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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2019)
East Oregonian A2 Hemp farmer gets high crop at high altitude By BILL BRADSHAW EO Media Group JOSEPH — In his third year of growing hemp in Wallowa County, Shane Kimball is getting high — a high yield and high profits with a high-elevation crop. But the crop doesn’t give the kind of high that its intoxicating cousin, mar- ijuana, does. He is one of about 1,650 Oregon farmers who have pioneered produc- tion of hemp since the crop was permitted by Oregon in 2015 and legalized nationally in the 2018 USDA Farm Bill. “I’ve been researching hemp for over 25 years and I’m very familiar with the things that it can do,” Kim- ball said at his Joseph-area farm. Kimball raises the 6-foot- high plants for their buds and flowers, from which he pro- duces cannabidiol (CBD) oil. Marijuana and hemp are both plants in the genus Can- nabis. Many modern bota- nists, including the USDA, classify the genus Cannabis as having only one species, sativa, with varieties consist- ing of indica (Indian hemp — with a subvariation called Gigantea or giant hemp), ruderalis (wild hemp), and vulgaris (cultivated hemp). However, most food and fiber comes from C. sativa. Marijuana and hemp are EO Media Group Photo/Bill Bradshaw Hemp farmer Shane Kimball, of Joseph, examines drying hemp buds in a Quonset hut at his farm east of Joseph. He says to look at them, you can’t tell hemp from marijuana; it’s only with a chemical test that the difference can be deter- mined. varieties of the same plant — with one very important distinction. Although both contain THC and CBD, plants clas- sified as hemp must con- tain less than 0.3% of the mind-altering substance tet- rahydrocannabinol (THC.) But hemp usually contains higher levels of the medici- nal substance CBD than its psychoactive cousin. CBD does appear to pro- duce significant changes in the body and some research suggests that it has medical benefits, including reducing anxiety, preventing seizures and reducing inflammation. The increasingly prevalent use of hemp is for the CBD oil used in medicinal and cosmetic applications. “I make a salve and a tinc- ture,” Kimball said. “I make one that if you take inter- nally it’s really good for anx- iety, concussion.” He recently suffered con- cussion and is finding CBD helpful in his recovery. He learned of CBD oil’s pur- ported value to heal concus- sions from a former NFL quarterback at a conven- tion of the Hemp Industries Association. He said many in the NFL use CBD oil because of all the concus- sions suffered in the game. Kimball was a member of the association, which is one of the oldest hemp promoters in the U.S., and he considers himself a hemp pioneer. This year, Kimball planted 7 acres in his fields in Joseph and Lostine. “Last year I grew 5 acres and this year I grew 7 but I got a bumper crop this year,” Kimball said. Kimball’s Los- tine crop did well, producing almost four times as much as the previous year. He is cer- tain his farm east of Joseph is the highest-elevation hemp farm in the state. He estimates he’s har- vested what will amount to about 3,000 pounds of hemp flowers. He has plants hang- ing to dry in one Quon- set hut, three greenhouses, a shop full “and then I have another undisclosed location that’s probably all that com- bined. I’ve got about three times as much as I had last year. I’m just getting better at growing it, honestly. I’ve just learned a few things.” As with any farmer, profit — and staying in business — depends on the market. Kimball said he removes the buds from the plants to process them. “I’m mostly in the flower market. I sell the flower to different folks and the left- overs I turn into the oil,” he said. “Last year, I got prob- ably $50,000 an acre gross. But the oil prices have dropped.” “Now there’s 40-some thousand acres in Oregon, so the economy’s a scale.” TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY Partly sunny, a shower; cooler Plenty of sun, but chilly Partly sunny Sunny and colder Mostly sunny and chilly 51° 28° 49° 27° PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 52° 22° 47° 27° 42° 19° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 55° 26° 56° 27° 50° 28° 46° 20° OREGON FORECAST ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 56/33 46/24 57/29 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 52/30 Lewiston 55/32 58/30 Astoria 58/37 Pullman Yakima 56/30 55/30 51/29 Portland Hermiston 58/35 The Dalles 58/29 Salem Corvallis 58/32 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 45/24 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 57/33 47/23 43/26 Ontario 55/30 Caldwell Burns 74° 37° 61° 37° 80° (1959) 20° (2002) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 56/32 0.00" 0.18" 0.51" 4.94" 6.29" 7.07" Today Boardman Pendleton Medford 60/30 Man shot, killed by Hillsboro police in parking lot ID’d HILLSBORO — Police have released the name of a man shot and killed by a Hill- sboro officer Monday in their West Precinct parking lot. The Hillsboro Police Department said Thurs- day that Officer Bobby Voth fatally shot 39-year-old Jason Livengood of Camas. Police say officers were in the parking lot investigating suspicious behavior between two men who were stand- ing outside their cars in the parking lot just after 6 p.m. Monday. One of the drivers was armed with a handgun and refused to drop it during the encounter, police said, and shots were fired. KATU-TV reports the other driver was not detained WINDS (in mph) 53/27 48/17 0.00" 0.46" 0.83" 11.31" 7.91" 9.77" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 42/21 56/33 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 51/28 58/33 72° 44° 60° 37° 86° (1924) 25° (1919) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 55/30 Aberdeen 47/27 54/32 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 55/38 Torrefaction: improving forest health, economy able. Some of the positions require expertise, but some training will be offeredl. The torrefaction plant was built at the Malheur Lumber mill in John Day. The two separate busi- nesses now share some of the same machinery, Krumenauer said, and the wood the mill cannot use to produce high-value, dimensional lumber will be used by the torrefaction plant. “These guys (Malheur Lumber) can get a more consistent supply of the logs that they need to keep the mill running, and we (Restoration Fuels) get to find another market outlet for the waste that tradition- ally hasn’t had a market and has not allowed local contractors to plan and effectively invest in their own operations,” Krume- naeur said. The plant will turn bio- mass, such as small-diam- eter trees that have little economic value, into tor- refied wood that can be sold. With additional value from the biomass, resto- ration projects on the for- est cost less and are more efficient. The torrefaction plant can also use other forms of biomass. By RUDY DIAZ EO Media Group JOHN DAY — New jobs are on the horizon with the completion of the torrefaction plant expected at the end of the year. Matt Krumenauer, CEO of Restoration Fuels, said the plant that will turn forest biomass into a prod- uct that can be burned for fuel plans to be in produc- tion in 2020. All of the equipment is in place. The boiler sys- tem will begin running by mid-November, Krume- nauer said, and the rest of the system will be in pro- duction at the start of 2020. The first three months of 2020 will focus on startup in preparation for the plant to work at one- third capacity for the rest of the year, a common pro- cess that assures produc- tion goes well when the plant works at full capac- ity in 2021, he said. At full capacity, the plant is expected to pro- duce 80,000-90,000 tons of torrefied wood in a year. The plant will provide 15-17 new positions, and seven people have already been hired. The pay ranges from $15-$25 per hour for the five job types avail- BRIEFLY Forecast for Pendleton Area 58° 29° Saturday, October 26, 2019 NORTHWEST Sun. NNW 6-12 WNW 7-14 NE 4-8 NW 4-8 or arrested, and police are still trying to determine his involvement and why both of them came to the parking lot. 3 teens arrested in fatal shooting of Portland man Human remains found near trail west of Bend PORTLAND — Police have arrested three teenag- ers in connection with the death of a man who was found shot outside a North Portland home last week. KATU-TV reports Ricky Malone Sr., 65, was found at about 6:15 a.m. Oct. 14 with a gunshot wound outside of a home after a neighbor had called police for a welfare check. Malone later died of the injury. On Thursday, police arrested two 15-year-olds and a 14-year-old in connec- tion with his death. All three youths were booked into a juvenile detention center on murder charges. — Associated Press BEND — Authorities say human remains were discov- ered near a trailhead west of Bend. The Lane County Sher- iff’s Office received a report of possible human remains on Oct. 18 in a heavily wooded area near the Sepa- ration Lake Trailhead. Sheriff’s office depu- ties and search and res- cue responded and found a deceased male who appeared to have been there for years. Additional investigation will be done to confirm the person’s identity before it’s released to the public. CORRECTIONS: The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 55/25 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 7:26 a.m. 5:52 p.m. 5:17 a.m. 5:36 p.m. New First Full Last Oct 27 Nov 4 Nov 12 Nov 19 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 98° in Camarillo, Calif. Low -3° in Angel Fire, N.M. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s 50s ice 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays EastOregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to EastOregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. 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