The Growers' Guide Dec. 2022

MR. COOL

FFA adviser

Rod Cool says agriculture more important than ever

By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press

QUINCY, Wash. — Agriculture education and FFA are more important than ever, and Rod Cool ought to know. He has taught high school agriculture for more than three decades in Washington state.

It’s a matter of feeding the nation and the world, he said.

“Our farm population cannot sustain itself,” said Cool, 58, who teaches agriculture and advises the FFA chapter at the Quincy, Wash., high school. “It’s statistically impossible for that few people to keep producing enough people to do all the jobs and keep producing food.”

With a rapidly increasing global population — nearly 8 billion and counting — and the hungry mouths that come with it, agriculture teachers like Cool and his colleagues are vital.

Quincy High School agriculture teacher

Rod Cool. The school’s agriculture program includes a livestock facility, a greenhouse, a food science kitchen and a 12-acre alfalfa field used as a teaching lab. The school will build a cattle barn next summer.

“For every 100 graduates that we turn out of any high school, we better make two farmers or we’re all going to starve to death,” Cool said from behind his trademark mustache. “We have to not only attract kids to the industry, we need to find the best and brightest kids and get them there. Truly, we are the last line of defense between us and starvation.”

His spot in life

This is Cool’s 36th year in a Washington classroom. He taught 3 years at Selkirk High School in Metaline Falls, 3 years at Zillah High School, 9 years in Wenatchee, 15 years in Chelan, and he’s been at Quincy High School for 6 years.

Matthew Weaver/Capital Press

By Dana

Sugar cookies and more for the holidays

Here are some classic holiday recipes from the folks at Gold Medal Flour.

Classic Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 egg

• 2 1/2 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

• Granulated sugar or colored sugar

Directions

1. Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, almond extract and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except granulated sugar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

2. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet.

3. Divide dough in half. Roll each half 1/4 inch thick on lightly

floured surface. Cut into desired shapes with 2- to 2 1/2-inch cookie cutters. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Place on cookie sheet.

4. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Tips

• You can prevent cookie dough from sticking to the cookie cutter by dipping the cutter in flour between uses.

• Rise to the occasion! If using

self-rising flour, there is no need to add baking soda and cream of tartar.

• To ensure recipe success, do not use vegetable oil spreads.

• For swirl frosted cookies, frost each cookie with white cookie icing. Pipe 4 to 5 small dots red, green or blue cookie icing or decorating gel on top of each cookie, immediately swirl color with toothpick to create marble designs.

Stollen Ingredients

• 1 package regular or quick active dry yeast

• 3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3 eggs

• 1 egg, separated

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

• 3 1/2 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour or Better for Bread flour

• 1/2 cup blanched almonds

• 1/4 cup chopped candied citron

• 1/4 cup chopped candied cherries, if desired

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened

• 1 tablespoon water Glaze

• 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

• 2 tablespoons milk Directions

1. In large bowl, dissolve yeast in 3/4 cup warm water.

Beat in granulated sugar, the salt, eggs, egg yolk, 1/2 cup butter and 1 3/4 cups of the flour with electric mixer on medium speed 10 minutes, scraping bowl constantly. Stir in remaining flour, the almonds, citron, cherries, raisins and lemon peel. Scrape batter from side of bowl. Cover and let rise in warm place 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until double. (Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.) Cover and refrigerate egg white.

2. Stir down batter by beating about 25 strokes.

Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

3. Grease cookie sheet. Place dough on well-floured surface; turn to coat with flour. Divide in half; press each half into 10x7-inch oval. Spread with 1 tablespoon butter. Fold ovals lengthwise in half; press only folded edge firmly. Place on cookie sheet. Beat egg white and 1 tablespoon water; brush over folded ovals. Cover and let rise in warm place 45 to 60 minutes or until double.

4. Heat oven to 375°F.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

5. In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Spread glaze over warm stollen.

Tips

• Tuck 1 or 2 of these baked loaves in the freezer for up to 2 months.

• Not fond of citron? Use chopped dried fruit in its place.

• Instead of making the glaze, you can sprinkle the top of the stollen with powdered sugar instead.

•

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour

• 1 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 2 tablespoons milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 3 large eggs

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Beat in the milk and vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time, until mixture is well combined. With the mixer on low

speed, slowly add the dry ingredients until a thick soft dough forms. Divide dough into 2 balls, wrap each one in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Between two pieces of parchment paper, roll each ball of

dough out to 1/4-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Repeat with remaining dough until you’ve used it all.

3. With a spatula, transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets, placing them about an inch apart. Bake for about 8-10 minutes,

rotating cookie sheets after 5 minutes, or until cookies are set in the middle. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Ice and decorate once cooled.

Homemade chocolate cookies.

Peppermint Snowball Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup finely crushed peppermint candies (12 candies)

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

• 1/4 cup finely crushed peppermint candies (12 candies)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 2 1/4 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Mix 1/4 cup crushed candies and 1/4 cup powdered sugar; reserve. Mix butter, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 cup crushed candies and the vanilla in medium bowl. Stir in flour and salt.

2. Shape dough by level measuring tablespoonfuls into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until set but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; roll in reserved candy mixture. Cool completely on wire rack. Roll in candy mixture again.

Tips

• Make short work of crushing hard peppermint candy. Place candy in a large plastic food-storage bag, and chill in the freezer. Crush candy inside of the bag by lightly pounding with the smooth side of a meat mallet or a small pot.

• We recommend using butter in this recipe for the most tender cookies.

Holiday Spritz

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 2 1/2 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla

• Few drops of food color, if desired

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400°. Beat butter, sugar and egg in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients.

2. Place dough in cookie press. Form desired shapes on ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until set but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool completely.

Tips

• Stir 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled, into butter-sugar mixture. Omit food color.

• Substitute rum extract for the almond extract. Tint dough with food colors. After baking, spread cooled cookies with Butter Rum Glaze: Melt 1/4 cup butter or margarine in 1-quart saucepan; remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon rum extract. Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons hot water until glaze is spreadable. Tint glaze with food color to match cookies.

• Stir in 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice with the flour.

• Before baking spruce up your Spritz with: • Currants, raisins, small candies, chopped nuts, slices of candied fruits or candied fruit peels arranged in festive patterns. After baking decorate with:

• Edible glitter, colored sugar, nonpareils, red cin-

namon candies or finely chopped nuts. A drop of corn syrup will hold the decorations in place nicely.

• Before baking spruce up your Spritz with:

• Currants, raisins, small candies, chopped nuts, slices of candied fruits or candied fruit peels arranged in festive patterns. After baking decorate with:

• Edible glitter, colored sugar, nonpareils, red cinnamon candies or finely chopped nuts. A drop of corn syrup will hold the decorations in place nicely.

Let me preface my remarks with the emphatic proclamation that, contrary to what some misguided people might think, I AM NOT A HOARDER!

I am a collector... big difference.

A hoarder’s house is packed with boxes clogging hallways, newspaper stacked to the ceiling, and assorted junk bought at garage sales filling every niche. Our house, however, is neat and tidy with lots of open space. Although I will admit that every wall is covered with bits, spurs, bookcases full of books, old license plates, and western artwork. I swelled with pride when a friend once said that mine was the only house he’d ever been in with barbed wire on the walls.

Although I AM NOT A HOARDER I do have the hoarding gene.

My Grandma was proud to own a 12-foot stack of Sara Lee coffee cake pans when she died, while I specialize in pre -

scription bottles, and keep in mind I’ve had 11 different prescriptions for 30 years. Believe me, that’s a lot of bottles!

For those 30 years I’ve also consumed two cups of Mott’s applesauce every day and I saved the valuable containers it comes in and every one is filled with screws, nails, bolts and other assorted hardware I’ve picked up at estate sales and farm auctions.

I have such a diverse collection the local hardware store refers people to me when they don’t have something.

Visitors are always amazed at how organized and tidy my shop is. In

* Caterpillar 65E, good tracks, 9K hrs., Trimble autosteer $72,000

* 1997 Peterbilt 337 tandem dump truck, 3306 motor, 10 spd., 15’ bed,clean truck $40,000

* 2000 John Deere 9750 STS, new hydro, Hillco leveler, newer engine,with 630F header $75,000

* 1997 R72 Gleaner combine, 3509 sep. hours, 4731 engine hours, chromed, comes with header, very clean machine $32,000

* N7 Gleaner combine, fresh chrome cylinder bars $1500

* Stoess header cart for 27ft header $2,400

* John Deere 4-section rod weeder $1,700

* John Deere 337 baler, good condition $4500 OBO TAYLOR HOF | 509-876-1590 | taylor.hof.th@gmail.com

By Lee Pitts www.leepittsbooks.com

that regard, I think I may suffer from an obsessive/ compulsive disorder. I have a friend who says he’s gonna come over some night and empty all my screws, nuts, bolts, washers and nails in one big jumble on the floor. If he ever did that I think I might shoot myself... right after I shot him!

I have a reason for collecting the things I do. I’ve amassed over 400 ball caps because I have a big bald spot in the middle of my head that is growing faster than a forest fire in California. I always wear a hat because I suffer from cranial deforestation and follicular regression. I’ve also been diagnosed with hair compensation syndrome which means I wear a hat at ALL times. And I’m very picky about the kind of cap I wear. I don’t like the ones that have mesh on the back of the cap. I use these as sieves to strain paint.

My wife insists I don’t need 400 ball caps but I tried giving several to a restaurant that has ball caps hanging from its rafters but they declined my generous offer because a lot of my hats were given to me by septic pumpers, tallow works and slaughterhouses and the restaurant owner thought they might NOT be conducive to a customer’s dining experience.

I may very well have the largest motel/hotel stationery collection in the world. In my 40 years of traveling I usually stayed at motels so cheap I was lucky to get a free postcard but in my mother’s second career she traveled all over the country closing bankrupt banks for the FDIC. Because she worked for the government she stayed at Hiltons, Doubletrees, Marriott’s and other assorted upscale hotels and she gave me

the free stationery. She also saved a bank bag from every bank she closed down so I must have the biggest collection of bankrupt bank bags in the country. Who knows what that could be worth?

One of my life’s primary goals was to hold the world record for the number of pens in my possession, after all, they are the tools of my trade. I think I need somewhere around 14,000 to break the record and I’m close because every drawer in the house is stuffed with free pens from banks, auction markets and drug companies who, by the way, give away the best pens with weird names of new drugs on them. I haven’t even mentioned my thousands of books, trophy buckles that cowboys hocked at pawn shops, expired old calendars or my single spurleather collection.

OK, I admit my collecting habit may be a bit out of control. My wife doesn’t want to deal with all this “junk” after I’m gone so if you’re interested in acquiring a world class collection of stationery or bankrupt bank bags contact her as I’m much too emotionally invested to deal with it.

Continued from Page A1

The man known as Mr. Cool to his students grew up on a cattle ranch in Chelan.

“Which was a little different — all my friends, their dads and moms, had orchards and we had cows,” he said.

Both sides of his family were farmers and ranchers, raising sheep, cows, orchards and hay. Cool’s father’s “whole bunch of little side hustles” included shoeing horses, outfitting hunts and meat cutting.

“My first job was when I was 2 years old. We had 70 fat rabbit does,” Cool said. “My job was to feed and water rabbits when I first started, then I graduated to chickens, and then to the horses and cows.”

They raised cows until he was in high school. They lost half their herd in wildfires in 1970 and 1972, and ultimately sold the rest because of the high cost of replacing the lost cattle.

Cool joined FFA in the second semester of his freshman year. It was a natural fit.

“I guess the rest is history — I’ve been involved in it ever since,” he said. “Kind of where I found my spot in life was in FFA.”

Cool considers himself “kind of a dinosaur” as an agriculture teacher with a strong farming background. Few teachers entering the profession today grew up on a farm, he said.

“I can go out and help a kid fit a lamb, help them do a flower arrangement or help them weld something together, because that’s what I had to do when I first started teaching — you had to do everything,” he said.

“Your background growing up on a farm lent you to being able to do all of those things from the get-go.”

The same goes for his students. In Quincy, all their families are involved in ag, but few live on a production farm.

Skills for life

Cool currently teaches three floriculture classes, food science, horticulture and agricultural physics.

At various times during his career, he’s also taught ag mechanics, ag fabrication, forestry, natural resource sciences, equine biology, meat biology, animal science, physics and chemistry.

The floriculture class is a good example of the level of experience Cool provides his students. They sell floral

See Teacher, Page A11

ROD COOL

Age: 58

Title: Agriculture educator and FFA adviser, Quincy, Wash., High School

Hometown: Chelan, Wash. Education: Wenatchee Valley College for two years; associate of arts degree from Spokane Community College; bachelor’s degree, Washington State University in 1987; master’s degree in continuing and vocational education (agricultural education), WSU in 1992

Family: Wife Sherrie; son Tucker; daughter Sammi Jo; ve grandchildren

Hobbies: “I’m not a real good relaxer, I like to ddle with horses and yardwork. I do a lot of catchup in the summer because my yard su ers when I’m not there during the school year. Never enough daylight in the day.”

Activities: Trains colts during the summer and shoes horses; shears alpacas and sheep; had a side meat-cutting business. Likes to put on rodeos, announces at a few junior rodeos. Judges hog and cattle shows at fairs

Website: https://www.facebook.com/ Quincy a

Farm, Ranch,

&

Circle Bar RanchHarney County, Crane, OR, 8096 +/- acres.

$5,950,000

CP#02421

Umatilla County Food Processing FacilityUmatilla County, Hermiston, OR. 19 +/- acres, 58,000 Sq. Ft. bldg. $4,950,000

CP#02022

Bridgeport Arriola Ranch Baker County, Bridgeport, OR 1594 +/- acres

$3,500,000

CP#01022

$3,200,000 CP#02621

CLE CCIM/Owner/ Principal Broker

Hermiston Office/ WarehouseUmatilla County, Hermiston, OR. 3,666 sq. ft. bldg. & 3+/- ac. lot.

PENDING

$2,645,000 CP#02422

Indian Rock Ranch Union County, Summerville, OR 120 +/- acres

$2,100,000 CP#00822

Best Road Irrigated Ranch - Umatilla County, Pendleton, OR, 309 +/- acres.

$1,600,000 CP#00222

Stage Gulch Wagner Ranch Umatilla County, Echo, OR, 184 +/- acres. $1,600,000 CP#01722

East Goose Creek GetawayBaker County, Keating, OR, 482 +/- acres. $1,500,000 CP#01422

Pinherio RanchBaker County, Unity, OR , 1876 +/- acres $1,500,000 CP#01520

Shy Mountain RanchUnion County, Elgin, OR, 194 +/- acres. $1,499,000 CP#00522

LaRue/Strese PlaceWheeler County, Condon, OR, 880 +/- acres. $785,000 CP#01721

Mission Horse RanchUmatilla County, Mission, OR , 40 +/- acres. $650,000 CP#02322

PENDING PENDING

The Berry Place, Umatilla County, Milton-Freewater, OR, 539 +/- acres. $595,000 CP#01322

Boardman Irrigated Property, Morrow County, Boardman, OR, 38 +/- acres. $410,000 CP#02222

Cayuse Property, Umatilla County, Pendleton, OR , 137 +/- acres. $325,000 CP#02522

PENDING PENDING

Blake Knowles Broker

Stuvland, CLE Principal Broker Licensed in Washington

DEALER INDEX

Phone Page Advertiser

AC Harrow

208-507-0187 C15

Accucon 509-534-4460 C12

Adams Tractor 509-535-1708

Ag Trucks and Equipment 509-338-7346 C1

Agpro Marketing & Mfg., Inc. 208-746-2212 B8

Agri-Tool and Supply LLC 800-321-5460 A13

American Tractor 541-423-1200 C10

Andy Knapp 509-466-6153 A12

Augie’s Ag Sales 509-797-5612 C15

Aqua Tech 509-507-3800 C6

Bank of Eastern Oregon 541-676-9125 B7

Barnes Welding, Inc. 509-745-8588 C6

Bell Equipment, Inc. 208-937-2402 C12

Big Iron Repair 509-770-5560 C9

Bill Russell 208-651-8698 B14

Blue Mountain Agri-Support 208-746-6447 B3

Burlingame Machinery Consignments 509-240-2799 A16

Class 8 Trucks 509-534-9088 A6

Correll’s Scale Service 800-572-0426 C13

Dayton Tractor and Machine 509-382-4824 C9

D & S Tires 208-635-0700 A14

Diesel & Machine 208-743-7171 B5

Ed-Ka Manufacturing, Inc. 509-635-1521 B9

Fab-Mech 509-597-7065 B13

Farm & Home Supply 509-843-3395 B10

Farm Equipment Headquarters 541-276-6222 A7

Farmland Tractor Supply 541-928-1646 A8

Greyn Fertilizer Equipment 406-466-5356 A10

Heartland Ag Systems 509-766-6638 B6

Harvest Solutions 541-786-2358 C2

High Mountain Horsepower 509-321-5428 A2

Hillco Technologies, Inc. 800-937-2461 A2, B4, C5

Hill-Ray Plaza 509-397-4668 C14

H.T. Rea Farming Corp 541-558-3776 C13

JECO Supply 208-882-6531 A3, C16

Jerry’s Farm Supply, LLC 509-879-8294 C10

Advertiser Phone Page

Jones Truck & Implement 509-397-4371 A11, B14, C4, C9, C13

J&T Equipment Sales 406-381-3159 B9

Kincaid Real Estate 503-397-4434 A7

Leland Trailer & Equipment 509-535-0291 A10

Loomis Truck & Tractor 509-677-3449 B13

McGregor Company 509-397-4360 C6

Meridian Equipment, Inc. 360-398-2141 B10

Mountain Hi Truck & Equipment 509-529-1761 B15

North Frontier Farms 406-403-4600 B4

North Pine Ag Equipment 509-523-6461 B15

Northwest Trailer Center 800-231-4660 A13

Nyssa Tractor & Implement Inc. 541-372-4020 A13

Odessa Trading Company 509-982-2634 A8, C7

Palouse Welding & Machine, Inc. 509-878-1551 B14

Pape Machinery 503-437-6864 A15

Parsons Equipment 509-632-5205 C3

Photosyntech 701-226-8958 B7

PNDSA/Cropping Systems Conference 509-585-5460 A9

Randy’s Truck, LLC 509-525-9410 B12

R&G Machining 503-829-6038 C2

R & H Machine 208-459-1507 C15

R & M Steel Co. 208-454-1800 B10

Spectrum Crop Development 509-659-1757 A12

Spokane Ag Expo 509-321-3633 C11

St. John Hardware & Implement 509-283-2211 B1, B16

Stockland Livestock Exchange 800-372-6845 C14

T&S Sales 509-535-1177 C2

Tankmax, Inc. 509-545-4600 B11

The Electrical Depot 509-879-0214 A4

3 Roads Equipment and Consignment 509-876-1590 A8

Walter Implement 509-982-2644 A5

Whitman County Custom 509-982-2644 C8

Whitney Land Company 541-278-4444 A9,B12,C11

Wood’s Hay & Grain 208-255-4270 A6

Younker Bros. 800-362-2387 C8

arrangements so all 90 students can take the class without having to pay a laboratory fee.

Students budget for and design arrangements each month, ordering flowers and handling marketing.

“It’s good training, it’s hands-on and it’s real,” Cool said. “It’s real-life problem-solving, the kind of thing you want kids to be able to do when they get out of school — be able to think on their feet and make those split-second, good judgment decisions.”

Cool credits his Chelan High School agriculture teacher, Walt Pierson, with inspiring his career path.

“He was one of those guys who literally gave his life away for kids,” Cool said.

Cool wanted to provide the same experience to his students.

He’s found that people become ag teachers either because they had a really good teacher, or the experience wasn’t quite what they wanted and they hope to give other kids the opportunity they had sought.

“I was fortunate enough to have a really good ag teacher,” he said.

Cool is proud that many of his students have gone on to work in agriculture, from farming to food science to forestry and support agribusinesses.

Labor crisis

Agriculture needs people, he said.

“Farm labor is a crisis right now,” Cool said. “Everybody is fighting to find labor, and skilled labor, especially.”

Higher taxes and costs and more regulations put pressure on farmers, ranchers and agricultural companies large and small, he said.

“The innovation and technology, all that stuff’s taking care of itself,” he said. “But labor is something we can never get away from in agriculture, especially perishable crops.”

Cool tells his students they’re the smartest kids in the building for taking agricultural classes. He points to data indicating that enough students graduate to fill only 38% of available agricultural jobs.

The students that go into community college, trade school or four-year universities will have a job when they get out, he said.

“If you’re anywhere in that food pipeline, from farm to fork, you’re going to be in high demand,” he said. “And when you’re in a high-demand job, usually higher wages come with it.”

Teaching in Quincy

Cool is one of three ag teachers at Quincy High School.

The ag program includes a livestock facility for pigs and sheep, paid for by the Quincy community through a school bond; a greenhouse; a food science kitchen; and a 12-acre alfalfa field used as a teaching lab. The school will add a cattle barn next summer.

livestock

pandemic hit, his horticul-

“That’s a very unique opportunity for a high school,” Cool said. “There aren’t a whole lot of facilities that have a land lab, a

lab and a plant lab all at the same time.”

Sometimes adversity creates opportunity. When the COVID-19

ture students weren’t able to have their annual plant

Matthew Weaver/Capital Press

Quincy High School agriculture teacher and FFA adviser Rod Cool during a food science class. Cool is in his 36th year of teaching agriculture in Washington.

TyleR elsTaD nic MayeR

sale in person. Cool helped them pivot to online sales.

“We sold every plant in two days, and it was the biggest plant sale we’ve ever had,” he said. “You’re going to find that in almost every small town. If they have a quality FFA program and agriculture program, that’s

why it’s that way, because of the support that comes from the community.”

Cool lives with Sherrie, his wife of 36 years, in Chelan, nearly 70 miles away. During the week, he stays in a small apartment in Quincy.

“I still like coming to work every day. I get up every morning and am excited to go to work,” he said. “It’s never really been a job, it’s been what I do, it’s my identity. It’s really important to me that the tradition continues. As long as I’m able to do it and be effective doing it, I’m going to.”

‘Big responsibilities’

Jorge Villasenor, now strategic account manager for Corteva Agriscience, was one of Cool’s students at Chelan High School from 2007 to 2011.

“The best thing about Mr. Cool is how much he cares about the kids,” Villasenor said. “He cares about their success, not only in the

classroom and in FFA, but cares about them outside of school. He wants them to succeed in life.”

Cool is a big proponent of hands-on learning, Villasenor said.

“The best example of that was getting to break in horses and butcher livestock during our biology classes — definitely a unique approach that I enjoyed,” he said.

Villasenor doubts he would have tried public speaking without Cool’s encouragement. The skills he acquired under Cool’s tutelage were “incredibly useful” after college, and in his current job, where he often speaks to large groups, he said.

“I feel like FFA was a tool that he used to develop myself and many others into better equipped adults,” Villasenor said. “It’s hard to explain, but he had a way of trusting in us with big responsibilities. This made me feel important and like the work I was doing mattered.”

TRACTORS

JD 8640, PTO, 3-point hitch, 4-remotes, new crank, rods & main bearings, Papé Machinery rework on engine, 8-heavy cast wheels, rack & pinion axles $18,500

JD 8630, 8100-hours, 3-remotes, PTO, 8-excellent 24.5x32 matching tires, 50 Series engine $15,500

HOUGH/IH 30, payloader $5,500

JD 544, articulating loader $26,000

HAY & FEED

MISCELLANEOUS

WANTED, PTO T-Box, 1¾”x21-spline, 1000-RPM CALL!

STOR KING, double hopper nurse box, electric/hyd. dual augers, steel roll-top lids $5,500

BARBER 1307, turf rake, hydraulic dump $2,500

BARBER, 45’ granular spreader, center load $2,000 BARBER, 45’ granular spreader, center load. Good! $4,750 ACE, orchard heater/blower, LP gas, 3-point, 540-PTO, 4-tanks, Massive Space Heater! $1,750

KUBOTA 350-SP, lawn mower, diesel, hydro, 5-reel $3,300 3-NEW JD, 42”, 48” & 52” mower decks, ea $350

folding drill, minimum till, with liquid tank applications $35,000

VERSATILE 1150, power shift, 5,900 hrs., diff. locks front & rear, KTA-1150, 525-hp., triples, 4 remotes $75,000 CASE 4890, 4-remotes, 4594-original hrs, tank optional, 30.5LRx32 radials inside, 24.5x32 bias outside $12,500

IRRIGATION T TAPE, 5,000 ft. rolls, ¾” with 24” spacing, metered water outlets $85/per roll TARP TIE DOWNS, new, choice of rope with Ny-Locks CALL 4-NEW MICHELIN TIRES, radials, 265/70R19.5 $850

COOK, 6’ offset disk, 24” blades $950

KONGSKILDE 20’

Matthew

Agriculture teacher Rod Cool stands outside Quincy High School Oct. 19.

“The community in Quincy is phenomenal in terms of how they support our ag program,”

Cool says.

Cool estimates he’s taught 3,200 to 3,500 students during his time in the classroom.

Six were elected state FFA officers, including three who were state presidents.

One state president was Apolinar Blanco, who was Cool’s student from 2010 to 2014. Blanco was state president in 2014-2015 and is now a senior account specialist for Chelan Fresh.

“Mr. Cool made a huge impact on my life. He is the reason why I am in the ag field today,” Blanco said. “He is the reason why I can give a speech in front of people without shutting down. He has impacted my life in more ways than one and I will forever be grateful for all of his help and for passing his knowledge on to me.”

Cool went out of his way to show students that they have a place in the world, regardless of the career path they choose, Blanco said.

“Mr. Cool is a great human being, and when kids take his classes we can all be assured that he will treat them like his own and give them the tools they need to succeed in whatever they want to do,” he said.

Value of hard work

The other two FFA members who became state presidents were Cool’s own children: Son Tucker in 2009-2010 and daughter Sammi Jo in 2011-2012.

“My dad has devoted his entire life to FFA, his students and agriculture education,” said Tucker Cool, now a rancher and auctioneer with his family outside Davenport, Wash. “(FFA) fostered a lot of connections that I still have today.”

Now married and a mom, Sammi Jo (Cool) Sims is following in her father’s footsteps as an FFA adviser. She is in her sixth year at Ellensburg High School.

She said her father embodies the importance of hard work. He’s also empowered her “to thrive in chaos,” which she says comes with the job.

“He just has the biggest heart,” she said. “He has always, always, always 110% been about the kids, and that’s why he has changed so many lives and impacted so many students.”

Sims was inspired by the way her father’s former students would approach him and share how his teaching impacted their lives.

“Now that I’m an ag teacher, I can only hope that my students come back and tell me those same things,” she said.

Cool never pushed his children to join FFA. It had to be their decision, he said.

“To have them do so well in something I’m so passionate about is pretty special,” Cool said. “The fact they both got elected state president is just gravy.”

Tucker and Sammi Jo

exceeded their father’s expectations by the time they finished high school, he said, and have gone on to be “very successful adults.”

He attributes that to their

experiences in FFA competitions and leadership development events.

If students take FFA seriously, Cool said, they will hone their skills and become

even more employable.

“I hear that from my kids when they go to job fairs, that because of what they did in FFA, they can talk to anybody,” Cool said.

Matthew Weaver/Capital Press Rod Cool watches as his students

cream they made in his food science class. The students compared

cream made by Cool with ice cream they made.

15 HELP WANTED

HIGH-END TECHNICIAN/FABRICATOR

MISCELLANEOUS

FRIDAY-WEDNESDAY JAN. 6-11

American Farm Bureau Convention: Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico. This is your opportunity to help set the agenda for the leading voice of agriculture in Washington, D.C., and more. Participate in educational workshops to advance your leadership skills, expand your business acumen, and gain deep insight into the trends and realities impacting food production. Witness cutting edge innovation in agriculture, hear from powerful speakers, and explore the trade show to build a stronger network, shop featured products, and idea-share with other state and county Farm Bureaus. Website: https://annualconvention.fb.org/

WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY JAN. 18-20

2023 Northwest Ag Show: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. 2 p.m. Friday. Oregon State Fair & Exposition Center, 2330 17th St. NE, Salem, Ore. The annual Northwest Ag Show is back and better than ever. On Jan. 18, 19 and 20, you can come for all the agriculture education, products and services one could need. More than 100 exhibitors. Earn OSHA safety credits free of charge. This year’s keynote speaker is Derrick Josi, who has a huge following among farmers and ranchers and on social media with his TDF Honest Farming. Website: https://northwestagshow.com/

EVENING PHONES

Devin Thompson: (208) 791-7584

Dan Borders: (208) 791-7583 www.bluemountainag.com

Idaho’s wolf managers eye effectiveness of new tactics

By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press

Idaho’s wildlife managers are gauging the effectiveness of the state’s new tactics governing the harvest of wolves to reduce the depredation of livestock and help elk populations rebound.

The state Department of Fish and Game encourages wolf trapping and hunting where livestock depredation is chronic and elk populations are below management objectives.

Department director Ed Schriever told the Fish and Game Commission Nov. 15 that while the overall wolf harvest last year was similar to year-earlier levels, it was up by about 48% in high-conflict areas.

But because the situation on the ground will remain dynamic, it remains to be seen whether “moving” harvest to priority areas will result in fewer losses of elk and livestock over time, he said.

Idaho wildlife managers have moved wolf hunting and trapping to areas where depredation of livestock and ungulates is the biggest problem.

Cattle supplies to get even tighter

By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press

The number of cattle in large U.S. feedlots was down 2% year over year on Nov. 1.

The decline comes after a slight decrease on Oct. 1 and what seemed like an endless march of cattle to feedyards due to the inhospitality of the lingering drought.

The number of cattle placed in feedlots in October was down 6% year over year, signaling tighter feeder cattle supplies and a smaller number of fed cattle ahead.

Marketings of fed cattle out of feedlots were only up 0.6% year over year in October, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Derrell Peel, extension livestock marketing specialist, has been telling people since spring the cattle inventory in feedlots should be coming down anytime, but the drought kept sending more cattle to feedlots, he said.

Feedlot numbers should have peaked a year or a year and a half ago, but the 12 month rolling average didn’t peak until September, he said.

“You can extend it somewhat, but it’ll catch up sooner or later,” he said.

And it’s starting to kick in, he said.

“This is really just the beginning of what we’re going to see as an industry at what’s coming at us — it’s pretty signifi cant,” he said.

Capital Press File

The number of cattle in feedlot declined 2% year over year on Nov. 1.

‘THIS IS REALLY JUST THE BEGINNING OF WHAT WE’RE GOING TO SEE AS AN INDUSTRY AT WHAT’S COMING AT US — IT’S PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.’

Derrell Peel, extension livestock marketing specialist

Cattle

Continued from Page B6

Lower feedlot numbers aren’t really a big surprise and a 2% decrease isn’t significant, but it’s confirmation of what the industry has been expecting and the trend that’s in place, he said.

“We just don’t have as many cattle,” he said.

There’s no chance the 12-month average of cattle in feedlots, which peaked in September, is going to go back up at this point. The number of heifers in feedlots has to come down at some point, but they haven’t yet. But feedlot numbers are going to be lower than year-ago levels for the foreseeable future, he said.

Cattle prices have been trending higher, and they’re going to continue trending higher in 2023. The level of liquidation is much like it was in 2014, he said.

Cattle prices have been running pretty close to double digits higher year over

Cattle on feed, placements, marketing and other disappearances

(Feedlots with 1,000 head capacity or more)

Item 2021 2022 Percent change

On feed Nov. 1 11,948 11,706 -2.0

Placed on feed during Oct. 2,246 2,180 -6.1

Fed cattle marketed during Oct. 1,791 1,802 0.6

Other disappearance* during Oct. 57 54 -5.3 *other disappearances include death loss, movement from feedlots to pasture, and shipments to other feedlots for further feeding.

year in 2022, depending on the sector. They’ll probably be up another 6% to 7% next year, he said.

“At some point in time, prices are going to spike dramatically higher like 2014-2015,” he said.

The drought is still going, but eventually producers will start holding back heifers and cows to rebuild, and cattle numbers for slaughter will continue getting tighter, he said.

“At some point, we’re going to save every heifer out there as replacement heifers … and stop culling

cows,” he said.

That could happen in 2023, but it probably won’t happen until 2024, he said.

“If next spring looks at least average, we’re going to start rebuilding the herd,” he said.

That would pull feedlot and beef production down more severely, he said.

Feedlot production, cattle slaughter and beef production are all going to decline in 2023. How much they decline depends on when drought conditions improve and the industry starts rebuilding, he said.

Human-caused wolf mortality was 483 for 2021-22, up from 477 the previous year, according to a management report presented to the commission.

That includes hunting, trapping, USDA Wildlife Services kills related to livestock depredation, and minimal contributors such as illegal harvest and road kills.

This year would have shown a noticeable decrease in livestock depredations except for the loss of 143 sheep in a wolf-caused pileup in a steep gully east of Boise last May, department spokesman Roger Phillips said.

The state’s wolf population has stayed steady in each of the past four years.

Estimates are based on photos and analysis. That effort during its second year, 2020, involved 566 cameras that captured 7 million images.

The department says the average wolf population is 1,200 to 1,250. It peaks at around 1,600 in spring after pups are born and hits a seasonal low of about 900 in late winter, Phillips said.

Aug. 1 population estimates were 1,543 in 2021,

1,556 in 2020 and 1,566 in 2019. The final count for 2022 is due in January.

Control actions, natural and incidental mortality, and fall and winter hunting and trapping seasons are among factors that reduce the population from

its peak, Phillips said.

Trapping is allowed yearround on private land in most of the state under a 2021 state law that greatly increased allowed harvest and liberalized methods of take. Control actions are directed by Fish and Game.

Annual harvest by all methods between 2013 and 2020 ranged from 292 to 570 and averaged around 400, Phillips said.

Trapping has been demonstrated to be an effective harvest tool, the report said. Trapping in the 2021 harvest season took 217 wolves out of 863 tags issued, for a 25% success rate.

Hunting took 196 wolves out of 53,618 tags issued, a 0.3% success rate.

Hunters’ lower success rate primarily reflects that they have a tag in case an opportunity arises, but are primarily hunting deer or elk, Phillips said.

The state has fewer trappers than hunters, but “a few trappers can make a fairly significant difference in an area,” he said.

Trappers can be reimbursed for some costs by the nonprofit Foundation for Wildlife Management, whose main goal is to help elk population recovery in areas impacted by wolves.

IDFG

A photo of a wolf taken by a remote Idaho Department of Fish and Game camera.

WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY

JAN. 18-21

American Sheep Industry Annual Convention: Ft. Worth, Texas. The annual meeting bring all sectors of the industry together to set priorities, share information and conduct business. Website: https://www.sheepusa.org

THURSDAY

JAN 19

Field-to-Fork Festival: Jack’s Urban Meeting Place, 1000 W. Myrtle St., Boise, Idaho. Interactive trade fair brings together farmers, ranchers and other independent food and beverage industry professionals. Website: https://www. fareidaho.org/field-to-fork

SUNDAY-WEDNESDAY

JAN. 22-25

Dairy Forum 2023: J.W. Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes, Orlando, Fla. The forum focuses on meeting the challenges of tomorrow and positioning the dairy industry for continued success. Website: https://www.dairyforum.com

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY

JAN. 24-25

Stop the spread — Effective options for managing leafroll: Tuesday in Walla Walla, Wash., area; Wednesday in Prosser/ Benton City, Wash. area. Learn more about managing grapevine leafroll disease. Pre-registration is free and required. Co-presented by WSU Viticulture Extension and the Washington Wine Industry Foundation. More details to come in December. Website: https://bit.ly/3ETrx0J

WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY FEB. 1-3

2023 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show: New Orleans, La. All facets of the cattle industry will get together. Website: https://www.ncba.org

MONDAY-THURSDAY FEB. 6-9

Washington WineVit: Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick, Wash. Organized by the Washington Winegrowers Association, this annual event explores current topics and future considerations for the state’s wine industry. Presenters will discuss strategies, trends, and solutions in sessions covering key industry topics. Website: https://www.winevit.org/

See Events, Page B14

Potato shipments mixed amid holiday boost in demand

By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press

Potato shipments were mixed as holiday season buying boosted demand for a crop that was smaller in some growing areas due to prolonged high heat. Prices were up.

Shipments of potatoes from Idaho, the country’s

leading producer, were down by 9.7% year-todate to nearly 6.74 million hundredweight, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service said in its Nov. 10 Potato and Onion Market Report.

Shipments from the Columbia River Basin in Washington were down just shy of 1% to

more than 2.2 million hundredweight.

U.S. shipments to date totaled nearly 22.72 million hundredweight, up almost 2.1%. Canadian imports were nearly 2.78 million hundredweight, up from almost 1.94 million hundredweight.

By DON JENKINS Capital Press

The Sulphur Institute filed a brief this week in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia opposing the California-led effort to phase out gas- and diesel-powered vehicles.

Sulfur is a fundamental crop nutrient and indispensable to U.S. agriculture, according to the institute.

Regulations that target internal-combustion engines while promoting battery-powered vehicles will paradoxically reduce the supply of sulfur but increase the demand for it, the institute argues.

If there is a sulfur shortage, the U.S. will have to import it, according to the institute. China is the world’s largest sulfur producer, followed by the U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The institute represents 60 companies, including Boise-based J.R. Simplot, that make, transport or use sulfur-related products.

The institute is one of dozens of trade groups, environmental organizations and businesses that have filed amicus briefs in a lawsuit over whether California can ban new gas- and diesel-powered vehicles.

California’s drive toward zero-emission vehicles has prompted several lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency, which must approve California’s laws.

The suits have been merged into one case led by 17 states that oppose California’s mandates and fear they will dictate the auto market for the entire country.

California will ban new gas- and diesel-powered cars, pickups and SUVs in 2035 and is considering applying the ban to all new trucks in 2040.

Washington automatically follows California and is one of 20 states that have intervened to support the EPA.

The Sulphur Institute, which uses an alternative spelling of sulfur, highlighted an issue that it asserts the EPA has paid too little attention.

Sulfur occurs naturally and goes into making many products, such as chemicals, paints and “most importantly, fertilizers,” according to the institute’s amicus brief.

Almost two-thirds of the global supply went to make fertilizer in 2019, according to the institute. Sulfur can be mined, but 80% of world production comes from refining fossil fuels.

In August, United Kingdom researchers at University College London warned of a “potential sulfuric acid crisis” as the unintended consequence of ridding the economy of fossil fuels.

In a paper published in the journal of the Royal Geographic Society, the researchers agreed the world needs to eliminate fossil fuels to restrict climate change. “Yet a problem looms, which is largely

unnoticed,” they wrote.

Sulfur seems plentiful and cheap because it’s extracted by refineries. But, they wrote, “as the world decarbonizes over the next three decades, the supplies of sulfur will drop, just when the material is needed most.”

Intensive agriculture, electric motors and lithium batteries will increase the demand for sulfur, according to researchers. Food costs could rise, especially if “green tech” outbids fertilizer makers, they said.

The world theoretically has an almost limitless supply of sulfur in geological deposits. But old techniques to melt and bring to the surface sulfur produced a large amount of contaminated wastewater and “should be unacceptable now,” researchers said.

Sulfur mining, primarily in Texas and Louisiana, ended in the U.S. two decades ago. Nevertheless, sulfuric acid is the most-produced chemical in the U.S., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Sulfuric acid consumption is one of the best indicators of a nation’s development, the USGS stated.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY

FEB. 16-17

Truffle Farming A-Z : Oregon State University LaSells Stewart Center, 875 SW 26th St., Corvallis. This popular workshop is developed by Dr. Charles Lefevre, co-founder and president of the Oregon Truffle Festival and co-taught with Dr. Shannon Berch, professor of soil biology and Canada’s truffle cultivation expert. The two-day immersion will cover all aspects of truffle farming, from evaluation of soils and climates, orchard planning and management, to harvest, grading and shipping. Guest lecturers include orchard case studies from established growers, a truffle film in the evening (with truffle popcorn, of course), a tour of two truffle orchards and a demonstration of working truffle dogs. Website: https://bit. ly/3i6VOjU

THURSDAY-SATURDAY

MARCH 9-11

2023 Commodity Classic: Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla. The event features the latest farming technology, producer education and industry updates. Website: https://www.commodityclassic.com

FRIDAY-SATURDAY

MARCH 24-25

Central Oregon Ag Show : 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and 9a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center, 3800 SW Airport Way, Redmond, Ore. Join us for the second annual edition of the Central Oregon Ag Show. Exhibitors and classes will be offered on every ag service and product — plus there will be working dog demonstrations, a fund-raising breakfast Saturday and lots of fun activities for the kids. This year’s featured keynote speaker is Derrick Josi, who has a huge following among farmers and ranchers and on social media with his TDF Honest Farming. He’s everyone’s favorite dairy farmer.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

MARCH 24-26

Northwest Horse Fair & Expo 2023 : 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Linn County Fair & Expo Center 3700 Knox Butte Rd E, Albany, Ore. A huge horse expo packed with family friendly fun, exciting equine entertainment and education. Daily clinics with top notched trainers and riders, teens and Oregon Mustangs Adoption Showdown, stunning stallions and beautiful breeds performing daily. Large Trade show and so much more. Website: http://equinepromotions.net/ northwest-horse-fair/

WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY

MARCH 29-31

NoCo Hemp Expo : The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo. The event will highlight innovations in hemp and feature a comprehensive education program on all aspects of the industry. Website: https:// www.nocohempexpo.com

THURSDAY-FRIDAY

MAY 4-5

Animal Agriculture Alliance 2023 Stakeholder Summit : Renaissance Arlington Capitol View Hotel, Arlington, Va. The Summit focuses on insights and advocacy. Website: https://www.animalagricultureal-

Potato production is expected to be down 9% from last year in Idaho, up 3% in Washington and down 4% in Oregon, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service said. Expected U.S. production is 396.89 million hundredweight, down 3.16%.

A weighted average price for common packs of Idaho Russet Burbanks was $36.84 per hundredweight, up $1.67 or 4.5% from the previous week, North American Potato Market News reported Nov. 10.

Columbia Basin packs averaged $34.95, up $2.45 or 7%. A year earlier, Idaho and Columbia Basin prices were $14.14 and $12.23, respectively.

Idaho’s reduction in shipments reflects a smaller crop and efforts by growers and shippers to manage it, said Ross Johnson, vice president of retail and international marketing for the Idaho Potato Commission.

Last year’s supply was expected to be sufficient, but demand surged well above expectations, he said. Contributors to that demand included COVID-19 restrictions easing.

Maine potatoes last spring were shipped to the Northwest to meet continued high demand as packers used up or ran low on local supply.

This year, potato commissions, growers and packer-shippers are working together to make sure the supply lasts, Johnson said.

“That is what is contributing to elevated pricing right now,” he said, “which should reduce retail promotions.”

The Idaho commission will continue to run retail promotions, encouraging retailers to move potatoes to stores’ high-visibility areas near the front, Johnson said.

“We want to keep potatoes top-of-mind for consumers, and keep demand elevated as much as possible,” he said.

The last two crops had lower yields, and COVID19 concerns reduced contracted acres in 2020 — all contributors to tight supply, said Dale Lathim, Potato Growers of Washington executive director. Producers in the state planted more acres this year to meet some additional processing capacity.

“There appears to be very strong demand for potatoes in all forms,” he said. “We just wish we had a few more potatoes to meet that demand. As a result, the price has been going up.”

'15 PETE 579, MX13 motor @455-hp, 13-spd, 4-bag air ride, 3:42 rear ratio, sliding 5th wheel, all aluminum wheels with 295/75R-22.5 NEW capped rubber with 70% steers, 60% brakes on drives, front disc brakes, 391,977 original miles, tilt wheel, controls in steering wheel, chrome bumper, SS visor, nice clean 5th

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

U.S. potato supplies are tight as demand remains strong.

County Farm Bureau leader seeks to bridge urban-farm divide

By DON JENKINS Capital Press

CHEHALIS, Wash. — Maureen Harkcom tells a story, perhaps not with relish, that as a teen-ager she reached into a cow and removed a stillborn calf.

Her father was a veterinarian and dairyman, so it was natural for her to have that experience, though it’s one not shared by a large percentage of the population.

Few people have been that elbow-deep into farming. Few people have even experienced more pastoral farm tasks, like milking cows.

To Harkcom, this is a problem.

Too many people who have no hands-on experience with farming have a hand in regulating agriculture, she said. The hand is heavy and lays on more stress to an already stressful occupation.

Rather than ill will, Harkcom blames backgrounds. “It’s a lack of knowledge,”

she said. “It’s a lack of having those experiences.”

The absence of experiences leads to misperceptions. “We’re not torturing cows when we put ear tags on them,” Harkcom said.

It also leaves the public unaware of how farmers protect the environment. “If we destroy our ground, our streams, our animals, we’re out of business,” she said.

Harkcom, 72, grew up in Lewis County in southwest Washington on the family’s 500-milking cow dairy. After college, she taught school, had four sons and ranched in the county.

In October, Harkcom took over as president of the Lewis County Farm Bureau. It will be her second go-around, interrupted by a stint on the USDA Farm Service Agency’s state committee during the Trump administration. “I believe in Farm Bureau. It’s a good organization,” she said.

Lewis County, according to the 2017 Census of Agri-

culture, has 1,723 farms and ranks fourth among Washington’s 39 counties. The median-size farm is 28 acres.

The county produced farm goods worth $136.3 million in 2017, the 14th highest in the state and fifth highest in Western Washington. It ranks No. 1 in Christmas tree farms.

“Fir trees grow great in Lewis County,” Harkcom said. Fertile and flat ground, however, are not expansive, she said. “Lewis County agriculture is limited by our soil and our topography.”

To expose policymakers to agriculture, Harkcom organized farm tours for lawmakers, including some from urban Puget Sound districts.

The tours showcased the county’s agricultural diversity. One tour stopped at a dairy, apiary, Christmas tree farm and lavender field.

The pandemic, however, suspended events that involved confining people in a bus.

Harkcom said she hopes to restart the tours next year. Local legislators are on board with agriculture, but too many from areas outside rural districts are not, she said.

“To me, personally, agriculture is not supported by our currently elected officials, so that’s why I started

our tour of ag,” she said. “Agriculture is not valued. So many people are so removed. There’s a rift.

“All we can try to do is educate and open their eyes,” Harkcom said. “Americans have been very fortunate to have cheap and ample food and take it for granted.”

Along with the lack of support, uncertainty causes stress for farmers, she said.

“So much is out of your control, you have to deal with it,” Harkcom said. “You’ve got the weather to fight — too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet, too early, too late — whatever it is.”

None of Harkcom’s four sons went into agriculture. It’s hard to embrace the risks, she said.

It’s also hard to convey the risks.

“We have to get people to understand the importance of farming and what we do,” she said. “It’s an uphill battle because we’re not good at getting people emotionally charged up.”

USDA to survey farmers and ranchers for 2022 Census of Ag

By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press

The 2022 Census of Agriculture is underway.

“This is your opportunity to share your voice, uplift the value and showcase the uniqueness of American

agriculture,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement to farmers.

On Nov. 22, USDA began mailing survey codes to all known agricultural producers across the U.S., inviting them to respond to the census online at

agcounts.usda.gov.

The agency will also send out paper questionnaires in December so farmers who prefer to fill out a paper form rather than an online one can do so. The online form, however, offers “timesaving features for busy produc-

ers,” according to USDA.

“We recognize how valuable (farmers’ and ranchers’) time is, so we have made responding more convenient and modern than ever before,” said Hubert Hamer, administrator of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, or NASS.

From U.S. Grains Council

ered through the ag census influences policy decisions that will have a tremendous impact on ag producers and their communities for years to come,” said Vilsack. “I strongly encourage all farmers, no matter how large or small their operation, to promptly complete and return their ag census.”

Connecting Mexican Brewers With Farmers, Maltsters

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) recently connected company representatives from the three largest Mexican breweries with the three largest U.S. barley-producing states—North Dakota, Montana and Idaho—to receive a crop report directly from U.S. farmers and updates on the latest in research and development for barley and malt.

All farm operations that produced or sold $1,000 or more of agricultural products this year are required to participate in the census or face a fine under Title 7 USC 2204(g) Public Law 105-113. Responses are due by Feb. 6, 2023.

“Just as we have been doing with feed producers, we are taking our buyers to hear directly from U.S. farmers and suppliers about the current year’s crop, quality and other information,” said Javier Chavez, USGC marketing specialist for Mexico. “In turn, customers can ask questions about market factors, supply and demand issues related to COVID-19 while providing their own outlook on Mexican beer production.

The Census of Agriculture has been collected since 1840. NASS now collects data for a new census every five years.

Between ag census years, NASS considers revisions to its standard questionnaire to document changes and emerging trends in the industry. The 2022 questionnaire includes some changes and new questions, including about the use of precision agriculture, hemp production, hair sheep and updates to internet access questions.

“By providing market information and education, we are able to better reach out to our end-users. We now have brewers asking for updated information on U.S. barley varieties and U.S. malt suppliers, as well as for help on specific trade projects.”

The ag census aims to paint an accurate picture of American agriculture by pulling together data on farming and ranching in every state and territory into a comprehensive national database. It highlights a variety of data points, including land use and ownership, producer characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures.

By law, NASS is required to keep all information collected through the census survey confidential. The agency is only allowed to use the data for statistical purposes and must publish it in aggregate form to prevent disclosing the identity of any individual producer or farm operation.

Mexico is the world’s largest beer exporter in terms of both value and volume—good news for U.S. barley farmers and malt producers who supply the main ingredient. Mexico dominates imports of U.S. barley and barley products, purchasing 350,000 metric tons (12.9 million bushels) in 2019/2020.

The outbreak of COVID-19 essentially shut down the brewing industry in Mexico in spring 2020 as beer production was deemed a non-essential industry. Some brewers near the border and in rural areas could operate, but malt imports quickly dropped to a third of normal demand.

USDA officials say the agricultural census helps influence policy and tell farmers’ stories.

NASS will release the results of the ag census in spring or summer 2024.

“The information gath-

To learn more about the Census of Agriculture, producers can visit nass.usda. gov/AgCensus.

As these large companies have resumed production, the Council has stayed in close contact with key customers to stay tuned-in to their concerns. The shift to a virtual setting for this program meant the Council could not only answer questions, but also expand participation to include more staff from each of the companies as well as more presence from members of the U.S. barley and malt supply chain.

“This business-to-business approach takes advantage of the virtual nature of meetings to make it easy to include more participants from both sides of the border,” Chavez said. “We can go beyond procurement staff to include other individuals from these Mexican companies working in research and development, quality control and management. At the same time, we can include a larger number of U.S. farmers, maltsters, researchers and suppliers.”

The Council has follow-up programs scheduled with each individual brewing company to address specific needs identified through this virtual meeting.

“Through these programs, we reaffirm the Council as a source of education, market information and an active partner in enabling trade,” Chavez said. “As a result, we have more inquiries than ever from brewers, feed producers

grain importers.”

USDA/Sierra Dawn McClain

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks about the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

CASE

DRILLS

hitch............................ $10,800

booms. Nice! REDUCED! $25,000

PULL SPRAYER FRAME FOR SMALL ACREAGE, 100 gal. poly tank, booms 40 ft., some valves. Very Nice Unit, Great Paint Job! $2,900

ANHYDROUS TENDER NH3 NURSE TANK, 14,000 gal., farmer used $35,000 FERTILIZER SPRING COIL SHANKS, approx. (48) count, 3/4 in., 21 in. clearance, dual tubes $15 EACH ANHYDROUS TENDER APPLICATOR CART, 1,000 gal. NH3 Tank and running gear $2,500

POLY ELLIPTICAL LEG TANK, 1,000 gal, with steel hoops $1,500 POLY TANK,500-gallon tank. (Only one tank available.) $200

JOHN DEERE-HZ GRAIN DRILLS, 32’, 4-unit set, 14” spacing, with hitch and ransports $3,200

JOHN DEERE 8200 GRAIN DRILLS, 30’, 3-unit set, 7.5” spacing - DD openers $3,000

(2) BRILLION-P8 CULTIPACKERS, 4” axle. Hard to find! $800 EACH

3-IH 150's, 42' grain drills, 12" spacing, steel hoe openers, hyd depth control, rubber packers, fert maniflod, with hitch $4,500

JD HZ, 40’ grain drills, 5-unit set, 16” spacing, packers notched & capped, hyd. depth control, newer cylinders, good points, early Stoess hitch $9,000

IH 150, grain drills, 36’, 3-unit set, 10” spacing, hoe openers, cast boots, hyd. depth control $2,900

BARBER GRAIN DRILL FILL, 8 in., inside box style, downspout $550

11R24.5newer front Toyo tires $5,000

‘69 IH 1600, boom truck, 392-engine, newer winch included REDUCED! $950

GRAIN MASTER MFG, 18’ grain racks, metal, side ladder, 54” sides, 8.5’ width $2,500

MISCELLANEOUS

IH 7100, grain drills, 5-unit set, 60’, 20” spacing, hoe openers, 5” wide packers , with 500 gal. poly tank, fertilizer manifolds and Stoess

MCGREGOR NO TILL GRAIN DRILL, 24 ft., 1 1/8 in. Fertilizer Shanks, Disk Opener - 12 in. spacing with rubber packers, 500-gallon anhydrous tank and 350-gallon solution poly tank, folds to 12 ft. width......... $12,000

Cosmic Crisp apple expands into new markets; growers continues to face challenges

By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press

This year’s crop of Cosmic Crisp apples — the largest yet — rolled into stores Dec. 1.

Growers continue to face challenges, including lessthan-ideal prices, but their hopes for the Cosmic Crisp are buoyed by new marketing opportunities and growing demand.

“I think this year for Cosmic Crisp could be fantastic,” said Todd Fryhover, president of Washington Apple Commission.

Although the total 2022 apple crop is smaller than average due to storms, the Cosmic Crisp performed well through cold weather.

“It was one of the few varieties that set quite nicely and picked out at or above growers’ estimates,” said Kathryn Grandy, chief marketing officer for Proprietary Variety Management, a Yakima company contracted to commercialize WA 38, Washington State University’s cultivar trademarked as Cosmic Crisp.

PVM estimates 5% to 7% of Cosmics were un-harvestable due to frost damage.

“Our crop set was actually decent. It was better than I thought it would be,” said Andy Handley, who grows Cosmic Crisps in Quincy, Wash.

Volumes are rapidly increasing.

Courtesy of Andy Handley

Cosmic Crisp apples in an orchard.

Derek

Casey Jones

Eric Jones

Apples

Continued from Page C4

“We’re ramping up on production,” said Jon DeVaney, president of Washington State Tree Fruit Association, or WSTFA.

In 2019 — the variety’s inaugural year on the market — the crop filled 360,000 standard 40-pound boxes. That rose to 1.6 million boxes in 2020 and about 3.8 million boxes in 2021. WSTFA estimates this year’s crop will reach 5.5 million boxes.

Last November, 17 million Cosmic Crisp trees had been planted across Washington; this November, nurseries have sold 19.6 million trees, representing about $750 million of investment.

Some growers are concerned the variety “may be overplanted,” which could lead to oversupply.

Fryhover, of the commission, conceded that this could happen as it has with other varieties — “volume goes up, prices go down” — but he said he isn’t worried about a flooded market in the next 3 to 4 years. The industry continues to fall short of production estimates, he said, and has room for more volume.

Grandy, of PVM, is optimistic about demand. The variety, she said, has achieved 27% national brand awareness.

Domestically, Cosmic Crisps are selling best on the West Coast. Other top marketplaces include Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Texas. The next push will be into Midwest and Southeast markets.

Fryhover estimated 20% of the crop will be exported this season. The top export market is Canada, followed by Taiwan, Mexico and Vietnam. Grandy said the brand is also planning a “robust launch” across Europe in 2023.

Prices the past few years have zigzagged.

During the apple’s 2019-2020 rookie season, freight-onboard, or FOB, prices started at $63.92 per box. Cosmic Crisp’s 2020-2021 sophomore year, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, was bumpy: FOB prices plunged from a high of $71.86 per box to $43.83, a 38% drop.

Dan Wheat/Capital Press

Washington’s Cosmic Crisp apple. Growers continue to face challenges, including less-than-ideal prices, but their hopes for the Cosmic Crisp are buoyed by new marketing opportunities and growing demand.

Prices improved somewhat last marketing season.According to PVM, the industry finished the 2021-2022 crop year with average FOB prices of $48.57.

Prices for the 2022-2023 season are not yet known, as the crop’s release date is Dec. 1.

The Cosmic Crisp, the result of 22 years of breeding and development by WSU, has long storage and late ripening behavior. It must be kept in cold storage for weeks after harvest so the fruit can develop optimum levels of sugars and starches before release.

Different packer-shippers take different marketing approaches. Some are opportunistic, looking for the best deals. Others aim for continuity and permanent shelf space. Stemilt Growers, a major producer, recently announced it will provide Cosmic Crisp apples year-round.

Grandy, of PVM, said quality is “fantastic” on Cosmics that have been in storage for 13 months.

Industry data show smaller apples, sizes 80-100, command the highest prices.

CosmicContinued from Page C5

Courtesy of Andy Handley

The Cosmic Crisp, the result of 22 years of breeding and development by WSU, has long storage and late ripening behavior.

Challenges

Continued from Page C6

In the apple industry, the larger the number, the smaller the fruit size. For example, a size 100 apple is smaller than a size 64.

The challenge is that the variety tends to skew large, considering one of its parents is the Honeycrisp. Last year, about 65% of apples produced were larger, in the 48-72 range.

Industry experts say sizing moderates as trees mature. Growers can also take action to aim for smaller-sized fruits, such as doing less thinning.

However, orchardists say controlling fruit size is challenging because the trees tend to naturally thin themselves.

The benefit of a self-thinning variety is that it means less work for laborers.

Yet while the variety is low-maintenance in some ways, it demands high labor inputs in others. For example, Cosmic Crisps have stiff stems that pickers must clip so they won’t punch holes in other apples. Clipping slows down harvest, doubling the time it takes to fill a bin.

Although growers still have a lot to learn about the new variety, Fryhover of the commission said he thinks this year presents “a tremendous opportunity” for producers to expand their markets.

By DON JENKINS Capital Press

Washington will need to lethally remove seals and sea lions and watch what happens to learn how much the pinnipeds are harming salmon, according to a report prepared for legislators.

The Washington State Academy of Sciences reports that Steller sea lions, California sea lions and harbor seals are likely impeding salmon recovery.

Pinpointing the impact will take more research, according to the academy. “Strategic lethal removal of pinnipeds is an approach that may be required,” the report states.

Sea lions and seals are abundant, but salmon are not, so the risk of doing nothing is greater than the risk of removing pinnipeds, according to the report.

“The major risks of lethal removals appear largely social and polit-

ical rather than risks to pinniped populations as a whole,” the report states.

The Legislature asked scientists to study the connection between a growing population of federally protected marine mammals and declining salmon runs.

Save Family Farming, an advocacy group, has drawn attention to the issue, arguing that farmers are under increasing pressure to give up land for salmon recovery, while the role of preda- tory mammals has gone unaddressed.

The federal Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 has been “spectacularly successful,” according to the academy of sciences, a nonprofit group that advises the state.

Pinniped numbers have grown off the coast and in inland waters, such as Puget Sound, Hood Canal, and Straight of Juan de Fuca.

Meanwhile, salmon runs have declined, but it’s unclear whether the sea lions and seals are the main hurdle to salmon recovery, according to the report.

Pinnipeds eat a lot of salmon, but they also eat fish that prey on salmon. It’s impossible to confidently predict how reducing the pinniped population would impact salmon, scientists said.

Answering the question will require “carefully constructed lethal removals” and monitoring, preferably over several years,

according to the report. “Other approaches are unlikely to lead to fundamentally new insights.”

The federal act limits lethal removal of marine mammals. States can seek permission to kill individual marine mammals caught eating federally protected fish. Identifying and removing the offending individual is challenging, according to the report.

Meaningful state management is unlikely without changes to the act, scientists said.

The status quo, however, could further depress salmon populations, they said.

Scientists from the University of Washington, Western Washington, University of British Columbia, Makah Tribe, Puget Sound Institute, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration participated in the study.

Ralph Lear/123rf

A harbor seal with a sh.

By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press

The Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board at its Nov. 22 meeting voted to pay USDA Wildlife Services to conduct collaring operations this winter.

Directors of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the state Department of Agriculture co-chair the board. It is funded by the Legislature, Fish and Game and the livestock industry.

Collaring aims to optimize wolf control and in turn reduce livestock depredation.

Twelve wolves were collared during last year’s pilot program. Six remain active.

The board last year contracted with Leading Edge Aviation LLC for helicopter capture services. The six-day project cost $148,635.

This winter’s collaring work, expected to start around Jan. 1, aims to collar 20 wolves in areas of chronic livestock depredation. Work is anticipated in portions of nine counties: Adams, Blaine, Boise, Butte, Custer, Gem, Lemhi, Washington and Valley.

The board also considered private contracting, which Fish and Game and other meeting participants said often comes with higher helicopter, veterinary and insurance costs. Contracting also likely requires consultation with the state Division of Purchasing.

The board voted to pay USDA Wildlife Services up to $85,000.

Approving a higher amount could have allowed for more wolf-collaring work or additional money if needed without having to go back to the board, Phil Davis, a Cas-

cade rancher who has lost cattle to wolves, said in an interview.

The dollar amount the board approved reflects Wildlife Services’ lower costs while providing more overall flexibility, said Ed Schriever, Fish and Game director.

Wolf capture and collaring operations involve helicopters and airplanes, personnel, veterinary services and immobilization drugs as well as radio collars and data. Fish and Game provides collars, logistics services and data management.

Wildlife Services already does collaring in Montana and has personnel and equipment available for deployment in Idaho.

Wildlife Services has worked with the Idaho board since the board’s 2014 inception, conducting livestock depredation investigations and wolf control actions. Fish and Game must authorize lethal control actions.

Fewer depredations occurred in the most recent reporting period, July through September, Wildlife Services State Director Jared Hedelius said. The agency conducted 77 investigations, 27 of which it confirmed as wolf-caused. In the year-earlier period, it conducted 104 investigations and confirmed 69 as wolf-caused.

Wolf harvest by trapping and hunting increased last year where wolf-livestock conflicts are chronic or where elk populations remain below Fish and Game objectives, though total harvest did not change much, Schriever said.

A gray wolf with a collar.

oppose lesser prairie-chicken listing

By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press

The agency is listing two “distinct population segments” (DPS), with the Southern DPS listed as endangered and the Northern DPS listed as threatened.

It is also finalizing a section 4(d) rule designed to conserve the Northern DPS of lesser prairie-chicken while allowing greater flexibility for landowners and land managers, the agency said in a press release.

The livestock groups, however, contend cattle grazing provides immense benefit by conserving the very habitat the species needs to thrive — diverse rangeland with a variety of plant species.

“Over and over the science has proven that healthy, diverse rangelands — the exact kind of landscape maintained by livestock grazing — are where the lesser prairie chicken thrives. Cattle ranchers’ efforts to conserve these acres are absolutely critical to the survival of the species,” said Kaitlynn Glover, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association executive director of natural resources and Public Lands Council executive director.

“We are deeply disappointed by the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to impose redundant bureaucracy and punitive restric-

tions on the very same people that we have to thank for the lesser prairie chicken’s continued existence on the range,” she said.

The Fish and Wildlife Service stated in its announcement it understands the vital role that managed grazing plays in maintaining grasslands but challenges remain.

“Voluntary conservation efforts have helped conserve key habitat for the lesser prairie-chicken but have not demonstrated an ability to offset the threats and reverse the trends of habitat loss and fragmentation facing the lesser prairie-chicken,” the agency said.

As part of its 4(d) rule for the Northern DPS, the agency provides an exception for producers who are following a prescribed grazing plan developed by an approved third party.

NCBA and PLC object to that stipulation.

“Designing a thirdparty verification system to empower distant bureaucrats over land managers and ranchers with decades of experience, with parameters that blatantly prioritize political objectives over sound science, effectively ensures that the only use of the 4(d) rule will be to obstruct grazing activities,” the groups said in a statement.

“To truly support lesser prairie chicken habitat, the Fish and Wildlife Service should make it easier for ranchers to graze, not harder,” Glover said.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the

Public Lands Council are voicing opposition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s final rule to list the

lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act. The agency on Nov. 17

said the decision to list the species — which occupies a five-state range that includes portions of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas — came after rigorous review.

By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press

A colder and snowier winter would ease the possibility of some disease pressures, but increase the risk for others, Washington State University experts say.

“We’re all waiting and watching,” said Tim Murray, wheat and small grains extension plant pathologist for the university on the Pullman, Wash., campus. “At this time of the year, it’s hard to say what’s going to happen.”

A relatively dry September, normal to slightly later seeding and emergence of winter wheat, and early cold weather make for an “at or below-average” risk potential for stripe rust, Murray said.

Fall conditions can largely dictate what happens in the following year for such diseases as eyespot and cephalosporium stripe.

Stripe rust, on the other hand, “can increase very quickly” in the spring, Murray said.

“With stripe rust, we still have a long ways to go,” he said. “It’s a survival thing, the rust has to survive the winter.”

Early, prolonged snow cover would delay the onset of stripe rust in the spring. But it increases the risk of snow mold or winterkill.

“Typically, the old adage is, if we have 100 days or more of actual, continuous snow cover, gray, pink and speckled snow mold can become an issue on wheat varieties that are not snow mold-tolerant or resistant,” said Dale Whaley, agronomy extension educator for WSU in Waterville.

Whaley reported a little bit of snow around Waterville.

“Time will tell,” he said.

“There’s never an ideal winter,” Murray said. “It’s a balancing act between the various diseases.”

Farmers’ planting dates have evolved to get maximum yield potential, but minimize the threat of various diseases. It’s the cultural practice that has the greatest effect, Murray said.

“If you seed too early, you increase the risk for some diseases, and if you seed too late, you increase the risk for other diseases,” he said. “There’s kind of that Goldilocks spot in there. And that varies depending on where you’re farming. An ideal seeding date in the Horse Heaven Hills is different from Walla Walla, Ritzville, Pullman and Spokane. And the growers who have been in those areas know this.”

Farmers who have already planted their winter wheat will watch the weather. Farmers who will plant spring crops will also be in “watch and wait” mode, Murray said.

“They’ll have an idea of what things are looking like by the time they make planting decisions,” he said.

Whaley is hopeful farmers receive much-needed moisture.

“I hope we get a wet winter, not just snow cover, but snow cover that has moisture in it,” he said.

Timely rains in April and May are also on his wish list, to avoid “June blues,” where the wheat has a blueish tinge because it’s waterstressed in the fields.

USDA Agricultural Research Service research plant geneticist Xianming Chen will offer his first stripe rust alert in January. Murray offers updates on

social media and WSU’s Small Grains website.

“We’re trying to read the tea leaves, too, and share any insight we might have as the winter progresses,” Murray said. “At this point, that’s all we can do.”

Murray and Whaley recommend farmers plant the most stripe rust-resistant varieties possible.

Tim Murray

By DON JENKINS Capital Press

The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service say they will resume studying the reintroduction of grizzly bears in the North Cascades Range.

The Trump administration

stopped the study two years ago, citing local opposition. The federal agencies stated they were starting “a completely new process.”

“This is a first step toward bringing balance back to the ecosystem and restoring a piece of the Pacific Northwest’s natural and cultural heritage,” North Cascades National Park Superintendent Don Striker said in a statement.

The agencies in 2017 proposed restoring grizzlies to a 9,800-square-mile ecosystem in north-central Washington. The most aggressive reintroduction plan projected a population of 200 bears in 25 years.

Before the plan was final, President Trump’s Interior secretary, David Bernhardt, went to Okanogan County, Wash., and told relieved local officials that he was stopping further study.

Okanogan County Commissioner Andy Hover said he anticipated the Biden administration would resurrect the plan to reintroduce grizzlies.

“It’s not a surprise to me. I was expecting environmental groups to push for that with the change in administrations,” he said.

Environmental groups sued to force the Interior Department to resume planning to reintroduce grizzlies. As recently as last week, Biden administration lawyers defended canceling the project.

Center for Biological Diversity attorney Andrea Zaccardi said the administration gave no hint it would resume the study.

“This was a complete surprise to me, a pleasant surprise,” she said. “I think it’s fair to say the lawsuit kept the issue alive.”

USFWS and the park service started the previous environmental impact study in 2014. Comments received then “will inform” developing alternatives, according to the agencies.

“Hopefully, they can streamline the process,” Zaccardi said. “They’ve done the research.”

No grizzly has been sighted on the U.S. side of the North Cascades since 1996. One grizzly has been seen in the past five years in British Columbia within 20 miles of the border.

U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., said in a statement that his constituents have consistently opposed proposals to reintroduce grizzly bears.

Introducing an apex predator to the area would threaten families, wildlife and livestock, he said.

“It is disappointing that local voices are once again being ignored by federal bureaucrats, even after the last process was discontinued due to overwhelming local opposition,” Newhouse said.

The agencies stated they will consider designating grizzlies in the North Cascades an “experimental population,” potentially relaxing some Endangered Species Act protections.

Solar projects progress over Yakima County’s protest

By DON JENKINS Capital Press

A Washington state panel has fast-tracked the sideby-side High Top and Ostrea solar projects over the objection of Yakima County commissioners.

The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council ruled Nov. 15 that the twin solar projects qualify for a quicker approval process, partly because they are consistent with the county’s land-use laws.

County commissioners in October passed a six-month moratorium on new solar projects to give the county time to write regulations for siting large solar facilities.

Commissioner Amanda McKinney said the county may challenge EFSEC’s decision. “We are actively looking at what legal challenges we might have available to us,” she said.

Efforts to obtain comment from EFSEC were unsuccessful.

Washington’s clean-energy law passed in 2019, setting off a rush to build solar projects near transmission lines in Eastern Washington.

Cypress Creek Renewables, based in California, has applied to EFSEC to build High Top and Ostrea on up to 1,740 acres of rangeland about 28 miles southeast of Yakima.

Both projects would have 80-megawatt capacities. They would connect to Bonneville Power Administration and PacifiCorp transmission lines.

McKinney said she’s not

opposed to solar power, but she is concerned that EFSEC and the Inslee administration will approve individual solar projects without considering the overall impacts.

“The public deserves to know how their landscape is going to change, potentially,” she said. “It doesn’t stop at these two little solar farms.”

EFSEC, mostly made up of administration officials, recommends energy projects to Gov. Jay Inslee. EFSEC’s land-use ruling potentially will save Cypress Creek months, maybe years, in getting a recommendation to the governor.

Counties and EFSEC have been at odds before. Power project developers can bypass counties by applying to EFSEC.

At the United Nations climate summit in Egypt, Inslee said that he will propose expanding EFSEC’s staff to speed up reviews of proposals.

“I can guarantee you, I will not be nominated for a Nobel Prize for doing that, but it is clearly necessary,”

Inslee said.

Counties are in a challenging position to influence EFSEC and Inslee, Washington State Association of Counties policy director Paul Jewell said Tuesday.

“Ultimately, the decision-maker is the governor, and the governor has clearly stated his aspirations to combat climate change,” Jewell said.

“I don’t think there’s a great mystery how these (the High Top and Ostrea) applications will come out,” he said.

The land is zoned for agriculture, but the county’s land-use law allows “power generation facilities” if they

don’t conflict with surrounding land uses.

Power projects, however, are “not generally appropriate throughout the zoning district,” according to a county planner’s letter to Cypress last spring.

In a follow-up letter to EFSEC in early November, county planning official Thomas Carroll said “power generation facilities” was a generic term that could mean any type of energy project.

The county needs time to develop regulations specifically for solar projects and to evaluate how more solar projects would impact the county’s agricultural land base, Carroll wrote.

EFSEC passed a resolu-

tion stating that High Top and Ostrea are consistent with the county’s land-use laws, providing they follow conditions set by EFSEC.

EFSEC will hold an online public hearing at 5 p.m. Nov. 29 to take comments on what conditions should be imposed.

The hearing will be virtual because of concerns about COVID, according to EFSEC.

More information about attending and signing up to speak is available at the agency’s website, efsec. wa.gov.

Cypress Creek was acquired last year by Stockholm-based equity fund EQT Infrastructure.

Sierra

By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press

Two irrigation efficiency projects and an aquifer recharge proposal have won $6.6 million from Oregon water regulators, who also approved additional money

for a previously-approved grant.

However, members of the state’s Water Resources Commission decided against funding an irrigation automation proposal because its social and environmen-

tal benefits didn’t score high enough.

That rejection, as well as the relatively low number of qualified applicants, gave rise to questions about whether Oregon’s water supply grant program was too restrictive

or didn’t have enough decision-making discretion.

“I think we’re handcuffed by the statute and the way it’s set up,” said Joe Moll, commissioner and executive director of the McKenzie River Trust.

With only four applicants competing for millions of available grant dollars, while others opted against pursuing funds due to the eligibility criteria, it may indicate something’s wrong with the system, Moll said.

The state “triple bottom line” approach to evaluating the economic, social and environmental benefits of grant proposals is commendable, he said.

However, it may be appropriate to give some leeway to projects that rank more highly in one measure than the others, Moll said.

April Snell, executive director of the Oregon Water Resources Commission, said she’s long taken “umbrage” with the grant scoring system, which hasn’t been vetted by outside stakeholders.

Snell said she’s particularly dubious about the “negative scale” that allows points to be deducted for certain project features, which isn’t used by similar grant programs.

At least three irrigation districts have been barred from applying for grants because they hadn’t updated water management plans they’d voluntarily developed in earlier years, Snell said.

Critics say such plans are costly and time-consuming to update when revisions aren’t necessary, since irrigation districts aren’t as prone to change as cities.

If irrigation districts never develop such plans in the first place, they aren’t required to be updated. Critics say these grant rules effectively discourage irrigation districts

from undertaking such plans.

Rules for the water supply grant program, which lawmakers created in 2013, may themselves be due for an update, though development of the existing regulations was hard-fought, Snell said.

“Anyone who’s been through that process, I don’t think is eager to go through it again,” Snell said.

Despite these qualms, the commission voted unanimously to approve three water projects for grant funding during its Nov. 17 quarterly meeting:

• The Tumalo Irrigation Districted in Deschutes County was awarded $2 million toward an $8.7 million phase of replacing about 11 miles of open canals with pipes. The project is meant to improve reliable deliveries for farmers while conserving water for federally-protected species.

• The East Fork Irrigation District in Hood River County was awarded $823,000 toward an $1.9 million project that will upgrade pipes and other equipment, eliminating overflows while conserving in-stream flows for threatened fish.

• The City of Stayton was awarded $3.8 million toward an aquifer storage and recovery project that’s expected to cost $5 million. The money will pay for permitting, design and construction of a system that will inject treated water into an underground basalt aquifer, providing a backup drinking water source during low summer flows.

The commission likewise voted unanimously to turn down a fourth eligible application from the Klamath Irrigation District, which had sought $720,000 to automate delivery systems and collect water data as part of a $1.2 million project.

Feb.

Feb.

Feb.

Feb.

Mar.

Mar.

Mar.

Dairy farmers seek FDA approval of feed additives

By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press

National Milk Producers Federation is calling on FDA to modernize its regulations allowing for faster approval of animal feed additives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in cattle.

“Innovative and voluntary solutions are needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including methane. In this context, our organization seeks enacted policy solutions that will help reduce methane emissions resulting from enteric fermentation in dairy cattle,” Jamie Jonker, National Milk’s chief science officer said in submitted comments to FDA.

Enteric emissions directly from cows account for roughly one-third of all GHG emissions from dairy farms and present an important area of opportunity for methane reductions. Feed composition changes can directly or indirectly reduce enteric emissions resulting from livestock, he said.

“Feed additives can significantly improve digestibility and redirect production pathways of enteric methane emissions. Some of these additives are already approved for use in the European Union, Brazil, Australia, Chile and, most recently, Canada,” he said.

Research indicates that feed additives can reduce enteric methane emissions by 30% or more. However, FDA has not approved any feed additives to meet this need.

Current regulatory policy delays market approval and hinders widespread adoption in the U.S., he said.

“This means that feed

additive manufacturers are bypassing the U.S. market approval process in favor of processes in other countries, which have a more streamlined approval process. This approval lag likely is also affecting U.S. research and development investments in this area,” he said.

NMPF supports efforts by FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicines to revisit how it regulates animal foods which act on/in the digestive tract with certain types of claims .

“We believe FDA-CVM has clear authority for an alternate approval process that would still ensure the efficacy and safety of feed additives while avoiding the lengthy and necessary process which animal drugs must follow,” he said.

NMPF urges the agency to prioritize consideration of those additives with climate and digestive efficiency benefits, recognizing those products whose mode of action is solely within the digestive tract of animals, he said.

“Doing so would better align U.S. policy with those of other major developed countries that currently allow for animal feed additives to decrease the environmental footprint of food production,” he said.

Streamlining approvals would also send signals to the private sector making key research and development decisions and support further innovation in this area, he said.

In 2020 the U.S. dairy industry set aggressive new environmental sustainability goals to become carbon neutral or better, optimize water usage and improve

water quality by 2050, he said.

“To reach these 2050 goals, the U.S. dairy indus-

try will need to identify technological and other advancements that can accelerate improvements, enabling nim-

ble adaptation and focusing on technology and practices that can be scaled for maximum impact.

CHROME ALLOY WEAR PARTS

R&H offers an extensive line of Chrome Alloy cultivator points and shovels. Shock absorbing washers are included in every cultivator and shovel order which nearly eliminates breakage. Our points last many times longer than original parts reducing down-time and the overall cost of cultivating.

R&H points are cast of high Chrome Alloy to give extremely long wear without the need to hardface. Our drill points provide a smooth, slick finish, resulting in sharper seed troughs, better germination and yield. R&H drill points maintain shape and depth throughout the life of the part, giving more precise seed placement.

George Plaven/Capital Press Holstein cows eat feed inside the dairy barn at Tilla-Bay Farms in Tillamook, on Oregon’s North Coast.