Capital Press
EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER
Friday, July 8, 2022
CapitalPress.com
Volume 95, Number 27
$2.50
U.S. Department of Energy
A ﬂ oating oﬀ shore foundation and
an oﬀ shore wind turbine near Po-
voa de Varzim, Portugal.
CATCHING ENERGY
Floating oﬀ shore wind generator proposals worry ﬁ shing industry
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
N
EWPORT, Ore. — From her home overlooking
Yaquina Bay on the Oregon coast, Kelley Rether-
ford can watch as commercial ﬁ shing boats arrive
at the nearby Port of Newport, delivering their
catch to one of several seafood processors that line
the waterfront.
Saltwater is in her family’s blood, she said. Along with her hus-
band, Mike, and their four adult children, they own and operate four
ﬁ shing trawlers, harvesting everything from Paciﬁ c whiteﬁ sh and
hake to pink shrimp and Dungeness crab.
“It’s a way of life,” Retherford said. “We’re not boats on the
water. We’re families on the water. We’re families feeding families.”
That way of life, however, may be disrupted by a growing inter-
est in oﬀ shore wind generators to help achieve ambitious govern-
ment-mandated zero-carbon energy goals.
Earlier this year, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Manage-
ment, or BOEM, identiﬁ ed two “call” areas oﬀ the southern Ore-
gon coast — one near Coos Bay and the other near Brookings — to
assess potential wind energy leases in federal waters.
Auctions for leases have already been proposed in two areas oﬀ
the California coast, as the Biden administration aims to deploy 30
gigawatts of oﬀ shore wind generators by 2030.
See Energy, Page 9
George Plaven/Capital Press
The Coast Pride, a ﬁ shing trawler owned and operated by Chris Retherford, is docked at the
Port of Newport’s commercial marina.
Farm input costs continue
to rise, USDA report shows
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
A USDA report released June 30
shows that farm input costs continue
to rise, putting additional ﬁ nancial
pressure on farmers and ranchers.
The study, called the Agricultural
Prices report, looked at farm input
costs in May 2022 compared to input
costs one month prior and one year
prior. USDA collected data for the
May Prices Paid Index by randomly
contacting more than 8,500 farms
nationwide with an average response
rate of 75% to 80%.
The report found that farmers
across America continue to face ris-
ing costs for feed, fertilizer, fuels and
other inputs.
In May, the price of livestock feed
increased 0.8% from April and 15%
from May 2021. Although concen-
trates fell in price, that was more than
oﬀ set by higher prices for complete
feeds, feed grains, supplements, hay
and forages.
Fertilizer in May cost 6.2% more
than it did the month prior, in April.
Prices for potash and phosphate
didn’t change month-over-month, but
prices rose for nitrogen and mixed
fertilizer.
The rise in cost is even more stark
Getty Images
See Costs, Page 9
Fertilizer prices were up compared to last year.
Irrigators, tribes object to extending Klamath Project interim operations plan
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
George Plaven/Capital Press
The headgates of the A Canal on the Klamath Project in
Klamath Falls, Ore.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — Farmers,
ranchers and tribal members alike are urg-
ing the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation not to
extend its interim operations plan for the
Klamath Project, describing it as “unwork-
able and irrational.”
The plan is a product of complex water
management scenario in the Klamath
Basin. It provides a formula for how much
water will be allocated each year to irri-
gators, while balancing water needs for
endangered ﬁ sh in the Klamath River and
Upper Klamath Lake.
Brian Person, a senior adviser for the
Bureau of Reclamation in Klamath Falls,
Ore., said the current interim plan was
formalized in March 2020 and was set to
expire Sept. 30.
Instead, Reclamation plans to extend its
interim operations plan in anticipation of
removing four hydroelectric dams on the
lower Klamath River, which is expected to
open about 400 miles of ﬁ sh spawning and
rearing habitat.
“Dam removal is going to literally
See Irrigators, Page 9