Friday, October 25, 2019
lo
Wal
Lostine
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wa
Caudle Lane
Area in detail
Ri
ver
de
Wa
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
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Mountain V
ie
ane
Lostine Ri v e
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To Enterprise
L ostine River Road
WALLOWA-
WHITMAN
NATIONAL
FOREST
oad
wR
82
Lostine
Canyon
Firewise
Community
Source: Firewise USA
1 mile
Alan Kenaga/
Capital Press
Lostine establishes
NE Oregon’s fi rst
‘Firewise’ community
By BILL BRADSHAW
EO Media Group
LOSTINE, Ore. — The
Lostine Canyon neighbor-
hood has become north-
east Oregon’s fi rst nation-
ally recognized “Firewise”
community, an event that
could lead to more efforts
to prevent or combat wild-
fi res in Wallowa County.
Firewise communities
are a part of a program
that teaches people how to
adapt to living with wild-
fi re and encourages neigh-
bors to work together and
take action now to prevent
future losses.
The
approximately
110 properties with 120
structures make up about
9,600 acres south of Los-
tine, a community of about
200 people in the valley
between the towns of Wal-
lowa and Enterprise, the
county seat. About 45 indi-
viduals are participating
in the community, accord-
ing to Mike Eng, the leader
of the Lostine Canyon
Firewise Committee.
On Friday, Oct. 11, at
the Lostine Wildlife Area
the Firewire groups and
Commissioner Susan Rob-
erts met to dedicate signs
along the road recognizing
the Firewise community.
Roberts expressed hopes
that Lostine’s actions will
be an example to other
communities in the county.
“Hopefully,
your
accomplishment will serve
to inspire other communi-
ties to take important and
necessary steps to improve
their protection from the
potentially
catastrophic
risks of wildfi re,” Roberts
said.
Eng emphasized the
necessity for the program.
“We live in an extreme
fi re-risk area and we have
to learn to adapt to that,”
he said. “There’s not much
we can do about changing
the weather, changing the
terrain, changing the land
ownership and some of the
ways it’s managed.”
Lostine Canyon resi-
dents interested in estab-
lishing a Firewise Com-
munity fi rst met in April
2018. Since then, neigh-
bors in the Lostine Can-
yon have been working on
becoming better informed
about how to prevent wild-
fi re from destroying their
homes and their commu-
nity, how to respond in the
inevitable event of a wild-
fi re in the Lostine Canyon
and how to recover after
a wildfi re passes through
their community.
Residents have been
creating “fi re safe” perim-
eters around their homes,
removing closely spaced
and insect-damaged trees
and trimming low-hanging
branches. They have taken
advantage of offers by for-
esters Tim Cudmore and
Eric Carlson, of the Ore-
gon Department of For-
estry, to help identify dis-
eased and insect-infested
trees to help reduce fuel
loads around their homes,
while also preserving pri-
vacy and wildlife habitat.
They have also taken
advantage of free exterior
home inspections by one
of their neighbors, Gary
Willis, a former Hood
River, Ore., fi re chief, to
learn what they can do to
better fi reproof the exterior
of their homes.
Boutique fl our
mill hits its stride
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
The new Hillside Grain
fl our mill ran well ini-
tially, and even better after
an air-fl ow fi x.
“It has been a lot of
starts and stops,” owner
Brett Stevenson said.
“We’ve defi nitely had
some glitches to work out.
Over the summer, it was a
rollercoaster.”
She opened the fl our
mill last spring on part of
Hillside Ranch, a farm her
father, John Stevenson,
owns south of Bellevue,
Idaho. Grain industry rep-
resentatives said at the
time that expanding local
processing capacity, and
thus market opportunities,
benefi ts growers.
“Now we have a good
understanding of the sys-
tem and we are in con-
sistent production,” Brett
Stevenson said.
The mill has been run-
ning smoothly since late
August, after air fl ow was
increased in the pneu-
matic system that moves
the grain and fl our.
“We had a lack of air
Kloes named new executive
director of AgForestry
fl ow, so we didn’t get the
product moving through
the way we should —
we were getting plugs or
clogs,” Stevenson said.
“We increased air fl ow on
both the grain-cleaning
and milling sides.”
This year’s wheat crop
posed another challenge.
“The past couple of
years, we’ve had great
protein and quality in
the crop,” Stevenson
said. “This year, unfor-
tunately, we did not get
the protein level I was
hoping for.”
She bought some
wheat from a neighboring
organic grower. She hasn’t
started milling it, “but it
should be great,” she said.
“It’s the same variety we
have been milling, and all
of the test numbers look
good.”
Hillside makes wheat
fl our and a small amount
of barley fl our. Extraction
is mainly from the ker-
nel, which helps the fl our
retain more bran and germ
than sifted white fl our.
“Quality,
we
hit
right away,” Stevenson
said.
Matt Kloes is the new
executive director of Wash-
ington state’s AgForestry
Leadership program.
He was program direc-
tor for four years, and was
interim president for six
months.
“Matt possesses a level of
passion for AgForestry like
none other, has fresh ideas
to keep AgForestry as the
premier leadership program
in our state, and as a Class
36 graduate is a product of
what AgForestry creates,”
Michael Broeckel, chairman
of the board of directors,
said in a press release.
Kloes said he was drawn
to the opportunity to make
a greater impact on the pro-
gram, which develops lead-
ers in agriculture and for-
estry by developing their
leadership skills and knowl-
edge of the industries.
“As I look at the next
40 years, I think we have
an incredible opportunity
Idaho
potato
industry
to meet
Nov. 13
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
The annual Big Idaho
Potato Harvest Meeting will
be Nov. 13 in Fort Hall.
“We have put this meet-
ing in November so all grow-
ers can participate,” because
harvest by then is com-
pleted, Idaho Potato Com-
mission President and CEO
Frank Muir said. About 300
attended the free meeting in
each of the last two years.
The meeting will be at the
Shoshone-Bannock
Hotel
and Event Center, 777 Ban-
nock Trail.
One goal is to update
growers on commission mar-
keting, research and policy
initiatives so they can pro-
vide input, he said. The com-
mission collects a checkoff of
12.5 cents per hundredweight
— 7.5 cents, or 60%, from
the grower and 5 cents from
a subsequent handler such as
a shipper or processor.
“We encourage all grow-
ers to know what the com-
mission is doing with their
potato-tax money,” Muir
said.
The event starts at 9 a.m.
with meetings of the Idaho
Grower Shippers Associa-
tion, United Potato Grow-
ers of Idaho, Southern Idaho
Potato Cooperative and the
raw-products group of the
Idaho Association of Com-
merce and Industry.
Presentations by Pota-
toes USA President and
CEO Blair Richardson
and National Potato Coun-
cil CEO Kam Quarles are
scheduled at 11 a.m. and
11:30 a.m., respectively.
Muir’s presentation at a
noon lunch will cover the
commission’s annual mar-
keting plan as well as fi nd-
ings in a study by Optimi-
zation Group of Ann Arbor,
Mich., of the industry’s eco-
nomic impact. Grower-of-
the-year awards will be pre-
sented by Potato Growers of
Idaho.
Presentations also are
scheduled on the commis-
sion’s quality-assurance proj-
ect and an updated, commis-
sion-funded study on the best
location for the industry’s
next major North American
processing facility.
Presenters also likely will
discuss this year’s crop —
challenged by a hard freeze
Oct. 10-11 during harvest —
trade issues and opportuni-
ties and demand trends.
“We will be talking again
about some of the more long-
term issues, such as redis-
tricting in regard to how our
grower commissioners are
selected,” Muir said.
that’s also
a threat,”
he said.
“The pace
of change
will never
be slower
than it is Matt Kloes
today. We
really need to equip our
leaders to provide leadership
and guidance to their organi-
zations and industries in that
kind of environment.”
The risk is that change
could pass an organization
by, Kloes said.
Kloes believes the indus-
try is getting better at telling
its stories. Agricultural rep-
resentatives are using social
media to good effect, he said.
“The problem is there’s a
lot of noise and confl icting
information out there,” he
said. “I think we’re still fi g-
uring out how to deal with
that.”
Kloes grew up in San
Jose, Calif., He worked
for four years at Washing-
ton State University, then
nearly 10 years as an analyst
at Northwest Farm Credit
Services.
“It’s incredible when you
sit back and think about all
the hats that farmers wear
today,” he said. “They’re
risk managers, marketers,
they’re running the produc-
tion side. There’s so much
that goes into an operation,
they just really have my
deepest respect.”
Kloes said he consid-
ers the AgForestry pro-
gram “the best kept secret in
Washington.”
“We need to get bet-
ter at telling our story, so
when people, communities,
our giving partners hear the
name, they are proud that
they support our organiza-
tion,” he said. “And also that
people who aren’t yet sup-
porters understand what it
is we do and maybe become
supporters.”
Top priority for the organi-
zation is fundraising to cover
costs, secure the future and
make improvements, he said.
Enthusiasm is evident
when speaking to a gradu-
ate of an AgForestry class.
Kloes credits the camarade-
rie of the people sharing the
experience together.
“You can call any AgFor-
estry alum as an AgForesty
alum and they will drop
everything to help you,” he
said.
Participants begin to
develop leadership skills
immediately, he noted.
“It changes the way you
look at the world,” he said.
“It helps you to understand
both sides of the coin of
issues, and then sometimes
also the edge of the coin,
that additional perspective.”
It can be easy to surround
oneself only with agreeing
viewpoints, Kloes said.
“AgForestry really forces
us to examine what we think,
why we think it and consider
the merits of other points of
view,” he said.
19 th Annual
WILLAMETTE VALLEY
3 Big Days!
Tues • Wed • Thurs
NOVEMBER
12 • 13 • 14
www.wvaexpo.com
Train the Trainer Forklift Certification (Register online)
4 Big Buildings!
CORE Pesticide Training for credits
CPR/AED Training (Register online)
Forklift Certification Classes (Register online)
Antique Farm Equipment Show With Over
70 Pieces On Display
185+ vendors, new & returning to expanded
indoor heated space, plus even more
outdoor displays.
Back by Popular Demand: Wednesday Evening
Dine Around Oregon. Tickets available online.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12
Santiam Building Classroom
Two Days To Choose From
CORE Training is complimentary with $4 admission to the expo.
No registration is required.
A maximum of 4 credits are available (pending)
• 10:30a -12:30p • (2 CORE credits)
Worker Protection Standard, What Does It Look Like On Your Farm, Kaci Buhl
Pesticide Fate in Off-target Environment and Mitigation Measures, Jeff Jenkins
• 11:00a • Pape Group, David Gaffney, Corporate Fleet Compliance Specialist
Transportation Compliance Overview which covers:
• DOT requirements and recordkeeping.
• Load securement, specific to machinery regulations.
• Truck pre-trip and annual inspection requirements.
• Commercial driver’s license requirements.
• Size and weight limits.
• Farm exceptions.
• 12:30p-2p Lunch Break • on own, concessions available
• 2:00p-4:00p • (2 CORE credits)
Oregon Agriculture Current Issues and Lesson Learned 2019, Andrea Sonnen (ODA)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13
• 10:30a • Forklift Certification Training – Santiam Classroom (Advanced online
registration required, free with admission) Includes classroom, workbook written
knowledge check verification followed by a driving evaluation. Program provided by
Overton Safety Training and Pape Material Handlings. Class limited to 40, and is
provided in English only, attendees must be able to test in English.
• 10:30a –12:00p • CPR / Aed With Standard First Aid (Advanced online registration
required and $35 fee)
• 1:00p – 5:00p • Train The Trainer Forklift Course - Details Online
• 1:00p – 2:00p • Standard First Aid (Advanced online registration required & $15 fee)
Forklift Certification Training – 10:30a.m
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14
Santiam Building Classroom
• 10:30a -12:30p • (2 CORE credits)
Worker Protection Standard, What Does It Look Like On Your Farm, Kaci Buhl
Pesticide Fate In Off-target Environment And Mitigation Measures, Jeff Jenkins
• 12:30p-2p Lunch Break • on own, concessions available
• 2:00p-4:00p (2 CORE credits)
Oregon Agriculture Current Issues And Lesson Learned 2019, Andrea Sonnen (ODA)
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR
2019 WILLAMETTE VALLEY AG EXPO SPONSORS:
• Ag Chains Plus
• Ag West Supply
• Boshart Trucking
• Coastal Farm
• Complete Wireless
• Doerfler Farms
• Fastline, Sponsor
• Farmland Tractor
• Ground & Water
• Les Schwab Tires
• NW 94 Sales
For information about
sessions or presenters
please contact:
Jill Ingalls • 800-208-2168
info@wvaexpo.com
• Nutrien Ag Solutions
• Northwest Farm Credit Service
CORE
• Oregonians for Food & Shelter
Pesticide
• OR Health Insurance Marketplace
Training
• Pacific Health & Safety Sponsor
wvaexpo.com
• Overton Safety Training
• Pape Machinery
• Peterson Machinery
• Sunbelt Rentals
• And thank you to the following Dine Around Oregon
sponsors: • Reed Anderson Ranches • Manning Farms
• Oregon Dairy Women
Linn County Fair & Expo Center
For Expo updates,
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