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wallowa.com
March 21, 2018
Wallowa County Chieftain
County’s ag valuation tops $56 million
Public policy
challenges are
likely ahead
By Paul Wahl
Wallowa County Chieftain
W
allowa County’s
agricultural indus-
try
represented
nearly $57 million in eco-
nomic activity in 2016, the last
full year for which statistics
are available.
That represents the third
year of decline in valuation;
however, it’s a righting of the
ship rather than a downward
spiral, according to John Wil-
liams, Wallowa County Exten-
sion Agent.
“The prices we were seeing
in 2014 just were not sustain-
able,” Williams said.
Crops and cattle are the
leading commodity categories
for the county.
Alfalfa accounts for the
majority of the crop valuation,
followed by what Williams
terms “other hay.”
Those are divided into two
broad categories –– hay that is
exported and hay that is not.
Around 9,900 acres of
alfalfa were produced in 2016,
6,300 acres alfalfa grass mix,
6,000 grass, 5,000 specialty hay
and 4,000 acres of other hay.
Increasing hay exports
have been a plus for Wallowa
County, Williams said.
Around 20 percent of the
county’s hay finds its way to
Japan, South Korea, China or
even Saudi Arabia.
Only the highest quality
hay can be exported because
the lag time involved.
“Exporting to Pacific Rim
also has real risks,” Williams
said. “It’s worth around $500
a ton by the time it gets there.
Each government has a strict
policy about weeds, pesticides
and dirt. If it doesn’t meet stan-
dard when it gets there, you
own it on the docks and are
charged with getting rid of it or
shipping it back.”
Hay exports hit a record of
just under 4 million metric tons
and jumped over that mark in
2017, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
The remainder of the crop
goes predominantly to feed
cattle and horses.
“No hay ranch in the
county can be successful with-
out a cow herd behind it,” Wil-
liams said. “One owns the hay
and the other the cows.”
The county’s livestock val-
uation also peaked in 2014 and
has declined in the last two
years.
Why?
“Follow the corn,” Wil-
liams said.
With inordinate number of
tons of corn going to produce
ethanol in 2014, the price spi-
raled to nearly $7 a ton.
“You’re not going to feed
corn to cows at that price,”
Williams said.
Alfalfa filled the bill.
Demand went up, prices went
up.
In ensuing years, state and
federal ethanol subsidies have
been dropped and corn is back
in the $3.50 a bushel range.
With
ever-increasing
amounts of water going to cit-
ies in California, hay crops are
shrinking, making Wallowa
County hay more valuable,
Williams added.
Around 22,500 cow-calf
pairs are worked each year
in the county. That figure has
been fairly constant over the
past 10 years, Williams said.
Valuation has seen a some-
what steeper decline than hay
and crops.
In the four years prior to
2014, the U.S. had the lowest
herd numbers since 1953, Wil-
liams said. Price reflected the
shorter supply.
“Meanwhile,
for
the
very first time in history, we
exported more beef than we
imported,” Williams said, with
new markets opening in Japan
and China.
Williams believes the 2016
prices will likely be a floor
with small rebounds expected
in 2017.
Despite the ups and downs,
Williams believes the future of
agriculture is strong in Wal-
lowa County but adds there are
challenges ahead.
“Given our short growing
season, high elevation and dis-
tance to market, we have a lim-
ited ability to accomplish great
shifts in crops,” he said.
However, public policy
issues could damage farming
irreparably, Williams believes.
“Environmental restrictions
and red tape have been piling
on, and I have spent most of
the last 25 years trying to help
producers in Wallowa County
navigate those pitfalls.”
He said the past year has
brought an easing of some of
the regulations.
“There’s a political war
going on ... a war for the heart
and soul of our country, and
we have to decide the future
of industry and agriculture,”
he said.
Another important trend is
value added, adding features to
a basic commodity for which
the buyer is prepared to pay
extra. Williams said building
brands such as Carman Ranch
Beef are an example.
“You don’t make it in this
county on commodity prices,”
he said. “Value-added is a
must.”
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Value-added propositions, such as Carman Ranch branded beef, is the future of agriculture in Wallowa
County, according to John Williams, Wallowa County Extension Agent.
Wallowa County ag sales 2016
Barley: $1 million or 1.9%
Other: $2.2 million or 4%
Small woodlots:
$2.4 million or 4.2%
Source: Wallowa
County Extension
Office, Oregon
State University
Wheat:
$3.8 million
or 6.6%
Other hay:
$6.3 million
or 11.1%
Total crops
and livestock:
$56.7 million
NOTE: Totals
may not equal
100 due to
rounding
*Preliminary
Cattle:
$29.9 million
or 52.8%
Alfalfa hay:
$11.1 million
or 19.5%
Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
80
Wallowa County total
gross farm sales
$56.7 million:
Down 23.7%
from 2014
E nvironmental
Crops and livestock
All crops
All livestock
60
74.4
(Millions of dollars)
43.9
42.2
40
30.5
23.9
32.1
20
26.2
20
Source: Wallowa County Extension
Office, Oregon State University
0
2004
’06
’08
Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
’10
’12
’14
2016
restrictions and red tape
have been piling on,
and I have spent most
of the last 25 years
trying to help producers
in Wallowa County
navigate those pitfalls.”
— John Williams
Wallowa County Extension Agent