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CapitalPress.com
Friday, April 15, 2022
People & Places
Fighting ‘solar-industrial complexes’
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
YAKIMA, Wash. —
Yakima County Farm Bureau
President Mark Herke has
not said a word against wind-
mills, but he has plenty to say
about solar panels.
First, he says, don’t call
hundreds of acres of panels
on steel posts screwed into the
ground “solar farms.”
“We dropped that term a
long time ago,” he said. “We
call them solar-industrial
complexes.”
While cows and sheep can
graze around windmills, solar
projects as configured now
blot out agricultural use and
take up far more land, Herke
says.
He has gathered other
objections to solar projects
and presented them to deci-
sion-makers on behalf of the
Yakima Farm Bureau and
Farm Bureau members in
neighboring Klickitat County.
The Yakima Farm Bureau
last year opposed a 625-acre
solar project east of Yakima
on agricultural land, even
though the development had,
judging from public com-
ments, local support.
Herke asserts the pub-
lic has yet to catch on to how
thousands of acres of solar
panels might change East-
ern Washington. When he
became the county Farm
Bureau’s president in 2019, it
wasn’t an issue. It’s become a
top issue in just the past year,
he said.
“The solar is coming on
faster than people realize,” he
said. “We’re not quite a lonely
voice, but we’re close to that.”
It’s not just the solar pan-
els that will take up land,
Herke said. To make up for
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Entire contents copyright © 2022
MARK HERKE
EO Media Group
Age: 65
dba Capital Press
Position: Yakima County
Farm Bureau president;
rancher
Education: Bachelor’s
degree in agriculture
from Washington State
University
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Yakima County Farm Bureau President Mark Herke stands on the rocky hill his
great-grandfather settled on in 1871 in Central Washington. Herke says the rush to
build solar power complexes in the region will take land from agriculture.
fencing off wildlife migration
routes, developers may have
to buy land elsewhere for the
Department of Fish and Wild-
life, taking more property out
of private hands.
“I very much predict there
will be more pushback,”
Herke said. “I guess we’re on
the leading edge.”
Herke, 65, was inter-
viewed at his home on a hill
outside Yakima and the north-
ern edge of the Yakama Indian
Reservation.
It’s the same rocky hill
where his great-grandfa-
ther from Germany settled
in 1871. The Herke family
raises cattle, grows hay, har-
vests timber and mines rocks
for construction.
Herke is worried about
the “green rush.” In Western
Washington, the term means
stampeding to recreational
marijuana. To Herke, it means
the race to build renewable
energy.
The Washington Legisla-
ture in 2019 set off the rush by
voting to rid the state’s electri-
cal generation of greenhouse
gases by 2045. Only one sen-
ator and two House mem-
bers from Eastern Washing-
ton voted “yes.” Complying
with law, however, depends
on land east of the Cascades.
“The people pushing it the
most would give up the least
— on their livelihoods, their
landscape,” Herke said.
Gov. Jay Inslee and Dem-
ocratic lawmakers this year
moved to speed up the
clean-energy revolution by
expanding the jurisdiction
of the Energy Facilities Site
Evaluation Council to include
energy-related
industrial
developments.
The council is made up
mostly of unelected Inslee
administration officials and
is an alternative to winning
approval from counties for
energy projects.
Herke said he fears a
more-powerful state coun-
cil will further distance deci-
sion-makers from the conse-
quences of the developments.
“With counties, at least you
can go and bang on a com-
missioner’s desk,” he said.
Asked if there’s any good
place to put solar panels,
Herke suggests the Hanford
nuclear reservation.
The
Yakima
Farm
Bureau’s position on solar
projects butts heads with
property rights. The 625-acre
solar project it opposed was
supported by the two land-
owners who will lease land to
the solar developer.
Family: wife, Lisa; father,
John, 93, owns the family
businesses
S. Martinez Livestock Inc.
told the state site council
that it was leasing ground
that gets very dry in the
summer and has little value
in the winter as pasture.
The reliable lease payments
will diversify income, but
not affect its operations,
according to the ranch.
The other landowner
said the unirrigated farm-
land already was enrolled
in a conservation reserve
program, but the payments
from the solar project will
be more.
Herke said the county
Farm Bureau wrestled
with property rights, but
came down on the side of
preserving farmland for
future generations. “If you
want to protect farmland,
you have to look beyond
today and tomorrow,” he
said.
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Famous Idaho Potato Bowl gets new director
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
BOISE — ESPN Events
has hired Danielle Bra-
zil as executive director of
the Famous Idaho Potato
Bowl, the college football
game held each December
in Boise.
She arrived March 21
to succeed Kevin McDon-
ald, who retired March 31.
McDonald had been execu-
tive director since 2007.
The game was first
played in 1997 as the
Humanitarian Bowl. It had
several title sponsors before
the Idaho Potato Commis-
sion assumed title sponsor-
ship in 2011. ESPN Events
has owned the bowl game
since 2013.
Brazil worked as the
bowl’s oper-
ations and
market-
ing director
from 2007
to
2017.
For ESPN
Events, she
Danielle
also directed
Brazil
the annual
Wooden Legacy college
basketball event in Ana-
heim, Calif.
She joined The College
of Idaho as associate ath-
letic director in 2017. At the
private liberal-arts school
in Caldwell, she led fund-
raising and managed rev-
enue from sponsorships,
gifts, ticket sales and special
events. She oversaw mar-
keting, community engage-
ment, sponsorship and
compliance.
“Danielle
is
highly
respected throughout the
community in Boise and
within our organization, so
we are thrilled to welcome
her back,” ESPN Events
Vice President Clint Overby
said in a release. “Her expe-
rience makes her a perfect fit
for this role as she continues
the outstanding work that
Kevin has done.”
“Right now, I am listen-
ing” as she settles into the
new job, Brazil told Capital
Press.
She and Events Coordi-
nator Katy Murphree, also a
full-time employee of ESPN
Events in Boise, are meeting
with sponsors, community
partners and volunteers.
“We want to make sure
we are continuing on the path
set by Kevin and all of the
people involved in getting
the bowl to where it is now,”
Brazil said. Another goal is
“to keep elevating our profile
in the community.”
“It has been a very good
relationship between the
commission and Kevin,”
Idaho Potato Commission
President and CEO Jamey
Higham said. “He has been
a great partner for us. He’s
just a good guy and he’ll be
missed.”
“We are excited to work
with Danielle,” he said.
“She’s full of excitement and
energy. We’re looking for-
ward to getting to know her
and to continue on with the
great relationship the IPC has
with ESPN and the Famous
Idaho Potato Bowl.”
Brazil, 39, grew up on
her family’s farm outside
Homedale, Idaho, driving
tractor, moving irrigation
siphon tubes and clearing
irrigation ditch banks.
“Idaho’s ag industry is
a big passion of mine,” she
said.
The state leads the U.S. in
potato production.
As for the Potato Com-
mission’s bowl title sponsor-
ship, “we are really proud of
that,” Brazil said. “We want
the game to be a three-and-
a-half-hour ongoing industry
spotlight.”
She said Frank Muir, com-
mission CEO from 2003 to
2021, and McDonald “did a
phenomenal job, definitely,
with the marketing piece.”
The current game con-
tract runs to 2024, and
the annual fee is set at
$477,000.
U.S. sunflower production expected to jump in response to Ukraine crisis
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
U.S. farmers will grow more sun-
flowers this year to make up for lost
production in Ukraine, one of the
world’s top exporters of the crop.
Russia invaded Ukraine two
months ago, throwing that nation’s
agricultural production into turmoil.
Ukraine and Russia are the top
exporters of sunflower oil in the
world.
Sunflower planting begins next
month in the U.S.
USDA projects sunflower acre-
age will increase 10% this year, but
John Sandbakken, executive direc-
tor of the National Sunflower Asso-
ciation, expects it to be closer to
Dennis Urbat
A field of sunflowers near Clay-
ton, Wash. U.S. farmers are plant-
ing more sunflowers this year to
offset the smaller crop in Ukraine,
a major producer.
20% more due to higher demand.
“Our main goal is to promote the
crop to as many growers as possible
and increase acres as much as possi-
ble,” he said.
Total U.S. sunflower acres are
projected to increase from 1.29 mil-
lion last year to 1.42 million this
year, according to USDA’s prospec-
tive plantings report.
Sunflowers are currently bring-
ing about $38.50 per hundred-
weight. Sandbakken thinks it’s pos-
sible the price will reach $40 per
hundredweight.
“We’re at record levels for the
price,” he said. “The return per acre
is probably the highest it’s ever
been.”
Prices have risen about 20% in
the last month, Sandbakken said.
“A very nice increase, show-
ing that the market is looking to get
more seed in the ground this year,”
he said.
Production could probably dou-
ble and still not meet demand, Sand-
bakken said.
The primary uses of sunflowers
are for oil, bird food and striped seed
for confectionary use, in baking or
trail mixes or salted seeds.
If a farmer has the equipment,
Sandbakken thinks sunflowers could
present a good opportunity.
Sunflower growers are impacted
by rising input costs like other com-
modity farmers, Sandbakken said.
“The sunflower is a very efficient
user of fertilizer, with a large tap
root that goes deep in the soil,” he
said. “It can reach a lot of the nutri-
ents left over from some of the more
shallow-rooted crops, so we proba-
bly won’t need quite as much.”
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THROUGH
SUNDAY MAY 1
2022 Wooden Shoe Tulip Fes-
tival: Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm,
33814 S. Meridian Road, Woodburn,
Ore. Experience the beauty of 40
acres of tulips and over 200 acres
of outdoor space and activities this
spring. We are again offering tick-
ets online only this year to mini-
mize crowds and allow for more
time to enjoy our fields. Hours:
9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday;
8 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
Website: https://bit.ly/36o2wMD
THROUGH
SATURDAY APRIL 16
Spring Fair: Washington State
Fairgrounds, 110 9th Ave. SW, Puy-
allup,Wash. Celebrate spring at the
fair and all things agriculture. Web-
site: https://www.thefair.com
SATURDAY APRIL 16
Oregon Women for Agricul-
ture Auction and Dinner: 5:30 p.m.
Linn County Expo Center, 3700
Knox Butte Road E, Albany, Ore.
Oregon Women for Agriculture is
excited to host our annual Auction
and Dinner returning in-person this
year! Make plans to attend for a fun-
filled evening of socializing, sharing
delicious food and bidding on an
assortment of high-quality oral and
silent auction items. Website: http://
www.owaonline.org/auction
Free Waste Pesticide Collec-
tion Event in Roseburg: Douglas
County Fairgrounds, 2110 Frear St.,
Roseburg, Ore. The Oregon Depart-
ment of Agriculture through the
Pesticide Stewardship Partnership
is sponsoring a Free Waste Pesti-
cide Collection Event. This event
is an opportunity for landowners,
farmers and other commercial pes-
ticide users to rid storage facilities
of unwanted or unused pesticide
products. Registration for this event
is required by April 1. Contact: Kath-
ryn Rifenburg, 971-600-5073, kath-
ryn.rifenburg@oda.oregon.gov
Website: https://bit.ly/3AdxFgp
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
APRIL 21-24
Spring Fair: Washington State
Fairgrounds, 110 9th Ave. SW, Puy-
allup,Wash. Celebrate spring at the
fair and all things agriculture. Web-
site: https://www.thefair.com
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
APRIL 23-24
California Antique Equip-
ment Show: 10 a.m. International
Agri-Center, 4500 Laspina St., Tulare,
Calif. The show will showcase
antique tractors, trucks and engines
and will include vendors and activi-
ties such as a tractor pull, hay-buck-
ing contest and tractor driving.
Website: https://www.antiquefarm-
show.com
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
APRIL 23-24
Oregon Ag Fest:
8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday;
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Oregon
State Fairgrounds, 2330 17th St. NE,
Salem, Ore. 97301. The goal of Ore-
gon Ag Fest is to provide an expe-
rience for the whole family that is
educational and fun. And, we keep
it affordable! Kids age 12 and under
are free; others are $9. Parking is
free. Website: https://oragfest.com/
Index
Markets .................................................12
Opinion ...................................................6
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