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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2017 VOLUME 90, NUMBER 47 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 A recipe for giving thanks How farmers fared in producing this year’s holiday feast By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press T he National Turkey Fed- eration — yes, there is such a thing — did a survey a couple years ago and concluded 88 percent of Americans eat turkey for Thanks- giving. This year, the federation predicted we would eat 45 mil- lion turkeys on Thanksgiving Day. No wonder we feel stuffed, which along with a post-meal nap on the couch is one of Thanksgiv- ing’s charming rituals. Producers who grow the food that makes up the Thanksgiving feast acknowledge they have rea- son to give thanks, but can’t help but wish the market was a little more giving. $60 Classic Thanksgiving meal costs less in 2017 141 volunteer shoppers from 39 states participated in this year’s 50 American Farm Bureau Federation survey. The data is 40 Eric Mortenson/Capital Press Turkey time Mark Anderson, who sells pasture-raised poultry from his Champoeg Farm in Oregon’s northern Willamette Valley, said he delivered 800 whole, processed turkeys to New Seasons Market, the Portland-area niche grocery chain that specializes in products that are local or meet other stan- dards favored by foodies. He also had 70 to 100 people Mark Anderson sells pasture-raised poultry from his Champoeg Farm in Oregon’s northern Willamette Valley. visit his farm the weekend before Thanksgiving to pick up pro- cessed turkeys they previously ordered. On-farm sales picked up this year, he said. “I don’t have any live ones walking around, so that’s a good unscientific and based on a typical classic Thanksgiving meal for up to 10 people. AFBF’s survey menu has remained unchanged since 1986. $49.12: Down 1.5% from 2016 $28.74 30 Source: American Farm Bureau Federation Alan Kenaga/Capital Press 20 1986 1990 2000 thing,” Anderson said, meaning the turkeys. But Anderson said it remains difficult to compete on a price basis with turkey processors who 2010 2017 raise large flocks indoors under controlled conditions. The 32nd annual American Farm Bureau Federation price survey estimated that a Thanks- giving meal for 10 cost $49.12 this year, 75 cents cheaper than 2016. Of that, the 16-pound turkey was estimated at $22.38 or about $1.40 a pound. That represents an average retail markup of 13 percent for the turkey, according to USDA. Anderson said that’s the prob- lem. His birds — pasture-raised and farm-processed — cost $4 to $5 a pound. He says they taste better, but he depends on his niche, upscale market to move them at that price. “We’ve got the real deal here, you’ve just got to pay more to get it,” he said. Turn to RECIPE, Page 11 OSP: Surge of wolf killings isn’t organized effort By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press It’s been a bloody year for Oregon wolves, with at least 10 killed under circumstances ranging from authorized “le- thal control” due to livestock attacks and a shooting ruled self-defense, to an unintend- ed poisoning and unsolved poachings. At this point, Oregon State Police have no reason to think there is a concerted action by an individual or group to ille- gally kill the state’s wolves. However, the investigation into the most recent killing, a collared wolf designated OR- 23, is still active, OSP spokes- man Sgt. Kaipo Raiser said. Steve Pedery, conservation director for the Portland-based group Oregon Wild, warned that a “shoot, shovel and shut up” attitude toward wolves has taken hold in rural Ore- gon and become part of the political fault line separating factions of Americans. In Wallowa County, he said, it’s not unusual to see “Smoke a pack a day” bumper stickers. Doug Cottam, ODFW’s Wildlife Division adminis- trator, said the department is “upset and frustrated by the unlawful wolf killings in Ore- gon.” Rewards are offered for information leading to arrests. Courtesy of Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Despite a number of poachings and other suspicious death, Ore- gon State Police say there’s no reason to believe that there’s an organized campaign against grey wolves. “Poaching of any wildlife is wrong and harmful to their conservation,” he said in a prepared statement. Police and ODFW believe the latest wolf was shot Nov. 12 or 13. It was found Nov. 14 in the Chesnimnus hunting area known as Cold Springs, in northeast Oregon’s Wal- lowa County. Tracking collars on wolves are designed to emit a mortality signal if the animal does not move for a certain period of time, ODFW spokeswoman Michelle Den- nehey said. She assumed that’s what led to finding the wolf’s carcass in this case. State police found evi- dence OR-23 was killed by a gunshot, but released no other information. The wolf was part of the Shamrock Pack. In February 2017, a male from the pack, OR-48, died after it bit or tugged on a M-44 trap set by the USDA’s Wildlife Services to kill coyotes. In April 2017, the remains of a male wolf designated OR-33 were found about 20 miles northwest of Klamath Falls in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. A necropsy showed it had been shot. In late October, another collared male, OR-25, was found dead near Fort Klamath in the Sun Pass State Forest. The cause of death was not disclosed. On Oct. 27, in a case that caused an uproar on social media, an elk hunter told Turn to WOLF, Page 11 Northwest winter forecast tilts toward wet, cold La Nina influences new outlook By DON JENKINS Capital Press A new winter forecast, heavily influenced by La Nina conditions, rates the chances of a cold and wet winter in the Northwest higher than a month ago. Washington, in particular, can expect below-average temperatures and above-nor- mal precipitation for Decem- ber, January and February, the National Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Administration’s Cli- mate Prediction Center said. A month ago, the center rated the state’s odds of a cold and wet winter at 50-50. Washington State Clima- tologist Nick Bond said that La Nina almost always leads to a healthy amount of snow- pack to supply water for sum- mer irrigation. “There’s always a chance for a rude surprise, but right now, in terms of water sup- plies for next year, it looks good,” Bond said. The long-range forecast, scheduled to be updated Dec. 21, reinforced the role La Nina, a lowering of Pa- cific Ocean temperatures, will have on the U.S. winter. The new outlook generally Turn to WINTER, Page 11 E.J. Harris/EO Media Group File Freezing fog and rain cover the foothills of the Blue Mountains in Eastern Oregon. A strengthening La Nina is expected to bring a colder and wetter winter to much of the Pacific Northwest.
