Friday, April 2, 2021
CapitalPress.com 5
Chicken producers to build large-scale operations
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
Oregon will likely soon have two
new large-scale chicken operations
— one in the Scio-Jeff erson area, the
other in Aumsville.
Poultry producers contracted
with Foster Farms plan to raise mil-
lions of broiler chickens at the oper-
ations. Proponents say the new sites
will expand Northwest chicken pro-
duction, meet demand for locally pro-
duced protein and boost profi ts for
contracted poultry growers.
But some locals, including neigh-
boring farmers, fear the mega-op-
erations will damage good soil, ruin
views, pollute water and air and hurt
surrounding property values.
Christina Eastman, 56, a Scio
resident, called the expansions an
“abomination.”
Eric Simon, 51, a longtime poul-
try farmer, will run the Scio opera-
tion. Simon owns Ideal AG Supply,
a dairy and poultry equipment com-
pany. In Brownsville, Ore., Simon
has also been a contract grower for
Foster Farms since 2000.
Simon, knowing Foster Farms has
been looking to expand, said he hoped
to enlarge his own contract with the
company, but fi nding the right prop-
erty wasn’t easy because it needed to
be large, relatively secluded and have
Courtesy of Eric Simon
Eric Simon, 51, a longtime Fos-
ter Farms contract poultry
grower, will run the Scio opera-
tion. Simon says his operation
will help meet demand for local-
ly produced protein and boost
the regional economy.
Christina Eastman, 56, a Scio, Ore., resident from a multi-gener-
ational farming family, said she is concerned and “heartbroken”
about the proposed Foster Farms expansion.
level ground, water rights and close
proximity to Interstate 5.
Then a property at 37225 Jeff er-
son-Scio Drive went up for sale.
“When we found this place, it was
a diamond,” he said.
With Foster Farms’ go-ahead,
Simon recently purchased the prop-
erty, where he plans to build 12 poul-
try houses, each 60-by-600-feet.
Robert Wheeldon, director of
Linn County Planning and Build-
ing Department, said he approved
Simon’s building applications.
“These are going to be state-of-
the-art facilities,” said Simon.
Simon also fi led a Confi ned Ani-
mal Feeding Operation, or CAFO,
application with Oregon Department
of Agriculture.
Andrea Cantu-Schomus, ODA
spokeswoman, said her agency
received the application last August.
The permit would allow Simon
to run 3.5 million birds annually —
580,000 birds per fl ock, six fl ocks per
year. Simon said he’ll probably raise
closer to 540,000 birds per fl ock.
At full capacity, according to
ODA, the operation would produce
Courtesy of Christina Eastman
USDA reopens CFAP, provides additional aid
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
WASHINGTON, D.C.
— USDA on Wednesday
announced it has a new
plan — called Pandemic
Assistance for Producers
— to provide farmers with
financial aid during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
USDA had paused
its Coronavirus Food
Assistance Program, or
CFAP, during the trans-
fer of power between
administrations.
The agency says it has
completed a review of
CFAP, identified gaps and
issued the new plan. Pre-
viously existing programs,
including CFAP, will
now fall under the new
initiative.
“Our new USDA Pan-
demic Assistance for Pro-
ducers initiative will help
get financial assistance to
a broader set of producers,
including to socially dis-
advantaged communities,
small and medium-sized
producers, and farmers
and producers of less tra-
ditional crops,” Agricul-
ture Secretary Tom Vil-
sack said in a statement
Wednesday.
The new plan has four
parts: $6 billion in new
assistance programs, $500
million for existing pro-
grams, additional pay-
ments under CFAP and
$2.5 million to help disad-
vantaged farmers.
New programs
Starting this spring,
USDA will dedicate at least
$6 billion for the following:
• Dairy farmers through
the
Dairy
Donation
Program.
• Euthanized livestock
and poultry.
• Biofuels.
• Specialty crops, begin-
ning farmers and local,
urban and organic farms.
• Costs for organic certifi -
cation and conservation.
• Other expansion and
corrections to CFAP.
• Timber harvesting and
hauling.
• Personal Protective
Equipment.
• Improving food supply
chain resilience.
• Supporting food dona-
tion and distribution.
• Reducing food waste.
Existing programs
USDA will also invest
$500 million in several exist-
ing programs, including:
• $100 million to Spe-
cialty Crop Block Grants.
• $75 million for the
Farmers
Opportunities
Training and Outreach pro-
gram and the Offi ce of Part-
nerships and Public Engage-
ment to help minority,
veteran and beginning
farmers.
• $100 million to the
Local Agricultural Market-
ing Program.
• $75 million for the
Gus Schumacher Nutrition
Incentive Program, aimed
at increasing fruit and vege-
table purchasing by low-in-
come consumers.
• $20 million for the
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service for dis-
ease prevention.
• $20 million for the
Agricultural Research Ser-
vice to work with Texas
A&M University on health
and agriculture initiatives.
• $28 million in grants
to state departments of
agriculture.
• $80 million to domestic
users of upland and extra-
long staple cotton.
Increased CFAP
payments
USDA will help the
Farm Service Agency make
payments according to
mandated formulas under
CFAP 1, 2 and AA. Sev-
eral farm sectors can expect
top-up payments. Changes
include:
• An increase in CFAP
1 payment rates for cattle
starting April 1.
• Additional payments
for swine producers and
contract growers.
• Additional CFAP assis-
tance of $20 per acre for
producers of eligible crops
including alfalfa, corn, cot-
ton, hemp, peanuts, rice,
sorghum, soybeans, sugar
beets and wheat.
• Assistance with appli-
cations related to pul-
lets and turfgrass sod, row
crops, insurance indemni-
ties and natural disasters.
about 4,500 tons of manure annu-
ally, to be sold as an organic soil
amendment.
Simon said the manure will never
be kept outside.
“We’re following every rule,
above and beyond,” he said.
The CAFO permit will go up for
public review soon. Simon expects to
start building in May or June.
The proposed site does not include
a kill plant. Simon said his poultry
will be processed in Kelso, Wash.,
and sold mostly in Northwest grocery
stores.
Foster Farms did not respond to
repeated requests for comment for
this story.
Simon said the project will sup-
port his family, create fi ve jobs and
boost local tax revenue.
But his project is unpopu-
lar. Across Scio this spring, lawns
are dotted with hundreds of signs:
“No factory chicken farm in our
community!”
Eastman, the Scio resident, formed
a group called “Farmers against Fos-
ter Farms.”
Eastman is caretaker for her fam-
ily’s 300 acres of multi-generational
farms, three of which are adjacent to
the site.
She’s worried about smells,
sounds and pollution and said she’s
“heartbroken” a piece of fertile land
will be lost to large-scale farming.
Simon, the poultry farmer, said,
“We want to be good neighbors.”
According to people familiar with
the matter, another contract grower
for Foster Farms plans to build a
large-scale operation near Aumsville
at Porter Family Farm, a Century
Farm homesteaded in 1848.
“I feel there are other places they
could’ve chosen,” said Teresa Ander-
son, 55, who lives next to the pro-
posed Aumsville site. “Just because
it’s lawful, doesn’t mean it’s the right
thing to do.”
Deadly virus confi rmed in
feral rabbits near Portland
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
MILWAUKIE, Ore. — Oregon wildlife
and agriculture offi cials have confi rmed the
presence of a deadly virus in feral domestic
rabbits in a Portland suburb, sparking concerns
the disease could spread to wild rabbits.
On March 14, the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife received a report that
eight domestic or feral rabbits were found
dead in Milwaukie.
Ryan Scholz, state veterinarian for the
Oregon Department of Agriculture, was noti-
fi ed and had one of the rabbit carcasses deliv-
ered to Oregon State University for testing.
Results came back positive for Rabbit Hem-
orrhagic Disease Virus 2 on March 24.
The disease does not pose a risk to
humans, but is highly contagious among rab-
bits and can spread through contact with other
infected animals or contaminated food and
water, causing acute or sudden death.
“At this point, we are confi dent that all
eight of the rabbits died from RHDV2, and
the virus has taken hold in the feral rabbit
population,” Scholz said.
ODA and ODFW are asking the public to
report any dead rabbits as the agencies track
the virus. Offi cials will continue to test feral
rabbits in the Milwaukie area.
Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease was also
recently discovered in two wild jackrab-
bits in Ada County, Idaho, southwest of the
Boise Airport.
There is no treatment, cure or vaccine for
the disease. Symptoms in rabbits may include
fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, lack of coor-
dination, excitement or nervousness, diffi culty
breathing, congested membranes around the
eyes or bloody, frothy nasal discharge at death.
To report dead rabbits in Oregon, call 1-800-
347-7028 or visit www.oda.direct/RHD.
In Idaho, anyone encountering a dead
wild rabbit is asked to leave the carcass in
place and contact the state Department of
Fish and Game at a regional offi ce or by
calling (208) 939-9171. Incidents can also
be reported online at https://idfg.idaho.gov/
conservation/wildlife-health/add.
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