Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current, October 20, 2017, Image 2

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Newspaper Page Text2 CapitalPress.com October 20, 2017 People & Places Improving crops, waterfowl habitat Marc Staunton rotates between growing crops and seasonal wetlands Western Innovator By TIM HEARDEN Soil improves The approach has result- ed in higher yields and over- all quality of the crops while enhancing the habitat for mi- gratory birds and other wild- life, Staunton said. He and others argue the project also improves water quality as it drains into the Klamath River. “The basic principle is that when you restore water ... it instantly revitalizes the soil,” Staunton, 32, told about 50 community members during a recent tour of area farms. He said the farmers have been able to reduce nematode and disease pressure without using pesticides. “Increasing your yield be- cause the ground is healthy is a good thing,” Staunton said, adding that growers have also seen an increased population of waterfowl. Staunton has had so much success with the practice that he’s initiated it on about 500 acres of private ground, ro- tating in seasonal wetlands under the guidance of the lo- cal water district and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Over- all, the family farms about 7,000 acres in the Klamath Basin, which straddles the Or- egon-California state line. “I think we somewhat have a niche here because of our ecosystem,” Staunton said in an interview. “It’s not difﬁ cult to return to that nat- Calendar Marc Staunton Saturday-Sunday Oct. 21-22 Home Orchard Society’s All About Fruit Show. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Clackamas County Fairplex, 694 NE Fourth Ave., Canby, Ore. Taste hundreds of varieties of apples, pears, kiwi and grapes. If you find a variety of fruit that you’d like to grow, you can place an order for a custom-grafted fruit tree. Bring your unknown apples for sleuthing by the Apple ID team. Local experts will present on a variety of fruit-growing topics both days of the event. Admission is $7 per person or $12 per fam- ily (members pay $5 each or $10 for families). Website: http://www. homeorchardsociety.org/events/ Wednesday, Oct. 25 Sustainable Communi- ty Stewards Volunteer Train- ing. 6-9:15 p.m. McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE, Ever- ett, Wash. Cost: $30 Website: http://extension.wsu.edu/sno- homish/wp-content/uploads/ sites/7/2012/11/2017-SCS-Appli- cation-form.doc Wednesday-Saturday Oct. 25-28 90th National FFA Convention and Expo. Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind. Website: https://www.ffa.org/ Capital Press Managers Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Jessica Boone ........ Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager Age: 32 Residence: Tulelake, Calif. Occupation: Part-owner, Staunton Farms Family: Wife, Ami; children Parker, 8, Graham, 5, Mar- ley, 3, and Elliott, 1 Tim Hearden/Capital Press Fourth-generation farmer Marc Staunton stands near wetlands on the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Northern California. He and others do rotational cropping on the refuge, which he says replenishes the soil and provides a healthy habitat for migrating birds. ural ecosystem. We put water on a ﬁ eld and all of the sud- den we’re back to seeing the native plants and species that were here 100 years ago.” Area in detail 97 Upper Klamath Lake 140 Calif. Founded in 1927 Staunton Farms was founded in 1927 by Marc’s great-grandfather, a World War I veteran who home- steaded the land and began raising sheep. The family lat- er began growing potatoes, and now potatoes and onions are the main focus, Staunton said. The business is in its 13th year of growing organic crops on some of its acreage, he said. Initiated in 1905, the Klamath Reclamation Project drained the historic lakes and marshes of the Upper Klam- ath Basin to create dry land for farming. In the midst of the project’s development, the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake wildlife refuges were set aside by executive orders in 1908 and 1928, respectively, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1964 Kuchel Act Farms can enter leases or cooperatives with the feder- al government to grow row crops within the refuges as a result of the 1964 Kuchel Act, which allows them as long as they’re conducive to proper waterfowl management. Amid growing pressure from environmental groups to convert the refuges back Sponsored by: To submit an event go to the Community Events calendar on the home page of our website at www. capitalpress.com and click on “Sub- mit an Event.” Calendar items can also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR 97301 or emailed to newsroom@ capitalpress.com. Established 1928 Board of directors Mike Forrester Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Susan Rana Mike Omeg Corporate Ofﬁ cer Heidi Wright Chief Operating Ofﬁ cer Capital Press TULELAKE, Calif. — Fourth-generation farmer Marc Staunton employs one of the most innovative crop rotations in the country. On different segments of a 3,500-acre plot within the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Staunton makes ro- tations based on a four-year cycle. He plants grains, then potatoes and then returns to grains, and in the fourth year he fallows the ﬁ eld and ﬂ oods it to create seasonal wetlands. About 20 years ago, his family’s Staunton Farms helped spearhead a project called Walking Wetlands, in which growers with co-op contracts or leases to farm within the Klamath Basin Na- tional Wildlife Refuges are bringing wetlands back to an area that was once a massive lake. Capital Press Thursday, Oct. 26 UI Cover Crop Field Day. 1:30-5 p.m. USDA-NRCS Gooding ofﬁ ce, 820 Main St., Gooding, Idaho. In- corporating cover crops into crop- ping systems. Cost: Free Thursday-Saturday Oct. 26-28 Washington State Sheep Producers Annual meeting and convention. Hilltop Inn, 928 NW Olsen St., Pullman, Wash. Among the many events on the agenda are presentations by the Wash- ington State University Depart- ment of Animal Sciences, the University of Idaho Department of Animal and Veterinary Sci- ences and by Dr. Brian Joseph, Washington State Veterinarian. Website: www.wssp.org Wednesday, Nov. 1 Sustainable Community Stew- ards Volunteer Training. 6-9:15 p.m. McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE, Everett, Wash. Cost: $30 Website: http://bit.ly/2hjyXC4 Wednesday-Friday Nov. 1-3 Weed Conference. Wenatchee Convention Center, 121 N Wenatchee Ave., Wenatchee, Wash. The conference will feature more than 40 topics and speakers, trade shows, state license and cer- tiﬁ ed crop adviser credits. Website: info@weedconference.org Thursday, Nov. 2 Four-Part Farm and Ranch Succession Workshop 6-8:30 p.m. Online or Clackamas Community College Harmony Campus, 7738 SE Harmon Road, Milwaukie, Ore. Learn from an attorney, an accoun- tant, an appraiser, a banker, the di- Kla 39 Calif. 97 Tulelake Lower Klamath Lake Tule Lake 139 LAVA BEDS NAT’L MON. Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge N 10 miles Capital Press graphic to natural habitat, farmers be- gan to collaborate in seeking ways to improve waterfowl habitat while maintaining food production, Staunton said. The result was the Walk- ing Wetlands project, for which growers now ﬂ ood about 1,100 acres in the Tule Lake refuge and anoth- er 1,100 acres in the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge each year, he said. “We started in 1998 block- ing out farmland so it can be rotated to seasonal wetlands,” Staunton said. “It was a grass- roots effort. We said, ‘Why kick us off of there? Why not work together to develop that system that recognizes your need of increasing wa- terfowl habitat, of increasing their food sources and healthy marsh land, but then also still being able to farm it?’ In turn we’re using less pesticides and less inputs and creating a healthier net environment for both sides.” The project enabled Staunton Farms to develop a “more sustainable” way to grow potatoes by increasing the fertility of the soil through natural nematode and disease suppression, he said. The standing water, decompos- ing plants and bird droppings all make the soil more fertile when it’s put back into produc- tion, Staunton and other proj- ect participants said. “It kind of worked out bet- ter than we could have imag- ined,” he said. “It developed into something we use more widely than just with organic production. It can be used for organic and conventional.” Lawsuit ﬁ led Environmental groups aren’t sold on the concept, however. WaterWatch, Ore- gon Wild and the Audubon Society of Portland ﬁ led suit earlier this year in U.S. Dis- trict Court in Medford, Ore., to force the refuge managers to phase out farming in their 15-year conservation plan so more water could be reserved for wildlife. Current management practices in the refuges have “reduced wetland habitat for important bird migrations on the Paciﬁ c Flyway, increased disease, and increased the distribution of noxious weeds instead of plants suitable for waterfowl,” the groups alleged in the lawsuit. Staunton counters that wet- lands and farming together provide a valuable food source for birds while creating “a via- ble source of food and ﬁ ber for the greater West Coast region.” “I think it’s extremely im- portant to have sustainable food that is locally grown,” he said. “I feel like farmers are much more environmentalist than they think themselves to be or are given credit for be- ing.” As for how well ﬂ ood-fal- low irrigation works outside the refuges, Staunton said it depends on the landscape of the area. He said the practice has been embraced by other farms that rely on a lease of federal land as part of their op- eration. But doing so on private ground can be more difﬁ cult, he said. “The infrastructure is not as developed, so when you’re ﬂ ooding a ﬁ eld, there’s a fair amount of infrastructure that needs to occur there,” Staunton said. “Also, trying to create a wetland around neigh- bors poses a fair amount of challenges. “If a neighbor is getting water shut off (because of drought), we’re not going to go ﬂ ood our ﬁ eld,” he said. Having naturally been a lake bottom with vibrant soil and a refuge for migratory wa- terfowl, the refuge land was ideal for the project, he said. Short of recreating the mas- sive lakes, the project is a good alternative for waterfowl, he argues. “We can’t go backwards,” he said. “What we can do is improve on what we’ve been given.” GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE www.oxarc.com rector of Oregon State University’s Austin Family Business Program and farmers who’ve been through the process. Receive free one-on- one succession counseling ses- sions between each event. Part one of four parts. Cost: Free. Website: http://bit.ly/2elYcPx Monday-Tuesday Nov. 6-7 Washington Dairy Conference & Trade Show. Yakima Convention Center, 10 N. Eighth St., Yakima, Wash. Annual meeting activities, plus time to catch up with fellow produc- ers, sponsors and exhibitors. The Dairy Women will host their scholar- ship auction. Both the Dairy Federa- tion and the Dairy Women will hold annual membership meetings. The Dairy Farmers of Washington will hold their board meeting. Website: http:// wastatedairy.com/ Wednesday, Nov. 8 Sustainable Community Stew- ards Volunteer Training. 6-9:15 p.m. McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE, Everett, Wash. Cost: $30 Website: http://extension.wsu.edu/ snohomish/wp-content/uploads/ sites/7/2012/11/2017-SCS-Applica- tion-form.doc Wednesday-Thursday Nov. 8-9 United Dairymen of Idaho-Dairy West Annual Meeting. Boise Center, 850 W. Front St., Boise, Idaho. This year’s theme is “Pioneers by Nature” and includes an expo, Milk Quality Awards banquet, presentations and the Dairy Hall of Fame banquet. Website: http://idahodairy.com/annual-meeting/ Friday, Nov. 10 Central Oregon Ag Seminar. 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Pronghorn 20 Northwest Locations Resort, 65600 Pronghorn Club Drive, Bend, Ore. Join friends and colleagues in Central Oregon at the annual ag seminar in the Bend area presented by Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt; Harvest Capital; and Geffen Mesher. Topics Include Organizing Your Agri-Business; Organizing Your Finances and Financial Statements; Water Rights: Knowing What You Have and Making the Most of Them; Organizing Your Affairs: Estate Plan- ning for Farms and Ranches; and Organizing for Tax Effects: Entity Selection and Dissolution. Website: RSVP at http://bit.ly/2y92rtc Saturday-Sunday Nov. 11-12 OFB Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Conference. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Ore- gon Farm Bureau ofﬁ ce, 1320 Capitol St. NE, Salem. Keynote speakers will be Kim Bremmer of Ag Inspirations, a nationally recognized motivational speaker who will discuss communica- tion and advocacy in agriculture, and Derek Pangelinan of Derek Rey Con- sulting, the developer of “The 6 Per- spectives of Leadership,” a model for teaching leadership skills. Speakers include Mary Anne Cooper, OFB Pub- lic Policy Counsel; Jenny Dresler, OFB Director of State Public Policy; Doug Hoffman, Wilco president and CEO; Joanne Humphrey of Aldrich CPAs and Advisors; Sarah Brown of Oregon Tilth; Andrea Krahmer of Northwest Farm Credit Services; John Williams of Oregon State University Extension, Wallowa County; Jana Peterson of the Oregon Department of Forestry; and Stacy Davies, Country Natural Beef and Roaring Springs Ranch. Cost: $40 for Farm Bureau members age 16-35. Website: http://oregonfb.org/ yfrconference 1-800-765-9055 Tuesday-Wednesday Nov. 14-15 Washington Farm Bureau Annual Meeting. Yakima Convention Center, 10 N. Eighth St., Yakima, Wash. Web- site: www.wsfb.com Tuesday-Thursday Nov. 14-16 Willamette Valley Ag Expo, Linn County Fair & Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road E, Albany, Ore. The expo is over 250,000 square feet of exhibitors, equipment, seminars, classes, food and fun. The Ag expo is put on each year by the Willamette Valley Ag Association. The WVAA is a nonproﬁ t and proceeds from the Ag Expo go toward the association’s college scholarships. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday. Website: www.wvaexpo. com Thursday, Nov. 16 Four-Part Farm and Ranch Suc- cession Workshop 6-8:30 p.m. Online or Clackamas Community College Harmony Campus, 7738 SE Harmon Road, Milwaukie, Ore. Learn from an attorney, an accountant, an appraiser, a banker, the director of Oregon State University’s Austin Family Business Program and farmers who’ve been through the process. Receive free one-on-one succession counseling sessions between each event. Part two of four parts. Cost: Free. Website: http://bit.ly/2elYcPx Friday, Nov. 17 Denim and Diamonds Dinner Auction. 5-9 p.m. Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland. This is the premier fundraiser for Oregon Aglink. Web- site: aglink.org Entire contents copyright © 2017 EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing ofﬁ ces. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Circulation ......................... 800-882-6789 Email ........ 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Capital Press ag media www.capitalpress.com www.FarmSeller.com marketplace.capitalpress.com www.facebook.com/capitalpress www.facebook.com/farmseller twitter.com/capitalpress www.youtube.com/capitalpressvideo Index California ................................ 9 Idaho .....................................11 Markets ............................... 13 Opinion .................................. 6 Oregon .................................. 8 Washington ......................... 10 Correction In a story on page 5 of last week’s editions about pro- moting the dairy industry, the name of the Smoky Mountain Pizzeria Grill was incorrect. The Capital Press regrets the error. Correction policy Accuracy is important to Capital Press staff and to our readers. If you see a misstatement, omission or factual error in a headline, story or photo caption, please call the Capital Press news department at 503-364-4431, or send email to newsroom@capitalpress.com.