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BUSINESS & AG THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021 THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD — 3B Analyst sees bett er times ahead for catt le producers are still underperforming. But fed prices have recovered from Cattle producers have had a the $95 per hundredweight last tough time over the last couple summer to about $114 now, he of years, but better times said. are ahead, according to one “So the markets have had industry analyst. a nice recovery, but there’s The COVID-19 pan- still signifi cant potential demic backed up nearly a above where we’re sitting million head of fed cattle today,” he said. last spring, Randy Blach, Drought has continued, Blach CEO of CattleFax, told the and the herd is continuing to National Cattlemen’s Beef Asso- contract. But cattle prices are still ciation Winter Reboot conference not where producers want them to last week. be, he said. “We’ve pretty much got the With record packer and retail slaughter back on pace in here, margins, cattle producers have but we’re still putting record ton- been frustrated. But there’s also nage through these systems,” he been record beef production since said. mid-June 2020, he said. That record tonnage is still “This has been what’s holding testing the market, and markets us back to some degree,” he said. Weather impacts in the last couple of weeks are going to shave some tonnage off markets, but there’s still plenty of cattle to har- vest, he said. “But there are better times to come,” he said. Beef demand in 2020 was the strongest in over 30 years, and it’s going to be another strong year in 2021. The growth in beef demand has added more than $250 a head to the value of fed cattle over the last several years, he said. “So this has been pretty phe- nomenal,” he said. Retail meat sales were up 10% in volume in 2020, even though foodservice sales were hammered. Retail meat sales were up 18% in value, an increase of nearly $13 billion. Beef’s share of that increase was almost $6 billion, he said. “People voted with their pock- etbooks. I think we’ve got to like what we see transpire here,” he said. Despite higher unemployment, U.S. household wealth increased more than $620 billion in 2020 due to government support, he said. “As this economy opens back up again, people are going to want to get out and spend money,” he said. He expects U.S. gross domestic product growth will be some- where near 6% in 2021. Some of that will depend on how fast pop- ulations in the U.S. and other parts of the world are vaccinated. But he’s expecting two years of strong GDP growth post-COVID. When the economy opens back up, job markets will improve and people are going to want to spend money, he said. “The consumer balance sheet is in the strongest position it’s been since the early 2000s,” he said. Government data would sug- gest U.S. household net worth has increased $5 trillion. “That bodes well for demand going forward,” he said. In the bigger picture, agri- cultural loan repayments are up, debt is down, land values have increased and global demand is strong, he said. “This should be a nice run for the agriculture industries here over the next three to four years,” he said. REAL ESTATE estate has been done,” she said. “We bring in a new approach.” As the designated broker, Smith said she will assist agents in navi- gating the current hectic real estate climate. “There’s a fine line of being competitive with your offer,” she said. States said Keller Williams Realty Boise was founded 21 years ago and has 740 agents. She said part of the company’s approach is to offer “brokerage support” to agents who live elsewhere, such as Baker City. “We have a staff of 13 people who all support these agents in Oregon,” she said. To contact an agent at Keller Williams Four Rivers, call 541-249-3731. More information is online at www.kwfourrivers.com. By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Continued from Page 1B Agents also have access to the database, mobile app and market statistics to assist in their job of helping clients buy or sell. “There’s so much that goes into the strategy of advocating for buyers and sellers,” States said. This technique of using tech- nology, she said, might bring a new twist to real estate in Eastern Oregon. “There’s been a certain way real AUCTION Continued from Page 1B Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian Dwight and Steven Hammond land by private jet at the Burns Municipal Airport on Wednes- day, July 11, 2018. A senior adviser in the U.S. Department of Interior on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, rescinded the January decision to grant Hammond Ranches Inc. a 10-year grazing permit. HAMMOND Continued from Page 1B January 19 Decision and remanding the matter to the BLM to allow for full con- sideration of the timely pro- tests received by the BLM,” the memo said. She directed the Bureau of Land Management to pursue additional opportu- nities for public involvement and “a careful and consid- ered review” of any chal- lenges. She also instructed the Bureau of Land Man- agement to post notice of the rescission online and mail copies to all appli- cants and other interested stakeholders. W. Alan Schroeder, the attorney representing Ham- mond Ranches Inc., declined comment on Friday’s development. Four environmental advocacy groups on Thursday sued the Inte- rior secretary and Bureau of Land Management, alleging last month’s permit approval on the fi nal day of the Trump administration was “tainted by political infl u- ence” and that a “rushed and truncated public process” cut out opportunities for public participation required by law. The suit further accused the federal government of granting the permit to the Hammonds over other appli- cants who were qualifi ed and bypassing an adminis- trative appeal process. “We’re grateful that the new administration saw right away that Bernhardt’s deci- sion to grant the grazing permit without the proper public participation could not stand,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project, one of the four groups that fi led the suit. “We believe when they reconsider the proposed action, they’ll realize there were major substantive prob- lems as well.” Yet the Oregon Farm Bureau argued that the Hammonds’ grazing permit should be restored and not issued or taken away based on “ever-changing regula- tory whims,” according to farm bureau spokeswoman Anne Marie Moss. “The Hammond family are long-standing pillars of the Harney County com- munity who have been sub- jected to continued gov- ernment overreach while sustainably managing their ranch for the benefi t of the local community, local ecosystems, and genera- tions of their family,” the Oregon Farm Bureau’s state- ment said. “The decision to issue their grazing permit should be a criteria-based process, and one that BLM approaches objectively. The Hammonds have demon- strated several times that all applicable factors favor them being restored their permit, including the fam- ily’s record of stewardship, their ownership of intermin- gled private land and sev- eral range improvements, and their contributions to the local economy. It is fun- damentally unfair to con- tinually subject this family to ever-changing regulatory whims, and in the process, jeopardize their livelihood, proper rangeland manage- ment, and ability to fully uti- lize their private lands. The Hammond’s permit should be restored, and the family should be allowed to move forward with their lives in peace.’’ The grazing permit covers four land allotments called Hammond, Mud Creek, Hardie Summer and Hammond Fenced Federal Range and allows cattle grazing on more than 26,000 acres of public lands neighboring Malheur National Wildlife Refuge about 45 to 70 miles south of Burns, near the town of Frenchglen. In February 2014, the Bureau of Land Manage- ment rejected the Ham- monds’ renewal application, citing the Hammonds’ crim- inal convictions. In early 2019, former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke issued a renewal of their grazing permit on his last day in offi ce. The renewal followed six months after Trump’s pardon of the Hammonds in July 2018. Dwight Ham- mond Jr. and Steven Ham- mond had been convicted of arson and were serving out fi ve-year mandatory minimum sentences for setting fi re to public land where they had grazing rights. Both were convicted of setting a fi re in 2001, and the son was convicted of setting a second fi re in 2006. In December 2019, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon of Portland revoked the grazing permit fi nding Zinke’s renewal was an “abuse of discretion.” for more than $3,500 were offered free delivery on the fi rst 1,000 miles from Enterprise, according to the brochure. In the brochure, Botts spoke highly of his past partnership with Rollin’ Rock, but was eager to sell at home. “We are extremely excited to have our sale at home,” he said. “It was a very tough decision to take the leap and go out on our own.” Botts said sale prices averaged about $4,500 per bull. “The top bull brought $20,000,” he said. “He’s going to Wyoming.” Bulls, of course, are sold for the quality of calves they can produce, with proven genetics from past breeding. “We are still striving to raise good, solid cattle that will go out and work with no problems, help make their new owners profi table and leave outstanding females,” Botts said in the brochure. The fi fth-generation ranch, which includes the Botts’ two sons, also pro- INVESTING Continued from Page 1B grams the Oregon Entre- preneurs Network offers in Portland and the Economic Development for Central Oregon. “Eastern Oregon is one of the few parts of Oregon that doesn’t have access to a program like this,” he said. The March 25 workshop will kick off this process in Eastern Oregon. “This will help us gauge the interest of non-insti- tutional investors in the region,” Zehr said. If we can pull together a group that is interested in sup- porting this activity, then we will start recruiting entrepreneurs. It can be a little bit of a chicken and Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Beau Botts, left, owner of Botts Angus Ranch at Enter- prise, talks with a couple of buyers after his fi rst sale at the ranch’s new facility Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Botts plans to hold a sale there each year. duces registered and com- mercial Angus cows. As with the rest of the world dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Botts mentioned in the brochure that it will affect the agriculture industry. “It has been a chal- lenging time for everyone and our fi ngers are crossed that we will get through this and come out the other side stronger in the ag industry, along with all mankind,” he said. He added that he’s hoping to keep it peaceful and profi table. “That being said, I believe if we can keep poli- tics out of it, we are looking at some strong markets the next few years,” he said. “The demand for good, quality beef seems to be high in the U.S. and around the world.” ——— Bill Bradshaw is a reporter for the Wallowa County Chieftain. egg type scenario, but this is how we are trying to address that.” The program is infor- mational in nature, but the ultimate goal is to help raise an angel fund to invest in early-stage Eastern Oregon business ventures. Zehr said the state of Oregon also has expressed an interest in chipping in. He also said there is no pre-set min- imum funding goal. OTBC works with a fund that is $25,000- $30,000 per year, he said, while Oregon Entrepre- neurs Network’s Angel Oregon is back again this year after a three- year break with a fund of $125,000. “This is just meant to be a starting point for EOV. As the activity became more popular, we would expect the size of the fund to grow,” Zehr said. “The initial contribution from the state should be $5,000. This has the potential to grow over time, if the effort is successful. Of course, if the activity is successful over time, the expectation is that state funds would not be required at all.” Angel funds typically target traded sector startups with the potential for scale, he said, and investors in the fund control the investment decision. “It will be self-di- rected,” Zehr said. “We just provide administrative ser- vices and direction.” If you want to know more about angel investing, check out the workshop. To register, visit https://bit. ly/3b8G0qB. UPGRADE 215 Elm Street La Gande • (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com www.gossmotors.com 1415 Adams Ave, La Grande 541-963-4161