Friday, August 19, 2022
CapitalPress.com 11
Port: White wheat experienced the steepest drop in exports
Continued from Page 1
Total
U.S.
wheat
exports of last year’s
crop are estimated at 800
million bushels, down
from 994 million bushels
previously, according to
USDA.
White wheat, includ-
ing the soft white wheat
commonly
grown
in
the Northwest, experi-
enced the steepest drop
in exports, from 270 mil-
lion bushels to 148 mil-
lion bushels, according
to USDA.
However, prices for
wheat remain relatively
strong and foreign buy-
ers continue to need
the product, Haarmann
said. “We’re fortunate
to have a steady demand
for wheat in the Pacific
Northwest.”
The USDA projects that
U.S. wheat exports will
tick back up with the cur-
rent crop, to 825 million
bushels for wheat overall
and 180 million bushels
for white wheat.
At nearly 1.8 billion
bushels, total U.S. wheat
production in 2022 is
projected to rise from last
year’s level of 1.65 bil-
lion bushels, the agency
said.
Winter wheat yields
are expected to increase
across the northern U.S.
wheat
growing
tier,
including 44% in Oregon,
74% in Washington and
28% in Idaho, according
to the agency.
“We’re looking for-
ward to a much better
year for all our commu-
nities in the coming crop
year,” Haarmann said.
Tractors: Growers remain well represented at tractor pulls
Continued from Page 1
Connection to ag
Not everyone who enjoys
tractor pulling is a farmer, but
fans tend to feel a connection
to agriculture that’s strength-
ened by the activity.
“It’s usually someone
from a farm background or
who’s been exposed to agri-
culture,” Peterson said.
Growers remain well rep-
resented at tractor pulls,
which originated as a way to
compare new machines, he
said.
Tractors began greatly
increasing in power during
the mid-20th century, spark-
ing curiosity about their capa-
bilities and rivalries among
their admirers, he said. Com-
petitive pulling became more
formalized in the 1960s and
1970s in the Midwest, where
the motorsport continues to
enjoy the greatest popularity.
In the Northwest, the Sub-
limity Harvest Festival was
among the earliest organized
competitions when it started
nearly 50 years ago. The fes-
tival, which is Sept. 9-11 this
year, now includes monster
trucks, truck pulls, ATV pulls
and other activities, but it
originated as solely a contest
between farmers.
“The original event was
the tractor pull,” Peterson
said.
Nowadays, stock tractors
normally used for field work
continue to participate in con-
tests, though they’re in a sep-
arate category from those
modified for peak pulling
performance.
On-farm events
Bill Zimmerman, presi-
dent of Oregon Tractor Pull-
ers, regularly hosts events at
his fruit and vegetable oper-
ation north of Vancouver,
Wash.
“I don’t get away for vaca-
tion much, so this is my enjoy-
able thing to do,” he said.
For him, it’s more inter-
esting to find out what can
be accomplished by ordi-
nary machines than by
300-plus-horsepower
“hot
rod tractors” especially built
for the task.
“I’m more into it from the
point of view of how it came
from the factory, and how did
it perform,” Zimmerman said.
Having worked at a trac-
tor dealership in the past,
he’s nonetheless impressed
with how far people take the
alterations.
“They have tractors put-
ting out horsepower that we
never dreamed of with those
engines,” he said.
Modified tractors are
solely intended for competi-
tion and no longer have much
utility for regular farming,
said Joe Shaver, the organiza-
tion’s vice president. They’d
overheat or break down with
continuous use.
“A car that’s good on the
drag strip, you don’t want
to drive to work every day,”
Shaver said. “It’s the same
with tractors.”
Replacing steel parts with
those made of aluminum
reduces overall weight and
adding special engine compo-
nents increases horsepower.
Such changes can make
the tractor more prone to
stress damage, particularly
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Bill Zimmerman, right, narrates a tractor pull event held at his fruit and vegetable operation, Bizi Farms, north of
Vancouver, Wash. Zimmerman is president of the Oregon Tractor Pullers nonprofit.
apart,” she said.
Tinkering with machin-
ery is a family tradition that
Gleason’s proud to share
with his daughter. It’s how he
acquired his own mechanical
knowledge.
“Most of it I learned from
my dad growing up,” he said.
“Growing up, we did not have
anything he did not fix.”
Cora currently works as
a harvester and farm hand
for a Willamette Valley berry
grower and plans to pursue
agriculture as a long-term
career.
Her mechanical experi-
ence will likely prove useful,
but that’s not the only benefit
tractor pulling confers.
“I enjoy competing and I
enjoy beating the guys,” she
said.
Apart from reinforc-
ing intergenerational bonds,
working on tractors can set a
career trajectory.
“My son wants to work on
this stuff because it’s his trac-
tor,” Peterson said. “It really
teaches kids skills they may
not otherwise be exposed to.”
Garden tractors popular
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
A participant pulls a sled with his garden tractor.
when it’s run hard during an
event.
Boring the cylinders of an
engine block to accommodate
larger pistons, for example,
comes with trade-offs, Peter-
son said.
“To make it fit, you’re sac-
rificing some of the structural
integrity and the cooling,” he
said.
Winning combination
Horsepower alone won’t
necessarily guarantee a vic-
tory, though.
To achieve optimal trac-
tion, the tractor’s weight must
be properly balanced, and the
operator must hit the right
gear at the right speed.
“You want the front wheels
barely off the ground” while
pulling, Peterson said. “That’s
the perfect weight balance.
You’re maximizing down-
ward force at the rear end of
the tractor.”
The tire pressure must
be adjusted to fit the track,
which in turn is affected by
the weather, soil type and site
maintenance. Accounting for
those factors can be more art
than science.
“The conditions are never
the same from day to day and
pull to pull,” he said.
Finding specialized parts
for modified tractors can
be difficult and expensive,
Shaver said. If demand isn’t
big enough to warrant mass
production, they may have to
be individually machined.
“It’s not like you’re just
going to go to the auto parts
store and pick this up,” he
said.
Restored tractors
In some cases, tractors
have been lovingly restored
for top dollar by collectors
who wouldn’t dream of an
extreme mechanical over-
haul. They usually compete
against other stock tractors at
weights and speeds that won’t
risk undue wear and tear.
“Hey, I can take it out and
play with it,” Shaver said.
“It’s something to do with
your old tractor,” Peterson
said.
A serious contender look-
ing to compete at the highest
weight and speed, on the other
hand, may spend $50,000 on
a tractor.
Owners typically reduce
expenses by modifying the
machines themselves as much
as possible, since paying
someone else for labor “gets
really expensive,” he said.
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Retired farmer Mark Valentine explains the functioning
of a sled at a tractor pull at Bizi Farms north of Vancou-
ver, Wash. As a tractor pulls the sled, the weight box
moves forward and increases friction with the ground.
Special sleds
investment in reliability.
“The sled can’t break
down. The tractors can,” he
said. “If you bring a sled and
break down at the begin-
ning, everybody’s looking at
you like, Why did you even
come?”
Sled costs are a major
consideration for tractor pull
organizers. A sufficient num-
ber of competitors must pay
“hook fees” to use the sled,
or the event won’t cover its
rental fee.
The Oregon Tractor Pull-
ers group bought its own
sled five years ago to ensure
the organization’s financial
stability.
The weighted sleds that
attach to tractors are also
custom-built, since they’re
designed to increase friction
with the ground as they’re
pulled.
As a sled is pulled down
the track, heavy-duty chains
draw the weight box closer
to the front. With each pass-
ing foot, the sled’s front pan
presses harder against the
ground, eventually forcing
the tractor to stop.
Mark Valentine, a retired
farmer who lives in Royal
City, Wash., built two sleds to
accommodate tractor pullers
in the area.
“The demand for a sled
was tremendous and there
was no one to build it,” he
said.
Valentine saved money by
doing the work himself and
hunting for used parts at scra-
pyards, but the price of some
components was still steep.
For his most recent proj-
ect, he spent $3,000 on the
chain that pulls the weight
box, which he considers an
Rather than focusing on
remaining solvent, the non-
profit can now raise money
for other causes, such as help-
ing the people who lost their
homes in the 2020 Labor Day
fires.
“What we make at the
pulls is pretty much pure
profit,” he said.
Still, most tractor pulls
aren’t big-budget competi-
tions whose top performers
earn substantial cash prizes.
Participants must content
themselves with occasional
trophies and ribbons instead.
“It is mostly bragging
rights,” Peterson said. “This
is not a sport where you’re
going to make money, that’s
for sure.”
Instead, the hobby nat-
urally attracts people who
know how to turn a wrench.
The vast majority are
mechanically inclined, often
having worked on farm
equipment, automobiles and
motorcycles since childhood,
Raising money
Peterson said.
“Knowing what bolts to
what is a huge advantage,” he
said.
Even those who aren’t
farmers tend to have jobs
related to building or operat-
ing machinery.
For example, Shaver is a
machinist who specializes in
medical implants, such as the
plates and pins used to repair
bone fractures.
Peterson has a back-
ground in mechanical engi-
neering and runs a company
that makes distance-measur-
ing sensors.
Such expertise can prove
useful in tractor pulling.
“People ask how I do so
well and I tell them it’s calcu-
lated success,” he said.
Technical knowhow may
give him a leg up, but Peter-
son isn’t secretive about his
methods and theories. He’s
written three self-published
books about different aspects
of tractor pulling.
Infectious pastime
Tractor pullers eagerly
promote their passion for the
hobby, which can prove infec-
tious. As enthusiasts involve
their children and other rel-
atives, the number of trac-
tors in the family commonly
multiplies.
“If you’ve got one, you
might as well have a dozen,”
Shaver said.
Steve Gleason and his
17-year-old daughter, Cora,
have been participating in
tractor pulls for over a decade.
They compete with garden
tractors as well as a 1952 John
Deere Model A, which they
rebuilt together.
“We completely tore it
Since many families can’t
afford to buy a farm-sized
tractor for each member, they
opt for garden tractors. The
Oregon Tractor Pullers has
seen this division “explode”
in popularity over the past
five years, which organiz-
ers consider a welcome
development.
“We want the barriers to
entry to be as low as possi-
ble,” Peterson said.
Dick Roberts, a hay
grower from Napavine,
Wash., spent just $140 on a
Craftsman GT6000 garden
tractor, which he upgraded
with a $200 motor.
Those expenses were
dwarfed by the $800 tires,
which are designed to better
grip the ground.
Despite the hefty price tag,
Roberts doesn’t regret the
purchase.
“If you want this type of
tire, you have to pay,” he said.
“If you have twice the power
but piss-poor tires, you’d spin
out right away.”
The costs involved in trac-
tor pulling are highly vari-
able and depend on the pref-
erences of the competitor.
The rules
Tractor pulling gener-
ally enjoys a friendly, whole-
some reputation, yet it hasn’t
always been devoid of
controversy.
In the past, each club set its
own rules for allowable mod-
ifications, such as the place-
ment of weights to improve
tractor balance.
Inconsistent regulations
set off disputes — perhaps
not serious enough to cause
fist fights, but still capable of
breeding resentment, Shaver
said.
A solution surfaced nearly
a decade ago, when a club in
Kentucky developed rules that
won widespread acceptance.
The rules were adopted so
widely that they amounted to
a national standard, dispelling
the conflicts and letting trac-
tor pullers focus on what’s
truly important.
“At the end of the day, we
just want to play in the dirt
and have fun,” Shaver said.
Rewild: Rewilding campaigns ignore ranchers’ contributions to keeping landscapes open
Continued from Page 1
livestock grazing threatens
endangered species and con-
tributes to climate change.
Grazing permits could
be retired with an “eco-
nomically and socially just
federal compensation pro-
gram,” according to the
authors.
The paper’s lead co-au-
thor, OSU ecology profes-
sor William Ripple, was
unavailable
unavailable.
Co-author George Wuerth-
ner of Public Lands Media
in Bend said removing cat-
tle from federal lands would
have the most impact.
“If I were king, that
would be the first thing I
would do,” he said.
“This is sort of a big-pic-
ture proposal. I think all of
us realize a final version will
have a lot of political com-
promises,” Wuerthner said.
“You throw it out there and
it takes a while and provides
a target that you can have as
a goal.”
National
Cattlemen’s
Beef Association natural
resources director Kaitlynn
Glover said rewilding cam-
paigns ignore ranchers’ con-
tributions to keeping land-
scapes open.
“Removing
livestock
grazing — a valuable tool
to reduce fuels for wildfires
and an important protec-
tor of biodiversity — will
lead to new and exacerbated
threats to vast areas of the
West,” she said in an email.
The paper called for
wolves to be federally pro-
tected throughout the coun-
try. Currently, wolves in the
Rocky Mountains are not
federally protected.
Restoring beavers would
repair riparian habitat and
enrich fish habitat, accord-
ing to the authors.
Ashe was USFWS direc-
tor from 2011 to 2017
during the Obama adminis-
tration. He is now president
and CEO of the Association
of Zoos and Aquariums.
Other authors include
five other OSU scientists
and Aaron Wirsing of the
University of Washington
School of Environmental
and Forest Sciences.
Other authors are from
the Ohio State University,
Virginia Tech, the Univer-
sity of Victoria, Michigan
Technological University,
National Park Service, Earth
Island Institute of Berkley,
Calif.
Also, Turner Endangered
Species Fund of Bozeman,
Mont.; Florida Institute for
Conservation Service, and
RESOLVE, a conservation
group based in Washington,
D.C.