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Friday, December 25, 2020 CapitalPress.com 5 Satellite system will track water usage By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Irrigators and regulators frequently encounter the same predicament: They want to measure actual water but must instead deal with paper. Estimates of large-scale water usage needed by regulators often depend on “paper water,” or government-is- sued permits that describe the amount legally available for withdrawal but don’t reflect real consumption. Farmers face a similar dilemma with published studies about crop irri- gation requirements that aren’t spe- cific to their climate, potentially caus- ing them to use more water than necessary or not enough to optimize yields. Next year, a team of public and pri- vate scientists plans to release a tool that will alleviate the problem by esti- mating evapotranspiration — water released by plant foliage and soil evaporation — from satellite images of the Western landscape. “It’s going to change the game for water managers,” said Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, during the Oregon House Water Committee’s Dec. 17 hearing. The OpenET technology plat- form, developed by NASA, Google and several nonprofit groups, esti- mates water consumption based on the cooling effect of evapotranspira- tion, which is measured with satellite data about light reflection and surface temperature. Farmers can use the system to see how much water is consumed in par- ticular fields over time, giving them a more precise understanding of irri- gation needs, said Owens, who also grows about 3,000 acres of alfalfa in Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press File A new satellite-based technolo- gy system will help irrigators and regulators measure water usage across 17 Western states. Oregon’s Harney County. “How can we raise a crop with the least amount of water?” he said. “I can design irrigation systems to meet the needs of the crop.” For example, center pivots his- torically applied more than 7 gallons of water a minute per acre of alfalfa based on the crop’s maximum irri- gation needs during the hottest days of summer, he said. That’s likely an excessive rate but was commonly used to avoid drought stress. If alfalfa growers can reliably esti- mate the crop’s evapotranspiration rate during various temperature and weather conditions, however, they can conserve water without sacrificing yields, Owens said. “I can make the determination to shut the pivot off for one or two or three days in the spring, knowing that my crop isn’t getting stressed,” he said. Water regulators can also use OpenET to compensate for the lack of information they have about water usage in basins suffering from declin- ing aquifers or insufficient surface flows. In Oregon, for example, only about 16% of the total water rights in the state must measure and report water usage. “This data gap can be bridged with OpenET technology,” said Ivan Gall, field services division administra- tor for the Oregon Water Resources Department. From the regulatory standpoint, evapotranspiration data can help OWRD detect potentially unautho- rized water usage by comparing the satellite imagery with its map of legal water rights, he said. Groundwater studies, which mea- sure possible over-utilization on a vast scale, traditionally relied on assump- tions about water usage that can now be quantified much more accu- rately with satellite data, said Jordan Beamer, a hydrologist with OWRD. Since the satellite images go back to the 1980s, the agency can also use OpenET to analyze how irrigation pat- terns have changed over time, Beamer said. “We want to expand the use of this technology and integrate it into our processes,” he said. “We see this as a useful tool for basin-scale planning.” The scientists who’ve devel- oped OpenET expect to form a non- profit group to oversee the technol- ogy and make it widely available free of charge to small- and medium-sized water users, said Forrest Melton, senior research scientist with NASA. Farmers will be able to find water consumption information from an aerial field map of 17 Western states online or they may integrate the data into their existing irrigation man- agement tools, he said. “Every- one will have access to the same information.” Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press File Calves hit the feed bunk at Intermountain Beef Produc- ers’ feedlot in Eden, Idaho. The cost of feed will be sig- nificantly higher next year, an economist says. Higher feed costs to test producers By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press U.S. livestock and poul- try producers will face surg- ing feed costs in 2021, and there are more questions than answers when it comes to animal protein demand. CoBank analysts expect an average increase of 12% in U.S. feed costs due to higher corn and soybean meal prices. “They’re both driving that story,” said Will Sawyer, lead animal protein econo- mist with CoBank’s Knowl- edge Exchange division. With corn futures above $4 per bushel and soybean meal futures around $350 a ton, producers face higher prices than they have in many years, he said. Feed costs have been rel- atively benign since 2012 and lower than the previ- ous year for six of the last eight years. But supply and demand are driving an increase now, with a lot of similarities to what drove increases in 2007 and 2011, he said. China is rebuilding its swine herd, the largest in the world. The country is the top importer of soybeans, and is expected to import three times the normal amount of corn this year, he said. “More pigs need more feed, and that’s driving more corn and soybean imports into China,” he said. On the supply side, La Nina in South America is expected to create drier con- ditions in key regions of Brazil and Argentina — both major exporters of corn and soybeans to China, he said. And drought conditions in the U.S. are complicating things, with cattle produc- ers and feeders in a difficult New spending bill has provisions for water projects Congress passes water spending bills; next stop is president By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congress this week passed a $1.4 trillion spend- ing package to fund the government through next September and $900 bil- lion in COVID-19 relief. As part of the package, Congress also passed a multi-billion-dollar bill funding Western U.S. water projects called the Water Resources Develop- ment Act of 2020, or WRDA. “Hats off to Senate and House lead- ers, water committees and committee staff to put this bipartisan water pack- age together. Overall — this is a very nice, early Christmas present to West- ern water users,” Dan Keppen, execu- tive director of Family Farm Alliance, a group that advocates for irrigation and water supplies for Western farm- ers, said in a statement. The bills have broad bipartisan sup- port, and President Donald Trump is expected to sign them into law by the end of the week, according to the alliance. The bills would support the follow- ing water projects with dollar amounts requested earlier this year by the Inte- rior Department: • Boise River Basin — Anderson Ranch Dam Raise Project (Idaho): This project would raise the Ander- son Ranch Dam northeast of Mountain Home, Idaho, increasing the capacity of the reservoir. • Friant-Kern Canal Capac- ity Correction Project (California): This project would repair 33 miles of the 153-mile-long Friant Kern Canal, which has lost more than 50% of its design capacity due to land subsidence. • Sites Reservoir Project (Califor- nia): This project would pump winter flood flow from the Sacramento River through existing canals to an artificial lake to provide water security during droughts. • Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expan- sion Project (California): The project would enlarge a reservoir in southeast- ern Contra Costa County. • Cle Elum Pool Raise (Wash- ington): This project’s purpose is to increase water storage capacity in the Yakima Basin’s Cle Elum Reservoir by up to 14,600 acre-feet. • Delta Mendota Canal Subsid- ence Correction Project (Califor- nia): This project would repair cracks in the Delta-Mendota Canal caused by subsidence. • Del Puerto Water District Proj- ect (California): To combat drought, a new reservoir would be constructed in Del Puerto Canyon in the Coast Range foothills. The project would deliver water from the Delta-Mendota Canal into the new reservoir. • San Luis Low Point Improve- ment Project (California): This proj- ect’s intent is to store alternative water supplies to address reliability issues in San Luis Reservoir when it reaches its low point, fostering algae growth. • Sacramento Regional Water Bank (California): This is a devel- oping groundwater storage program intended to improve the water supply in the Sacramento region. The bills also include funding for water-related grants, provisions for cre- ating an aging infrastructure account, an aquifer recharge flexibility pro- gram, an observatory designed to col- lect data on snowmelt and various technologies. environment, he said. All that adds another $1 a bushel to corn prices, he said. Feed costs vary by spe- cies for several reasons, such as life cycle, feed ration and components of other feed costs, he said. In 2021, CoBank expects U.S. hog producers to face the highest average increase of 14%, followed by cattle feeders at 13% and chicken producers at 11%. The impact will be the highest next summer when the aver- age feed cost in the sectors climbs 18% in the second quarter and 16% in the third quarter. It’s a significantly higher level of inflation than seen in the last decade, he said. Chicken feeders are already experiencing feed cost inflation with a 4.4% increase in the fourth quar- ter over a year ago. The increase will begin to be felt by the cattle and hog sectors in the first quarter of 2021, he said. This time next year, the chicken sector will be in a deflationary environment. But the red meat side will still be in an inflationary environment, he said. “Fortunately there are positive signs that produc- ers and processors may ben- efit from higher beef, pork and poultry prices to cush- ion feed costs,” he said. Total meat and poul- try production is forecast to grow only 0.8% year over year. COVID-19 vaccine distribution will ramp up, meat plant operations are more secure and plant costs will be lower than they were last spring, he said. “Hopefully, 2021 will be better than what has been a stressful 2020,” he said. U.S. Wheat Associates officers extend terms for another year Citing the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Wheat Asso- ciates officers have extended their terms for another year. “Everything pretty well shut down in January, so we’re not traveling, we’re not seeing the trade teams, we’re not doing all that,” chairman Darren Padget told the Capi- tal Press. “Which, typically, we’re pretty involved with.” During a normal year, the officers would be traveling overseas to interact with cus- tomers at this time of year, Padget, a farmer in Grass Val- ley, Ore., said. Instead, they have been relying on virtual meetings. “It would be nice to have a more normal term and see those folks that we’ve built a relationship with over the years,” he said. During its Nov. 4, meet- ing, the U.S. Wheat board of directors voted unani- mously to temporarily change the organization’s bylaws to allow 2020/21 officers to serve for two years, according to U.S. Wheat. The decision to con- sider the change came from U.S. Wheat farmer directors because the COVID-19 pan- demic had severely restricted the normal, expected activ- LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2019 INFINITY QX60 LL VIN = 5N1DL0MM9KC557797 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) MICAH P CASTANEDA ONPOINT COMMUNITY CU LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2014 CHEV SILVERADO PU VIN = 1GCRCPEC3EZ202571 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) BRYAN LEOPOLD BUSTOS SIERRA AUTO LLC DA2003 The officers will now serve in their current posi- tions through June 30, 2022, the end of U.S. Wheat’s 2021- 22 fiscal year. After that, the motion states that the bylaws will revert to one-year offi- cer terms. LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2008 FORD MUSTANG 2DR VIN = 1ZVHT82H985139650 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) AMES KENNETH WILLIAMS JR RELIABLE CREDIT ASSOC INC LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2012 TOYTOA CAMRY 4DR VIN = 4T1BK1FK3CU007468 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) RUSSELL W & LISA K STRICKLAND LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2010 TOYTOA COROLLA 4DR VIN = 2T1KU4EEXAC248031 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) ANGIE VASQUEZ & MICHAEL ROSENBERG CARMAX AUTO FINANCE LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2011 TOYOTA RAV4 UT VIN = JTMBF4DV5B5049088 Amount due on lien $1,955.00 Reputed owner(s) CONNOR B HULL WELLS FARGO AUTO LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2019 TOYOTA COROLLA 4DR VIN = 2T1BURHE7KC176411 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) MALAAK ANIN DAMRA TOYOTA MOTOR CREDIT CORP LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2018 SUBARU WRX 4DR VIN = JF1VA1A62J9810115 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) ABRAHAM ENRIQUE ANDRADE GM FINANCIAL LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2019 HARLEY FLHRXS MC VIN = 1HD1KVP14KB627400 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) RYAN KEITH RICHARDSON LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2015 LEXUS NX200 UT VIN = JTJBARBZ4F2031784 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) TANYA MABEL VIRULA ONPOINT COMMUNITY CU LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2013 VW PASSAT 4DR VIN = 1VWCN7A30DC122214 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) CASEY JAMES MCKEEVER OREGON COMMUNITY CU LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2014 MAZDA 6 4DR VIN = JM1GJ1W65E1143265 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) ELIZABETH J & JASON S ELLISON CAPITAL ONE FSB S221487-1 S221488-1 LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 01/04/2021. The sale will be held at 10:00am by COPART OF WASHINGTON INC 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2015 MAZDA 3 4DR VIN = 3MZBM1U74FM200005 Amount due on lien $1,835.00 Reputed owner(s) ZACHARY R MCSONALD RIVERMARK COMM CU S221480-1 S221484-1 S221478-1 S221483-1 S221477-1 S221479-1 U.S. Wheat Associates Darren Padget at his Grass Valley, Ore., farm in 2019. Padget began his term as chairman of U.S. Wheat Asso- ciates in July 2020. S221485-1 Minn., secretary-treasurer Michael Peters of Okarche, Okla., and past chairman S221482-1 ities of the officers, includ- ing Padget, vice chair Rhonda Larson of East Grand Forks, Doug Goyings of Paulding, Ohio. According to U.S. Wheat, Gary Millershaski, a wheat farmer from Lakin, Kan., and a U.S. Wheat director, made the motion, saying that the officers could not fill the per- sonal ambassador role with wheat importing customers inherent in their terms. Millershaski said extend- ing the officer terms would help “make the organization stronger as the officers prog- ress through their positions before reaching the chair.” An extension “gives them more time to listen and learn how to best represent their fellow farmers.” S221476-1 S221475-1 S221481-1 By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press