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August 25, 2017 CapitalPress.com 9 Oregon Diverse farm keeps grower busy OSU cereals “There’s a rural versus city divide. There’s a lot of things people don’t understand about agriculture, and we want to get people to understand why we do what we do.” By ALIYA HALL Capital Press SILVERTON, Ore. — Karl Dettwyler puts his farm first. The manager of Blue Line Farms, member of the Ore- gon Blueberry Commission and father of two daughters, Dettwyler admits that he doesn’t know how he’s been able to balance his responsi- bilities. “I think you have to have (attention deficit disorder) in order to handle it. It’s like putting fires out, you leave one smoldering until you have time to put it out,” he said. Dettwyler has been on the blueberry commission for 2 1/2 years, and finds the orga- nization valuable. “On the farm anymore, if you want to be relevant, you need to be involved. My Un- cle Bob taught me that it’s important to be involved in the industry,” he said. “You can’t complain if you’re not involved, and I see a lot of growers grumble about this or that but never take the step to be involved.” The commission was es- tablished in 1986 and consists of nine members. The terms are three years with a limit of two consecutive terms. There are 353 growers, and this year the commission is estimating a harvest of 118 million pounds of blueberries. Blue Line Farms hand- picks around 6,000 pounds of blueberries a year. The farm employs five people full-time, including himself, his brother and his cousin. His uncle and father also work part-time. Dettwyler enjoys getting to know people through the commission and helping ad- dress problems that other growers are having. “All of a sudden you hear a commissioner talk about the problems and challenges Photos by Aliya Hall/Capital Press Karl Dettwyler said that being able to eat the fruit his farm has grown is rewarding. Blue Line Farms grows four varieties of blueberries. Manager Karl Dettwyler said that everyone has a different preference for how they like their blueberries and he tries to account for that. he’s having, and even though we’re both blueberry farmers, because of soil tops and their access to labor versus my ac- cess to labor, we’re always learning,” he said. “I’m learn- ing from him, and he’s learn- ing from me, too, hopefully, and together we can help the whole industry.” Beyond blueberries, Blue Line Farms also grows turf type grasses such as perenni- al rye grass and tall fescue, green beans and hazelnuts. However, 7.5 percent of the farm is blueberries. The varieties he grows include El- liot, Liberty, Legacy and Au- rora. Legacy is his favorite. Dettwyler said the most re- ward part of farming is “see- Karl Dettwyler Manager, Blue Line Farms in Silverton, Ore. ing a crop come to fruition.” “There’s challenges, but seeing the different challeng- es and rewards, and being able to eat the fruit when it’s blue. There’s one variety out there that’s so sweet and I love it,” he said about the Legacy variety. Although the blueberry industry has been booming in recent years because of recent health studies revealing the benefits of eating blueberries, Dettwyler has noticed the market leveling off. “There are ways of mit- igating risk, but it depends on how innovative you are,” he said. “If you sit back and say ‘that’s the market’ and don’t do anything innovative, you’re going to have to ride out the highs and the lows, if you can.” His innovative examples included a roadside blueberry stand or talking to a different packer or to the commission about new ways to promote blueberries. Dettwyler encourages farmers to get involved and share their story. “There’s a rural versus city divide,” he said. “There’s a lot of things people don’t understand about agriculture, and we want to get people to understand why we do what we do.” Regulators seek to offer water loans About $20 million may be available for water projects By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Oregon’s water regulators are proposing to devote more of the money in the state’s $20 million water supply develop- ment fund to loans. During the first round of funding last year, nearly $9 million was dis- bursed from the fund entirely in the form of grants. After those disbursements, there was $5 million remain- ing in the fund, to which Or- egon lawmakers appropriated $15 million this year. The Oregon Water Re- sources Department, which administers the fund, plans to spend that $20 million over the next three years. Of the 32 applications for funds in 2017, only three sought money in the form of loans — and those were to provide “matching funds” for their grant proposals, said Kim Ogren, the agency’s senior wa- ter resources development ad- visor. To “incentivize” more loan applications, OWRD is con- templating setting aside rough- ly half the funds available for the 2018 and 2019 funding for loans, Ogren said. About $6 million of the fund is expected to be spent during 2017, leaving $14 mil- lion for the remaining two years unless more money is appropriated by lawmakers. In 2015, the Oregon Legisla- ture authorized $30 million to SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL a separate water development loan fund, but nobody applied for the money. It’s possible the lack of in- terest was due to a requirement that borrowers compensate OWRD for the cost of adminis- tering the loan program, which would result in a higher interest rate, said Racquel Rancier, the agency’s senior policy coordi- nator. That requirement doesn’t exist for the $20 million wa- ter supply development fund, which could make such loans more attractive, she said. Mem- bers of the Oregon Water Re- sources Commission, which oversees the agency, appeared to have a lukewarm reaction to the proposal during an Aug. 17 meeting. Commissioners questioned whether OWRD wanted to take on the added responsibility involved in issuing loans and overseeing their repayment. “We’re going to be very risk averse as we practice these loan reviews,” said Tom Byler, the agency’s director. The agency would be bet- ter off not assigning a specific proportion of the fund to loans, said April Snell, executive di- rector of the Oregon Water Re- sources Congress, which rep- resents irrigation districts. The commission should “flesh out” the idea of dedicat- ing a specific amount to loans, considering the amount of funding is already limited and there hasn’t been much enthu- siasm for loans, she said. Commissioners concluded the conversation without mak- ing a decision on the matter. “It will be an ongoing dis- cussion,” said Rancier. By MITCH LIES For the Capital Press Oregon State University Extension Cereals Special- ist and Assistant Profes- sor Mike Flowers has an- nounced that he is leaving the university to take a po- sition with Limagrain Cereal Seeds. Flowers announced his departure on Aug. 8, after signing an offer letter to be- come new products supply manager for Limagrain Ce- real Seeds. He will depart in mid-September and be based in Fort Collins, Colo. “It is a good opportunity for me,” Flowers said. “I am going to get to do something a little bit different, but I still get to be involved with the industry. I’ll be a little bit more ‘behind the doors,’ but I’ll be working with all of their varieties and breed- ers, and bringing new prod- ucts to market, so that is re- ally exciting. “It is just a good opportu- nity to do a lot of the things that I like and also learn a few new skills,” he added. Flowers described Limagrain as “an exciting group to go work for.” “One of the attractive things about them is that they are interested in work- ing with the land grant in- stitutions across the nation,” Flowers said. “They do breeding ex- changes with them, and as they bring new traits to mar- ket, they show the ability to work with the land grants to get those traits put into in- stitutional grant and private breeding programs.” Flowers leaves behind an acclaimed cereals program at Oregon State University that includes wheat breeder Bob Zemetra, plant patholo- gist Chris Mundt, field staff and extension personnel, who work closely with uni- versity-based researchers on field trials. Mundt received the Or- egon Wheat Commission’s 2017 Distinguished Service Award. Flowers received the same award in 2015. Flowers said he plans to complete his 2017 trial work by the time he departs and hopes the university will continue to conduct variety trials that he ran point on for several years. Mitch Lies/For the Capital Press Mike Flowers speaks to participants in a 2014 Oregon State University Extension seed and cereal crop production meeting. He is leaving OSU after a dozen years as the College of Agricultural Sciences Extension cereals specialist. Flowers is taking a position with Limagrain. “I am working with the university and the Oregon Wheat Commission to fig- ure out who is going to take over those variety trials, so they can continue,” he said. “My technical staff is still in place and the funding is there to continue with the work, so I am hoping that the university will continue on those trials for the short term, and, for the long term, replace my position so the industry has that voice there for them.” Flowers said he will miss working with growers. “Working with the grow- ers, and working on practi- cal problems was the most fun part of my job,” he said. “I will definitely miss that.” Flowers holds a Ph.D. in crop science from North Carolina State University, a master’s degree in soil sci- ence from Ohio State Uni- versity and a bachelor of agricultural science from the University of Tennes- see. Before joining OSU in 2005, Flowers worked for the USDA Agricultural Re- search Service’s Plant Sci- ences Research Unit in Ra- leigh, N.C. Limagrain is an inter- national agricultural co- operative based in France specializing in field seeds, vegetable seeds and cereal products. Services & Supplies 2017 Special Section October 6th, 2017 Linn County Fair & Expo Center • Albany, OR Doing Business with the Ag Community? TUE • WED • THU NOVEMBER 14 • 15 • 16, 2017 Equipment Show OVER 350,000 SQ. FT. OF DISPLAY SPACE ADDED 20,000 SQ FT OF INDOOR HEATED SPACE LIMITED VENDOR SPACE AVAILABLE! specialist moving to Limagrain Capital Press Ag Weekly readers will find labor and money saving tips in the 2017 Winter Services & Supplies Special Section. Place an ad in this Special Section and reach Capital Press readers online and in the newspaper with YOUR services and supplies! 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