September 29, 2017
CapitalPress.com
7
Idaho’s 2017 wheat crop 9 percent smaller
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
Oregon
Agriculture
in the
Classroom
expands
By ALIYA HALL
For the Capital Press
HILLSBORO, Ore. —
Money from a successful
2016 tax levy for the Tualatin
Soil and Water Conservation
District will allow Oregon
Agriculture in the Classroom
to expand in Washington
County.
“We are so pleased with
this opportunity for agricul-
tural education to reach some
of the most urban schools in
our state,” said Tammy Den-
nee, president of the Oregon
Agriculture in the Classroom
Foundation, in a press release.
With over 250 schools,
Washington County is the
second most populous county
the state, behind Multnomah
County.
“We work to reach urban
audiences who typically have
the least interaction with ag-
riculture,” Jessica Jansen,
executive director of Oregon
Agriculture in the Classroom,
said. “This expansion is huge
for the program and the urban
area of our state. Washington
County has agriculture indus-
try in it already. It’s a unique
urban and rural blend, and an
easy position to bridge.”
In November 2016, Wash-
ington County voters ap-
proved a tax levy to secure
funding for an expansion of
resources provided by the Tu-
alatin Soil and Water Conser-
vation District.
Education was “a high pri-
ority for development with
funding from the tax base,”
John McDonald, chairman of
the district, said.
“When we learned about
Oregon Agriculture in the
Classroom and the great work
that they are already doing, we
thought a full-time position
and programming dedicated
to Washington County would
be a great way to leverage ex-
isting resources and make an
impact in our local schools,”
McDonald said.
Jansen said the Oregon
Agriculture in the Classroom
Foundation is appreciative of
the partnership with the dis-
trict, as well as for putting its
trust in the program.
The district will sponsor a
full-time position, as well as
provide funding for a lending
library available to Washing-
ton County teachers.
Oregon Agriculture in the
Classroom is a statewide non-
profit organization that pro-
vides resources for educators
to help bring agriculture, the
environment and natural re-
source topics into their class-
rooms.
The program has about 100
lesson plans on its website,
and uses a hands-on approach
to integrate agricultural topics
into the existing curriculum.
Dennee said that it’s im-
portant to not add “one more
thing” for the educators to
teach, but rather provide the
tools to make the topics more
engaging and effective.
“We use agriculture as
a lens to teach science or
math,” Jansen said. “Science
is a natural fit for agricultural
topics.”
She used an example of
talking to students about the
changes in matter through
making ice cream or butter.
“We want to provide
teachers with a resource to
help them inspire students
and make learning fun for stu-
dents,” Jansen said. “That’s
our ultimate goal: To help
bring class to life in a fun and
unique way and help students
become familiar with agricul-
ture. We find after familiariza-
tion it becomes interesting and
engaging, and lends itself well
to starting conversations.”
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
A wheat field near Nampa, Idaho, is harvested Aug. 3. Idaho’s total wheat production in 2017 was
9 percent lower than in 2016 but quality was “superb,” growers and industry leaders told Capital
Press.
age yield — the 2017 number
will be released Sept. 29 —
will be down from last year,
industry leaders and growers
said.
However, quality is excel-
lent, they added.
East Idaho farmer Jerry
Brown said that from what
he’s seen and heard from
growers in his region and oth-
er parts of the state, “This is
one of the best quality years
we’ve had in a long time.”
According to the USDA
National Agricultural Statis-
tics Service, Idaho farmers
produced an estimated 92
million bushels of winter and
spring wheat combined in
2017. That’s down from 101
Pacific Northwest pear crop close to estimates
California’s pears
nearly all sold
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
PORTLAND — The Pa-
cific Northwest pear crop
may pick out near the esti-
mates for this year, says Kev-
in Moffitt, president of The
Pear Bureau Northwest in
Portland.
The crop appears to be
slightly under the Aug. 22
estimate of 18.3 million,
44-pound boxes but still
ahead of the June 1 estimate
of 17.6 million boxes.
Harvest began Aug. 2 in
Medford, with Comice and
Seckel, and is about 60 per-
cent complete. It will end in
late October with d’Anjou in
the upper reaches of the Hood
River and Wenatchee valleys.
“I think Bartlett may
come in a little shorter than
estimated and winter pears
(mainly d’Anjou) maybe
slightly above estimate in
Hood River and slightly be-
low in Wenatchee. So we
come out a little less overall,”
Moffitt said.
This year’s crop being
more normal in development
timing made it a more diffi-
cult to get an accurate June
forecast, he said. It was early
the past two seasons.
Early prices are strong,
overall quality is good and la-
bor is tight with some grow-
ers needing more pickers.
California wrapped up
its harvest of slightly over
3 million, 36-pound boxes
of pears, up 29 percent from
last year due to better fruit set
from better winter chill.
Early fruit from the Sacra-
mento Delta was pretty small,
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
David Flores picks d’Anjou pears near Dryden in Washington’s
Wenatchee Valley on Sept. 11. The Pacific Northwest crop is
about 60 percent harvested.
more had to sell fresh because
of fewer canneries and prices
were low, said Kyle Persky,
sales manager at Rivermaid
Trading Co. in Lodi, Califor-
nia’s largest pear grower and
packer. It handles more than
half the fresh-pack volume.
But later fruit from the
Mendocino District was larg-
er and good quality bringing
good prices, he said.
“Washington didn’t have
as much large fruit, which
gave us a window,” Persky
said. “We lose more custom-
ers to the Northwest every
year.”
The California crop is
close to 80 percent shipped
with several weeks of ship-
ping over 200,000 boxes per
week, “which is good for us,”
Persky said.
“Overall, it’s a fairly de-
cent season given expected
supply and where we’re at
now. We’re pretty happy.
Movement was good and we
have limited time to sell,” he
said.
California is too warm to
grow d’Anjou and doesn’t
store fruit for winter sales.
In 2016, the value of uti-
lized pear production was
$233 million in Washington,
$148 million in Oregon and
$93 million in California.
At 18.3 million, this fall’s
PNW crop is 2 percent above
last year’s and 7 percent be-
low the five-year average.
It’s the fourth year in a row
the crop has been lighter than
average. Hot summers are
suspected of causing greater
spring fruit drop, resulting in
smaller crops.
The Bosc crop is estimat-
ed at 2.5 million boxes, down
19 percent from last year and
down 16 percent from the
five-year average, Moffitt
said. He blamed it on being a
bit more cyclical in bearing,
heat stress and the overall
lighter crop.
Overall fruit size may be
slightly smaller, peaking at
size 90 (90 pears per box) in-
stead of 80, he said. There is
probably a little more fancy
grade versus U.S. No. 1, he
said. Export markets prefer
fancy and smaller fruit, he
said.
Domestically,
smaller
fruit has been selling well in
pouch bags, which is a bright
spot, he said.
Cork — decay-causing
dimples under the skin — is
an issue in Wenatchee and
Hood River, Moffitt said.
Randy Arnold, a Wenatchee
Valley grower, said he prob-
ably has a 2 to 3 percent cork
loss and some growers have
up to 6 percent. It’s caused by
a calcium deficiency in the
soil and fruit, he said.
It’s more difficult to con-
trol pear psylla and mites
without certain pesticides
used in the past, Arnold said.
That results in more un-
healthy trees, which increas-
es susceptibility to cork, he
said.
Six of his annual 24 do-
mestic pickers didn’t come
this year because they knew
his crop was down, he said.
He’s OK on labor but his
neighbor needs 14 more pick-
ers than he has, and others are
operating with less-than-full
crews, he said.
Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom
FALL HARVEST
DINNER & AUCTION
October 21st
5:00 PM
5:00- Appetizers & Silent Auction
6:30- Dinner
7:45- Oral Auction
CH2M Hill Alumni Center
Corvallis, Oregon
Don’t miss this evening featuring Oregon-grown fare, a wide
variety of silent and oral auction items and great company.
Leave knowing you helped Oregon students learn how food,
forests and fiber are produced.
Tickets: $50 each
$400 for Sponsored Table
(8 seats per table)
Send payment to:
Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom
200 Strand Ag Hall
Corvallis, OR 97330
Order tickets online: oregonaitc.org/fall-harvest
Registration deadline October 6!
Event Sponsors:
• AgriCare • Capital Press
• Deerhaven Farms • JTI Supply
• Kirk & Sons Hazelnuts
• Lochmead Farms • Northwest Farm Credit Services
• Northwest Hazelnut/ George Packing Company Oregon
• Wheat Growers League
39-2/102
39-4/HOU
Jessica Jansen
BOISE — Idaho wheat
production in 2017 is 9 mil-
lion bushels lower than in
2016 and the second lowest
level since 2009. But the
overall quality of this year’s
wheat crop may be the best
ever, according to industry
leaders.
“Last year we had re-
cord yields but quality was
(down). This year, the size of
the crop is down but quality
is just superb,” said Idaho
Wheat Commission Execu-
tive Director Blaine Jacob-
son. “It’s one of our best
crops ever.”
“The quality of my wheat
was good and my yields were
good,” said East Idaho grow-
er Gordon Gallup. “Falling
numbers, test weights, pro-
tein. They were all good,
right where they need to be.”
Idaho’s average wheat
yield set a record of 91.3
bushels per acre in 2016, far
exceeding the previous re-
cord of 85.5 bushels per acre
set in 2004. This year’s aver-
million bushels in 2016 and
below the state’s five-year
average of 97 million bush-
els.
Jacobson said protein lev-
els in this year’s wheat crop
were good and falling num-
bers and test weights were
up.
“Our customers should
have no trouble finding the
specifications they want,”
said “Genesee” Joe Ander-
son, a North Idaho grower.
Tough weather conditions
combined to significantly
reduce wheat production in
some parts of North Idaho,
said “Potlatch” Joe Ander-
son, a North Idaho farmer.
He said his farm’s “total
wheat production was about
half of what it was last year.
I’m hearing that from others
as well.”
An extremely wet spring
significantly reduced the
number of spring wheat acres
planted in the region and then
an 81-day stretch with no
rainfall and unusually high
temperatures was tough on
the winter wheat crop, “Pot-
latch” Joe Anderson said.