THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3
FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016
Business & Ag
Ag and culinary tourism
project launches
BY SUNNY WERNER
Sunny@TheBakerCountyPress.com
“Agritourism” is fast
becoming the newest fash-
ion in many large cities.
In Portland for example,
where fascination with
naturally raised meats and
organically produced fruits
and vegetables is legend-
ary, many consumers
are beginning to take an
interest in the other end of
the supply chain: the farms
and ranches who are actu-
ally producing their food.
The relationship between
agriculture and tourism
isn’t new—farms and
ranches typically served
travelers on a regular basis,
long before hotels were
available. From Pony
Express stops to dude
ranches, popular in the
middle of the last century,
people have been fasci-
nated by farm life.
As the population has
gradually moved away
from ranching and farming
areas, toward big cities,
the disconnect between
providers and consumers
has grown.
With the resurgence of
interest in living and eating
in healthier ways, more
consumers are paying
attention to who produces
the foods they feed their
families. The barrage of
news reports that the big
industrial producers have
been using unhealthy
practices, avoiding com-
pliance inspections, and
shipping their products
overseas to be processed at
facilities that do not meet
U.S. health standards has
increased consumer aware-
ness.
This information, in turn,
has brought awareness
to the general public that
they do have the choice to
either buy mass-produced,
unregulated products or
take time to learn about
their local growers and
producers. By purchasing
locally, consumers can
build relationships with
the people who grow and
produce their food.
The Oregon Tourism
Commission, doing busi-
ness as Travel Oregon, is a
semi-independent agency
created by the Oregon Leg-
islature in 2003 to enhance
Oregonians’ quality of life
by strengthening economic
impacts of the state’s $10.3
billion tourism industry.
Travel Oregon, along
with the USDA (via grant
funds), the Northeast
Oregon Development
District, Eastern Oregon
Visitors Association and a
conglomeration of farm-
ers, ranchers and growers
in each area, have joined
together to establish a base
upon which to build an
eco-tourism industry.
For the purposes of this
project the State has
divided Oregon into seven
regions, each of which has
distinct characteristics. The
Eastern region was then
further divided into four
more regions, as the enor-
mous variety of agricul-
tural diversity across such
a large area called for more
specific planning.
Janet Dodson, of Sun-
nyslope Marketing, is the
Project Consultant for the
Eastern region of Oregon
in this new enterprise.
Dodson is tasked with
maintaining the network
between participating
stakeholders in the Eastern
regions, collecting data,
holding workshops and
engaging new participants.
Expanding the base of
ranchers and farmers who
are engaged in the project
is another of her interests.
According to Dodson,
examples of Agritourism
include:
• Farm and Ranch stays -
lodging, camping, RVs
• Tours- single farm/
ranch; multiple ag tours;
guided or self-guided tours
• Farm stands; one day or
seasonal
• Farm to table dinners
Wineries, orchards and
gardens that invite visitors
Friday, December 18, 2015 — Eastern Oregon
*Report unchanged from last week due to holiday.
Prices trended generally steady compared to week
ago prices. The upcoming holidays have slowed
sales. Many producers have decided to hold on to
their hay for now, in hopes for higher prices. Snow
has hit some of the hay producing areas.
Tons Price Range Wtd Avg
Alfalfa —Large Square Premium
320 190.00-190.00 190.00
Alfalfa —Large Square Good
245 125.00-125.00 125.00
Two weeks ago:
Timothy Grass — Large Square, Good
65 200.00-200.00 200.00
Timothy Grass— Small Square, Good
5 200.00-200.00 200.00
USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov
— Cattle Market Report —
Submitted Photo.
Janet Dodson of Sunnyslope Marketing.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Vale, Oregon
Cattle sold through the auction: 1,528
*Report unchanged from last week due to holiday.
• On-farm product and
gift shops
• Fee hunting and hunt-
ing preserves
• Horseback riding and
petting zoos
• Working ranches with
tourism facilities
• Restaurants and stores
offering locally produced
foods and beverages
• Single or multi-day
events: rodeos, fairs, har-
vest festivals
• Farmer’s Markets
• Farms and ranches
which invite visitors in
only once or twice a year
or on a very limited sea-
sonal basis as an educa-
tional outreach
• Event facilities for
weddings, reunions and
other gatherings
• Trails, tracks and ob-
stacle courses on farms and
ranches
• Horse boarding facili-
ties and arenas
Dodson said, “As a des-
tination, the Eastern U.S.
is well established inter-
nationally. What Travel
Oregon has done to expose
travelers to Eastern Oregon
includes bicycle tours,
Farm to Fork dinners, raft-
ing trips, and so on.”
She went on to explain
that Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity has a Tourism Pro-
gram, and is encouraging
farm-tourism connections.
“When we can get an in-
tern placed with a working
ranch, for example” she
said. “That intern can help
the rancher with some of
the specific tasks that have
to be addressed, such as
signage, visitors expecta-
tions, etc.”
Dodson acknowledges
the divide between many
agricultural families on the
Eastern side, where conser-
vatism reigns, and the eco-
tourists who usually come
from densely populated,
often very liberal cities.
“We hope those ag-
ricultural families who
decide they want to host
tourists will meet with us
in workshops to establish
their own ground rules and
learn what to be prepared
for,” she said. “The goal
is to educate, inform and
entertain these tourists
who are paying for their
opportunity to stay on a
real working ranch, and
although we know there
will be some conflicting
opinions, we encourage all
participants to share their
views respectfully.”
The next meeting of the
Northeast Oregon Agri-
tourism Project Committee
is in La Grande, Wednes-
day, January 20. Call
541.786.8006 for info.
The laundromat is no more
BY GINA K. SWARTZ
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
815 Campbell Street
was Baker City Laundro-
mat since its opening in
the early 90s. It closed in
October 2013 for good and
has remained empty ever
since.
For a long time, paper
covered the windows so no
one could see in.
Then slowly over time
the paper began to peel
down revealing the dark
lonely space.
Rumors even circulated
that Subway was going to
expand into the space, but
nothing ever came of that.
Then “For Rent” signs
appeared in the window
but still the space sat
empty, until eventually
those signs disappeared as
well.
Recent activity in the
space has not gone un-
noticed by patrons of the
adjoining, Subway.
Major renovations began
happening–old washers
and dryers were replaced
by coolers.
What was happening in
the space? Many won-
dered.
In mid-November Baker
— Weekly Hay Report —
Steer Calves
300-400# Bulk 171.00 - 196.00 Top 228.00
400-500# Bulk 162.00 - 203.00 Top 216.00
500-600# Bulk 151.00 - 180.00 Top 180.75
Heifer Calves
300-400# Bulk 151.00 - 176.00 Top 178.00
400-500# Bulk 137.00 - 172.00 Top 175.00
500-600# Bulk 136.00 - 160.00 Top 160.50
600-700#
700-800#
800-900#
900-1,000#
Yearling Steers
Bulk 134.00 - 162.00 Top 163.50
Bulk 128.00 - 139.00 Top 152.75
Bulk 123.00 - 136.00 Top 137.00
Bulk 120.00 - 129.00 Top 135.00
Yearling Heifers
600-700# Bulk 122.00 - 144.00 Top 146.50
700-800# Bulk 118.00 - 131.00 Top 132.00
800-900# Bulk 112.00 - 123.00 Top 124.50
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Thin Shelly Cows 37.00 - 47.00
Butcher Cows 48.00 - 55.00
Butcher Bulls 52.00 - 62.00
Stock Cows Yng. 1175.00 - 1475.00
Younger Hfrts. 74.00 - 111.00
Stock Cows Older. - 935.00 - 1125.00
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/mbf
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 —
Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press
This location next to Subway will be the new location for Moe Joe Smoke & Gift,
Inc.
City Police Chief Wyn
Lohner received an ap-
plication from business
partners Farukh Abdullah
and Masoud Aria both of
Redmond, OR.
They intend to open a
convenience type store in
the space featuring beer
and tobacco sales. The
name of the business is
Moe Joe Smoke & Gift
Inc. Lohner brought the
application before the City
Council at the December
8, 2015 meeting where
the Council voted to
unanimously approve the
application.
As is the case with any
liquor license application
the partners were required
to submit to a background
check as well as a criminal
history check.
The investigation con-
ducted by Chief Lohner
revealed that the partners
also own a store in Pendle-
ton, OR called Bare Bones.
That store has operated
successfully for several
years.
Lohner’s report to the
City Council states, “In
communication with Mr.
Abdullah he states that the
business will sell groceries,
cold beverages, including
beer, foods, gifts and to-
bacco products. He further
says the business will
operate seven days a week
and be open each day from
6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.”
According to Lohner,
Abudullah and Aria will
oversee the management
of the business but will use
local employees.
The exact number of
people the business will
employ is not known at
this time nor is the in-
tended date of opening.
Price per ounce, USD
Gold: 1,060.00
Silver: $13.85
Platinum: $871.63
Palladium: $550.50
Bloomberg.com
— Ag Commodities —
Corn: $359.00/bu/USD
Wheat: $471.20/bu/USD
Soybeans: $870.00/bu/USD
Oats: $218.00 bu/USD
Rough Rice: $11.76/cwt/USD
Canola: $491.30 CAD/mwt
Live Cattle: $136.70/lb./USD
Feeder Cattle: $161.63/lb./USD
Lean Hogs: $59.80/lb./USD
Bloomberg.com