THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2015
Business & Ag
Potato predicament
Continued from Page 1
In June of 2013, an in-
vestment consortium com-
posed of the companies
Berkshire Hathaway and
3G Capital acquired Heinz,
which owns the Ore-Ida
brand. At the meeting last
month, according to Ward,
it was announced that
Heinz would be changing
its business model, and
would be going with a
single source supplier, the
Oregon Potato Company
(OPC). Headquartered in
Pasco, Washington, OPC
has plant locations in
Boardman, Oregon, Pasco
and Warden, Washington,
and Eagle and Heyburn,
Idaho.
Ward said there is a
meeting scheduled for
February 11 with represen-
tatives from J.R. Simplot,
and it’s expected that that
contract will be renewed
for the 800 acres. With
the announcement from
Heinz, he said there would
be no direct contract with
the company for the 3,000
acres, however, it is pos-
sible a contract between
local producers and OPC
or other processors could
be made. “That’s to be
determined within the next
30 to 60 days,” Ward said,
and, “Nothing’s guaran-
teed.”
Ward said that valley
producers sell potatoes
by the sack (100 pounds),
and the production has
normally been about 1.8
million sacks, broken
down as about 1.5 million
sacks purchased by Heinz,
and about 300,000 sacks
purchased by J.R. Simplot.
At an average of around $8
per sack, that’s $12 million
in total.
The timing of the an-
nouncement by Heinz is a
major issue for the eight
valley producers, Ward
said, largely because most
of them begin preparations
with signifi cant invest-
ments for the growing sea-
son 18 months in advance.
Ward said, “Heinz has
been good to us for many
years,” despite the surprise
decision, but the status of
the 3,000 acres is unclear
at this point, and, “We’re
entering uncharted terri-
tory.”
Jess Blatchford, of
Blatchford Farms, Inc.,
a local producer in the
Haines area, noted the
signifi cant investments in
equipment and prepara-
tions he and others have
made, and said, “I fertil-
ized the soil and fumigated
in October, and I already
have about $200 to $250
per acre invested.” His
seed suppliers last year
grew what he would need
for this year, and they’re
attempting to plan for
future years, but with the
uncertainty concerning
contracts with processors,
it’s diffi cult for them to
know what the demand
will be.
“A little heads up would
have been great,” he said.
He is actually optimistic
about the future, and thinks
that in the end, things will
work out, but he pointed
out another issue, which
is the possibility that he
and other producers would
necessarily have to look
into growing crops other
than potatoes if they failed
— Weekly Hay Report —
Friday, January 30, 2015 — Eastern Oregon
to fi nd a processor (or
processors) to negotiate a
contract with.
“There aren’t a lot of
options,” he said, speaking
about the variety of crops
which could be grown
in place of potatoes in
this area, because of the
climate. Blatchford also
grows wheat, and most
likely, wheat or alfalfa
would be the choice for the
producers as a replacement
crop. He could try the on-
ion route, but he said one
of the big issues is stor-
age—there isn’t enough air
fl ow for onion storage with
his current set up, since it’s
structured for potatoes.
Blatchford said that the
quality of the potatoes
grown in the valley is
well-known, a fact that
helps him to keep a posi-
tive view looking into the
future. “You don’t want
to throw in the towel just
yet,” he said. “I’m hanging
on, and we’ll see which
way the wind blows.” The
only certainty is that there
is no current contract with
Heinz, he said.
Columbia Basin Helicopter owner
talks about legal battle with County
By Brian Addison
Brian@TheBakerCountyPress.com
A three-year legal battle
between Baker County and
Columbia Basin Helicop-
ter, Inc., has fi nally played
out in court and the two
sides now await a decision
on whether or not David
McCarty may continue
operating the agricultural
helicopter business on his
property near Ben-Dier
Lane. Umatilla County
Circuit Court Judge Ronald
Pahl is expected to enter a
decision within fi ve weeks.
While the offi cial court
fi ling submitted by Baker
County began in October
2011, this has been an
ongoing issue since shortly
after McCarty purchased
the property in 1994.
“Since 1995, we have
had an ongoing land use
battle with Mr. McCarty on
Ben-Dier road specifi cally
his use of his parcel as an
airport. We have spent a lot
of money on attorney and
staff fees,” stated Baker
County Commissioner
Mark Bennett during an
Executive Session on Jan.
2, 2008. While not usually
available to the public, the
notes from the Executive
Session became avail-
able to the public record
through use in the court
proceedings.
“I believe it’s time to
explore our options and
do something. I would
like Planning to contact
county counsel and fi gure
out the costs and schedule
a meeting,” then County
Commission chair Fred
Warner Jr. said during the
Executive Session.
At issue is whether or not
McCarty may operate his
agricultural helicopter ac-
tivities out of his property
zoned as Rural Residential
under the Baker County
zoning ordinance.
McCarty believes that
his business, devoted to
aerial agricultural services
such as spraying, seeding,
and fertilizing, operates as
an acceptable agricultural
practice.
County legal counsel
Dan Van Thiel, Bennett in
his previous position as
director of Baker County
Planning Department, and
two past county commis-
sioners Fred Warner Jr. and
Carl Stiff disagree with
McCarty and argue that the
business does not fi t the
criteria for operating in the
Rural Residential zone.
Van Thiel fi led an
injunction in October
of 2011 on behalf of the
County, seeking to stop
McCarty from operating
business on property about
10 miles northwest of Bak-
er City. At the time of the
original fi ling, Warner Jr.
was the chair of the Baker
County Board of Commis-
sioners and together with
commissioner Stiff voted
to proceed with fi ling the
injunction. Commissioner
Tim Kerns abstained from
the vote.
McCarty and com-
pany representative Jolene
Linstrom spoke about the
case during interviews on
February 3 and 4.
“This is an economic
issue. The county commis-
sioners are always talking
about ways to get jobs in
the community but here
they are shutting us down.
David’s business has pro-
vided jobs in an area where
jobs are needed. And he
gives back to the commu-
nity,” said Linstrom. With-
in court documents, Baker
County acknowledges the
jobs provided and the fact
that McCarty supports
youth activities including
the Baker County Fair.
Both Stiff and Van Thiel
live close to the McCarty
property—a fact that is
not lost on McCarty as he
mentioned a residential
development project in the
area begun by Stiff and
Joe Rudi. He and Linstrom
believe the county’s inves-
tigation process held bias
and directly benefi ted Van
Thiel and Stiff.
“All the complaints went
directly to Van Thiel. And,
out of those complaints
only two still live in the
area,” McCarty began.
“They hired an investiga-
tor who went around and
got hand-picked com-
plaints. They didn’t talk to
everyone,” he said. “They
only talked to one neighbor
with adjoining property
and it was the one who
complained. They didn‘t
talk to the other four neigh-
bors who supported us. We
only had about 15 fl ights
Prices trended generally steady compared to the
same quality last week. Trade activity and de-
mand were slow compared to last week. The good
weather in several areas of Oregon has slowed
down demand, as the pasture grasses are already
starting to grow and end users are being able to turn
animals out on pasture rather than purchase and
feed additional hay. Fewer containers available at
the shipping ports has slowed down the ability to
export hay overseas. Several producers have sold
all that they plan to sell for this season.
Eastern Oregon sales reported:
Tons Price Range Wtd Avg
Alfalfa - Large Square
Premium
50 220.00-220.00 220.00
USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov
— Cattle Market Report —
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Vale, Oregon
Cattle sold through the auction: 902
Steer Calves
300-400# Bulk 289.00 - 329.00 Top 360.00
400-500# Bulk 239.00 - 290.00 Top 301.00
500-600# Bulk 226.00 - 282.50 Top 286.00
Heifer Calves
300-400# Bulk 249.00 - 278.00 Top 290.00
400-500# Bulk 228.00 - 271.50 Top 275.00
500-600# Bulk 217.00 - 256.00 Top 256.50
Yearling Steers
600-700# Bulk 198.00 - 242.00 Top 248.00
700-800# Bulk 180.00 - 201.00 Top 203.50
800-900# Bulk N/A Top N/A
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
600-700#
700-800#
800-900#
900-1,000#
Submitted Photo.
One of the company’s helicopters equipped for
spraying.
from there per year.”
Linstrom added, “Un-
der Oregon you can’t
fi le a nuisance complaint
against farming and forest
practices. But, the county
is unwilling to look at a
helicopter as a piece of
agricultural equipment.”
“They dropped the ball,”
Linstrom said of Baker
County. “We applied for a
Conditional Use Permit to
operate the business and
the county never followed
through with the appli-
cation. And, they never
refunded the money David
spent to fi le the Condition-
al Use Permit application.”
Besides a property rights
issue, both Linstrom and
McCarty see the case as
an economic issue and as
a case of ill-spent county
funds.
“It’s pretty bad when the
county takes your tax dol-
lars and then spends them
to get you out,” said Mc-
Carty. “In these economic
times it’s pretty sad when
you think of all the money
the county spent on legal
fees.”
Baker County, through
2013, had spent $22,033
on legal fees and for an
investigator provided by
the Baker County District
Attorney’s offi ce.
McCarty said he’s
incurred further economic
loss related to the county’s
legal action against his
business.
“Just before this all
began I got approval to
construct an 8,000 square-
foot shop on the property
to store seed, livestock,
helicopters and other agri-
cultural equipment. I spent
$300,000 to build it, then
a week after it was built
and passed inspection the
county fi led their lawsuit,”
he said. “I’ve also spent a
lot of money on legal fees
to defend this.”
Columbia Basin Heli-
copters employs up to 10
people depending on the
season. McCarty pays a
fairly competitive wage for
this area at about $40,000
to $50,000 plus benefi ts
per employee.
“We provide jobs for
10 people who support 10
families. I have three adult
children who work for the
business. Since we can’t
use the shop to store and
work on the helicopters
some of my employees
have sold their homes
and moved out of Baker
County,” said McCarty.
McCarty mentioned
the economic hit the loss
means to the local busi-
nesses, “The wages earned
and the money the business
spent generated between
$1 million and two-and-
a-half million dollars a
year in the local com-
munity. When this case
was fi rst heard we had a
lot of people who came to
support us. Many of those
people closed their busi-
nesses for the day to come
support us.”
After the start of the
problems between Colum-
bia Basin Helicopters and
Baker County, McCarty
tried to move his operation
to the Baker City Airport.
“We tried to move to the
Baker City Airport but
couldn’t because Troy
Woydziak (Baker Aircraft)
has a no-compete contract
with the city airport,” he
explained.
McCarty has moved the
repair facility and storage
of his commercial spray-
ing operation out of Baker
County and now centers
those operations in La
Grande and Echo, Oregon.
When given the op-
portunity for comment on
this report, County legal
counsel Van Thiel declined
comment.
Yearling Heifers
Bulk 202.00 - 221.00 Top 226.50
Bulk 176.00 - 195.50 Top 196.00
Bulk 164.00 - 176.00 Top 179.00
Bulk 158.00 - 169.00 Top 172.00
Thin Shelly Cows 68.00 - 88.00
Butcher Cows 94.00 - 104.00
Butcher Bulls 91.00 - 109.00
Stock Cows 1400.00 - 1750.00
ProducersLivestock.com
— Log Price Report —
Price per 1,000 board feet: Northeast Oregon
Delivered to Elgin
Doug Fir / Larch 6”+ $370/m
White Fir/Sp 6”+ $380/m
LPP 6”+ $350/m
Delivered to La Grande
P. Pine 6-11” $290/m
12-17” $340/m
18-23” $390/m
24’+ $420/m
Delivered to Pilot Rock
12-17” $390/m
18-23” $440/m
24’+ $480/m
Delivered pulp
$28/ton to Elgin
$28/ton to La Grande
Courtesy of Arvid Andersen,
Andersen Forestry Consulting
— Precious Metals Report —
Price per ounce, USD
Gold: $1,263.60
Silver: $17.37
Platinum: $1,234.88
Palladium: $786.75
Bloomberg.com
— Ag Commodities —
Corn: $385.75/bu/USD
Wheat: $513.75/bu/USD
Soybeans: $987.00/bu/USD
Oats: $280.00/bu/USD
Rough Rice: $10.39/cwt/USD
Canola: $457.30 CAD/mwt
Live Cattle: $150.50/lb./USD
Feeder Cattle: $199.73/lb./USD
Lean Hogs: $70.80/lb./USD
Bloomberg.com