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COVID-19 AND ITS IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE | PAGES 4, 5 EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER CapitalPress.com Friday, March 27, 2020 Volume 93, Number 13 $2.00 IT’S MINT TO BE Northwest mint farmers endure deadly fungi and foreign competition to keep regional tradition alive By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN Capital Press J UNCTION CITY, Ore. — John Reerslev, 65, a second-gener- ation mint farmer, bent and plucked a young mint sprig from the soil. He rubbed it between leathery fingertips and held it to his nose. A breeze rippled his graying hair. “When harvest comes, everything smells like peppermint,” he said. “It fills the air.” Reerslev and his family grow mint and distill mint oil in the Willamette Valley, heartland of America’s mint industry. The Reerslev farm near Junction City is part of a colossal domestic industry impacting how millions of Americans brush their teeth, chew gum, suck cough drops, swallow medications, inhale essential oils and flavor their ice cream. See Mint, Page 10 Peppermint versus spearmint Of the mint oil produced, roughly 45% is used to flavor oral hygiene products like toothpaste and mouthwash. Thus, the demand for peppermint is much greater than other varieties, such as spearmint. 30,000 acres 23,000 Peppermint oil acres harvested 19,000: Down 17.4% from 2010 20,000 16,000 17,000 10,000 15,500 Oregon Idaho Washington Source: USDA NASS 0 Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press Oregon mint grower John Reerslev stands in his distillery beside a boiler, built in 1944, which he still uses. 2010 ’13 10,000 ’16 2019 Peppermint Spearmint ~Menthol content: 40% ~Menthol content: 0.5% ~Scent: Pungent ~Scent: Delicate ~Flavor: Spicy, cool, refreshing ~Flavor: Savory, sweet, herbal ~Popular uses: Holiday treats, medicinal purposes, toothpaste and mouthwash ~Popular uses: Savory recipes like tzatziki sauce over lamb, mint-flavored gums ‘MINT IS A REALLY INTERESTING SPECIALTY CROP TO GROW. BUT IT’S NOT EASY. YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR TO GROW MINT.’ Source: American Culinary Federation John Reerslev, Oregon mint grower Sierra Dawn McClain and Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Western farm water use data to go online NASA, Google, environmental groups to make water management data more accessible to public in 2021 By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN Capital Press OpenET developers claim it will help expand irrigation practices that maximize “crop per drop,” reducing costs for fertilizer and water. Irrigation data has historically been limited in scope and expen- sive to access. A new project seeks to change that. Researchers from NASA, the Des- ert Research Institute and the Envi- ronmental Defense Fund, with sup- port from Google Earth Engine technology, are working to create an online platform with free, accessi- ble, satellite-based water data open to anyone. Farmers have expressed both excitement and concern about the prospect. Industry leaders and water experts say the project will have a pro- found impact on water management in the West. “The implications are tremen- dous,” said Andrew McElrone, pro- fessor and research plant physiologist at the University of California-Davis. “This will impact growing decisions, water usage, water rights and trading.” The project, called OpenET, will launch in 2021. OpenET’s leaders say its purpose is to improve “sustainable water man- agement” for communities, rivers, wildlife and agriculture. It is funded by environmental organizations and charitable foundations. OpenET is so named because it measures evapotranspiration, or ET, the process by which water moves from ground to atmosphere through both evaporation from the land and transpiration from plants. Forrest Melton, a senior research scientist at NASA, said consistent information on evapotranspiration “is probably the biggest data gap for water management.” ET technology isn’t new. Accord- ing to Maurice Hall, who leads EDF’s Western Water program, universities and other groups have used ET data for years, but the existing approach is “piecemeal at best.” “Given the importance of water, it’s surprising how archaic many of See Water, Page 10 Agriculture still open for business during virus outbreak Oregon governor orders ‘nonessential’ businesses to close; agriculture marches on By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN Capital Press SALEM — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued an executive order Monday establishing legally enforceable restrictions on public activity and ordering “non-essen- tial” businesses to close. Meanwhile, agriculture is open for business. Farmers and farm- workers across the West are doing field work, planting crops and get- ting ready for another growing sea- son, and suppliers are staying busy keeping up with their needs for seed, fertilizer and equipment. “For agriculture itself — that is, the farmers producing the crops — it’s mostly business as usual,” said Jeff Freeman, sales and marketing director for Marion Ag Services, a supplier of fertilizer and other agri- cultural products. “Food is import- ant, so farming will go on.” For some farm industries, the COVID-19 virus outbreak has actu- ally increased revenue. Wheat, for example, is in high demand. Shoppers stockpiling sta- ples such as flour have triggered an “unprecedented” demand, according to the Wheat Foods Council. Potato prices have also skyrock- eted as consumers stocked up. The price of 10-pound bags of Idaho Bur- banks and Norkotahs has increased from $11 to $17 in the past week — a 54% jump, according to data col- lected by United Potato Growers of Idaho. “We see so many foods selling at unheard-of amounts,” said Bryan Ostlund, administrator of the Ore- gon Blueberry Commission. “Berry processing alone — it’s crazy. Just crazy. It’s hard to find enough Grade A fruit out there to meet the demand. Costco alone looks like the apoca- lypse hit.” Some farmers are yet to see any major changes. Helle Ruddenklau, a farmer near Amity, Ore., and former president of Oregon Women for Agriculture, said she and her husband, Bruce, grow See Outbreak, Page 10 Helle Ruddenklau Helle Ruddenklau, left, and hus- band, Bruce, inspect grass seed on their farm near Amity, Ore.