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September 21, 2018 CapitalPress.com 7 Oregon farmers aim to clean up ditch regulations New PNW Legislative work group plans to introduce bill in 2019 session By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Cleaning out seven miles of ditches isn’t the most en- joyable task on John Scharf’s farm, but it’s not one that can be neglected without conse- quence. Unless silt is removed from the ditches on a roll- ing basis, they’d eventually fill with dirt. Even before then, the tile lines that drain his fields near Amity, Ore., would clog and water would “blow out” holes in the ground that are hazardous for machinery. “We don’t do it any more than we have to because it’s expensive, but it’s part of farming,” Sharf said. “We do it annually any year we can afford it, because if you put it off, it gets worse.” Scharf recently spoke at a legislative work group, which is looking at introduc- ing a bill to streamline regu- lations for ditch cleaning in 2019. Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Farmer John Scharf explains the drainage of tile lines from his fields near Amity, Ore., into a ditch. Ditch cleaning is complicated in Oregon by a removal limit of 50 cubic yards of material per year from designated wetlands. The problem is that un- der Oregon law, Scharf and other growers are limited to removing 50 cubic yards of material from ditches in ar- eas that have been designated wetlands. In effect, that cap prevents Scharf from cleaning out all the silt that’s necessary, meaning the backlog of accu- mulated dirt keeps mounting. “I don’t want to jeopardize my tile lines,” he said. “If the outlet is plugged, you’ve got a problem.” While the Department of State Lands, which regulates wetlands, ostensibly allows for the maintenance of ag- ricultural drainage ditches, many are considered “chan- nelized streams” that fall under the agency’s jurisdic- tion, said Mary Anne Cooper, public policy counsel for the Oregon Farm Bureau. If those channelized streams are judged to con- tain “essential salmonid hab- itat,” even removing 50 cubic yards a year requires a permit from DSL, she said. In recent years, the Farm Bureau has noticed an up- tick of enforcement activities by DSL over ditch mainte- nance — in one case, pulling blackberries was considered removing vegetation from a waterway, Cooper said. The increase seems to mostly stem from com- plaints by neighbors or other state agencies, she said. Farmers who want to remove more than 50 cubic yards while avoiding regu- latory problems can apply for a “general permit” from DSL to work in a waterway, Cooper said. Even then, they’re currently limited to 100 cubic yards of materi- al, which often “does not scratch the surface” of nec- essary maintenance. Removing more than 100 cubic yards would require an “individual permit” from the agency, which involves no- tifying the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Oregon De- partment of Fish and Wildlife and clearing steep regulatory hurdles, she said. “An individual permit is an incredibly complicated process to go through,” Coo- per said. Scharf is conducting a “pilot project” to demon- strate to DSL that more than 100 cubic yards can safely be removed from ditches in the late summer or early fall, but the Farm Bureau hopes to obtain broader relief during next year’s legislative session. Eric Metz, planning and policy manager for DSL, said the agency is mandat- ed by law to protect the wa- ters of the state, so it tries to avoid, minimize or mitigate work in waterways. “When we roll it out by the letter, it’s very awkward” when applying permit re- quirements for ditch clean- ing, he said during an Aug. 28 meeting of the legislative work group in Salem, Ore. The agency feels it’s do- ing a good job following the letter of the law but it’s not aiming to interfere with farm operations, Metz said. “But we also know there are fish in those ditches, so there’s the dilemma.” During the meeting, Cooper of the Farm Bureau pointed out that ditch main- tenance never occurs in wet conditions and there are en- vironmental benefits to the work. Growers have been keep- ing ditches functional for about 100 years, preventing them from filling up, she said. “That habitat won’t ex- ist if we don’t resolve these issues.” Nurseries eye e-commerce opportunities Buying plants online is expected to be increasingly common By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Nursery industry professionals recently gathered at the Farwest Show in Portland, Ore., to learn about trends in the business. The possibility of using e-commerce to reach consumers was discussed at the event. If consumers choose to pay for a direct delivery, rather than pickup at a retail- ers, that’s an also option for most plants. While venture capital or private equity firms would expect to quickly reap a high return on such a investment, Bower & Branch instead relies on companies experi- enced with the seasonality and other vagaries of selling nursery stock, Raisch said. “It’s an effort within the industry to create this, as op- posed to outsiders from other industries,” he said. Ornamental plants pose unique challenges for e-com- merce because the product is highly perishable — requir- ing regular light and water — and prone to losing its blooms and other quality markers during transport, said Robin Cross, an agricul- tural economist who’s stud- ied the nursery industry. “You can’t store them in an Amazon warehouse for three months in a box, then ship them,” Cross said. Using the traditional “nursery to garden center” distribution method would seem to solve this problem, though retailers such as Am- azon have made inroads with smaller, easily shippable plants such as cactuses, he said. Pulling individual orders for online buyers may be challenging for growers, but the problem would be mit- igated as they build scale, Cross said. The nursery industry is also highly adaptable and flexible in assembling orders, with some companies pulling from as many as 2,700 differ- ent varieties, he said. Bower & Branch pays growers more for putting to- gether complicated orders and has also developed a way for them to deal with smaller orders, Raisch said. “We help them with that because we’ve been through that before.” Raisch said nursery pro- ducers shouldn’t think they “have to” get involved in e-commerce, but rather that they “get to” take advantage of a new opportunity. “The greatest cost is not having a sale,” he said. By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press The U.S. Forest Service has named a new regional for- ester for the Pacific Northwest covering Oregon and Wash- ington. Glenn Casamassa, a long- time Forest Service employ- ee and former supervisor of the Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests and the Paw- nee National Grassland in Colorado, took over Sept. 17 at the Port- land office. He succeeds Jim Pena, who re- tired July 3. Casamassa is a 30-year veteran of the Glenn Forest Service. As the region- Casamassa al forester, he will oversee 16 national for- ests, two national scenic areas, the Crooked River National Grassland in Oregon and two national volcanic monuments. In a statement released by the Forest Service, Casamassa said he is committed to work- ing with agency employees, tribes and local communities to share stewardship of public lands across the two states. “Being good neighbors and setting a standard of excel- lence for public and customer service are priorities for the region in working alongside the people who care for, val- ue, and depend upon these lands,” he said. Casamassa earned his bachelor’s degree in for- est ecology from Utah State University, and completed post-graduate work in log- ging system engineering at the Oregon State Universi- ty College of Forestry. He began his career as a for- estry technician, working as a seasonal firefighter on the Tonto National Forest in Arizona. Casamassa landed his first permanent job in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, and from there went to work on the Wasatch- Cache National Forest in Utah. He has also served as district ranger of the Moab and Monticello ranger dis- tricts on the Manti-La Sal National Forest, and was the regional environmental coor- dinator for the Forest Service Intermountain Region, span- ning portions of Utah, Col- orado, Wyoming, Idaho and Nevada. Casamassa also worked as a legislative affairs specialist in Washington, D.C., head- quarters. Forest Service Inter- im Chief Vicki Christiansen said Casamassa has played a leading role in reforming reg- ulations at the national level, and brings with him “tremen- dous land management and conservation leadership expe- riences.” FLAT CARS- THE BETTER BRIDGE • Lower Cost • Custom Lengths up to 90’ • Certified Engineering Services Available • Steel Construction Contractor License # 71943 Office: 541-451-1275 Email: info@rfc-nw.com www.rfc-nw.com 38-1/100 P.O Box 365 • 101 Industrial Way, Lebanon, OR 97355 WE SPECIALIZE IN BULK BAGS! 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Fessler said he expects the site to be a long-term investment for his family’s company and doesn’t have “grandiose ideas” about an immediate sales surge, but would be satisfied if Bower & Branch eventually gener- ated 10 percent of its reve- nues. “I don’t think it’s going to eliminate garden centers,” he said. “I think it’s going to be in addition to that.” About 85 garden centers have signed up as members of Bower & Branch, serving as the “last mile provider” of care for plants before they’re picked up by customers, said Sid Raisch, the company’s president and CEO. The arrangement earns retailers a commission while increasing the selection of plants they offer without saddling them with a larg- er unsold inventory, said Raisch, who recently gave a presentation on the topic at the Farwest Show in Port- land, Ore. 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