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Thursday, June 24, 2021
Wheat: West Umatilla County in extreme drought
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crop, with sparse patches of
harvestable wheat among big
swaths of nothing.
“It’s been dry from day
one,” said Rauch, whose
family built his farm back
in 1918. It used to be called
Poverty Flat, he said. “We’re
coming off a dry year last
year. And this year’s been
even worse. We’ve only had
two events — some snow in
February and some rain back
in November. And that’s been
it. It hasn’t been fun.”
Rauch said local farmers
over the age of 55 remember
the dry spell of 1977 as one
of the worst the region has
faced. But this year seems
worse to Rauch. The ongo-
ing drought, declining crop
conditions and spiking prices
are placing Rauch in a bind
with contracts he has yet to
fill.
“You may have to go into
the market, with how short
you are, and buy even more
expensive wheat to fill what
you thought were good prices,
which are not that great now,”
he said.
Record-breaking drought
conditions have consumed
much of Eastern Oregon.
Wheat industry experts say
meager precipitation stretch-
ing back through the spring of
2020, coupled with high over-
all temperatures, have all but
assured a challenging year for
farmers.
“It’s an exceptionally dry
year,” said Larry Lutcher,
an extension agronomist
for Oregon State University
based out of Morrow County,
adding, “It’s too late for most
of the wheat in Morrow
County.”
Luther said the crop-year
precipitation in Morrow
County ranges from roughly
4 to 6 inches — about half of
the region’s long-term aver-
age. And a late-season rain
would do little to help now,
he said.
“Most folks are disap-
pointed that our yield poten-
tial will be much less than
average,” Lutcher said.
The drought stretches
across Eastern Oregon.
Conditions in Umatilla
County range from extreme
drought in the west to moder-
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
A weathervane sits on the side of a combine harvester as it loads a bankout wagon on
Wednesday, June 23, 2021, at Starvation Farms near Lexington.
ate in the east, according to
the U.S. Drought Monitor.
More than three-fourths of
Morrow County is experienc-
ing extreme drought.
“For us, things aren’t as
bad as other drier areas,”
said Emery Gentry, Umatilla
County president of the
in Pendleton.
A May 2021 climate
summary from the National
Weather Service in Pend-
leton said many stations
throughout Northeastern
Oregon and Southeastern
Washington reported condi-
tions from March through
“IT’S TOO LATE FOR
MOST OF THE WHEAT IN
MORROW COUNTY.”
— Larry Lutcher, extension agronomist for
Oregon State University
Oregon Wheat Growers
League, who farms on the
foothills of the Blue Moun-
tains near Weston. “But it’s
definitely a poorer year for
us too. Typically we rely on
rains in April and May. And
it’s June. And the amount
of rain we got is just dismal
compared to what we would
normally expect.”
The month of March was
the sixth driest on record in
Pendleton and the second
driest in Hermiston. In April,
conditions hardly improved,
with Pendleton reporting
the seventh driest month on
record and Hermiston the
third driest, according to the
National Weather Service
May that ranked in the top 10
driest three-month periods
on record, and some stations
reported the driest three-
month period on record.
Gov. Kate Brown already
declared a state of drought
emergency in Jefferson,
Deschutes, Crook, Harney,
Malheur, Sherman, Wallowa,
Lake, Jackson and Klamath
counties. In April, Umatilla
County declared a drought
and asked Brown to follow
suit.
“Basically, between Febru-
ary and now, we have not had
any substantial rain in a good
segment of the state,” said
Amanda Hoey, the chief exec-
utive officer for the Oregon
Wheat Growers League and
Oregon Wheat Commission.
“The crop conditions have
certainly declined. We have a
lot of wheat in fair condition,
very little that’s in good or
excellent condition.”
Hoey said farmers state-
wide are voicing concerns
over the conditions.
“I don’t think anybody is
expecting to see anything that
is above average, for certain,”
she said. “Average would be
ambitious. We’re probably
looking at below-average
overall.”
But average wheat prices
have remained st rong
throughout the year, experts
say, ranging from about $7
to more than $8 per bushel.
Hoey said new international
trade agreements with places
such as China have bolstered
the sale of soft white wheat
this year, as the majority of
wheat grown in Oregon is
exported internationally.
But a meager crop this
year will impact the region’s
economy regardless, Hoey
added.
“As an industry, agricul-
ture has a huge ripple effect
down the supply chain,” she
said. “You need to have a
healthy agriculture industry
to have a healthy economy
overall. We’re resilient. I will
say, it will be an extraordi-
narily tough year with what
we have out there.”
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COVID-19:
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Com missioner George
Murdock said. “And that’s a
false assumption. It’s not. It’s
not over, even if Oregon opens
up, it’s not over here. It’s going
to continue.”
Last week, Umatilla
County reported 76 cases, 35
more than the previous week,
according to county health
data. That’s the steepest
weekly case spike the county
has reported since April, after
reporting declining weekly
cases for five straight weeks.
“We were trending down-
wards, and that (case spike)
keeps us solidly in that high
risk unfortunately,” said
Fiumara. “I wish it wasn’t
this way. But, we’re waiting
for the rest of the state to carry
A7
Chimp: ‘We felt it
was imperative to
inform the state of
these violations’
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Drought:
“That’s also very concern-
ing right now for a lot of the
agricultural and livestock
producers here,” O’Neill said.
“Things are looking a little bit
bleak.”
Oregon is already coming
off of a record fire season
in 2020 during which more
than 1 million acres burned,
particularly in Western
Oregon, where a series of
post-Labor Day conflagra-
tions fanned by strong east-
erly winds consumed entire
towns.
Lisa Ellsworth, an assis-
tant professor who studies
fire behavior and rangeland
ecology at the College of
Agricultural Sciences, said
Oregon is not at the point
yet where fire season lasts
year-round, as in Califor-
nia. But the trend toward
higher temperatures and
more severe drought across
East Oregonian
U.S. Drought Monitor/Contributed Graphic
the West is having an impact.
“Twenty years ago, when
I fought wildland fire, our
seasons looked nothing like
this,” she said.
Erica Fleishman, direc-
tor of the Oregon Climate
Change Research Institute,
said it is impossible to pin
the trend entirely on climate
change, but “the types of
weather patterns we’re seeing
this year are consistent with
what has been observed and
what is projected as climate
continues to change.”
“Climate change is a
factor,” Fleishman said. “We
cannot simply pin it all on
climate change, but it is a
factor.”
Hotter and drier weather
does not always necessarily
mean more fires. There must
be a spark, in combination
with the right conditions, for
wildfire to spread.
Ellsworth said more than
80% of fires in the West are
caused by humans, under-
scoring the need for people to
be careful working and recre-
ating outdoors.
“While we can’t do a
whole lot about the drought
conditions we are facing right
now, we can do a whole lot
about the ignition sources ...
managing people and manag-
ing that potential for wildfire
as people are out there recre-
ating,” she said.
us across the goal line.”
Fiumara said much of
the county’s cases are being
traced back to small social
gatherings but with no large
outbreaks. However, he
said people who have been
exposed often are reluctant to
cooperate with contact trac-
ers, all but assuring cases are
going unreported and making
it difficult to track the spread
of infection.
Fiumara and Murdock
each said nearly all reported
cases are coming from people
who have not been vaccinated
against COVID-19.
Only 31.7% of residents have
been fully vaccinated against
COVID-19, also the third
lowest in Oregon, despite
reporting one of the highest
infection rates in the state,
according to an Oregonian/
OregonLive database.
“We have vaccination sites
open all over the county,”
Murdock said. “It is not an
accessibility problem. We
have enough sites, and we
have enough vaccine. We
just don’t have enough people
willing to get a shot.”
Murdock described the
county’s vaccine rate as
“extremely demoralizing.” He
added he believes residents
likely will be less inclined to
get vaccinated when restric-
tions are lifted.
Fiumara said it’s been frus-
trating to see people choose
not to get vaccinated, as it
has likely contributed to the
county remaining among the
state’s most stringent restric-
tions for longer than almost
any county in Oregon.
“We knew what the
outcome of that choice was
going to be,” Fiumara said of
residents not getting vacci-
nated. “We were going to stay
in high risk. We were going
to stay in these restrictions
longer.”
Fiumara and Murdock
each said they are glad the
county’s economy is primed
to reopen when the state
reaches 70%. But with the
county’s vaccination rate
remaining low, they said it’s
possible cases could spikes
around the large upcoming
summertime events and holi-
days.
“I think we’ll experi-
ence cases of COVID longer
than most other counties,”
Murdock said.
Vaccine rates continue
to lag behind state
The county has lagged
behind statewide vaccina-
tion rates for months. It has
the third lowest vaccination
rate per capita in the state,
according to state health data.
enclosed patio. Brogoitti is
out of view, hiding in a base-
ment with her daughter, but
her voice is evident and she
directs the deputy to shoot
the ape.
The deputy fired once,
hitting Buck in the head,
killing the 200-pound chim-
panzee.
“There was no pain,”
Brogoitti, said. “My beauti-
ful son folded forward and
was with God. There wasn’t
a twitch. ... He just went to
be with God. It was horrible,
but it had to happen.”
Brogoitti said she was
at her daughter’s side at St.
Anthony Hospital, Pend-
leton. She did not get into
what provoked the attack,
but said her daughter, 50,
suffered bites on her thighs
and buttocks. The plan was
for her daughter to leave the
hospital June 23 and live for
a while at Brogoitti’s home,
where she will undergo
physical therapy.
Brogoitti also compli-
mented the medics who
rushed her daughter to the
hospital, and thanked the
hospital staff for its “unbe-
lievably wonderful” treat-
ment of her daughter.
Sheriff’s office flags
residence
Brogoitti also did not get
into details about how she
and her late husband, John
Brogoitti, acquired Buck as
a baby 17 years ago, only to
specify it was not to exploit
the animal for financial
gain. Buck, she said, never
appeared on a TV show, for
example.
Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s Lt. Sterrin Ward said the
sheriff’s office is treating this
as it would any other animal
attack, referring its report to
the county’s public health
department and the district
attorney’s office.
The sheriff’s office on
June 21 released two clips
of the 911 call Brogoitti
made after the attack took
place and she was able to get
into the basement with her
daughter. Ward explained
most of the 911 recording
includes pauses with little
information while emer-
gency help arrived. The
sheriff’s office released the
two clips, she said, because
those segments were the
most relevant to helping
the public understand what
happened.
Ward also said the sher-
iff’s office had “flagged” the
Brogoitti residence because
of Buck. She said the sher-
iff’s office uses such indi-
cators so its staff can take
proper precautions and be
safe at certain locations.
PETA warns state
Buck also pinged the
radar of the nationwide
nonprofit People for the Ethi-
cal Treatment of Animals.
Brittany Peet, the PETA
Foundation’s deputy general
counsel for Captive Animal
Law Enforcement, issued
this statement on June 21
about the attack:
“PETA warned state
authorities that Tamara
Brogoitti had created a tick-
ing time bomb by engag-
ing in direct contact with
a dangerous ape, and now,
he is dead and a woman has
been mauled because of
Brogoitti’s refusal to follow
experts’ advice and transfer
Buck to an accredited sanc-
tuary. Since long before the
chimpanzee Travis ripped a
woman’s face off in 2009, it
has been clear that attacks
are inevitable so long as
people continue to treat
chimpanzees like Chihua-
huas.”
Oregon banned posses-
sion of exotic animals in
2010, with two exceptions:
• If the U.S. Department
of Agriculture licensed the
owner of the animal.
• If the owner has a valid
Oregon exotic animal permit
obtained prior to 2010.
Brogoitti fell into the
Buck Brogoitti Animal Rescue/
Contributed Photo
This photo from 2015
shows Buck, the adult
male chimpanzee Tamara
Brogoitti cared for at her
ranch near Pendleton. A
Umatilla County sheriff’s
deputy on Sunday, June
20, 2021, shot and killed
the primate after it at-
tacked Brogoitti’s adult
daughter.
second category. But accord-
ing to PETA, Brogoitti was
violating state laws and rules
and the terms of her permit
for keeping Buck.
PETA on April 16 sent a
letter and complaint about
Brogoitti to Isaak Stapleton,
director of Food Safety and
Animal Health, the agency
under the Oregon Depart-
ment of Agriculture that
issues permits for exotic
animals.
PETA’s complaint stated
the permit the agricul-
ture department issued to
Brogoitti lists Dr. Doug-
las Pernikoff of Glencoe,
Missouri, as the veterinar-
ian caring for Buck. Aside
from being more than 1,800
miles away from where
Buck lived, Pernikoff is not
licensed to practice veteri-
nary medicine in Oregon,
according to PETA.
The state agriculture
department also requires
cages or rooms of certain
dimensions and materials to
confine exotic animals. But
per the complaint, social
media posts show Buck
would roam Brogoitti’s
home and other parts of the
property. PETA also alleged
Brogoitti misrepresented
Buck’s age to the agricul-
ture department, a violation
of the permit.
Debbie Metzler, associate
director of PETA’s Captive
Animal Law Enforcement,
said the organization has
rescued 13 chimps from
private captivity since 2013.
Chimps are social animals
and can be violent animals,
she said. Buck, for his entire
life, lacked the companion-
ship of other chimpanzees,
she said, and Brogoitti was
not following the law.
“We felt it was imperative
to inform the state of these
violations,” Metzler said.
She also said Buck
attacking a person was
bound to happen.
If Buck’s death can serve
any purpose, Metzler said,
it’s to bring attention to the
Captive Primate Safety Act,
a proposal in Congress that
would prohibit the buying,
selling and transporting of
any live exotic wildlife.
Metzler said this act has
been before Congress in the
past, but it’s never made it to
a president’s desk for a signa-
ture. Passage of the bill, she
said, would prevent more
horrible situations similar
to Buck’s.
Metzler also said no one
else in the region owns a
primate, but PETA is call-
ing on all owners of primates
to make arrangements to
move them to facilities that
can properly care for the
animals.
Keeping primates, such
as Buck, she said, is “basi-
cally a death sentence.”
Brogoitti said she still
was feeling shock from the
traumatic events, but now
her attention has to shift.
“The only thing I got to
focus on is my daughter,” she
said, “and making sure she is
fully recovered and properly
taken care of.”