EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER
Friday, May 14, 2021
Volume 94, Number 20
CapitalPress.com
$2.00
IN
THE
LOOP
How a pandemic ultimately
benefited Hood River agritourism
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
H
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Wine glasses and bottles
at Wy’East Vineyards with
Mount Hood in the back-
ground.
OOD RIVER, Ore. — It was
a sunny spring afternoon. The
parking lot at Draper Girls Coun-
try Farm was packed. Visitors
were touring the Hood River
Fruit Loop, one of Oregon’s top agritourism
destinations.
The Hood River Fruit Loop is named after
the cluster of farms growing fruit trees and
winegrapes between the Columbia River and
majestic Mount Hood. About 30 farms selling
fresh produce, fl owers, ciders, wines and gour-
met foods are part of the offi cial Fruit Loop.
According to the Oregon Tourism Commis-
sion, visitors spend more than $100 million
annually in Hood River County, and staff ers
at the Visit Hood River organization estimate
tourists spend as much as tens of millions of
dollars on the Fruit Loop alone.
When COVID-19 struck last spring, it rattled
agritourism ventures across the nation, includ-
ing along the Fruit Loop. Events were can-
Several farmers invented new products.
“We all really worked our tail ends off ,” said
Tammi Packer, a farmer along the loop.
It worked.
Although some businesses still suff ered,
especially wineries that were mandated to close
tasting rooms, most Fruit Loop farmers say
2020 turned out to be a great year and expect
2021 to be even stronger. Consumer interest in
buying direct-from-farm is growing, many say.
And agritourism is on the rise.
When COVID came
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Tammi Packer, right, cans Marionberry
jam alongside her employees at Packer Or-
chards & Bakery.
celed. Couples postponed on-farm weddings.
The number of foreign tourists nosedived.
Fruit Loop farmers say the lockdown
pushed them to adapt at warp speed. Some cre-
ated websites. Others started delivery services.
Farms along the Hood River Fruit Loop
have long relied on tourism traffi c, so when the
pandemic hit, many farmers were afraid a shut-
down could destroy them.
For the fi rst few months, the situation looked
dismal.
One tourist who visited last April told the
See Loop, Page 11
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Irrigation systems on a farm
near Mount Hood.
Klamath Project’s A Canal will remain closed in 2021
Extreme drought conditions prompt
decision by Bureau of Reclamation
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
KLAMATH
FALLS,
Ore. — For Klamath Proj-
ect irrigators, 2021 will be
as bleak as it gets.
The U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation
announced
Wednesday it is shutting
down the Project’s A Canal
for the entire season, mean-
ing farmers and ranch-
ers will receive zero water
supplies amid a crippling
region-wide drought.
“We have closely mon-
itored the water conditions
in the area and the unfor-
tunate deterioration of the
forecasted hydrology,” said
Reclamation Deputy Com-
missioner Camille Calimlin
Touton. “This has resulted
in the historic consequence
of not being able to operate
a majority of the Klamath
Project this year.”
The Bureau of Recla-
mation announced an ini-
tial water allocation of just
33,000 acre-feet for the
Klamath Project in April
— barely 8% of historical
demand.
One month later, condi-
tions have gone from bad
to worse. Infl ows to Upper
Klamath Lake are 85,000
acre-feet below what was
reported April 1 following
an exceptionally dry month.
The A Canal is the main
artery delivering irrigation
water from Upper Klam-
ath Lake to 130,000 acres of
farmland within the Klam-
ath Project. Offi cials in April
predicted the water would
not start fl owing until May
15 at the earliest.
Instead, the canal will be
left dry through the summer,
putting hundreds of family
farms at risk.
In addition, the bureau
announced it would not pro-
vide “fl ushing fl ows” down
the Klamath River to ben-
efi t endangered salmon.
Flushing fl ows are intended
to wash away a deadly
fi sh-killing parasite known
as C. shasta that thrives in
low-fl owing, warm water.
According to the lat-
est water outlook report
issued by the USDA Nat-
ural Resources Conserva-
tion Service, nearly all res-
ervoirs in the Klamath Basin
are storing less than 50%
capacity. April precipitation
was just 25% for the month,
and basin streamfl ows are
expected to run between 8%
to 49% through the summer.
Nearly all of Southern
Oregon and Northern Cal-
ifornia are in “severe” to
“exceptional” drought.
Paul Simmons, execu-
tive director of the Klam-
ath Water Users Associa-
tion, struggled to fi nd words
when contacted Wednesday
See Canal, Page 11
Animal cruelty initiative worrying Oregon farm groups
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
SALEM — Animal agriculture
could soon be considered animal
cruelty under a proposed ballot mea-
sure in Oregon.
Farm groups are pushing back
against Initiative Petition 13, which
would strip away most protections
for livestock producers under the
state’s animal abuse laws.
The result would eff ectively
criminalize everything from slaugh-
tering livestock to basic animal hus-
bandry, including branding and
dehorning cattle, castrating bulls
and docking horses, sheep and pigs,
said Mary Anne Cooper, vice presi-
dent of public policy for the Oregon
Farm Bureau.
The initiative also seeks to
re-classify livestock breeding and
artifi cial insemination as sexual
assault of an animal — a Class C
felony.
“It’s a very diff erent tack than
we have ever seen before,” Cooper
said. “Basically, they’re looking to
ban anything with animals that is not
doctoring.”
Initiative Petition 13 was fi led
Nov. 2, 2020, with the Oregon Sec-
retary of State’s offi ce. The chief
petitioner is David Michelson, a
Portland animal rights activist.
A similar proposal, called the
Protect Animals from Unneces-
sary Suff ering and Exploitation, or
PAUSE, Act is also being pursued in
Colorado.
The Oregon campaign recently
cleared its fi rst regulatory hurdle,
submitting 1,000 sponsorship sig-
natures for verifi cation on April 28.
If approved, supporters will need
See Initiative, Page 11
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press File
An initiative being circulated
targets animal agriculture,
hunting, rodeos and wildlife
management, among other
activities.
Our WASHINGTON LENDERS
Founded in 1945
are Experienced, with a Focus on
by Farmers and Ranchers. Agriculture
and Commercial Loans
Who saw a need for Rural Lending.
and Operating Lines of Credit.
DAYTON, WA
Todd Wood
509-382-7111
PASCO, WA
Russell Seewald
509-546-7264
BEW IS A BRANCH OF BANK OF EASTERN OREGON / MEMBER FDIC
PASCO, WA
Daniel Rehm
509-546-7254
S228576-1
RUSSELL SEEWALD
Pasco, WA
DANIEL REHM
Pasco, WA