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CapitalPress.com
February 23, 2018
People & Places
Veterinarian has dairy roots
Amber Itle uses her
background to help
promote ID tags for
Washington cattle
Western
Innovator
Capital Press
Tracing disease
She has taken on a job that
will test her communication
skills in both settings. As assis-
tant state veterinarian, Itle leads
the department’s animal dis-
ease traceability program. She
will spearhead the department’s
push to fit every cow in Wash-
ington with a radio-frequency
Amber Itle
Position: Washington assis-
tant state veterinarian
Education: Bachelor’s de-
gree in animal science from
Penn State; doctorate from
the University of Pennsyl-
vania School of Veterinary
Medicine; master’s degree in
animal welfare from the Uni-
versity of British Columbia.
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Family: Husband Jason
Babcock, director of the
Whatcom Community Col-
lege Learning Center in the
Mathematics Department.
They have three children,
ages 2, 5 and 7.
Washington State Department of Agriculture assistant state veterinarian Amber Itle stands outside the
department’s headquarters in Olympia. Her duties include containing animal diseases.
identification device, common-
ly referred to as RFID tags.
The state’s cattlemen do not
unanimously support tracking
every cow electronically. Itle
said she is ready to present the
arguments for RFID tags, but
that ultimately it will be up to
producers to embrace it, or not.
“I’m not going to drag peo-
ple kicking and screaming to
the water trough,” Itle said.
“But I think they’re missing an
opportunity.”
According to the Washing-
ton agriculture department,
only 5 percent of the state’s
beef cows now have RFID tags.
Some 80 percent of the dairy
cows do, but they are at only 40
percent of the dairies.
Itle, along with her boss,
state veterinarian Brian Joseph,
will have to persuade farmers
that electronic tags are in their
economic interest, said Wash-
ington State Dairy Federation
policy director Jay Gordon.
“She’s got the right back-
ground as a vet and farm girl,”
he said. “She has a good way
of talking to producers.”
Farm founded 1816
Itle grew up on the family’s
200-cow dairy in Loretto, Pa.
The dairy processes and de-
livers its milk and milk from
neighboring dairies. The
dairy has gone by the name
Vale Wood Farms since 1933,
but Itles have been farming
in Loretto far longer. Two
brothers, Swiss immigrants
John and Joseph Itle — then
spelled “Itel” — came to
America in 1816, according
to the dairy’s website. John
obtained 5 acres in Loretto
in 1841 and began the family
farm. The farm has grown to
about 500 acres and still in-
cludes the original five.
Itle said she considered a
career on the farm. But other
family members held down
the jobs, and she was ac-
cepted into the University of
Pennsylvania School of Vet-
erinary Medicine. She credits
her father with inspiring her.
“I was really motivated by the
passion he has,” she said.
She said that she and her
husband, Jason Babcock, also
a Pennsylvania native, were
drawn to Washington’s out-
door activities such as skiing
and mountain biking.
Not an attraction, but nota-
ble and relevant to Itle’s posi-
tion: Washington was the first
state to have a case of bovine
spongiform encephalopathy,
or “mad cow.”
The 6 1/2-year-old Hol-
stein was slaughtered on Dec.
9, 2003. A laboratory in En-
gland confirmed on Christmas
Day that the animal, which
had entered the food supply,
was diseased. It took a week
to trace the cow back to its
birthplace, a farm in Alberta,
Canada. Itle said the goal is to
accomplish that task in a cou-
ple of hours.
The state records cattle
movements through brand in-
spections and public auctions,
but metal tags require writ-
ing down numbers on paper,
mailing in the paperwork and
typing the information into
a database. The department
says having that information
electronically scanned would
keep the database up to date
and minimize the spread and
economic damage of a disease
outbreak.
‘Insurance’ in tags
“It’s an insurance program
for the producers,” Itle said.
The Cattle Producers of
Washington opposes manda-
tory RFID tags. The group
Background: Grew up on
the family’s dairy farm in
Pennsylvania.
has several objections. The
reservations include the costs
of scanning equipment, the
durability of electronic tags
and the potential for revealing
propriety information.
The group also says that
because the department has
not presented a plan for tag-
ging all cows, ranchers don’t
know what they’re getting
into if they support inter-
im steps the department has
proposed to replace some
metal tags with RFIDs. The
Washington Cattlemen’s As-
sociation supports the interim
steps, but has not taken a po-
sition on fitting all cows with
RFIDs.
Itle said the transition to
birth to slaughter individual
electronic identification may
take a decade.
“We can’t do it without
industry,” she said. “The last
thing I want to is to force peo-
ple to do something.”
Mid-Valley Winter Ag Fest returns
The Third Annual Mid-Val-
ley Winter Ag Fest returns to
the Polk County Fairgrounds
and Event Center in Rickreall,
Ore., this weekend.
The slate of family friend-
ly events begins at 9 a.m.
Saturday, Feb. 24, when the
fairgrounds and the Polk Her-
itage Museum open to the
public, and continues through
Sunday, Feb. 25, according to
a press release from the orga-
nizers.
Weekend workshops in-
clude:
Saturday, Feb. 24
Mid-Valley Winter Ag Fest
A petting zoo is one of many
activities offered for children at
the Mid-Valley Winter Ag Fest in
Rickreall, Ore.
Calendar
2 p.m.: “Living with Your
Well Water.” Main Building
Seminar Area. Free of charge
with a $5 adult admission to
Ag Fest. Host: Polk Soil and
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 “Submit an Event.” Calendar
items can also be mailed to Cap-
ital Press, 1400 Broadway St.
NE, Salem, OR 97301 or emailed
to newsroom@capitalpress.com.
Write “Calendar” in the subject
line.
Saturday, Feb. 24
Oregon Small Farms Confer-
ence 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Oregon
State University LaSells Stewart
Center and CH2M Hill Alumni Cen-
ter, 200 LaSells Stewart Center,
Corvallis, Ore. The Oregon Small
Farms Conference is a daylong
event geared toward farmers, ag-
ricultural professionals, food policy
advocates, students and managers
of farmers’ markets. Twenty-seven
educational sessions are offered
on a variety of topics relevant to
the Oregon small farmers and in-
clude a track in Spanish. Speakers
include farmers, OSU Extension
faculty and agribusiness represen-
tatives. Website: http://smallfarms.
oregonstate.edu/sfc/registration
Established 1928
Board of directors
Mike Forrester
Steve Forrester
Kathryn Brown
Susan Rana
Mike Omeg
Corporate Officer
Heidi Wright
Chief Operating Officer
By DON JENKINS
Amber Itle got her start in
animal health as a 5-year-old
holding cow tails for her father,
Joe, a veterinarian and dairy-
man.
She was destined to be
a dairy farmer or large-ani-
mal vet. and chose veterinary
school. She went from Pennsyl-
vania farm girl to Ivy Leaguer
to treating livestock in her ad-
opted state of Washington.
After nine years in private
practice in Whatcom County,
she became a field vet for the
state Department of Agriculture
in 2013 and was recently pro-
moted to assistant state veteri-
narian.
Itle, 41, has kept her field
vet position in northwest Wash-
ington. She spent a recent Mon-
day testing chickens for bird flu
at a livestock market.
On other days that week
she was in Olympia at the de-
partment’s headquarters, where
the only bovine is an oddity, a
stuffed two-headed calf col-
lected by Itle during her career
and that she has hanging in an
office.
Sitting in that office, she
said she misses being in the
field.
“Nobody thinks they’re go-
ing to grow up to be a regula-
tory vet,” she said. “My best
work is done on tailgates, not
the office.”
Capital Press
Saturday-Sunday
Feb. 24-25
Mid-Valley Winter AgFest. 9
a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday. Polk County Fairgrounds,
520 S. Pacific Highway West, Rick-
reall, Ore. Join us for family-friendly
events such as a farmers’ market,
face-painting, petting zoo and arti-
san vendors. Also included are an
antique farm equipment display and
a farm succession workshop, which
begins at 11 a.m. Sunday. Cost: $5
(cash only, please), under 18 free.
Website: mvwagfest.com
Monday-Tuesday
Feb. 26-27
Oregon Dairy Farmers Asso-
ciation Annual Convention. Salem
Convention Center, 200 Commercial
St. SE, Salem, Ore. Website: https://
oregondairyfarmers.org
Tuesday, Feb. 27
Water Rights 101 Workshop.
7-8:15 p.m. Hermiston Community
Center, 415 S Highway 395, Herm-
iston, Ore. This workshop will be led
by staff from the Oregon Water Re-
sources Department. It is designed
to give participants a foundational
Water Conservation District.
Bring a cup of well or domes-
tic drinking water for confi-
dential nitrate testing.
3-4 p.m.: “Streamside
Restoration on Your Farm.”
Main Building Seminar Area.
Free of charge w/$5 adult
admission to Ag Fest. Host:
Polk and Yamhill SWCD.
Tips for success and funding
opportunities will be offered.
Sunday, Feb. 25
11 a.m.-1 p.m.: “Farm
Succession Planning Work-
shop.” Main Building Sem-
inar Area. Free of charge
with a $5 adult admission to
Ag Fest. Hosts: Rogue Farm
Corps (Nellie McAdams),
Schwabe Williamson (Joe
Hobson), Greenbelt Land
Trust (Claire Feigner) and
two local farmers.
2 p.m.: “Living with
Your Septic System.” Main
Building Seminar Area.
Free of charge with a $5
adult admission to Ag Fest.
Host: Chrissy Lucas of Or-
egon State University Ex-
tension. Bring a cup of
well or domestic drinking
water for confidential nitrate
testing.
3-4 p.m.: Streamside
Restoration on Your Farm.
Main Building Seminar Area.
Host: Yamhill SWCD (Marc
Bell and Josh Togstad).
Family attractions at
Winter Ag Fest include an
expanded 4-H petting zoo,
a new balloon demonstra-
tion by Joy Entertainers, a
“G” gauge train display and
a working sawmill, demon-
strations all weekend long
by the 4-H horse club, roping
demonstrations by the Ore-
gon Cattlemen’s Association,
Dutch oven cookin and free
face painting.
Local 4-H clubs will also
offer fun contests in Building
B during the weekend.
Early spring plants and
advice will also be available
from the OSU master garden-
ers.
For additional information
go to mvwagfest.com.
Weekend hours are 9 a.m.-4
p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, and 10
a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25.
Adult admission is $5.
Children 18 and under are
free.
GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE
www.oxarc.com
understanding of water rights in
Oregon. Topics will include: priority
date, point of diversion/appropria-
tion, place of use, rate, duty, primary
and supplemental rights, principles
of beneficial use and basic irrigation
district information. Cost: Free. Web-
site: https://oregonwatercoalition.
org/events/
Thursday-Friday
March 1-2
Idaho Hay and Forage Confer-
ence. 8:15 a.m.-5 p.m. Best Western
Burley Inn, 800 N Overland Ave.,
Burley, Idaho. This is the annual
meeting of the Idaho Hay and For-
age Association and includes a trade
show. Website: idahohay.com
Saturday, March 3
BEEvent Pollinator Conference.
8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Linn County Fair
& Expo, 3700 Knox Butte Road E,
Albany, Ore. The 2018 Beevent
will focus on “Creating a Pollina-
tor-Friendly Landscape.” Learn how
to make a more friendly habitat for
pollinators. This conference is a full
day of speakers, vendors and citi-
zens who are concerned about the
plight of our pollinators. Hosted by
the Linn County Master Gardeners.
20 Northwest Locations
Visit http://extension.oregonstate.
edu/linn/beevent for a more detailed
schedule and speaker information.
Hosted by Oregon Bee Project and
Linn/Benton OSU Master Garden-
ers. Cost: $30, with $10 lunch option.
Website: www.linnmastergardeners.
com/tickets.html
Tuesday-Thursday
March 6-8
FSPCA Preventive Controls for
Animal Food. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Hilton
Garden Inn, 1741 Harrison St. North,
Twin Falls, Idaho. The new FSMA
regulation requires every processing
facility to have a trained resource
person who has completed a spe-
cialized training course (such as this
one) developed by the Food Safety
Preventive Controls Alliance that is
recognized by the FDA. Cost: $720/
Individual or $648 per person for 2 or
more. Website: http://www.techhelp.
org/events/400/fspca-animal-food-2-
5-day-course-twin-falls/
Wednesday, March 7
Walnut Training
Update. 9:30-11:30
Ranch, 128 Nichols
land, Calif. Website:
ucanr.edu/
and Breeding
a.m. Nichols
Road, Wheat-
http://cesutter.
1-800-765-9055
Thursday, March 8
Part 2: Farm & Ranch Succes-
sion Planning Workshop. 6-8:30 p.m.
Clackamas Small Business Develop-
ment Center, 7726 SE Harmony Road,
Milwaukie, Ore. This workshop can be
accessed remotely from anywhere in
the state. This program is offered and
taught by the Clackamas Small Busi-
ness Development Center, along with
guest presenters such as attorneys
and CPAs. In addition to informative
topics and experienced ag profes-
sionals, courses include confidential,
one-on-one business counseling. A
complimentary light dinner will start
each evening at 6 p.m. To register, call
503-594-0738. Cost: Free. Website:
http://bit.ly/2CX1jvl
Friday, March 9
Farm, Ranch, and Forest Succes-
sion Planning Workshop in Douglas
County. 5-8 p.m. Lookingglass Grange,
7426 Lookingglass Road, Roseburg,
Ore. To help growers take the next step
in planning, Douglas County Farm Bu-
reau, OSU Extension, and Rogue Farm
Corps are coordinating a Farm and
Ranch Succession Workshop. Cost:
Free (dinner included). RSVP: to Nellie
McAdams: nellie@roguefarmcorps.
org, 971-409-6806
Capital Press Managers
Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher
Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director
Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor
Jessica Boone ........ Production Manager
Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager
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Index
Dairy ...................................... 9
Markets ............................... 13
Opinion .................................. 6
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