Polk County News
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 2, 2017
Rickreall Dairy earns ‘sustainability’ award
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
RICKREALL — Louie
Kazemier’s efforts to care for
the environment weren’t al-
ways so appreciated.
The owner of Rickreall
Dairy, one of three recipi-
ents of the Innovation Cen-
ter for U.S. Dairy’s 2017
“Outstanding Dairy Farm
Sustainability Award,” had
to learn a few lessons on the
way.
One is not to mix drywall
with manure.
In the early 1990s, when
the dairy first moved to its
highly visible spot off High-
way 22 in Rickreall,
Kazemier decided to help
with drywall recycling,
thinking the material would
act as lime in the holding
pond.
Well, it didn’t. The com-
ponent that reacted with the
manure was gypsum.
“You mix gypsum with
manure and you get sulfur.
Within a month, oh it was
horrible,” Kazemier recalled.
“I sent letters to the neigh-
bors, saying ‘I apologize, this
is what we tried and it didn’t
work.’ It took us about six
months to get it out.”
In the nearly three
decades since, Kazemier has
refined treatment of the in-
evitable waste a dairy farm
produces — and found ways
to help local producers recy-
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Louie Kazemier’s Rickreall Dairy is home to 3,600 cows.
cle their own wastewater
and fertilize their crops.
“We bring in liquid from
other facilities, like fruit
juice and some stuff from
Coca-Cola. It’s got some
sugar in it and some other
odds and ends,” Kazemier
said. “We take that and
dump it into our holding
tank and mix it with our
manure and it adds bacte-
ria. It just changes the com-
position of the nutrients,
and we then use that for ir-
rigation and all the fertilizer
is in it.”
The partnership creates
high-quality fertilizer for the
crops the dairy grows to feed
its cows and gives area pro-
ducers a low-cost way to re-
cycle water they used to
have to pay to treat at mu-
nicipal plants.
Through trade partner-
ships, local grass seed grow-
ers also discovered the fertil-
izing value of the dairy’s by-
product. Kazemier said
those farmers bring him
clover, and he fills their
trucks with fertilizer in ex-
change.
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
“It’s like giving it a shot of
rain with a whole bunch of
fertilizer at the same time,”
Kazemier said. “The fields
green up.”
The yields increase, too,
he added.
It’s that kind of thinking
that earned the dairy the
award, according to the In-
novation Center for U.S.
Dairy.
The sustainability award
recognizes dairy farms,
businesses and partner-
ships nationwide “whose
practices improve the well-
Louie Kazemier, owner of Rickreall Dairy, received the
Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability award.
being of people, animals
and the planet.”
“We’re proud of the high
standards that Louie’s fam-
ily and employees main-
tain to produce quality
milk and a commitment to
sustainability,” said Stan
Ryan, the president and
CEO of Darigold, the pro-
cessing subsidiary of
Northwest Dairy Associa-
tion, which Rickreall Dairy
is a member.
Kazemier said he’s hum-
bled by the recognition.
“It was a pleasant sur-
prise because every dairy
in Oregon is held to the
same standard. We are not
allowed to pollute,”
Kazemier said. “Everything
that we are doing that’s a
little bit different is for us
to save money. So, it’s not
only good for the environ-
ment, it’s just plain good,
smart business.”
Biz registration is voluntary
Committee proposes new model for business program
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — A business
registration is back on the
agenda for the Dallas City
Council, but this time par-
ticipation is voluntary.
A previous attempt to
make the registration
mandatory, subject to an
initial fee and annual renew-
al cost, and penalties for not
participating, elicited a neg-
ative reaction from business
owners. The owners who
spoke said the cost wasn’t
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the problem.
After a contentious meet-
ing, the council decided to
send the registration back to
committee for reconsidera-
tion.
City leaders said the regis-
tration wasn’t about money,
but information and commu-
nication with businesses. The
registration would compile
contact information for own-
ers, a description of the busi-
ness, and whether it stores
hazardous chemicals that
first responders should know
about in case of emergency.
For that reason, Councilor
Kelly Gabliks, the chair-
woman of the administra-
tion committee, favored a
mandatory registration.
“In my mind, the reason
why I continue to say make
it mandatory because I just
don’t know what good it
would be if we make it dis-
cretionary,” she said.
City Manager Ron Foggin
the main objective was find-
ing a way to better connect
with businesses in town.
He used the upcoming
Great American Eclipse
events as an example. In-
stead of mailing, the city has
had to resort to hand deliv-
ering information to shops
that might be affected and
hoping the owners have
been paying attention.
“The benefit is better
communication between
the city and the businesses
themselves,” he said. “Right
now, there isn’t.”
He added that the city
would need to purchase
software compatible with
the city’s financial program
keep a business database
up-to-date and bill for re-
newals. Without a database
and process of updating
yearly, the information isn’t
worth keeping.
“The database is only as
good as the information in
there, which means you are
going to have to contact all
of those businesses every
year,” Foggin said.
Most of the councilors on
the committee didn’t want
to make it mandatory.
Councilor Ken Woods Jr.
said the city needed to offer
a benefit to participation,
such as inclusion in a list of
businesses on the city’s
website, to encourage own-
ers to participate rather than
force them.
Councilor Jennie Rum-
mell proposed charging a
fee to be on the registry of
$25 to help pay for the soft-
ware. Annual renewals were
set at $10.
“Some people would be
absolutely willing to pay for
that,” Rummell said.
The committee unani-
mously recommended
drafting a resolution author-
izing Foggin to set up the
program and establish the
associated fees.