Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2018)
2 CapitalPress.com October 19, 2018 People & Places Farmer tends crops from A to Z Capital Press Established 1928 Board of Directors Mike Forrester Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Susan Rana Harrison Forrester Mike Omeg Cory Bollinger Jeff Rogers By JULIA HOLLISTER For the Capital Press SANTA ROSA, Calif. — Lee James and her brother, Wayne, started Tierra Veg- etables in 1980 on 20 acres. Today they grow everything from A to Z — asparagus to zucchini. The farm specializes in chiles and grain corn. James said grain corn is not sweet corn or feed corn but corn for human consumption for po- lenta cornmeal and tortillas. The farm also has many heirloom varieties. “We grow 50 varieties of pesticide-free chiles,” she said. “Of these, one dozen are grown exclusively for drying, seven are specifically for our smoked chipotles; 10 are our milder New Mexico varieties and our hottest Habanero and Cayenne are sold fresh and dried. During the growing season we can ship fresh chil- es to customers in our produce boxes.” Community Supported Agriculture — CSA — cus- tomers can choose fresh pro- duce in their own custom as- sortment of artisan, organic produce. The boxes are deliv- ered to customers’ doorstep or farm pickup and feature unique selections such as chiles. James said in farming business there really isn’t one vegetable that is hard to grow. But, depending on the weath- er, it’s hardest to get the grain corn to mature before the end Western Innovator Lee James Occupation: Farmer and owner, Tierra Vegetables Hometown: Santa Rosa, Calif. Family: Brother Wayne, co-owner and operator of Tierra Vegetables CUESA Lee James and her brother, Wayne, grow a vast array of produce on their 20-acre farm near Santa Rosa, 70 miles north of San Francisco. They have a CSA and sell through their farmstand, a distribu- tor and at two farmers’ markets. of the season. “Yes, we harvest year- round,” she said. “We have a lot of processed goods. They keep us going through the winter because of our com- mercial kitchen and the corn and bean crops. But we pick fresh almost every single week of the year: carrots pars- nips, kale, Brussels sprouts, celery and celeriac and we also have ‘hoop’ houses in which we have salad greens.” Hoop houses are like greenhouses but are set up in the field with a sheet of plastic stretched over metal or plastic hoops. James sells their pro- duce at several outlets: their farmstand, CSA, Ferry Pla- za Farmers’ Market in San Francisco, Santa Rosa Farm- ers’ Market and the FEED Sonoma restaurant distribu- tor. In addition to the fresh vegetables, she makes chile jam and vinegar-based Carib- bean-style hot sauces. They also pickle, smoke and freeze produce. Earlier this year the farm also hosted a tortilla-making workshop led by an aficiona- do with an extensive back- ground in the history of torti- llas. James said the event was extremely informative, and the attendees were enthusias- tic. They will be presenting the same workshop at the Fer- ry Plaza Farmers’ Market in November. “For 25 years, Tierra Vegetables has brought an incredible variety of crops to the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market for San Franciscans to enjoy, including heirloom corn, rare beans, and sweet and spicy peppers,” said Brie Mazurek, communica- tions director of CUESA, the Center for Urban Ed- ucation about Sustainable Agriculture. “They are food preservationists in every sense of the term — preserv- ing the season’s best in their Quote: “We need to encour- age more young people to get interested in farming. So many people don’t understand where their food comes from and we’d love to see agriculture taught in high school. “ food-craft products, while preserving biodiversity on the land and within our food supply.” James says challenges are inevitable. “Our farm is busy with new ideas daily, but, in my opinion, there is a problem facing California agricul- ture,” she said. “Our biggest challenge as a small farm is the fact that people don’t eat enough vegetables or cook at home.” Future Natural Resource Leaders meet in Scio By JAN JACKSON For the Capital Press SCIO, Ore. — Scio High School hosted the first-of-the- school year Future Natural Re- source Leadership of Oregon Career Development Event on Oct. 11, drawing 193 students who competed in activities that included forestry skills, tree and tool identification, first aid pro- cedures, map reading, speeches and job interviews. FNRL, chartered in 2016 to bridge the gap between class- room training and real world applications, is one of seven Career and Technical Student Leadership Organizations in Oregon. Students from Clatskanie, Corvallis, Knappa, Sabin (Milwaukie), Philomath, Scio, Sweet Home, Tillamook, Wald- port and Yoncalla high schools competed in the events. Rex Lowther, who has been teaching forestry, wood shop and small engine classes at Scio High School since 2004, said he was satisfied with this year’s event. Jan Jackson/For the Capital Press Competing in the timed cross-cut event from Knappa High School are Gus Lawson, left; Alexis Whiteside, right; and oiler Ryan Fresh. They took part in the Future Natural Resource Leadership of Oregon Career Development Event on Oct. 11 at Scio, Ore., High School. “As far as I know, Scio’s program started in the 1970s as the Associated Oregon For- estry Clubs and ended in 2008 when they lost their funding,” Lowther said. “A core group of instructors kept the CDEs go- ing until FNRL of Oregon was chartered in 2014 and began chartering chapters in 2016. “We had several industry volunteers help us on Thurs- day, which is great because it exposed the kids to different job opportunities. For instance, Jeannie Shuttleworth, a log buyer from Giustina Resourc- es, was our job interviewer and two kids were asked to inter- view for real with the compa- ny,” he said. “The two foresters who were teaching compass and pacing are local and man- age a large family tree farm. It is nice to have people who are in the industry support these kids and give them exposure to potential future careers.” entertainment and booths with infor- mation about various programs that may benefit farmworkers and their families. water rights, title issues, transfers and other related issues. Sponsored by the Marion Soil and Water Conser- vation District. Cost: $25 Website: https;//www.marionswcd.net/ Each high school program is locally controlled and varies by needs of the communities, strengths of the advisers and direction of the local school district. The FNRL is a state Career Technical Student Or- ganization and is basically the leadership portion of the pro- gram. The CTSO also hosts different events for students in- cluding leadership training and FNRL state convention. “The primary difference is that our students at the chapter level have the opportunity to grow in their leadership abili- ties and work and share directly with industry professionals,” Lowther said. “These students gain valuable experience, which gives them opportunities to learn to communicate direct- ly with industry professionals and share what we do not only in our local programs, but also as a statewide organization.” There are 24 students — 18 boys and 6 girls — in Scio High School’s forestry program. “We are a little down from previous years mainly due to a decline in this year’s school enrollment,” he said. “We’ll be focusing on recruitment for next year to try to bring up the numbers a bit. There is a point of diminishing returns, how- ever, because if we get too big then it limits what we can do as a class overall. The most ef- fective number is 15 per class period.” Scio High School senior Grant Ortiz, current FNRL president, was also happy to see the event going so well. “I competed in my first CDE in middle school, so this one will be my eighth,” Ortiz said while waiting to compete in the log rolling contest. Scio always hosts the first meet of the season, the next one will be held in Tillamook in two weeks and then we won’t do any more until next spring,” he said. “This year’s event was different for me, though, be- cause it is the first one I’ve participated in a leadership role.” For more information on FNRL contact Kirk Hutchin- son at 503-550-0471 or email him at hutchfnrl@gmail.com end of learning, building relationships and sharing best practices for growing a healthy food system The speakers will include Mai Nguyen, who grows heirloom, ethnic grains in Sonoma, Calif., and is the California Organizer for the National Young Farmers Coa- lition, and Audra Mulkern, the founder of “The Female Farmer Project,” a documentary project chronicling the rise of women working in agriculture. Website: www.tilthalliance.org nock Hotel and Event Center, 777 Bannock Trail, Fort Hall, Idaho. The meeting brings industry lead- ers together for a single post-har- vest event to discuss the growing season, field trends and forecasts, and research. Website: https://bit. ly/2IPifUY Calendar To submit an event go to the Community Events calendar on the home page of our website at www. capitalpress.com and click on “Sub- mit an Event.” Calendar items can also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR 97301 or emailed to newsroom@capital- press.com. Include “Calendar” in the subject line. Saturday, Oct. 20 Preparing for Winter on Horse Properties Workshop. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District, 7175 NE Evergreen Parkway No. 400, Hillsboro, Ore. Join the Tu- alatin Soil and Water Conservation District and Horses for Clean Water for a free workshop about managing mud, manure and pastures along with winter health care for horses. Website: https://www.swcd.net/event/ preparing-winter-horse-properties/ Saturday-Sunday Oct. 20-21 All About Fruit Show. Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Clackamas County Fair- grounds, 694 NE Fourth Ave., Canby, Ore. The show offers hundreds of varieties of heirloom fruit to see and taste. Types of fruit include apples, pears, quince, grapes, kiwis and more. Custom-grafted fruit trees are also available. Bring unknown apples for sleuthing by the Apple ID team. Website: http://www.homeorchardso- ciety.org/contact-us/ Sunday, Oct. 21 AgroFiesta. Noon-4p.m. O’Con- nor Field House, 2207 Blaine St., Caldwell, Idaho. Families and indi- viduals who show proof of agricultural employment, such as a pay stub, will get in free. The event will feature food, Tuesday-Wednesday Oct. 23-24 Nutrient Management Confer- ence. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Embassy Suites, 1441 Canyon Del Rey, Seaside, Calif. The agenda will focus on the latest FREP-funded research results and practical applications of fertilizing materials for agricultural production in the state of California. Grower, CCA, and PCA credits will be requested. Website: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Is/ ffldrs/frep/FREPConference.html Wednesday-Saturday Oct. 24-27 91st National FFA Convention and Expo. Indianapolis, Ind. This is the culmination of the year’s work for FFA members from around the na- tion. Website: https://convention.ffa. org/schedule/ Monday-Wednesday Nov. 5-7 2018 Advances in Walnut Pro- duction Short Course. Activities and Recreation Center Ballroom, Univer- sity of California-Davis. This course is designed for new and experienced growers as well as other industry members interested in commercial walnut production. Website: http:// ucanr.edu/sites/walnutshortcourse/ Tuesday, Nov. 6 Water Rights Boot Camp. 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Keizer Community Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE, Keizer, Ore. This seminar will address Wednesday-Thursday Nov. 7-8 Dairy West Annual Meeting. Boise Centre, Ninth and Front streets, Boise, Idaho. Guest speak- ers Nov. 7 include former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, now president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council and a Feeding America board member; Sara Dor- land, managing partner at Ceres Dairy Risk Management; and Alison Van Eenenaam, University of Cali- fornia-Davis animal biotechnology and genomics researcher. A public showing of the film “Food Evolution” is slated at 7 p.m. Website: https:// dairywest.com/ Wednesday-Friday Nov. 7-9 Weed Conference. Wenatchee Convention Center, 121 N. Wenatchee Ave., Wenatchee, Wash. The 68th conference provides infor- mation on all aspects of weed control and management. It covers crops of all kinds, turf and ornamental, vegeta- tion management and aquatic. Web- site: www.weedconference.org Friday-Sunday Nov. 9-11 Tilth Conference. Davenport Grand Hotel, 333 Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane, Wash. Tilth Confer- ence brings together hundreds of farmers, producers, researchers and food system professionals for a week- Tuesday, Nov. 13 Washington Farm Bureau Annual Meeting. Yakima Convention Cen- ter, 10 N Eighth St., Yakima, Wash. Among the speakers will be An- dré-Denis Wright, dean of the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University; Brian Hodges, senior attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation; and Caroline Lobdell, executive director and clinical law professor at the Western Resources Legal Center. Website: https://bit. ly/2ObTgge Tuesday-Thursday Nov. 13-15 Willamette Valley Ag Expo. Linn County Fair and Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road E, Albany, Ore. The Expo features 250,000 square feet of exhibits, seminars, antique farm equipment and the unique Dine Around Oregon progressive dinner. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday. Website: http:// wvaexpo.com/ Wednesday, Nov. 14 Big Idaho Potato Harvest Meet- ing. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Shoshone-Ban- Corporate Officers Heidi Wright Chief Operating Officer Rick Hansen Chief Financial Officer Capital Press Managers Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Jessica Boone ........ Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager Entire contents copyright © 2018 EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Circulation ......................... 800-882-6789 Email ........ Circulation@capitalpress.com Main line ........................... 503-364-4431 Fax ................................... 503-370-4383 Advertising Fax ................ 503-364-2692 News Staff Idaho Carol Ryan Dumas .......... 208-860-3898 Boise Brad Carlson .................... 208-914-8264 Cent. Washington Dan Wheat ........................ 509-699-9099 W. Washington Don Jenkins ...................... 360-722-6975 E Washington Matthew Weaver .............. 509-688-9923 Oregon George Plaven ................. 406-560-1655 Mateusz Perkowski .......... 800-882-6789 Graphic artist Alan Kenaga ..................... 800-882-6789 To Place Classified Ads Ad fax .............................. 503-364-2692 or ...................................... 503-370-4383 Telephone (toll free) .......... 800-882-6789 Online ......www.capitalpress.com/classifieds Subscriptions Mail rates paid in advance Easy Pay U.S. $3.75/month (direct with- drawal from bank or credit card account) 1 year U.S. ...................................$49.99 2 years U.S. .................................$89.99 1 year Canada .................................$275 1 year other countries ......... call for quote 1 year Internet only .......................$49.99 1 year 4-H, FFA students and teachers ....$30 9 months 4-H, FFA students & teachers .....$25 Visa and Mastercard accepted To get information published Mailing address: Capital Press P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048 News: Contact the main office or news staff member closest to you, send the in- formation to newsroom@capitalpress.com or mail it to “Newsroom,” c/o Capital Press. Include a contact telephone number. Letters to the Editor: Send your comments on agriculture-related public issues to opinions@capitalpress.com, or mail your letter to “Opinion,” c/o Capital Press. Letters should be limited to 300 words. Deadline: Noon Monday. Thursday-Friday Nov. 15-16 Capital Press ag media Friday, Nov. 16 Index Washington State Grape Society Annual Meeting and Trade Show. Church of the Nazarene, 500 N. Elm, Grandview, Wash. Thursday lunch is included in registration. Cost: $80 Website: https://www.grapesociety. org/annual-meeting.html Denim and Diamonds Dinner Auction, 5-10 p.m. Salem Conven- tion Center, 200 Commercial St. SE, Salem, Ore. Oregon Aglink hosts Denim & Diamonds, an awards din- ner and auction, which raises funds for the Cultivating Common Ground initiative, ultimately supporting all of Aglink’s programs like Adopt a Farm- er and telling ag’s story. This event serves to recognize those who have gone above and beyond in advocat- ing the importance of agriculture to the economic, environmental and so- cial well-being of the state of Oregon. Website: http://www.aglink.org/event/ denim-diamonds/ Third Annual Post-Harvest Almond and Walnut UC IPM Workshop. 8-11 a.m. Chico Veterans Memorial Hall, 554 Rio Lindo Ave., Chico, Calif. A panel of Sacramento Valley IPM and farm advisors will talk about the latest research, 2018 field observations and discuss key pest management issues. Website: sacvalleyorchards.com www.capitalpress.com www.FarmSeller.com marketplace.capitalpress.com www.facebook.com/capitalpress www.facebook.com/farmseller twitter.com/capitalpress www.youtube.com/capitalpressvideo Dairy .................................... 10 Livestock ..............................11 Markets ............................... 13 Opinion .................................. 6 Correction A story posted Oct. 3 on the Cap- ital Press website, capitalpress. com, incorrectly stated that a Washington appeals court upheld a nearly $300,000 fine against Iowa-based Food Democracy Now. The correct name of the organization is Food Democracy Action! The case involved a violation of the state’s campaign finance disclosure law by failing to report the names of people who contributed through the orga- nization to a campaign to pass a GMO-labeling initiative in 2013. The Capital Press regrets the error.
