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October 26, 2018 CapitalPress.com 5 Onion quality ‘excellent’ as harvest crosses finish line By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press Onion quality, size and yield look good as harvest wraps up and storage sheds run full-speed in southeastern Ore- gon and southwestern Idaho. Yields appear to slightly exceed long-term averages. “Generally, things are quite good so far,” Kay Riley, gen- eral manager at Snake River Produce in Nyssa, Ore., said Oct. 19. “Harvest has been exceptional and size has been exceptional.” Quality and ap- pearance also have been excel- lent, he said. Quality looked to be un- affected by heavy rains Oct. 4 and 9 in parts of the region and a light frost early Oct. 15, he said. Most of the crop had been harvested before the frost, he said. Internal decay can occur after about a month in stor- age, Riley said. More will be known later, but that does not appear to be an issue so far at Snake River, he said. The operation began packing in mid-August. The region’s onion industry typically ships around 30,000 Brad Carlson/Capital Press Onions have looked good this year in southeastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho. semi-truck loads of onions, and shipping as of Oct. 19 was about 2,200 loads ahead of last year’s volume, he said. “We anticipate having a very good season,” Riley said. Recent rain and frost likely did not reduce onion quality or yield, said Oregon State University Extension Mal- heur County Crop Agent Stu- art Reitz. When morning tempera- tures drop into the upper 20s, growers will wait until lat- er in the day to harvest and handle onions — after any frost comes off outer layers — so they don’t bruise the vegetables, he said. Morning temperatures were around 28 degrees in the area early Oct. 15, “in some areas a couple degrees cooler. “But the onions are sit- ting on the ground, so they get some additional heat from the soil,” Reitz said. “And if it doesn’t stay too cold for too long, they don’t suffer that damage.” Last year’s late-starting season had below-average onion sizes and yields. The current onion crop looks much more like the 2016 crop, which was fairly large, he said. Good skin color and size, and a high percentage of sin- gle-center onions good for processing are among on- ion characteristics seen this year, Reitz said. Mostly good growing conditions, with few stops and starts, helped over- all quality and yield as well as centering. “It seems like things are going into storage pretty well. You see onions moving, and guys are getting finished up,” said Bruce Corn, who farms between Ontario and Nyssa, Ore. He expects harvest in the area to conclude by the end of the month if conditions hold. He said on Oct. 19 he would be surprised if earlier rain and frost affected quality, as “the stuff we see moving on the truck looks really good — well cured.” This year’s curing weather has been good, he said. Nyssa-area grower Paul Skeen said his crop looks “ex- cellent, probably the best I’ve ever seen. Quality and appear- ance and everything else.” 43-3/100 Five Ways to Reduce Your Breast Cancer Risk greater risk for invasive breast cancer compared with women who sat less than 3 hours a day, and an increased risk for other cancer types as well. Written by: Stacy Simon Although there is no sure way to prevent breast cancer, there are several things you can do that may lower your likelihood of getting it. Other factors, including family history, also increase your risk, but most women who get breast cancer (about 8 out of 10) do not have it in the family. 4. Limit alcohol. Research has shown that women who have 2 to 3 alcohol drinks a day have about a 20% higher risk compared to women who don’t drink at all. Women who have 1 drink a day have a very small increase in risk. Excessive drinking increases the risk of other cancer types, too. Here are 5 ways to help protect your breast health: 1. Watch your weight. Being overweight or obese increases breast cancer risk. This is especially true after menopause and for women who gain weight as adults. After menopause, most of your estrogen comes from fat tissue. Having more fat tissue can increase your chance of getting breast cancer by raising estrogen levels. Also, women who are overweight tend to have higher levels of insulin, another hormone. Higher insulin levels have also been linked to some cancers, including breast cancer. If you’re already at a healthy weight, stay there. If you’re carrying extra pounds, try to lose some. There’s some evidence that losing weight may lower breast cancer risk. Losing even a small amount of weight – for example, half a pound a week – can also have other health benefits and is a good place to start. 2. Exercise regularly . Many studies have found that exercise is a breast-healthy habit. The American Cancer Society recommends getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week. (Or a combination of both.) Moderate-intensity activities are at the level of a brisk walk that makes you breathe hard. And don’t cram it all into a single workout – spread it out over the week. The American Cancer Society recommends women have no more than 1 alcohol drink in a single day. A drink is 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. 5. Avoid or limit hormone replacement therapy . Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was used more often in the past to help control night sweats, hot flashes, and other symptoms of menopause. But researchers now know that postmenopausal women who take a combination of estrogen and progestin may be more likely to develop breast cancer. Breast cancer risk appears to return to normal within 5 years after stopping the combination of hormones. Talk with your doctor about all the options to control your menopause symptoms, and the risks and benefits of each. If you do decide to try HRT, it is best to use it at the lowest dose that works for you and for as short a time as possible. For cancer information, answers and hope – every minute of every day, visit www.cancer.org, or call 1.800.227.2345. 3. Limit time spent sitting. Evidence is growing that sitting time increases the likelihood of developing cancer, especially for women. In an American Cancer Society study, women who spent 6 hours or more each a day sitting when not working had a 10% 43-2/HOU