FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2015
Business & Ag
Cattlemen back new brand inspection fee
• NEW FEE TO FEND
OFF SAGE-GROUSE
IMPACT, WOLVES
DISCUSSED
BY CARMELITA HOLLAND
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
“I make a motion sup-
porting the roll out of this
bill,” began Myron Miles,
Oregon Cattlemen’s As-
sociation (OCA) District
Vice President at-large,
April 16th, at a Baker
County Livestock Associa-
tion meeting in Richland,
held at the Eagle Valley
Grange’s Community Hall.
The motion was seconded
and passed unanimously.
With this action the
Oregon Cattlemen As-
sociation approved an
assessment of one dollar
on each head of cattle sold
in five counties, Bake ,
Lake, Harney, Crook and
Malheur, established as
the sage-grouse’s Critical
Habitat Area in Oregon.
This assessment is called
the OCA Natural Resource
Conservation Fee, or
NRCF, and the assessment
will be made at the point of
brand inspections.
The NRCF is dependent
upon passing a proposed
sage grouse initiative
being presented to the
Oregon legislature.
The State Legislative
Counsel has determined
this assessment to be a tax.
The purpose of the
NRCF is to raise funds
for sage-grouse-related
conservation projects.
“We have put in a lot
of effort in developing a
package to get ready to
send to the legislature,”
said John O’Keefe, OCA
President-elect, referring
to the last three years of
dedicated work on the sage
grouse issue.
“What we are trying to
do, is create a reason to
keep the Federal govern-
ment from listing the sage
grouse as an endangered
species,” said O’Keefe,”
This sage-grouse initiative
is doing something on a
scale that has never been
done before.”
The NRCF proposal has
a Sunset of five years, after
which it expires, if not
revisited and renewed.
According to plans,
collected revenue will be
held by the Department
of Agriculture, who will
issue block grants to Soil
and Water Conservation
Districts (SWCDs), which
represent the county where
the cattle were raised. Ad-
ministration fees charged
by the Department of Ag-
riculture will be 3 - 4%,
and SWCD fees have been
estimated at 12 - 14%
In this way, sage-grouse
conservation projects will
be funded for livestock
producers in the five Crit -
cal Habitat counties, partly
by the livestock producers
themselves.
“We have a lot of sup-
port and need a lot more.
We have possibilities of
receiving funding from
a number of sources,”
said O’Keefe, naming the
Audoubons who have a
two million dollar fund
they appear to be willing to
share in half.
“Besides the assessment,
which could raise as much
as $300,000 over a five-
year period, there should
be Federal money avail-
able for sage-grouse.”
He also mentioned a pos-
sible wild bird seed fund
designed for sage-grouse
benefits.
Instream water rights
were addressed by Chair-
man Jake Bingham.
The Chair reminded
members that the Fish
and Wildlife Department
at State Level filed for
Instream water rights in
1990.
Wolf Update.
Special guests at the
OCA meeting were Brian
Ratliff, Baker District Bi-
ologist, and Justin Primus,
Assistant District Wildlife
Biologist, who gave an up-
date on the wolf situation
in Baker County.
Ratliff reported there
were seventy-seven wolves
documented in Oregon at
this time. Three packs in
Baker County.
He said the Minam
River pack was “over the
ridge” from Baker County,
and in the other direction is
a John Day River pack.
“On March 26th, we got
pictures of six wolves in
McGraw. Two were pups.
We have no idea where
they are now.
“We are in Phase II.
This is the transitional
phase. What we learn in
this Phase will determine
whether wolves advance
toward being delisted or
not,” said Ratliff.
The Commission is
mandated by law to base
the decision they make on
biological information, a
certain number of breed-
ing pairs must remain a
definite number of years, is
part of this.
Any wolves east of
BY MEGHAN ANDERSCH
Meghan@TheBakerCountyPress.com
D&B Supply celebrated
a “Grand Re-Opening”
Event this past week,
April 16th through 18th.
The store has undergone a
complete remodel (and it
did stay open to customers
throughout the project).
The remodel included
a “major face lift” and the
introduction of several
new products throughout
the store. These additions
include a full line of equip-
ment for shooting sports,
camping and fishing gea ,
food processing equip-
ment, and gas, wood, and
pellet stoves.
D&B Supply has also
added many miscellaneous
items in departments
throughout the store—too
many to list per Blaine
Ream, Operations Man-
ager of D&B Supply.
(Ream usually works out
of Caldwell, Idaho, but
was in town to assist with
the Grand Re-Opening.)
Ream said, “There’s a
lot of new stuff, so come
check it out, even if you’ve
been here before. If you
haven’t been here before,
you need to come see what
we’re about.”
The clothing area was
completely remodeled and
rearranged and D&B Sup-
ply now carries the 5.11
tactical apparel line.
The kids’ clothing offer-
ings have been expanded,
and the Baker City store is
also now carrying Noble
Outfitters equestrian riding
— Weekly Hay Report —
Friday, April 17, 2015 — Eastern Oregon
Prices trended generally steady compared to the
same quality last week. Trade activity and demand
slowed this week. The continued good weather in
several areas of Oregon has slowed down demand,
as pasture grasses are growing causing end us-
ers to be able to turn animals out on pasture rather
than purchase and feed additional hay. Export hay
business seems to slowly be picking up, however
continued issues with few containers available and
backup of containers needing to be loaded at the
shipping ports continues to slow down the ability to
export hay overseas. Most producers have sold all
that they plan to sell for this season.
Alfalfa / Orchard Mix - Small Square/Premium, 50
tons, $175 avg.
Carmelita Holland /The Baker County Press
OCA President-elect John O’Keefe (standing) and
Jacob Bingham discussed the proposal $1/head
brand inspection fee last week in Richland.
Highways 395, 78 and 95
are no longer protected
under Federal laws, but
Oregon lands west of those
highways are listed yet.
If a person lives east of
those highways, and sees
a wolf attacking, or just
chasing livestock, or chas-
ing a working dog on his/
her property, or lands law-
fully occupied, that person
can legally shoot the wolf,
providing the individual
has not baited or otherwise
attracted the wolf.
After shooting the wolf,
one has 24 hours to report
the incident. During that
24 hours the scene must be
preserved and care taken to
not remove or disturb the
carcass of the wolf.
Ratliff said tracing the
wolves, done by keep-
ing track of signals sent
from their collars reveals
they travel great distances
quickly.
One collared, lone wolf
started at Umatilla, went
into Idaho, came back,
went through Medical
Springs into Union County.
He was hazed there so is
now outside of Vale.
Last year, a female and
three pups came through
Medical Springs, and on
through Look Out Moun-
tain using the same route
of earlier wolves. Two
weeks later, a collared lone
male wolf came through
Medical Springs, through
Look Out, went into Idaho,
to Wyoming, using the
same route.
An Imnaha wolf pack
went to Summit Point,
then Fish Lake. A wolf was
located ranging high uphill
of Eagle Creek and he
stayed high. Ratliff said
there has been consider-
able wolf activity in the
area of Catherine Creek
State Park and from all
indications there may be a
female there intending to
den up to bear pups.
Ratliff said lone wolves
are not much of a worry,
but packs of wolves need
watched.
A curious Pine Valley
rancher asked questions
about the collars put on the
wolves.
Ratliff said each collar
carries the gender, color
and age of the wolf it is
on. The batteries in the
collars can last up to three
years. How long they last
depends upon how many
times they are set to send a
signal to a satellite they are
directed to contact.
They may be set for twice
a day, more frequently, or
less. He said they seldom
fall off the wolf, but are
frequently chewed off by
other wolves.
He was asked who pays
for the wolf management
and expenses.
Ratliff replied, “There is
a Federal Wolf grant, and
management funds come
out of District money,
Grande Ronde Watershed
funds.
Ratliff said that as far
as it is known, the wolves
have not made it into the
Elkhorn Mountains yet.
A rancher from the
“West Wall” said the Im-
naha pack was using hard
there.
Another rancher asked
how to identify wolf kills.
Ratliff said that elk is
the wolf’s favorite food.
He said a Pine Valley wolf
kill showed a few bruises
behind the elk’s shoulder,
and canine scratches in
the hide showed it was the
work of a wolf.
“Wolves usually bite
behind the shoulder, and
they bite on an animal
until it can’t run anymore.
They leave a long struggle
trail. Time will erase the
trail quickly, so it is most
important to take action
immediately to identify the
kill,” said Radcliff.
D&B holds grand re-opening
• NEW GUN
COUNTER AMONG
STORE’S UPDATES
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3
USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov
— Cattle Market Report —
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Vale, Oregon
Cattle sold through the auction: 598
Steer Calves
300-400# Bulk 274.00 - 309.00 Top 312.50
400-500# Bulk 187.00 - 308.00 Top 310.00
500-600# Bulk 249.00 - 292.00 Top 295.00
Heifer Calves
300-400# Bulk 251.00 - 278.00 Top 293.00
400-500# Bulk 241.00 - 273.00 Top 287.50
500-600# Bulk 227.00 - 256.00 Top 261.50
Yearling Steers
600-700# Bulk 231.00 - 248.00 Top 257.50
700-800# Bulk N/A Top N/A
800-900# Bulk N/A Top N/A
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Yearling Heifers
600-700# Bulk 208.00 - 230.00 Top 232.50
700-800# Bulk 186.00 - 201.00 Top 205.00
800-900# Bulk 166.00 - 181.00 Top 189.50
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Thin Shelly Cows 78.00 - 91.00
Butcher Cows 92.00 - 106.00
Butcher Bulls 98.00 - 119.00
Stock Cows 650.00 - 1875.00
Younger Hfrts. 117.00 - 142.00
Pairs Yng. - N/A
ProducersLivestock.com
541-473-3136
— Log Price Report —
Price per 1,000 board feet: Northeast Oregon
Doug Fir is $415.00/mbf
White fir is $365.00/mb
Ponderosa Pine is brought sold
on diameter splits
6 to 11 inch dib $300 to $310/MBF
12 to 17 inch dib $350 to $375/MBF
18 to 23 inch dib $400 to $430/MBF
24 inch plus dib $450 to $500/MBF
DIB is diameter inside bark at
small end of log.
MBF is thousand board feet lumber, net scale.
People interested in selling logs
should call and get specific
quotes from saw mills.
Courtesy of Arvid Andersen,
Andersen Forestry Consulting
— Precious Metals Report —
Price per ounce, USD
Gold: $1200.50
Silver: $15.96
Platinum: $1,147.88
Palladium: $771.25
Bloomberg.com
— Ag Commodities —
Kerry McQuisten /The Baker County Press
Greg Maddox is hard at work behind D&B’s new gun
counter.
gear.
Rhino gun safe, Springfield
D&B Supply celebrated
9 mm pistol, and Bushnell
the completion of the
Binoculars.
remodel with a three-day
The Baker City D&B
event Thursday through
Supply is open Monday
Saturday including give-
through Saturday 8 a.m.-7
aways all three days. Sat-
p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-5
urday giveaways featured a p.m.
Corn: $378.75/bu/USD
Wheat: $500.00/bu/USD
Soybeans: $976.75/bu/USD
Oats: $263.00 bu/USD
Rough Rice: $9.98/cwt/USD
Canola: $453.00 CAD/mwt
Live Cattle: $146.43/lb./USD
Feeder Cattle: $212.65/lb./USD
Lean Hogs: $77.60/lb./USD
Bloomberg.com