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November 30, 2018 USDA calls on poultry owners to ‘defend flock’ Deadly viruses stalk chickens, turkeys By DON JENKINS Capital Press The USDA has started a campaign to remind poultry farmers to safeguard their flocks from infectious and fa- tal diseases. Bird flu and virulent New- castle disease are particularly worrisome. Bird flu continues to surface in the U.S., though not with the ferocity of the 2015 calamity. Virulent Newcastle dis- ease, similarly contiguous and deadly, has been found 176 times since May in Southern California, almost entirely in what the USDA calls “back- yard exhibition chickens.” The USDA’s new initiative, dubbed “Defend the Flock,” resembles two earlier cam- paigns to promote biosecurity, but has been broadened to ap- ply to commercial and back- yard poultry. Foreign countries do not take lightly infectious diseas- es in non-commercial flocks. The U.S. poultry industry was quickly prohibited from many countries in late 2014 when a small backyard flock in South- ern Oregon came down with highly pathogenic bird flu. “While each of the previ- ous campaigns were success- ful, by combining them and emphasizing shared responsi- bility, USDA will improve its ability to promote biosecurity and protect avian health across the country,” USDA Chief Veterinary Officer Jack Shere said in a written statement. Highly pathogenic bird flu claimed more than 50 mil- lion chickens and turkeys in the U.S. in 2015. The disease killed few, but contaminated flocks were euthanized. The USDA reported that revenue from U.S. poultry exports de- clined by $1.3 billion from the year before. The outbreak started in the Pacific Flyway, the migratory route over Washington, Ore- gon, Idaho and California. The virus appeared in late 2014 in commercial poultry farms in British Columbia and then in a wild duck in Washington and then that backyard flock in Southern Oregon. From there, bird flu hit commercial poultry barns in California and the Midwest. The panzootic, the animal equivalent of a pandemic, erupted into what the USDA called the worst animal-health disaster in U.S. history. Migratory waterfowl spread the disease in their fe- ces, making poultry kept out- doors particularly exposed. The outbreak was so devastat- ing, however, because the vi- rus got into barns holding tens of thousands of birds. The virus clings to clothes and equipment and can be spread from barn to barn by workers, according to a report prepared for lawmakers by the Congressional Research Ser- vice. The report, citing USDA findings, said the virus also may have been moved about by rodents and small birds, and even the wind. Low pathogenic bird flu, less contagious but just as fa- tal to flocks, most recently ap- peared in the U.S. in October in commercial turkey barns about 60 miles apart in Min- nesota. Globally, highly pathogen- ic bird flu has appeared in 68 countries and killed nearly 122.6 million birds since 2013, according to the World Orga- nization for Animal Health. New outbreaks continue to be reported in Asia and Europe. Virulent Newcastle dis- ease, formerly known as ex- otic Newcastle disease, affects the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems of poultry. “Virulent” is part of the dis- ease’s name, and the word is apt, according to the USA. The disease strikes so quickly that many birds die without showing any signs of being sick. USDA posts information online about safeguarding flocks at www.aphis.usda.gov/ animalhealth/defendtheflock. CapitalPress.com 7 White resigns as Klamath Water Users Association director Announcement comes after difficult year By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press Scott White, executive di- rector of the Klamath Water Users Association in Klam- ath Falls, Ore., announced Monday he will resign from the job following a 2018 ir- rigation season plagued by drought and uncertainty. White, 40, joined the KWUA in February 2016. The association represents 1,200 family farms and ranches within the Klamath Project, a federal water man- agement project that encom- passes over 170,000 acres in Southern Oregon and North- ern California. “I’ve been blessed to work for these guys the last three years,” White told the Capital Press. “It becomes who you are. It’s an identity that I’m extremely proud of, and it’s not easy to walk away from.” White’s last day is Friday, mands for fish. On April 30, a federal judge in San Francisco up- held a 2017 injunction that requires the bureau to send more water from Upper Klamath Lake downstream to flush away a deadly salm- on-killing parasite, known as C. shasta, in the lower Klam- ath River. At the same time, the Klamath Tribes also sued the Bureau of Reclamation, National Marine Fisheries George Plaven/Capital Press File Service and U.S. Fish and Scott White announced Nov. 19 he will resign as executive director Wildlife Service seeking of the Klamath Water Users Association. His last day on the job is to hold more water in Up- per Klamath Lake to pro- Friday, Nov. 30. tect endangered shortnose Nov. 30. KWUA President tions, multiple lawsuits and a and Lost River suckers. The same judge, William Orrick, Brad Kirby said the board court injunction. “We’re united and stron- denied their request for an will act promptly to fill the position. Until then, KWUA ger than we were when Scott injunction and transferred the case to U.S. District Court in attorney Paul Simmons will arrived,” Kirby said. Ultimately, White said the Oregon. fill in as interim executive stress took a toll on him and Meanwhile, drought only director. compounded fears of water Kirby, who also serves his family. This year was especially shortages heading into sum- as manager of the Tulelake Irrigation District in Tule- nerve-wracking, as growers mer, set up by a below-av- lake, Calif., said White was had to wait until June before erage mountain snowpack. “the right person at the right the U.S. Bureau of Reclama- White said he felt like there time” to lead the association tion issued its annual water was a crisis on his hands al- through a challenging period allotment for the Klamath most every single day. “There is just this ache of that included very dry condi- Project while balancing de- anxiety in your chest around the clock,” he said. “It hit me hard.” But it wasn’t all bad news in 2018. As difficult as it was, White said they did make it through the season and came out the other side with up to $10 million in emergen- cy relief for future drought years — a provision writ- ten into the America’s Wa- ter and Infrastructure Act of 2018, which was signed by President Donald Trump on Oct. 23. White said the new KWUA executive director will be responsible for en- suring those dollars are ap- propriated, possibly as early as next year given forecasts for a warmer and drier winter across the Pacific Northwest due to El Nino. As for himself, White said he plans to take December off, taking time to decom- press and recharge his bat- teries. “These guys mean a lot to me, and I am sincerely hope- ful there is a secure and pros- perous future for all of them,” White said. Federal report: Climate change imperils some farms, but there’s hope More bugs, but more wheat, too By DON JENKINS Capital Press Farmers and ranchers in the West will be pressed to adapt to minimize losses as tempera- tures rise by several degrees over the next few decades, ac- cording to the Fourth National Climate Assessment. Average annual tempera- tures in the Northwest have increased nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900. Tem- peratures are projected to rise 2.3 to 11 degrees by the late 21st century. The outcome depends on future greenhouse gas emissions, according to the federal study led by the National Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Administration and released Friday. The report catalogs the po- tential pitfalls of higher tem- peratures, such as less water and forage, more weeds and insects and overheated live- stock. The assessment, however, notes that farmers and nature adapt. Plants and livestock can be bred to withstand higher temperatures. Dryland wheat yields, for example, are ex- pected to rise as growers shift planting dates and plants use water more efficiently. “Risks associated with cli- mate change depend on the rate and severity of the change and the ability of producers to adapt to changes,” according to the report’s summary on ag- riculture. “These adaptations include altering what is pro- duced, modifying the inputs used for production, adopting new technologies, and adjust- ing management strategies.” The report was the second half of a quadrennial national assessment on climate change. The first half was released last year and focused on how high- er temperatures are affecting the earth. Volume II surveys the effects on human health, the economy and society. The assessment warns the Northwest’s 2015 snowpack provided a preview of may become “more commonplace” and cites a study led by the Oregon Climate Change Re- search Institute at Oregon State University. According to the study’s abstract, the low snowpack in Oregon and Washington that winter was more due to unusually warm sea-surface temperatures than human in- fluence. The Palmer Drought Se- verity Index, a measure of temperatures and precipitation, shows “no detectable change in long-term U.S. drought statistics,” according to the as- sessment. Still, the specter of drought hangs over the assessment. Ir- rigators who rely on surface water will be particularly vul- nerable, according to the re- port. As is the case now, farmers with junior water rights will be more affected than grow- ers with senior water rights. A more “robust” market for buying and selling water rights may help agriculture adapt, the assessment states. Northwest livestock pro- ducers should fare better than ranchers in hotter regions. Still, production costs probably will rise because animals will need more water and have less for- age, according to the report. Dairy cows are particularly sensitive to higher tempera- tures because heat reduces their appetite. Dairies every- where are expected to lose pro- duction. Losses in the Pacific Northwest are expected to be small compared to the South- east and Southern Plains. Sea levels are expected to rise and threaten coastal towns. At the high end, sea levels are projected to rise by as much as 8 feet by 2100. A “very likely range” is between 1 foot and 4 feet, according to the assess- ment. So far, the annual medi- an sea level has risen 9 inches since the early 20th century. 48-3/103
