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June 30, 2017 CapitalPress.com 9 Oregon Chinese trade mission gets taste of Northwest By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press PORTLAND – Time will tell, but Oregon and Washington producers of specialty snacks and drinks hope they made a tasteful impression on a vis- iting trade mission team from China. Makers of cider, wine, mead and beer and vendors of various nut, seed and fruit snacks set up display tables two consecutive days at an event or- ganized June 21-22 by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The China trade group was on its way back from a Fancy Food Show in New York, and the Portland visit was its only other stop. Trade mission members sampled products as they moved from table to table. “There’s been some interest,” said Doug Furlong, who described himself as the “boss nut” of Doug’s Nuts, based in Eugene. He sells nut mix snacks in a variety of flavors and combinations. He said Chinese buyers ap- peared to be looking for upscale Eric Mortenson/Capital Press Paula Phillips, right, president of Portland-based Pure Steeps, extols the virtues of the company’s Wonder Drink Kombucha, a fermented tea, to members of a Chinese trade mission during a June 22 event in Portland. Phillips grew up in Taiwan and speaks Chinese, an advantage in international trade. products and “Everybody likes the packaging.” Paula Phillips, president of Pure Steeps in Portland, offered visitors tastes of the company’s Wonder Drink Kombucha, a fermented tea. One trade mission member took a sip and said it reminded him fondly of a drink served at home in his child- hood. Phillips and company marketing representative Linda Shively said Pure Steeps sells in Hong Kong, but is not yet in mainland China. Their kombucha is organic and shelf stable, and appeals to the Chinese desire for healthful beverages. Phillips grew up in Taiwan and conversed easily with trade mission members. “She can tell you about kombucha in two languages,” Shively said. Holly Witte, of A Blooming Hill vineyard and winery in Cornelius, west of Portland, offered samples of her Pinot noir, Riesling and blush wines. Witte said she’d been researching the Chinese market and “I knew they would love our label.” She said the company has export- ed a bit to China in the past. “What does it take? It takes ex- posure – and a great product,” Witte said. Corrine Konell, of Sandy, Ore., displayed her protein bars made with goats’ milk dairy products. Konell said she is not quite ready to scale up production enough to sell in Chi- na, and most likely would look into Canada and Europe first. But she was interested in gauging reactions to her chewy bars, and was gratified by the buyers’ interest. Adam Carlson, of Seattle Cider Co., joked he was “crashing the par- ty” of Oregon producers. The compa- ny sells hard cider in Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom, and he said China is a promising future market. “You look at how fast the Chinese middle class is growing, and the rise of discretionary income,” Carlson said. China is Oregon agriculture’s fourth largest export market, behind Japan, Canada and South Korea. A minimum of $240 million worth of Oregon ag products is shipped to China annually. The figure is incomplete because some Oregon-grown or manufac- tured goods are shipped from ports in Washington or California, and aren’t counted toward the total. Field day offers tips for potato growers Oregon company sees bright future in tall wooden buildings Potato research discussed during HAREC field day By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press By GEORGE PLAVEN EO Media Group HERMISTON, Ore. — Potato lovers rejoice. Two new spud varieties are com- ing soon to the Pacific North- west. Echo Russet and Castle Russet — developed by the Tri-State Potato Breeding Program that includes Ore- gon, Washington and Idaho — are about ready to be re- leased commercially, accord- ing to Sagar Sathuvalli with Oregon State University. Sathuvalli, a potato breed- er at OSU’s Hermiston Ag- ricultural Research and Ex- periment Center, discussed the traits of each variety with local growers during the sta- tion’s annual potato field day June 21. Both varieties boast high yields and good cooking quality, and can be used ei- ther for french fries or fresh market. Getting to this point is no small feat, Sathuvalli explained. From the time breeding begins to when the potatoes are approved for re- lease, it usually takes 12-15 years of rigorous field trials. Echo Russet — named for the nearby town — and Cas- tle Russet are about to cross that finish line. The Potato Variety Man- agement Institute, which handles licensing and roy- alties for Tri-State varieties, has decided to release the latest creations in December. “We should have approval very soon,” Sathuvalli said. Potato field day also fea- tured updates on research George Plaven/EO Media Group Ryan Graebner, with Oregon State University, passes around potato samples affected by nema- todes during field day at the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center. projects to help farmers control pesky Lygus bugs, manage various diseases and thwart parasitic nematodes. Sapinder Bali, who works with Sathuvalli in the potato breeding program, said they are still working to pin down the specific genes in potatoes responsible for nematode re- sistance. Nematodes are micro- scopic parasites that infect potato roots and suck out the plant’s nutrients, causing both internal and external defects that can make the crop unmarketable. Once the genes are identified, breeders like Sathuvalli can use them to boost the resistance of new varieties in the next decade. “Probably next year, I will have some exciting findings to share with you all,” Bali said. Josephine Antwi, a postdoctoral researcher at HAREC, later transitioned into talking about Lygus bugs and how the insects may af- fect potato yields. There are two species of Lygus bugs in the area that are widely distributed and should not be confused with aphids, Antwi said. What Antwi is still trying to fig- ure out is whether the bugs are capable of transmitting harmful purple top virus, and how many insects are too many for potatoes to handle. “We are trying to relate the presence of Lygus bugs to yield,” Antwi said. The event marked the first potato field day for Ruijun Qin, the station agronomist who was hired last year to replace Don Horneck. Qin recently started field trials with Sathuvalli looking into the best nutrient management practices for Echo Russet and Castle Russet potatoes, so farmers will know what to do and what to expect if they decide to plant the new vari- eties in their fields. Ken Frost, plant pathol- ogist at HAREC, wrapped things up by delving into disease concerns this year. Late blight has an especially high probability of turning up around Hermiston given the region’s cool, wet spring. “We’re going to see it sometime this year,” Frost said. “The problem is we don’t know when or where.” HAREC station manager Phil Hamm said field day is an opportunity for growers to see (and touch) for them- selves how the facility’s research can help them im- prove their success. “This station is about you,” Hamm told them. Freres Lumber Co. of Lyons, Ore., has received a $250,000 U.S. Forest Service grant that will help it gear up for what the company sees as an emerging market: Using wood products in tall building construction. The company will apply the money to buying and in- stalling a computer numeric code — CNC — milling ma- chine for its $23 million Mass Plywood Panel plant that is under construction in Linn County. Mass plywood panels, like cross-laminated timbers, show strong potential for use in tall wooden buildings. En- gineered timber panels can be used for walls and floors, beams and more, and are touted as a carbon-neutral replacement for concrete and steel. Tall wooden buildings are under construction in Portland, and Oregon State University’s forestry and en- gineering programs recently teamed with the University of Oregon’s architecture pro- gram to form the TallWood Design Institute at the OSU campus. It’s the nation’s first research partnership to focus on the advance of structural wood products. The Freres company’s Mass Plywood Plant, set to open in January, will be capa- ble of producing panels that are up to 24 inches thick, 12 feet wide and 48 feet long. The CNC machine uses com- puter-aided design and ma- chining technology to saw door and window spaces in the panels, which are made from layers of veneer. Rob Freres, executive vice president, believes his compa- ny’s product is a better option than Cross Laminated Tim- bers, which are made from joined pieces of lumber. Mass plywood panels re- quire less wood fiber, weigh less and are more versatile, he said. “It does have great prom- ise,” Freres said. He said veneer for the panels can be produced from small trees, the “suppressed understory” that can be har- vested from public forests without the controversy that accompanies old-growth log- ging. The panel plant, under construction halfway between Lyons and Mill City, also provides a way to revitalize rural Oregon, Freres said. It will use “cranes and robots” to move the large panels, but will employ 20 people per shift, he said. “It is exciting,” he said. “We’re part of a cyclical busi- ness, and as such we’ve been very conservative financial- ly. We’ve internally financed this so we don’t have bankers keeping us awake at night.” While confident about the company’s move, Freres said the timber industry as a whole won’t recover until changes are made in the management of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management timber. The process needs to make use of what’s available and to stay competitive, he said. “All of this takes forest management and the harvest of trees,” Freres said. In brief Mills chosen for leadership program EO Media Group HERMISTON, Ore. — Mackenzie Mills, who works in sales and account manage- ment for River Point Farms, has been accepted in the 2017- 18 United Fresh Produce In- dustry Leadership Program. Mills was one of 15 can- didates from across the coun- try selected for the program, sponsored by a grant from Du- Pont Crop Protection. During the year-long fellowship, par- ticipants will meet and train with top industry experts. “River Point Farms is very excited for Mackenzie,” said Bob Hale, company president and CEO. “From the many applicants, the 15 people ac- cepted into the program rep- resent the top talent from the top companies in the produce industry. This is a huge honor for her, and an indication of her high talent level.” The United Fresh Produce Industry Leadership Program has graduated more than 200 people since it launched in 1995. For more information, visit www.unitedfresh.org. WE SPECIALIZE IN BULK BAGS! 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