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CapitalPress.com
May 26, 2017
People & Places
Ag pilot’s career up in the air
Paul McAlvain’s love
of helicopters helps
region’s farmers
with their crops
Western
Innovator
Capital Press
Paul McAlvain
Occupation: Ag helicopter
pilot
Company: Pauly’s Helicop-
ter Services
Age: 36
Family: Wife, Vanessa; son,
Darius, 5
Website: http://paulysheli-
copterservicegov.com/
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Paul McAlvain stands next to the helicopter he uses to spray farm fields May 17 in Ontario, Ore. He
went to helicopter school straight out of high school and has spent about 9,000 hours in the air spray-
ing crops.
“I like to push my limits,”
said McAlvain, 36. “With
this, you’re always doing
something kind of fun and
dangerous.”
McAlvain, who is also a li-
censed instructor, flies several
types of helicopters and pilots
the local Life Flight helicop-
ter.
“He’s an excellent heli-
copter pilot,” said Tommy
Frazier, owner of Frazier
Aviation, which provides avi-
ation services at the Ontario
Airport. “He’s rated in vari-
ous types of helicopters; that
takes some talent.”
McAlvain said that when
spraying farm fields, his he-
licopter is as close as 5 feet
from the ground, compared to
about 8-10 feet for an airplane
crop duster.
His helicopter can hold
130 gallons of spray while
some of the newer airplane
crop dusters can hold around
300 gallons, but he reloads
straight from a truck in the
field instead of having to re-
turn to the airport.
“The number one dif-
ference is speed,” he said.
“We’re traveling about 70
(mph) while the airplanes are
going about 120 to 140.”
McAlvain said few people
know that helicopters are used
to spray farm fields and even
many farmers in the area don’t
know that he can spray certain
crops, such as potatoes.
He said his biggest chal-
lenge is weather.
“The weather’s been real-
ly bad the past couple years
and this year the weather has
been a major challenge,” he
said. “We’re shut down af-
ter winds reach 12 mph and
around here, that happens all
the time.”
McAlvain’s business is
family run. His wife, Vanessa,
takes care of the bookkeep-
ing and other duties, while
his 5-year-old son, Darius, is
already starting to learn the
trade so he can take over the
business some day.
Though only 5, Darius
already has a log book with
hours in it — McAlvain’s he-
licopter has dual controls.
“He’ll have tons of hours
(and) he’ll be ready to fly
before he can even drive,”
McAlvain said. “When he
gets his license, he’ll be ready
to go to work.”
Agriculture students shine at Oregon Envirothon
By JAN JACKSON
Online
For the Capital Press
www.oregonenvirothon.org
SILVERTON, Ore. — The
21st annual Oregon Enviro-
thon was May 5 at the Oregon
Gardens in Silverton.
The five top winning
teams were Logos Charter
School, Medford; Newberg
High School FFA; Amity
High School; Sutherlin High
School FFA Team 2; and
Sutherlin High School Team
A.
The Logos Charter School
team will compete July 23-29
in the National Envirothon at
Mount St. Mary’s University
in Emmetsburg, Md.
Newberg FFA, which also
placed first in the FFA Divi-
sion, will compete Oct. 25-28
during the 90th National FFA
Convention and Expo in Indi-
anapolis.
Bailey Field, FFA adviser
Calendar
Saturday-Sunday
May 27-28
Alpaca Shearing Day and Sale.
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Alpacas of Oregon,
21345 SW Aebischer Road, Sher-
wood, Ore. Join EasyGo Farm
at Alpacas of Oregon and take a
break from the Memorial Day Win-
ery Tours to watch the alpacas get
their annual haircuts. Get up close,
hand feed them and handle their
luxurious fleece. Shearing Day is
Saturday. On Sunday, learn to felt
an alpaca gift. Phone 503-348-6954
to reserve a spot; $25-$75 covers
your materials and instruction.
Hand-spinners, knitters and other
fiber artists will find fleece and yarn.
Visitors can chat with four long-time
livestock breeders who’ve raised
llamas, horses, sheep and goats.
www.easygofarm.net/AOOMem-
Day.
Wednesday-Friday
May 31-June 2
2017 Oregon Cattlemen Mid-
year Meeting, Wildhorse Casino,
46510 Wildhorse Blvd., Pendleton,
Ore. The annual 2 1/2-day midyear
event is where Oregon cattlemen
and women gather to get updates
on the latest news in Oregon ag-
riculture, hear from top industry
speakers and reconnect with fellow
ranchers. http://orcattle.com/.
Thursday, June 1
Inka Bajandas/Oregon Forestry Resources Institute
From left, Kennedy Rainey, Tyler Bostock and Kylie Holveck use
Biltmore sticks to determine tree measurements for the Envirothon
Forestry Practicum.
and ag teacher at Newberg,
spoke with pride about her
FFA members taking a first in
the FFA Division and scoring
the highest in the agriculture
soil and water conservation
stewardship event.
Sponsored by:
To submit an event go to the
Community Events calendar on the
home page of our website at www.
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.
OSU Wasco County Extension
Service Pre-harvest Tour. 7:45
a.m.-1 p.m. Orchard View Farms
Dallesport Orchard, Highway 14,
Established 1928
Board of directors
Mike Forrester
Steve Forrester
Kathryn Brown
Susan Rana
Mike Omeg
Corporate Officer
John Perry
Chief Operating Officer
By SEAN ELLIS
ONTARIO, Ore. — Paul
McAlvain grew up in the city
but working in an urban set-
ting was never an option for
him.
“I was destined for ag,”
said McAlvain, a helicopter
pilot with 12,000 hours flying
time, about three-fourths of
it spent spraying farm fields.
“I’m not an office person
so this is my office. I would
much rather be out in the
fields or mountains.”
Born and raised in Boise,
Idaho’s largest city, McAlvain
went straight to helicopter
school after graduating from
high school.
“I just got a wild hair and
took out a huge loan and
went to school,” he said. “I
found out I was good at it
and I was working after four
months.”
He has flown and sprayed
farm fields in the Pendleton,
Ore., area and most recent-
ly in Ontario, where he owns
Pauly’s Helicopter Services.
Though the job is danger-
ous — “It’s horribly danger-
ous,” he laughs — he said it’s
a perfect fit for his personality.
Capital Press
Dallesport, Wash. The tour starts
at the Dallesport orchard, then pro-
ceeds to the Omeg Family Farms
Grossmiller Block at 3187 Three
Mile Road in The Dalles, Ore. It
then goes to the Dave Cooper Or-
chard, 2270 Dry Hollow Road for
lunch.
Four-Part Farm/Ranch Succes-
sion Planning Workshop. 6-8:30
p.m. Canby High School, 721 SW
Fourth Ave., Canby, Ore. A free
four-part workshop on succession
planning with one-hour personal
counseling sessions for your family
after each workshop. Light dinner
6 to 6:30, workshop 6:30 to 8:30
p.m. Course 4 on June 1 is Pass-
ing on Management Roles. RSVP
required. Organized by Clackamas
Small Business Development Cen-
ter and Rogue Farm Corps. Cost:
Free. http://bit.ly/2opTHqO.
Thursday-Saturday
June 1-3
Puget Sound Junior Livestock
Show and Sale. Skagit County Fair-
grounds, 479 W. Taylor St., Mount
Vernon, Wash. http://www.puget-
soundjuniorlivestock.org/
Wednesday, June 7
“Our Valley, Our Future” Break-
fast. 7:15-8:45 a.m. Emmanuel
Baptist Church, 1515 E. College
Way, Mount Vernon, Wash. Key-
note speaker Derek Sandison, di-
rector of the Washington State De-
partment of Agriculture, will share
his perspective on the trade and
economic outlook for Washington
and on the Skagit agricultural indus-
try. Reservations are required. Call
360-336-3974 or email LindaT@
skagitonians.org. Website: www.
skagitonians.org
Friday, June 9
Farm Practices to Support
Beneficial Insects. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
SOREC Teaching Farm, 569 Han-
“This was my first year at
Newberg, and fortunately I
had the help of long time biol-
ogy, ecology and horticulture
instructor and Envirothon
trainer Pete Siderius,” Fields
said. “Newberg was repre-
sented by a five-member FFA
and a five-member freshman
team this year. It is always
exciting to see them put in all
that effort and see it reward-
ed.”
Students train and test
throughout the school year
to compete in four hands-on
natural resource categories
— aquatic ecology, soils and
land use, forestry and wildlife
and one current environmen-
tal issue, which this year was
ag soil and water conserva-
tion stewardship.
Envirothon was started
by the Pennsylvania Soil and
Water Conservation District
in 1979. Oregon’s first Envi-
rothon was in 1997 with five
teams; 32 teams competed
this year.
In 2003, the Marion Coun-
ty SWCD partnered with the
Oregon Forest Resources In-
stitute and moved the compe-
tition to the Oregon Gardens.
OFRI will direct future Envi-
rothon competitions starting
with the 2018 event.
OFRI Senior Manager of
Education Julie Woodward
said 200 high school students
competed this year.
“It started out as a very
wet day, but students kept
positive attitudes and we
saw some amazing results,”
Woodward said. “The advis-
ers and instructors put a lot
of time and energy into pre-
paring students for the event
and the test writers and judg-
es routinely comment on
how amazed they are with
the skills and expertise of
the students.
“We are looking forward
to Envirothon 2018.”
GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE
www.oxarc.com
ley Road, Central Point, Ore. This
is Day 1 of a two-day class to raise
awareness of on-farm beneficial in-
sects and birds and how to identify
them. Learn about the role they play
in farming hand-in-hand with nature
and how to create “farmscaping” to
attract and promote active benefi-
cials. Day 2 is June 30. Cost: $15
one/$25 two from the same farm.
Website: http://bit.ly/JacksonSmall-
FarmDream.
Wednesday, June 14
Six-week
Forestry
Short
Course. 9 a.m.-noon. Federal
Building meeting room, Seventh
Street and College Avenue, St.
Maries, Idaho. This course will be
six successive Wednesdays. The
$38 fee includes resource material.
Register by phone at 208-245-2422
before June 7.
Thursday-Friday
June 15-16
2017 Interpera Congress.
Wenatchee Confluence Technolo-
gy Center, 285 Technology Center
Way, Wenatchee, Wash. The con-
ference features presentations
from world experts on emerg-
ing pear varieties, high-density
planting, root stock, harvest and
packing house mechanization,
integrated pest management suc-
cesses, export trade flows and
successful practices for building
consumer demand. http://ncwctc.
com.
Friday-Sunday
June 16-18
Glenwood Ketchum Kalf Rodeo
and Bull Bash. Glenwood Rodeo
Grounds, Trout Lake Highway,
Glenwood, Wash. The Bull Bash
starts at 7 p.m. June 16, followed
by the rodeo, which starts at
12:30 p.m. June 17-18. Website:
http://business.gorge.net/
glenwoodrodeo.
20 Northwest Locations
Saturday, June 17
Forest Thinning and Pruning
Field Day. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. University
of Idaho Extension office, 1808 N.
Third St., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Whether you have problems with
insects, disease or concerns about
fire, the response from foresters is
nearly universal: Thin your forest.
Presentations about thinning and
financial assistance will be followed
by a field trip to a thinned stand. A
$20 fee includes a field notebook or
publications. Register by June 9.
Tuesday, June 20
Trees and Taxes workshop.
5-7:30 p.m. Coos County Extension
Office, 631 Alder St., Myrtle Point,
Ore. This class is for anyone with
forest management expenses, re-
cent forest income or planning for
future income from their forestland.
Tammy Cushing, Extension special-
ist in forest economics, manage-
ment and policy, will explain topics
many landowners are unaware of
and the special provisions in the
Internal Revenue Code that pertain
to forestland and income generated
from the land. This session will help
improve the records you keep on
your forestland as well as minimize
the taxes that you pay for income
generated by your forest. Pre-reg-
istration is required by June 16. For
questions, call Shawna at 541-572-
5263. Website: http://extension.ore-
gonstate.edu/coos/.
Tuesday-Wednesday
June 20-21
Center for Produce Safety Re-
search Symposium. Hyatt Regency
Denver Tech Center, 7800 E. Tufts
Ave., Denver, Colo. Agricultural wa-
ter will kick off the program agen-
da. This session will focus on four
CPS-funded research programs
that will help stakeholders better
understand the factors involved
in sourcing, sampling, testing and
1-800-765-9055
treating specific types of agricultur-
al water.
Thursday, June 22
Oregon Angus Field Day. 4-10
p.m. Quail Valley Ranch, Prineville,
Ore. Cattle on display, contests
with prizes, a meal and a time to
visit. For more information, con-
tact Becky Tekansik, Quail Valley
Ranch, 541-699-8562, or Dick
Hubman, president of the Oregon
Angus Association, 541-601-5495.
Tuesday, June 27
Range Field Day. 8:30 a.m.-4
p.m. Northern Great Basin Experi-
mental Range, 100 Placidea Butte
Road, Riley, Ore. Presentations
will include managing wildfires,
livestock grazing for fuels manage-
ment, safe sites and restoration of
sagebrush rangeland. For more
information, contact Chad Boyd,
office: 541-573-8939, cell: 541-589-
4990, email: chad.boyd@oregon-
state.edu. To RSVP for lunch, call
Petrina White at 541-573-4085.
Wednesday-Saturday
June 28-July 1
128th Annual Washington State
Grange Convention. Ocean Shores
Convention Center, 120 W. Chance
a La Mer NW, Ocean Shores,
Wash.
Thursday-Friday
June 29-30
3rd International Confer-
ence on Livestock & Nutrition.
9 a.m.-7 p.m. Avani Atrium, 880
Phetchaburi Road, Bangkok,
Thailand. The Bangkok Livestock
Nutrition Conference welcomes
attendees, presenters and ex-
hibitors from all over the world.
The theme is “Leading Innova-
tion in Livestock for Sustainable
Farming.” Cost: $699. Website:
http://livestocknutrition.confer-
enceseries.com/.
Capital Press Managers
Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher
Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director
Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor
Barbara Nipp ......... Production Manager
Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager
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Index
California .............................. 14
Dairy ...................................... 8
Idaho .....................................11
Livestock ............................... 8
Markets ............................... 13
Opinion .................................. 6
Oregon .................................. 9
Washington ......................... 10
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