STAYING SAFE ON THE FARM AND RANCH PAGES 9-10
Capital Press
A g
The West’s
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2018
Weekly
VOLUME 91, NUMBER 36
WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM
$2.00
Emily Cooper, of Full Cellar
Farm at Headwaters Farm,
is in her fifth year of the
incubator program and
also serves as the care
taker for the farm.
Desiree Bergstrom/Capital Press
GETTING
STARTED
Headwaters Farm
For Nicki Passarella, left, and Irina
Schabram Headwaters has allowed
them to begin farming with low start-up
costs and low risk.
“
It is not that easy
to find land that you
can farm on, and then
the capital of getting
started has been a little
bit prohibitive as well.”
— Irina Schabram
Incubators, extension programs and seeking
advice are among the ways new farmers can
overcome barriers facing them.
By DESIREE BERGSTROM
Capital Press
RESHAM, Ore. — On the
outskirts of this Portland sub-
urb, a red barn and several
small farm fields huddle along
a gravel driveway.
Lush green plants covering the plots con-
trast with the dusty dull grays of the gravel
road, highlighting the well-cared-for farm
and the crops of vegetables, herbs and flow-
ers.
Welcome to Headwaters Farm. Managed
by the East Multnomah Soil and Water Con-
servation District, it is a farm incubator — a
place where aspiring farmers can lease small
G
parcels of land and rent equipment to get
their farms going.
For Irina Schabram and Nicki Passarella,
Headwaters has allowed them to begin farm-
ing with low start-up costs and low risk.
“It is not that easy to find land that you
can farm on, and then the capital of getting
started has been a little bit prohibitive as
well,” said Schabram. “So all the equipment
here, the wonderful lease we have, the fact
that we have a riser right at our field and we
can pump water onto our field … just made
it a dream come true for somebody who
wants to try this out.”
Schabram and Passarella are part of a
new generation of farmers. They didn’t
grow up in agriculture, yet they are intent on
learning the profession so they can grow the
nation’s food and fiber as the current genera-
tion of farmers retires.
It is an uphill battle. The number of
younger farmers has been decreasing. In
the 2007 Census of Agriculture, there were
about 387,000 farmers age 44 and under.
By 2012, that number had dropped to about
334,000 — a decrease of nearly 14 percent.
Turn to STARTED, Page 12
Finding common ground on Oregon wolf plan proves difficult
Second meeting scheduled for Sept. 21
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
It was a tale of two meetings in
The Dalles Aug. 30 as traditional
adversaries sat down to find com-
mon ground within the Oregon
Wolf Conservation and Manage-
ment Plan, now three years past
due for an update.
Around the table, members of
farming, ranching, environmental
and hunting organizations laid
out their objectives for the plan,
which will guide wolf recovery
across the state for the next five
years.
Todd Nash, a rancher and Wallowa
County commissioner representing
the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association,
speaks during a meeting in The Dalles
to find common ground on an update
to the state’s Wolf Conservation and
Management Plan, while Quinn Read
with Defenders of Wildlife and Amira
Streeter, natural resources policy
adviser to Gov. Kate Brown, listen.
Conversations were heated
at times — especially while dis-
cussing the prospect of hunting
wolves — but the group eventu-
ally reached some areas of com-
promise, and agreed to schedule a
second meeting.
Deb Nudelman, a mediator
with Kearns & West in Portland,
Turn to WOLF, Page 12
George Plaven/Capital Press
Higher production costs depress net farm income
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
After a welcome increase in 2017,
net farm income is expected to drop 13
percent — $9.8 billion nationwide — in
2018 to $65.7 billion, the USDA fore-
casts.
Adjusted for inflation, net farm in-
come is forecast to drop 14.8 percent to
slightly above its 2016 level — which
was the lowest level since 2002, ana-
lysts with USDA Economic Research
Service reported.
While overall farm cash receipts are
forecast to remain stable at $374 billion,
there are winners and losers in the mix.
In the big picture, the analysts ex-
pect increases in sales volumes to offset
decreases in prices.
The forecast $5 billion effect of
lower prices — $1 billion from crops
and $4 billion from animals and animal
products — should be partially offset
by a $4 billion higher volume of sales,
mostly from animals and animal prod-
ucts.
Milk receipts are expected to de-
crease by $2.8 billion, or 7.4 percent,
reflecting an expected price decline that
more than offsets the higher volume of
milk sold.
Cash receipts for cattle and calves
are expected to decrease $800 mil-
lion, or 1.1 percent, reflecting a price
decline that is weightier than in-
creased quantities sold.
Hog cash receipts are expected to
decline $1.6 billion, or 7.7 percent, re-
flecting expected lower prices.
On a brighter note, broiler chicken
receipts are expected to rise $3 billion,
or 10 percent, on larger quantities and
higher prices. Chicken egg receipts are
forecast for a similar scenario, rising
$3 billion, or 39.5 percent.
Turn to INCOME, Page 12