Capital Press
EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER
Friday, September 24, 2021
Volume 94, Number 39
CapitalPress.com
$2.00
DOUBLE
TROUBLE
Drought hay statistics
Alfalfa and alfalfa mixes, forecast Aug. 1, 2021
Area
Harvested acres
(1,000 acres)
Production
(1,000 tons)
2020
2021
2020
2021
Calif.
475
580
3,420
4,234
Colo.
700
730
2,380
2,920
1,010
1,010
4,545
4,242
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press
Pat Purdy, a partner at Purdy Enterprises, beside stacked hay on the family farm and ranch in Picabo, Idaho,
Idaho
on Sept. 8.
Idaho
Mont.
1,900
1,850
4,180
2,590
N.D.
1,220
1,250
2,196
1,125
Ore.
360
380
1,656
1,672
S.D.
1,800
1,600
3,240
1,600
410
420
1,804
1512
16,230
16,123
53,067
47,813
Wash.
U.S.
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
All other hay, forecast Aug. 1, 2021
Area
Harvested acres
(1,000 acres)
Production
(1,000 tons)
2020
2021
2020
2021
Calif.
350
335
1,190
1,072
Colo.
680
680
918
952
Idaho
290
280
725
448
Mont.
960
970
1,728
1,067
N.D.
1,000
1,150
1,400
1,035
Ore.
600
540
1,320
1,080
S.D.
1,250
1,150
2,125
1,150
280
350
812
805
36,008
35,414
73,745
70,927
Wash.
U.S.
Drought scorches Northwest hay crop,
squeezes beef cattle, dairy producers
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
PICABO, Idaho — Now har-
vesting his third and fi nal cutting of
hay, Pat Purdy is grateful his irriga-
tion water got turned back on and the
crop is looking good.
“Our second cutting of hay was
off signifi cantly, probably 30 to
40%,” said Purdy, who is part owner
of his family’s Picabo Livestock
Company.
The reason: Purdy’s irrigation
water had been cut off for eight days
at a critical time for the crop.
“That defi nitely put a dent in our
second cutting,” he said. The crop
missed out on the last one or two
water cycles it would normally get.
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press
Freshly cut hay dries on the Purdy farm.
As the region-wide drought and
tight water supplies continue to
shrink the amount of hay grown this
year, it’s hurting the farmers who
grow it — and the ranchers and dairy
operators who depend on the crop to
feed their livestock.
In Purdy’s case, the state
Department of Water Resources
curtailed groundwater rights in the
lower Wood River Valley until junior
irrigators negotiated an agreement
with senior surface-water users to get
some of their water turned back on.
See Hay, Page 9
Biden administration to review ESA status of wolves
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
The Biden administration will
review the status of northern Rocky
Mountain wolves, potentially restoring
federal protection to wolves in Idaho,
Montana, Wyoming and the eastern
one-third of Oregon and Washington.
The 12-month review by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was
requested by environmental groups.
The agency agreed that the hunting of
wolves in Idaho and Montana poses a
potential threat to the species.
The review will take in Rocky
Mountain wolves that has dispersed
into Oregon and Washington. Wolves
there were taken off the endangered
species in 2011.
The Washington Department of
Fish Wildlife says wolfpacks saturate
northeast Washington. The department
has resorted to killing wolves to stop
chronic attacks on livestock.
Northeast Washington rancher
Scott Nielsen, president of the Stevens
County Cattlemen’s Association, said
restoring federal protection would be a
foolish political decision.
“The whole thing is really mis-
guided. It’s politics. They were delisted
because they weren’t endangered,” he
said. “Did something happen to change
that?”
The wolf population continues to
grow in Oregon and Washington. The
recent annual growth rate has been in
the single digits.
Center for Biological Diversity wolf
organizer Amaroq Weiss said hunting
in Idaho leaves fewer wolves to move
into Washington and Oregon.
See Wolves, Page 9
WDFW
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Sept. 15 it will re-
view the status of wolves in the northern Rocky Moun-
tains.
EPA admin talks WOTUS, dicamba, new ag adviser
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
Quarles led the discussion.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. —
U.S. EPA administrator
Michael Regan spoke Mon-
day to state agricultural reg-
ulators at the National Asso-
ciation of State Departments
of Agriculture’s annual
meeting.
Regan pledged to work
with the agricultural com-
munity to rewrite the Waters
of the United States, or
WOTUS, rule with contin-
ued exemptions for farm-
Quarles fi rst questioned
Regan about the Waters of
the United States rule, an
Obama-era rule aimed at
protecting wetlands and
streams from development
and pollution.
Farmers and ranch-
ers have long criticized the
rule as an example of fed-
eral overreach and overreg-
ulation. WOTUS also lacks
clarity, farm groups say.
“Farmers and ranch-
Michael
Regan
Ryan
Quarles
ing and ranching. Regan
also said EPA is consider-
ing regulatory action on the
herbicide dicamba and will
soon appoint an ag adviser
at EPA.
NASDA President Ryan
TIME TO PLAN
for next year.
Bank of Eastern Oregon
offers Operating Lines of
Credit and Term loans on
Equipment and Land.
See WOTUS, Page 9
Specializing in
Agricultural &
Commercial Loans.
BURNS 541-573-2006 / 293 N. BROADWAY
MADRAS 541-475-7296 / 212 SW 4TH ST., STE 305
LAURA GEORGES
Burns, OR
PETE M C CABE
Madras, OR
S228616-1
WOTUS
culture and ranching activi-
ties, as defi ned by the Clean
Water Act Section 404 that
could take place in a jurisdic-
tional waterway or wetland,
will not require a permit,”
said Regan. “This exemp-
tion includes many com-
mon activities like plowing,
seeding and minor drainage
as well as activities like con-
struction and maintenance
of irrigation ditches.”
Quarles said many farm-
ers are “frustrated” about
ers need certainty, and they
shouldn’t have to hire a team
of lawyers or environmen-
tal experts to understand if
they’re subject to this rule or
regulations or how to com-
ply to it,” said Quarles, Ken-
tucky’s commissioner of
agriculture.
Since 1993, regulations
have exempted from juris-
diction
prior-converted
croplands. Asked whether
this exemption will remain
under a rewritten WOTUS,
Regan said “yes.”
“Normal farming, silvi-
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