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August 11, 2017 CapitalPress.com 3 Nurseries regain top spot on production list; hops skyrocket By ALIYA HALL Rank/item Capital Press 1 Oregon’s nursery industry has reclaimed the No. 1 spot on the state Department of Agriculture’s list of the Top 20 agricultural commodi- ties for 2016, leap-frogging the cattle industry, last year’s leader in production value. “(The nursery industry) has always historically been number one, and the message is that it’s slowly continued its growth,” Bruce Pokarney, ODA director of communica- tions, said. A new leader at the top was expected, as the cattle industry “tends to be cyclical,” accord- ing to the department. “The strong prices enjoyed in 2014 Production Nursery 701 2. Cattle/calves 3 Hay 4 Milk 661 469 436 5 Grass seed 6 Potatoes 187 7 Wheat 185 8 Pears 181 9. Wine grapes 10 ally a national leader of mi- crobrews.” Pokarney estimated 4 million more pounds of hops were grown in 2016 than 2015, and while the number of growers hasn’t increased acreage was up by about 3,000 acres. The hops market now appears to be stabilizing, and growers don’t expect it to increase at the same rate next year, Michelle Palacios administrator of the Oregon Hop Commission, said. “I think that Oregon has amazing, diverse specialty crops,” Palacios said, “and with being the second largest hop grower in the U.S., it’s an honor to be included (in the top 20).” $909 million (Millions of dollars) 143 Onions Top 10 Oregon ag products, 2016 Source: Oregon Dept. of Agriculture Capital Press graphic 125 and 2015 weakened last year.” At the same time, the hops industry saw an 89 percent increase in production value from 2015 to 2016, pushing it into the top 20 and landing it at No. 15 with $65 million. “We had more planted, and that is a function of demand,” Pokarney said. “Oregon is re- The top 10 commodities are: greenhouse and nursery, cattle and calves, hay, milk, grass seed, potatoes, wheat, pears, wine grapes and onions. Rounding out the top 20 are: hazelnuts, blueberries, Christmas trees, cherries, hops, apples, dungeness crab, eggs, mint for oil and corn for grain. “The top 10 list contains the same names as last year with a slightly altered order,” ODA said. “The potato and wheat industries exchanged positions at number 6 and 7, respectively.” Oregon produces more than 220 agricultural and fi sh- ery commodities, of which 17 have a value of at least $50 million, according to ODA. Greenhouse and nursery products brought in $909 mil- lion, an increase of about $15 million from 2015. The cattle industry fell about $213 mil- lion, or 23 percent, from the previous year to $701 million, according to the department. Other industry increases in production value last year were pears at 19 percent, grass seed at 14 percent, hay at 9 percent and potatoes at 6 percent. After cattle, wheat saw the biggest decrease in production value at 15 per- cent, according to ODA. Oregon is the nation’s leading producer of Christmas trees, hazelnuts, grass seed, blackberries, boysenberries, rhubarb, sugar beet seed and potted fl orist azaleas. ODFW kills 2 wolves for repeated attacks on cattle Capital Press Staff with Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife shot and killed two adult wolves in response to multiple attacks on cattle grazing in Wallowa County. Department spokeswoman Michelle Dennehey said one uncollared wolf was killed Sunday night and a second was shot Tuesday morning. One was shot from the ground and one from the air, she said. ODFW will monitor the situation and could take ad- ditional action if remaining members of the Harl Butte pack continue to attack live- stock, she said. Ranchers in the area have complained about the pack for some time and asked ODFW to kill the entire pack, which included 10 wolves at the end of 2016 and at least seven this past spring. They said the pack operated in an area that put them within striking range of several herds grazing on pub- lic or private land. The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association said the dry summer caused deer and elk to retreat higher into the mountains, making cattle “easy targets” for wolves. Todd Nash, an area rancher and county commissioner who is the OCA’s wolf committee chairman, said he was disap- pointed by ODFW’s decision to kill only two wolves. “We have seen this happen Known Oregon wolf packs Confirmed pack/individual range NOTE: Polygons represent estimated ranges for known wolf packs with radio-collared animals. Portland 395 Pendleton 197 Unnamed Heppner 5 26 Minam Meacham 97 101 Chesnimnus Wenaha Shamrock Snake Walla Walla River N. Emily 82 84 Salem (As of Dec. 31, 2016) Estimated pack/individual range OR30 Desolation 22 Mike Castle/U.S. Forest Service Mt. Emily Catherine 26 84 Harl Butte OR29/36 OR37 20 26 126 Bend Eugene 97 OREGON 20 58 Silver Lake OR25 5 101 Rogue N Keno (status unknown) 25 miles 199 Medford 5 *At least one breeding pair 395 Wolf pack population Pack/area Total Wenaha* Walla Walla* Snake River* Minam* 12 11 9 11 Mt. Emily Meacham* Rogue 8 7 6 Desolation Shamrock Catherine* 1 4 5 Source: Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife before and we fully expect more cattle to be killed. It’s a very unfortunate way to do business,” he said in a pre- pared statement. ODFW confi rmed the Harl Butte pack attacked cattle seven times since July 2016. Ranchers or a hired range rider interrupted attacks seven other times by shooting at wolves, charging them on horseback or Ontario (cont.) Total Keno Heppner Silver Lake OR30 pair Chesnimnus* Harl Butte* N. Emily OR29/36 Lone/misc. Minimum total By DON JENKINS Capital Press announcing its intention to kill two adults. Dennehey, the spokeswoman, said ODFW hopes the remaining pack members will change their behavior. She said ODFW will monitor the situation and share information with pro- ducers and the range rider. At least one wolf in the pack, OR-50, is fi tted with a track- ing collar. Oregon growers checking for heat damage to grapes, berries By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Eric Mortenson/Capital Press White drupelets on a late season raspberry are an indication of sun damage. Extended periods of high heat take a toll on wine grapes, blueberries and other crops. “Vineyards without irriga- tion might be able to handle the heat due to available soil moisture, but others will like- ly see some heat stress, poten- tial sunburn on the fruit, and even leaf desiccation,” Jones wrote on a Linfi eld blog. “Also, one conundrum is that even though it is hot and it should facilitate ripening, it might actually slow it down as the vines often do not get fully back to 100 percent function- ing for some time after a heat event like this.” At King Estate Winery and vineyard outside Eugene, Communications Director Jenny Ulum recounted the observations of Ray Nuclo, the company’s viticulture and winery operations director. Ulum said Nuclo told her grapes don’t accumulate sug- ar during heat waves. “Over time that would be cause for concern, but grapes can weather a few days with no problem,” she said. The degree of sun damage to grapes may vary with the type of trellis system used, Ulum reported. In a “hang- ing” trellis, fruit at the top of the trellis is exposed to the sun. Upright trellis systems provide more protection, with leaves trimmed on the east side so grapes will be exposed to morning sun, but left in place to shield grapes from the hotter midday and after- noon sun. Ulum said Nuclo told her grapes that develop in sun- light tend to be more resilient to sun scald. Clusters that de- velop in the canopy shade and then are hit by strong sun tend to be more easily damaged. Sun damage is less of an issue with Pinot gris grapes than with Pinot noir, Ulum said. Skins of the Pinot gris grapes are pressed off during the winemaking process, so any sunburned skins aren’t in- cluded in the wine. Northwest fi re offi cials said Tuesday that record-dry conditions, continued heat and incoming lightning storms threaten to escalate a worsen- ing fi re season. Some 17 large fi res were burning in Oregon and Wash- ington, with more lightning expected to strike the dried-out region over the next several days. Idaho offi cials reported a dozen active fi res of more than 1,000 acres. “We’re moving from a moderate to a high level of activity across the state,” said Washington Department of Natural Resources wildfi re manager Bob Johnson, chair- man of the Pacifi c Northwest Wildfi re Coordinating Group. “We’re in a position now where our fuels and our weath- er are working against us,” he said. Fire and health offi cials briefed reporters in a confer- ence call on the current status of wildfi res and the outlook. Five large fi res were burning in Washington, while 12 were burning in Oregon. Fires of more than 100 acres in timber- lands or more than 300 acres in rangelands are categorized as large. Moisture levels in heavy vegetation were at record lows and fl ames can be expected to spread rapidly at all elevations, according to a report by the Northwest Interagency Coor- dination Center. Forest Service spokeswom- an Traci Weaver said Washing- ton has had 699 wildfi res so far this season and 89 percent of them were caused by humans. A more normal percentage is 50 to 60 percent, she said. “We need people to be re- ally, really careful out there,” Weaver said. “Our fuels are incredibly dry. We had a wet winter and wet spring, but the faucet is turned off.” Health offi cials said air-monitoring stations showed unhealthy levels of smoke throughout Wash- ington. Some of that smoke drifted south from wildfi res in British Columbia. Weaver and Johnson said the B.C. smoke actually kept down tempera- tures and slowed the spread of fi res in Washington. Winds are expected to ease hazy conditions, but the weather may bring new prob- lems. The National Weath- er Service issued a warning Tuesday that all of Eastern Washington can expect tem- peratures much above normal Aug. 11-15. Thunderstorms are expected to move across the region for the rest of the week, particularly through Southern Oregon. Also Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- ministration reported that July was the fi fth-driest on record for Washington. Records date back to 1885. The percentage of Wash- ington that is “abnormally dry” jumped to 48 percent from 18 percent during the last week of July, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Large fi res in Washington include the 3,120-acre Noisy Creek fi re in the Colville National Forest in north- east Washington. The fi re is not threatening grazing al- lotments, forest spokesman Franklin Pemberton said. “It’s goat-rock country, straight up and down,” he said. The 9,905-acre Diamond Creek Fire 27 miles north- west of Winthrop in Okano- gan County is burning in thick timberland in the Pasayten Wilderness, according to fi re offi cials. The human-caused fi re has been burning since July 23. The 1,150-acre North Fork Hughes fi re is burning unchallenged in the Salmo Priest Wilderness near the Idaho border. Smoke jumpers were dispatched to the fi re, but conditions were too dan- gerous and they have been pulled out. Offi cials said they are working on a plan to man- age the fi re. Grass Expertise. Over 40 Years Experience LET’S TALK! NEW ITEMS! 1 1 / 2 QT. BASKETS and (3) PINT TRAYS 503-588-8313 2561 Pringle Rd. SE Salem, OR Call for Pricing. Subject to stock on hand. Delivery Available 32-3/#7 Oregon berry and grape growers are watching for damage caused by unusually hot weather that settled into Western Oregon and the Port- land area. Excessive heat can blister or sunburn wine grapes, which are still developing and won’t be harvested until September. Late season raspberries may develop white drupelets due to sun scald. Blueberry harvest of mid- to late-season varieties is un- derway, and crop consultant Tom Peerbolt said mature ber- ries may shrivel in the heat, while green berries may not reach full size. “The plant can’t pump enough water, so it shuts down and interferes with sizing,” he said. “Fortunately a lot of the commercial folks have in- stalled cooling systems, and they pay for themselves in an event like this.” He said overhead mist- ing systems cool plants in the fi eld. With temperatures topping 100 in Portland and throughout Western Oregon the fi rst three days of August, some growers ran the misters eight hours a day, Peerbolt said. He said the systems are a large infrastructure expense, but are intended to handle sit- uations of extreme heat. Climatologist Greg Jones, incoming director of Linfi eld College’s wine education pro- gram, said the current heat wave is unusual for its mag- nitude and length, and may turn out to be Oregon’s most extreme since 1981. Northwest wildfi re outlook turns for the worse Large blazes rage, more expected 1 3 1 2 9 10 3 2 7 112 Alan Kenaga/Capital Press otherwise chasing them away. Conservation groups op- posed ODFW using lethal con- trol against the wolves. The Harl Butte Pack is be- lieved to be made up of rem- nants from the Imnaha Pack. ODFW killed four members of that group in March 2016 after multiple attacks. The department issued a lethal control order last week, The Diamond Creek fi re burns July 23 in the Okanogan- Wenatchee National Forest in Washington state. Northwest fi re offi cials warned Aug. 8 that the wildfi re season can be expected to worsen. 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