Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2019)
Friday, January 25, 2019 CapitalPress.com 3 Northwest Ag Show draws thousands Three-day event features trade show, seminars, career fair By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press SALEM — After a one- year hiatus, the Northwest Ag Show marked its return in 2019 to Salem, Ore. An estimated 3,554 peo- ple attended the three-day event Jan. 16-18 at the Ore- gon State Fairgrounds, fea- turing educational seminars, a trade show and the first Agricultural Career Expo hosted by Oregon Agricul- ture in the Classroom, a nonprofit organization ded- icated to teaching students the importance of farming and ranching. The Northwest Ag Show started 50 years ago in Salem, though for the last 45 years it was held at the Port- land Expo Center. The EO Media Group, which pub- lishes 11 newspapers in Ore- gon and southwest Washing- ton — including the Capital Press — took over manage- ment of the show in 2017. Faced with difficulties attracting vendors to Port- land, the publishing com- pany decided to suspend the 2018 Northwest Ag Show and move it back to its origi- nal home in Salem for 2019. Michael Keith, show direc- tor and marketing man- Photos by Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Attendees make their way through exhibits in the Jackman-Long Building at the Oregon State Fair and Expo Center during the 2019 Northwest Ag Show in Salem. Patrons take in the booths at the 2019 Northwest Agricultural Show in Salem. ager for EO Media Group, said the change of location drew positive feedback from exhibitors and attendees. “Overall, our exhibitors and attendees were pleased with the show,” Keith said. “We had great conversations about how this year’s show went, and how to do even better next year.” More than 120 vendors were on hand at the fair- grounds, including farm equipment manufacturers such as Kubota and suppli- ers such as Coastal Farm & Ranch, which also spon- sored the show. Seminars on Jan. 16 and 17 covered a range of topics, from agriculture technology to weather and economic forecasts. Harvest Capital, an agri- cultural real estate lender based in Canby, Ore., served as the show’s title spon- sor. Brian Field, founder and president, said he was happy with how the show came together, and is look- ing forward to next year. “For the first year com- ing back to life, it was good,” Field said. Harvest Capital has par- ticipated in 25-plus North- west Ag Shows, Field said. He echoed the opinion that having the show in Salem, OSU researcher Chad Higgins speaks at the 2019 Northwest Agricultural Show in Salem. rather than in Portland, was a better overall fit. “It felt like it was more a part of agriculture,” Field said. “It was a better engaged ag show.” Field said organizers will meet in the next week or two to discuss ways to improve the 2020 edition of the show, though he added, “There’s nothing here except good marks from us.” Oregon Aglink, a non- profit volunteer membership organization that promotes Oregon agriculture, held its annual membership meet- ing at the ag show, while Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom, or AITC, also held its first Agricultural Career Expo, bringing in roughly 175 students from four Salem-area high schools to learn about dif- ferent careers in the field of agriculture. Jessica Jansen, exec- utive director of Oregon AITC, said students were able to interact with vendors at the trade show, as well as engage with a panel of 20 agriculture professionals with diverse roles in farm- ing, marketing, machinery, finance and other fields. “We were really try- ing to get a good subset of (careers) represented,” Jan- sen said. “I think it went great. I was thrilled, for a first-time event.” Jansen said she hopes to make the expo an annual event for local high school students, and was pleased to partner with the Northwest Ag Show. “If Northwest Ag Show is up for the partnership, I think it works really well,” she said. Company confirms purchase of fruit operations By DAN WHEAT Capital Press WAPATO, Wash. — A North Carolina agricul- tural investment firm has confirmed it has purchased three Washington state fruit companies. International Farm- ing Corp. of Kinston, N.C., issued a press release Jan. 22 announcing the acquisition of Legacy Fruit Packers and Val- ley Fruit III, both of Wapato, and Larson Fruit Co. of Selah. The combined companies will be known as Columbia River Orchards LLC. “IFC firmly believes that Columbia River Orchard’s exceptional tree fruit land base, state-of-the-art pack- ing and storage facilities, out- standing horticultural exper- tise and forward-looking marketing desk position it very well for rapid growth in the innovative Northwest tree fruit sector,” the company said in the release. The purchase price was not disclosed. It includes 4,000 acres of orchards and two packing facilities that handle 4 million boxes of fruit annually. IFC plans to make “substantial investments in orchard and packing tech- nology,” the press release stated. That will include expanding and developing further acreage in coming years and retaining approx- imately 3,000 seasonal and full-time employees and hir- ing additional staff as the business grows. Chances of El Nino continue to fade By DON JENKINS Capital Press There is no “obvious indi- cation” a long-anticipated El Nino will form this winter after all, according to a sea- sonal outlook issued Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA continues to pre- dict above-average tempera- tures for late winter and early spring in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Northern California. But an expected El Nino is no longer a major rea- son for the temperate outlook. A warm Pacific Ocean, El Nino’s essential ingredient, has not triggered the atmo- spheric conditions in the trop- ics that actually lead to mild winters in the northern U.S. Washington State Clima- tologist Nick Bond said tem- peratures have been gener- ally above normal, but not because of an El Nino. “It’s hard to argue the tropics have really played that important of a role,” he said. “It could end up being a non-event for all practical purposes.” For several months, NOAA has predicted a warm Northwest winter because it expected an El Nino to form. In December, the agency rated the odds at better than 90 percent. In early Janu- ary, the chances were down- graded to 65 percent. Since then, sea-surface tempera- tures have cooled more. There remains only an “outside chance” a “mar- ginal” El Nino will form late this winter, according to Thursday’s outlook. “We don’t completely understand why it hasn’t,” Bond said. “We don’t have a previous example quite like this one.” Rather than El Nino, the Madden-Julian Oscillation has dominated U.S. weather since October, according to NOAA. The 30- to 60-day weather pattern, named for the scientists who discov- ered it, rises up in the Indian Ocean, slowly moves east- ward, and has dry and wet phases. WE SPECIALIZE IN BULK BAGS! BAGS: • Seed Bags • Fertilizer Bags • Feed Bags • Potato Bags • Printed Bags • Plain Bags • Bulk Bags • Totes • Woven Polypropylene • Bopp • Polyethylene • Pocket Bags • Roll Stock & More! HAY PRESS SUPPORT: • Hay Sleeves • Strap • Totes • Printed or Plain • Stretch Film (ALL GAUGES) WAREHOUSE PACKAGING: • Stretch Film • Pallet Sheets • Pallet Covers LOCATIONS: Albany, Oregon (MAIN OFFICE) Ellensburg, Washington CONTACT INFORMATION: Phone: 855-928-3856 Fax: 541-497-6262 info@westernpackaging.com ....................................................... CUSTOMER SERVICE IS OUR TOP PRIORITY! w w w. w e s t e r n p a c k a g i n g. c o m 4-3/100 4-1/100
