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HOMEGROWN
East Oregonian/Hermiston Herald
Thwarting thistle
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Morrow County farmers seek
to preserve no-till practices by
eliminating the pesky tumbleweed
By GEORGE PLAVEN
EO Media Group
Tumbleweeds are a
common sight across Eastern
Oregon, rolling over the vast
landscape like something out
of an Old West movie.
They are also a scourge
for dryland wheat farmers,
spreading hundreds of
thousands of tiny seeds that
invade fallow fields and
rob the ground of critical
moisture.
The weed isn’t native
to North America, but
is believed to have been
brought to South Dakota
in contaminated flax seed
in the late 19th century
by Russian immigrants. It
spreads quickly, with the
stem detaching from the
root and being carried by the
wind across long distances,
leaving its seed along the
way.
A group of growers in
southern Morrow County
has come up with an
ambitious plan to eradicate
the invasive tumbleweeds
— Russian thistle — from
approximately 100,000
acres south of Ione, where
they say the problem has
exploded in recent years.
But first, they must
receive a $7 million
matching grant from the
U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture through the Regional
Conservation Partnership
Program. The Natural
Resource Conservation
Service administers the
program funding, which
supports collaborative work
to protect natural resources
while benefiting agriculture.
The group submitted its
pre-application proposal
to the agency on April. If
selected, they will submit
a full proposal by Aug. 31.
Grants will not be awarded
until November.
John Rietmann, who
has farmed near Ione for
more than 30 years, said the
project would run over five
years and help determine
best management practices
for dealing with Russian
thistle. The management
area would run north to Ione
along Baseline Road, south
to the Heppner-Condon
highway, east to Rhea
Creek and west to Eightmile
Canyon.
The goal, Rietmann said,
Photo contributed by Judit Barroso, OSU
Judit Barroso, a weed scientist with Oregon State University, collects Russian thistle in Morrow County.
Photo contributed by Judit Barroso, OSU
Young Russian thistle plants are seen growing among rows of young wheat.
is to sustain no-till farming
in the region, which has
already proven valuable for
local farmers.
“This is the best
methodology to reduce wind
and water erosion, and to
maintain soil health,” he
said.
No-till relies on direct
seeding, where a drill plants
the crop seed and fertilizer
directly into the soil with
minimal disturbance on the
surface.
Rietmann said he has
been no-tilling for 12 years
now, and others in the group
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for even longer.
“We’ve all invested a lot
of money getting ourselves
educated in the tools and
equipment needed to be
involved in direct seeding,”
he said.
Russian thistle, however,
threatens to make that
investment unsustainable.
Farmers use herbicides, such
as glyphosate, to spray for
weeds without tilling fallow
fields. As Russian thistle
continues to spread, Riet-
mann said they are having to
spend more time and money
treating the problem.
Combined with the
sagging price of wheat,
Rietmann said it is pushing
the cost of production
beyond their break-even
point.
“This is a low-margin
business as it is,” he said.
Research from Oregon
State University also
shows some tumbleweeds
are becoming resistant to
glyphosate, forcing farmers
to turn to other higher-risk
chemicals. If they can
eliminate Russian thistle,
Rietmann said it would
dramatically reduce input
costs and ensure farmers can
afford no-till practices.
Rietmann said they have
already raised nearly $7
million in matching dollars
and in-kind work for the
grant. The project would
have on-the-ground support
from Larry Lutcher and Judit
Barroso with OSU Extension
Service, and Stewart Wuest
with the USDA Agricultural
Research Service.
Barroso, who works at
the Columbia Basin Agri-
cultural Research Center
north of Pendleton, said the
proposal is a great idea and
based on sound science.
“If we are able to prevent
the spreading of Russian
thistle, we’ll be more
successful controlling the
weed,” she said.
Kacee Lathrop, district
conservationist for the
NRCS in Morrow County,
said she helped steer the
group toward applying for
the Regional Conservation
Partnership Program. She
said she is impressed by
the initiative from local
growers.
“They’re the ones who
identified the problem
and are seeking help and
funding, which is pretty
unique,” Lathrop said. “It’s
a pretty aggressive goal
they’re trying to attain.”
Rietmann said the project
would be daunting, but if
successful could be a game-
changer for the region.
“Logic says, in the
agricultural community,
this will move beyond the
project boundaries as people
see whether it’s successful or
not,” he said.
Other local growers
involved include Bill Jepsen,
Mark McElligott, Dick
Snider, Joe McElligott, Joel
Peterson, Keith Morter and
Clint Carlson.