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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2017)
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3 FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 Business / Agriculture Chamber awards CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “Last week I was in a conversation with our superintendent of schools, Mark Witty,” explained Savage. “And he was tell- ing us about their desire to put forth a piece of media that showcases all of the amazing reasons why we love Baker City and why people need to come to Baker City and bring their children here and go to school.” Savage then explained that the Chamber of Com- merce wanted to recog- nize Baker’s Hometown Heroes. “They felt that it was time that they recognize some of our Hometown Heroes,” explained Sav- age. “Some of those people who work hard every day, behind the scenes, who make our community a much better place. They reached out to all law enforcement agencies, to all of our fire departments rural and throughout the entire county. And we would like to recognize some of these outstanding public servants.” The Hometown Heroes recognized were Baker City Fire and Rescue’s Lieutenant David Blair, Baker City Police School Resource Officer Lance Woodward, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, Baker Rural Fire Depart- ment’s Howard and Sandy Payton, and Haines Fire Department’s Larry Curry. Savage explained that they want to honor the home town heroes from Eagle Valley Fire, Hun- tington Fire, Keating Fire, Medical Spring Fire, North Powder Rural Fire, Sumpter Fire and Unity next year. Martin explained that this year there is a full board for the Chamber of Commerce, now hav- ing seven members. The other six members are Vice President Jeff Nelson, Cindy Endicott, Jerry Peacock, David Kassien, Anthony Leggett, and Dan Koopman. Martin also recog- nized Shelly Cutler, the executive director for the Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, office manager Cassie Petrucci, and the emcee for the night Ginger Savage. Cutler, who has now been with the chamber for a year, presented the executive discussion. Cutler explained that the chamber has gained 47 new members and hun- dreds of renewals. Cutler also explained that the chamber was involved with seven events. They helped at the state basketball tournament, hosting the Relay for Life where they raised $28,000 for Baker County Cancer, participated in Miners Ju- bilee, held Baker County’s first Downhill Derby, the Hell’s Canyon Motorcycle Rally Breakfast at the high school, organized the Shriners football game windows for businesses, and were a part of Com- munity Night Out. For 2017, Cutler explained that the cham- ber will organize Miners Jubilee, moving it to the 14, 15, and 16 to follow the Motorcycle Rally. The theme for the evening was the 70s and Vice President Jeff Nelson asked trivia questions per- taining to the 70s culture, movies, and music. Each table was given the opportunity to win a prize for the most correct answers. To end the evening, Sav- age hosted the live auction and explained to the guests how to win the centerpiec- es on the tables. Cattlemen discuss BMFPR BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Baker County Live- stock Association (BCLA) held its first meeting of the year, on Thursday, Janu- ary 19, 2017, 7 p.m., in the Sunridge Room, of the Best Western Sunridge Inn, which included an Oregon Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) Political Advo- cate Report discussion, and a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision update, from guest speaker, Baker County Commission Chair Bill Harvey. BCLA President Drew Martin, Treasurer Martin Arritola, Secretary Dotti Miles, Myron Miles, Ralph and Myrna Morgan, and Cheryl Martin were pres- ent for the meeting, which saw less attendance than normal, due to weather and road conditions. Among the first top- ics discussed was the Pacific Northwest Young Cattlemen Tour, origi- nally scheduled for Friday, January 20, 2017, in Baker City, but Drew said it was canceled due to weather (BCLA members had al- ready been notified of this, he said). Drew said OCA has a new Political Advocate, Portland-based Tonkon Torp LLP attorney Rocky Dallum (he fills the posi- tion previously held by Jim Welsh, who retired last June). Drew said, “What I’d like to do for our meet- ings is to have legisla- tive updates...” to track bills of concern to OCA and BCLA (the Oregon Legislature convened on January 9, and over 1,500 bills were introduced), and this meeting included a 20-page Political Advocate Report, copies of which were provided for those present. Drew said that an imme- diate impact of the major state budget shortfall of at least $1.8 billion is in the cattle industry, and he mentioned that Wallowa County’s funding for non- lethal methods to resolve predator conflicts will be cut, as a prime example of one of the high-priority issues of concern to OCA and BCLA (the major- ity of Oregon’s wolf packs are located in the northeastern region of the state). House Bill (HB) 203 is aimed at requiring the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to develop and implement programs which provide technical assistance to state landowners, businesses, and communities, regard- ing non-lethal methods to reduce wildlife and human conflicts, according to the report summary. Drew spoke about another high-priority concern, the possibility of water metering, included in HB 2705,part of a push to provide more funding to the Water Resources Department (RWD). Ac- cording to the summary, a device would be required at the point of diversion or appropriation, to mea- sure the amount of water being used (there would be an exception for water being used for an exempt purpose), with the amount reported to RWD, and a civil penalty of up to $500 per day, for violations of the requirement. Cheryl said, “We really want to fight that. That’s going to cost us dearly.” HB 2097 covers the overall state ap- proach to water resources management. Another area of major concern for OCA and BCLA, which was dis- cussed at the meeting, is the significant transforma- tion in the requirements covering the administration of antibiotics to livestock, covered in HB 2396, and Senate Bill (SB) 0222. Under HB 2396, the administration or other provision of medically important antibiotics to food-producing animals for non-therapeutic purposes would be prohibited; the operator of a concentrated feeding operation would be required to file an an- nual report regarding the administration of medi- cally important antibiotics to food-producing animals; and these requirements would take effect on or after January 1, 2018. SB 0222 directs the Oregon State Veterinary Medical Examining Board to adopt rules requiring veterinar- ians to provide written copies of prescriptions for animal medications to owners. Arritola expressed great concern about conse- quences for producers as a result of the proposed changes, and he said, “The — Weekly Hay Report — Friday, January 20, 2016 — Eastern Oregon Prices trended generally steady in a limited test compared to week ago prices. Most demand lays with the retail/stable hay. According to some producers, horse owners prefer lower sugar, higher protein hay. The recent snows slowed movement as trucks cant get to the farms to get loaded. Tons Price Range Wtd Avg Alfalfa — Large Square Fair 60 105.00-105.00 105.00 Last week: Alfalfa / Orchard Mix — Small Square Premium 32 185.00-185.00 185.00 Timothy Grass — Small Square Premium 10 200.00-200.00 200.00 USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov — Cattle Market Report — Wednesday, January 18, 2017 Vale, Oregon Cattle sold through the auction: 1,295 Steer Calves 300-400# Bulk 136.00 - 177.00 Top 179.00 400-500# Bulk 149.00 - 169.00 Top 172.50 500-600# Bulk 129.00 - 155.00 Top 156.00 Heifer Calves 300-400# Bulk 132.00 - 148.00 Top 152.00 400-500# Bulk 129.00 - 142.00 Top 143.00 500-600# Bulk 118.00 - 135.00 Top 136.00 600-700# 700-800# 800-900# 900-1,000# Yearling Steers Bulk 124.00 - 139.00 Top 139.75 Bulk 119.00 - 132.00 Top 133.00 Bulk 108.00 - 123.00 Top 126.30 Bulk 106.00 -121.00 Top 125.00 Yearling Heifers 600-700# Bulk 119.00 - 126.00 Top 126.75 700-800# Bulk 106.00 - 116.00 Top 117.50 800-900# Bulk N/A Top N/A 900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A Thin Shelly Cows 37.00 - 49.00 Butcher Cows 51.00 -57.00 Butcher Bulls 56.00 - 66.00 Pairs Young N/A Hfretts. 63.00 - 88.00 Stock Cows Young - N/A ProducersLivestock.com 541-473-3136 Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press The BCLA met last Thursday in spite of severe weather conditions. Veterinary Feed Direc- tive (VFD) is already a nightmare...The VFD takes all of the power away from the veterinarian...Nobody understands it...” The VFD is an effort spearheaded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the FDA, “Once the changes (in FDA’s Guidance #213) are fully implemented, it will be illegal to use these med- ically important antibiotics for production purposes, and animal producers will need to obtain authori- zation from a licensed veterinarian to use them for prevention, control or treatment of disease...” Dotti said that BCLA should voice its concerns to state representatives, regarding issues it sees with legislation, and Drew said, “That’s what we’ll do. OCA does that.” Dotti said, “Two knocks on the door is better than one.” Drew said he agrees, and that BCLA will be echoing OCA’s official positions. Cheryl expressed praise for the Advocate Report, and she said that BCLA can choose a few of the priori- ties to focus on. Prior to Harvey’s Blue Mountains Forest Revision Plan (BMFPR) update, Cheryl mentioned OCA’s Spring Quarterly, an event which includes updates re- garding legislative effects on agriculture and ranch- ing, to be held in Salem, from Monday, March 6, through Tuesday, March 7. She said it’s crucial for as many people as possible to attend, in order to send a strong message to Gover- nor Kate Brown, that more attention should be paid to the people and the issues in the eastern region of the state. Harvey said, “Most of you know the issues with the Forest Revision Plan. They’ve been working on it for quite a while...They have failed so miserably at rewriting this plan (he said the plan from 1990 is still in effect, because the U.S. Forest Service has been unable to form an accept- able revision since that time). He explained the issues, among them road closures, which he has fought hard to prevent, since access to forest land has been a major emphasis from both the public, and the County. “Their (the USFS) goal is for us to be gone, and if they were to have their pristine desire, they would have corridors, from Canada to Mexico, with no people--just wild lands, and no say, no control, no nothing...” Harvey said when he first asked staff of the USFS about the process of coordination, the reply was that they were unaware of the idea. He said that the process of cooperation has been emphasized instead, “...where they get many counties to sign on, and they say that they’re on the project with you, except, you’re not told what it is, you’re not allowed to speak about it, if you at- tend the meetings, and they make these back-room deals...” Harvey also mentioned collaboration, which he said is even worse than the coordination process (coor- dination, cooperation, and collaboration have been much-debated processes, during various County meetings). SEE BCLA PAGE 5 — Log Price Report — Prices are based on the majority of saw mills in Northeastern Oregon and Central Idaho. The prices listed below are a composite prices of various saw- mills willing to visit with me about this topic. Ponderosa Pine—small diameter class 8-11 inches diameter class $250 per mbf. Only one sawmill was willing to buy small diameter pine at this time. Ponderosa Pine—medium diameter class 12-17 inches diameter class $300 to $350 per mbf Ponderosa Pine-large diameter class 18 plus inches diameter class $380 to $410 per mbf The Pine prices are still approximately $40 per mbf below average lumber/log market due to 2017 fire salvage Doug Fir & Western Larch—$380 to $420 per mbf. Normal prices typically ranged between $425 to $475 per mbf. White Fir-$300 per mbf. Normal prices typically ranged between $340 to $360 per mbf. Engelmann Spruce—$350 at one Idaho sawmill, other sawmills including with White fir prices. In general, the log prices still impacted from 2015 fire season and fire salvage that resulted. Sawmills are starting to get log yard inventory in line with sawmill production needs. With a new Administra- tion as of 1/20/2017, a more normal economic envi- ronment should result and hopefully a more healthy housing situation will result in a better climate for Northeast Oregon Sawmill and private forest land- owners. Courtesy of Arvid Andersen, Andersen Forestry Consulting — Precious Metals Report — Price per ounce, USD Gold: $1,208.20 Silver: $17.07 Platinum: $994.14 Palladium: $788.99 Bloomberg.com — Ag Commodities — Corn: $361.75/bu/USD Wheat: $424.50/bu/USD Soybeans: $1,052.00/bu/USD Oats: $258.50 bu/USD Rough Rice: $9.96/cwt/USD Canola: $552.10 CAD/mwt Live Cattle: $118.40//lb./USD Feeder Cattle: $130.18/lb./USD Lean Hogs: $67.63/lb./USD Bloomberg.com
