Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 10, 1993)
. - . . ---~c .... -=,...~ ,,. . . . . -J""I. -·--·--__...--... ~"---·-.--.._.__,.,._ __ "---~•r,:.___ ~:.,.a,p-,- - . - . - Page 8 - MSWCO Supptement to the Heppner Gazette-Times, March 10, 1993 Consider Alternatives lower crop residue requirements. With crop re idue management it is possible to use wider strips than some of the older y tern . Cur- rent tillage techniques and available weed control also help make trips more feasible. For water erosion, fann-over level terraces and alternate trips of grain and fallow can both pro- vide excellent protection and more water i held on the fields for crops to use. Some studjes Someurne factor beyond the have hown that increased yield farmer· control can put hi ii on the terrace berm and j ust nd water re urce , as well a downhill of the terrace off et hi. income, at ri k . Low yield any yield reduction in the chan- c used by weather or pe ts can nel. Terrace also help control the make it diffi uh to majntain gully erosion that trip or crop enough crop residue to meet ero- re idue alone can not stop. i n control goal . A y tern with Field windbreaks, cover crops, a variety of conservation practice gra trip and cro s slope far- can help make ero ion control ming are some other conservation les relia11t on a ingle practice. practices that will reduce soil loss trip er ppmg wa a common and provide more flexibility in method for both w md and water crop rotations where low crop ero ion control. Larger equip- re idue yield are a problem. ment a.nd weed problem led to Your local Soil Conservation the rem val of many trip Service office can provide more y tern . ow farmer are look- information about these tools and way to ~et how they may fit into your con- ing t trips again needed ero ion protection with servation plan. Conservation has been part of mo t farm operation for many year . Now soil conservatjon measure have been tjcd to farm uppon payment by the 1985 and 1990 Farm Bills and en- vironmental re triction on agriculture are not likely to relax in the future. Some old conser- vation practice arc getting another look as po ible tool for ero ion control. SWCD holds annual meeting I The Morrow SWCD held its 1992 Annual Meeting on January 13, 1993 in conjunction with Heppner' Town and Country Days. The program was presented by Ed Weber, Oregon Department of Agriculture , Natural Resources Divi ion. Mr. Weber explained "The Unique Connection" which focuses on the fact that ODA is the only tale agency with 45 Oregon SWCDs with local boards who can be con- sulted in implementing laws pass- ed by the legislature concerning natural re ource management. Mr. Weber also talked about future concern over wind ero- sion. Currentlv the EPA (En-~ vironmental Protection Agency) is in the proce s of beginning im- plementation of the I 99() Clean Air Act. This involve e tablishing and regulating clean air health standards. Weber stated , "thi may impact agriculture in those area prone to wind erosion such as north Morrow County.'' Ed Weber, ODA-NRD MORROW •···· './ . ...... '(.- . ,•·.# ;. ··~. - . - ' &) . .. - - :.,, "- . ... ' _... Heppner, Oregon 97836 PO Box 127 procedure to e timate percent residue on the surface. A 100 foot or 50 foot measuring tape, or knotted rope with knots unifonn- 1 y paced should be used. Select an area that i repre ntative of the whole field . Avoid field edge , area of tillage overlap or areas where weed , insects or other factor have reduced pro- ductjon. An accurate c timate of residue can be obtained by avera- ing three to five representative location . Anchor one end of tape and lay it diagonally aero s the crop row . Measure the residue by counting the number of foot marks or ''hits'' that arc directly over a piece of residue. Count on- ly that re idue large enough to in- tercept raindrops. Do not move the tape while counting. Count re idue at foot marks from the arne edge of tape. Alway look straight down at the foot mark . On a 100 foot tape the total number of residue " hits" will be a direct measurement of the percentage of residue cover. On a 50 foot tape with the marks or knots uniformly spaced at the foot marks the number of "hits" will need to be multipljed by 2 for per- cent of re idue. If your field measurements dif- fer signjficantly from the amounts in your conservation compliance plan, you should contact your local Soil Conservation office for assistance. OREGON POPCORN, INC. Brewer's Perfect Pop Popcorn Retail pack 501b.bags bulk (503)481-2676 l-aoo-6115-3663 Most of Our Credit Officers Received the B~t Education Available. They Grew Up Ona Fann. • • FarmCreditServices Down to £4rth Flnandngfor~n~r,tlons 1 SW Nye Street Pendleton, Oregon 97801 503/276-7361 tJ' . -.,_ .. . .. . ,, .. . . ~I ·- I. ~ ""- - . • + \:£ ,1, .,. ..\ ,: .... .-- 7 -~ - ' "" ·~ Phone (503 ) 676-54:452 1992 Annual Report MSWCD Supplement to the Heppner Gazette-Times, March 10, 1993 Chuck Nelson named 1992 Oustanding Cooperator SWCD seeds Bombing Range The Morrow SWCD con- tracted with the U.S. Navy to reseed approximately 200 acres on the Navy Bombing Range that was burned by a lightning caus- ed fire in August 1991 . In addi- tion to seeding a Sccar blue bunch grass and Sherman big bluegras mixture using Miller & Sons' no- till drill and a rented tractor, about two mile of electric fence was constructed to prevent graz- ing the area for two growing seasons. A large area was left unseeded but excluded from grazing and a mall seeded area i subjected to grazing as well as a large area that Make ''Residue MeasureJDent'' A Daily Routine The critical cro ion period for much of the Pacific orthwest cropland i between November and April. This time frame i when 70 percent of the annual precipitation occurs and 70 per- cent of the damage from wind oc- cur . A tmagc program that leave 30 percent re idue cover can reduce soil erosion from water and wind by 50 to 75 percent. Fanners can measure their own crop residue to ensure they will have the a.mount of re idues available to provide optimum cropland protection. When residue are laying flat and randomly distributed the line transect method is the ~icst field .. r--1 ... "1. .I ·"' f -- ~ ·; 'r .i.., was not sccdcd so that range con- ditions can be monitored and compared for future seeding pro- jects. It has been proposed lhat the SWCD comact wilb the U.S. Navy to rcteed 200-500 acres every year to replace annual grasse with introduced and native perennial for better forage. Most every year IOl1lC burning occurs on the Bomb Range and it would be these areas that would be reseeded. In addi- tion some consideration has been given to prescribed bumina small areas of big sagebrush in Juniper Canyon to improve the gra7jng, Normal streamftow predicted Chuck Nelson Chuck Nelson was named Morrow SWCD's 1992 Outstan- ding Cooperator and continues a ·1ongstanding tradition in his family whlch began with his father , Norman, and uncle • Alfred, who shared the prize in 1956. His cousin, Ken, won in 1985. Nelson farms 3,100 acres of wheat/fallow ground, most of which is leased from relati"cs and neighbors. He is the third genera- tion Nelson on this farm, which was started by his grandfather in 1913. Newspaper article ; lining the wall of Nelson's shed tell the story of a family who built ter- races, sod waterways and diver- sion dams and used nitrogen fer- trnzer long before it was com- mon. Many of the sod waterways are still in place today. No moldboard plows have been us- ed on his fields since 1918 because all tillage is designed to incorporate the latest in conser- vation farming machlnery and techniques. A total of 19.66 miles of terraces have been built on the land that Nelson operates. Chuck. and his wife Lisa, a son Justin, and a daughter Counncy are active partners in the farming operation. His philosophy on conservation fanning is early seeding and minimum tillage that is maintained by chemical fallow and good conservation practi~. Other innovations on Chuck's farm include earth dams for draw bottoms and maintenance of 1,000 pounds of straw or stubble cover for each winter crop. Chuck was also honored as the Morrow County Wheat Growers Conservation Farm of the Y car for 1992. A tour and barbecue were held in June giving Nelson the opportunity to show off his outstanding conservation efforts. All county winners tour the state and judge other winners in the competition for the state con- servation farm. Nelson Farms was chosen as the Oregon State Winner. A tour and barbecue will be held this year the last week of June. Chuck Nelson was also selected to receive the "Take Pride In America" (TPIA) sign. (Sec related story) Near normal stream.flow is forecast for this spring and sum- mer in northeastern Oregon. The mountain snowpack th.is year is much better than it was last year, according to the '' Basin Sum- mary of Snow Course Data' ' pro- vided by the Soil Conservation Service. According to the report, on February l , 1993, Arbuckle Mountain Snow-Tel Pillow had a reading of 20.5 inches of water content compared to l 0.1 inches last year and 147 pcrcem above the 13.9 inch average. Madison Butte Pillow readings are also above average with 10.4 inches of water content compared to 1.3 inches last year which is 208 per- cent above the average of 5 inches. This report is provided by the Heppner Field Office of the Soil Conservation Service and in- cl udes readings from site throughout Oregon. RAINFALL DATA 1.15" Jlll-92 o.rr A...» "~ oa-9l 0.40" 1.26" ur N0<'-92 Dec-92 Ju-93 ..... M-t2 I .ti" I.ti" Toeal 1.91" iiiffWWW Alll-tl 0.-,Z Nw-92 ,-.,., .... .... .... .... U" 2.11" .,. lAI" II"
