Friday, June 3, 2022
CapitalPress.com 3
Large chicken farm gets approval from Oregon regulators
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
SCIO, Ore. — Oregon regula-
tors have approved a large com-
mercial chicken farm that will
raise nearly 3.5 million birds annu-
ally in the Mid-Willamette Valley.
The state Department of Agri-
culture and Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality issued a Con-
fi ned Animal Feeding Operation,
or CAFO, permit for J-S Ranch
near Scio, Ore., on May 26, allow-
ing it to produce broiler chickens
for the poultry company Foster
Farms.
Opponents in the commu-
nity have pushed back against the
proposal, raising concerns rang-
ing from the potential for air and
water pollution to increased traffi c
on rural roads. They organized a
group called Farmers Against Fos-
ter Farms last year, and vowed to
continue fi ghting the project.
Eric Simon, of Brownsville,
Ore., will run J-S Ranch. The farm
will include 11 barns each mea-
suring 39,120 square feet — or
approximately 10 acres under roof
— housing up to 580,000 chickens
at a time. Six fl ocks will be raised
per year.
No chickens will be slaughtered
on site. Instead, Simon said the
birds will be sent to Foster Farms’
processing plant in Kelso, Wash.
Simon is a longtime poul-
try farmer who has contracted to
raise chickens for Foster Farms
since 2000. He also owns Ideal Ag
Supply, a local dairy and poultry
equipment company.
Simon purchased the Scio prop-
erty in July 2020 and submitted his
application for a CAFO permit the
following month. It was met with
concerns from neighbors about the
farm’s size, location and how it
would handle an estimated 4,500
tons of manure annually.
Courtesy of Eric Simon
“We’re kind of frustrated
that it’s taken so long, but we’re Eric Simon, 51, a longtime
pleased that it’s fi nally getting Foster Farms contract poultry
grower, will run the Scio op-
done,” he said.
eration. Simon says his opera-
Permit conditions
tion will help meet demand for
The permit is contingent on locally produced chicken and
boost the regional economy.
meeting several conditions.
First, Simon must obtain a
stormwater construction per- the poultry barn fl oors will not
mit from DEQ, road access per- allow contaminants to seep into
mit from Linn County and water groundwater.
supply plan signed by the Ore-
ODA and DEQ are requiring
gon Water Resources Department the farm to install and monitor two
before breaking ground.
static wells to ensure that ground-
Second, before any chickens water levels are at least 2 feet
arrive the farm must complete a below the barn fl oors. Simon must
ground compaction study to ensure also provide data from drinking
water wells at the farm to ensure
groundwater is healthful to drink.
Farmers Against Foster Farms
posted a statement on its Facebook
page criticizing ODA for issuing
the permit without considering
factors such as public health, fi re
risk or air emissions.
“ODA has never met a CAFO
or a CAFO site they didn’t like,”
the group wrote. “The reality is
J-S Ranch still does not have all of
the appropriate permits in order to
begin construction. Our commu-
nity of farmers and ranchers will
continue to fi ght this at every turn
in order to protect our land and
water from the negative impacts of
industrial chicken factories.”
Raising concerns
A virtual public hearing for J-S
Ranch was held in October 2021.
Over the course of the public
comment period, ODA and DEQ
received 130 written and oral com-
ments, of which 114 were opposed.
The scope of the review was lim-
ited to potential surface water and
groundwater discharges.
Kendra Kimbirauskas, who
raises pastured pork, grass-fed
beef and goats in Scio, is one of the
core organizers of Farmers Against
Foster Farms.
She said they remain concerned
about ammonia emissions at J-S
Ranch, along with groundwa-
ter contamination during wet
winter months that often leaves
fields in the area flooded.
“We do not have a lot of faith
that (the agencies’) conditions
are going to mitigate pollution,”
Kimbirauskas said. “There’s
not going to be an impermeable
barrier between the chicken lit-
ter and the ground.”
Farmers Against Foster Farms
is objecting to both the storm-
water construction and county
road permit, Kimbirauskas said.
Increasing semi-trailer traf-
fic along Jefferson-Scio Drive
could be “potentially treacher-
ous, if not fatal,” she said.
J-S Ranch is not the only
large chicken facility proposed
in the area. The Evergreen
Ranch in Scio would also raise
4.5 million broiler chickens
each year near Thomas Creek,
and Hiday Poultry Farms LLC
is eyeing a site between Stay-
ton and Aumsville, according to
the group.
“Our laws are not set up to
protect people from the impacts
of these types of operations,”
Kimbirauskas said.
Anticipating a small
crop, Washington Apple
Commission tightens budget
Oregon farmer ending his
term as U.S. Wheat chairman
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
WENATCHEE, Wash.
— Apple industry lead-
ers from across Washing-
ton state predict a small-
er-than-average crop this
year due in part to an unusu-
ally cold and stormy spring.
At the Washington Apple
Commission meeting May
26, growers shared crop
predictions, with most esti-
mates ranging from 105 mil-
lion to 115 million 40-pound
boxes, signifi cantly smaller
than the fi ve-year average of
128.3 million boxes.
“My take is, it seems
like nobody has a good
crop,” said commissioner
Jim Thomas.
Growers based their
estimates on how apple
trees bloomed this spring,
which many said was
“spotty,” in some cases
with entire orchard blocks
not blooming.
Although the short crop
was largely attributed to
this spring’s winds, cold
weather and wetness —
which damaged blossoms
and limited pollination —
some growers said they
believe the orchards may
also be experiencing long-
term eff ects from 2021’s
heat wave.
“We kind of feel that
the heat last year had a lot
to do with (lack of bloom),
because blocks that were
off last year that should
have been on this year are
taking another year off ,”
said commissioner Michael
Roche. “It’s hard to fi gure
out what causes that, but
we feel that the heat last
year had a lot to do with
the return bloom this year,
because we’re just not see-
ing bloom where there
should be bloom.”
The short crop creates a
budgeting challenge for the
apple commission.
The commission is
funded by assessments
from growers. Some of this
money funds the commis-
Two years ago, Ore-
gon farmer Darren Padget
assumed leadership of
the U.S. Wheat Associ-
ates board during uncertain
times, and now he’s leaving
during uncertain times.
“It’s an interesting time
to be a wheat producer,” he
said. “Something that people
viewed as the red-headed
stepchild of the commod-
ities for a long time is now
front and center because of
the Ukraine situation. It is
unusual times for sure.”
Padget became chair of
the U.S. Wheat board in
July 2020. His term will end
during the board’s meet-
ing June 6-9 in Bend, Ore.
Rhonda Larson, a farmer
from East Grand Forks,
Minn., will replace him as
chair at that meeting.
Padget lists the potential
for overseas hunger as his
top concern for the indus-
try. Uncertainty in Ukraine
and India means some of
the world populations most
in need of wheat will be
impacted, he said.
“The Black Sea feeds
them and that may be a
really tough deal,” Padget
said. “There’s no way the
U.S. can backfi ll that, or
Australia or Canada, even
all together. (The Black Sea)
is 13% of the world’s trade
and we’re 6.5%.”
Russia invaded Ukraine
three months ago. Neither
nation has been export-
ing wheat. Both border the
Black Sea.
“Full bellies don’t revolt,
and I’m afraid things are
going to get pretty nasty in
certain parts of the world that
are already on the edge,” he
added. “Food shortages are
just going to exacerbate that
problem. That’s sad, from a
food producer’s standpoint.”
Padget also pointed to
high prices of inputs and
supply shortages as chal-
lenges facing the industry.
These are “very uncer-
Capital Press File
Red Delicious apple
blossoms. Based on how
apple trees bloomed
during 2022’s cold, wet
spring, Washington ap-
ple industry leaders pre-
dict a smaller-than-aver-
age crop this year.
sion’s operations, which
include promotion, adver-
tising, education and market
development for Washing-
ton’s fresh apple crop.
Apple
commission
money is also used as
matching dollars for fed-
eral programs. For exam-
ple, $2 million from the
commission returns $5 mil-
lion in Market Access Pro-
gram funding from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
In turn, the commission
also helps fund other indus-
try organizations, including
the U.S. Apple Association
and Northwest Horticultural
Council.
At current budget lev-
els, according to commis-
sion vice president Robin
Mooney, a break-even crop
would need to be about 128
million boxes. This year’s
smaller crop means about
a $700,000 shortfall in the
organization’s $4.7 million
budget.
Commission
presi-
dent Todd Fryhover said
the short-term solution is
to temporarily reduce the
board-designated reserve.
Other board mem-
bers agreed and voted to
decrease the reserve from
$4 million to $3 million to
give the commission more
working capital during the
short crop year.
U.S. Wheat Associates
Darren Padget at his Grass Valley, Ore., farm in 2019.
Padget began his term as chairman of U.S. Wheat Asso-
ciates in July 2020.
tain times, and it doesn’t
look like it’s going to end
any time soon,” he said. “It’s
easy to be discouraged with
high inputs and the world
situation the way it is, but
the ag community’s a resil-
ient, adaptable bunch, and
we’ll get through it. Better
times (are) ahead, I’m sure,
but in the meantime, we’ve
got to tough it out.”
U.S. ports are open and
the industry touts its reliabil-
ity to overseas customers.
“As long as we have it,
it’s for sale,” Padget said.
“It’s too bad the Midwest is
having their issues, but we
will have wheat for sale. The
(Pacifi c Northwest) is look-
ing good, and there’s wheat
coming in from other places.
Time marches on. It’s just
unfortunate we’re short
on supply when the world
really needs it.”
The Northwest drought
put a huge dent in wheat
yields last year, but this
year’s crop is in much better
shape so far.
The industry pivoted to
virtual meetings and trade
teams during the pandemic.
“Everybody’s anxious to
get back together, and hope-
fully this fall that can hap-
pen,” he said.
In his year as past chair-
man, “I hope to do some
traveling and at least have a
farewell tour,” Padget said
with a chuckle.
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