Business AgLife
B
Thursday, May 28, 2020
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Small-business & Ag
HAPPENINGS
EO Media Group
Free personal protective
equipment available for
ag sector
SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown
has directed approximately 1 mil-
lion KN95 masks and 5,000 gallons
of hand sanitizer for farmworkers
and agricultural producers.
The Oregon Department of Agri-
culture in a press release Tuesday
afternoon announced critical per-
sonal protective equipment is avail-
able at no cost to the agricultural
community to mitigate the spread
of COVID-19.
For Malheur, Baker, Grant,
Lake, Harney, Union Wallowa
counties, call 541-889-5274 for
details.
This critical personal protective
equipment is available at no cost to
the agricultural community to miti-
gate the spread of COVID-19. Sup-
plies are limited and available until
distribution is complete.
The equipment and distribu-
tion is the result of collaboration
between Oregon Department of
Agricultural, Oregon State Univer-
sity Extension, Oregon Emergency
Management, Oregon National
Guard and county partners.
La Grande to get more fiber optic services
Ziply Fiber investing $500 million to improve
internet services in the Pacific Northwest
J
By Dick Mason
EO Media Group
LA GRANDE —
La Grande residents will have
more opportunity to get on the
fastest lane of the information
superhighway.
Ziply Fiber, a telecommu-
USDA to provide $1 billion
for rural businesses and
ag producers
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secre-
tary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue
recently announced the department
is making available up to $1 bil-
lion in loan guarantees to help rural
businesses meet their working cap-
ital needs during the coronavirus
pandemic. Additionally, agricul-
tural producers that are not eligible
for USDA Farm Service Agency
loans may receive funding under
USDA Business & Industry (B&I)
CARES Act Program provisions
included in the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security
(CARES) Act.
In addition to expanding eligi-
bility to certain agricultural pro-
ducers, the changes allow USDA to:
•Provide 90% guarantees on
B&I CARES Act Program loans.
•Set the application and guar-
antee fee at 2% of the loan.
•Accept appraisals completed
within two years of the loan appli-
cation date.
•Not require discounting of col-
lateral for working capital loans.
•Extend the maximum term for
working capital loans to 10 years.
B&I CARES Act Program loans
must be used as working capital
to prevent, prepare for or respond
to the effects of the coronavirus
pandemic. The loans may be used
only to support rural businesses,
including agricultural producers,
that were in operation on Feb. 15,
2020.
USDA intends to consider
applications in the order they are
received. However, the depart-
ment may assign priority points to
projects if the demand for funds
exceeds availability. Program
funding expires Sept. 30, 2021.
fiber optic cable with major
assistance from Wholesail Net-
works, a Northwest-based, pri-
vately held telecommunica-
tions and internet infrastructure
company. Ziply Fiber earlier
acquired Wholesail Networks
and has been working with it on
internet projects for the past six
months.
See, Services/Page 8B
Lawmakers
provide
funding for
new rules
By George Plaven
Capital Press
Market opening comes
with modifications
JOSEPH — The Wallowa
County Farmers Market’s opening
day looked a little different this
year.
While there was fresh produce,
jewelry and more, according to a
press release from the market, ven-
dors and customers had to follow
social distancing rules and other
coronavirus protocols.
The market opened Saturday
next to Stein’s Distillery in Joseph.
Vendors stood behind tables
between themselves and the cus-
tomers, maintaining a distance
of 6 feet. Customers also could
not bag or handle produce or dis-
plays. Instead, customers had to
ask vendors for permission to touch
sale items. According to the press
release, market staff or volunteers
have the task of reminding cus-
tomers of these requirements.
The market also is eschewing
music or special events.
The market runs every Sat-
urday, from May 23 to Oct. 10. For
more information, or to learn how
to become a vendor, visit the farm-
er’s market website at www.wal-
lowacountyfarmersmarket.com.
Or call the market manager at 541-
838-0795. The email address is wal-
lowacountyfarmersmarket@gmail.
com.
nications company, earlier this
month purchased the Pacific
Northwest portion of Frontier
Communications. One of Ziply
Fiber’s first projects involves
the installation of fiber optic
cable in 13 cities, including La
Grande. Installation work is
beginning, and in 45 days some
portions of La Grande will have
fiber optic cable, according
to Dan Miller, a Ziply Fiber
spokesperson.
He said La Grande’s fiber
optic installation will be fin-
ished by the end of the year.
“Most portions of La Grande
will then have access to fiber
optic service,” Miller said.
Ziply will be installing the
Photo courtesy of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
A trail camera in January 2016 caught this image of two adult wolves from the Walla Walla Pack in
northern Umatilla County. It has been 11 years since a pair of wolves killed lambs and a calf in the Keat-
ing Valley of Baker County. Today, most of Oregon’s wolves still live in the state’s northeast counties
— Umatilla, Union, Baker and Wallowa.
Working to protect livestock
ODFW, Umatilla
tribes, ranchers work
together to quell losses
J
By Katy Nesbitt
for the EO Media Group
PENDLETON — As cows
and their young calves are
turned out onto spring pastures
in the Blue Mountains, ranchers
are struggling to protect their
herds from predators.
It’s been 11 years since a
pair of wolves killed lambs and
a calf in the Keating Valley of
Baker County. Today, most of
Oregon’s wolves still live in
the state’s northeast counties
— Umatilla, Union, Baker and
Wallowa.
“In any square inch of land
northeast of Interstate 84, one
can assume there is a wolf near
cows,” said Greg Rimbach, dis-
trict biologist for the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife
Pendleton field office.
By increasing human pres-
ence, ranchers and Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation allotment managers
aim to quell livestock loss fol-
lowing several investigations of
dead cattle found since the end
of April.
“The tribe has been up there
almost every day helping haze
wolves and checking cows,”
Rimbach said. “One producer
was so concerned, he is now up
there every day.”
According to Rimbach, a
rancher has seen up to three
wolves running together in the
grazing pastures near Cab-
bage Hill. One producer is even
camping out overnight with the
cattle to deter losses.
Carl Scheeler, a wildlife pro-
gram manager for the tribes,
said the tribes support the use
of nonlethal measures first and
foremost. Wolves have made
the reservation their home for
nearly a decade.
“We’ve had wolves for quite
a while and we knew the res-
ervation would be the center of
wolf activity, and they seem to
keep up against the interstate,”
Scheeler said.
In February, OR-85, a nearly
1-year-old wolf, was collared
on the Umatilla reservation.
According to Rimbach, over
the past few weeks he’s been
tracked between the Interstate
84 weigh scales on Cabbage Hill
and Meacham, a 10- to 12-mile
distance cross-country.
The first investigation this
spring of a dead calf on the res-
ervation was in the Telephone
Ridge area on April 30. That
morning, a rancher found a
dead calf on his allotment while
checking his cattle. The fol-
lowing day, he found another
dead calf in close proximity to
the first calf. Both calves were
2-½ months old and weighed
approximately 150 pounds.
Despite evidence the calves
were bitten before they died,
evidence of wolf tracks and scat
observed less than 100 yards
from the carcass locations,
along with radio-collar data that
showed a wolf in proximity to
the carcass locations on April 29
and April 30, the calves’ deaths
were determined “probable”
wolf-caused incidents by ODFW
biologists.
Less than two weeks later,
biologists were back on Tele-
phone Ridge to investigate a
10-year-old, 1,300-pound dead
cow. The carcass had been
heavily scavenged with all
internal organs consumed and
little muscle tissue remaining.
Rimbach said the scene had lots
of bear scat, indicating at least
one of the scavengers was a
bear. Because there was no evi-
dence of a predator attack on the
carcass or at the scene, the cause
of death was determined to be
“unknown.”
The following day, May
12, a range rider found a dead,
3-month-old calf on Tele-
phone Ridge. The carcass had
been heavily scavenged with
all entrails and most muscle
tissue consumed. Due to the
lack of hide and muscle tissue
remaining, ODFW biologists
See, Livestock/Page 8B
SALEM — A portion of
Oregon’s federal COVID-19
relief funds may go toward
reimbursing farms to comply
with more stringent worker
protections heading into the
busy summer harvest season.
Oregon OSHA, the state’s
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, issued
a temporary rule April 29
covering three main areas —
field sanitation, labor housing
and transportation.
Among the provisions,
farms must provide roughly
double the number of portable
toilets and handwashing sta-
tions in fields and orchards.
Beds must also be spaced 6
feet apart in labor camps or
separated by an impermeable
barrier, such as Plexiglass or
heavy plastic sheets, to main-
tain social distancing.
The regulations were orig-
inally scheduled to take effect
May 11, but Oregon OSHA
delayed enforcement until
Monday, June 1.
As farms scramble to buy
bathroom trailers and retrofit
housing units, the Oregon
Legislature’s joint emergency
board met May 15 to dis-
cuss how the state will spend
more than $1.3 billion from
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief
and Economic Security, or
CARES, Act.
Part of the fund, $415 mil-
lion, was set aside for local
governments and tribes. Of
that, $200 million will go to
cities, counties and tribes to
pay for personal protective
equipment, contact tracing,
testing capacity and farm
sanitation and housing.
Nikki Fisher, press sec-
retary for Gov. Kate Brown,
said the governor “continues
to believe it is vital to miti-
gate the spread of COVID-19
in our agricultural industry
and workforce.”
She said the office is eval-
uating further policy and
funding proposals to address
stabilizing and securing food
sources, while still protecting
workers.
Who USDA’s farm aid package leaves behind
By Sierra Dawn McClain
Capital Press
SALEM — The USDA began
opening applications Tuesday
for the Coronavirus Food Assis-
tance Program, known as CFAP,
which will deliver $16 billion in
direct payments to farms hurt
by the pandemic.
Farm Service Agency
branches will handle
applications.
“It’s been a collective breath
of relief. Things will continue
to be tight, but this will mitigate
those first-quarter losses,” said
Shelby Myers, an economist
for the American Farm Bureau
Federation.
Many industry leaders have
expressed excitement about
how the relief package will help
agribusinesses. But some say
CFAP’s structure is flawed and
excludes thousands of farmers
and ranchers in crisis.
CFAP outlines some exclu-
sions clearly. Ineligible com-
modities include sheep more
than two years old, eggs and
layers, soft red winter wheat,
hard red winter wheat, white
wheat, rice, flax, rye, peanuts,
feed barley, Extra Long Staple
cotton, alfalfa, forage crops,
hemp and tobacco.
Northwest wheat growers say
they are concerned because hard
and soft red winter wheat, along
with soft white wheat, account
for the majority of wheat grown
in Oregon, Washington and
Idaho.
State and national wheat
associations are calling on
USDA to make all wheat classes
eligible for CFAP aid.
“We are struggling with cash
flow like all other farmers and
ranchers throughout the nation,”
Clint Carlson, Oregon Wheat
Growers League president, said
in a statement.
Some major agricultural sec-
tors, like poultry growers, went
unmentioned.
“Poultry is the big one on
our minds and the minds of our
Photo contributed by the National Young Farmers Coalition
Experts say producers for organic, local and premium markets are
more likely to face obstacles when applying for CFAP aid. Many are
young and first-generation farmers.
members,” Myers said.
The American Farm Bureau,
she said, is talking with USDA
to understand why poultry pro-
ducers are not eligible for aid.
Bill Mattos, president of the
California Poultry Associa-
tion, said his members will not
submit comments yet requesting
inclusion, but will seek aid
in a possible phase four relief
package.
Other sectors, including
aquaculture, cut flowers and
nursery products, were also
excluded.