BUSINESS & AG LIFE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD — 3B
Farmworker safety program comes in under budget
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
SALEM — A pro-
gram to reimburse Oregon
farms for complying with
costly COVID-19 worker
protections came in well
under budget during the
2020 harvest season.
State lawmakers now
are considering what to
do with millions of dollars
that are leftover.
Oregon OSHA, the
state’s Occupational
Safety and Health Admin-
istration, implemented
emergency rules last
spring to strengthen fi eld
sanitation, housing and
transportation protocols
at labor-intensive farms,
such as fruit orchards and
vineyards.
In response, Gov. Kate
Brown allocated $16 mil-
lion to the Food Safety
and Farmworker Secu-
rity Program, which pro-
vided direct payments to
farmers for the expense of
meeting the OSHA rule
— things like buying or
renting additional por-
table toilets, reconfi g-
uring cabins to ensure 6
feet of social distance and
arranging more buses to
transport workers to the
fi eld.
As it turns out, $16
million was more than
enough. Just $5.6 mil-
lion was spent before the
program expired Dec.
31, leaving $10.4 million
remaining, according to
a Jan. 5 report from the
Oregon Department of
Administrative Services
to the Legislature’s Joint
Emergency Board.
It is not precisely
known what will happen
to that money now. In a
statement, Nikki Fisher,
press secretary for Brown,
said the state is discussing
priorities for ongoing
COVID-19 relief.
“There is a clear need
to continue to work to pro-
tect migrant and seasonal
farmworkers during the
COVID-19 crisis,” Fisher
said. “And we know that
there are growers who are
doing the best they can to
mitigate the spread.”
Union County Chamber of Commerce/Screenshot
Union County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Jan.
18, 2021, unveiled the new look for its logo and website,
which now showcases what to do in the county, along
with places to visit and events.
CHAMBER
Continued from Page 1B
George Plaven/Capital Press
Oregon OSHA implemented a temporary rule to protect agricultural workers from spread-
ing COVID-19, including a provision requiring one portable toilet for every 10 workers in
the fi eld. A state program to help farmers buy equipment has expired with millions of
dollars left over.
The Food Security and
Farmworker Safety Pro-
gram was intended to help
Oregon secure its food
supply chains while min-
imizing health risks for
frontline workers, Fisher
said. It was adminis-
tered by the state Water-
shed Enhancement Board,
in collaboration with
the state’s Department
of Agriculture, Health
Authority and Housing
and Community Services
Department.
Meta Loftsgaarden,
OWEB executive director,
said 228 farms partici-
pated in the program, esti-
mating at least 21,000
farmworkers benefi ted
from enhanced safety
measures.
Initially, the program
had strict caps in place
to ensure there would be
enough funding left for
late-season crops. Once it
became clear that would
not be an issue, Lofts-
gaarden said those caps
were lifted and the pro-
gram was expanded to
cover the cost of face
masks and other personal
protective equipment.
Approximately $1.85
million was authorized in
direct payments for farms.
ODA and Oregon State
University also partnered
to distribute 3 million free
KN95 masks for agricul-
tural employers with sup-
port from the program.
Despite coming in
well under budget, Lofts-
gaarden said she is con-
fi dent the program was
marketed aggressively
for producers to take
advantage.
“We never in this state,
or in this country, have
run a program like this,”
she said. “None of us
knew up front what the
ultimate cost was going
to be.”
OWEB funded 305
total projects through
the program. The vast
majority, 74%, were for
fi eld sanitation, as farmers
had to roughly double the
number of portable toilets
and hand-washing stations
available to workers.
Some 14% of the appli-
cations were for housing
modifi cations to ensure
workers’ beds would be 6
feet apart, or separated by
an impermeable barrier
such as Plexiglass. The
remaining 12% was for
providing additional trans-
portation, since workers
had to be spaced 3 feet
apart inside vehicles.
Hood River and Marion
counties accounted for
nearly one-third of the
applications awarded. The
crops that were covered
represent a vast swath
of Oregon agriculture,
including pears, cher-
ries, winegrapes, hazel-
nuts, sweet potatoes,
onions, corn, nursery
stock, Christmas trees
and hemp.
“We feel pretty confi -
dent, reaching out through
(the media) and agricul-
tural organizations, that
we got to the folks who
needed the program,”
Loftsgaarden said.
Jonathan Sandau, spe-
cial assistant to ODA
Director Alexis Taylor,
said nobody was turned
away from the program.
“We were prepared,
hopefully, for whatever
came at us,” Sandau said. “I
think we were able to pro-
vide complete assistance.”
Oregon Association of Nurseries to host virtual marketplace
By SIERRA DAWN
McCLAIN
Capital Press
PORTLAND — Oregon
Association of Nurseries,
which represents nearly
700 wholesale growers,
retailers, landscapers
and suppliers statewide,
announced Wednesday,
Jan. 13, it will host a vir-
tual marketplace event in
February.
The event, called
Nursery Guide LIVE, will
take place online Feb. 17-18.
“Nursery Guide LIVE is
designed to provide nursery
industry professionals with
sales and buying oppor-
tunities just as the spring
shipping season kicks off,”
Allan Niemi, the associ-
ation’s director of events,
said in a statement.
LUMBER
Continued from Page 1B
“We’re happy to meet
the needs of the builders
in the county,” he said.
As for the Russells, they
have no plans to move and
are eager to fi nd new inter-
ests. They’ll be doing “any
damned thing we want,”
Jim said. “My roots are
three generations deep
here.”
They have three grown
children, one of whom still
lives in the area.
There also are two
grandchildren who they’ll
Capital Press/File
Oregon Association of Nurseries is planning a virtual marketplace event for February.
The virtual event, Niemi
said, is intended to com-
plement rather than replace
the annual in-person Far-
west Show, which is still
tentatively planned for Aug.
18-20 if the pandemic is
under control by then.
At the Nursery Guide
LIVE event, association
member exhibitors will
have the opportunity to
showcase their plant offer-
ings, services and supplies.
Many nursery owners
are already part of a printed
guide published annually
called the Nursery Guide
book, which typically has
300 pages of listings and
content about Oregon nurs-
eries. February’s virtual
event was inspired by the
Nursery Guide, but will
push the concept further
by giving customers the
opportunity to interact in
the virtual marketplace
rather than simply read
listings in a catalog.
have more time to spoil.
“I’ve enjoyed the experi-
ence” of operating the busi-
ness, Jim said. “It’s been a
delightful experience, actu-
ally. I have no regrets at all.
It’s been good to me and
my family. We’ve been able
to live where we wanted to
live and raise our family
where we wanted to live.”
As for the changing of
the guard at 1917 Lumber,
both spoke positively.
“I wish Kevin and his
family well,” Russell said.
“I just want to thank the
community and St. Kather-
ine’s Church in Enterprise
for welcoming us,” Cod-
dington added. “Everyone
has reaffi rmed that this
was a good decision for my
family.”
1917 Lumber is at 301
N. Main St. in Joseph. The
business is open Monday
through Friday 7 a.m. to
5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.
to noon. For more informa-
tion, call 541-432-1917 or
visit its website.
we can best interact with
our partners; how we can
be all-around better in,
for, and with our commu-
nity — how this organi-
zation operates and serves
Union County.”
The chamber’s
new website also fea-
GRH
Continued from Page 1B
and loves the region.
New additions to
the board include Bob
Coulter and Nick Huelter,
who replace members
and former chairs Brad
Trisler (2017-18) and
Libby Goben (2019-20).
Coulter is a local pharma-
cist and co-owner of Red
Cross Drug Store, Red
Cross Institutional Phar-
macy and Olive Branch
Pharmacy. Huelter is a
lieutenant with the Union
County Sheriff’s Offi ce
and the facility manager
of the Union County Cor-
TREES
Continued from Page 1B
the planning guideline
is implemented on the
ground.
However, the decision
is being met with some
opposition from both
environmentalist groups
and the timber industry.
Rob Klavins, North-
east Oregon fi eld coor-
dinator for Oregon
Wild, said pivoting
from the 21-inch stan-
dard to a guideline could
be “potentially devas-
tating” to the environ-
ment, eliminating large
trees that store a dispro-
portionate amount of
carbon in the forests.
On Wednesday, Jan.
13, Oregon Wild and 32
other organizations sent
a letter to the incoming
Biden administration,
asking to stop the East-
side Screens amend-
ment. More than 100
independent scientists
tures more travel-cen-
tric imagery and pages
for helping people fi nd
chamber-affi liated busi-
nesses for services from
recreation to lodging to
dining, including a timely
page for local takeout
options.
You can visit the Union
County Chamber of
Commerce’s website at
visitunioncounty.org.
rectional Facility.
The Grande Ronde
Hospital Board of Trustees
is composed of 13 voting
members, which includes
11 volunteer representa-
tives from the community,
the hospital medical staff
president and the hospital
president/CEO.
The board of trustees
sets the policy and direc-
tion for Grande Ronde
Hospital, which includes
a 25-bed critical access
hospital and 12 primary
and specialty care clinics.
The board meets monthly
with the exception of
the months of July and
August, and may meet at
other times as needed.
have also raised con-
cerns about the decision,
the groups argued.
“In recent months we
have seen proposals on
the ground that clearly
demonstrate this amend-
ment would result in
controversial, destruc-
tive, and widespread
logging of large and old
trees across the region,”
the letter states.
Furthermore, Klavins
said the public review
process for the Eastside
Screens amendment was
politically driven and
rushed, undermining
stakeholders’ trust in
the Forest Service. He
said groups are consid-
ering all their options
going forward, including
litigation.
“I think this is poten-
tially a really huge set-
back, where we see the
old fi ghts about whether
or not to log old growth
rear their ugly head,”
Klavins said. “That
doesn’t benefi t anybody.”
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