4
CapitalPress.com
May 19, 2017
Shrinking hay stocks build hope for higher prices
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
LEGAL
STATE OF OREGON
OREGON ALFALFA SEED
COMMISSION
P.O. BOX 688
ONTARIO, OR 97914
NOTICE OF ALFALFA
GROWERS
COMMISSION HEARING
PUBLIC BUDGET HEARING
TO: ALL OREGON ALFALFA
SEED GROWERS
Notice is hereby given that a
public hearing will be held
pursuant to ORS Chapter 604,
Section 14, Oregon Laws
2003, on Tuesday, June 6,
2017 at 7:00 p.m. at Matsy’s
Restaurant, 1241 SW 4th Ave.,
Ontario, Oregon 97914.
The hearing will be upon a
proposed budget for oper-
ation of the Oregon Alfalfa
Seed Commission during the
fiscal year July 1, 2017
through June 30, 2018.
At these hearings, any
producer of alfalfa has a right
to be heard with respect to
the proposed budget, a copy
of which is available for
public inspection, under rea-
sonable circumstances, in the
office of each county exten-
sion agent in Oregon.
Interested persons may com-
ment on the proposed budget
in writing to the Commission
business office, address above.
Comments to be received by
June 3, 2017.
For further information,
contact the Oregon Alfalfa
Seed Commission business
office; P.O Box 688, Ontario,
Oregon 97914, telephone
541-881-1335. TDD 503-986-
4762.
Dan Cutler, Chairman
Oregon Alfalfa Seed
Commission
May 10, 2017
20-4/#4
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Fresh cut triticale at Independence and Maple Grove roads north-
west of Sunnyside, Wash., on May 4. Dairies have in the past five
years increasingly turned to it as a cheaper alternative to alfalfa.
A year ago hay stocks were
up 16 percent from the year
before as hay remained back-
logged from a labor dispute
slowing down West Coast
seaports in 2014 and 2015.
Weather also contributed to
an oversupply of lower-qual-
ity feeder hay.
Lower inventory is due to
a lot of acres coming out of
production last year because
of low prices and a long cold
winter and cool spring requir-
ing a lot more feeder hay for
cattle, said Shawn Clausen,
a Warden, Wash., hay grow-
er and vice president of the
Washington State Hay Grow-
ers Association.
“Normally cattlemen feed
LEGAL
REQUESTS FOR
INFORMATION - RFI #167169
TO PROVIDE
Biosolids Storage
and Reuse Services
Closing Date:
June 2, 2017 at 4:00 PM
The City of Salem (“City”) is
seeking information of
potential opportunities to
partner with qualified agri-
cultural entities in a munici-
pal biosolids storage and
reuse program. The intent
of the program is to store
biosolids during the winter
wet
period,
October
through June, for sub-
sequent application as a
fertilizer and soil amend-
ment during the June
through October period.
The City would expect the
interested parties to pro-
vide storage facilities, appli-
cation services, and suitable
land for the program. The
City of Salem produces
Class B biosolids cake.
Questions or to request a
Request for Information
packet email:
sself@cityofsalem.net.
Shawna
Self,
CPPB,
Contracts & Procurement
Manager.
legal-19-2-1/#T1D
hay 60 days in winter and this
winter it was more than 120
days in the whole Northwest,”
Clausen said.
“Snowpack covered feed
that would have been avail-
able, like corn stalks, so cat-
tlemen had to feed twice as
much hay and it cleaned up
a lot of off-quality hay,” he
said.
Growers and export-
ers have had to sell large
amounts of hay at below
break-even prices, but now
with oversupply gone there’s
a chance for prices to im-
prove if weather allows a
good 2017 harvest of less
acreage, Clausen said.
Mark T. Anderson, CEO
and president of Anderson
Hay & Grain Co. in Ellens-
burg, one of the largest West
Coast hay exporters, said low
milk prices in the U.S. and
China are limiting dairy de-
mand for alfalfa in both coun-
tries.
“We are waiting to see
what will drive energy into
LEGAL
NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING
NOTICE HEREBY IS GIVEN that a
public meeting will be held
pursuant to ORS 578, the
Oregon Wheat Commission Act,
at the Sage Center, 101 Olson
Road, Boardman, OR 97818, on
Wednesday June 7, 2017 at 10
a.m. reviewing the proposed
budget for the operation of the
Oregon Wheat Commission
during Fiscal Year July 1, 2017
through June 30, 2018.
At this meeting, any person has
the right to be heard with
respect to the proposed budget,
a copy of which is available for
inspection at the Oregon Wheat
Commission office, 1200 NW
Naito Parkway, Suite 370,
Portland, OR 97209-2800.
Dated this 11th day of May, 2017
ATTESTED: Darren Padget,
Chairman
Blake Rowe, CEO
20-4/#4
ELLENSBURG, Wash. —
The amount of old crop hay
stored on Pacific Northwest
farms is down 38 percent
from a year ago, marking a re-
turn to normal inventories that
growers and exporters hope
will help rebuild prices.
There were 330,000 tons
of hay on Washington farms
on May 1, representing 10
percent of 2016 production.
That’s down 17 percent from
a year earlier, according to
USDA National Agricultural
Statistics Service.
Oregon totaled 270,000
tons at 7 percent of 2016 pro-
duction and down 39 percent
from a year ago. Idaho was at
510,000 tons or 10 percent of
2016 production and down 46
percent from a year ago.
NASS said 2.09 million
tons moved off Idaho farms
from Dec. 1 through May 1,
2.03 million left Oregon farms
and 1.17 million tons were
sold from Washington farms.
the alfalfa market. Pricing has
been low and we need to see
improvement in that. It’s hard
to get margin,” Anderson said.
The Timothy inventory has
cleaned up well. The Timo-
thy market is healthy and,
depending on the weather, it
should regain good pricing
this summer, but alfalfa is
questionable, he said.
Prices bottomed out at
around $75 per ton for feeder
hay in December and January
and $105 to $110 per ton for
good export quality, Clausen
said. Those prices are well be-
low production costs, he said.
Now feeder hay is up to
about $100 per ton and there
isn’t any export hay, he said.
Quality, which is dependent
on the weather, will deter-
mine new export hay prices,
he said.
Supreme and premium
alfalfa reached $300 to $370
per ton in California in 2014,
driven by a hay shortage be-
fore the port slowdown. Feed-
er grade was $220 to $240.
By the end of 2015, su-
preme and premium was $180
per ton and feeder hay was
under $150.
“It’s a good thing to have
less inventory, but it’s been
painful and we can’t sustain
low prices. We will go broke
if we keep this up another
year or two,” Clausen said.
Early cuttings this spring
in California have been dam-
aged by rain, which should
increase demand for premium
Northwest product, he said.
But Anderson said he doubts
California damage is enough
to help Northwest sales.
Dairies are spot buying
alfalfa when they need to,
not locking up inventory for
a year ahead like they once
did, Clausen said. They also
have turned more to triticale,
a rye-wheat cross, in the past
five years that along with corn
makes cheaper feed, he said.
Clausen normally starts
his first cutting alfalfa about
mid-May but last year started
April 20 because of the warm,
early spring. Warm weather
produced high yields, contrib-
uting to oversupply.
This year’s cooler spring
means his first cutting will be
between May 20 and June 1
and he believes his yield will
be down 15 percent.
Alfalfa swathing started
May 1 in the Tri-Cities.
“The weather forecast for
the rest of the month is not
positive for putting up hay,”
Clausen said. “If we can put
up a good premium product,
there will be demand for it.
If the weather is such that ev-
eryone puts up feeder hay, we
will overload the market.”
LEGAL
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Notice is hereby given that the
Oregon Potato Commission
will hold a public budget
hearing at 10:00 a.m. on
Tuesday, June 13, 2017. The
regular quarterly Commission
meeting will begin at 8:00 a.m.
These meetings will be held at
the
Riverhouse on the Deschutes
The Three Sisters Meeting Room
3075 North Business 97
Bend, OR 97703
The purpose of the public
budget hearing is to receive
testimony and evidence on the
proposed budget for operation
of
the
Oregon
Potato
Commission during fiscal year
July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.
Any person desiring to submit
facts or data, orally or in
writing, may do so by
attending the public hearing
or by contacting the Commis-
sion President before the
hearing date.
Bill Brewer, President, CEO
Oregon Potato Commission
9320 SW Barbur Blvd., Suite 130
Portland, Oregon 97219
Phone: (503) 239-4763
Email: brewer@oregonspuds.com
A copy of the proposed budget
is posted on the Oregon
Potato Commission website
www.oregonspuds.com
and may be obtained by
writing to the Commission. 20-4/#4
Idaho ag export value increases
for first time since 2014
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — After declining
for two straight years, Idaho
ag exports reached positive
territory during the first three
months of 2017 when com-
pared with the same period in
2016.
The total value of Ida-
ho farm product exports in-
creased 1.3 percent to $210
million during the first quar-
ter.
That’s the first time Idaho
ag export value has experi-
enced a quarterly, year-over-
year increase since the fourth
quarter of 2014.
Idaho set records for ag ex-
port value from 2011 to 2014
but that string came to a halt
in 2015. Idaho exports totaled
$724 million in 2016, down 8
percent from 2015 and off 28
percent from 2014.
During 2015 and 2016,
Idaho ag export value de-
creased every quarter when
compared to the same period
the previous year.
Dairy is Idaho’s largest
farm commodity in terms of
cash receipts, followed by
beef cattle. Rising dairy ex-
ports were a big reason for the
first-quarter turnaround.
USDA is forecasting U.S.
dairy exports will be 20 per-
cent higher in fiscal year
2017, said Doug Robison,
Northwest Farm Credit Ser-
vice’s vice president of agri-
culture for Western Idaho.
“This, combined with re-
cent improvements in the beef
market, has contributed to the
stabilization of ag exports
from Idaho,” he told Capital
Press in an email. “The export
outlook remains positive for
2017, with some overall im-
provement expected.”
Idaho dairy product ex-
ports totaled $42 million
during the first quarter, a 20
percent increase over the
same period in 2016.
Included in the dairy cate-
gory, Idaho exports of cheese
and curd increased 64 percent
to $21 million, while whey
exports decreased 22 percent
to $12 million.
More than $45 million
worth of Idaho farm products
in the “edible vegetables”
category were also exported
during the quarter. Kidney
beans and chickpeas were the
top exports in this category,
followed by peas, lentils and
black beans.
Idaho oilseed exports to-
taled $34 million, down 20
percent from last year.
A category that includes
mostly dairy proteins totaled
$21 million, a 4 percent in-
crease, and a category that
includes mostly malt barley
decreased 20 percent to $18
million.
U.S. beef one step
closer to Chinese access
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
The Trump administra-
tion’s announcement Thurs-
day night that access to Chi-
nese markets for U.S. beef
will begin by July 16 is fan-
ning the fires of optimism
among U.S. cattlemen.
The U.S. has been locked
out of the world’s largest beef
import market for the past
13 years. Restoring access to
China has been a top prior-
ity for a long time, National
Cattlemen’s Beef Association
President Craig Uden said
during a press call Friday.
China banned U.S. beef in
December 2013 after bovine
spongiform encephalopathy
was found in a Washington
state dairy cow.
Restoring trade with China
would give U.S. beef access
to 1.4 billion new customers
— a fifth of the world’s pop-
ulation — and a middle class
that is larger than the entire
population of the U.S., he
said.
“This would give us the
opportunity to grow. All trade
is important, but working
with China will be a huge
benefit to the U.S. beef indus-
try,” he said.
China represents 12 per-
cent of the world beef trade
and has a growing appetite for
beef, he said.
Exports account for more
LEGAL
NOTICE OF PUBLIC
MEETING
The USDA Natural Re-
sources Conservation Ser-
vice (NRCS) announces a
meeting of the Washington
State Technical Advisory
Committee (STAC) and
Washington Tribal Advisory
Council
(WATCAC)
on
Tuesday, May 30, 2017,
from 12:30pm - 5:00pm at
1033 Old Blyn Highway,
Sequim, WA 98382 and at
316 W. Boone Ave., Suite
450, Spokane, WA., Remote
access is also available. For
more information contact
Bonda Habets, (509) 323-
2900. The WATCAC will
continue May 31, 8:30 -
5:00pm and June 1, 8:30am
to 12:30pm.
20-4/#4
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press File
Cows stand in a feedlot in
Eastern Washington. China is
reopening its doors to U.S. beef.
than $300 per head of fin-
ished beef cattle slaughtered
in the U.S., and that value will
continue to grow with China
in the market. In addition,
NCBA expects China would
be interested in the same beef
products popular in other
Asian countries — products
that don’t see high demand in
the U.S. — boosting the over-
all value of a carcass, he said.
China has seen tremen-
dous growth in beef demand
over the last five years, and
there’s a lot of opportunity
there for U.S. beef, said Kent
Bacus, NCBA director of in-
ternational trade and market
access.
“There’s a lot of unmet de-
mand in China. We’re looking
forward to seeing just how
high this demand can go,” he
said.
Only one more round of
technical consultations be-
tween the U.S. and China stand
in the way of restored access.
That round will determine the
protocol for access, and it is
yet unknown how much of the
current U.S. beef production
would be eligible.
LEGAL
CHERRY AVENUE STORAGE
2680 Cherry Ave. NE
Salem, OR 97301
(503) 399-7454
AUCTION
Sat., June 3rd • 10 A.M.
• Unit 45 - Eric Proctor
• Unit 52 - Angela Barton
• Unit 74 - Shannon Welch
• Unit 85 - Angela Kinzel
• Unit 124 - Cynthia Mendoza
• Unit 183 - Kelly and Shawn
Allen
Cherry Avenue Storage
reserves the right to refuse
any and all bids
legal-20-2-7/#4
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20-2-#18
20-1/#17