Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current, June 30, 2017, Image 2

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Newspaper Page Text2 CapitalPress.com June 30, 2017 People & Places Turning ideas into equipment Jonathan Gobel builds implements to meet farmers’ unique needs Western Innovator Capital Press Design and build Such projects are com- mon at Gobel’s 3-year-old business, Iron Tree Solutions. The ﬁ rm specializes in devel- oping and making parts and equipment to meet the unique needs of farmers. For instance, the business developed a 24-foot swing- blade scraper used for level- Jonathan Gobel Occupation: Rice grow- er and owner, Iron Tree Solutions Age: 39 Tim Hearden/Capital Press Jonathan Gobel with a sprayer his company designed. Gobel designs and builds custom equipment to meet area farmers’ needs. ing ﬁ elds. More than 40 of the swing blade units have been sold, he said. Gobel is a native of the mid-valley, having grown up on a rice farm and graduated from Maxwell High School. A tinkerer all his life, he went to work out of high school at the Morning Star Packing Co. in Williams, where he helped develop a tomato harvester. “I realized that I really enjoy providing that kind of a service for anybody who comes along with an idea,” he said. In 2010, Gobel purchased a stake in a manufacturing company in Oregon’s Willa- mette Valley with more than 100 employees. A year later, he sold his share to his part- ner and moved home. “When I owned the other business, it was basically a job shop and all I was doing was scheduling,” he said. “It was OK, but it was not really what I wanted to spend my time doing.” Gobel’s Iron Tree Solu- tions has a research and de- velopment shop where he and designer Jeff Mingay draw custom-ordered parts with a computer program called In- ventor, which uses three-di- mensional imagery. The shop makes parts with a waterjet cutter, a tool common in industries such as mining and aerospace which uses a high-pressure jet of water to cut steel and other materials. When a new machine or part is designed, Iron Tree makes two or three of them to test in the ﬁ eld, then sends the computerized speciﬁ ca- tions to the Kansas-based Landoll Corp. to make more, Gobel said. “They build it and ship it to us,” he said. “It really works well for us to keep our overhead low.” New sprayer Historically, spray appli- cations were made from the air, before the proliferation of nuts and other specialty crops and stricter air quality regu- lations made aerial applica- tions problematic. Chrisman, the Williams rice producer, has also sus- tained “terrible” losses of rice from steel wheels, and there was ground on which he couldn’t go, he said. He de- cided to try tank-like tracks. He put them on a four-wheel- er and it worked, so he had Gobel’s business help him develop a sprayer. About 1,000 acres of rice ground on the west side of the valley have soils that essen- tially “have no bottom,” so sprayers with steel wheels get stuck, Gobel said. Growers Associated Press MADRAS, Ore. (AP) — Just before sunrise, there’s typically nothing atop Round Butte but the whistle of the wind and a panoramic view of Oregon’s second-high- est peak glowing pink in the faint light. But on Aug. 21, local ofﬁ - cials expect this lookout point just outside the small town of Madras to be crammed with people from around the world, all hoping for the ﬁ rst glimpse of the moon’s shad- ow as it crosses Mount Jef- ferson’s snow ﬁ elds. Then, a solar eclipse will throw the entire region into complete darkness for two minutes. The ﬁ rst coast-to-coast total solar eclipse to cross the continental United States in 99 years will ﬁ rst be vis- ible in Oregon, and Madras is predicted to be among the country’s best viewing spots because of its clear, high-des- ert skies, ﬂ at landscape and stunning mountain views. Up to 1 million eclipse chasers will descend on Or- egon for the celestial event, and ofﬁ cials are bracing for as many as 100,000 of them in and around Madras. In this vast expanse of ranches and farms, rural, two-lane roads could mean trafﬁ c jams of cosmic propor- tions. Every hotel in Madras is booked, some residents are renting their homes for $3,000 a night, and campers are expected to ﬂ ood the na- tional forests and grasslands during peak wildﬁ re season. The state’s emergency coordination center will gear Solar eclipse to darken Oregon skies Pendleton Portland Newport Corvallis Eugene Madras, Oregon: totality starts at 10:19 a.m. and lasts more than 2 min. Path of total eclipse, August 21, 2017 Sources: www.eclipse2017.org; www.greatamericaneclipse.com Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group up, and ﬁ rst responders will prepare to respond to any trouble as they would for an earthquake or other natural disaster. Cell towers could be overwhelmed, trafﬁ c will be gridlocked, and police and ﬁ re stretched to the max man- aging the crowds. “Bring extra water, bring food. You need to be pre- pared to be able to survive on Capital Press Managers Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Jessica Boone ........ Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager Entire contents copyright © 2017 EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Family: Wife Kirsten Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. Website: irontreesolutions. com Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing ofﬁ ces. Residence: Willows, Calif. were left with no alternative but to spray from the air — until the new machines with tracks came along. “This machine has done 600 acres in those conditions and done just ﬁ ne,” Gobel said. The new sprayer also has a wider reach, with booms that measure 105 feet across. This enables growers to cov- er more ground in less time. With other sprayers, “we could only do 30 acres of ground in an hour, so a 150- acre ﬁ eld would take us ﬁ ve hours,” Chrisman said. “Now we can do it in three hours.” Chrisman said it’s easy to bring new ideas to Gobel’s company. The quest to stay abreast of the latest advancements in technology takes Gobel to lots of trade shows, he said. But he has little desire to grow his company, he said. “I don’t want to get big,” he said. “I don’t want to be a huge conglomerate. I want to stay small. I want to be able to shift gears. “We’re a place where farmers can come to us and say, ‘Build this,’” he said. Total solar eclipse puts spotlight on rural Oregon town By GILLIAN FLACCUS Established 1928 Board of directors Mike Forrester Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Susan Rana Mike Omeg Corporate Ofﬁ cer John Perry Chief Operating Ofﬁ cer By TIM HEARDEN WILLIAMS, Calif. — Jonathan Gobel was in his element. Some rice growers in the area needed a more efﬁ cient spray rig for their crops without causing pesti- cide drift onto nearby nut or- chards, so he and his partners sat down at the computer. They fashioned a spray- er with tracks instead of the steel wheels that are more common, enabling the grow- er to get into areas with soft soils. They made the arms wider so fewer passes in the ﬁ eld were needed, and made them adjustable so they could be lowered to just above the rice to avoid drift. And they made it all hap- pen fast. “We started design on the sprayer in November and built it from the ground up,” said Gobel, 39, himself a rice grower. “It typically takes three to ﬁ ve years to develop a sprayer like that. We started in November and had a roll- ing chassis in the (Colusa) Farm Show in February.” The sprayer — which was largely the brainchild of rice grower Randy Chrisman — was used this spring and ear- ly summer. Capital Press your own for 24 to 48 to 72 hours, just like you would in any sort of emergency,” said Dave Thompson, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. “This is pret- ty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s really worth seeing. But you’ve got to be prepared or you won’t enjoy it.” When the moon passes be- tween the sun and the Earth, the path of totality — mean- ing total darkness — from the moon’s shadow will begin on Oregon’s coast, then cross the north-central part of the state from west to east. But as the hype builds, authorities are increasing- ly worried that people who planned to watch from the notoriously foggy coast could move east at the last minute if the forecast sours. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Circulation ......................... 800-882-6789 Email ........ Circulation@capitalpress.com Main line ........................... 503-364-4431 Fax ................................... 503-370-4383 Advertising Fax ................ 503-364-2692 News Staff Northern California Tim Hearden .................... 530-605-3072 Eastern Idaho John O’Connell ................. 208-421-4347 Idaho Carol Ryan Dumas .......... 208-860-3898 Boise Sean Ellis .......................... 208-914-8264 Central Washington Dan Wheat ........................ 509-699-9099 Eastern Washington Matthew Weaver .............. 509-688-9923 Western Washington Don Jenkins ........................ 60-722-6975 Oregon Eric Mortenson ................ 503-412-8846 Mateusz Perkowski .......... 800-882-6789 Graphic artist Alan Kenaga ..................... 800-882-6789 To Place Classiﬁ ed Ads Ad fax .............................. 503-364-2692 or ...................................... 503-370-4383 Telephone (toll free) .......... 866-435-2965 Online ......www.capitalpress.com/classiﬁ eds Subscriptions Mail rates paid in advance Easy Pay U.S. $3.75/month (direct with- drawal from bank or credit card account) 1 year U.S. ...................................$49.99 2 years U.S. .................................$89.99 1 year Canada .................................$275 1 year other countries ......... call for quote 1 year Internet only .......................$49.99 1 year 4-H, FFA students and teachers ....$30 9 months 4-H, FFA students & teachers .....$25 Visa and Mastercard accepted To get information published Mailing address: Capital Press P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048 News: Contact the main ofﬁ ce or news staff member closest to you, send the in- formation to newsroom@capitalpress.com or mail it to “Newsroom,” c/o Capital Press. Include a contact telephone number. Letters to the Editor: Send your comments on agriculture-related public issues to opinions@capitalpress.com, or mail your letter to “Opinion,” c/o Capital Press. Letters should be limited to 300 words. Deadline: Noon Monday. Capital Press ag media www.capitalpress.com www.FarmSeller.com marketplace.capitalpress.com www.facebook.com/capitalpress www.facebook.com/farmseller twitter.com/capitalpress www.youtube.com/capitalpressvideo Index Calendar 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 “Submit an Event.” Calendar items can also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR 97301 or emailed to newsroom@ capitalpress.com. Through Saturday, July 1 128th Annual Washington State Grange Convention. Ocean Shores Convention Center, 120 W. Chance a La Mer NW, Ocean Shores, Wash. Friday, June 30 Farm Practices to Support Ben- eﬁ cial Insects. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Day 2 of this two-day class will offer a tour of the Wandering Fields farm in the Applegate area. Participants will practice identifying beneﬁ cials and observe how a blend of hedgerows, cover crops, ﬂ owering seed crops and native plants creates a system of biological pest management. Participation on Day 1 on June 9 is a requirement to attend the tour. Cost: $15 one/$25 two from the same farm. Website: http://bit.ly/ JacksonSmallFarmDream. Bark Beetle Field Day. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. University of Idaho Extension Kootenai County ofﬁ ce, 1808 N. Third St., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Participants will get ﬁ rst-hand expo- sure to major bark beetles’ biology and research into controlling bark beetles. Pre-register by June 23. Cost: $20 ($22 with a credit card at www.uidaho.edu/BarkBeetle) Web- site: www.uidaho.edu/extension/ forestry Friday-Tuesday June 30-July 4 St. Paul Rodeo. Rodeo Arena, 20045 Fourth St. NE, St. Paul, Ore. The St. Paul Rodeo will continue to bring a slice of the old West to the north Willamette Valley. Infor- mation: (503) 633-2011, tickets@ stpaulrodeo.com, Website: http:// www.stpaulrodeo.com/ Saturday-Tuesday July 1-4 Molalla Buckeroo Rodeo, 815 Shirley St., Molalla, Ore. The Molalla Buckeroo Rodeo has been an Ore- gon tradition since September 1913. 503-829-8388. Website: http://www. molallabuckeroo.com/ Eugene Pro Rodeo. 4 p.m. to mid- night on July 1-3, 7:30 to 10 p.m. July 4. Eugene Rodeo Grounds. 90751 Prairie Road, Eugene, Ore. Fireworks each night. Website: http://www.euge- neprorodeo.com/ GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE www.oxarc.com Thursday-Sunday July 6-9 Marion County Fair. Oregon State Fairgrounds, 2330 17th St. NE, Salem, Ore. Website: http:// www.co.marion.or.us/CS/Fair Friday-Saturday July 7-8 2nd Annual Prineville Truck and Tractor Pull. 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday. Crook County Fairgrounds, 1280 Main St., Prineville, Ore. Web- site: www.crookcountyfairgrounds. com Idaho State Ram Sale. Twin Falls County Fair Grounds, 215 Fair Ave., Filer, Idaho. The “Suffolk Show of the West” begins at 6 p.m. Friday and continues at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. For more information, call 208-344-2271 or email idahowool@ gmail.com Website: idahowool.org Wednesday, July 12 Blueberry Field Day. 1-5 p.m. North Willamette Research and Extension Center, 15210 NE Miley Road. Aurora, Ore. Find out about the latest research in blueber- ries. http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ NWREC/ Friday, July 14 Ag One Community Salute. 6-9 20 Northwest Locations p.m. Fresno Convention Center Ex- hibit Hall, 700 M St., Fresno, Calif. The event’s 18th edition is the ﬁ rst to honor a family and will spotlight third-genera- tion member Tina Borba and her sons, Ross Jr. and Mark, as well as Mark’s wife Peggy Brown-Borba. Proceeds will beneﬁ t the Ag One Ross Borba Sr. Family Endowment established in 1990, which supports deserving Fres- no State students pursuing Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology degrees. Website: http:// bit.ly/2qLfdLD Friday, July 14- Sunday, July 30 California State Fair. 10 a.m.- 10 p.m. Cal Expo Center, 1600 Ex- position Blvd., Sacramento, Calif. Website: www.castatefair.org/ Saturday, July 15 Washington State Sheep Pro- ducers Ram and Ewe Sale. 1:30- 6 p.m. Grant County Fairgrounds, 3953 Airway Drive NE, Moses Lake, Wash. For questions, call 509-200-2112. Email: wssp@gmx. com Farm to Table Dinner and Auc- tion. 5:30-9 p.m. Oregon Garden, 879 W. Main St., Silverton, Ore. Guests to this event will savor the ﬂ avors of the season with food donated from local farmers picked at the peak of 1-800-765-9055 ripeness and prepared by Chef Daryl Gossack at Loustic Catering. Tickets are on sale now at our website or by phone. Through June 17 tickets are $85 per and $95 after June 18. The event is presented by Bonaventure Senior Living and all proceeds will feed people in our community through Mar- ion-Polk Food Share. Website: http:// bit.ly/2qth9a1 Saturday-Sunday July 29-30 47th Annual Great Oregon Steam-Up. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Power- land Heritage Park, 3995 Brooklake Road NE, Brooks, Ore. Packed with vintage power, this annual event cel- ebrates the steam power, machines and people who drove Oregon agriculture, logging, transportation and more from the 1800s through early 1900s. Get upclose to the team-power farm machinery, vintage trucks, antique cars, logging gear and a working steam sawmill. Kids of all ages will enjoy train and trolley rides, daily parade, huge ﬂ ea market, traditional tractor pulling, machinery demos, threshing and quilt show. This year the featured makes are Aultman-Taylor and Rumely. General admission $12, children under 12 are free. Website: http://www.antique- powerland.com/html/steam-up.html Opinion .................................. 6 Idaho ...................................... 8 Oregon .................................. 9 Washington ......................... 10 California ...............................11 Markets ............................... 13 Dairy/ Livestock ................... 14 Clariﬁ cation In a June 16 story about rattlesnakes, an expert rec- ommended elevating a snake bite above the victim’s heart. However, the Mayo Clinic ad- vises positioning the bite at or below the level of the heart. In any case, seeking prompt medical care should be a priority, the experts agree. Correction policy Accuracy is important to Capital Press staff and to our readers. If you see a misstatement, omission or factual error in a headline, story or photo caption, please call the Capital Press news department at 503-364-4431, or send email to newsroom@capitalpress.com. We want to publish corrections to set the record straight.