Friday, January 28, 2022
CapitalPress.com 9
Sheep ranchers use light control for year-round lambing
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
The sheep industry is
highly seasonal, making it
diffi cult for farmers to mar-
ket fresh sheep products
such as lamb meat and milk
year-round.
According to the Ameri-
can Lamb Resource Center,
most sheep are at peak fertil-
ity for breeding September
through December, and as a
result, 80% of the U.S. lamb
crop is born in the fi rst fi ve
months of the calendar year.
This seasonality, accord-
ing to the center, can cause
“ineffi ciencies and market
volatility.”
New research, however,
is enabling producers to
breed sheep successfully out
of season using a method
called light extension pro-
tocol, or “photoperiod pro-
tocol.” The idea is similar
to using artifi cial light to
stimulate egg production by
chickens.
The practice of using pho-
toperiod protocol has been
common in Quebec, Can-
ada, since 2001 with high
rates of eff ectiveness across
all breeds and crosses, but
the strategy remains mostly
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Sheep head to the barn for feeding time.
untapped by U.S. producers.
Farmers
who
have
learned to use light exten-
sion protocols are able to run
separate groups of sheep,
bred at diff erent times, so
lambs are born in batches
through the year.
“It can be really prof-
itable for you to supply
milk all year round,” said
Johanne Cameron, Cana-
dian sheep farmer and for-
mer sheep extension coor-
dinator for the province of
Quebec.
Cameron was speaking
at the Dairy Sheep Associ-
ation of North America’s
symposium.
Cameron’s
research
has primarily been in meat
Army Corps considers alternatives
for operating Willamette Basin dams
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
PORTLAND — The
U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers is re-evaluating how
it will maintain and operate
13 dams in Oregon’s Willa-
mette Valley to protect three
species of endangered fi sh.
The dams, collectively
known as the Willamette
Valley Project, were built
more than 50 years ago to
provide fl ood control from
heavy spring rains. Other
authorized purposes include
irrigation, hydropower, rec-
reation and fi sh and wildlife
habitat.
Offi cials at the Corps’
Portland District outlined
seven alternatives for proj-
ect operations during a vir-
tual public meeting on Jan.
19. The changes described
in each alternative are
intended to improve water
quality, temperature and
fi sh passage at the dams
for spring chinook, winter
steelhead and bull trout.
A federal judge in 2020
ruled the dams had pushed
endangered Upper Willa-
mette salmon and steel-
head runs to the brink of
extinction, while the Corps
lagged years behind mak-
ing scheduled upgrades that
were agreed to in an earlier
court settlement with envi-
ronmental groups.
The Corps is now updat-
ing its Environmental
Impact Statement, or EIS,
for the Willamette Proj-
ect, walking the tightrope
between the needs of fi sh
and the needs of other users.
“It is a delicate dance that
has increasingly become
more complex,” said Erik
Petersen, operations proj-
ect manager for the Corps.
“Everyone is giving some-
George Plaven/Capital Press File
Detroit Dam is one of 13
dams operated by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers in
the Willamette River Basin.
thing up, and everyone is
gaining something. No one
is getting anything exactly
the way they want it.”
Public scoping for the
updated EIS began in 2019.
The Corps received 717
suggestions for measures
that could be implemented
at one of the dams. From
there, the list was whittled
down to 23 measures based
on their feasibility and
benefi ts.
The measures are divided
into four sub-categories —
fi sh passage, water quality,
fl ow and “common to all,”
which includes hatchery
improvements and gravel
augmentation.
The Corps mixes and
matches these measures
into each of the seven alter-
natives, looking to strike
the right balance of actions
to maximize the dams’
benefi ts.
For example, alterna-
tives 3A and 3B focus
on boosting fi sh passage
by modifying operations,
rather than substantially
changing any of the struc-
tures. That would involve
deep spring and fall sea-
son reservoir drawdowns,
boosting river fl ows at a
time when adult and juve-
nile salmon are migrating.
Alternative 4, on the
other hand, takes a more
building-based approach,
adding new downstream
passage and water qual-
ity facilities to keep fi sh
healthy and moving.
Kelly Wingard, project
manager, said the Corps is
still assessing the impact
of alternatives. The agency
will release its draft EIS
sometime in the fall, which
will include a preferred
alternative. A fi nal EIS and
Record of Decision could
be fi nished by 2024.
The last time an EIS
was done for the Willa-
mette Project was in 1980,
Wingard said. Since then,
the project’s demands have
changed substantially.
“Really, we’re re-look-
ing at how we balance the
diff erent priorities for the
system,” Wingard said.
Last year, irrigators
gained access to 328,000
acre-feet of water stored
in the project’s reservoirs,
part of a reallocation plan
that divvied 1.6 million
acre-feet of water among
farmers, cities and fi sh and
wildlife.
But Kathy Warner, a
technical expert and water
supply specialist for the
Willamette Project EIS,
said changes in dam oper-
ations could mean changes
in timing and availability of
water for irrigation. Agri-
culture, she said, is part
of Corps’ analysis of the
alternatives.
“Each of these alterna-
tives could have a diff erent
level of impact, or eff ect,”
Warner said. “They’re look-
ing at the diff erent ways the
system could operate.”
Judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit
over cherry patent infringement
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
A federal judge has
refused to dismiss the Cana-
dian government’s lawsuit
against several Washington
farms that it alleges infringed
on a cherry tree plant patent.
The farming operations
— Van Well Nursery, Mon-
son Fruit Co., and Gordon
and Sally Goodwin — hav-
en’t proved the Canadian
government’s patent for
Staccato cherries is invalid,
according to Chief U.S. Dis-
trict Judge Stanley Bastian in
Spokane, Wash.
The cherry cultivar is con-
sidered to provide a market
advantage to farmers because
it matures after other com-
mon varieties in late summer.
There are still too many
factual uncertainties over the
plant patent for the case to be
decided as a matter of law,
which is known as summary
judgment, the judge said. “In
this case, the court fi nds that
genuine disputes of material
fact preclude summary judg-
ment on the issue of patent
invalidity.”
In 2020, the Canadian
Minister of Agriculture
and Agri-food fi led a law-
suit against the defendants,
claiming that Van Well Nurs-
ery had transferred Staccato
cherry trees to Gordon Good-
win contrary to a license with
its agricultural research and
development center in British
Columbia.
The complaint alleged that
Goodwin patented a new cul-
tivar called Glory that’s genet-
ically indistinguishable from
Staccato, which was delivered
to Monson Fruit for the propa-
gation of “hundreds of acres”
of trees.
Goodwin has said that
Glory trees are distinct from
the Staccato variety, and the
defendants have argued in
court that the Canadian gov-
ernment’s patent is invalid
and unenforceable, justifying
a dismissal of the lawsuit.
Specifi cally, the farms
argue that under the law at
the time, the Canadian gov-
ernment disqualifi ed the Stac-
cato trees from a plant patent
because it had been off ered
for commercial sale more
than a year before the patent
application.
The defendants claim the
patent would have been denied
if the Canadian government
hadn’t “withheld critical infor-
mation” from U.S. authorities
about testing agreements for
the trees, the judge said.
breeds.
The benefi ts of using light
control to improve off -sea-
son breeding are immense,
said Cameron. According
to data from more than 150
farms from 2003 to 2010,
fertility rates under the pro-
tocols are 89% to 90% for
females. Light-treated rams
also become better breed-
ers, and photoperiod pro-
tocols are associated with
increased litter size across
all breeds.
More importantly, farm-
ers who have a year-round
supply of fresh meat or milk
can access markets — often
with higher prices — than
those tied to the seasonal
patterns.
Under a photoperiod
plan, farmers use artifi cial
light exposure to signal to
sheep what is a “long day”
— usually 16 to 20 hours of
light — versus a “short day”
— generally 8 to 12 hours of
light.
The “long day” treatment
must come fi rst and last a
minimum of three months.
During this time — typically
between October to Febru-
ary — the farmer exposes
the sheep to 16 or more
hours of light per day, which
synchronizes the females’
reproductive systems.
The long day treatment
must immediately be fol-
lowed by a “short day” treat-
ment, also lasting at least
three months, during which
the farmer exposes the sheep
to less daily light.
The ideal gap between
short and long days is 8
hours, but 6 hours is min-
imum. In other words, if a
farmer exposed sheep to 12
hours of light during short
days, the farmer should ide-
ally expose the sheep to 20
hours of light during the
long days.
For the protocol to work,
sheep must be able to rest
in total darkness during the
night.
The technique can result
in lambings every 40 to 60
days.
The protocols can be
adapted to fi t either animals
living in a closed barn or
those with access to the out-
doors and daily exposure to
natural light.
The technique can also
be adapted for other small
ruminants.
Cameron estimated pho-
toperiod protocols cost
about $2 to $3 per head per
year.
If the protocols are
applied incorrectly, how-
ever, sheep can experi-
ence a drop in fertility,
body condition score and
milk production. For that
reason, Cameron advises
farmers to do thorough
research before starting a
program.
Washington Supreme
Court lets stand $18M
fi ne against food makers
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA — The
Washington
Supreme
Court has upheld a record
$18 million fi ne against a
food industry trade group
for campaign fi nance
reporting violations com-
mitted in 2013.
The Grocery Manu-
facturers
Association,
now called the Consumer
Brands Association, was
fi ned for not reporting
the names of its members
that contributed $11 mil-
lion toward defeating a
GMO-labeling initiative.
In a 5-4 ruling, the
majority on Jan. 20
rejected claims that the
penalty was unconstitu-
tionally excessive. The
court said the fi ne could
be based on the amount
the association concealed
from disclosure.
Dissenting justices said
the trade group was guilty
of reporting violations and
that the amount of money
involved was irrelevant.
In a statement, Con-
sumer Brands said it
will will pursue all legal
options, including peti-
tioning the U.S. Supreme
Court.
“The state’s legal pro-
cess has been tainted by
partisan politics, and the
ruling in this case will
chill core political speech
by legitimate organiza-
tions based on their view-
points,” said Stacy Papa-
dopoulos, general counsel
and senior vice president of
operations and initiatives.
Attorney General Bob
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Washington Supreme Court
Ferguson said the ruling
was a “complete and total
victory for Washington
state.”
“More
importantly,
this is a victory for fair
and transparent elec-
tions in Washington, and
a defeat of special interest
dark money,” he said on
Twitter.
The fi ne is by far the
largest ever in the U.S.
for campaign fi nance vio-
lations, topping the $3.8
million levied by the Fed-
eral Elections Commission
against the Federal Home
Loan Mortgage Corp. in
2006.
The case drew inter-
est from business orga-
nizations, including the
Washington Farm Bureau,
which said in an amicus
brief that the unprece-
dented penalty would chill
political speech by trade
groups.
In a previous ruling,
the state Supreme Court
had upheld the associ-
ation’s conviction. The
trade group reported itself
as the source of campaign
funds, but did not initially
list individual companies.
The trade group had hoped
to shield its members from
threats and boycotts by
anti-GMO activists.
At issue Thursday was
whether the $18 million
fi ne violated the Eighth
Amendment’s prohibition
on excessive punishments.
The association argued
that at most it should be
fi ned $622,800, a calcu-
lation based on the num-
ber of incomplete and late
reports.
Writing for the major-
ity, Justice Steven Gon-
zalez said the Thur-
ston County judge who
imposed the $18 million
fi ne was justifi ed in look-
ing beyond the number
of reporting violations,
including the amount of
money involved.
“The
(association’s)
off ense struck at the core
of open elections,” Gonza-
lez wrote. Justices Susan
Owens, Mary Yu, Raquel
Montoya-Lewis and G.
Helen Whitener signed the
opinion.
“If you’re not at the table then you’re on the menu.”
To ensure OCA is representing your interests accurately,
we rely on the voice of membership. Oregon’s cattle industry
has a story to tell and when various voices unite we are loud,
we are strong, and we are hard to ignore.
Become a member today for updates, resources and a united
voice at the table with elected officials and regulatory agencies.
If you’re a rancher, allied business, or industry supporter
Learn More & Join at www.orcattle.com
S278485-1