Page 10A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Friday, June 23, 2017
CRP: Umatilla County has 143,994 acres enrolled in the program
Continued from 1A
The program, however,
was slashed in the 2014
Farm Bill, which lowered
the national enrollment cap
from 32 million acres to 24
million acres. A report by
the Congressional Research
Service indicated the reduc-
tion would save $3.3 billion
over the next 10 years.
More than 50,000 acres
of land are set to expire
from CRP later this year
across Umatilla, Morrow
and Sherman counties, and
that is forcing landowners to
make some difficult decisions
about what to do next. They
could get it back into farming,
though the low price of wheat
may make it difficult to turn
profit. They could try to sell
the land, but without a steady
stream of revenue, the value
may not be nearly what it
was.
For
Lorenzen,
the
situation is less dire. Only
a small portion of his farm
was enrolled in CRP, and he
has already managed to lease
half of that ground to another
farmer.
The
real
challenge,
Lorenzen said, is for people
who retired and put their
entire property in CRP. Given
the market conditions, it will
be an uphill struggle to find
growers willing to take on
substantially more acres.
In Sherman County,
growers will meet Friday
to discuss their options
moving forward. Meanwhile,
Lorenzen also worries about
worsening erosion along I-84.
“It’s going to be a signifi-
cantly changed environ-
ment,” he said.
Simple math
Umatilla County currently
has 143,994 acres enrolled
in the program, along with
110,913 acres in Morrow
County and 78,800 in
Sherman County, according
to figures provided by the
Farm Service Agency.
In order to satisfy the
shrinking cap, all three
counties will see 13-18
percent of those acres expire
by the end of the fiscal year
Oct. 1 — including 21,456 in
Umatilla County, 20,122 in
Morrow County and 10,794
in Sherman County.
Taylor Murray, conserva-
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
More than 50,000 acres of land are set to expire from the Conservation Reserve Program across Umatilla,
Morrow and Sherman counties.
tion specialist with the Farm
Service Agency state office
in Tualatin, said there was
no general CRP sign-up this
year and he does not expect
one will be held for the fore-
seeable future.
There is a subset of CRP,
called the Highly Erodible
Land Initiative, that still has
room under the cap, though
Murray said the criteria for
enrollment are much more
strict, leaving many farmers
on the outside looking in.
“I do firmly believe that,
going forward, the process
is going to be much more
competitive,” Murray said.
Murray is cautiously
optimistic that the new
USDA administration, led
by Agriculture Secretary
Sonny Perdue, could allocate
another half-million acres
nationwide for general CRP.
“We could definitely get a
piece of that,” Murray said.
Until then, local growers
are crunching the numbers to
determine their best course of
action.
Bill Jepsen, who farms
wheat about 14 miles south
Ione, has figured out the
equation. As of Wednesday,
soft white wheat was selling
at $4.86 per bushel. For
southern Morrow County
growers, they pay an addi-
tional 70 cents per bushel to
ship the grain west, putting
the profit at $4.16.
Assuming an average
yield of 45 bushels per acre,
that’s $187.20 per acre on
a crop that’s grown once
every other year — given
the region’s summer-fallow
rotation. Now, a typical lease
agreement divvies the profit
up one-third for landowners,
and two-thirds for farmers.
That leaves $56.16 per acre
to the landowner every other
year.
Compare that to CRP,
where a landowner may make
up to $65 per acre every year,
and it’s not difficult to see
where the economic advan-
tage lies.
“It’s pretty simple math,”
Jepsen said. “The lease won’t
compare to CRP.”
Don Wysocki, extension
soil scientist for Oregon State
University, said negotiating
those leases will be the
biggest point of contention
STARTS FRIDAY, JUNE 23!
for farmers looking ahead.
“Do you really want to
take on more land with the
price of wheat, is the ques-
tion,” Wysocki said.
Land values
Murray, with the Farm
Service Agency, said he’s
heard of people try to sell
land instead of putting it back
into farm production. But that
poses its own set of economic
challenges.
Todd Longgood, a broker
with the Whitney Land
Company in Pendleton,
said the issue of declining
CRP acreage is having an
appreciable effect on land
values. Three or four years
ago, Longgood said CRP
ground was trading at an
all-time high, around $1,000
to $1,300 per acre. Now, it
has fallen to around $500 to
$700 per acre.
“Today, we’re seeing a
drastic decrease in the land
values,” Longgood said.
There is still demand
for the high-producing
agricultural land, Longgood
explained. But without the
steady income that CRP
provided for less productive
acres, sellers are being forced
to adjust their asking price.
While there hasn’t been a
market glut yet, Jim Whitney,
the owner and president of
the Whitney Land Company,
said there is a “very real
possibility” they could
become oversupplied with
CRP land depending on how
landowners react.
“It makes no sense to put
more ground into wheat right
now,” Whitney said.
There are other natural
attributes that could make
expired CRP land attractive
to potential buyers. Some
farmers may consider using
the ground for growing
organic crops, since it hasn’t
been sprayed with chemicals
in over a decade. Any springs
or water sources could
provide flexibility to convert
the land to cattle pasture.
Wildlife and recreational
opportunities are also a big
plus, Whitney added.
“People pay a lot of money
for recreation today,” he said.
Though the market is
cyclical, Longgood said the
conditions now have lent
themselves to a perfect storm.
“There’s still demand for
(land). It just has to be priced
adequately,” Longgood said.
Being picky
Eric Orem, a Morrow
County wheat grower who
farms primarily on leased
ground, said that while CRP
is a good tool, he was never
a big fan of the program and
felt it took opportunities away
from younger farmers.
“If you look back in the
mi-d ‘70s, there were 270 to
280 farmers and now there’s
about 75 or 80,” Orem said.
“A big chunk of that was
ground put into CRP.”
With more land available,
Orem said more farmers
could get the chance to start
working, which would benefit
communities economically.
As opposed to CRP
payments going to land-
owners who may not even
live in the county, growers
will be out hiring employees
spending money at local farm
equipment dealers.
But he acknowledged that
is easier said than done with
today’s wheat prices, not to
mention the high up-front
cost of putting CRP ground
back into production.
“Those are really tough
grasses to kill,” he said. “It
takes a lot of heavy tillage to
get it worked out. Then, what
you find there are almost no
nutrients left in the soil.”
Orem said he expects
farmers will be picky if they
decide to take on more leased
land, especially on ground
that may already be marginal
at best.
Murray said he realizes
the difficulties growers are
facing, while adding the
Farm Service Agency is
doing everything it can to
advocate for more acres in
the program.
“There will be some hard
decisions, for sure,” Murray
said.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
؏ EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY ؏
Administrative Assistant
Great work environment. Super awesome team. Good pay. Excellent
health insurance. Retirement plan. Weekends off . Interested?
We are looking for a motivated, self-confi dent individual to join our
inside sales team at East Oregonian in Pendleton.
We have an opening for an administrative assistant position.
THIS STORE IS
CLOSING!
BIGGER SAVINGS!
60180
%
OFF
ENTIRE STORE!
ORIGINAL PRICE
*
No newspaper experience? No problem, as long as you understand
the importance of great customer service, working hard
and a desire to enjoy your job.
Could this be you?
You would provide administrative support to the advertising
director and publisher. The right candidate will be organized with a
high attention to detail, have a desire to learn and grow their skills
and work well in a team environment. Successful candidates will need
problem-solving and computer skills including experience working in
Excel, plus the ability to handle multiple tasks at once. Must be very
accurate and detail oriented plus have excellent customer service
and communication skills. Job qualifi cations include a high degree
of computer literacy, accuracy and speed when typing and spelling,
excellent organizational, phone and communication skills.
No sales experience required. Full-time, wage plus commission
potential. Benefi ts include Paid Time Off (PTO),
insurances and 401(k)/Roth 401(k) retirement plan.
*EXCLUSIONS MAY APPLY. VALID IN1STORE ONLY.
SAVE ON EVERY ITEM
IN EVERY DEPARTMENT
Send resume and letter of interest to EO Media Group,
PO Box 2048 • Salem, OR 97308-2048,
by fax to 503-371-2935 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com
EVERYTHING MUST GO!
NOTHING HELD BACK!
124 S MAIN ST
PENDLETON, OR 97801
STORE FIXTURES & EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
SEE MANAGEMENT
JCPENNEY COUPONS CANNOT BE USED FOR CLOSING STORE PURCHASES. ALL SALES FINAL.
NO RETURNS, REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES ACCEPTED. OFFERS VALID AT THIS LOCATION ONLY.
DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE SALE, ADS, COUPONS AND DISCOUNTS FROM OTHER JCPENNEY
STORES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED DURING THIS EVENT. ITEMS AT JCP.COM ARE EXCLUDED
FROM THIS OFFER. INTERMEDIATE MARKDOWNS MAY HAVE BEEN TAKEN.
ROP3B1011388010
Come work with us! We are an awesome team.