A8
STATE
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Research explores dry farming possibilities
crops that researchers weren’t
aware could be grown without
irrigation.
Crops include winter
squash, tomatoes, dry beans,
orchards, zucchini, melons,
carrots and corn.
“As soon as you say, ‘These
are the only crops you can dry
farm,’ there’s always going to
be somebody innovating...,”
Garrett said.
More than 50 farmers are
participating in research eff orts
Oregon State University
involving crops ranging from
Oregon State University Dry Farming Project student research as-
vegetables to wheat.
Most of them are using sistants Kelly Andrus, Asher Whitney and Meaghan Herlihy host a
small parcels, some as small as dry-farmed tomato tasting at the Corvallis Farmers Market.
1,000 square feet, Garrett said.
Water availability in the soil, the more likely it is to pro- yields in California, Stone said.
soil is the most important fac- duce a higher yield, she said.
“You don’t have the irriga-
tor, said Alex Stone, OSU veg-
Some dry-farmed tomato tion expense and you can have
etable specialist. The more yields on some sites in Oregon lower weeding costs,” she said.
water-holding capacity in the were comparable to irrigated
Researchers are also ana-
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
SALEM — Northwest
farmers and researchers are
exploring how to expand the
use of “dry farming.”
Dry farming is a low-in-
put approach to farming. Some
farmers draw a distinction
between “dry farming” and
“dryland farming,” while oth-
ers use the terms interchange-
ably. Those participating in the
research use the defi nition of
“irrigated once or not at all.”
Dry farming was more
prevalent before farmers turned
to irrigation, said Amy Garrett,
president of the Dry Farming
Institute and Oregon State Uni-
versity Extension small farms
programs instructor. She’s met
longtime dry farmers raising
USDA stands by killing of wolf pups
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
They claimed killing pups
is not biologically sound or
socially acceptable. They also
referred to an Idaho law that
took eff ect July 1 to allow more
wolf harvest and more methods
of killing wolves.
Moreover, “wolf pups pose
no threat to domestic livestock
— in Idaho or anywhere in the
Western United States,” they
said in the letter.
The letter was from the
International Wildlife Coexis-
tence Network, Western Water-
sheds Project, Living with
Wolves, Friends of the Clear-
water, Predator Defense, Wil-
dEarth Guardians, conservation
educator Christine Gertschen,
and the Center for Biological
Diversity.
SALEM — USDA has
rejected
environmentalists’
request that its Wildlife Services
unit stop killing wolf pups on all
public lands.
The agency’s hunters and
trappers in some states are
called upon to cull wolf packs
when they attack livestock,
costing ranchers thousands of
dollars.
The environmentalists in
an Aug. 4 letter to Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack said
they were “dismayed” to learn
Wildlife Services in Idaho was
involved in killing wolf pups
on public lands managed by the
U.S. Forest Service. The Forest
Service is a part of USDA.
lyzing profi tability. Yields
are lower, so the cost of dry-
farmed produce tends to be
higher, according to the Dry
Farming Institute.
One goal is to entice cus-
tomers to pay more for dry-
farmed products than for irri-
gated products, said Emily
Dick, project manager at the
Washington Water Trust, a
nonprofi t dedicated to improv-
ing and protecting stream fl ow
and water quality.
A pilot project involving 11
farmers developed a label for
dry-farmed produce.
Benefi ts of dry farming
for farmers can include lower
weeding costs by 50% and
lower input costs.
For consumers, benefi ts can
include enhanced fl avor and
better storability, Garrett said.
The researchers have con-
ducted taste tests comparing
dry-farmed tomatoes, melons
and berries to their irrigated
counterparts.
About $1 million has been
devoted to research so far.
The researchers hope to
fi nd more funding for research,
said Lucas Nebert, an OSU
post-doctoral student. He
hopes to start mapping sites
where dry farming is likely to
be successful.
Garrett thinks more recog-
nition in the marketplace will
lead to more demand.
“This year, especially with
temperature extremes, water
issues and the backdrop of the
fi res, people are thinking about
how to adapt,” she said. “It’s not
the solution (by itself), but it can
be part of an adaptive strategy.”
Prudential seeks millions more from Easterday
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Jenny Lester Moffi tt, USDA
undersecretary for marketing
and regulatory programs, said
in an Oct. 1 response letter that
it’s important that Wildlife Ser-
vices managers have access to
all available tools to eff ectively
respond to depredation, and
that lethal çontrol methods are
necessary in some situations.
“As such, we cannot stop
using any legal, humane man-
agement options, including
the lethal removal of juvenile
wolves,” she wrote.
Wildlife Services personnel
work carefully to remove “only
those animals necessary to pro-
tect livestock, other agricultural
resources, natural resources,
human health and safety, or
property,” she said.
Conservation groups said
their request was prompted by
Wildlife Services killing pups
in response to complaints from
a public lands rancher. The
rancher had experienced dep-
redation more than a year ear-
lier. They said Wildlife Ser-
vices started pursuing the pack
in May, when an agent killed
three pups at the den, and that
the agency killed fi ve more
pups over the next two months.
SALEM — Prudential
Insurance Co. claims the bank-
rupt Easterday estate owes
it more than $9 million, a
demand opposing lawyers call
unreasonable and if paid will
come “out of the hide” of other
creditors.
Eastern Washington cattle-
man Cody Easterday borrowed
$50 million from Prudential in
2020, about one year before he
fi led for bankruptcy as he was
being investigated for defraud-
ing Tyson Fresh Meats.
Prudential recovered with
interest the loan out of the
$209 million that Farmland
Reserve Inc. paid to buy East-
erday farms in Benton County.
The New Jersey-based
lender, however, says it’s still
due nearly $7 million because
the 10-year loan was repaid
early and $2.1 million because
Easterday’s bankruptcy trig-
gered a 12% default interest
rate.
Attorneys for the bank-
rupt Easterday businesses say
there is no evidence early pay-
ment harmed Prudential and
have asked U.S. Bankruptcy
TOM CHRISTENSEN
CHRISTENSEN
TOM
CONSTRUCTION
Judge Whit-
man Holt
in Yakima
to deny the
prepayment
penalty
and default
Cody
interest.
Easterday
T h e
attorneys
called the formula used to
calculate the early payment
penalty
“unconscionable”
and that every dollar paid in
default interest is “a dollar that
comes out of the hide” of other
creditors.
On Wednesday, Pruden-
tial fi led a brief responding
to accusations it was being
unreasonable. Cody Easter-
day — along with his wife and
parents — were sophisticated
borrowers who understood the
nature of Prudential’s business,
according to the brief.
“At its core, the prepay-
ment formula employed by
Prudential is ubiquitous in the
real estate fi nance industry,”
according to Prudential.
The two sides are due to
appear in front of Holt on
Oct. 20. The resolution will
aff ect how much money is left
for other creditors, including
Tyson, who was defrauded out
of $233 million.
Easterday pleaded guilty to
billing Tyson for buying and
feeding some 200,000 head
of cattle that didn’t exist. The
Commodity Futures Trading
(541) 410-0557 • (541) 575-0192
Commission says Easterday
used the payments to cover
losses from trading in cattle
futures markets.
In a plea deal, Easterday
promised to make restitution.
His sentencing for wire fraud
has been postponed until Jan-
uary to give him time to help
sell Easterday assets and raise
money for Tyson and other
creditors. Prudential is at the
head of the line because its
loan was secured by three
Easterday farms.
Prudential and Easterday
temporarily set aside their dif-
ferences this summer to allow
Farmland Reserve, owned by
the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints, to buy the
farms without liens.
Prudential contends the
prepayment premium was part
of an eight-fi gure commercial
loan and not “anything close to
conscience shocking.”
Prudential and Easterday
farms and ranches also are
arguing over whether Pruden-
tial should be reimbursed for
$377,000 in legal fees and for a
$41,000 title report it obtained
to make sure it knew every-
one who had an interest in the
farms in case of a lawsuit.
Equitable Life Insurance
Co. made a similar claim
related to loans it made to
Easterday in 2015 and 2020.
Equitable argued it was due
$3.2 million in prepayment
premiums.
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