Snohomish, What-
com, Whitman, Yakima and
Skagit counties.
The counties were select-
ed because they have nurser-
ies that export plants or are
fruit-growing areas.
Besides proving to Eu-
rope that the state does
not have X. fastidiosa,
WSDA wants to make sure
the disease isn’t in a po-
sition to threaten Wash-
ington crops, particularly
grapevines.
WSDA will follow up and
search again in the summers
of 2018 and 2019 to make
sure there is no X. fastidiosa.
And if it is found?
“We would have to meet
with all stakeholders and
understand the risk to trade
brought up by that revela-
tion,” Cooper said.
GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE
www.oxarc.com
Capital Press
1-800-765-9055
Saturday-Tuesday
April 22-25
California FFA State Convention.
Fresno Convention & Entertainment
Center, 700 M St., Fresno, Calif.
Website: www.calaged.org
Saturday-Sunday
April 29-30
Oregon Ag Fest. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Oregon State Fairgrounds, 2330
17th St. NE, Salem, Ore. Ag Country
activities, a petting zoo, pony rides,
toy tractor races, a craft and gar-
den show and family entertainment
make for a fun and informative day.
A ranch breakfast is served on Sat-
urday from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Cost
is $6. Sunday Ag Fest hours are 10
a.m.-5 p.m. Ag Fest cost: Free for 12
and under. $9 for 13 and older. Free
parking. http://oragfest.com/
Wednesday-Thursday
May 10-11
Managing for Resilience: North-
west Grazing Conference 2017. 8
a.m.-7 p.m. Pendleton Convention
Center, 1601 Westgate, Pendle-
ton, Ore. Featured speakers are
Kit Pharo and Fred Provenza.
Pharo, cattle breeder and owner
of Pharo Cattle Co., says, “The
most profitable cow-calf produc-
ers that I know of have a low-in-
put, grass-based program with
very efficient, low-maintenance
cows. These are also the happiest
producers I know of.” Provenza,
professor emeritus at Utah State
University, is part of the BEHAVE
team. BEHAVE principles, based
on 30 years of research: If we
understand how animals learn,
we can train the animals to fit the
landscapes instead of changing
the landscape to fit the animals.
Cost: $227 by April 14, $267 after.
Website: http://bit.ly/2kpT9yb
Thursday-Saturday
May 11-13
87th Washington FFA State
Convention. Washington State Uni-
versity, Pullman. www.washingtonf-
fa.org/calendar/
Thursday, May 18
Family Business Charters.
7:30 to 9 a.m. BridgePort BrewPub,
1313 NW Marshall St., Portland. A
family business charter sets forth
the essential rules, obligations, and
responsibilities relating to owner-
ship and management of the busi-
ness, as well as the family values
that will help sustain the business
for future generations. Presented
by A. Jeffery Bird, Lane Powell PC
and the Austin Family Business
Program, Oregon State Universi-
ty. $40 per person. 800-859-7609,
http://bit.ly/2gPuLYY
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Index
California .............................. 14
Dairy .....................................11
Idaho .................................... 10
Livestock ..............................11
Markets ............................... 13
Opinion .................................. 6
Oregon .................................. 9
Washington ........................... 8
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