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FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2017 VOLUME 90, NUMBER 34 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 arms F THAT RUN THEMSELVES Thinkstock.com Some day, robots and drones will operate autonomously By ERIC MORTENSON Echo, Ore., vineyard owner Lloyd Piercy host- ed fi eld demonstrations of drone technology during the Future Farm Expo. Piercy said the develop- ment and deployment of technology is an “absolute sea change” for agricul- ture. “This is it,” he said. Eric Mortenson/Capital Press A six-rotor, cam- era-equipped drone hovers at a vineyard and blueberry farm during a fi eld demonstration held in conjunction with the Future Farm Expo in Pendleton, Ore. Advocates believe drones, robots and fi eld sensors are revolutionizing agriculture in a way that will reduce labor needs and drastically increase water and input effi ciency. Capital Press P ENDLETON, Ore. — Where is it taking us, all this technology? Where is it taking ag- riculture? If the presentations and demonstra- tions at the recent Future Farm Expo are an indi- cation, it’s taking us to Jaw Drop City. Some of this is already in place: A network of fi eld sensors and software pro- duces a three-dimensional soil map to help with crop selection, tillage and drainage decisions, and variable rate prescriptions for seeding, fertil- izer and irrigation. Activated and directed by the system, unmanned equipment rolls to the fi eld to carry out the farming plan. The machines weed, prune, spray, measure, mon- itor and harvest, sharing information among themselves and working at any hour. One sensor, derived from mili- tary technology used to detect roadside bombs, sniffs the orchard for signs of disease. Out on the range, a rancher pulls a small drone from his saddlebag and sends it aloft to fi nd and count his cat- tle. It reads solar-powered RFID ear tags from the air and The Yamaha unmanned helicopter fl ies over a vineyard during the Future Farm Expo at Echo West Ranch and Vineyard outside Echo, Ore. E.J. Harris/EO Media Group Turn to FUTURE, Page 12 “ In the future, all farm equipment and vehicles will be connected to the internet. They will have a sense of their environment and some form of artifi cial intelligence. (Farm equipment) will look at the environment and act on its own.” Eric Mortenson/Capital Press George Kellerman, chief operating offi ce of Yamaha Motor Ventures and Laboratory Washington Farm Bureau’s D.C. trip cited in pesticide furor WFB CEO agrees: It’s a ‘new day’ By DON JENKINS Capital Press The head of the Washington Farm Bureau said Tuesday that he left a March meeting with the Environ- mental Protection Agency without twisting arms and without knowing whether the agen- cy would prohibit chlorpyrifos, though The New York Times recently reported the meeting as a sign that sympathetic Trump Scott Pruitt appointees collabo- rated with agriculture to save the pesticide from being banned. “There was no undue infl uence,” the bureau’s CEO, John Stuhlmill- er, said. “It’s what you would hope would happen with good govern- ment. People affected by regulations talked about the regulations with the regulators, and the director said, ‘We’ll look into it.’” The Times highlighted the March 1 meeting in Washington, D.C., in a story posted Aug. 18 about the EPA’s contacts with farm groups in the weeks before rejecting a de- cade-old petition to ban chlorpyri- fos, the most widely used pesticide in U.S. agriculture. The Times reported obtaining more than 700 pages of EPA cor- respondence through a Freedom of Information Act request. The EPA redacted many pages, citing attor- ney-client privilege. The records did include EPA notes from the meeting at EPA headquarters with the Wash- ington Farm Bureau’s 10-person delegation. According to The Times, “agriculture industry executives pushed” Pruitt to not remove any more pesticides from the market. The Times story was picked up by environmental websites and oth- er news outlets. CNN posted a story Tuesday under the headline: “EPA documents fuel criticism that politics played part in pesticide decision.” Turn to TRIP, Page 12 Cattle ranchers press for elimination of entire Harl Butte wolf pack By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Both sides of Oregon’s wolf management issue asked Gov. Kate Brown to intervene in ODFW’s handling of con- tinued livestock attacks by the Harl Butte pack in Wallowa County. ODFW staff shot three of the wolves this month and in- tends to kill a fourth as part 1426 Front St. Fort Benton, MT 59442 406-622-3803 www.fbrealty.com of its “incremental” approach to controlling the pack. The pack, thought now to include at least seven adults and three pups, is blamed for eight con- fi rmed livestock attacks since July 15, 2016, all within 9 miles of each other. The most recent was Aug. 16, when a range rider found a dead 450 pound calf on private graz- ing land leased by rancher Todd Nash, who is a Wal- lowa County commissioner and longtime wolf committee chair for the Oregon Cattle- men’s Association. Tracking collar data showed that OR-50, the pack’s alpha male, was at the carcass 15 minutes before the range rider found it. The calf prob- ably had been killed an hour or two earlier, according to an ODFW report. It had more than 100 bites and portions of IRRIGATED HAY FARM: 208 acres located 5 miles E of Harlem, MT. 153 acres of flood irrigated hay, very nice 5-bdrm home, 30’x60’ heated shop, storage shed/ tack room, corrals, and some farm equipment. Good Pheasant hunting area. $571,000. Call Shane Ophus, Broker for details at 406-788-6662. its upper back legs had been torn away. Nash provided a photo to the Capital Press. Nash and OCA Executive Director Jerome Rosa spoke this week with Jason Minor, the governor’s natural re- sources adviser. Rosa said he was encouraged by the con- versation; Minor seemed well informed on wolf depredation Turn to WOLF, Page 12 Courtesy of Todd Nash This calf was killed by Harl Butte wolves on Aug. 16. TWO BLAINE COUNTY FARMS/RANCHES • 1,360 ACRES (+/-) TOTAL • WEST & EAST OF HARLEM , MT THE EAST UNIT- APPROX. 860 ACRES 3 MILES EAST OF HARLEM: Includes approx. 93 acres pivot sprinkler, 160 acres gated-pipe flood irrigation, 213 acres flood irrigated (147-acre pivot sprinkler possible), and 394 acres pasture. $1,170,000. THE WEST UNIT (HOMEPLACE) - APPROX. 499 ACRES 7 MILES WEST OF HARLEM: Includes approx. 250 acres under pivot – 2 sprinklers, 130 ac. flood irrigation, 115 acres grass/ pasture along the Milk River, with home & shop & barn/corrals. $1,080,000. 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