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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2016
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Resolutions, some tongue-
in-cheek, on the farm
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
The new year is a symbol of new beginnings in
farm country, a time to look ahead to what the future
may bring and to engage in that age-old tradition of
making resolutions.
Eastern Oregon wheat farmer Tyson Raymond
has some tongue-in-cheek resolutions for 2016,
starting with, “Get a little more rain, particularly in
April and May.”
Raymond, a member of the Oregon Board of
Agriculture, also vows to pay closer attention to
what successful farmers are doing and “do more of
that.”
Beyond that, he resolves: “Don’t buy my fuel
and fertilizer at their yearly highs (again)” and
“Don’t sell my wheat at yearly lows (again).”
In addition, he said he’ll “try not to buy a tractor
in August if they sell for $40,000 less in December”
and he’s going to “try to grow wheat that weighs 60
pounds (a bushel) and is below 10 percent protein.”
“If I can stick to these, I’m sure to have a better
year than last,” he said.
The staff at Our Table Cooperative, a 58-acre
farm near Sherwood, southwest of Portland, put
their heads together and came up with collective
resolutions.
“Feed more people and fewer deer. Invite more
people to share meals with us on the farm. Grow
the best tomato crop this region has ever known,”
are on their list.
Good cheer aside
But good cheer aside, falling commodity prices,
higher labor costs, tight water supplies and tighter
regulations have for some producers set up 2016 to
be more a matter of seeking resolutions instead of
making them.
In California, farmers will be honing their strat-
egies to deal with new state wage-and-hour laws.
Although most farmers pay more than mini-
mum wage, the Jan. 1 increase from $9 to $10 an
hour will have many making a comparable increase
in what they pay their workers.
“We’ve been paying well above the minimum
wage for a long time, but it moves up the bottom,”
said Michael Vasey, manager of Lindauer River
Ranch, a prune and walnut operation in Red Bluff,
California.
“If your strategy is to pay $1 or $2 above the
minimum wage, it moves up your wages more. ...
I’m having to pay more to a vast majority of my
employees,” he said.
Another recently passed law requires growers to
pay workers for required breaks even when they’re
paid at a piece rate.
“You have to pay them at the rate they’re earn-
ing” while they’re picking, pruning or doing some
other work. “It’s very complicated keeping track
of the hours. It’s an individual calculation for each
guy,” said Vasey, who is also president of the Teha-
ma County Farm Bureau.
A similar formula is applied to paid sick leave
for piece-rate workers, which employers also must
provide, he said.
For example, “no-touch” riparian zones turn
into kindling boxes that burn hot enough to wipe
out all vegetation, opening the way for noxious
weeds and poor water quality, he said.
gage with the public. Each of us has the opportunity
to affect change,” she said.
Business sense
Whether farmers and ranchers ultimately abide
by their New Year’s resolutions, they might want to
Projects and plans
Nicole Berg, a Paterson, Washington, wheat take a little advice from an agricultural economist.
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Water worries
farmer and former president of the Washington As-
Coming off a four-year drought, California pro- sociation of Wheat Growers, resolves to continue gether to just see where they are,” said Dave Kohl,
GXFHUVVD\WKH\ZLOODOVREHPRUHHI¿FLHQWZLWKZD- to tell agriculture’s story to legislators in the year professor emeritus of agricultural and applied eco-
ter — and pray the December deluge across much ahead and to see the various organizations in the nomics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
of the state will continue through the winter and into wheat industry focus on the industry’s strategic plan University and a longtime partner in Northwest
to move forward.
spring.
Farm Credit Services’ development program.
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“I do the rain dance. … It’s all about water and
A lot of producers don’t like to do it, but it’s the
rain, and we’re off to a good start,” said Marysville, always exciting to see some of the new things you No. 1 priority. In this time of economic reset in ag-
California, rice grower Charley Mathews, a mem- can do with policy,” she said.
riculture, it’ll be important to try to get a handle on
As for resolutions, she said her family typically SURMHFWHGFDVKÀRZKHVDLG
ber of the USA Rice Federation’s executive com-
sticks with what they intend to do.
mittee.
They should also schedule a meeting with their
“Farmers, all in all, what we say is what we do,” lender, and not wait too long to do that. With great
He’s hoping California will receive at least av-
erage precipitation this year to ease drought fears, she said.
wealth in the agriculture sector primarily in the rear
Ritzville, Washington, wheat farmer Mike Mill- view mirror, it’s going to be critical to work side-by-
although forecasters say more than one wet winter
er said he plans to be more VLGHZLWKWKHLUOHQGHUWRJDLQÀH[LELOLW\DQGRSWLRQV
is likely needed to end the
on the farm as he said.
drought.
‘Good times don’t conservative
margins shrink.
“Hopefully we’ll get a
If the operation is showing negative margins,
good couple of years,” he
He
also
hopes
to
adopt
WKH\EHWWHUEHSUHSDUHGWREXLOGWKHLUFDVHIRU¿QDQF-
last forever, nor
said.
a different marketing phi- ing, he said.
do bad times last losophy, to take better “Regulators kind of gave ag a pass last year, but
advantage of the highest I don’t think it’s going to happen this year. Building
Regulatory rigors
Dave Dashiell, a ranch- forever. Things can prices possible.
that case is going to be very, very crucial for some
$V DQ RI¿FHU RQ WKH producers,” he said.
er in northeastern Wash-
change in a New board of U.S. Wheat As- On the positive side, there’s opportunity if
ington state, has lost hun-
sociates and member of the they’ve positioned for it, he said.
dreds of sheep to predators
York minute.’
Washington Grain Com-
in the past couple of years.
“If they set some cash aside, they’re going to be
mission, he also wants to able to get pretty good deals on equipment,” he said.
+HVDLGVWDWHRI¿FLDOVSDLG
Dave Kohl
IRUFRQ¿UPHGZROINLOOV professor emeritus of agricultural and applied see the industry focus on
In addition, some older farmers are thinking
overseas markets.
in 2014 and attributed his
maybe it’s time to cash in following that so-called
economics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute
In Oregon, nursery “super cycle” of wealth; some pretty good assets are
2015 losses to cougars,
owner Angela Bailey be- starting to soften, he said.
leaving the future of his
lieves 2016 will be a year of opportunity and re-
ranch in doubt.
“Producers who have positioned themselves are
“You can make long-term plans and to a certain solves to be open to whatever change may accom- going to be able to grow,” he said.
extent we’ve kind of done that, but then all of a sud- pany it.
%XWKHFDXWLRQVSURGXFHUVWRJHWHI¿FLHQWEHIRUH
“Just because we’ve always done something they get bigger.
den the state decides we need to be out of the sheep
business — that is the biggest thing holding us up one way, doesn’t mean we need to continue to do
“Bigger isn’t better; better is better,” he said.
right now, and I’m not in a very good mood about so,” she said.
He also advises producers to take a note from
Bailey, second vice president of the Oregon WRSÀLJKWPDQDJHUVDQGVLJQXSIRUWKUHHRUIRXUHG-
it,” he said.
He also pointed to regulations regarding sage Farm Bureau, owns Verna Jean Nursery east of ucational and training events and to network.
grouse, waters of the U.S. and labor, saying, Portland, and with her husband, Larry, sells special-
And they should make sure they take care of
“They’re working pretty hard to put everybody out ty trees. She said 2015 was “great” for nursery sales, themselves — exercise, read, take time off, he said.
and that in itself poses some challenges.
of business that they can.”
“I think that’s imperative, especially where
“I will need to be deliberate, in the new year, in there’s a lot of stress,” he said.
Dashiell said he and the Cattle Producers of
Washington plan to emphasize to lawmakers the how I perform my duties in order to maximize my
The year ahead is going to be leaner in most
effectiveness in meeting all of our commitments. commodities, and agriculture is operating in more
need for regulatory relief in 2016.
Eastern Washington farmer Aaron Golladay, This will require some change in how I have histor- challenging times than in the past. Producers can’t
¿UVWYLFHSUHVLGHQWRIWKHVWDWH)DUP%XUHDXDOVR ically operated,” she said.
control everything, but they are getting better at
In addition, all Oregon agricultural employers managing what they can, he said.
said he hopes to slow the tide of federal and state
will have to come up with creative solutions to is-
regulation.
“Good times don’t last forever, nor do bad times
“We’re going to get steamrolled on a lot of reg- sues such as a possible minimum wage increase, last forever. Things can change in a New York min-
ulations coming. There’s something new almost paid sick leave and other labor issues, she said.
ute,” he said.
“Don’t even get me started with regulatory is-
weekly right now,” he said.
Producers should keep that in mind and keep
He said he wishes he could get environmental sues,” she said.
their chin off the ground during the year ahead, he
With the average person now three generations said.
groups to understand that farmers “believe in the
environment more than probably anybody else” removed from the farm, producers must engage and
Capital Press reporters Matthew Weaver in
and that regulations can have unintended conse- inform legislators regarding ag issues, she said.
Washington, Tim Hearden in California and Eric
“Engage with state and national lawmakers. En- Mortenson in Oregon contributed to this story.
quences.
BY THE
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