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TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 4, 2020 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES FFA students speak to county commissioners Topics covered are environment and mental health U.S.P.S. 240-420 By David Sykes Two Ione Future Farm- SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE: ers of America (FFA) stu- http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/ dents spoke to the Morrow County Commissioners at Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid their meeting last week, and at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-9228. Fax the topics covered were: (541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.net. Web site: “Want to Know How to www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $31 in Morrow County; $25 Protect the Environment? senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $37 elsewhere; $31 student Ask a Farmer; and Mental subscriptions. David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher Health in the Agricultural Bobbi Gordon................................................................................................ Editor Industry.” Giselle Moses.........................................................................................Advertising Grace Ogden spoke All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. first and pointed out how For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.25 per column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to farmers and ranchers are 100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.05 per column inch. leading the way to protect For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for pub- the environment. She said lication must be specified. Affidavits must be required at the time of submission. Affidavits require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be that over the last seventy specified if required). years even though the use For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines of land, fertilizers, chem- or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space icals, and energy have re- for the obituary. mained mostly the same, For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone U.S. farmers have boosted number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. The GT is not agricultural output by 270 responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will percent. “This means that be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10. farmers and ranchers are New Baby in Your Family? Engagement? Wedding? increasing their output to We want to share your life events! feed a projected nine billion Stop in the Heppner Gazette office or email us with people, but they’re actually shrinking their carbon foot- details and photos. All birth, engagement and wedding announcements are always free! print,” she points out. Ogden also brought up 188 W Willow Street, Heppner, OR editor@rapidserve.net Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper VISITING SPECIALIST* Kessa Mauras, D.P.M. Board Certified, American Board of Podiatric Medicine You wouldn’t go the eye doctor for your dental work, right? Then the same logic applies when it comes to care for your feet. When you have a foot or ankle problem, it’s best to see a specialist and that person is a podiatrist. Morrow County Health District is pleased to welcome Dr. Kessa Mauras of Mt. Hood Podiatry, as one of its newest visiting specialists, now seeing patients in Heppner. It’s time to take the first step toward healing if you suffer from or require care for: • • • • • • • • • Schedule your appointment: Ankle & Foot Pain Arthritis Mt. Hood Podiatry Athletic Injuries 541-386-1006 Bunions & Hammertoes Diabetic Foot Flat Feet or High Arches Ingrown Toenails Other Skin/Nail Conditions Wounds / Infections *Visiting Specialists are not employed by MCHD. Where healthier is happening... Boardman | Heppner | Ione | Irrigon | Lexington 541-676-9133 VOTE JOSEPH ARMATO MORROW COUNTY COMMISSIONER Two Ione Future Farmers of America students, Grace Ogden (left) and Madison Orem, spoke at the Morrow County Commissioner’s meeting last week in Heppner. The commissioners listening are left to right Jim Doherty, Melissa Lindsay and Don Russell. that cows, which have been getting a bad reputation among global warming activists recently, “actually only represent less than two percent of all green- house gas emissions.” The cows also increase the soil’s capacity to store carbon by stimulating bigger and healthier grass stands that take up more carbon diox- ide from the atmosphere, she points out. She said the most re- cent blow to the agriculture industry was Starbucks’ announcement the coffee chain was moving toward a more “environmentally friendly” menu by using alternative milks. Ogden, however, said that plant- based milks come with their own environmental con- cerns, such as the soybean crops replacing Brazil’s forests at a rapid rate. Al- mond farming methods are also contributing to the loss of bee populations. Plant based alternatives such as soybean, almond and ca- shews are more commonly grown in locations such as Spain, Ukraine, Canada and Nigeria, and when the plant milk is shipped to the United States the transpor- tation is producing a “huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions.” While she admitted that plant-based milks are a great alternative for people who have health problems, such as being lactose in- tolerant, or if they simply don’t enjoy the taste of cows’ milk, she says, “The reality is that cows’ milk is one of the most locally sourced ingredients found almost anywhere you go. Every state has a dairy farm, so it doesn’t have to be shipped from far away.” Ogden quoted Krysta Hard- en, a spokesman from Dairy Management Inc., who said, “From an environmen- tal and nutrition standpoint, it is not an either/or, both plants and animals play a critical role in the health of the people and the planet.” Ogden also brought up how frugal and innova- tive farming practices have become. A good example is right here in Morrow County where a large meth- ane digester is operating. “Threemile Canyon Farms outside Boardman is Ore- gon’s largest dairy and built a methane digester in 2012. The digestor processes 80 percent of the manure from their dairy, and (produces) the same amount of energy as three wind turbines,” she points out. The student related how she spoke with both the manager of livestock operations at the farm and the waste management su- pervisor about the process and was told that the farm is actually building a sec- ond digestor. Threemile is the only dairy in Oregon that has their own methane digester on the site. “This is an excellent way to reduce their carbon footprint in a variety of ways,” she says. “Not only are they remov- ing methane from the envi- ronment, but by having it actually on the farm means they don’t have to use a truck to transport it, which would release more green- house gas emissions.” She said there are tours given to community groups and schools throughout the year and the farm is interested in teaching more people about the environment-saving ac- complishment at the dairy. However, Ogden says, environmental conserva- tion, moderation and pres- ervation aren’t always a large-scale effort and can be done through smaller efforts. The use of no-till drills, cover crops, infrared technology and participa- tion in conservation pro- grams are standard proce- dure in Morrow County and on farms of every size, she says. “I’ve ridden with my dad on tractors and spray- ers with GPS technology, an advancement that has completely changed today’s farming practices,” adding that before the addition of GPS-enabled equipment, farmers were dealing with large skips throughout a field, and swaths of fields that could be sprayed over several times. “When my grandpa was a young farmer, he used toilet paper streamers in the field as spray mark- ers. You can imagine how precise that was,” she said. Ogden says technological advances in farming save time, money, and most importantly, benefit the environment. “We all need to be conscious of how we impact the environment. Agriculturalists will con- tinue to play an important role in helping the world adapt to and prevent climate change by promoting soil health, conserving water, using nutrients more ef- ficiently, and continuing technological advances. It’s a team effort, and one that can only be successful if we can all work together,” she concluded. Mental Health in the Agricultural Industry On a more personal topic, Madison Orem gave a talk about mental health in the agricultural business and how it is a “big issue that is often ignored.” Orem says many peo- ple don’t see the stress and fight that farmers are going through. “Mental health in agriculture is a big is- sue that is often ignored. Many people see producers as resilient people, so the thought of them having mental health issues is hard to see, but it’s happening,” she emphasized. She said according to the Center for Disease Control suicide rates in agriculture are high- er than for any other occu- -See FFA STUDENTS/PAGE THREE
