February 16, 2018
CapitalPress.com
Olympic athletes to sport Oregon wool
Pyeongchang, S. Korea,
Winter Games underway
Aja Evans, a U.S.
Olympic bobsled-
der, wears the
uniform that will be
featured during the
closing ceremony
of the 2018 Winter
Olympics. The
sweater, hat and
gloves were made
using wool from
Imperial Stock
Ranch in Shaniko,
Ore.
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
When members of Team USA ar-
rived Feb. 9 for the opening ceremony
of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeo-
ngchang, South Korea, they were again
wearing Oregon wool clothing.
Polo Ralph Lauren, an official out-
fitter of the U.S. Olympic and Paralym-
pic teams, has partnered with Imperial
Stock Ranch in Shaniko, Ore., to make
this year’s Team USA uniform sweat-
ers, hats and mittens using U.S. wool.
It took approximately 25,000 pounds
of raw grease wool to make the clothing
for U.S. Olympic athletes for the open-
ing ceremony on Feb. 9 and the closing
ceremony on Feb. 25.
All of the items were knitted with
Imperial Stock Ranch American Meri-
no yarn, a program launched in 2015
with the National Spinning Co. in North
Carolina. Imperial Stock Ranch also
provided the wool for Olympic sweat-
ers at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi,
Russia.
Jeanne Carver, who runs the ranch
with her husband, Dan, said they are
proud and humble to be part of the
Olympic tradition.
“For us, we do work that most peo-
ple don’t know about,” Carver wrote
in an email. “We’re tending the land
and animals that give us fiber, that has
clothed humankind for thousands of
years. To have some of that fiber worn
by the best athletes in America on a
global stage like the Olympics is still
unbelievable for us. It will never stop
being a miracle.”
Imperial Stock Ranch traces its roots
to 1851, when homesteader Richard
Hinton arrived in central Oregon from
the Willamette Valley.
Hinton raised sheep, cattle, grain
and hay, and by the early 1900s he was
the state’s largest individual land and
Polo Ralph Lauren
livestock owner.
Though sheep numbers have de-
clined over the decades, the ranch has
managed to stay in the commercial
wool business. In 1999, Imperial Stock
Ranch shifted from selling raw wool
to wool products, such as yarn, which
Carver said has opened several new
markets.
It was the summer of 2012 — during
the Summer Olympics in London —
when Carver said they first got the call
from Ralph Lauren looking for wool
for its “Made in America” Olympic
uniforms.
That deal changed the future of the
ranch, she said, with hundreds of de-
signers and companies suddenly inter-
ested in doing business.
“We added market channels and
continue to grow in each,” Carver said.
“The visibility that resulted from Ralph
Lauren telling our story strengthened
opportunities with our supply chain
partners and broadened our impact.”
Carver said she does not know how
long the relationship with Ralph Lauren
will continue into the future. Mean-
while, she said the ranch continues to
focus on its agricultural operations,
supporting local markets and U.S. man-
ufacturing.
Last year, the ranch was also the first
in the world to be certified under the
voluntary Responsible Wool Standard,
focused on sustainable land practices
and animal welfare.
Coverage of the 2018 Winter Olym-
pics on NBC will continue through the
closing ceremonies.
Proposed Oregon rural
reserve change dies quickly
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
SALEM — A proposal to
reclassify 1,700 acres in Or-
egon’s Washington County
from a rural reserve to an ur-
ban reserve was killed shortly
out of the gate.
Under House Bill 4075,
the land could have been in-
cluded in the Portland metro-
politan area’s “urban growth
boundary” instead of being
shielded from development
for 50 years.
After the bill’s first public
hearing on Feb. 8 before the
House Agriculture Commit-
tee, proponents and critics of
HB 4075 learned it would go
no farther.
The committee’s chair-
man, Rep. Brian Clem, D-Sa-
lem, said the bill was too
“problematic” for a thorough
vetting during 2018’s short
legislative session.
“This bill will not be mov-
ing forward this session in this
committee,” Clem said.
Many of the arguments for
and against HB 4075 were
familiar in Oregon’s ongoing
land use debate.
Supporters claimed more
development in burgeoning
Washington County would
fuel Oregon’s economic “en-
gine” of high tech develop-
ment, which shouldn’t be sac-
rificed for the “sacred cow” of
preserving farmland.
Detractors argued that ur-
banization should become
more concentrated before
spreading out, saving not only
farmland but the agricultural
infrastructure — such as ma-
chinery and input suppliers —
needed to sustain the industry.
California FFA
gears up for
state convention
By Luke O’Leary
and Hunter Andrade
This year California FFA has challenged FFA
members across the state to remain anchored in
service, values and agriculture.
In April California FFA members will make their way
to Anaheim for the 90th Annual State Leadership
Conference that will be held for the first time at the
Anaheim Convention Center.
FFA Members will hear the words of our keynote
speakers Jesse LeBeau and Brett Culp, who will inspire
members to ACTIVATE their inner leader and inspire
them to bring change to their communities.
California FFA also has the honor to welcome two
National FFA officers, California’s own Breanna
Holbert, the 2017-2018 National FFA President and
Gracie Furnish, the Easter Region Vice President.
The National Officers as well as Visiting State Officers
and Collegiate Presenters will host workshops for FFA
Members to attend while at the convention. These
workshops will motivate FFA members while
educating them as to what California FFA as well as
the National FFA Organization have to offer students
in terms of their development of premier leadership
7
From left to right are California FFA State Secretary Genevieve Regli,
State Sentinel Bobby Marchy, State Vice President Jasmine Flores,
State President Luke O’Leary, State Treasurer Armando Nevarez and
State Reporter Hunter Andrade. They will be leading the state
organization’s annual convention, which will be held April 22-25 in
Anaheim this year.
and personal growth with the ultimate goal of career
success.
Another added feature to the California State
Convention is the expansion of the career show and
expo. Universities and companies from across the
nation will be present in Anaheim to share with FFA
members the opportunities that await them after their
time in the blue and gold has come to a close.
The career show and expo will be a highlight for
members that are eager to explore what the agriculture
industry has to offer in the future. However, there is
plenty that the industry will offer while at the
convention. Urban Agriculture will have a strong
presence as students from across California will have
access to tours in the area that will highlight areas of
agriculture that many have yet to experience in
southern California.
Another highly anticipated feature is the included
Disney’s California Adventure exclusive event that is
included with registration. On the final night of the
convention, FFA Members from all over California
will flood Disney’s California Adventure and celebrate
the year of remaining anchored in service, values and
agriculture, all while looking towards the future as
members activate their potential and make waves in
their communities.
Luke O’Leary is the California state FFA president,
and Hunter Andrade is the state FFA reporter.
However, the discussion
over urban and rural reserves
also has another dimension
due to the a “grand bargain”
struck by lawmakers four
years ago.
The concept of reserves
became part of Oregon’s land
use law in 2007, when the
Legislature passed Senate Bill
1011 aiming to improve the
metropolitan region’s long-
term growth planning.
In 2012, the state’s Land
Conservation and Develop-
ment Commission approved
the rural and urban reserve
designation developed by
Portland’s Metro regional
government and the counties
of Washington, Clackamas
and Multnomah.
Two years later, though,
the Oregon Court of Appeals
ruled that LCDC had made
several errors in its approval,
which threatened to greatly
prolong the reserve designa-
tion process.
That
court
decision
prompted Oregon lawmak-
ers in 2014 to pass a com-
promise bill establishing
urban and rural reserves,
effectively bypassing the bu-
reaucratic process for such
designations.
Opponents of the HB 4075
claim that “a deal is a deal,”
but if lawmakers go down
the road of altering the 1,700
acres in Washington County,
it will be difficult to reject fu-
ture adjustment requests.
“This break of a settlement
jeopardizes the reserves,” said
Mary Kyle McCurdy, deputy
director of the 1,000 Friends
of Oregon conservation
group.