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CapitalPress.com
November 23, 2018
People & Places
Variety makes irises irresistible
Schreiner family
produces many
new crosses of
flowers every year
Capital Press
Rick Hansen
Chief Financial Officer
Capital Press Managers
Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher
Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director
Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor
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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.
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
From left, Ben Schreiner, his father, Ray Schreiner, and his aunt, Liz Schmidt, operate Schreiner’s Iris Gardens north of Salem, Ore. The
company produces roughly 1,200 selections of irises on about 100 acres.
summer. The company begins
digging up rhizomes to fill or-
ders in July, which often over-
laps with planting rhizomes
in August for the next year’s
crop.
“When the weather is nice,
you have to go like crazy,”
said Ray.
More efficiency
Unusual flower
Flowers are hand-pollinat-
ed, the seeds are later harvest-
ed from cucumber-like pods
and planted in November,
then germinate the following
year and have their flowers
evaluated during the spring
bloom.
Those handful of plants
judged to be superior or
unique have their rhizomes
replanted to begin commer-
cial production — each rhi-
zome will produce three or
four more, so scaling up takes
time.
The Schreiners considered
using tissue culture propaga-
tion, in which tiny plants are
split up and regrown over a
relatively short period of time
in a lab.
While the technique does
exponentially increase the
numbers of a new selection,
they found that those descen-
dants didn’t stay true to type
compared conventional vege-
tative propagation.
“They didn’t stay stable,”
Ray said.
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clude “Calendar” in the subject line.
Tuesday-Wednesday
Nov. 27-28
California Dairy Sustainability
Summit. Sacramento Convention
Center, 1400 J St., Sacramento, Calif.
Learn how California’s dairy families
are leading the world in sustainable
farming, and gain insight into the
policies and technologies that will
continue to drive innovation. Speakers
include Karen Ross of the California
Department of Food and Agriculture,
Frank Mitloehner of the University of
California-Davis and other industry
leaders. Website: https://bit.ly/2Od-
jFO6
Wednesday-Friday
Nov. 28-30
Washington Small Fruit Con-
ference & Lynden Ag Show. NW
Washington Fairgrounds, 1775 Front
St., Lynden, Wash. The Washington
Small Fruit Conference is a three-day
conference with the latest relevant
research information delivered by the
scientists performing the research.
Lunches each day are provided. This
conference is presented in associa-
tion with the Lynden Ag Show, a trade
show featuring vendors serving the
small fruit community. Website: www.
wasmallfruit.com
Thursday, Nov. 29
Willamette Valley Oilseed Produc-
Established 1928
Board of Directors
Mike Forrester
Steve Forrester
Kathryn Brown
Susan Rana
Harrison Forrester
Mike Omeg
Cory Bollinger
Jeff Rogers
Corporate Officers
Heidi Wright
Chief Operating Officer
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
SALEM, Ore. — A hob-
by discovered late in life has
provided the Schreiner family
with a thriving niche business
for the better part of a century.
F.X. Schreiner was a “gen-
tlemen farmer” in Minnesota
when in 1925 he began hy-
bridizing irises for fun.
Shortly before his death
six years later, he’d offer his
three children some practical
advice: “This would be a good
business.”
Bob, Connie and Gus took
the guidance to heart, and
nearly nine decades later,
their father’s words continue
to ring true.
Schreiner’s Iris Gardens,
now operated by the third and
fourth generations of the fam-
ily, produces roughly 1,200
selections of iris on about 100
acres north of Salem, Ore.,
that are sold around the U.S.
and the world.
The company also makes
about 20,000 crosses a year
to hybridize new varieties, re-
sulting in about 15 to 18 mar-
ketable new selections a year
offered to customers.
“Most of them will be
thrown away because they’re
not that much different,” said
Ray Schreiner, the founder’s
grandson. “People are going
for bigger flowers, beards,
bud counts and any new color
break.”
Capital Press
Schreiner’s Iris Gardens
Employees of Schreiner’s Iris Gardens work at the company’s 100-
acre farm north of Salem, Ore. The company produces roughly
1,200 selections of irises and releases new ones every year.
Brand new selections tend
to fetch the highest prices —
$60 to $65 per rhizome — but
the volume tends to be low,
said Liz Schmidt, Ray’s sister.
“We don’t have a lot, so we
don’t sell a lot,” she said.
Most people will not fork
over $60 or more per rhi-
zome, but collectors, breeders
and farmers often will, said
Ray. These new varieties can
generally be freely cultivated,
as irises haven’t traditionally
been subject to plant patents.
Elusive color
That would likely change
if anyone eventually manages
to produce a red iris, which
has so far proven elusive, he
said. “It’s almost the colors of
ers Association Annual Meeting. 7:30
a.m. Roth’s Hospitality Center, 1130
Wallace Road NW, W. Salem, Ore.
This is the association’s annual meet-
ing. All members are invited. Phone:
541-974-3624
Tuesday-Thursday
Dec. 4-6
86th Oregon Farm Bureau Annual
Meeting. Salem Convention Center,
200 Commercial St. SE, Salem, Ore.
All voting and supporting members
of Farm Bureau are welcome and
encouraged to attend. Besides the
grassroots OFB policymaking pro-
cess, the convention offers a chance
to learn about Farm Bureau’s pro-
grams and priority issues, network,
and socialize with farmers and ranch-
ers from across the state. Website:
https://oregonfb.org/convention/
the rainbow, except red.”
Some traits, such as irises
that bloom more than once
a year, take a longer time to
breed. Weather fluctuations
can affect this particular char-
acteristic, but it’s getting more
consistent, Ray said.
“The
trouble
with
re-bloomers is they don’t al-
ways re-bloom,” he said.
The contributions of
Schreiner’s Iris Gardens to iris
breeding have been repeated-
ly recognized with prestigious
awards, such as winning the
Dykes Memorial Award —
considered the industry’s top
honor — 11 times since 1958.
Growing irises on a com-
mercial scale is particularly
labor-intensive during the
Hall, Building 2, The Dalles, Ore.
Morning topics include glyphosate,
triclopyr and risk assessments. Af-
ternoon topics include an update on
laws and regulations and case stud-
ies and lessons learned. 4 pesticide
credits are available. The class will
satisfy CORE requirements or can be
taken for 4 additional credits. Lunch
will not be provided. Pre-registration
is required. Cost: $15 Website: http://
extension.oregonstate.edu/wasco
Thursday-Friday
Jan. 10-11
69th Annual Oregon Mint Growers
Meeting. Salishan Resort, 7760 US-
101, Gleneden Beach, Ore. Attendees
will hear the latest on the mint industry.
Pesticide recertification credits have
been applied for. Website: oregon-
mint.org
Idaho Farm Bureau Annual Meet-
ing. Boise. Idaho Farm Bureau mem-
bers gather to learn about and discuss
items pertaining to agriculture. A ses-
sion is convened with delegates mak-
ing policy coming from resolutions that
generated from the grassroots of the
membership. The delegates also vote
for officers of the Idaho Farm Bureau
Federation Board.
Friday-Wednesday
Jan. 11-16
Tuesday-Friday
Dec. 4-7
Wednesday-Friday
Jan. 16-18
California Farm Bureau Annual
Meeting. Hilton San Diego Bayfront,
San Diego, Calif. The California Farm
Bureau’s 100th annual meeting. Web-
site: http://cfbf.com/storage/app/me-
dia/am_assets/2018_AM_RegForm.
pdf
Wednesday, Dec. 12
Mid-Columbia CORE Pesticide
Training. 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Columbia
Gorge Community College Lecture
2019 American Farm Bureau Fed-
eration Convention and IDEA Trade
Show. Ernest N. Morial Convention
Center, 900 Convention Center Blvd.,
New Orleans, La. The Farm Bureau’s
annual national meeting. Website:
www.fb.org/events/afbf-annual-con-
vention/
Northwest Ag Show. Oregon State
Fair & Exposition Center, 2330 17th
St. NE, Salem, Ore. The 49th edition
will focus on the emerging trends in
the ag industry such as small farming,
technology and education. It will pro-
vide useful information to attendees
regarding equipment, best practices,
job training and state-sanctioned cer-
tifications as well as legal and financial
issues facing all farmers. Cost: $5; $3
for seniors; free for children under 12.
Labor shortages are noth-
ing new in agriculture and the
problem is growing worse,
which has the company look-
ing for ways to improve effi-
ciency.
Currently, iris rhizomes are
harvested mechanically with
an implement attached to the
back of a tractor. As the har-
vested plants fall out the back,
four workers scurry to throw
them into bins on top of it.
In the heat and the dust, it’s
hardly the most desirable task
on the farm, and those four
workers would be happy to be
assigned other duties.
“It’s a horrible job,” said
Ray.
“Nobody wants to do it,”
Liz added.
To improve the process,
the company is modifying a
combine harvester that would
dig up the iris rhizomes on the
front end.
Dirt would be shaken from
them while tumbling across
rods under the machine, then
they’d be directly deposited
into bins out the back without
human intervention.
Website: northwestagshow.com
Thursday, Jan. 17
Oregon
Seed
Association
Mid-Winter Meeting. 7 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Best Western Premier Boulder Falls
Inn, 505/605 Mullins Drive, Lebanon,
Ore. The one-day event consists
of committee and general member
meetings, workshops and includes
lunch. Scholarship awards are pre-
sented to eligible applicants. The day
concludes with an evening reception
to honor past association presidents.
Website: http://www.oregonseed.org/
events
Wednesday-Saturday
Jan. 23-26
39th Annual EcoFarm Confer-
ence. Asilomar Conference Grounds,
800 Asilomar Ave., Pacific Grove, Ca-
lif. The Ecological Farming Association
(EcoFarm) presents the 39th annual
EcoFarm Conference, featuring over
70 workshops, intensives, keynote
speakers, an exhibitor marketplace,
seed swap, live entertainment, mixers
and organic culinary fare. Workshops
cover practical information on crop
production, livestock, soil health, mar-
keting and distribution, social justice
and cutting-edge information to help
farmers succeed. As the oldest and
largest organic farming event in the
West, EcoFarm Conference is a prime
networking and educational hub for
farmers, ranchers, distributors, retail-
ers, activists, researchers, and edu-
cators. Website: www.eco-farm.org/
conference.
Wednesday-Friday
Jan. 30-Feb. 1
Cattlecon19. Morial Convention
Center, 900 Convention Center Blvd.,
New Orleans, La. This is the annual
convention of the cattle industry and
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
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News Staff
Idaho
Carol Ryan Dumas .......... 208-860-3898
Western
Innovator
Boise
Brad Carlson .................... 208-914-8264
Schreiner’s
Iris Gardens
W. Washington
Don Jenkins ...................... 360-722-6975
Cent. Washington
Dan Wheat ........................ 509-699-9099
Founded: 1925
E Washington
Matthew Weaver .............. 509-688-9923
Location: Salem, Ore., after
relocating from St. Paul,
Minn., in 1946.
Oregon
George Plaven ................. 406-560-1655
Mateusz Perkowski .......... 800-882-6789
Family: Founded in Minneso-
ta by R.X. Schreiner, relocat-
ed to Oregon by his children,
Bob, Connie and Gus. Now
run by Gus’s children, Ray
Schreiner, Steve Schreiner
and Liz Schmidt, as well as
Ray’s son, Ben.
Graphic artist
Alan Kenaga ..................... 800-882-6789
Size: 100 acres
Crops: 1,200 selections of
irises, as well as day lilies
Employees: 21 year-round,
roughly 100 seasonal
Sales channels: Online, print
catalog, wholesale and di-
rect-marketing from 10-acre
display garden
“It’s not like any other
crop, where you can just buy
the machinery,” said Ben
Schreiner, Ray’s son and the
family’s fourth generation to
grow irises.
NCBA Trade Show. Website: https://
bit.ly/2ycMLDW
Sunday-Wednesday
Feb. 3-6
North American Strawberry Grow-
ers Association Conference. Wyndam
Orlando Resort, 8001 International
Drive, Orlando, Fla. The conference
will be held in conjunction with the
North American Strawberry Sym-
posium. Workshop topics include
automation and precision agriculture,
physiology and production manage-
ment, sustainable organic cropping
systems, strawberry breeding tools
and tips, alternatives to fumigation,
weed management, insect and mite
management and disease manage-
ment. Website: www.nasga.org
Monday, Feb. 4
Oregon Blueberry Conference.
7:55 a.m.-6 p.m. Salem Convention
Center, 200 Commercial St. SE,
Salem, Ore. A season recap and
market projections, export markets,
trade show and industry reception are
among the many topics and events
scheduled for this year’s conference.
Website: oregonblueberry.com
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Index
Opinion .................................. 6
Innovations ............................ 9
Markets ............................... 12
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Thursday-Saturday
Feb. 14-16
Accuracy is important to Capital
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Organicology 2019. Hilton Port-
land and Executive Tower, 921 SW
Sixth Ave., Portland, Ore. Organicolo-
gy seeks to bring all of the stakeholder
groups to the table to not only develop
skills in their own areas of activity but
to gain exposure to the challenges
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