4
CapitalPress.com
July 14, 2017
Researchers refine diagnostic tool
to quickly identify plant pathogen
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
A team of researchers has
developed a method that
speeds up diagnosis of crown
gall disease, which can dam-
age or kill valuable nursery
stock, berry bushes, grape
vines, roses, and nut and fruit
trees.
The testing procedure
marks a “huge step forward”
in eventually allowing grow-
ers to test for crown gall
on-site, providing results in
about 30 minutes, said Jeff
Chang, an associate professor
at Oregon State University.
Now, testing takes about 2.5
hours, with growers taking
or sending plants to OSU’s
plant clinic for identification
of diseases.
There is no cure for crown
gall disease, but quicker,
on-site confirmation of the
pathogen’s presence will al-
low growers to isolate, re-
move and destroy infected
plants, potentially halting the
spread of the disease.
“They can accelerate that
(detection) process and save
on how many plants they have
to throw away,” Chang said.
Crown gall is caused by
a soil-borne bacteria called
Agrobacterium tumefaciens,
which enters plants through
plant tissue wounds caused
by such things as pruning
cuts, boring insects and
freeze damage. The pathogen
genetically modifies plant
tissue, stimulating it to pro-
duce swollen knobs called
galls.
The disease can kill
young plants and disfigure
nursery stock to the point
that it can’t be sold and
Death of Oregon hemp
bills considered ‘mystery’
Hemp legislation
dies despite lack
of opposition or
hefty price tag
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Courtesy Oregon State University
Swollen knobs on the stem of
a woody plant are the sign of
crown gall disease, which can
kill or damage valuable nursery
stock, fruit and nut trees,
grapevines and other plants.
An Oregon State University Or-
egon State University research
team developed a method for
detecting the disease much
more quickly than previous
diagnostic tools.
must be thrown away.
The researchers, fund-
ed by a grant from USDA’s
National Institute of Food
and Agriculture, developed
molecular tools to diagnose
crown gall.
Chang and post-doctoral
researcher Elizabeth Savory
co-wrote a report on the
study. Skylar Fuller, a recent
OSU graduate, designed the
detection mechanism under
Chang’s and Savory’s men-
torship. Other collaborators
were Alexandra Weisberg,
also a post-doctoral research-
er, and Melodie Putnam,
the plant clinic director. The
team used variations of gene
sequences originally devel-
oped by OSU Professor Walt
Ream.
Capital Press
SALEM — Bills that
aimed to bring industrial
hemp into the mainstream of
Oregon agriculture have died
despite lacking strong oppo-
sition or a hefty price tag.
Hemp seed could be test-
ed for purity by Oregon State
University under House Bill
2371, which would also have
brought the crop under an
official OSU research pilot
program.
A new industrial hemp
commission devoted to rais-
ing funds for research and
promotion would have been
created under House Bill
2372, similarly to several
other Oregon agricultural
products.
Both proposals unani-
mously passed the House
Agriculture and Natural Re-
sources Committee in April
but then languished in the
Joint Ways and Means Com-
mittee until the end of the
2017 legislative session.
“It’s the biggest mystery
I’ve ever bumped into in this
building,” said Rep. Carl Wil-
son, R-Grants Pass, the bills’
chief sponsor.
The work of the Oregon
Industrial Hemp Commis-
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Hemp grows in a field in Oregon in this 2016 file photo. Two bills
that would have brought industrial hemp into the mainstream of
Oregon agriculture have died without explanation in the 2017
legislative session.
sion would have been paid
by grower assessments, while
the research and seed testing
program would have “mini-
mal impact” on OSU and an
“indeterminate” cost for the
Oregon Department of Agri-
culture, which could charge
fees to hemp farmers.
“There was zero opposi-
tion and some pretty substan-
tial reasons why they should
pass,” said Matt Cyrus, a
hemp grower from Deschutes
County who lobbied for the
legislation.
Oregon’s hemp industry
finds itself in a “slight gray
area” under federal law, but
HB 2371 would have brought
OSU research activities into
alignment with federal lan-
guage in the 2014 Farm Bill,
which allows some hemp pro-
duction, he said.
“It was more of a techni-
cal housekeeping bill,” Cyrus
said. “It was a fairly important
bill for the industry.”
Without the proposal’s
approval, OSU will be con-
strained in communications
and advice to hemp growers,
said Jay Noller, head of the
university’s crop and soil sci-
ence department.
The university can still
conduct research without the
bill, but it’s not permitted to
provide Extension services to
hemp producers, he said.
“We’re kind of hamstrung
here,” Noller said.
If HB 2371 had passed,
ODA-registered hemp pro-
ducers would have automat-
ically become OSU research
program participants, giving
OSU greater leeway to work
with them under federal law,
he said.
“It means we’ll be waiting
until things get cleaned up,”
Noller said.
When asked about the
hemp bills’ failure, the co-
chair of the Joint Ways and
Means Committee, Sen.
Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin,
said that fewer than “one-in-
three bills were able to move
through the committee and
pass both chambers, due to
time constraints and other
factors.”
Wilson, the bills’ chief
sponsor, said he met with
leaders of the Ways and
Means Committee, as well as
Gov. Kate Brown, to explain
the significance of the legis-
lation.
“I am absolutely stunned
by this development,” Wilson
said. “Everybody in this place
knew what this was about and
what it would do. I can’t fig-
ure out who the enemy was.”
While the industrial hemp
commission would have been
“nice to have,” the statutory
language changes in HB 2371
are imperative to bring Ore-
gon’s hemp industry in line
with federal requirements, he
said.
Wilson said he never re-
ceived any feedback about
why the latter bill shouldn’t
be passed and plans to re-in-
troduce it in 2018.
“I plan to bring this one
back,” he said.
Courtney Moran, attorney
and lobbyist for the Oregon
Industrial Hemp Farmers As-
sociation, said she was equal-
ly mystified by the bills’ de-
mise.
At a Portland farmers’ market, a
young entrepreneur makes his mark
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
Cole Laube, 12, stands ready to greet berry buyers at the weekly
Moreland Farmers’ Market in Southeast Portland July 5. Cole’s
family operates Greens Bridge Gardens in Jefferson, Ore., and
he is allowed to keep the proceeds from selling berries that he
personally picked.
PORTLAND — Remem-
ber all that talk and worry
about the next farmers? Who
are they? Where are they com-
ing from? How will we replace
the retiring generation?
Relax. Kids such as Cole
Laube are already taking charge.
Cole, who is 12, and his
younger brother, Jake, 9, are the
sons of Julie and Jason Laube,
who operate Greens Bridge Gar-
dens in Jefferson, Ore., about 60
miles south of Portland.
The parents grow berries,
vegetables, pumpkins, silage
corn, wheat, grass seed and
more. They have a fruit and
veggie stand at their farm, and
also sell at farmers’ markets
in Salem, Beaverton, Lake Os-
wego, Lebanon and — every
Wednesday — at the Moreland
Market in Southeast Portland.
The boys are part of the
family economy. Jake polished
up some petrified wood pieces
in a tumbler and sold them at
one of the markets. Last week,
Cole was helping his mom at
the Moreland Market as they
sold raspberries, blueberries,
blackberries, tayberries and a
selection of vegetables.
Cole was keeping an es-
pecially keen eye on sales of
Columbia Star blackberries.
He marked containers filled
with berries that he personally
picked, and got to keep the pro-
ceeds from those sales, He esti-
mated he’s earned $50 this sea-
son. His mom said the money
goes into the bank, and there’s a
lesson in the arrangement.
“They go pick it, they
can sell it,” Julie Laube said.
“There are a lot of ways for
kids to make money. I’m not
just going to give it to them.”
The operation may require
some negotiation in the future.
The boys provide the picking
labor, sure, but so far haven’t
been assessed a share of input
costs and so on.
“Right now it’s 100 percent
profit,” Julie Laube said.
Cole said he wants to be a
berry grower when he grows
up, and he’s already showing
an awareness of business prac-
ticalities. He chose to sell Co-
lumbia Star blackberries “be-
cause they’re the biggest berries
my dad grows” and quickly fill
picking containers.
“And they’re thornless,” his
mom added.
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 98
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold, for cash
to the highest bidder, on 7/25/2017.
The sale will be held at 10:00am by
PARKING ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
1768 13TH ST SE, SALEM, OR
2013 CHEV MALIBU
VIN = 1G11B5SA4DF197798
Amount due on lien $3124.00
Reputed owner(s) JAVIER MARTINEZ
AMERICREDIT FINANCIAL
Legal-28-2-1/#4
WE SPECIALIZE IN BULK BAGS!
HAY PRESS SUPPORT:
• Hay Sleeves
• Strap
• Totes
• Printed or Plain
• Stretch Film
(ALL GAUGES)
WAREHOUSE
PACKAGING:
• Stretch Film
• Pallet Sheets
• Pallet Covers
CHERRY AVENUE STORAGE
LOCATIONS:
Albany, Oregon (MAIN OFFICE)
Ellensburg, Washington
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Phone: 855-928-3856
Fax: 541-497-6262
info@westernpackaging.com
.......................................................
CUSTOMER SERVICE
IS OUR TOP PRIORITY!
w w w. w e s t e r n p a c k a g i n g. c o m
28-1/#5
2680 Cherry Ave. NE
Salem, OR 97301
(503) 399-7454
AUCTION
Sat., July 9th • 10 a.m.
• Unit 22 - John F O’Neal
• Unit 41 - Kimberly Rivas
• Unit 46 - Altheria Rabb
• Unit 77 - Garrett Fistere
• Unit 140 - Eric or Jordan
Hagen
• Unit 161 - Jamie and or
Tawnya Newman
• Unit 166 - Stephen Shuck
Cherry Avenue Storage
reserves the right to
refuse any and all bids
legal-28-2-1/#4
BAGS:
• Seed Bags
• Fertilizer Bags
• Feed Bags
• Potato Bags
• Printed Bags
• Plain Bags
• Bulk Bags
• Totes
• Woven Polypropylene
• Bopp
• Polyethylene
• Pocket Bags
• Roll Stock & More!
LEGAL
A truck is greet-
ed by a Mexican
security guard
in June 2016 as
it leaves Mesa
de Otay, Mexico,
and crosses
into the Cargo
Pre-Inspection
point at the Otay
Mesa, Calif., port
of entry.
Courtesy U.S. Custom and Border Protection
9th Circuit rejects challenge
to Mexican truck permits
Past dispute over
Mexican trucks led
to steep tariffs on
farm goods
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
U.S. trucker groups have
failed to convince a federal
appeals court that Mexican
trucks have been allowed into
the U.S. in violation of ad-
ministrative law.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals has ruled that it
lacks the power to overturn
the Federal Motor Carri-
er Safety Administration’s
permits for Mexico-based
long-haul trucking compa-
nies to operate within the
U.S.
In the past, disputes over
Mexican trucks have blown
back adversely on U.S. farm-
ers when their goods were
subject to steep retaliatory
tariffs in Mexico.
Growers reported millions
of dollars in lost sales of po-
tatoes, Christmas trees, tree
fruits and other crops before
the tariffs were lifted in 2011,
when Mexican trucks were
most recently allowed into
the U.S.
The International Broth-
erhood of Teamsters and the
Owner-Operator Independent
Drivers Association claimed
the FMCSA’s permits were
based on a faulty study on the
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold, for cash
to the highest bidder, on 7/26/2017.
The sale will be held at 10:00am by
HILLYER’S STAYTON FORD
11361 MILL CREEK RD SE, AUMSVILLE, OR
2001 FORD F150 P/U
VIN = 1FTNW21F51ED77155
Amount due on lien $2104.47
Reputed owner(s) BURTON BODDA
EQUITABLE FINANCE
Legal-28-2-1/#4
safety of Mexican trucking
companies.
The study, which was a
prerequisite for issuing such
permits, was faulted in an in-
ternal government audit for
basing its conclusions on an
insufficient number of Mexi-
can trucking firms.
However, the 9th Circuit
has ruled that Congress didn’t
impose “any requirements of
sample size or statistical va-
lidity” on the study’s results,
effectively meaning federal
courts have no yardstick to
gauge FMCSA’s decision.
The U.S. trucker groups
had argued that FMCSA’s
permits for Mexican firms
were based on “arbitrary and
capricious” reasoning, con-
trary to the Administrative
Procedure Act.
“However, arbitrary and
capricious review does not
apply in the absence of a
statutory benchmark against
which to measure an agency’s
exercise of discretion,” the
9th Circuit said.
The U.S. and Mexico have
sparred over trucking issues
for 35 years, going back to a
1982 law that blocked entry to
trucks from Mexico because
that country wasn’t providing
access to U.S. trucks.
The North American Free
Trade Agreement was sup-
posed to resolve the dispute,
but the U.S. imposed condi-
tions limiting where Mexican
trucks can travel.
Those restrictions were
lifted by the Bush adminis-
tration in 2007 but were soon
re-imposed when the Obama
administration came into of-
fice.
As a result, Mexico
slapped tariffs of up to 25
percent on $2.4 billion worth
of U.S. goods — including
roughly 100 farm goods —
until the U.S. again agreed
to accept Mexican trucks in
2011, following the comple-
tion of a pilot program safety
study.