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AGRI-BUSINESS

4 — THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD

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Page 10 Wildfires — including the biggest blaze ever in Baker County, the 104,000-acre Cornet/

Windy Ridge fire — have forced ranchers to look for new sources of forage for their herds

Page 12 Wolf Creek Reservoir (at right)

OCTOBER 2015

PAGE 6

Leticia Varelasstartedworkas OSU Extension'slivestockagent for BakerandUnioncounties, buta fire changedall that.

PAGE 8

The differencebetweena bad droughtandacatastrophic one,it turns out, is 12days.And,more importantly,1.87inchesof rain.

PAGE 16

in southern Union County

Aday-longfield trip intoasection of the biggestwildfire inBakerCounty history givesprivate forest owners ideas aboutpost-fire management.

looks much like many other reservoirs in Eastern Oregon this fall — depleted by the ongoing drought. Find out some ways farmers are dealing with water shortages

PAGE 18

Page 26 The cattle industry boosts the

regional economy in a variety of ways, not all of them as obvious as a weekly livestock auction where thousands of head of cattle are up for sale in La Grande ON THE COVER: LEFT: The Cornet/Windy Ridge fire burned 104,000-acres in August, making it the biggest fire in Baker County history. (Jayson Jacoby/WesCom News Service) RIGHT: Pilcher Creek Reservoir west of North Powder in Union County, like most regional reservoirs, nearly emptied this year. (Debby Schoeningh/ForWesCom News Service)

Cheatgrass isoneofthe most peivasivenoxiousweedsinthe West, but ascientist mighthave discoveredtheseeds of its demise.

PAGE 20

Valerie andRodTachenko have turned afamily gardenin Baker County into a thriving fruit and vegetablebusiness.

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6 — THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD

Drought.

Fire.

These two words dominated headlines in Northeastern Oregon this year.

They are of course connected.

The drought, now in its third year in Baker County, with Union and Wallowa county this summer joining the dubious list of counties enduring extreme drought, helped create the conditions that spawned some of the larger wildfires on record here — and in the case of the Cornet/Windy Ridge blaze, Baker County's largest-ever.

But the drought and the fires also had profound effects on

OCTOBER 2015

the region's top industry: agriculture.

Many farmers and ranchers made do with less irrigation water than usual. Others will be dealing with the aftermath of fi res— grazinglands otflimits,fencesto be rebuilt— for years.

Over the following pages we'll examine some of the challenges,and successes,from theeventfulyearof2015.

OU • Leticia Varelas started work as OSU Extension's livestock agent while Baker County's biggest-ever wildfire was burning

By Jayson Jacoby WesCom News Service

Leticia Varelas had all sorts of plans for her new job with the Oregon State University Extension Service in Baker City.

Fire foiled them all.

Varelas started work as the Extension Service' slivestock and naturalresources agent for Baker and Union counties on Aug. 17.

Three days earlier the Cornet and Windy Ridge fires had burned together to create the biggest blaze in Baker County history,

one that would eventually scorch 104,000 acres.

Instead of easing into her position, Varelas felt rather like a doctor whose first day at a new hospital coincides with a 50-car pileup on a nearby freeway.

But even the crisis was not without its advantages.

'There was no question about what I should be doing," Varelas, 27, said with a smile."It was obvious."

And so her first two months in a new job and a new state — Varelas grew up in

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She grew up on a sheep and cattle ranch that her father managed in Southeastern New Mexico.

She proudly shows a photograph, which — Leticia Varelas, talking is the screen saver on her computer monitor, about her first weeks as of the gravel road at the ranch's entrance. the OSU Extension Service's livestock agent for Baker and Union counties It's a sprawling grassland, not unlike parts of Baker County.

New Mexico — has been a hectic period in Varelas said she knew &om a young which she has focused on helping private age that she wanted to pursue a career in landowners figure out how to deal with the agriculture. aftermath of not only the Cornet/Windy She considered studying to be a large Ridge fire, but the several other blazes that animal veterinarian, and for a while she also burned in Baker County this summer. looked at the marketing side of the indus"Our role is as an information hub," Vare- try. lassaid.'We strive to give peoplewhat they But while she was working for the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, Varelas need, not tell them what they need. That's my vision of Extension." became acquainted with the New Mexico It's been a challenging start, she concedes. State University Extension Service.

Because the fires burned large swathes of Or rather, re-acquainted.

"I had an idea about what Extension public as well as private land, several agencies, each with multiple fire relief programs did through 4-H youth programs," Varelas as well as a myriad oflaws and regulations, said."But it wasn't until I worked with the are involved.

Cattle Growers that I realized how much The task would be formidable even if Va- industry related work they do." relasweren'talsotrying to become familiar Varelas earned bachelor'sand master's with Baker County's 2 million acres. degrees in agricultural economics from "My most common answer is "I'm going New Mexico State, along with a minor in to have to look that up and call you back,' " range science. she said."But we have the resources to get From there she went to the University of all the answers and make them available in Wyoming, where she has nearly completed one location." her doctorat e in rangeland ecology.

"I'msortofajack-of-all-trades and masBesides answering questions, Varelas has made several presentations, including ter of none," she said with a chuckle. at the Baker County Livestock AssociaWhen she saw the opening with OSU tion's annual meeting Oct. 17, and during a Extension in Baker City, Varelas said she tour of some of the burned areas two days thought it meshed nicely with her skills and earher. interests.

Fortunately Varelas has always had an Besides which, her fiance, Robert Henderinterest, dating to her undergraduate studson, was intrigued.

"Baker City was the first place that I had ies at New Mexico State University, in the complications of rehabilitating burned land looked at where he said, 'I could live there,' " so that it's productive again, whether for Varelas said. livestockgrazing orother purposes,assoon The couple plan to marry in November.

"There was no question about what Ishould be doing. It was obvious."

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8 — THE OBSERVER rr BAKER CITY HERALD

OCTOBER 2015

T wowets e s e tworsto rou t a t a

By Jayson Jacoby mfesCom News Service

The difference between a bad drought and a disastrous one, it turns out, is 12 days.

And, more importantly, 1.87 inches of rain.

That spell of damp weathera soggy interlude in an otherwise desiccated season — had an effect on Baker County's irrigation watersupplyalloutofproportion to the relative brevity of the pertod.

"The saving grace was that rain," said Rick Lusk, Baker County's watermaster.'Without that it would have been a disaster."

Which is not to say the current drought isn't a nasty one.

In asortofreversalofhow the water line on a reservoir shrinks toward its center as summer progresses, the drought's severity has spread across Eastern Oregon.

The southern half of Baker Countyhas been in an extreme drought for more than a year, based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's drought index 4ttp//droughtmonitor.unl.edQ. But during 2015 the line marking the expanse of the extreme drought crept north and east.

By the end of July all but a sliver of Baker County was in extremedrought,and Union and Wallowa counties were in severe drought.

By Aug. 25 the entire tri-county region was shown on drought index maps(see above right) in theblood-red shade depicting extreme drought.

And there they remain.

But colored maps don't tell quite the entire tale, Lusk said.

The rain that fell at the Baker City Airport from May 11-22 meant irrigation water — albeit at rest ricted volumes — was available for a month orlonger than it would have been had that period been dry, he said.

U.S. Drought Monitor

August 25, 2015

Oregon

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Thief Valley Reservoir, the Powder River impoundment west of North Powder that supplies irrigation water to the Keating Valley, would have gone dry by the early July without the May rain, Lusk said.

Instead, Thief Valley didn't empty until the first of September.

The May storm also nourished budding grain and hay crops, allowing irrigation officials to keep m ore water in reservoirsand dole it out later in the summer, Lusk said.

Those 12 days of rain couldn't, though, overcome a drought that started more than two years ago.

Lusk said some major streams receded farther this summer than he had seen during his tenure as Baker County watermaster, which started in 2000.

Eagle Creek, which heads high in the Wallowa Mountains and flows south through its namesakevalley about 40 mileseast of Baker City before emptying into the Powder River arm of Brownlee Reservoir, was running at barely half of its usual volume

during July and August, Lusk sard.

As a result he had to cut off water for landowners with water rights dating as far back as 1881.

"I'd never done that before," he sard.

Fortunately, Lusk said, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown's declaration of a drought emergency allowed him to temporarily transfer landowners' water rights between parcels almost immediately, rather than going through weeks of paperwork.

That all owed severalfarmers and ranchers to use their limited waterforhigher-value crops, Lusk said.

The May dousing wasn't the only one during the irrigation season.

But it was the most beneficial, Lusk said.

Baker City actually set two rainfall records during July. The prolonged downpour on July 10 dumped 2.03 inches of rain at the airport — the all-time one-day record for July.

And the monthly total of 2.72 inches also broke the July record.

The trouble, so to speak, with that storm, Lusk said, is that it was tooisolated.

Itbarely dampened some parts of the tri-county region.

It was also a brief deluge, unlike the nearly two-week spell in May. Although 2015 didn't end up as an historically awful drought, a resultthatseemed probable in early May, Lusk looks toward 2016 with considerable anxiety.

Reservoirs are empty, or nearly so.

Phillips Reservoir, for instance, a key source of irrigation water for some of Baker Valley's more productive farmland, has held less water, as oflate October, only once in its 47-year history.

On Oct. 20 the reservoir, on the Powder River about 17 miles southwest of Baker City, was impounding3,000 acre-feetofwater — 4 percent ofitscapacity.

Only in the fall of 2001 did the reservoir recede farther.That year Phillips bottomed out at 2,208acre-feeton Oct.28.

SeeDrought/Fbge 24

Wallowa County is the lone Eastern Oregon county that did not declare a drought emergency in 2015.

Of the 36 counties in Oregon, just11 did not declare a drought, according to the Oregon Water Resources Department. Ten of those counties are in the northwest corner of the state.

Although Wallowa County avoided a drought emergency, rainfall this summer was below average.

Ann Adams, meteorologist at the NationalWeather Service office in Pendleton, said the city of Wallowa's June rainfall of 0.88 was more than 1 inch below average for the month. For July, Wallowa had 1.30 inches of rain, less than half an inch above normal; August had a total .80 inches of precipitation, approximately.12 below normal; and September had.95 inches of rainfall, .11 inches below normal.

Union County declared a drought in July, but the county had received a federal drought declaration even before that due to the fact that the county had been in a D2 drought for two or more weeks, according to Emergency Services Manager J.B. Brock.

Union County has not had to declare a drought since 2007, Brock said. The county also declared a drought emergency in 2005.

Adams said rainfall at the La Grande Airport was below normal every month this summer except September. June was the worst with .70 inches of precipitation, 1.30 inches below normal; July received.69 inches of rainfall with .31 below normal; August received .07 inches of rain, .93 inches below normal.

AGRI-BUSINESS

OCTOBER 201 5

THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD — 9

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AGRI-BUSINESS

OCTOBER 2015

ires urne rass in o as • Historically large blazes will force ranchers to find new sources of forage for their herds h

By Jayson Jacoby VVesCom News Service

The Cornet fire started within sight of Dan Sullivan's home, and less than a week later the flames had traveled so far across Baker County's midsection thatyou could scarcely still see the smoke fiom his

place.

Along the way the ON PAGE 14: fire, which R e l ated story merged with the Windy Ridge blaze in midAugust to make the biggest fire in Baker County history, blackened much of the cattle-grazing ground that Sullivan leases to other ranchers.

The result, he said, is that more than 10,000 acres, some of which he owns and some he leases fiom the Forest Service or BLM, won't be available for grazingin 2016.

'The BLM has already said its allotment will be down for two years," Sullivan said.

He expects the same for the ForestServiceallotment.

Sullivan hopes an aerial seeding campaign planned for later this fall on private land will get grass growing on his properly soon enough that he can re-open it for grazingin 2017.

"And that's only one small section of what burned," Sullivan said."It's going to be tough. The county's going to be looking for grazing ground somewhere."

The aerial seedingis a twopronged approach, said Whitney Collins, manager of the Baker County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, which are working with the US. Natural Resources Conservation Service on the cam-

Public Grazing Allotments Burned Wildfires this summer on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest burned parts of 10 active livestock grazing allotments and one vacant allotment, said Maura Laverty, the Wallowa-Whitman's range program manager.

At least three of the active allotments burned so severely that they will not be open for grazing in 2016, Laverty said.

Employees from the Whitman and La Grande Ranger Districts are assessing all burned allotments this fall to gauge the severity of the fire damage, forage availability for the next grazing season, damages to fences and water troughs. They will revisit the allotments in the spring of 2016 to decide how long the allotments will be off-limits to grazing.

The Wallowa-Whitman has asked for federal dollars to replace pasture division fences.

Fences on the boundary between public and private land are the responsibility of the landowner, Laverty said.

pargn.

The most pressing need, Collins said, isforfast-growing vegetation that will help stabilize the scorched soil while it's vulnerable to mudslides duringrainstorms or the spring snowmelt.

The aerial seeding will also in-

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Jayson Jaooby/Wescom News Sennce

The Cornet fire left a forest of blackened trees and scorched ground. This scene is just west of the Dooley Mountain summit along Highway 245, about 12 miles south of Baker City. The Cornet fire burned into the Windy Ridge fire on Aug. 14 to create the largest blaze in Baker County history. cludeforage grassesthatcattleand wildlife can eat.

Aircraft can sow seeds effectively, but what they can't do is deliver water.

Sullivan, whose family has ranched in the Hereford area of southern Baker County for sev-

eralgenerations,said thecurrent droughtis the worst he's seen.

He said sprigs of green grass thrust fiom the blackened ground after light rains in September, but then theweather turned dry and warm for the next several weeks.

"It was just as dry and dusty as

before," Sullivan said."Even some springs that we developed have gone dry."

He said he's considering digging wells with solar-powered pumps to providestock water on some of his range.

SeeGrasslPage28

AGRI-BUSINESS

OCTOBER 201 5

THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD — 11

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12 â&#x20AC;&#x201D;THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD

AGRI-BUSINESS

OCTOBER 2015

Drou ht rives farmers to i wells,

shi to more efficient irri ation

By Debby Schoeningh For WesCom News Service

Summer has passed, the harvestsarewrapping up and local farmers and ranchers have, for the most part, survived another drought.

This year marked the third year in a row that Oregon's governor has declared Baker County to be in a state of"drought emergency" due to low water conditions.

Wallowa County is the only county in Eastern Oregon that didn't have a drought emergency declared, although according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wallowa joined Union and Baker counties as being in an extreme drought.

Baker County Watermaster Rick Lusk said many local producers,exceptthose with the highest priority dates, went without water the entire month of August. Irrigation water was also portioned out bypriority datesasearly as M ay rather than toward the end of summer as it usually is in years with normal precipitation.

"Peoplewith stored water got by," said Lusk.'Those relying on creek water were shut down about a month earlier than normal."

Lusk said the unseasonably hot June was extremely hard on crops as plants grew quickly causing many producers to harvest crops, such as hay, a couple of weeks earlier than usual.

When crops mature too fast, it reduces their mineral and protein content. In the case ofhay, it can causeadditional expenses forlivestock producers as they may need to add protein or other supplementation to ensure the animals meet their nutritional requirements.

Lusk said, many producers realizedearly on itw asgoing tobe a short water year and prepared by addingadditional sourcesofwater and utilizing more efficient irrigation methods.

Drought assistance, tax relief available

By Debby Schoeningh For WesCom News Service

Photo by Debby Schoeningh

Wolf Creek Reservoir west of North Powder is just 4 percent full.

Kody and JoAnne Hufford, owners andoperators ofa cattle/ hay ranch just off the Anthony Lakes Highway, have recently drilled wells to help meet their water needs.

Kody said it is becoming more difficult, especially in drought years, to have ample water for livestock.

"The springs in our area, which usually provide stock water,aren'trunning enough to water the cattle," he said."The droughtsare starting to take a toll. This year is drier than any I have seen in the 25 years I have lived here."

The Huffords have also added irrigation pivots to distribute the well water more efficiently over hay crops.

Although in the past they flood irrigated,Kody said pivots are more cost-effective, especially

when using groundwater.

Kody said the wells should provide enough additional water to ensure the hay fields produce at least three cuttings, even in a low water year.

"The pivots will allow us to do more with less water," he said.

Despite the drought, Kody said his hay crops produced a good yield because of the timely precipitationthe area received.

"The rain in July came at about the right time, if it hadn't been forthat,we would have been in a tough place," he said.

With the addition of the wells, Kody said, "I feel like we have another option to get water, and don't have to depend completely on Mother Nature."

Producers with high value crops such as mint and potatoes are the most affected by drought because of the plants' shallow

rootzone and lower tolerance for water stress than most other crops in the area.

Tim Kerns, Baker County commissioner and Haines area farmer/rancher, said his potato crops did well.

Like most potato growers, the Kernses have irrigation wells to supplement their surface water rights. Kerns said the water table has not dropped significantly in spite of the drought.

"Potatoes are a good crop," Kerns said, "but they need water in September, so having wells is really important. We got timely storms this year, but you can't always depend on that. " He said, potatoes also can't be floodirrigated,"they need a steady distribution of moisture every week, all summer."

SeeIrrigation/Fbge 14

Trent Luschen, BakerGrant County executive director of USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), said there are programs available to local farmers and ranchers to help mitigate the losses caused by drought, including the Livestock Forage Disaster program (LFP), which helps cattle producers who were hit by drought.

"Local cattle producers have used this program for the 2103 and 2014 drought," Luschen said.

LFP provides compensation for grazing losses for livestock on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover or is planted specifically for grazing, and in some instances for grazing losses on rangeland managed by a federal agency.

The extreme drought rating (D3) in Baker County, which has lasted more than the USDA's required four weeks during a normal grazing period, might qualify many local producers.

To receive payment for the 2015 drought, producers must submit a completed application and supporting documentation to a USDA FSA within 30 days after the end of the year in which the grazing loss occurred. For more information call the Baker USDA FSA at 541-5237121.

See Assistance/Fbge 14

AGRI-BUSINESS

OCTOBER 201 5

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14 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD

OCTOBER 2015

IRRIGATION Continued ~om Page12 If the drought continues for too many more years, he said, some producers might need to consider replacingpotatoeswith cropsthat are more drought-tolerant.

"I'm really concerned about the local irrigation districts," said Kerns."Phillips Reservoir is currently only 4 percent full. Last year it ended the season at about 20 percent full and only filled to 40 percent at the beginning of this year. If we don't get some snowpack it's not going to fill much at all for this next growing season.

Stored water is looking pretty vulnerable right now."

Andrew Umpleby, manager of the Powder Valley Water Control District in southern Union County, said both Wolf Creek and Pilcher Creek reservoirs, west of North Powder, are about 4 percent full.

"About this time last year, Pilcher Creek was at 15 percent and Wolf Creek at 12 percent,"

Farmers,rancherslookforwaysto rehabilitate their burnedlandaseffectively, quicklyaspossible "You want to put grasses in which will outcompete When people think of wildfire the noxious weeds.fyou I damage the focus is often on structures and lost timber. don't do anything the Agricultural land, unforweeds may take over." tunately, is also a casualty of

By Dick Mason

WesCom News Service

Umpleby said.

Many have compared this year's drought to the drought of 1977 which set records throughout Oregon. There are some differences, however, said Nathan Petrucci, Baker Countydeputy watermaster.

"In 1977, records show Baker County received one shot of water irainl during irrigation season and that was it," Petrucci said.

This year, by contrast, there were three rainy periods, in May, July and early September that briefly boosted stream flows.

"The rains are what saved us," Petrucci said.

Darrin Walenta, OSU Exten-

Phato by Debby Schoeningh

Pilcher Creek Reservoir west of North Powder is 4 percent full this fall. sion Service agronomist for Union, Baker and Wallowa counties, said there are so many components to evaluateand measure, and variations in water availability depending on the source of the water, that "it is still too early to determine the overall economic impact to

ASSISTANCE Continued ~om Pcge12 Producers might also be eligible for tax relief due to the drought and subsequent wildfires.

Jacob Collier, CPA with Guyer & Associates CPAs, said,"Relating to this year's drought, there are acouple oftax areasthat farmers and rancher will want to discuss with their CPA."

our local ag economy" from the drought.

In spite of the drought conditionsand forecastsofdrierthan average conditions this coming winter, most local producers said they fared well this year and remain optimistic for 2016.

The first, Collier said, is that"farmers and ranchers, who, due to drought, sell more livestock than they normally would may defer tax on the extra gains Irom those sales."

To qualify, livestock generally must be replaced within a four-year period.

'The IRS is providing this relief to any farm located in a county listed as suffering exceptional, extreme or severe drought conditions by the National Drought Mitigation Center during any weeldy period between

wildfires, something which is now painfully clear to some farmers and ranchers in Union and Wallowa counties.

"A significant amount of grazing land and some crop land was damaged," said John Williams, an associate professor with the Oregon State Department of Range and Resources who is an agent for the OSU Extension Service's Wallowa County offrce.

M ost of thelosseson grazing landinvolved grasses,fences and spring structures.

Ranchers now need to determine which portions of their grazing land were burned so badlythat theirrootswere killed. It will be critical that these areas be reseeded, said Paul Oester, a forester with the Oregon State University Extension Service. Prompt reseeding w ill notonly restore grasses but will also prevent them Irom being overrun by noxious weeds like hound's tongue, Canadian thistle and cheatgrass.

'You want to put grasses in which will outcompete the noxious weeds," Oester said.

Sept.

1,2014 and Aug. 31,2015,"said Collier.

The secondtax area iscasualty losses from wildfires.

"Generally, you may deduct casualty in the year the casualty occurred," said Collier.

'You may not deduct casualty losses covered by insurance. If your property is personaluse propertyorisnotcom pletely destroyed, the amount of your casualty loss is the lesser of: Al The adjusted basis of your property, or Bl The decrease in fair market value of your

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Paul Oester, OSU Extension Service forester

"They are in competition with the same resources. If you don't do anything the weeds may take over."

When reseeding it is critical to usetherighttype ofseedsfor the soil and site. The amount of moisturea sitereceivesand its sun exposure are important factors to consider when choosing seeds. Slopes that face south and southwest should have drought-t olerant seeds because they will receive more sun exposure. North-facing slopes arebettersuited for seed which is moreshade-tolerant.

Oester said that it is also importantto getseedsthatare certified weed-free.

One effective means of reseeding is to wait until there is 2 to 3 inches of snow on the ground and then spread the seed over the snow. Once more snow falls, an excellent setup for reseeding in the late winter or early spring is in place.

See After Fire/Page 22

propertyas aresultofthe casualty.

"If your property is business or incomeproducing property, and is completely destroyed, then the amount of your loss is your adjusted basis. It is very important to establish a basis in your timber property when you purchase or inherit the property.

Also, expenses related to therestoration of the forestland may be tax deductible and I recommend you discuss them with your

CPA."

AGRI-BUSINESS

OCTOBER 201 5

THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD — 15

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16 —THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD

OCTOBER 2015

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By Joshua Dillen ]dlllen©bakercltyherald.com

According to some experts, the salvage logging that is bound to happen in the aftermath of a record-breaking fire season in Eastern Oregon might not be the light at the end of a fire-blackened tunnel some hope it is.

Thereareseveralfactorsatplay that might reduce or eliminate potential profits &om harvesting the charred timber.

On Oct. 15, the Oregon State University Extension 0$ce in BakerCityhad an all-daywo rkshop at Brent and Eileen Gyllenberg's 1,000-acre property along Beaver Creek about 12 miles south oftown.

The property is on the northern edge of the Cornet/Windy Ridge fire, the blaze that burned 104,000 acres in August. It is the biggest wildfire in Baker County history.

Eileen Gyllenberg estimates that about half of their property was affected by the fire. Her home didn't burn, but the family lost a large shop.

«We lost probably a couple hundredacresoftim ber, "she said.

Several forestry professionals attended the OSU workshop to provideinformation to about 35 landowners affected by the fires regardingsalvage logging,restoration and other issues.

Amid a carpet of fire-browned pine needles, Steve Bowers, OSU Extension forest harvesting specialist, talked about salvage logging as the group assembled in a moderately burned stand of small and medium-sized and mostly blackened ponderosa pines.

Bowers said the issues in a salvageoperation arethesame as thosein a regularlogging operation.

One happens to be green, one happens to be black," Bowers said.

Bowers said burned timber is often limited in its uses.

"Much of the wood coming out ofsalvage operations isnotgood quality," he said."It's usually for

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Paul Oester points out the telltale signs of the red turpentine beetle. It leaves behind sawdust that resembles Grape Nuts cereal.

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Paul Oester, an OSU Extension forester, uses an axe to expose the cambium in a burned ponderosa pine. If the cambium is white, the tree is alive. chips only."

Chuck Sarrett, a former timber buyer for Boise Cascade who now works as a private forestry consultant, spoke frankly to the landowners.

He said it might be hard to find buyersorto negotiate agoodprice for the burned logs.

"It is kind of a challenge," Sarrett said.«To add insult to injury,

the itimberl market is low. It's going lower."

Sarrett said pricesforpinetypically peak in April as construction season ramps up. A little later in the season, fir prices peak. By fall, timber prices usually have dropped considerably as construction season ends.

Sarrettoffered an important piece of advice &om the Malheur

Lumber Co. that ties in to the timber price cycle — waiting until spring to log might be worthwhile.

He said the timber will not degrade as quickly so long as the trees are standing.

"Before you put your saw into anything, make sure you have a home for it,"Sarrettsaid.

But landowners can't put off logging for too longif they hope to break even financially.

Sarrett said burned treesneed to be cut within two years or they will lose most or all of their commercial value.

Several property owners said it might be diKcult to even make a profit &om any salvage logging on theirproperty.Sarrettsaid thereis a goodchance itcould costm ore to harvest ponderosa pine than what could be made fiom the logs.

Bowers, OSU Extension Forester Paul Oester &om La Grande, Sarrett and the landowners discussed the costoflogging and log transport. They came to a consensus that logging costs range &om $150 to over $200 per thousand boardfeet. Transporting logs to a mill can bringthe totalcostto$250 per thousand board-feet.

Sarrett quoted current prices that area mills are offering for logs.

He said some mills aren't even takingsalvage logs.BoiseCas-

cade's mill in La Grande is not taking burned logs but is taking small diametergreen ponderosa pine logs — 6 to 7 inches in diameter — for $230 per thousand board-feet. For

8- to 11-inch logs it goes up to $270, 12-to 15-inch logsget$330per thousandboard-feet,16-to 19-inch

logs get $350 and 20 inches and over are worth $370 at La Grande.

Boise Cascade's Kinzua Sawmill in Pilot Rock is taking burned and green ponderosa pine logs, Sarrett said. That mill is paying

higherpricesaswell— $300 per thousandboard-feetfortrees9 to 11 inches in diameter, whether burned or green.

Blue MountainLumber Products outside of Pendleton is paying $300 perthousand board-feetfor 7- to 12-inch ponderosa pine logs

and $330 for 13- to 33-inch in diameter logs. That mill is buying burned logs.

Depending on the mill and log diameter, prices for Douglas-fir and

white fir range fiom $280 to $400 per thousand board-feet.

Garret emphasized that these prices can change at any time. He urged landowners to call timber buyers for current pricing. Some sawmills might stop accepting logs at any time, he added.

SeeSalvage/Fbge 24

18 —THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD

AGRI-BUSINESS

OCTOBER 2015

Cheatgrass: Scientist says source of this weed's demise might lurk in the soil around its roots • A naturally occurring bacteria in the soil could thwart cheatgrass, which displaces native plants and fuels massive 6res

By Christopher Solomon New YorkTimes New Service

Cheatgrass could viefor thetitle of the most successful invasive species in North America. The weed lives in every state, and it is the dominant plant on more than 154,000 square miles of the West, by one estimate.

When it turns green in the spring, "you can actually see it from space," said Bethany Bradley, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who studies biogeography, the spatial distribution of species.

The sins of cheatgrass are many.

Its tenacious seeds lodge in the eyes and gums oflivestock inot to mention the ears of pets and the socks ofhikersl. Even a moderate infestation in a wheat field can reduce yields by up to half.

Its profusion is a big reason today's Western fires burn more land, more frequently and with more ferocity than in the past, scientists say. Unlike well-spaced native bunchgrasses, cheatgrass — its scientific name is Bromus tectorum,ordowny bromecrowds tightly together and then dies early each summer to form dense mats of tinder.

After fires, cheatgrass thrives even as native flora struggle to return.

After more than a half-century oflargely failed efforts to thwart the Sherman's march of cheatgrass, a researcher may have a powerful new weapon against it.

Ann Kennedy, a soil scientist with the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has discovered naturally occurring soil bacteria that inhibit the growth of the weed's deeprootsystem, itscompetitive advantage, even as those bacteria leave native plants untouched.

These bacteria work differently than quick-killing herbicides, she said. Once a concentrated solution is sprayed on the land, successive generations of the organisms establish themselves in the soil, then colonize the roots of the cheatgrass.

Cheatgrass' chief advantage is its roots: They can grow more than 30 inches deep. They grow later into the fall and earlier in the spring than those of native plants, monopolizing the soil's water and nutrients. The bacteria produce a compound that inhibits normal root growth, however, removing this edge.

"It's nota m atterofifitworksor not," said Mike Gregg, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who is familiar with Kennedy's work."The question is, can we take what she has done at a smallscale and do itat10,000, Ruth Fremsou / NewYorkTimes 20,000, 50,000 acres?"

Ann Kennedy, a soil scientist with the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department The bacteria are living, and if of Agriculture, stands among fields infested with cheatgrass, diminishing the wheat crop in Pullman, not applied under the right condiWashington. The invasive weed, which makes wildfires more damaging, might be vulnerable to a tions, they"can croak," said Jerry naturally occurring soil bacteria.

Benson, the owner and manager of BFI Native Seeds in Moses plant just made bigger kernels. perform beneficial functions in the Lake, Washington, a habitat "It's not a matter o fifit works Kennedy wonderedifa bacterium environment. restoration firm that is working on or not. The question is, can In long-term field trials around protocols couldbe used to frustrateweeds for applying the bacteria. the inland Pacific Northwest, instead.

One of Kennedy's strains has we take what she has done With help from undergraduates including Hanford Reach National already been approved for use at a small scale and do it at at Washington State University at Monument in Washington state, by the Environmental Protection I0,000,20,000, 50,000 acres?" Pullman, where she is an adjunct Kennedy's bacteria reduced the Agency; a commercial product professor, Kennedy tested 25,000 amount of cheatgrass in test plots is expected to be released in fall — Mike Gregg, biologist, U.S. Fish andWildlife Service bacteria she took from nearby by about half within three years of 2016. Kennedy has even higher farm fields. Her goal was to find a single application. hopes for a second strain, now in ''We get it down to near zero Kennedy's hunt for a cheatgrass ones that satisfied a wish list of the approval process. killer has been nearly 30 years Interest is high because the need ideal attributes such as hinderweeds within about five or six in the making. In 1986, she was ing cheatgrass while not affecting years," Kennedy said, as other is urgent. Earlier this year, Interior investigating yellowed wheat in wheat. She likened the search to plants recover and grow more Secretary Sally Jewell ordered the Palouse country of eastern picky online dating. competiti ve.Thebacteria also a new strategy to address the The researcher finally settled on dispatchtwo other invasiveplants, wildfires — fueled by cheatgrass Washington state when she found — that are torching huge parts of some bacteri a thatappeared to two strains of Pseudomonas fluomedusahead and jointed goatinhibit the number of shoots that rescens, a huge speciesofbacteria grass. The latest findings will be the West's sagebrush landscapes. the wheat sent skyward, but not that is present throughout the published within the next year, the wheat plant's overall yield; the natural world. Most of its strains she said.

See Cheatgrass/Fbge 28

AGRI-BUSINESS

OCTOBER 201 5

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20 — THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD

OCTOBER 2015

a's e ies: owa ami ar en rows in o a oomin usiness

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• Valerie and Rod Tachenko don't use chemical herbicides or pesticides, fertilizers or even cow manure at their farm near Keating in Baker County

By Debby Schoeningh

Val's Veggies.

FormfesCom News Service

Valeriestarted growing vegetables in her backyard years ago.

She was content to have a family garden for 18 years, but as her gardening skills grew, she saw a need for &esh local produce. The seed of an idea was planted and her vegetable patch grew into a full-time business when Rod and Valerie opened Val's Veggies in 2009.

They operate a fiuit and vegetablestand across&om GeiserPollman Park in Baker City from May through October.

Val's Veggies participates in CSA iCommunity Supported Agriculturel. With CSA, customers can purchase produce shares in the early spring, before crops are ready

Justoffa gravelroad,in the northeastern limits of Baker City's ZIP code, near Keating, sits a gentle valley where the climate is warm. Not quite banana belt warm, but 10 degrees warmer than most of the Baker Valley.

In that mild pocket lies a farm where you will find chickens wandering the barnyard pecking at insects while cattle graze the hillsi des above rows and rows of well-maintained vegetables growing in harmony with the native surroundmgs.

It's an an idyllic country scene, but it's also a working farm where Rod and Valerie Tachenko produce

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to harvest, and receive abox of &esh produce each week throughout the growing season. Val's also offersprepaid fruitand egg shares.

They deliver CSA boxes once a week to La Grande, Baker City and Pendleton.

Before opening the farm stand, the Tachenkos participated in farmers markets throughout the region including shipping produce to Portl and stores. ewe were spending so much time on the road that we decided local people need to eat too," said Valerie."So we started a CSA program in our area, which works really well for us as we have the money in advance to put into the growing of the crops."

S. John Collins/yyesCom News Service file photo

Valerie Tachenko, right, serves a customer at the Baker City Farmers Market.

Valerie said they raise enough of avariety thatithasnever been aproblem toprovidea good assortment for the CSA boxes throughout the season. The boxes always include at least six different items, and by fall that number can riseto 18varieties.

A custom box is offered as an option, because,Valerie said,"Let's faceit,noteveryone likesbeets."

Although the Tachenkos raise m ost of the vegetablesthey sell at their farm stand and use in their CSA boxes, they source fruit from nearby growers who share their philosophy of growing pure food products without the use of genetically modified organisms

iGMOsl.

"I'm adamantly opposed to GMOs," said Valerie.ewe just don't know the full consequences

yet of messing with DNA strands — I don't think the body recognizes these hybrids the same as 'real' food."

Their vegetables are grown without the use of GMOs or chemical herbicides or pesticides, which they say produces a safer, more nutritious and tastier product.

"Our products are more pure than many typical organic products as we use nothing at all," said Valerie."People are finally starting to realizewe have toberesponsible for what we put into our bodieswe need real food. Just because the FDA says it's safe, it doesn't mean it's good for you."

Valerie said they irrigate with spring water through a drip tape system.

SeeVal's Veggies/Fbge 22

Debby Schoeningh//ForWescom News Service

Valerie and RodTachenko's farm near Keating northeast of Baker City produced a bumper crop of pumpkins this year, including a 72-pound specimen.

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OCTOBER 201 5

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22 — THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD

VAL'S VEGGIES Continued ~om Page 20 ''We use plastic mulch for crops that need the extra warmth and it also keeps the moisture in while helping to keep the weeds out," she said.

A machine lays the drip tape and plasti catsame time, before theplantsare added.Th eplastic warms the soil so when they plant, itisalready about 80 degreesnear the roots.

Tomatoes — more than 150 varieties — are plantedwith row covers that are left on usually until the middle of May to protect the plants from the chilly night air and to keep the daily growing temperature warmer ithe cover increases the temperature by 8 to 10 degrees). However, this year Valerie said the weather was warmer so they took the covers off in April.

Valerie said in the farming business,"it's the labor that kills ya." So, over the years, they have mechanized much of the work including the newest addition of a transplanter. The transplanter pulls behind a tractor and allows two people,seated,to putthe 3-to 4-inch-high plants into the soil as

a wheel pokes a hole through the plastic and into the ground. Water tanks also distribute about a cup of water around each plant at the same time.

"It used to take us six weeks and fourpeople toplant20,000 to 30,000 tomato plants," said Valerie.'With the transplanter, it takes four days and three people."

They haveseven employees,fi ve of them full time. They also hire tomato pickers when that crop is ripe.

The Tachenkos don't use chemical fertilizers or even cow manure.

"There was a study out of Washington State," said Valerie,"that showed lettuce absorbed antibiotics when grown in soil fertilized with livestock manure. So it's not worth the risk to me to use even 'natural' fertilizers."

To discourage bugs and keep the soil nourished, they use a fouryear crop rotation.

By going the all-natural route, Valerie said they lose very little because Eastern Oregon's cold winters kill most crop-damaging insects.

However, with last year's mild winter, they did lose a crop of eggplantsto potatobugs thisyear, but Valerie said that's just the

AFTER FIRE Continued ~om Page14 "As the snow melts, the weight of the snow will push the seeds into the ground.

The melting action helps with germination," Oester said.

He noted that it is also important to reseed areas where grasses were killed, because this will prevent erosion. Wildfires often take out plants which stabilize the soil.

Steeperslopes and areas near streams are among those vulnerable to erosion after a fire.

"Ifthey itheseareas)arenotreseeded there will be higher erosion," Oester said.

Leticia Varelas, OSU Extension Service livestock range extension agent for Union and Baker counties, said that even a relatively gentle slope which has had its vegetation burned off can be vulnerable to erosion.

"A slope as low as 5 percent can be a pretty big issue if there is no vegetation," Varelas said.

OCTOBER 2015

by keeping the grasshoppers and other insect populations down.

A small paddling of Indian Runner ducks pares the mosquito population, and Valerie is trying to establ ish a manageable mob of storesfor Grandpa. Ijust love Guinea fowl to further help control raising vegetables." croppests,especially potato bugs.

She said the Guinea fowl have — Valene Tachenko, owner, been difficult to raise to adulthood Val's Veggies as she has found they are not a very hardy species in this area.

The end of their growing price you have to pay sometimes for growing wholesome food. season culminates into a pumpEggplants grow on what Valerie kin patch and corn maze for the calls the "sweet spot," a southern community just in time for Halloween. slope, which isabout 10 degrees "It was a phenomenal year for warmer than the rest of the farm.

Vegetables areherfavorite pumpkins," she said."The heavithings to raise, but Valerie also est one we pulled out of the field likes eggs, so she has a large flock was 72 pounds." ofhensthatare rotated to lay They growseveralvarietiesof year-around. pumpkins including Full Moon They currently have over 500 iwhitel, Porcelain Doll Pink ia chickens, which includes 300 portionofseed salesgoesto suplayers, producing all the time. port breast cancer research) and When the hens have outlived their N aked Seeded pumpkins.Valerie usefulness as layers, they are sold said a gentleman in Portland to a nearby person who butchers orders a Naked Seeded pumpkin them for meat. from her every year because his Valerie switches the colors of the mother always made pumpkin chickens every time she buys new pies with them when he was ones, so she can keep track of their growing up.

"I think the shipping costs him age. The free-range chickens are alsovaluable forcrop production more than the pumpkin, but we

"It seems I have always been involved with vegetables.

Even when I was a teenager Idelivered vegetablesto the

'As snow melts, the weight o f the snow will push the seedsinto the ground. The melting action helps with germination."

— Paul Oester, OSU Extension Service, explainingwhy sowing seeds over snow can help restore bumed areas

People deciding whether to reseed must first determine if the fire was hot enough to destroytherootsofgrasses.Thesoilof severely burned soil is black and gray and the damage runs deep.

'The roots will be burned 2 to 4 inches below ground," Varelas said.

The soil burned by a medium fire, which likely did not kill grasses, is brown to reddish brown and the damage is relatively shallow.

"If you dig down an inch, the soil is normal," Varelas said.

People should be careful about trying to

reseed areas in which severe fire has created a hydrophobic layer in soil, meaning a layer that repels rather than soaks up water. ''When thisbarrieriscreatedwater does no percolate in the soil as easily," said Oester.

The barrier will usually break after several moderate rainfalls after which water will again begin percolating through it. The hydrophobic layer will also be broken up over the winter if it is covered by snow. The melting of the snow in the spring will break up thebarrier,Oestersaid.

The grasses in some grazing areas hit by fire will ultimately have a chance to thrive because the fire can actually improve the soil' sfecundity.Oestersaid fi rereleases nitrogen in plants. Much of this nitrogen is in the form of vapor which is released into the atmosphere, but some is released back into the soil.

"It stays on the ground and makes extremely good fertilizer available for plants," Oester said.

This nitrogen can be a drawback be-

are happyto doitforhim,"said Valerie.

They also have contracts to grow vegetables like peppers for Wildhorse and St. Alphonsus in Pendleton, among others.

Even though the majority of their harvestisalm ostover for 2015, they will plant garlic around the end of October, which grows through the winter.

They haveabout three months after the last harvest before they start the seeds in a greenhouse in February. Valerie said that three months gives them time to calve out their cows.

Valerie is a third generation farmer from the Keating Valley.

Her husband, Rod, is a transplant from North Dakota.

"It seems I have always been involved with vegetables," said Valerie."Even when I was a teenager I delivered vegetables to the stores for Grandpa."

Farming is hard work, but Valerie said there is nothing else she would rather do. From that first ripe tomato to that last big pumpkin, she said,"I just love raising vegetables."

For more information visit www. valsveggies. com orcall541-853-

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causeitalsoprovides an excellentsource of fertilizer for weeds, Varelas said. People need to take precautions againstthe spread of weedsasa result.Thespotsprayingof herbicides is one option they should consider, she said.

Fences lost Fences used by ranchers also were damaged extensively in places like the Troy area of Wallowa County.

"A lot of fences were damaged in Grouse Flat," Williams said.

Although fires don't always destroy an entire fence,even a sm allareaofdamage needs to be replaced.

"A fence is only as good as its weakest point," Williams said."It doesn't matter if only one third is damaged. It isn't effective unbl you fix it."

Repairing fences is not cheap.

"Potentially it is a large expense," Williams said.

AGRI-BUSINESS

OCTOBER 201 5

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SALVAGE Continued ~om Page16 OSU Extension Silviculture Specialist Steve Fitzgerald &om Corvallis demonstrated how to select which trees to cut in a burned area.

He explained that even though a tree has some green in its crown, itmight eitherbe dead already,or most likely will die soon.

"Trees that lose a significant part if their crown lose the ability to fight pests and disease," Fitzgerald said."It doesn't take much to kill the trees."

He showed the group how to determine the survivability of a treeby looking atthepercentages of the bole ithe main trunk of a tree not including its crown) and its crown that are scorched to determine how likely it is the tree will survive.

Fitzgerald used a fi eld guidefor determining the probability of a tree's mortality. The sheet of paper had a calculator that used the amount ofbole scorch and crown scorchon a treeto give apercentage of its chance of survival. The guide also had a proportion gauge that was held parallel to the tree's bole or crown to determine the amount of scorch.

The field guide for determining the probability of mortality for ponderosa pine trees can be found online at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/

pubs/pnw~769.pdf Fitzgerald said that if a small tree that normally wouldn't be harvested has a low chance of surviving, it is best to cut the tree.

If the tree has a higher chance of living, then it is worth leaving to develop into a larger, more valu-

DROUGHT

OCTOBER 2015

541-523-7121 or in La Grande at 541-963-4231. The USDA Farm

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Because so many acres burned thisyear acrosstheWest ,seedServices Agency iFSAl also has as- lings are in short supply, Knight sistance programs. In Baker City sard. call541-523-3621 orin La Grande A large part ofher job with call 541-963-4178.

ODF involves coordinating with ODF Forester Jamie Knight the Blue Mountain Private Lands saidseedlings costabout 40 cents Forest Network iPLFNl to provide each. seedlings to landowners in Baker, Rick Hall, owner of C and H Re- Wallowa, Umatilla and Union foresters, estimated that itwould counties.

Knight says that PLFN has probablycostanother 40 centsto have each tree planted. acquired50,000 seedlings for Lane Parry, a forestry consulplanting next spring and will be tant and contractor in Baker City, working to grow more for 2017. talked about another key considKnight said landowners should eration when and after trees are order trees from PLFN as soon as they know what they need. The planted.

"Goodvegetation management cost includes cold storage in La iskey tohave agood forestin 30 Grande or Wallowa until planting to 40 years," Parry said. time. Unfortunately there is no Fitzgerald said controlling facility to store trees in Baker City, competing vegetation, including but she said the organization is weeds, during a seedling's first few considering the possibility of using the BLM's facility in Baker City. years can determine whether the PLFN will also store purchased treethrives asitm atures.

"It's critical," he said."It will trees elsewhere.

For more information call PLFN grow better and more each year of its life." at 541-963-0382or Knight at541962-3168.

W agner, Oester,Parry,Halland For more information about otherforestry professionals atthe workshop agreed. services provided by the OSU ExThey explained that nearby tension0$ces,call541-523-6418 in Baker City or 541-963-1010. vegetation — even grass — robs young trees of valuable water For publications about logging and nutrients and can stunt their and reforestation visit OSU's forgrowth. estry website at http%/xtension.

There are many factors to be oregonstate. edu/baker/forestry consideredtogetan accurate and click on the "Publications and estimateofthecostofreplanting Websites" link at the right side of and vegetation control. the page.

Hall said the number of trees The extension offices can also planted; the size, type, and density help with referrals to tree plantofothervegetation;slope;soil ing, logging and other forestry reconditions and many other factors lated contractors including brush affectthecostofreplanting. removal, pre-commercial thinning, land rehabilitation and road buildHe estimated a range of$250ing foraccessto timber. $300 per acre.

Lusk said.

He said he talked recently with a farmer in the Baker Valley who was digging a trench for a water pipe for his home. The farmer told Lusk the soil was dry even a few feet below the ground.

If the soil is still dry when cold weather arrives, much of the spring snowmelt will soak into the ground rather than flow into

reservoirs, he said.

That helps recharge aquifers, a benefit in the long term, but it means less water would be available for irrigation in 2016.

Lusk said one natural result of the ongoing drought is that farmers,with stored water in reservoirs that are unreliable, are looking at theother major sourceofirrigation water — digging wells.

I

Jashua Dillen/WesCom News Sennce

Steve Fitzgerald, far right, explains how to use a sheet of paper with markings to estimate the likelihood that a burned tree will survive. able tree.

He told the landowners that they need to pick a survivability threshold to determine what they will harvest.

"The question is: how lucky do you feel?" Fitzgerald asked.ails your threshold) going to be 50 percent or 60 percent?"

Treesthatdon'tappear tobe severelydamaged by thefirebut were exposed to intense heat radiating from a burning log or stump might actually be dead because of damage to the cambium at their base.

Oester demonstrated how to determine if the cambium — the white layer below the bark — was damaged enough to kill the tree.

He cut into the base of a tree with an axe to remove a small chip of bark to show the cambium.

"The cambium should be white if it's alive. It will be brown if it's dead," Oester said.

He said to check four places

ary to be talking about a snowpack that's150 percent ofaverage."

Continued ~om Page 8 Even before the snow falls, The stark reality, Lusk said, is though, he's hoping for more that without a bountiful snowpack mild rainstorms like the one that arrivedon Oct.18and 19,bringthis winter, some reservoirs won't refill next spring, and the drought ing the first substantial moisture might get worse. to parts of Northeastern Oregon "The biggest concern I have since July. right now is what kind of winter do aWe need to get the soil moisture we have," he said."I want in Febru- restored before the ground &eezes,a

equally spaced at the base of the tree. If the cambium is alive at two placesthe tree has am oderate chance of survival. If the cambium isaliveatthree placesthetreehas a fairly good chance to survive, but if the cambium is alive at only one spot the tree probably will die.

Logging and hauling aren't the only costs landowners have to account for in restoring a burned forest.

Rick Wagner, a forester with the Oregon Department of Forestry iODFl, pointed out that Oregon's Forest Practices Act requires landownerstoplantseedling trees afterlogging.

"If the icost of) logging operations exceed what you made, you may be eligible for cost share iprograms) for replanting,"Wagner sard.

For more information on those programs call the Natural Resources Conservation Services

But tapping aquifers isn't as easy as hiring a well-driller.

Lusk said the Oregon Water Resources Department, which issues permits for irrigation wells, is not giving permits for wells within one-quarter mile of a creek or river unless the well is sunk in a deep groundwater aquifer,which doesn't affect the flow in surface streams.

AGRI-BUSINESS

OCTOBER 201 5

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OCTOBER 2015

• The cattle industry boosts the regional economy in a variety of ways, not all of them as obvious as a weekly auction where thousands of head of cattle are up for sale in La Grande

By Kelly Ducote WesCom News Se/wce

LA GRANDE — On a given Thursday, some 3,000 head of cattle can move through the auction barn at Intermountain Livestock.

In a year, the business sees upwards of $55 million in transactions. '%e do make a difference," said owner Dennis Arnzen speaking at a Union County Chamber ofCommerce meeting at his barn earlier this month.

His business isn't the only one making its mark.

Community Merchants, a retail store located on Adams Avenue, is also distinctly tied to Union County's livestock community.

Owner Jenny Bartell, who has operated Community Merchants for nearly three years, sells locally sourced items from 70 vendors on consignment. '%e also have all local food products as well," she said, noting that she has 10 food vendors, including herself.

Bartell suppliesthe store'sbeef and pork, but she also sellseggs, lamb,salsa,pesto,honey,bagels and breads, and jellies and jams.

She noted that customers are increasingly concerned about their meat.

"People are really starting to careabout the origin ofthe animals," she said."They come in

and want to know who's raising their meats."

More than curiosity, Bartell said, some customers have dietary restrictions that make it necessary to know exactly how animals are raised and what they are fed.

Between the local food and locally-crafted gift items at the store, located at 1012Adams Ave., she said she's experienced major growth. '%e have got so much talent in this area, it's phenomenal," Bartell said."It's really been fun, and we're growing all the time."

Still, yet, another cattle and meat-based company is hoping to open soon in La Grande.

Jake Hines of Hines Meat Co. is in the midst of opening a USDA-certified slaughterhouse and butcher shop at 2315 Jefferson Ave. Growing upin the La Grande and Imbler area in the 4-H and FFA community, Hines said beef was available only by the whole or half.

"Most people couldn't afford that, didn't have the &eezer space or whatever the issue might be," Hines said.

That experience has prompted him to open a local shop. '%e're going to cut out a lot of the middle man," he said.

Hines intends to provide fresh meat plus smoked meats and

Tim Mustoe /WesCom News Sennce

Cattle are auctioned at lntermountain Livestock in La Grande earlier this month during a blackAngus special sale. Thousands of cattle are sold at auction eachThursday at the Intermountain barn.

"People are really starting to care about the origin o f the ammals. They come in and want to know who's raising their meats."

— Jenny Bartell, owner, Community Merchants

sausages.

He willalso process wild game and provide custom butchery options.

As a USDA facility, Hines said an inspector will be on site any day there's a slaughter. That means a lot ofhoops to jump through at this early stage, but Hines said he is sticking to the course.

"I'm committed and ready to make it happen," he said.

Hines is slated to receive $75,000 in assistance from the La Grande Urban Renewal Agency, which voted to help fund the project in May. Hines said he intends to employ six full-time employees, with room

Tim Mustoe /WesCom News Sennce

Intermountain Livestock owner Dennis Arnzen corrals cattle for auction earlier this month. His business, along with ancillary businesses that sell local beef, show how valuable ranching is in Northeast Oregon. Intermountain Livestock alone does millions of dollars worth of cattle sales each year.

to growifdemand callsforit. '%e'll take imeatl to Portland if there's a demand forit,"he said.

Intermountain Livestock's Arnzen noted that Eastern Oregon

beef is top of the line. '%e have really excellent cattle here," he said."People geta taste of our cattle and they want some more."

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OCTOBER 2015

Fire, drought coincide with drop in cattle prices

By Jayson Jacoby WesCom News Service

It was the year the rain, in the main, didn't fall, but beef prices did.

That combination makes for bad tidings in Northeastern Oregon, where raising cattle is one of the larger industries.

Yet the downturn in prices that startedthissummer follows recordhigh prices thatranchers have enjoyed the past few years.

"I think we've seen the highs in the market for this cycle," said Ron Rowan, director of customer development for Beef Northwest, a catt le-feeding businessbased in North Powder.

Rowan said it looks as though the peak prices kom the fall of 2014 won't be matched for a while.

Ifthere' sa surprise,hesaid,it's

that the downward trend in prices started sooner than some analysts expected, and has been more precipitous.

Prices have dropped in some cases by more than 50 cents per pound.

That means a typical yearling steer might be worth $500 less than a year ago.

Rowan said the price drop has more to do with an influx ofbig, heavy animals on the market than with significant growth in the nation's cattle herd, which in the past two years plummeted to the lowest level in more than half a century.

'There's just a lot of meat on the market," Rowan said.

The shrinkage of the American cattle herd overthe pastseveral years, a trend driven largely by

GRASS Continued ~om Page10 Sullivan worries not only that grass will be slow to return to the burned areas, but that noxious weeds such as cheatgrass and whitetop — both widespread beforethe fire — will get there first and expand their range.

The Cornet/Windy Ridge fire has already had a domino effect.

Sullivan leases his private land and his public grazing allotments to Clair Pickard of Keating Valley.

Pickard, who had about 300 head of cattle on those allotments, said he and a crew of workers spent most of five days in August moving his cattle to keep them away kom the fire, and retrieving some that had strayed north across the Burnt-Powder divide and into the Denny Creek drainage.

"It probably cost 40 to 50 man-days," Pickard said.

He doesn't think the fire killed any ofhis cattle, but he won't know for certain until he

CHEATGRASS Continued from Page18 The resulting losses of habitat were a big reason the greater sage grouse was considered for the endangeredspecieslist.

extremedroughtin Oklahoma The timing of the market's softenand Texas, combined with rising ing unfortunately coincided with a consumer demand that boosted beef deepening drought and, in Baker County, the worst wildfire season in prices to record highs.

Butjust as prices have likely county history. reached their apex, so has the nas have had a pretty devastattional herd size dipped to its bottom. ingimpact on certain individuals," Rowan cites projections showing Moore said. that herds will grow in everyregion Although his ranch was spared except one: the West, consisting of kom the flames that scorched more Oregon, Washington, California and than 125,000 acres in the central Arizona. and eastern parts of Baker County, Pl~ pri c es notwithstanding, M ooresaid the drought hasaffected there's stillam plereason forpeople pretty much everyone in the beef in the cattle industry to be optimis- business.

"It's been a tough, dryyear," he tic, said Bill Moore, who ranches in southern Baker County near Unity. said.'We've moved cattle otfof 'The fundamentals in the cattle summer pasture faster than we'd m arket arestillpretty supportive like to." ofhighprices,"said M oore,a past And that means he had to start president of the Oregon Cattlemen's feeding hay to his herd sooner than Association. usual.

gathers the herd later for shipment to Idaho, where they spend part of the winter.

Those five fiery days were especially hectic, Pickard said, because his herd includes many pregnant cows that were preparing to give birth.

Sullivan said Pickard's cattle moved onto lower-elevation range, which Sullivan owns, that usually isn't grazed until late summer or fall.

Fortunately that ground didn't burn, so therewas a placeforPickard'scattle to graze.

Next year, though, with both the private and public rangeland still recovering kom the fire, that won't be an option.

Pickard said he's "already working on contingency plans for leasing other ground."

'There arelotsofpeoplewho arein alot worse shape than us," he said.'We're pretty mobile anyway. We don't think anything about putting a bunch of cattle in trucks."

This summer's fires illustrated how vital public land isfortheregion'sranchers,said Jacob Bingham, president of the Baker

The federal government declinedtolistthe the sage grouse last month, citing new recovery plans by state and federal agencies.

Kennedy acknowledges that her discovery isn't a silver bul-

County Livestock Association. ''We need to work with the agencies to ensure we can keep those allotments and graze them properly," Bingham said."Properly managed grazing helps those lands, and reducesthefuelloads."

Bingham said he hopes the Forest Service and BLM will consider opening vacant grazing allotments,orre-opening closed ones,to giveranchers atemporary sourceofforage while the allotments burned this summer recover.

'That's definitely an area we would enjoy some open discussion with the Forest Service and BLM," he said.

Bingham expects the temporary loss of thousandsofacresofrangeland willboost the priceforprivate grazingpastures across the region.

Prices have been relatively high anyway, as ranchers increased their herds to take advantageofbeefpricesthatreached record highsin 2014.

"People are going to want to keep their cows and they11 be willing to pay more for

let. Although whipping up the bacteria"is like brewing beer," she said, spraying 100 million acres of the West would be prohibitively expensive. What's more, the cheatgrass could eventually return.

Moore, like many ofhis fellow Baker Countyranchers, had to haul water to their cattle this summer, as stu.ams and ponds went dry.

"It's expensive, butit allows you to use feed in places without natural water sources," he said.

The year's two wet stretchesone in mid May, the other in July — kept the droughtkom potentially reachingrecordproportions,M oore SRld.

The rain arrived too late to help much in the lowest elevations, he said,butathigherranges,especially those in forests, greened nicely after the July storm, he said.

Moore said he has even noticed a few springs that were dryin 2014 are flowing this year. ''We've fared better than some other places," he said.

pasture," Bingham said.'There's going to be an increased demand."

The same thing applies to hay, he said.

Many ranchers, including Pickard, have had to start feeding hay to their herds a month or more earlier than usual because their fall pastures either burned or were grazedearly when cattlewereforced otf summer rangeby fi res.

Ranchers who can't find or afford replacement pasture might decide to cull their herds, Bingham said.

And although the significant drop in cattle prices this fall (ptease see story above) means those ranchers won't get as much for their animals as they would have a year ago, Bingham said ranchers are accustomed to dealing with natural events, such as fires and drought, that are beyond their control. ''We take our lumps and we always look forward to the future optimistically," he said."Maybe we11 be able to fine-tune some things and end up with a better cow herd out of it. There's always a silver lining."

Instead, she and others envision tanker aircraft, like those that dump water on wildfires, treating miles of fire breaks with the bacteria, to clear them ofthe weed and slow the spread of fires.

Asked if she worries that she

might be replacing one problem with another by spreading this bacteria, Kennedy replied:"It's in our soils. It's just not in high enough numbers to do the job."

The bacteria naturally die after four years, she added.

AGRI-BUSINESS

OCTOBER 201 5

THE OBSERVER tk BAKER CITY HERALD —29 •

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