A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017
Herald Business
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Shearer’s Foods
Former PGG terminals,
investment will come elevators to get upgrades
onto tax rolls this year
By GEORGE PLAVEN
EO Media Group
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
No enterprise zone
construction came onto
the tax rolls in 2016,
but an investment made
by Shearer’s Foods will
come on in July.
Hermiston’s
enter-
prise zone, one of sever-
al around the state, gives
qualifying companies a
three- to five-year proper-
ty tax exemption on new
investments that add jobs
to the community.
Shearer’s Foods used
the break on a $3.1 mil-
lion investment in 2010,
a $25 million investment
in 2011 and a $3.5 mil-
lion investment in 2014.
The company will start
paying property taxes on
the final $3.5 million in-
vestment on July 1.
City manager Mark
Morgan said that since
the property is located
outside city limits, the
taxes will go to Umatilla
County, Umatilla County
Fire District 1 and Herm-
iston School District but
not the city.
However, $16.48 mil-
lion in expansions by Du-
Pont Pioneer and Pioneer
Hi-Bred will come on the
city’s tax rolls in 2019.
Morgan said it’s hard
to know exactly how
much money comes into
the city’s general fund as
a result of new projects
joining the tax rolls, be-
cause the city receives
property tax revenue in
one lump sum and that
sum fluctuates up and
down as some properties
become more valuable
and others depreciate.
However, he estimated
that the city is getting
somewhere
between
$150,000 and $200,000
per year from DuPont
Pioneer’s $35 million
investment that came on
the tax rolls in 2015.
Companies that quali-
fy for the enterprise zone
include shippers, manu-
facturers and processors
but exclude retail, con-
struction businesses or
finance. To qualify for a
three-year property tax
break on new capital in-
vestments, the construc-
tion or new equipment
must come with at least
a 10 percent increase
of full-time, permanent
jobs that lasts for the du-
ration of the tax break.
The city can choose to
extend the tax break for
another one or two years
if the compensation of
the new workers is at
or above 150 percent of
Umatilla County’s aver-
age wage.
Morgan said that
some people grumble
about the city giving tax
breaks, but Morgan said
he “can say with abso-
lute certainty that a lot of
these investments would
not have come here if
property tax exemptions
were not on the table
from the start.”
He said about a year
and a half ago Herm-
iston was the second
place finalist for an Auto
Zone distribution center
that would have brought
about 250 new jobs to
the area. He said the en-
terprise zone featured
“prominently” into dis-
cussions with the com-
pany.
“They ended up in
Pasco, but without the
enterprise
zone
we
wouldn’t have even been
at the table for that dis-
cussion,” he said.
He said there are no
new enterprise zone ap-
plications in hand but
that people should “stay
tuned.”
Between 2005 and
2015 the enterprise zone
was responsible for at-
tracting more than $83
million in investments
and more than 300 new
jobs, according to a city
report.
———
Contact Jade McDow-
ell at jmcdowell@eas-
toregonian.com or 541-
564-4536.
When United Grain
Corporation stepped in for
Pendleton Grain Grow-
ers last year, purchasing
all of the co-op’s old grain
infrastructure, the compa-
ny promised to invest $9
million toward making the
facilities more modern and
efficient.
Those upgrades are now
underway. Among other
things, United Grain has
already installed automated
kiosks at the McNary riv-
er terminal to help trucks
weigh and unload cargo
faster.
Jason Middleton, region
manager for United Grain,
said they are also working
to buy 20 more acres from
the Port of Umatilla to ex-
pand at McNary along the
Columbia River, boosting
storage capacity by 3-4
million bushels. As for up-
country elevators, Middle-
ton said they will provide
space for specialty crops
other than wheat, such as
beans, canola and barley.
The projects were laid
out during a series of grow-
er’s meetings last week in
Hermiston, Pendleton and
La Grande, giving local
farmers an idea of what to
expect come next harvest.
“Speed, space and ser-
vice is what our goals are
here,” Middleton said.
“We’re trying to repair our
infrastructure and keep up
with the grower.”
For 86 years, members
relied on PGG for fuel,
agronomy, marketing and
more. After PGG dissolved
on May 2, 2016, the board
of directors voted to sell
its grain assets to United
Grain, including the Mc-
Nary terminal, Alicel rail
terminal and upcountry el-
evators.
United Grain took over
the business on June 10, just
weeks before wheat harvest
began. That didn’t allow
much time to focus on im-
proving buildings, though
Middleton, who was hired
by PGG as the director of
grain operations in 2012,
said they knew coming in
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
A semi-trailer pulls out of the United Grain McNary terminal
on Monday in Umatilla.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Wheat falls into a grate as operator Pete Veliz opens the
bottom of a grain hopper at the United Grain McNary terminal
on Monday in Umatilla.
there was work that needed
to be done.
“There was just a lack
of maintenance on a lot of
those projects,” said Mid-
dleton. “You can go back
four decades, at least.”
With that hectic first har-
vest behind them, Middle-
ton said they are now ready
to move forward on infra-
structure. The bulk of the
money will be spent at Mc-
Nary, he said, where they
recently automated kiosks
at the trucking scales. Now,
drivers simply swipe a card
to bring up their informa-
tion, and are directed to one
of five pits where they can
unload grain.
The way scales are set
up will allow trucks to flow
in one direction, Middleton
said, instead of before when
drivers had to weigh in and
out at the same scale.
“It’s going to save a lot
of time, compared to last
year,” he said. “There’s no
reason trucks couldn’t get
in and out anywhere from
five to eight minutes, entire
process.”
Automation has also
come to the elevator con-
trol room at McNary, which
will make it easier for the
operators there to switch
between bins and keep
wheat segregated. The idea,
Middleton said, is to maxi-
mize efficiency — the less
time farmers spend at the
elevator, the more time they
have to work in the fields.
That’s also the concept
behind ground piles at Mis-
sion and Helix. As com-
bines are able to cut wheat
faster, Middleton said farm-
ers are using larger trucks
to deliver grain, which can
be unloaded more quickly
at piles as opposed to the
old upcountry elevators.
Each pile will store 1.4
million bushes, Middleton
said. The goal is to build
a third pile near Athena by
next year as well, he added.
Finally, a ground pile and
automated scales will be in-
stalled at the Alicel Terminal
near La Grande. Both Alicel
and McNary are used for
storing and shipping grain,
which is hauled by train at
Alicel and by river barge at
McNary.
“It should just be a lot
more of an efficient pro-
cess,” he said.
As for the upcountry el-
evators, many of the old
wooden buildings have al-
ready been closed for safety,
Middleton said. Those in-
clude Helix, Rew, Mission,
Stanton, Elgin, and Hold-
man.
But some of the metal
and concrete elevators will
be upgraded, where farmers
will be able store crops on
demand separate from tra-
ditional wheat. With wheat
prices as low as they are,
Middleton said he expects
farmers may be considering
alternatives to help pay the
bills.
Options are limited in
dryland farming, but bar-
ley, canola and certain types
of beans or peas may be
options, depending on the
market.
“If there are other options
out there, I think guys will
be looking at them,” he said.
Some of the “on de-
mand” crop elevators will
include Fulton, Sparks, Pi-
lot Rock, Juniper, Adams
and Midway. Many of these
facilities simply need some
routine repairs and mainte-
nance, Middleton said, but
won’t require a ton of cap-
ital.
By giving farmers more
tools come harvest, Mid-
dleton said United Grain
hopes to become a compet-
itive choice for growers in
the region.
“It’s difficult being a
farmer now, with margins
as tight as they are,” Mid-
dleton said. “We want to be
their best option.”
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
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