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November 16, 2018 CapitalPress.com 3 Study: Crops, forage may benefit from solar panel shade By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press Researchers at Oregon State University may have accidentally stumbled upon a new use for solar panels on farms and ranches. Not only can solar pow- er lower energy bills and increase efficiency, but the shade afforded by photovol- taic panels might also boost agricultural production on non-irrigated farmland, re- taining more moisture for crops and livestock forage. The question now is whether solar panels can be situated to reap the benefits without hindering farm prac- tices, such as spraying fertil- izer, tilling fields, grazing or operating machinery during harvest. Chad Higgins, associate professor in the Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering at OSU, said the study began serendipitously in 2015 after he noticed more lush, green grass growing un- derneath solar panels installed several years earlier by the university on a six-acre sheep pasture near campus in Cor- vallis. “(The solar array) wasn’t designed as an experiment when it was put in,” Higgins said. “But we did notice that some changes were occurring underneath the solar panels with the pasture grass, in par- ticular in the late autumn. We wanted to understand that.” Higgins and his team di- vided the pasture into several test plots, and installed mi- croclimate tools to measure Courtesy Oregon State University. Sheep graze underneath a solar array at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where researchers discovered grass growing more lush later in the season than elsewhere in the pasture. notforsale the differences in air tempera- ture, humidity, wind and soil moisture beneath the panels, versus areas exposed to direct sunlight. None of the grass re- ceived irrigation water. Between May and August, data showed plots that were shaded by the solar panels maintained higher soil mois- ture and grew nearly double the amount of grass, espe- cially toward the end of the season. That is because grass uses water more slowly and efficiently when it has less light to grow, Higgins ex- plained. “It’s like a tortoise and hare race,” Higgins said. “The plants that experience the full brunt of the sun use their wa- ter resources as quickly as possible. They grow to the extent they can, and then they die. On the other hand, the plants in the shade take sips of water because they are less stressed, and they keep chug- ging along.” Higgins said the shaded plants were three times more efficient with water than the rest of the pasture. The find- ings were published Nov. 1 in the scientific journal PLOS One. Higgins said he wants to expand the project mov- ing forward to include more high-value crops, such as ber- ries and vegetables. His next challenge is coming up with a design for installing solar panels on farms and ranches that would not burden tradi- tional agricultural practices, or take farmable land out of production. One possible solution, he said, is lifting panels up off the ground by installing them on posts, and tilting them at an angle that would allow farm equipment — such as tractors, sprayers and combines — to pass without damaging the machinery. “There are classical engi- neering things that need to be done still,” Higgins said. “I see those as the practical chal- lenges to make it viable as an agricultural practice.” Higgins, who founded the Nexus of Energy, Water and Agriculture Laboratory at OSU, said this research could change the way farmers and ranchers think about manag- ing light for agronomic ben- efit. “Opening ourselves up to managing light in the same way we think about managing water or nutrients or soil gives us a heck of a lot of flexibility in what we do,” he said. Washington shoots wolf; ends search for others Wholesale apple prices increasing, marketers say Smackout pack wolf killed By DAN WHEAT By DON JENKINS Capital Press Washington Fish and Wildlife has killed one wolf in Stevens County and sus- pended efforts to shoot two more wolves after a fruitless two-week search in Ferry County. The department disclosed the shooting of an adult male wolf in the Smackout pack, which has been attacking cattle in private pastures, in a court filing Nov. 8. The department also reported it has ended the search for the surviving members of the Old Profanity Territory pack, which has been attacking cat- tle in the Colville National Forest. Fish and Wildlife wolf policy coordinator Donny Martorello stated that the Smackout pack wolf was shot from a helicopter Nov. 8. The wolf was wearing a radio collar that transmitted its lo- cation. The shooting leaves three or four more adults in the pack, according to the depart- ment’s count. Fish and Wildlife will wait to see whether the surviving wolves continue to attack cattle and has no immediate plans to pursue the remaining wolves, according to Mar- torello. The Smackout pack killed four heifers on private pas- tures between Oct. 14 and Nov. 1, according to the de- partment. The pack had pre- viously attacked a calf in a private pasture Aug. 20. A Fish and Wildlife biol- ogist said it was significant the wolves began attacking larger heifers because it sug- gested a concerted effort and that the pack had become ac- customed to attacking cattle. Fish and Wildlife con- cluded that the pack would likely continue to attack cat- tle because its territory over- laps with private pastures where livestock graze year- round. The pack is centered about 20 miles northeast of Colville, the county seat of Stevens County. Fish and Wildlife had not previously announced killing the wolf. Martorello disclosed the shooting in a declaration defending the department re- sorting to lethal-removal to stop chronic depredations by for longterm storage. Sec- ond-pick Gala and Honey- crisp suffered from heat and was sold quickly. A Nov. 6 USDA listing of average asking prices among Wenatchee and Yakima ship- pers showed Gala, Red De- licious and Honeycrisp still declining from a month ago and Granny Smith and Gold- en Delicious staying the same. The price for extra fan- cy (standard grade) medium size 80 apples per box for new crop Gala was $17 to $22, down from $18 to $24 a month earlier and from $20 to $26 a year earlier. Breakeven is generally $17 to $20. “Prices started artificially low but we thought we had a larger crop. Prices now are starting to firm up (increase) across the board which they need to for this size a crop. Prices are increasing dramati- cally,” said Tom Riggan, gen- eral manager of Chelan Fresh Marketing in Chelan. Capital Press Courtesy of Washington State University A national checkoff aimed at promoting and researching processed red raspberries will be discontinued after growers and importers voted against funding the program. Courtesy photo Wolves inflicted wounds on this calf pictured Sept. 7, in Ferry County, Wash. The Department of Fish and Wildlife issued a permit Nov. 7 to the calf’s owner allowing the ranch to shoot wolves in the Togo pack if they come into a private fenced pasture with cattle. Raspberry growers vote against checkoff Referendum was held at tough time for U.S. growers wolfpacks. The Center for Biological Diversity and Cascadia Wild- lands are seeking a tempo- rary restraining order to stop the department from killing wolves in the Smackout and Old Profanity Territory packs. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, but the department has already ended both operations. Fish and Wildlife shot two wolves in the Old Profanity Territory pack in September. Martorello reported that Fish and Wildlife searched nearly a dozen times from a heli- copter since Oct. 26 for the last two wolves, a male adult wearing a radio collar and a juvenile born last spring. “The department does not believe the continued use of the helicopter in the next two weeks will change that out- come,” Martorello stated. “The department believes that the pack will contin- ue to prey on livestock, but the likelihood is lower right now because there are fewer livestock within the pack’s territory. That said, the de- partment may consider fur- ther action if an opportunity arises that would increase the effectiveness of the removal effort,” according to Mar- torello. The two environmental groups also are challenging a permit Fish and Wildlife is- sued to a Ferry County ranch- er authorizing him or ranch employees to shoot wolves in the Togo pack if they enter a private pasture where cattle are grazing. The permit ex- pires Dec. 7. By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Raspberry growers and importers have voted against continuing a national check- off for promoting and re- searching the processed crop seven years after overwhelm- ingly approving the program. The USDA, which over- sees the checkoff, has an- nounced that only 43 percent of eligible farmers and im- porters voted in favor of the checkoff, falling well short of the 50 percent needed to keep funding the National Processed Raspberry Coun- cil. In 2011, about 88 percent of growers and importers voted to establish the pro- gram by assessing about 1 cent per pound of processed red raspberries to raise more than $1 million a year for re- search and promotions. The national checkoff likely fell out of favor for economic reasons, since even a penny a pound is expensive at a time that U.S. growers are selling red processed raspberries below the cost of production, said Henry Bier- link, executive director of the Washington Red Raspberry Commission. “It’s coming out of really tough times,” Bierlink said. “The red raspberry industry is in a real funk right now.” Because the council was funded by importers as well as domestic farmers, it could not specifically promote U.S. fruit and instead effective- ly encouraged international trade in the crop, he said. “It had to, because those were the people paying the bills,” Bierlink said, noting that assessments on foreign raspberries represented about 45 percent of the council’s budget. Given the competition from farmers in Chile, East- ern Europe and Mexico, many U.S. producers of red raspber- ries probably didn’t feel trade was working in their favor and wanted to go in a differ- ent direction, he said. In essence, if the council were effective, it would be expanding markets for pro- cessed red raspberries that do- mestic growers weren’t going to be able to fill due to their higher cost of production, he said. Regulations on labor, food safety and other aspects of agricultural production in the U.S. made growing the crop domestically less cost-effec- tive, Bierlink said. “Because of all the things our growers here have to meet, it’s tough to compete,” he said. (Millions of 40-pound boxes) Variety Gala Red Delicious Fuji Granny Smith Honeycrisp Others † Golden Delicious Cripps Pink Ambrosia Braeburn Jonagold Total *Forecast **Estimate 45-4-3/103 Nov. 1** Gain/loss 31.7 28.3 17.7 17 14.2 7.3 6.4 6 1.4 0.8 0.4 131 28.2 27.2 16.2 13.6 12.9 6.7 5.1 4.9 1.4 0.9 0.4 117.6 -3.5 -1.1 -1.5 -3.4 -1.3 -0.7 -1.3 -1.1 — 0.1 — -13.5 NOTE: Totals may not equal sum due to rounding. Capital Press graphic Over 40 Years Experience Grass Expertise. LET’S TALK! HEY GUYS! HAVE YOU HAD YOUR PSA? PROSTATE CANCER WILL KILL YOU. GREENWAY SEEDS Caldwell, Idaho • Alan Greenway, Seedsman Cell: 298-259-9159 • MSG: 298-454-8342 Alan Greenway, Seedsman ® Item/description (Source: USDA, NASS; NOAA) • Days suitable for fieldwork (As of Nov. 4) 5.7 • Topsoil moisture, surplus 0 • Topsoil moisture, percent short 61% • Subsoil moisture, surplus 0 • Subsoil moisture, percent short 83% • Precipitation probability 33-40% Below/ (6-10 day outlook as of Nov. 13) Normal (South) .COM Aug. 1* Source: Washington State Tree Fruit Association Weekly Fieldwork Report Pre-order your Baumalight generator now for delivery in 8 weeks and get an 8% discount. ELLIS EQUIPMENT 800-949-2336 Washington apple report, Nov. 1 Presented by Ore. MFG OF BRUSH MULCHERS | STUMP GRINDERS | DRAINAGE PLOWS | BOOM MOWERS | PTO GENERATORS | AUGER BITS & DRIVES | TRENCHERS | TREE SPADES TREE SAWS | LIMB SHEARS AND MORE WENATCHEE, Wash. — The state apple crop remains small in the latest industry es- timate and marketers say pric- es are improving. As of Nov. 1, the crop was pegged at 117.6 mil- lion, 40-pound boxes by the Washington State Tree Fruit Association in Wenatchee and Yakima. That’s up .6 percent from the 116.9-million-box esti- mate a month ago but still down 10 percent from the Aug. 1 forecast of 131 million. The 2017 crop was 131.7 mil- lion boxes. The record high was 143.6 million in 2014. At a Sept. 20 Washington Apple Commission meet- ing, marketers complained of low prices held down by a large volume of 2017 fruit remaining to be sold and the need to push some early 2018 fruit deemed unsuitable Wash. Idaho Calif. 5 2% 44% 2% 53% 5.7 1% 22% 0 44% 7 0 75% 0 75% 40-50% Below 33-50% Below 33-50% Above 46-4/108 Accidental discovery made at OSU campus
