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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2020)
Business AgLife B Thursday, April 16, 2020 The Observer & Baker City Herald Small-business & Ag HAPPENINGS Plan your meal with this takeout guide Observer staff Union County Cattlemen put meetings on hold UNION COUNTY — The Union County Cattlemen will not have a meeting in April. Pat Larson, secretary for the organiza- tion, explained in an email the move is due to Gov. Kate Brown’s executive order for residents to stay home and follow social distancing to curtail the spread of COVID- 19. Union County Cattlemen, Larson said, have canceled all its meetings until further notice. Primary nesting season underway LA GRANDE — Although most CRP participants carry out necessary insect and weed control measures, the Farm Ser- vice Agency reminds reminds CRP/CREP participants to be alert to insect and weed growth on your CRP/CREP acres. The FSA County Committee is required to review all CRP/CREP maintenance work during the primary nesting season, run- ning March 1 through July 15, according to the press release from the Farm Service Agency. Weed control work during this period will be limited to spot treatment of the affected areas. If you wish to perform any activity during this time, contact the Union County FSA office to sign and submit the required request form. CRP/CREP participants need to comply with the Oregon Noxious Weed Law and ensure the control of noxious weeds They also need to make sure annual weeds, insects, and rodents do not inhibit the estab- lished practice during the CRP/CREP con- tract period. “We strongly encourage you to take the necessary steps to keep your CRP/CREP contract in compliance,” the agency’s press release stated. Disaster assistance available to Oregon private nonprofits SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Low-interest federal disaster loans are available to certain private nonprofit organizations in Oregon following President Dona’d Trump’s federal disaster declaration for public assistance as a result of severe storms, flooding, land- slides and mudslides that occurred Feb. 5–9. According to the press release from the U.S. Small Business Administration, pri- vate nonprofits that provide essential ser- vices of a governmental nature are eligible for assistance. These low-interest federal disaster loans are available in Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties and on the the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Private nonprofits should contact the Oregon Office of Emergency Manage- ment by calling Julie Slevin at 503-378- 2235 or emailing julie.slevin@mil.state. or.us; or calling Dan Gwin at 503-378- 3254 or emailing dan.gwin@mil.state. or.us to obtain information about applicant briefings, according to Tanya N. Garfield, director of the SBA’s Disaster Field Opera- tions Center-West. Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disas- terloanassistance.sba.gov/. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerser- vice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may call 800-877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Pro- cessing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. A primer on ordering takeout from local establishments J EO Media Group staff Below is a small sam- pling of establishments from La Grande and Baker City that have takeout or delivery options. This is not an exhaus- tive list. If you don’t see your favorite restaurant listed, give them a call to see what they have available. Bud Jackson’s Eatery & Taps Where: 2209 Adams Ave., La Grande Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Contact: Phone (541-962- 7858), online (budjacksons. com or by searching Bud Jack- son’s on Facebook), in person for carry out What’s available: Full menu, except for breakfast. Specials are still running, including prime rib on Friday. Normal turnaround time ranges from roughly 10-20 minutes. Options: Takeout and delivery ($3 for delivery). Beer delivery is also available. Side A Brewing Where: 1219 Washington Ave., La Grande Hours: noon-8 p.m. seven days a week Photo by Phil Wright Mamacita’s International Grill in downtown La Grande is one of the numerous local establish- ments offering takeout. Contact: Phone (541-605- 0163), online (sideabeer.com); or in person at garage door on Washington Avenue for carry out What’s available: Lim- ited menu. List of available options is on the website. Spe- cials, soups of the day still being offered. Suggested to call ahead on soup of the day. Turnaround time roughly 20-40 minutes. Options: Takeout and delivery ($5 for delivery to La Grande and Island City). Beer delivery available in 32 oz. crowler cans. Inland Cafe Where: 2715 10th St., Baker City Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week Oregon snowpack rebounds Umatilla, Walla Walla and Willow basins measure 143% of normal J By George Plaven EO Media Group PORTLAND — An erratic winter for Oregon’s mountain snowpack appears to be ending on a high note. Recent snowstorms have lifted the state’s overall average snowpack to 109% of normal as of April 8, compared to 91% of normal at the beginning of March, according to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The highest totals are in Eastern Oregon, with the Uma- tilla, Walla Walla and Willow basins measuring 143% of normal; the Grande Ronde, Burnt, Powder and Imnaha basins at 126% of normal; the John Day Basin at 127% of normal; and the Owyhee Basin at 113% of normal. The Willamette Valley — home of 60% of Oregon’s popula- tion and nearly half its gross farm sales — is also above average for snow, at 110% of normal. Agriculture relies on snow- pack to act as a natural reser- voir heading into the spring and summer irrigation seasons, grad- ually replenishing streams and filling reservoirs for farms and ranches to water their crops and livestock. Snowpack in Oregon got off to a slow start in November and December before rebounding sig- nificantly in January, rising as much as 64% in the Hood, Sandy and Lower Deschutes basins. Feb- ruary and early March brought another round of warmer and drier weather, which turned to snow again by month’s end. Scott Oviatt, snow survey supervisor for NRCS Oregon, said snowpack typically peaks in April and May across the state. “The key,” he said, “is going to be how quickly or rapidly that snow- melt runs off.” “We don’t want it to come out in a sudden flush, with warm tem- peratures or rain on snow,” Oviatt said. That sudden flush was felt especially hard earlier this year, when warmer weather and rain- on-snow contributed to mas- sive flooding on the Umatilla and Walla Walla rivers in north- east Oregon and southeast Wash- ington, damaging farms and homes. With so much snow at higher elevations in the region, Oviatt said local water managers are undoubtedly keeping a close eye on the situation. Conversely, if the snowmelt happens more slowly See, Snow/Page 3B Contact: Phone in (541- 523-9041), or drive up. What’s available: Full menu (which is available by searching Inland Cafe online). Also available is a family style 4 for $35 special, and prime rib dinner Friday and Saturday. Turnaround time is about 15-20 minutes. See, Takeout/Page 3B Resurgence of mint Northwest mint farmers endure deadly fungi and foreign competition J By Sierra Dawn McClain EO Media Group JUNCTION CITY — John Reerslev, 65, a second-generation mint farmer, bent and plucked a young mint sprig from the soil. He rubbed it between leathery fingertips and held it to his nose. A breeze rippled his graying hair. “When harvest comes, everything smells like peppermint,” he said. “It fills the air.” Reerslev and his family grow mint and dis- till mint oil in the Willa- mette Valley, heartland of America’s mint industry. The Reerslev farm near Junction City is part of a colossal domestic industry impacting how millions of Americans brush their teeth, chew gum, suck cough drops, swallow medications, inhale essen- tial oils and flavor their ice cream. The Reerslevs run one of just three remaining mint distilleries in the valley in a time when, despite continued con- Photo by John Reerslev Mint oil during the distilla- tion process. sumer demand for mint, Northwest growers grapple with deadly fungi and foreign competition. The Reerslevs grow a variety of crops on 2,000 acres. In 2005, the farm grew about 600 acres of mint that yielded 60,000 pounds of mint oil. This year, the farm will grow just 150 acres of mint and produce about 15,000 pounds of oil. The farm is scaling See, Mint/Page 2B Western water data coming to new online platform New project encompasses 17 Western states J By Sierra Dawn McClain EO Media Group SALEM — Water data has historically been lim- ited in scope and expen- sive to access. A new project seeks to change that pattern. Researchers from NASA, the Desert Research Institute and the Environ- mental Defense Fund, with support from Google Earth Engine technology, are working to create an online platform with free, acces- sible, satellite-based water data open to anyone. Farmers have expressed both excitement and con- cern about the prospect. Industry leaders and water experts say the project will have a profound impact on water management in the West. “The implications are tremendous,” said Andrew McElrone, professor and research plant physiologist at the University of Cal- ifornia-Davis. “This will impact growing decisions, water usage, water rights and trading.” The project, called OpenET, will launch in 2021. OpenET’s leaders say its purpose is to improve “sustainable water man- agement” for communities, rivers, wildlife and agricul- ture. It is funded by chari- table foundations, NASA, agricultural companies and irrigation management districts. OpenET is so named because it measures evapo- transpiration, or ET, the process by which water moves from ground to atmosphere through both evaporation from the land and transpiration from plants. Project aims to bridge data gap Forrest Melton, a senior research scientist with the Cooperative for Research in Earth Science and Tech- nology at NASA Ames Research Center, said con- sistent information on evapotranspiration “is prob- ably the biggest data gap for water management.” ET technology isn’t new. According to Maurice Hall, who leads EDF’s Western Water program, universities and other groups have used ET data for years, but the existing approach is “piece- meal at best.” “Given the importance of water, it’s surprising how archaic many of our tools are for actually man- aging water resources,” said Buzz Thompson, a natural resources law pro- fessor and faculty director for Stanford University’s Water in the West pro- gram. “OpenET could be revolutionary.” Draw a line from North Dakota to Texas, and those 17 states to the west will be included in the initial project. The model may spread to remaining states and other countries. OpenET will not make private data public, according to Melton of NASA. Instead, OpenET will choreograph fragments of already-public informa- tion, such as weather data sets and field boundaries, into one coherent platform. “Water management agencies and others already have access to this type of information,” said Melton. “But because in the past it’s often been limited and expensive, not everyone who needs the data has had access to it. I think having equal access to informa- tion can lead to better deci- sions, especially for water management.” New tool could bring pros, cons Some farmers are enthu- siastic about greater data access. Don Parrish, senior director of regulatory rela- tions at the American Farm Bureau, said he predicts OpenET will cut farmers’ costs while increasing pro- ductivity and efficiency. But other farmers said they fear the data could be used against them. “With the data going open and public, are growers going to have envi- ronmental groups sue their pants off for perceived overuse of water?” said a Washington state viticul- turist who did not wish to be identified. The data may also be used to enforce water rights and enable water trading. According to Thompson of Water in the West, ET data has been used for at least a decade in regulatory and legal conflicts. “This kind of data will help police and enforce water rights,” said Thompson.
