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CapitalPress.com
Friday, December 21, 2018
People & Places
Growing hemp to scale
EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER
Established 1928
Justin and Jake
Bordessa help
farmers grow
new crop
Board of Directors
Western
Innovator
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
TANGENT, Ore. —
Large bales of tightly
wrapped hemp sit in a barn
outside Tangent, Ore., in
the Mid-Willamette Val-
ley, where brothers Jus-
tin and Jake Bordessa store
this year’s crop until it can
be dried and sold to one of a
growing number of proces-
sors around the state.
Hemp production is on
the rise in Oregon, with 584
growers and 212 handlers
currently registered under the
state’s Industrial Hemp Pro-
gram. The program started in
2016, with 70 licensed grow-
ers and 53 handlers by the
end of the year.
Now with the 2018 Farm
Bill legalizing hemp at
the federal level — open-
ing farms to crop insurance,
banking and interstate com-
merce — Justin Bordessa
expects even greater demand
that will require farms grow
on a much bigger scale.
“Most people who are
farming hemp right now,
they’re doing it on 20-, 30-,
40- or 50-acre plots. There’s
very few people doing 100-
and 200-acre plots,” he said.
Realizing the challenges
of growing hemp at scale,
Justin and Jake together
formed Hemp Ag Solutions
in early 2017, providing
farm services tailored to the
young and still undeveloped
industry.
For example, hemp is tra-
ditionally harvested by hand,
taking days — if not weeks
— to work through larger
fields. At the same time, the
crop must be hung and dried
right away to ensure quality,
limiting how much farms can
capably grow without risking
losses.
Hemp Ag Solutions com-
bines mechanical harvest-
ing and baling to efficiently
manage large acreages. The
company harvested 280
acres at nine farms this year
in the Willamette Valley and
Southern Oregon, along with
25 acres at the brothers’ own
farm, where they test agri-
Justin and Jake
Bordessa
Owners: Hemp Ag Solu-
tions
Founded: 2017
Location: Tangent, Ore.
Size: 178 acres (100
tillable)
Crop: Industrial hemp
George Plaven/Capital Press
Brothers Justin Bordessa, left, and Jake Bordessa established Hemp Ag Solutions in
Tangent, Ore., in January 2017. The company strives to provide grower services for
hemp farmers that will allow the industry to grow more acres and meet demand.
cultural practices and plant
genetics.
If farmers wanted to
grow 100 acres of hemp
on their own, Jake Bord-
essa estimates it would take
an up-front investment of
$750,000. Hemp Ag Solu-
tions can greatly reduce the
cost, he said, offering knowl-
edge and resources to open
the door for expansion.
“We’re trying to create
structure among the Wild
West within the industry,”
Jake Bordessa said.
Coming to
Oregon
Justin and Jake Bordessa
came to Oregon from Cali-
fornia, where they grew up
in Petaluma, an agricultural
community surrounded by
dairies, vegetable farms and
vineyards in Sonoma County.
Working with their father
at his construction com-
pany, Justin learned how
how to build farm struc-
tures and later received his
own contractor’s license.
After California’s medical
marijuana program started,
the demand to build indoor
growing systems peaked
and became a good source
of business after the housing
crash.
Justin Bordessa said he
became familiar with the
process of growing canna-
bis through that experience.
He was especially interested
in the potential of hemp —
a close cousin of marijuana,
but with no more than 0.3
percent of tetrahydrocannab-
inol, or THC, the psychoac-
tive component in cannabis
that gets users high.
Hemp can be used to
make materials like paper,
fiber and plastic, though the
bulk of demand now is driven
by cannabinoid, or CBD,
extract, which can be used to
make a variety of hemp-in-
fused products such as mints,
drinks and oils. According to
research from New Frontier
Data, the U.S. CBD indus-
try grew nearly 40 percent in
2017, reaching $367 million
in sales.
Health claims for CBD
include pain relief, lowering
anxiety and depression and
helping to reduce seizures.
“Right now, everybody is
just growing for CBD,” Jus-
tin said. “But down the line,
once that market is saturated
and filled up, it’s going to
open up people to be farm-
ing for the fibers. ... That’s
what excites me, is getting to
the building materials where
they start building planks and
boards out of hemp fibers
and resins.”
Jake Bordessa went on
to earn a degree in business
economics from the Univer-
sity of California-Santa Bar-
bara. He stayed in touch with
Justin, and the brothers saw
a business opportunity with
hemp as a sustainable com-
modity with multiple uses
that was quickly gaining fed-
eral support.
“As we saw the indus-
try develop, we saw oppor-
tunity to bring our resources
together,” Jake said.
House Bill 4060 created
the Oregon Industrial Hemp
Program in 2016, and one
year later the state passed a
law allowing processors to
make CBD products. Around
the same time, Justin and
Jake were looking for land
with the right combination
of fertility, climate and water,
landing on 178 acres in the
Mid-Willamette Valley.
“Obviously the law was
influential, but we consid-
ered all aspects,” Justin said.
“Hemp likes the environment
here.”
Grower
solutions
As Justin and Jake grew
their first hemp crop in 2017,
they quickly began to realize
where the bottlenecks were
to scaling up production.
The first year, Justin said it
took them 40 days to harvest
13-14 acres by hand. Most of
the region’s industrial dryers
were also tied up during the
fall with other crops, forcing
them to leave 7 acres in the
field.
“Now you’re panicking,
because you spent all this
money to grow this hemp
and there’s nowhere to put
it,” he said.
The solution, they deter-
mined, was in mechaniza-
tion. This year, the brothers
switched to using a forage
harvester, which allowed
them to cut down 25 acres in
Employees: Five full-time,
plus seasonal
Services: Grower solutions,
harvesting and baling
just 12 hours — a fraction of
the time it took to hand-har-
vest. They also purchased an
imported compactor, which
compressed the crop into
700-pound bales without
oxygen to prevent molding
and decomposition.
Justin Bordessa said the
equipment has been a “game
changer,” allowing the crop
to be quickly harvested,
stored and available to dry
24/7.
“If you’re growing a hemp
field and you walk through
your acreage and you’re
looking at it as hand-harvest-
ing, you know there’s a limit
to what you can grow,” Jus-
tin said. “Now you watch
the machine go through the
field and chop it, watch-
ing your harvest go down in
hours, you realize this can
be taken to the thousands
of acres, where before there
was no possible way for that
to happen.”
Hemp Ag Solutions has
also partnered with Amer-
ican Hemp Seed Genetics,
of Salem, Ore., to perfect
strains of hemp best suited
to the environment and farm-
ing practices. Of 33,000 seed
starts, they have since whit-
tled it down to the four best
plants and began growing
clones this year.
Jerry Norton, the hemp
breeder who founded Amer-
ican Hemp Seed Genetics,
said he is excited about the
partnership, and believes
they are well-positioned to
help grow the industry.
Perrydale FFA-led effort collects 175 tons of food for needy
By GEOFF PARKS
For the Capital Press
The Perrydale High
School FFA chapter’s col-
lection efforts this year
brought in 175 tons of food
that will brighten the holi-
days for needy families from
Coos Bay to La Grande.
The 21-year-old Food for
All community service pro-
gram, coordinated for the
past four years by founder
and retired Perrydale ag
adviser
Kirk
Hutchin-
son, and aided by Christina
Lorenz, Perrydale High’s
FFA adviser. The tiny school
is 16 miles northwest of
Salem.
The students set a goal of
collecting 350,000 pounds
of locally produced fruits
and vegetables this year.
The products are pack-
aged in individual plastic
bags containing potatoes,
mixed vegetables, onions,
celery carrots squash apples,
Geoff Parks/For the Capital Press
Perrydale School FFA
Adviser Christine Lorenz,
left,
helps
students
Jasmine Richert, center,
and Courtney Reed, right,
pack individual produce
bags into a tote for
delivery to needy families
during the school’s Food
for All event.
sweet potatoes, Brussels
sprouts and other ag products
grown by Perrydale High
School and the nine other
FFA chapters of the Lower
Willamette FFA District.
This year, Echo High of
the Blue Mountain District
is also taking part, as well as
newcomer Newberg High.
“We’re always collecting
more and varied food from
our packing warehouses,”
said Hutchinson, noting
that this year the program
also netted 4,000 pounds of
grapes.
Sometimes the gener-
osity of the producers is
eye-opening.
“We went to get 6,000
pounds of apples from Heri-
tage Farms and they gave us
20,000,” he said.
In addition to the Wil-
lamette Valley, the food is
trucked to several areas of
the state as far-flung as Coos
Bay, La Grande and Pendle-
ton, said Hutchinson.
“Every local community
gets all that they ask for,” he
said.
Along with collecting,
packing and shipping all
that food, an increase in ton-
nage means an increase in the
workload on the FFA kids.
“I don’t think we are
going to be able to take in
much more product,” Lorenz
said on Dec. 10, close to
the wrap-up of collection
efforts, “just because of our
capacity.”
Lorenz said her job with
the program is to “facilitate
the student leadership com-
ponent of Food for All and
organize the students and
train them for the experience.
This program works well
with Perrydale’s Ag Business
curriculum.”
In addition to the hard
physical work, the students
receive less tangible but more
soul-building benefits, she
said. One of her older, more
experience FFA students —
designated one of 12 Food
for All “ambassadors” for his
three-year role in guiding the
collection and distribution
efforts for the chapter — is
Spencer Van Beurden, 16.
“As ambassadors, we
are the first to go out each
year and give presentations,
see what’s happening,” Van
Beurden said.
Food for All two-year
Ambassador Ashton Ball,
16, dug even deeper into
the more personal reasons
he believes the program is
important:
“Last year we went down
to Coos Bay to a giant hangar
at the airport that was filled
with the food we had stored
there and unloaded it down-
town,” he said. “And all
day long we had long lines
of cars come through and
we spent the day giving out
giant boxes of food to doz-
ens of families.
“Just to see the people’s
faces, it made their year
— and mine, too,” he said.
“Just to see how you change
these people’s lives each
year is great and shows why
this is such an important
program.”
Calendar
Friday, Dec. 28
Farm Image and Public Re-
lations Workshop: 8:30 a.m.-
12:30 p.m., OSU Extension Ser-
vice, Marion County, 1320 Capitol
St. NE, Salem. Attendees will learn
cost-effective strategies that will
save time and give professional
results; help them find more op-
portunities for media coverage,
train them in the latest social me-
dia trends including Instagram,
and why e-newsletters are still
one of the most effective ways
to reach your audience. Opera-
tions of all sizes will find value in
attending, including farms, food
processors,
nurseries/garden
centers and wineries who sell di-
rectly to consumers. There is no
charge for admission for produc-
ers and value-added operators.
Registration is required by 5 p.m.
on Friday, Dec. 21.
Tuesday, Jan. 8
Cropping Systems Confer-
ence: Three Rivers Convention
Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd.,
Kennewick. The convention will
feature six keynote sessions plus
six education tracks and an ex-
hibitors’ showcase. http://www.
d i re c t s e e d. o rg / e ve nt s / a n n u -
al-conference.
Eastern
Washington
Ag
Expo: TRAC Center, 6600 Burden
Blvd., Pasco. The Expo features
nearly 100 exhibitors and semi-
nars, plus sessions with pesticide
recertification credits available.
http://www.EasternWAagExpo.
com.
Wednesday, Jan. 9
Cropping Systems Confer-
ence: Three Rivers Convention
Center, 7016 W Grandridge Blvd.,
Kennewick. The convention will
feature six keynote sessions plus
six education tracks and an ex-
hibitors’ showcase. http://www.
d i re c t s e e d. o rg / e ve nt s / a n n u -
al-conference.
Eastern Washington Ag
Expo: TRAC Center, 6600 Burden
Blvd., Pasco. The Expo features
nearly 100 exhibitors and semi-
nars, plus sessions with pesticide
recertification credits available.
http://www.EasternWAagExpo.
com.
Thursday, Jan. 10
69th Annual Oregon Mint
Growers Meeting: Salishan Re-
sort, 7760 US-101, Gleneden
Beach. Attendees will hear the
latest on the mint industry. Pes-
ticide recertification credits have
been applied for. http://oregon-
mint.org.
Friday, Jan. 11
69th Annual Oregon Mint
Growers Meeting: Salishan Re-
sort, 7760 US-101, Gleneden
Beach. Attendees will hear the
latest on the mint industry. Pes-
ticide recertification credits have
been applied for. http://oregon-
mint.org.
2019 American Farm Bu-
reau Federation Convention
and IDEA Trade Show: Ernest N.
Morial Convention Center, 900
Convention Center Blvd., New Or-
leans. The Farm Bureau’s annual
national meeting. http://www.
fb.org/events/afbf-annual-con-
vention/.
Mike Forrester
Steve Forrester
Kathryn Brown
Susan Rana
Harrison Forrester
Mike Omeg
Cory Bollinger
Jeff Rogers
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
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EO Media Group
dba Capital Press
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Index
Dairy .....................................................11
Livestock ...............................................11
Opinion ...................................................6
Markets .................................................13
Correction
A page 2 article in the
Dec. 14 Capital Press
incorrectly stated that
LaGrande Family Foods
Group plants 500,000
acres to rice each year.
That is the approxi-
mate total acreage of rice
for milling planted in
California.
The Capital Press
regrets the error.