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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2019)
A18 NEWS Wallowa County Chieftain Wednesday, March 20, 2019 To bee or not to bee By Ellen Morris Bishop Wallowa County Chieftain Christian Ambroson Christian Ambroson Christian Ambroson Bethany Anderson, member of the 2019 Chief Joseph Days rodeo Court speaks to family, friends and sponsors on March 17. Katelynn Diggins speaks at the kickoff event for the 2019 Chief Joseph Days Court. Rylee Wilcox addressing a crowd at the 2019 Chief Joseph Days Court during its inaugural event. Glitz and glam packs ‘The Place’ By Christian Ambroson and Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Fans of Chief Joseph Days Rodeo and its rodeo court packed “The Place” at Joseph United Meth- odist Church on Sunday, March 17, to honor the nearly three dozen busi- nesses and people who sponsor the rodeo court. Extra tables and chairs had to be utilized for the event as attendance exceeded expectations. This year’s court of Rylee Wil- cox, Katelynn Diggins and Bethany Anderson, whose mutual respect and collegiality epitomized the fel- lowship aspect of rodeo. The event started out with delicious des- serts being served before each of the young ladies, dressed in jeans, fl owered shirts, sunglasses and sil- verbelly cowboy hats, gave their respective speeches. The evening fulfi lled its mis- sion of making sure the all-im- portant rodeo court sponsors were properly thanked and their contri- butions publicly acknowledged and appreciated. Three bills propose new farmer loans and incentives By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Three bills propose to help beginning Oregon farmers overcome cash shortages by creating a new loan program, fixing an existing one and assist- ing with education costs. Due to the aging popu- lation of farmers and ris- ing cost of farmland, Ore- gon should try to smooth the transition in farm own- ership expected to occur in coming decades, said Ivan Maluski, policy director of the Friends of Family Farmers nonprofit. Kristin White, a farmer in Washington County, said financial barriers can inhibit new farmers from expanding or sustaining their businesses. “At a time only one per- cent of Oregon’s popula- tion is farming, we cannot afford to push out enthu- siastic young people,” she said during a March 14 legislative hearing. Under House Bill 3085, a new program would offer loans of up to $500,000 to family farmers with a net worth below $1.5 mil- lion and beginning farm- ers with a net worth below $750,000. The pro- gram would be overseen by the Business Oregon economic development agency in consultation with the Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture. The new program would serve as an alternative or supplement to Oregon’s existing “aggie bonds” loan program, which pro- vides a tax break to pri- vate lenders who offer reduced-interest loans for land and equipment to beginning and expanding farmers. Only two “aggie bond” loans have been made since the program was cre- ated in 2013, with just a single lender participat- ing, said Maluski. “We had much higher hopes for aggie bonds to help address this problem.” The intent of House Bill 3091 would be to allow more farmers to benefit from the program by reducing the associ- ated fees, which currently include $250 for the appli- cation fee and 1.5% of the loan for a processing fee, with a minimum payment of $1,500. Under the bill, those fees would be reduced to $100 and 1% of the loan, with a minimum process- ing payment of $500. As Spring rounds the far corner and heads into the homestretch, beekeep- ers in Wallowa County are getting their small charges ready to greet it. But this winter has been especially hard on domes- tic honeybees, said Wal- lowa County Beekeep- ers president Lorna Cook. “It’s been a very cold Feb- ruary and March” she said, “and many overwintering hives have used up all their food reserves of honey to keep warm. Once that hap- pens, the bees will starve.” Honeybees do not hiber- nate, Instead, they form a “thermoregulating clus- ter” in which all bees in the hive group together and vibrate their fl ight muscles to generate heat. This cluster is an effective heater. On days when Wal- lowa County temperatures hover near 20 degrees, the temperatures inside Cook’s active hives can reach a toasty 103 degrees. But now, with no spring fl owers ready to provide food, existing hives are in dire straights. Of Cook’s nine hives, only one has survived the winter. And although the bees are fl y- ing now on warmer days, there are no fl owers to for- age. “Sometimes they just lose energy, fall into the snow, and die,” she said. Even in Wallowa County, European honey- bees fall prey to diseases and disorders now common across the globe. Colonies may be infested by Varroa mites which attach to indi- vidual bees, suck the bee’s fat reserves, and eventually cause death. Colony Col- lapse Disorder also affects local bees. While the mites can be controlled, Colony Collapse disorder remains an enigma with complex causes. About 40 amateur bee- keepers keep hives in Wal- Ellen Morris Bishop European honey bees from Lorna Cook’s surviving hive warm themselves in the mid-March sun. lowa County, Cook said. Most harvest the honey. Others are interested in better pollination and crop yields from their gardens. “I started keeping bees to help my apple trees pro- duce more fruit,’ Cook said. “That didn’t happen. But my garden just took off. I’ve been a fan of bees ever since.” While we think of domestic (European) hon- eybees as just one species of insect, and all have the same Latin name (Apis mellifera L.) there are mul- tiple varieties, or, in bee- keeper lingo, “races.” In this way, honeybees are similar to dogs, all of which are the same species (Canis familis) but differ- ent breeds come in differ- ent sizes, shapes, colors, and traits. Italian honey- bees are renowned as doc- ile and easy to keep. How- ever, they are not very hardy. Saskatraz bees are more energetic, with bet- ter overwintering capacity. Russian bees resist mites and tolerate cold weather, but tend to abandon their hives and swarm. Canio- lans are gentle and han- dle cold, wet weather well. And so forth. If you are interested in learning more about bees, and keeping a hive of domestic honeybees for your garden or to produce honey, contact Lorna Cook at 541-805-8181 or Kelly Riggles at 541-786-7315. GET MORE WITHOUT PAYING MORE HURRY. 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