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July 27, 2018 CapitalPress.com 3 Oregon wheat farmers reeling from massive blaze WSDA The label affixed to organ- ic products in Washington includes an image of George Washington. WSDA eyes new organic fees, logo George’s image on chopping block By DON JENKINS Capital Press OLYMPIA — Washing- ton’s organic fees and logo are due for an overhaul, according to the state Department of Ag- riculture. The department is in the early stages of revising rates to collect more money from the 1,100 organic producers, han- dlers and processors it inspects, certifies and advises. The department also plans to adopt a new label for the state’s organic products, replac- ing George Washington’s im- age with something more dis- tinctively organic, said Brenda Book, organic program super- visor. “We want people to want to use the logo,” she said. “We want to make it a little more modern and up-to-date.” The department has not proposed specific fees or an- nounced a new logo, but hopes to have both in place by the beginning of next year. Book said the department needs to take in more money to keep the program self-supporting and build a cushion, though some businesses may not see their fees rise. “We don’t anticipate in- creases across the board,” she said. A new-look label, different than the USDA organic logo, should help market the state’s products, Book said. The de- partment has been working with a graphic designer, she said. “None of the draft con- cepts include (Washington’s) head anywhere.” The department certifies that organic products meet USDA standards. Annual fees range from $200 for growers with less than $15,000 in sales to $2,200 plus 0.11 percent of gross sales for growers with sales of more than $75,000. The department has a sepa- rate list of fees for handlers and processors. The department’s current budget estimates the depart- ment will collect $6.5 million in fees over two years to sup- port the equivalent of 35.5 full- time positions. The department is not ready to say how much more money it wants to collect. A detailed proposal will be due in the fall. In the meantime, the depart- ment will meet with organic producers, Book said. “We’re still determining what’s that magic number we want to get to,” she said. Fees last had a major over- haul more than 15 years ago. “Salaries and benefits are at a different amount than 15 years ago,” Book said. “We held off as long as we could, to the point we really need to do it now.” The state agriculture de- partment does not have a mo- nopoly on organic certification in Washington. Some 15 other USDA-accredited organiza- tions based outside the state are willing to certify organic farms in Washington, according to a USDA’s National Organic Program database. Substation fire mostly contained after burning 80,000 acres By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press Farmers in north-central Oregon are counting their losses after a massive 80,000- acre wildfire ripped through Wasco and Sherman coun- ties, torching up to a quarter of the local wheat crop. The Substation fire start- ed July 17 on private land southeast of The Dalles and spread quickly, fanned by high winds and fueled by drought. Gov. Kate Brown declared the fire a confla- gration as it jumped the Deschutes River, prompting hundreds of evacuation or- ders. The blaze is now largely contained, though an estimat- ed 1 million to 2 million bush- els of unharvested wheat went up in flames, crushing what was expected to be a bumper crop in some areas. Tana Simpson, associate adminis- trator of the Oregon Wheat Commission, said Wasco and Sherman counties typical- ly produce around 8 million bushels annually. “Certainly, this is a disap- pointing loss for our grow- ers,” Simpson said. The fire also took a deadly turn, killing 64-year-old John Ruby, who was found near a burned tractor. Authorities say Ruby, a longtime Wasco Associated Press A fast-moving wildfire rages across Wasco County southeast of The Dalles, Ore. A 64-year-old man was killed in the fire. County resident and farmer, died while trying to protect his neighbor’s property by digging a firebreak. The Wasco County Sher- iff’s Office is leading an in- vestigation into the cause of the fire, which it described as “incendiary in nature.” Any- one with information should call the Oregon State Police tip line at 1-800-452-7888. Brian Tuck, dryland crops specialist for Oregon State University Extension Ser- vice in Wasco and Sherman counties, said wheat harvest had just begun when the Sub- station fire ignited, bringing normal operations to a stand- still while growers raced to defend their fields. To make matters worse, yields were expected to be higher than usual thanks to timely spring rains, Tuck said, from 55-60 bushels per acre to 80-90 bushels per acre in many areas. “Unfortunately, a lot of that crop is just being burned up here,” Tuck said. Darren Padget, a wheat farmer near Grass Valley and member of the Oregon Wheat Commission, said firefighting is a normal part of the job for farmers and ranchers in cen- tral and Eastern Oregon, but the Substation fire was the biggest and baddest blaze they had seen in years. “We’ll be talking about this for a long, long time to come,” Padget said. When a fire starts, Padget said the first thing farmers do is hook up a disc plow to their tractors and dig fire lines to slow the spread of flames. The Substation fire, however, jumped fire lines like they weren’t even there, Padget said, and kicked up so much smoke he could barely see his hand in front of his face. “We didn’t know what the right move was, at times,” he said. Alan von Borstel, a fel- low Grass Valley farmer, told the Associated Press they experienced day after day of horrendous winds on the fire line, and the inferno also started to create its own wind. “As the fire gets clos- er, you actually start to feel threatened, and if it gets too close, we realize we can’t do it, (and) we get the hell out of Dodge,” von Borstel said. Without farmers, von Bor- stel said the fire would not have been stopped as soon as it was. Nearly all of Oregon is in some stage of drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, including all of Wasco and Sherman counties, which are listed as in “moderate drought.” Blake Rowe, CEO of the commission, said he ex- pects farmers statewide to harvest around 50 million to 60 million bushels of soft white wheat this year, most of which will be exported to Asia to make items such as cakes, crackers and noodles. The amount of wheat lost in the Substation fire will not impact the global mar- ketplace, Rowe said, but no question leaves an economic scar locally — even for those with crop insurance, which covers average yields rather than actual losses. “For some, they lost virtu- ally their entire crop,” Rowe said. “Insurance can help, but it never quite makes you whole.” Looking ahead to post-har- vest, Rowe said the concern will shift to things like soil erosion on the charred land- scape, and replacing forage for livestock in burned pas- tures. “We’ve got a lot of bare, burned acres out there that will need some sort of vege- tation this winter,” Rowe said. Wes Jennings, farm pro- gram chief for the Farm Ser- vice Agency in Oregon, said requests for emergency relief are evaluated on a case-by- case basis. Jennings advised producers to call their county FSA office as soon as possible to determine their next steps. Judge hears oral arguments in Klamath Tribes lawsuit By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press A federal judge in San Francisco heard oral ar- guments July 20 in a case filed by the Klamath Tribes of southern Oregon seeking greater protections for en- dangered sucker fish in Up- per Klamath Lake. The lawsuit, which names the Bureau of Recla- mation, U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service and National Marine Fisheries Service as defendants, requests an in- junction to hold more water in the lake for shortnose and Lost River suckers, a cultur- ally significant food for the tribes. Farmers and ranchers, however, worry the injunc- tion would essentially shut off surface water irrigation in the Klamath Project, cost- ing roughly $400 million in lost annual economic value. District Judge William Orrick did not issue a ruling from the bench, and is con- sidering a motion to transfer the case to a different court. He did not give a timetable for his decision. Mark Johnson, deputy di- rector of the Klamath Water Users Association, said the non-ruling means irrigators in the Klamath Project will be allowed to continue wa- tering their crops — for now. “Things are looking pret- ty promising in the short- term,” Johnson said. The KWUA, Sunny- side Irrigation District and California farmer Ben Du- Val filed to intervene in the tribes’ lawsuit. They argue an injunction would have a devastating effect on local agriculture, and claim there is no scientific evidence linking higher water levels in Upper Klamath Lake with healthier sucker populations. Grass Expertise. LET’S TALK! Over 40 Years Experience GREENWAY SEEDS Caldwell, Idaho • Alan Greenway, Seedsman Cell: 298-259-9159 • MSG: 298-454-8342 Alan Greenway, Seedsman 30-1/108 WHEN PLANTING GRASS SEED UNDER PIVOT, RUN YOUR PIVOT ON A 48 HOUR CYCLE TO START. “It’s all across the board. A lot of it is weather-driven, regardless of lake levels,” Johnson said. “Overall, lake levels to play into it, but they’re not a huge driving factor.” Both the shortnose and Lost River suckers — known to the tribes as C’waam and Koptu — were listed as endangered in 1988. Tribal harvests decreased from more than 10,000 fish in 1968 to 687 in 1985, and today just two suckers are kept every year for ceremo- nial purposes. The Bureau of Reclama- tion manages lake levels for the benefit of suckers under a 2013 biological opinion, or BiOp, along with water de- liveries to the Klamath Proj- ect for irrigation. The agency must also keep enough wa- ter in stream for salmon and steelhead in the lower Klam- ath River. The tribes’ lawsuit, filed in May, claims the bureau continues to operate the Klamath Project “in a man- ner inimical to the continued existence and ultimate recov- ery of the C’waam and Koptu and in direct violation of the (Endangered Species Act).” According to the law- suit, “Dramatic changes to the Klamath River Basin’s hydrology and the rise of agricultural activity within the area since the Project’s inception have caused (Up- per Klamath Lake) to change from eutrophic to hypereu- trophic, that is, from a lake with high nutrient levels to one that is excessively rich in them.” Don Gentry, tribal chair- man, said the intent is not to harm agriculture, but to do what is necessary to protect the fish. We’re just backed into a very serious situation,” Gentry said. “If we don’t do whatever we can to protect the fish, and the fish go ex- tinct, they’re gone forever.” Gentry said Orrick made it clear during the hearing that he would not dismiss the case. Regardless of venue, Gentry said the tribes will be prepared to proceed. Orrick is no stranger to water disputes in the Klamath Basin. Last year, he ruled that more water was needed in the Klamath River to flush away a deadly salmon-killing para- site known as C. shasta. The bureau released 38,425 acre- feet of water April 6-15 and 50,000 acre-feet May 7-28 to comply with the order, delay- ing the water allocation for irrigators until June. If the Klamath Tribes suc- ceed with their injunction for more water in Upper Klam- ath Lake, Johnson said it would essentially shut down surface water irrigation for 230,000 acres in the project. Don Jenkins/Capital Press Cows graze July 19 in southwest Washington. The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that 26 percent of the state, including the south- west, is in a moderate drought. The National Weather Service says the odds favor warmer and drier than usual weather for several more months. Drought expands in Oregon, Washington By DON JENKINS Capital Press Drought conditions are spreading across Oregon and Washington, and an El Nino forming in the Pacific Ocean will tilt the odds in favor of more warm and dry months ahead, federal officials report. The percentage of Oregon in moderate or severe drought was up to 80 percent from 68 percent from the week before, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Meanwhile, a moder- ate drought in Washington ex- panded to 26 percent from 17 percent of the state. Conditions in Idaho and California were unchanged, with 6 percent of Idaho and 44 percent of California in some degree of drought. The Drought Monitor has four stages of drought, ranging from moder- ate to exceptional. Also the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center reported that the odds favor above-average tempera- tures in the four states during August, September and Octo- ber. Looking further ahead, the center puts the chances that an El Nino will form in the Pacific Ocean by November at 70 per- cent. An El Nino, a warming of equatorial sea-surface tempera- tures, usually leads to warmer and drier winters in the Pacific Northwest. Forecasts of an El Nino have missed the mark before. A large amount of warm water below the surface makes fore- casters slightly more confident this time, according to the cen- ter. Drought conditions in Ore- gon are most severe east of the Cascades, where 25 percent of the state has fallen into a “se- vere” drought, the level above “moderate.” In Washington, the mod- erate drought conditions are mostly west of the mountains, though drought conditions ex- tend up the Columbia Gorge as far east as Benton County. Weekly fieldwork report Ore. Item/description (Source: USDA, NASS; NOAA) • Days suitable for fieldwork (As of July 22) 6.8 • Topsoil moisture, surplus 0 • Topsoil moisture, percent short 78% • Subsoil moisture, surplus 0 • Subsoil moisture, percent short 77% • Precipitation probability 40-50% Below (6-10 day outlook as of July 24) Wash. Idaho Calif. 6.9 0 43% 1% 35% 6.9 11% 41% 11% 39% 7 1 72% 0 75% 40% Below/ Normal 40% Below/ Normal 40% Below/ Normal
