Friday, December 31, 2021
CapitalPress.com 3
Solar project OK’d over Yakima Farm Bureau’s protest
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Washington Gov. Jay Ins-
lee has approved a 625-acre
solar project that will be
built on agricultural land and
was opposed by the Yakima
County Farm Bureau.
Inslee, adopting the rec-
ommendation of the Energy
Facilities Site Evaluation
Council, has signed off on the
Goose Prairie Solar project 8
miles east of Moxee.
OneEnergy Renewables of
Seattle received permission to
build the 80-megawatt project
11 months after applying. The
council fast-tracked the appli-
cation, ruling the project fol-
lowed county land laws and
would not signifi cantly harm
the environment.
Two property owners leas-
ing land to OneEnergy said
the steady rental income was
better than trying to farm or
ranch the unirrigated land.
Yakima County Farm
Bureau President Mark Herke
said Dec. 23 the county chap-
ter wrestled with the fact that
the landowners supported
the project. Nevertheless,
the county chapter submitted
lengthy comments objecting
to the project.
The complaints included
the amount of land that solar
projects take up compared to
wind turbines. The council
said it was outside its scope to
compare the relative impacts
of solar and wind projects.
Herke said Goose Prairie
and other solar projects will
grab up farmland that still has
the potential to be productive.
The “solar industrial com-
plexes” will bolster argu-
ments that dams, including
the Lower Snake River dams,
are unneeded for electricity,
he said.
Except for the Yakima
Farm Bureau, however, the
project faced virtually no
opposition.
“I just think people are
asleep at the switch,” Herke
said. “I think we’re diving off
into the unknown.”
The siting council, made
up of state offi cials, and coun-
ties are considering numer-
ous applications to build solar
panels in Central Washington.
Developers must off set
damage to shrub-steppe hab-
itat, perhaps by buying other
land in the area. Farmland is
considered “degraded” hab-
itat and does not require
mitigation.
OneEnergy, founded in
2009, has developed solar
projects totaling 700 mega-
watts, according to the coun-
cil’s report to Inslee, but this
will be its fi rst in Washington.
Goose Prairie project man-
ager Blake Bjornson told
the council at a presentation
last spring that the demand
for solar energy is primar-
ily driven by state law. Elec-
tric utilities must supply only
renewable energy by 2045.
The Goose Prairie proj-
ect will be near a Bonne-
ville Power Administration
transmission line. OneEn-
ergy estimates construction
will employ up to 300 work-
ers. Once fi nished, the facility
is not expected to create any
full-time jobs.
A rancher leasing to
OneEnergy said in a letter to
the council that the land dries
out in the summer and has low
value for winter pasture. The
solar panels will not interfere
with the ranch’s other opera-
tions, he wrote.
An attorney for the other
landowner said the land is
currently enrolled in the Con-
servation Reserve Program,
in which the USDA pays a
yearly fee to keep environ-
mentally sensitive farmland
out of production.
The rental agreement with
the USDA will expire next
year, and leasing the land to
OneEnergy will be more prof-
itable, according to the attor-
ney. To off set taking up shrub-
steppe land and land that was
enrolled in the conservation
program, OneEnergy will
have to pay a fee to either the
state Department of Fish and
Wildlife or a third party.
The money will be used
to buy land in the same area,
according to the council’s
mitigation plan. Herke said
that could take more farmland
out of production.
OSU Extension programs receive USDA grants
to support food hubs, mid-tier meat businesses
A private equity fi rm is buying a majority interest in
Albany, Ore.-based Coastal Farm & Ranch, which has
20 stores in the Northwest.
Coastal Farm & Ranch
transitioning to new
ownership group
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
ALBANY, Ore. — A
Los Angeles-based pri-
vate equity fi rm is buy-
ing majority ownership
of Coastal Farm & Ranch
as the retailer continues
to expand its footprint
across the Northwest.
Coastal, which oper-
ates 20 farm retail stores
in Oregon and Washing-
ton, announced the deal
with Nolan Capital on
Dec. 27. Terms were not
released.
Buzz Wheeler, the
owner of Coastal since
1990, will maintain an
ownership stake and
continue to serve on the
board of directors. CEO
Lori McKinnon will also
continue in her role.
“Building
Coastal
Farm & Ranch into the
company it is today has
been one of the greatest
accomplishments of my
life, and I am proud of
our support for Northwest
communities,” Wheeler
said in a statement. “This
decision was made with
the utmost care for my
family, our employees and
the company’s future.”
Nolan Capital is a fam-
ily fi rm managed by Peter
Nolan that invests primar-
ily in family-owned busi-
nesses “with exceptional
track records,” according
to the announcement.
“We are transitioning
Coastal from one West
Coast family to another,
and I am confi dent that
the business is set up for
continued success with
Lori and Nolan Capital,”
Wheeler said.
Coastal was founded
in 1963 in Albany, Ore.
Under Wheeler and McK-
innon’s leadership, the
company grew to 20 stores
with 1,100 associates.
With Wheeler nearing
retirement, he sought a
partner that could maintain
the Coastal’s momentum,
success and culture. Peter
Nolan brings more than 35
years of investment expe-
rience to the table. He is
the former managing part-
ner and current senior
advisor of Leonard Green
& Partners, a leading fi rm
with more than $50 billion
in capital.
Larry Hayward, CEO
of Del Mar Ventures in
San Diego, will also join
Coastal’s ownership group
and serve as non-execu-
tive chairman of the board.
He will play a strategic
role in advising the com-
pany’s growth. Hayward
was previously the CEO
of Leslie’s Poolmart and
Carr-Gottstein Foods Co.
“Coastal’s
growth
and resiliency is a testa-
ment to the team, culture
and operation that Buzz
has created,” Nolan said.
“Lori also excels in her
multi-faceted leadership
role and we can trust that
with her heading up oper-
ations, the company is in a
strong position for contin-
ued success. With the col-
lective knowledge, exper-
tise and resources of our
partnership, we can grow
Coastal into one of the
leading retail brands on the
West Coast.”
Funding will help
small and medium
operations expand
customer base,
supply chains
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
CORVALLIS, Ore. —
USDA has awarded grants
totaling more than $800,000
to two Oregon State Uni-
versity Extension small
farms program projects.
The purpose of the
grants is to strengthen Ore-
gon’s small- and mid-scale
food businesses.
The fi rst grant, for
$249,511, goes to OSU’s
Center for Small Farms
and Community Food Sys-
tems to support Oregon
food hubs. The second, for
$591,951, goes to OSU’s
Niche Meat Processor
Assistance Network to cre-
ate a stronger mid-tier meat
supply chain.
Lauren Gwin, associ-
ate director of the Center
for Small Farms and Com-
munity Food Systems, said
in a statement Tuesday that
the fi rst grant, from USDA’s
Regional Food Systems
Partnerships program, will
equip OSU to work with
eight Oregon food hubs.
A food hub, said Gwin,
is a business or nonprofi t
that manages distribu-
tion, marketing, network-
ing and aggregation of
locally grown food. Food
hubs share knowledge and
tools with small- and mid-
scale operations, helping
those businesses, including
farms, stay profi table and
sustainable.
“The folks who run local
food hubs are motivated to
solve some of the food sys-
tem’s most diffi cult chal-
lenges,” Gwin said.
Gorge Grown Food Net-
work in Hood River is one
of the hubs that will benefi t
from the grant.
“This project allows us
the opportunity to actual-
ize what we’ve been work-
ing toward for years: qual-
ity, fresh, local food for
everyone,” Sarah Sullivan,
executive director of Gorge
North Coast Food Web
Fresh produce from North Coast Food Web, one of the
food hubs a new USDA grant will support.
Grown Food Network, said
in a statement.
Sydney DeLuna, Ore-
gon food hub network
coordinator, told the Cap-
ital Press the other seven
food hubs OSU will sup-
port through the grant are
Bohemia Food Hub in Cot-
tage Grove, Food Roots
in Tillamook, North Coast
Food Web in Astoria,
Klamath Farmers Online
Marketplace in Klamath
Falls, Agricultural Con-
nections in Bend, Genuine
Wallowa County in north-
eastern Oregon and an
up-and-coming food hub
run by the Black Food Sov-
ereignty Coalition.
“Exciting stuff ,” said
DeLuna.
OSU, she said, will
use the money to support
the food hubs in creating
shared infrastructure, both
physical and social, that in
turn will serve farmers.
The second grant will go
to OSU Extension’s Niche
Meat Processor Assistance
Network, an organization
that plans to use the money
to off er training, business
coaching and peer support
to mid-tier meat businesses
and farmers.
Rebecca Thistlethwaite,
director of the network,
said a special project called
“Meat in the Middle” will
build on OSU Extension’s
existing Western Meat
School, an online course
that has become popular
with
direct-to-consumer
producers.
Meat in the Middle
will provide peer support,
learning tools, coaching
and virtual short courses
for at least 1,800 farm-
ers, ranchers, meat proces-
sors and butchers across
the U.S. The goal is to help
livestock producers and
meat processors to scale up
and reach new markets.
Thistlethwaite expects
participants
to
learn
important fi nancial skills,
build
business-to-busi-
ness relationships, write
marketing plans and learn
to grow their businesses
while staying true to their
values.
AGRI-
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JANUARY 21, 2022
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$60 per person |
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FEATURING
6PM Social hour |
7PM Dinner
KERRY
TYMCHUK
Reserve your seats online at
saifagribusiness.com
or by calling 503.581.1466
Oregon
Historical
Society
Trade Show Help Needed
We are seeking temporary employees for the Northwest Ag Show January 12-14, 2022 at
the Oregon State Fairgrounds & Expo in Salem.
BROUGHT TO
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The job duties include and are not limited to: greeting people at the door as they enter and exit,
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Dates and times are:
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Tuesday, Jan. 11: orientation and training, times vary
Wednesday, Jan. 12: 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 13: 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
$100 completion bonus for those who work all shifts.
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Go here to apply: https://www.applicantpro.com/openings/eomediagroup/jobs/2139921-429357
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