4
CapitalPress.com
December 1, 2017
Wheat acreage leads the
field in Pacific Northwest
Region’s top crop
with 4.1 million acres
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — When it comes
to farming, Idaho is famous
for potatoes, Washington for
apples and Oregon for its
greenhouse and nursery crops.
But when you combine the
three states, the Pacific North-
west is, or at least should be,
more famous for wheat, said
Idaho Wheat Commission
Executive Director Blaine Ja-
cobson.
Sean Ellis/Capital Press FIle
With the help of USDA Wheat is harvested in a field near Nampa, Idaho, on Aug. 3. Wheat
National Agricultural Statis- is by far the No. 1 crop in terms of acreage when Oregon, Idaho
tics Service employees, Ja- and Washington are combined as a region.
cobson found that in terms of
acreage, wheat is by far the
Jacobson also compiled a National Small Grains Col-
top crop in the PNW.
list of the infrastructure that lection, USDA’s Agricultur-
NASS data shows that on supports the region’s wheat al Research Service Wheat
Genomics Program and the
an acreage basis, wheat was industry.
tops in the three-state region
That includes eight wheat Wheat Marketing Center.
Jacobson said he has been
in 2016 with 4.1 million acres breeding programs, seven
of winter and spring wheat. wheat breeders and two wheat sharing that information with
Hay was second with 3.3 mil- geneticists and 80 people who trading partners to show them
lion acres, followed by barley, work full-time on those wheat how committed the region is
grass seed, corn and potatoes. breeding teams.
to wheat.
“It’s a wheat region,” said
“The big story to our over-
It also includes five wheat
Jacobson. “In terms of acre- quality labs, 35,000 square seas customers is that wheat is
age, wheat is tops in the Pacif- feet of greenhouse space, 50 such a dedicated crop in the
ic Northwest.”
wheat nurseries and variety Pacific Northwest,” he said.
According to NASS, trial locations, and 100,000 “It helps them appreciate the
Washington growers harvest- test plots.
importance of wheat here in
ed 2.2 million acres of wheat
The wheat industry is the PNW.”
in 2016, Idaho growers har- supported by a large amount
Growers and wheat in-
vested 1.1 million acres and of other resources, Jacob- dustry leaders contacted by
Oregon growers harvested son said, including the PNW Capital Press said the acre-
Wheat Quality Council, the age numbers showing wheat
797,000 acres.
is the region’s top crop are
encouraging but they were
more impressed with the in-
frastructure that supports the
industry.
All of those resources are
in place to ensure the region
produces high-quality wheat,
which is what enables the re-
gion to compete on a global
scale, said Idaho wheat farm-
er Jerry Brown, a member of
the IWC’s board of directors.
“The PNW is extremely
committed to quality wheat
because that’s what our cus-
tomers are demanding,” he
said. “The only reason we
are competitive in the world
is because we sell quality
wheat.”
Steven Wirsching, director
of the U.S. Wheat Associates
West Coast office in Portland,
said growers invest a lot of
money in wheat breeding pro-
grams as well as other efforts
to ensure high quality.
When it comes to wheat,
“quality is not an accident,
nor is it the result of Moth-
er Nature,” he said. “It’s the
result of the large investment
of money by growers over a
number of years in land grant
universities’ breeding pro-
grams.”
“Quality is the No. 1 prior-
ity of all three commissions,”
said Washington Grain Com-
mission member and farm-
er Dana Herron. “There are
several systems in place to
ensure that happens.”
Investment firm expands with eye for mechanization
Agriculture Capital
buys farms,
facilities in Oregon,
California
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Farmworker shortages are
a mounting concern for West-
ern growers, but Agriculture
Capital has resigned itself to
insufficient labor.
The number of skilled
farmworkers is likely to con-
tinue dwindling, which is why
the investment firm is taking
a comprehensive approach
to reduce its dependence on
them.
“We recognize we’re not
going to have the harvest labor
in the future and we need to
adapt,” said Tom Avinelis, the
firm’s principal.
The first step involves
planting firm blueberries that
ripen uniformly and easily de-
tach from their stem, decreas-
ing damage from machine-har-
vesting.
Those plants are then
carefully pruned to encour-
age strong canes and upright
growth, which also eases me-
chanical harvesting.
Harvesting machines —
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Tom Avinelis, left, principal of Agriculture Capital, examines ad-
vanced fruit-sorting machinery with Jacob Peters, operations man-
ager of HBF Services. Agriculture Capital owns a new blueberry
packing plant near Silverton, Ore., that HBF Services is operating
under contract.
which commonly shake bush-
es to knock off blueberries —
are being perfected to avoid
losing and injuring the fruit.
Manufacturers are also ex-
perimenting with gentler har-
vest techniques, such as dis-
lodging the berries with blasts
of air.
Finally, computerized sort-
ing machines equipped with
advanced infrared optics de-
tect bruised or defective fruit,
diverting it for processing
while the highest-quality blue-
berries are packed for the fresh
market.
“It’s all about systems man-
agement to baby that fruit any
way we can,” said Avinelis.
Since 2014, the investment
firm has bought roughly 4,000
acres of farmland in Oregon
and 5,000 acres in California
that it’s dedicating to high-val-
ue crops.
Most recently, the firm
converted a Christmas tree
seedling facility near Silver-
ton, Ore., into a fresh blueber-
ry packing plant, with plans
to double the building’s foot-
print by next spring.
Apart from decreasing its
reliance on labor, Agriculture
Capital’s mechanically ori-
ented approach to blueberry
farming addresses another
problem: Competition from
foreign producers who pay
lower wages.
Harvesting blueberries by
hand for the fresh market can
cost from 65 cents to $1.20
per pound, depending on
the season, Avinelis said. To
compare, machine-harvesting
blueberries delicately enough
for this higher-value mar-
ket costs from 17 cents to 30
cents per pound.
Blueberries grown on Ag-
riculture Capital’s farmland
will supply roughly half the
capacity of its Silver Moun-
tain Packing Co., so the com-
pany expects to help other
growers adopt its cultivation
practices.
“We see this as investing in
the entire blueberry industry,”
Avinelis said.
Of the investment firm’s
farmland in Oregon, about
1,400 acres are planted to
blueberries and the remainder
are devoted to hazelnuts.
“We feel both these indus-
tries have tremendous poten-
tial,” he said.
For now, Agriculture Cap-
ital is selling its hazelnuts to
other packers. Eventually, it
will probably build its own
facility in line with the firm’s
vertically integrated philoso-
phy, Avinelis said.
Sean Ellis/Capital Press File
Idaho FFA members from around the state meet in Boise in
January 2016. An initiative approved in 2014 has resulted in a
significant increase in FFA enrollment, as well as a boost in the
number of FFA chapters in the state and agricultural education
teachers.
2014 Idaho initiative has
benefited ag education
and FFA programs
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — An initiative
designed to shore up the
state’s ag education pro-
grams has provided signif-
icant benefits since it was
approved during the 2014
Idaho Legislature, support-
ers say.
The Idaho Ag Education
Initiative garnered more
than $1 million in addition-
al ongoing state funding for
agriculture education pro-
grams.
It was backed by the Ida-
ho FFA Association, Idaho
FFA Alumni Association
and Idaho FFA Foundation
and was supported by the
state’s farming industry.
The Legislature ap-
proved an annual $25,000
start-up grant for ag edu-
cation programs and creat-
ed common Idaho quality
standards for all ag educa-
tion programs and $10,000
incentive grants based on
those standards.
Lawmakers increased
“added cost” funding —
money provided by the
state for costs associated
with certain programs that
are above normal class-
room costs — for ag edu-
cation classes from $10,260
to $15,000 per full-time in-
structor.
They also approved
funding for a full-time FFA
Association executive di-
rector. That position had
been part-time.
“There has been signifi-
cant growth in the program
since” the initiative passed,
said Steve Wilder, an FFA
instructor at Meridian High
School. “The number of
FFA members and teachers
has gone up, there has been
great reward from those
grants and the full-time FFA
coordinator has had some
definite benefits.”
According to Idaho FFA
Executive Director Clara-
Leigh Evans, there were
3,965 FFA members and 81
chapters in the state in 2014
and there are now 4,708
members and 95 chapters.
During 2014, there were
120 agricultural and natural
resource teachers in Idaho
and there are 148 now.
There were 45 appli-
cations this year for the
$10,000 incentive grants and
30 were awarded, and four
new programs were started
this year, said Marc Bietia,
co-chair of the Idaho FFA
board of directors and an ag
education teacher at Ameri-
can Falls High School.
“The initiative has been
successful. FFA member-
ship has increased and so
has overall enrollment in ag
education classes,” he said.
But Bietia said the real
success of the initiative, in
his opinion, is increased
communication with the lo-
cal community and agricul-
tural industry that has result-
ed from the review process
that is part of the incentive
program.
In his American Falls ag
education program, up to 50
local businesses have input
into what students are taught
and the ag industry directly
influences the curriculum.
“I think that the most
valuable part of the whole
process is the line of com-
munication developed be-
tween the program, our
administration and our
stakeholders,” he said. “That
was the intent of the (incen-
tive program) all along.”
The incentive grants have
helped increase the quality
of ag education programs,
said Shawn Dygert, who
teaches ag education classes
at Kuna High School.
“We’re rewarding pro-
grams for pushing toward
excellence,” he said.
His program is using an
incentive grant to help fund
a major capital improvement
on its greenhouse.
“It’s really helping,” he
said of the initiative. “We’re
seeing program improve-
ment and enrollment in-
creasing.”
Bietia said initiative sup-
porters will meet with other
stakeholders to discuss the
possibility of seeking addi-
tional ag education funding.
LEGAL
Livestock nutrition company wins $3.85 million from ex-employee
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
An Oregon livestock nu-
trition company has won a
judgment of $3.85 million
against a former employee
LEGAL
PUBLIC LIEN SALE
U-STORE SELF STORAGE
Salem, Oregon
Sat, December 9, 2017 10AM
1501 Hawthorne Ave NE
Keyla Almestica Looney, 2C54;
Tina Barlow, 1A04; Gordon R
Bean, 2A65; Debra L Bennett,
2B46; Darrin Cragle , 1G17; Tammy
Delfino, 1E43; Carmen Rocio
Duran Ramirez, RJ14; Linches
Esetok, RE14; Amanda Frechin,
2C65; Michell Graves, 1C41;
SheaAnn Greaves, 2A50; Amber
Jones, 1B15; Jonathon Jones,
2B56; Kevin M Lent, Y1-1; Andrew
McMillan, 2E06; Sam Means, 2B58;
Lynn Medina, 1F06; Joselyn
Oropeza, 2C37; Christy Packer,
1C24; Dustin Patee, 1G16; Haley
Potter, RE19; Kimberly Reitzer,
2C52; Erica Salazar, 2C57; Silas
Scott, Y1-8; Shallone Sheets, 2G03;
Jared Sheridan, 1F42; Brian
Siegmund, 2A71, 2A73; Duane W
Stateler, 1F34; Keith Weddle Jr,
1F47; Vincent K Wilson, 2D51;
Kimberly Wollin, 2B25; Luis Zavala
Santana, 2C39
legal-47-3-4/999
who was found liable for
stealing trade secrets.
Omnigen
Research,
which produces feed addi-
tives that counteract hemor-
rhagic bowel syndrome in
cattle, was founded by Neil
Forsberg, a former Oregon
State University professor.
Roughly 20 percent of
the U.S. dairy herd is treat-
ed with these products, ac-
cording to Phibro, an animal
health company that bought
Omnigen for $23 million in
2012.
Last year, Omnigen filed
a lawsuit accusing a former
employee, Yongqiang Wang,
of using its technology to
“These actions have deprived the plaintiffs
of evidence central to their case and
undermined the court’s ability to enter a
judgment based on the evidence.”
Michael McShane, U.S. District Judge
obtain a patent in China and
start a competing livestock
nutrition business in that
country.
Wang denied relying on
trade secrets obtained from
Omnigen during his eight
years of employment at
the company, which end-
ed in 2013, and countered
that he was falsely prom-
LEGAL
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 98
Notice is hereby given that the following
vehicle will be sold, for cash to the
highest bidder, on 12/11/2017. The sale
will be held at 10:00am by
LITTLE J HOOK INC.
15114 MANNING RD, WOODBURN, OR
2016 FORD FOCUS
VIN = 1FADP3K28GL247245
Amount due on lien $3,320.00
Reputed owner(s)
UTL OR WA CA
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 98
Notice is hereby given that the following
vehicle will be sold, for cash to the
highest bidder, on 12/11/2017. The sale
will be held at 10:00am by
DELFIN’S TOWING
1255 SUNNYVIEW RD NE, SALEM, OR
2007 CHEV SILVERADO PU
VIN = 3GCEK13M87G548953
Amount due on lien $4,640.00
Reputed owner(s)
JESSICA L. FORSTER &
SEAN S. MATHERS
legal-48-2-3/999
legal-48-2-3/999
Attorney:
DAVID B. BECKHAM
319 Sixth Avenue SW
Albany, OR 97321
legal-47-3-1/999
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE STATE OF OREGON
FOR THE COUNTY
OF MARION
Probate Department
IN THE MATTER OF THE
ESTATE OF
Harold L. Hayes, Deceased
No. 17PB08210
NOTICE TO
INTERESTED PERSONS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
that the undersigned has
been appointed Personal
Representative of the above
estate. All persons having
claims against the estate are
required to present them to
the undersigned Personal
Representative in care of the
undersigned attorney at: 319
Sixth Street SW, Albany, OR
97321 within four months
after the date of the first
publication of this notice, as
stated below, or such claims
may be barred.
All persons whose rights
may be affected by the
proceedings in this estate
may obtain additional infor-
mation from the records of
the Court, the Personal Rep-
resentative, or the attorney
for the Personal Represen-
tative.
DATED and first published
November 24, 2017.
Personal Representative:
DORIS M.Hayes
1064 Camelot Dr. S.
Salem, OR 97306
ised a portion of the firm’s
profits.
In May, U.S. District
Judge Michael McShane
ruled against Wang because
he’d destroyed evidence in
the case, including computer
files and emails.
“These actions have de-
prived the plaintiffs of ev-
idence central to their case
and undermined the court’s
ability to enter a judgment
based on the evidence,”
LEGAL
PUBLIC LIEN SALE
U-STORE SELF STORAGE
Albany, Oregon
Sat, December 9, 2017 1PM
1668 Industrial Way SW
Troy Babbit, J017; Teri Barnett,
H063; Chelsey LaMora, H021;
Richard Miano, H006; Minnie
Reimer, E017
legal-47-3-4/999
McShane said in a ruling
granting default judgment to
Omnigen.
McShane has now found
that Wang owes $821,000 for
breaching his contract with
Omnigen, misappropriating
its trade secrets and falsely
advertising the company’s
technology as his own.
However, the judge
tripled that amount, to
$2,463,000, to have a pu-
nitive and deterrent ef-
fect. McShane also tacked
on $92,000 for the sala-
ry paid to Wang while he
was working against the
company and $252,000 for
research projects he sabo-
taged.
Aside from the $2.8 mil-
lion in damages, McShane
has ordered Wang to pay his
former employer more than
$1 million in attorney fees
and costs.
Omnigen has also se-
cured $500,000 of collateral
in Wang’s home in Corvallis,
Ore., to ensure he complies
with an injunction barring
him from using the stolen
trade secrets in China.