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CapitalPress.com
Friday, May 27, 2022
People & Places
Growing blueberries in California
By JULIA HOLLISTER
For the Capital Press
Established 1928
CARUTHERS, Calif. —
Mark and Kim Sorensen both
were raised in agriculture,
grew up in the same small
California town but wanted
to plant something new.
They chose blueberries.
“My husband Mark is
a fifth-generation raisin
farmer and my grandfather
and father owned an agricul-
tural pump company,” Kim
said. “We planted our first
blueberries in 1997 after
deciding we wanted to diver-
sify. We also wanted to have
something more ‘hands-on’
for our three daughters to
grow up with.”
Blueberries were new to
the area so they had to learn
as they went.
Lesson No. 1: Blueberries
are hard to grow. In fact, they
require perfect soil and many
nutrients to get good taste
and high quality, Kim said.
Also, blueberries do not
offer immediate results;
plants take 3-5 years to reach
full production.
Though California ranks
fourth in the nation in blue-
berry production, the com-
bination of climate and tight
water supply create chal-
lenges that other top blueber-
ry-growing regions such as
Oregon and Washington state
don’t have.
Today, Triple Delight
Blueberries boasts 100 acres
planted to blueberries —
70 acres are organic and 30
acres are conventional.
The farm was named after
Capital Press Managers
Joe Beach ..................... Editor & Publisher
Western
Innovator
KIMBERLY
SORENSEN
Anne Long ................. Advertising Director
Carl Sampson .................. Managing Editor
Samantha Stinnett .....Circulation Manager
Entire contents copyright © 2022
EO Media Group
Hometown: Caruthers,
Calif.
dba Capital Press
Occupation: Owner, Tri-
ple Delight Blueberries.
An independent newspaper
published every Friday.
Years farming: 25
Acres farmed: 100
Foodwise
Kim Sorensen, left, and her daughter Johannah and their family raise 100 acres of
blueberries in Fresno County, Calif., and sell them at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
in San Francisco. California ranks fourth in the nation in blueberry production.
the Sorensens’ three daugh-
ters, Johannah, Elizabeth and
Olivia.
It is a family farming
operation. In addition to the
daughters’ involvement, two
sons-in-law, Jace White and
Jeff Jantzen, work full-time
on the farm.
The Sorensens sell most
of their blueberry harvest
directly to consumers at
farmers markets.
Every spring the family
looks forward to returning to
the markets to connect with
their customers.
“Kim and Mark Sorensen
have been growing blueber-
ries since the mid-1990s,
when they first diversified
their farming operation,”
said Lulu Meyer, director
of operations for Foodwise,
operator of the Ferry Plaza
Farmers Market in San
Francisco. “It’s a true fam-
ily affair at Triple Delight
Blueberries, with every-
one in the Sorensen family
involved in managing the
farm’s day-to-day opera-
tions, harvesting and direct
marketing.”
They have kept their
operation small, and in the
last few years have increased
the amount of organic acre-
age in production.
Meyer said she has had
the pleasure of watching
their daughters grow up at
the markets, and it is “so
great to see them, and their
spouses, taking on even
more of the direct-to-con-
sumer part of the farm.”
“We grow seven different
varieties,” Kim said.
She said the most popular
varieties are:
• Star, which has an
intense and more acidic fla-
vor with a firm texture.
• Snow Chaser, which is
smaller but sweet.
• Legacy, which produces
large and firm berries “that
always pops in your mouth
with a perfect combination
of sweet and tangy,” she
said.
Each variety ripens
Family: Husband Mark,
Johannah and Jace
White, Elizabeth and Jeff
Jantzen and Olivia and
Michael Foglio.
Personal quote: “Al-
though perfection can
never be attained, we can
shoot for it and achieve
excellence in all that we
do.”
at different times, which
allows the season to be
spread over 10-12 weeks
from April to July.
The family takes pride in
the quality of their blueber-
ries, which takes a tremen-
dous amount of time and
money to grow right.
After all these years
of growing blueberries
and trying different reci-
pes, Kim said her favorite
way to enjoy blueberries is
“straight off the bush!”
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Happy is an Asian elephant. But is she also a person?
She has four limbs,
expressive eyes and
likes to stroll through
greenery in NYC
By MICHAEL HILL
Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. — She
has four limbs, expres-
sive eyes and likes to stroll
through greenery in New
York City. Happy, by spe-
cies, is an Asian elephant.
But is she also a person?
That’s the question before
New York’s highest court
Wednesday in a closely
watched case over whether
a basic human right can be
extended to an animal.
Her advocates at the
Nonhuman Rights Project
say yes: Happy is an auton-
omous, cognitively complex
elephant worthy of the right
reserved in law for “a person.”
The Bronx Zoo, where Happy
resides, says no: Through
an attorney, the zoo argues
Happy is neither imprisoned
nor a person, but a well-cared-
for elephant “respected as the
magnificent creature she is.”
Happy has lived at the
Bronx Zoo for 45 years. The
state Court of Appeals is hear-
ing arguments over whether
she should be released
through a habeas corpus pro-
ceeding, which is a way for
people to challenge illegal
confinement.
The Nonhuman Rights
Project wants her moved from
a “one-acre prison” at the zoo
to a more spacious sanctuary.
“She has an interest in
exercising her choices and
deciding who she wants to
Oregon Zoo
Elephants dine on giant pumpkins at the Oregon Zoo
in Portland. An activist group in New York has sued on
behalf of an elephant, arguing it is a person.
be with, and where to go,
and what to do, and what to
eat,” project attorney Mon-
ica Miller told The Associ-
ated Press. “And the zoo is
prohibiting her from mak-
ing any of those choices
herself.”
The group said that in
2005, Happy became the
first elephant to pass a
self-awareness indicator
test, repeatedly touching a
white “X” on her forehead
as she looked into a large
mirror.
The zoo and its support-
ers warn that a win for the
advocates could open the
door to more legal actions
on behalf of animals,
including pets and other
species in zoos.
“If courts follow NRP’s
demand to grant animals
personhood for habeas cor-
pus purposes, elephants as
well as other animals at
every modern zoo in this
country would have to be
turned loose or transferred
to the facility of NRP’s
choosing,” Kenneth Man-
ning, an attorney for zoo
operator Wildlife Conser-
vation Society, wrote in a
court filing.
Happy was born in
the wild in Asia in the
early 1970s, captured and
brought as a 1-year-old to
the United States, where
she was eventually named
for one of the characters
from “Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs.” Happy
arrived at the Bronx Zoo in
1977 with fellow elephant
Grumpy, who was fatally
injured in a 2002 con-
frontation with two other
elephants.
Happy now lives in an
enclosure adjacent to the
zoo’s other elephant, Patty.
The zoo’s attorney argued
in court filings that Happy
can swim, forage and
engage in other behavior
natural for elephants.
“The blatant exploita-
tion of Happy the elephant
by NRP to advance their
coordinated agenda shows
no concern for the indi-
vidual animal and reveals
the fact they are willing
to sacrifice Happy’s health
and psychological well-be-
ing to set precedent,” the
zoo said in a prepared
statement.
NRP’s attorneys say no
matter how Happy is being
treated at the zoo, her right
to “bodily liberty” is being
violated. They argue that if
the court recognizes Hap-
py’s right to that liberty
under habeas corpus, she
will be a “person” for that
purpose. And then she must
be released.
Lower courts have ruled
against the NRP. And the
group has failed to prevail
in similar cases, including
those involving a chimpan-
zee in upstate New York
named Tommy.
But last October, at the
urging of a different animal
rights group, a federal judge
ruled that Colombian drug
kingpin Pablo Escobar’s
infamous “cocaine hippos”
could be recognized as peo-
ple or “interested persons”
with legal rights in the U.S.
The decision had no real
ramifications for the hippos
themselves, given that they
reside in Colombia.
Opponents hope the
NRP’s string of court losses
continues with the high-pro-
file New York court.
In a friend-of-the-court
brief, the New York Farm
Bureau and other agricul-
ture groups said the NRP’s
“new-fangled theory of per-
sonhood” would sweep up
pigs, cows and chickens.
The National Association
for Biomedical Research
said authorizing such peti-
tions on behalf of animals
could drive up the costs of
conducting critical research.
State and national associ-
ations representing veter-
inarians filed a brief say-
ing NRP’s lawsuit promotes
animals’ personhood rights
above animals’ welfare.
Supporters of NRP’s
action include public fig-
ures such as Harvard Law
School professor Laurence
Tribe. Many of them see this
case as a chance for society
to take a step forward in the
ethical treatment of animals.
“We believe this legal
moment for Happy rep-
resents a key cultural cross-
roads for thinking more
openly and honestly—and
less selfishly—about what it
would mean to treat the par-
ticularity of non-human ani-
mals with the moral seri-
ousness it deserves,” a brief
submitted by Catholic aca-
demic theologians read.
The court’s decision is
expected in the coming
months.
At least one animal rights
advocate suggests a lone
court decision won’t change
society’s view of animal use.
Rutgers Law School profes-
sor Gary Francione, who is
not involved in the case, said
that would require a broader
cultural shift.
“I’ve been a vegan for 40
years. Don’t get me wrong,
I disagree with animal use
altogether,”
Francione
said. “Just to have the court
start saying that non-hu-
man animals are persons
under the law is going to
raise all sorts of questions,
the answers to which are
not going to be amenable
to many people.”
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WEDNESDAY
JUNE 1
THURSDAY
JUNE 2
2022 Wheat College:
9 a.m.-3 p.m. Ritzville Fairgrounds,
811 E. Main St., Ritzville, Wash.
AMMO — the Agricultural Market-
ing and Management Organiza-
tion — continues to support the
ag industry by offering this year’s
Wheat College in person, provid-
ing information on the opportu-
nities available to maximize yield
in the Pacific Northwest. An event
of the Washington Association of
Wheat Growers, sponsored by the
Washington Grain Commission and
AMMO partners. Pesticide cred-
Sustainable Produce Summit:
1-7:30 p.m. Marriott Desert Springs
Resort, Palm Desert, Calif. The sum-
mit will focus on sustainability.
Website: https://www.events.farm-
journal.com
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
JUNE 3-4
West Coast Produce Expo:
Marriott Desert Springs Resort,
Palm Desert, Calif. The expo will
focus on marketing and managing
risks. Website: https://www.events.
farmjournal.com
MONDAY-TUESDAY
JUNE 6-7
Idaho Cattle Association Sum-
mer Roundup: Red Lion Hotel,
Pocatello, Idaho. The conference
will focus on industry issues. Web-
site: https://www.idahocattle.org
TUESDAY
JUNE 7
NRCS Idaho State Technical
Advisory Committee Meeting
(online): 9 a.m.-noon. The commit-
tee meets quarterly to advise the
Natural Resources Conservation
Service and other USDA agencies
on carrying out natural resource
conservation provisions of the fed-
eral Farm Bill. Includes representa-
tives of federal and state resource
agencies, tribes, agricultural and
environmental organizations. Web-
facebook.com/FarmSeller
site: https://bit.ly/3sHRJVt Con-
tact: Mindi Rambo, Mindi.Rambo@
usda.gov
WEDNESDAY-
FRIDAY JUNE 8-10
World Pork Expo: Iowa State
Fairgrounds, Des Moines. The
world’s largest pork industry trade
show will feature education, inno-
vation and networking. Website:
https://www.worldpork.org
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
JUNE 10-11
Lind Combine Demolition
Derby: Starts at 6 p.m. Friday and
10:45 a.m. Saturday at the Lind,
Wash., Arena. Join the fun for this
year’s Combine Demolition Derby
and truck races. Website: www.lind-
combinederby.com
SATURDAY, JUNE 11
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Forest and Range Owners Field
Day: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Casa Becca del
Norte Tree Farm, 2716 Moser Road,
Chewelah, Wash. Washington State
University Extension field day offers
information specific to landowners’
needs. Cost: $30-50. Contact: Sean
Alexander, 509-680-0358, sean.alex-
ander@wsu.edu
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SUNDAY
JUNE 12
Savor Idaho: 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Idaho Botanical Garden, 2355 N. Old
Penitentiary Road, Boise. Idaho Wine
Commission event features wineries,
other exhibitors. Features wine tast-
ing, activities, food trucks. Attendance
periods from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. and
3-5:30 p.m. Website: https://idahow-
ines.org/event/savor-idaho/
Index
Opinion ...................................................6
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