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CapitalPress.com
September 22, 2017
Oregon’s organic industry honors its own at awards luncheon
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
PORTLAND — Garry
Stephenson, director of the
Center for Small Farms and
Community Food Systems at
Oregon State University had
some advice recently for the
state’s organic producers.
Stephenson,
keynote
speaker at the annual Oregon
Organic Coalition’s awards
luncheon held in Portland,
said organic producers need
to be at the table when legisla-
tion affecting organic systems
is debated. They also should
be working directly with ag
experts at OSU and should
be involved in the upcoming
search for a new dean of the
College of Agricultural Sci-
ences, he said. Dean Dan Arp
announced he is retiring in
2018.
In an interview after his
talk at the event, Stephenson
said the con-
tinued market
growth of or-
ganic
prod-
ucts, and the
need to support
it, should be
Garry
self-evident.
Stephenson
“I was there
to advocate for more research
money for organic farm-
ing,” Stephenson said. “I’m
surprised I have to ask. We
should be investing in it more
deeply.”
Oregon and the West
Coast are organic production
hot spots. California leads the
nation in organic production
value, Washington is second
and Oregon is fourth with
$269 million in organic sales
in 2016 — a $32 million jump
in two years, according to the
National Agricultural Statis-
tics Service.
University and industry
funding for organic research
projects “makes the engine
run,” but boot-level research
also takes place “on thousands
and thousands of farms every
day,” Stephenson said. “All
that problem-solving that oc-
curs there is the foundation
for advancing these farming
systems.”
Stephenson said farmers
always look upon other farm-
ers with respect, and the fric-
tion between conventional and
organic production doesn’t
happen at that level. Rather,
it is farming systems and such
issues as genetic engineering
and herbicide drift that drive a
wedge between producers.
“The battles we get into in
ag are often about technology,
not science,” Stephenson said.
Individuals and business-
es were honored during the
Oregon Organic Coalition’s
annual awards luncheon. Re-
cipients included operators
on both sides of the urban-ru-
ral divide, such as a Portland
brewpub and a livestock auc-
tion yard in Lebanon, a small
Willamette Valley town.
Awards go to individuals
or businesses that demonstrate
“innovation in organic prac-
tices, service to the industry,
expansion of organic busi-
ness opportunities and overall
achievement in the state’s or-
ganic industry,” according to a
coalition news release.
Winners this year were:
Retailer: Hopworks Urban
Brewery, Portland. Found-
ed by Christian and Brandie
Ettinger, the brewery uses
locally sourced hops that are
certifi ed organic and certifi ed
Salmon Safe. It’s also a Certi-
fi ed B Corporation.
Livestock Farm: Leba-
non Auction Yard, Lebanon.
The facility dates to the late
1940s and was purchased by
the Cowart family in 1987.
It’s considered one of the most
modern livestock facilities in
Oregon, capable of processing
a single animal or a herd. In
2016 it marketed 15,000 head
of cattle plus sheep, goats and
pigs. It was certifi ed in 2015 as
an organic livestock handler.
Organic Certifi er: Steller
Certifi cation Services, Philo-
math. The company, founded
in 2002, certifi es 188 organic
operations nationally. It also
provides organic certifi cation
services to biodynamic farm-
ers and processors, who have
an additional set of standards.
Scientist: Ramon Seidler,
a former professor of microbi-
ology at Oregon State Univer-
sity. He’s also a retired senior
research scientist and GMO
bio-safety team leader with the
federal Environmental Protec-
tion Agency, and prepared the
EPA’s fi rst bio-safety plan for
evaluating genetically engi-
neered microbes and plants.
Processor: Oregon’s Wild
Harvest, Redmond. The busi-
ness uses innovative com-
posting methods and “regen-
erative” farming to sequester
carbon, saves its own seeds
from products it grows and is
non-GMO, organic and bio-
dynamic certifi ed. Ten per-
cent of its land is set aside as
pollinator habitat.
Wholesaler: Bridges Or-
ganic Produce, Portland. The
distribution company works
with mid-size growers in
particular, linking them with
consumers and pursuing a
business model that allows
all stakeholders to make in-
formed decisions and wise
investments, according to the
company website. It partners
with organizations such as
Fair Trade USA and the Sus-
tainable Food Trade Associa-
tion “to promote environmen-
tal responsibility, sustainable
communities and the organic
produce trade.”
Bank seeks dismissal of radish seed lawsuit
Growers seek $6.7
million for lost seed
value, storage costs
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife trail camera photo-
graphs a wolf Aug. 23 in the Blue Mountains of southeast Washington.
Wolves possibly pair up,
kill cow in Washington
WDFW watches to
see if pack forms
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
State wildlife managers are
trying to prevent a second dep-
redation by two wolves who
may have formed a new pack
in northeast Washington.
A wolf that split from the
Dirty Shirt pack and one that
came from British Columbia
have been in northern Stevens
County since at least late July,
according to the state Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife.
State investigators deter-
mined Aug. 31 that one or
both wolves killed a cow in a
fenced pasture.
WDFW wolf policy co-
ordinator Donny Martorello
said Friday the wolves have
not been photographed to-
gether, but a trail camera and
radio-collar data have placed
the wolves in the same area at
the same time. He said the de-
partment has yet to determine
whether they have formed a
pack.
“It’s too early to make that
call. We’ll see if they travel to-
gether a little longer,” he said.
Northeast Washington al-
ready has 15 of the state’s 20
wolfpacks. Most attacks on
livestock by wolves occur in
Stevens County and neighbor-
ing Ferry County.
The Dirty Shirt pack had
13 members at the end of 2016
and was the largest pack in the
state, according to WDFW.
The pack was blamed for in-
juring a calf last October on
a Washington Department of
Natural Resources grazing al-
lotment.
WDFW determined in late
July that the two wolves had
probably met up and alert-
ed the rancher in the area.
WDFW and the producer took
extra measures to protect the
cattle, Martorello said. Since
the depredation, the producer
has added lights around pas-
tures, and the department has
put another range rider in the
area, he said.
The dispersing wolf from
the Dirty Shirt pack was with-
in a mile of where the cow was
grazing for several weeks, ac-
cording to data transmitted by
its collar. The other wolf has
been photographed and wears
a radio collar that no longer
works.
The cow’s remains were
found in three pieces, and the
carcass had been mostly con-
sumed, according to WDFW.
WDFW reported the possi-
ble formation of a pack in its
weekly report on wolf activi-
ties.
The department said it
confi rmed Sept. 5 that a calf
and cow were injured by the
Tucannon pack in Asotin
County in southeast Wash-
ington. Depredations are rar-
er in southeast Washington
than in northeast Washing-
ton. WDFW last confi rmed a
depredation by the Tucannon
pack in April 2016.
WDFW has not document-
ed any new depredations by
the Smackout and Sherman
packs. WDFW killed two
wolves in the Smackout pack
and one in the Sherman pack
this summer to stop attacks on
livestock.
Capital Press
EUGENE, Ore. — A bank
accused of interfering with
radish seed sales is asking a
federal judge to throw out the
lawsuit fi led against it by Ore-
gon farmers.
A group of Oregon radish
seed growers fi led a complaint
earlier this year against North-
west Bank of Warren, Pa.,
seeking $6.7 million in lost
seed value and additional stor-
age costs.
The farmers had grown the
radish seed in 2014 for Cover
Crop Solutions, but the com-
pany became fi nancially de-
funct before paying them for
the crop.
To make matters worse for
the growers, Northwest Bank
fi led a lawsuit against them
seeking to seize the radish seed
as collateral for a $7 million
loan it made to Cover Crop
Solutions.
The farmers prevailed
against the Northwest Bank
last year, when a judge dis-
missed the case, and then fi led
their own lawsuit accusing the
bank of unlawfully fi ling mer-
itless liens and threatening po-
tential buyers to prevent them
from selling the radish seed.
During oral arguments
in Eugene, Ore., on Sept. 7,
Northwest Bank asked U.S.
Magistrate Judge Jolie Russo
to dismiss the lawsuit by the
Radish Seed Growers’ Asso-
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press File
A federal magistrate judge heard arguments Sept. 7 on a bank’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit a group of
Oregon radish seed growers fi led against it. The hearing was at the Wayne L. Morse U.S. Courthouse
in Eugene, Ore.
ciation and two independent
farms.
The growers can’t plausi-
bly claim the bank engaged in
bad faith or improper means
by trying to recover the crop,
according to its motion to dis-
miss.
The bank has an “absolute
litigation privilege” to try to
collect on its loan, even if the
lawsuit was unsuccessful, said
Peter Hawkes, its attorney.
“It’s clear the bank had a
good faith basis to assert a
security interest in the seed,”
Hawkes said. “They had a
right to go to court and have
that adjudicated.”
A federal judge held a trial
to determine whether the bank
held collateral in the seed and
said it was not an “easy call,”
he said.
While the judge ultimately
ruled that farmers had a higher
priority security interest in the
seed, “that does not mean the
bank’s argument was frivo-
lous,” Hawkes said.
Paul Conable, attorney
for the farmers, said the bank
doesn’t need to be a “mus-
tache-twisting villain” to be
held liable for damages to the
growers.
Rather, the bank behaved
recklessly by fi ling inval-
id liens on the radish seed
without conducting a rudi-
mentary investigation of Or-
egon laws governing a farm-
er’s priority security interest
in crops, Conable said.
“It didn’t bother to look
before it fi led those liens,” he
said.
The bank admits it failed
to conduct a reasonable anal-
ysis of Oregon law in a mal-
practice complaint it has fi led
against attorneys who advised
on the loan, Conable said.
Even if it was the attorneys
who made the mistake, that
doesn’t excuse the bank from
liability, he said.
“They’re responsible for
the actions of their lawyers,”
he said.
Similarly, people cannot
avoid punishment for stealing
property or committing as-
sault because the actions were
advised by a lawyer, Conable
said.
“It’s a remarkable argu-
ment and also an argument
that has no support in law,”
he said.
The bank isn’t protected
by the “absolute litigation
privilege” because it hindered
seed sales regardless of its
lawsuit, he said.
Treasure Valley irrigation districts will have good amount of ‘carryover’ water
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — Irrigation water
will fl ow until the middle of
October in many parts of the
Treasure Valley of Idaho and
Oregon, and many irrigation
districts will fi nish the year
with a lot more carryover wa-
ter than normal.
Mountain
snowpacks
reached near-record levels in
many basins in southwestern
RESERVE YOUR SPACE NOW
SAVE 20%
2018 NW AG SHOW
Idaho and Eastern Oregon
last winter and the result was
a plentiful water supply this
year and ample supplies head-
ing into next season.
“It’s been a pretty good
water year,” said Tim Page,
manager of the Boise Project
Board of Control, which pro-
vides water to 167,000 acres
and fi ve irrigation districts in
southwestern Idaho.
Page said the project plans
to cease deliveries on Oct. 16,
which is about a week later
than in recent years.
The project will also fi nish
the year with about 220,000
acre-feet of carryover water,
depending on how much de-
mand there is on the system
between now and Oct. 16.
That’s about 75,000 acre-feet
more than last year.
The Owyhee Project,
which supplies water to 1,800
farms and 118,000 irrigated
PORTLAND EXPO CENTER
JANUARY 3 0 - FEBRUARY 1
LEGAL
CHERRY AVENUE STORAGE
W illamette
V alley
O ilseed
P roducers
A ssoc.
www.wvopa.org
Sign up before Oct. 31, 2017 and Save 20% off
your advertising in the 2018 NW Ag Show Guide,
the Official Program for the show.
Annual Meeting
Notice
To take advantage of this offer, contact your
sales consultant or call 800-882-6789.
Please join us for our annual
meeting and learn about
canola production in the
Willamette Valley.
Roth’s • West Salem, OR
Breakfast provided: 7:30am
Program: 8:00am-10:00am
Please RSVP to Kathy at:
503-559-5901 or
kathyfree17@aol.com
38-2/110
ROP-36-8-4/HOU
SEPTEMBER 28 th
*20% discount will be taken off your total buy in the 2018 NW Ag Show Guide. Discount
must be applied before your advertising publishes and cannot be combined with any
other offer. Discount cannot be applied to previous advertising run in association with
the show. Offer expires 10/31/17.
acres in Eastern Oregon and
part of Idaho, will shut off
about the middle of October,
depending on demand, said
Bruce Corn, a farmer and
member of the Owyhee Irri-
gation District’s board of di-
rectors.
The Owyhee Reservoir
will end the season with
more than 400,000 acre-feet
of carryover water for next
year, Corn said. The reservoir
hasn’t had that much carry-
over water since 2011.
“That pretty much assures
us of a normal water supply
for next year,” Corn said. “If
we have a dry winter, we’ll
still have an adequate amount
of irrigation water for next
year.”
Pioneer Irrigation District
tentatively plans to cease wa-
ter deliveries to its 5,800 pa-
trons on Oct. 6, although the
actual date will be confi rmed
2680 Cherry Ave. NE
Salem, OR 97301
(503) 399-7454
AUCTION
SAT., OCT. 7 TH • 10 A.M.
• Unit AS-19 - Chris Garza
• Unit AS-94 -
William Patrick Floyd II
• Unit 8 - Lisa Pendleton
• Unit 45 - Eric Proctor
• Unit 146 - Bernabe Romero
• Unit 179 - John Codner
• Unit 194 - Steve Esses
• Unit 222 - Ranae Stroud
Cherry Avenue Storage
reserves the right to
refuse any and all bids
legal-38-2-1/102
Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
during a board meeting next
week, said PID Manager
Mark Zirschky.
As of now, it looks like the
district will carry over about
50 percent of its total reservoir
storage water into next season,
well above the normal 20-25
percent total, Zirschky said.
He said the district was
able to get by on natural fl ow
in the Boise River much lon-
ger than normal this year and
therefore didn’t have to use as
much of its reservoir storage
as usual.
The Payette River system,
which provides irrigation wa-
ter to about 160,000 acres,
will end this year with its
reservoirs about 70 percent
full, as opposed to about 50
percent in a typical year, said
watermaster Ron Shurtleff.
“We’re going to go into
this winter very healthy,” he
said. “We could weather a
real short water year and still
come out fi ne on the Payette.”
The Weiser Irrigation Dis-
trict plans to cease water de-
liveries on Oct. 15, it’s nor-
mal cutoff date, said chairman
Vernon Lolley.
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the following
vehicle will be sold, for cash to the
highest bidder, on 10/3/2017. The sale
will be held at 10:00am by
MAIN A.B./LOVEGROVE COLLISION
1230 HOYT ST SE SALEM, OR
2001 VW GTI CP
VIN = WVWDC21J01W162799
Amount due on lien $3305.00
Reputed owner(s)
Alexandria Demers
legal-38-2-1/102