Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 20, 2018)
April 20, 2018 CapitalPress.com 5 Oregon governor declares drought in Grant County Second county to receive drought declaration in 2018 By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press The specter of drought is continuing to spread across snow-starved areas of south- ern and Eastern Oregon. Gov. Kate Brown on Friday declared a drought emergency for Grant County, where the John Day Basin has experienced just half its nor- mal snowpack for the year. The USDA Natural Resourc- es Conservation Service is also calling for “well below normal” stream flows head- ing into summer, which could have a significant impact on local farms and ranches. Grant County becomes the second county in Oregon to officially declare drought. The governor already signed a drought declaration for Klam- ath County on March 13. “For portions of Oregon, including Grant County, drought forecasts are already predicting a troubling year ahead,” Brown said. “To min- imize the impacts drought, severe weather and wildfire conditions could have on the local economy, I’m directing state agencies to work with local and federal partners to provide assistance to the Grant County community.” County commissioners passed a resolution March 14 declaring drought, and ask- Senators offer plan to legalize industrial hemp ing the state to follow suit. In a letter to the Oregon Water Resources Department and Office of Emergency Man- agement, the commissioners said seasonal drought within the region could dramatically increase wildfire danger, and result in significant agricul- tural losses. In 2015, Grant County was ravaged by the destruc- tive Canyon Creek Complex, which torched more than 110,000 acres and destroyed more than 40 homes south of Bill would define hemp as agricultural commodity By GEORGE PLAVEN By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Capital Press A bipartisan group of law- makers — including Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley — are pushing to legalize industrial hemp in a bill introduced April 12 in Congress. The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 would define hemp as an agricultural commodity and remove it from the federal list of controlled substances. It would also allow states to become the primary regula- tors of hemp, while opening the door for hemp researchers to apply for USDA grants and hemp farmers to receive crop insurance. Wyden and Merkley, both Democrats, have joined Re- publican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in support of the bill, which they described as common sense legislation to promote jobs and assist American farmers. “By legalizing hemp and empowering states to conduct their own oversight plans, we can give the hemp industry the tools necessary to create jobs and new opportunities for farmers and manufacturers across the country,” said Mc- Connell, of Kentucky. Oregon already has a pro- gram to regulate industrial hemp, established by House Bill 4060 in 2016. The state Department of Agriculture registers hemp farmers and seed producers, and oversees the testing of hemp prod- ucts for human consumption. Products may not exceed 0.3 percent average concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive com- ponent in cannabis. ODA figures show 288 industrial hemp growers reg- istered across the state, along with 107 handlers. Courtney Moran, a Port- land-based attorney who serves as president and lobby- A judge has ordered a controversial Oregon dairy not to interfere with the liq- uidation sale of its cattle herd to satisfy the demands of a creditor. Morrow County Circuit Judge Jon Lieuallen has en- tered a preliminary injunc- tion requiring Greg te Velde, owner of Lost Valley Farm in Boardman, to cooperate with the preparation of an auction scheduled for April 27. The injunction was re- quested by Rabobank, a ma- jor farm lender that filed a lawsuit seeking to foreclose on the dairy’s assets, which serve as collateral for $60 million in defaulted loans. However, it’s possible the preliminary injunction won’t be the last word on the proposed auction of 10,500 cows and 4,000 replace- ment heifers, which is to be conducted by the Toppenish Livestock Commission. Lieuallen said the order Capital Press File ist for the Oregon Industrial Hemp Farmers Association, said she has spent the last year and a half working with Wyden’s office on develop- ing the Hemp Farming Act of 2018. If the bill passes, she said it will help clarify things like interstate transportation and banking for Oregon hemp growers and processors. “We have a very progres- sive yet robust program in our state,” Moran said. “If and when the federal bill does take effect, we have established a very solid framework for our program,” she said. Hemp is used in a vari- ety of products. As a food, both the seeds and leaves can be eaten raw and are a rich source of protein and B vita- mins. Hemp was one of the first plants to be spun into fiber 10,000 years ago, and can be made into clothing, textiles, paper, biodegradable plastics and insulation. In an interview with the Capital Press, Wyden said he was first struck by hemp years ago while visiting a Costco store near his home in South- east Portland. There, He saw a package of hemp hearts for sale, and a thought crossed his mind. “It seems to me that if you can buy (hemp) at a big super- market in Oregon, you ought to be able to grow it here in Oregon,” Wyden said. Wyden has introduced bills to legalize hemp in 2012, 2013 and most recently in 2015, and despite previous defeats, he is more optimis- tic about the fate of the 2018 hemp bill with support from influential GOP allies such as McConnell. As Wyden repeatedly em- phasized, people cannot get high on hemp with its low concentrations of THC. “This is not a criminal jus- tice issue. This is an agricul- tural issue,” he said. “Farmers tell me this is a big opportuni- ty for them.” Moran is similarly opti- mistic about including the legislation in this year’s farm bill. “I think we definitely have our best chance that we’ve ever had,” Moran said. “(Mc- Connell) has a lot of political power, and having his support definitely changes the conver- sation.” In a statement, Merkley said it is past time to move beyond “outdated and frus- trating” restrictions on hemp farming in the U.S. Rep. James Comer, a Re- publican from Kentucky, plans to introduce a compan- ion version of the bill in the House of Representatives. mospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center, Oregon can largely expect above-average temperatures and below-average precipita- tion for the next three months. No other counties have applied for drought relief, according to a spokeswom- an with the Water Resources Department. All major ba- sins statewide are reporting less-than-average snowpack, with the lowest levels in the Owyhee, Malheur and Klam- ath basins of southern Oregon. Judge orders Oregon dairy to cooperate with auction Lost Valley Farm may still file for bankruptcy protection Hemp grows in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators wants to legalize the crop nationwide. John Day and Canyon City. A drought declaration gives the Water Resources Department a few additional tools at its disposal to assist communities and water right holders, such as issuing tem- porary emergency water use permits, water exchanges, substitutions and in-stream leases. The U.S. Drought Mon- itor currently lists most of Grant County in “moderate drought.” According to the National Oceanic and At- Photo contributed by Paloma Ayala Lost Valley Dairy near Boardman. A judge has ordered the owner to cooperate with the sale of cattle from the operation unless he seeks bankruptcy protection. doesn’t prohibit the dairy from filing a petition for bankruptcy protection from its creditors. The dairy’s obligations to cooperate with the auction would be suspended if the company files for bankruptcy protection, unless Rabobank obtains relief from the auto- matic stay on debt collection, the judge said. Lost Valley Farm was controversial even before it began operating a year ago, with environmental groups and others arguing the facil- ity will cause air and water pollution. Citing unauthorized ma- nure discharge and other violations, the Oregon De- partment of Agriculture fined the dairy more than $10,000 earlier this year and then filed a lawsuit to stop the facility from generating waste — which would effectively shut down its operations. That lawsuit was settled when the dairy agreed to gen- erate less than 65,000 gallons of waste a day and maintain open capacity in its manure lagoons. Lost Valley Farm’s trou- bles convinced the Tillamook County Creamery Associa- tion to terminate a milk-buy- ing contract with the facility. Even so, Tillamook has continued to buy milk from the dairy to avoid the “envi- ronmental and animal health risk” of suddenly halting its operations, though the creamery is requiring addi- tional safety testing. OWRD approves emergency rules for Klamath Basin Preferences for stock watering, human consumption By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press With Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declaring a drought emergency in Klamath Coun- ty, the state Water Resources Commission has approved temporary rules granting a preference to water rights for human consumption, such as drinking, cooking and sanita- tion. A second set of prefer- ences was also approved for livestock watering in the Wil- liamson River Basin, provided ranchers meet certain require- ments. Both provisions were approved by the commission during a special meeting April 13. Water rights holders seek- ing to exercise either of these preferences need to submit a notice to the district watermas- ter. Forms can be found online at www.oregon.gov/owrd. Under the rules, water rights that would otherwise be shut off to accommodate senior rights holders will be allowed to continue usage, provided they satisfy criteria for human consumption in Klamath County, or livestock watering in the Williamson River Basin. The commission passed similar preferences in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Tom Byler, di- rector of the Oregon Water Re- sources Department, said the goal is to provide short-term relief during difficult water years. “However, given that it re- duces water available to senior water right holders, it is not a desirable solution for long- term water management,” By- ler said. A complete list of require- ments is available on the OWRD website. For human consumption rights, that in- cludes using the most efficient means of water delivery pos- sible and curtailing all other water uses. As for livestock watering, water diversion is limited to the number of animals not to exceed one-tenth of one cu- bic foot per second, roughly equivalent to 45 gallons per minute, per thousand head. Streams also cannot drop be- low 2 cubic feet per second for live flow. OWRD is working with water users in the Klamath Ba- sin to transition to alternative methods for stock water and human consumption needs, Byler said, so emergency pref- erences will not be necessary in the future. “I am pleased by the prog- ress that has been made, but I strongly encourage water users to complete efforts to develop more permanent solutions to their needs through alterna- tive sources,” Byler said. “Our staff can help explain those op- tions to water rights holders.” ROP-13-5-3/HOU