farm and ranch 2013
DESCRIPTION
Farm and Ranch 2013TRANSCRIPT
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New Plymouth dairy family
survives and thrives........................................................2-4
Oregon farms remain a national
leader in computer use..................................................5-6
Plant seeds, watch for weeds ...........................................7-9
Asia is still the top export destination,
based on ODA inspection & certification ......11-12
Farms turning to no-till methods .............................13-14
A salute to organic agricultural in Oregon ..........14-15
— Inside —
CHERISE KAECHELE | ARGUS OBSERVER
Jerry Withers has 150 milking cows in his dairy. The cows produce approxi-mately 1,800 gallons of milk a day and 3 million pounds of milk in a year.
CHERISE KAECHELEINDEPENDENT-ENTERPRISE
NEW PLYMOUTH
In the last 10 to 20 years, dairy-men have consistently gottenthe same amount of money from
their milk production. However,the problem they’re facing is the ris-ing cost of fuel, feed and other ne-cessities that go along with milkproduction.Jerry Withers, 58, is a dairymanin New Plymouth with what mostwould consider a smaller, family-sized dairy.Originally from Utah, he’s thethird generation of dairymen in hisfamily, with one of his sons, Robert,now helping in the production.Barbara, Jerry’s wife, is also apartner in the dairy, and with thehelp of Robert’s wife, Krystal andchildren, Noah, Chloe andSophie, the 150 cows in the dairyproduce about 1,800 gallons a day.He’s able to milk 12 cows at a timein his barn.Barbara Withers, originally fromGermany, had met Withers brieflywhile he was on a mission for theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They both met up againat school in Utah and married soonafter.Jerry Withers, who majored in
dairy science, then managed adairy in Delta, Utah, his first dairy,besides his family’s.“Small farms have depleted,” hesaid. The larger dairies with morethan 1,000 head are taking over, hesaid. People from California arebuying up the dairies and are ableto afford the larger dairies, he said.
Jerry’s day starts at 4 a.m. to dothe first milking, with his second at4:30 p.m. Though he said he can be-gin milking a bit later, there areabout 12 hours of turnover andwhen it takes about three and a halfhours to get through all the cows,he’d rather have more time with hisfamily at night than have the extra
hours to sleep in the morning.The first thing they have to do be-fore milking is sanitize the area,along with the cows. Cleanliness iseverything at a dairy. The sanita-tion process of the machinery, aswell as making sure the cows don’thave mud and sediment on themthat could get into the milk is a veryimportant part of milk production.If the milk is tested and shown tobe contaminated, then Jerry wouldhave to pay for the entire batch ofmilk that is a combination of areadairies — about 60,000 gallonsworth.Withers sells his milk toNorthwest Dairymen’s AssociationCo-op which is a subsidiary ofDairygold.The milk is tested for butterfat,protein and bacteria every timethey pick up the milk, which isevery other day. A small amount of bacteria, Jerrysaid, is inevitable. However, regula-tion of the milk product is strict.Withers said his raw milk pro-duces about 4.7 percent butterfat,compared to an average of 3.5 per-cent in other dairies. Butterfat is the portion of milkthat solidifies at the top when themilk is left standing. In the grocerystore, 2 percent, 1 percent and skim
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CHERISE KAECHELE | ARGUS OBSERVER
Jerry and Barbara Withers work on their dairy with their son Robert and hisfamily. Jerry has 20 acres of land in New Plymouth.
New Plymouth dairy family survives and thrives
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milk refer to the percentage of but-terfat in the milk.He has two breeds of cows at hisdairy. Holsteins, which tend to pro-duce more milk, and Brown Swiss,which tend to produce higher but-terfat. He originally started withthe two breeds and has continuedwith both, he said.He feeds the cows alfalfa hay, cornsilage and a grain mix with cottonseed, rolled corn, soy beans and vi-tamins and minerals. He’s alsostarted feeding his cows palm oil,which allows them to produce morebutterfat.Withers is a part of the DairyHerd Information Association,which helps dairy farmers withmanagement. One of the benefitsof the association is a report thattells a dairy when a cow is ready tobreed, when it’s calving, when torest the cow and more. A cow has a nine-month gesta-tion period. It can usually startproducing at two years. Once a fe-male has her calf, Withers willwait two months for her to breedagain. She will be able to producemilk for approximately sevenmonths and have two months of adry period for rest. When thecows are on different schedules,this report helps Jerry and hisdairy remain successful.His cows produce about 10 to 12calves a month, he said. Five per-cent have twins, which he said
aren’t good because often thebirth can be complicated. He hasabout one stillbirth every month,too, he said.Withers said he is not an organicfarm and uses antibiotics on hisherd to reduce diseases.He said he uses artificial insemi-nation for the cows because he’sable to get better-quality calves.He’s able to choose the semen froma catalog with information aboutthe bull and the daughters it pro-duces.A dairy cow’s lifespan is aboutfive years or so. Three of thoseyears are calf-producing. Withers said the cost of fuel andfeed has gone up and the prices
are always dependent upon theeconomy.Ethanol, a fuel additive made ofcorn, also has raised feed prices.Withers was number seven on thelist of local dairies to receive subsi-
dies from the government to helpsmaller dairies in 2012. However,Withers said, he produces approxi-mately 3 million pounds of milk ayear and the amount he gets fromthe subsidies doesn’t go a long way,in his opinion.When he first joined DHIA,there were 35 herds in the associa-tion. Now, it’s depleted to fourherds. It’s a benefit for manage-ment, he said. He uses the recordDHIA every day. In fact, he’s thePresident of the local Payette ValleyDHIA.Jerry said despite his son wantingto begin selling the milk privately,the regulations, paperwork and lia-bility that would be required of thefeat is too much. The milk is betterthan what consumers buy at thestore, Jerry said, however if therewas ever a problem with the milkand someone got sick, the ramifica-tions could wipe out his dairy.
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CHERISE KAECHELE | ARGUS OBSERVER
Jerry Withers begins his day at 4 a.m. to milk his cows. It takes about threehours to get through all of them. He begins again at 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon.
STAFF REPORT
Oregon agriculture remainsat the front of the line whenit comes to embracing the
use of the computer as part of a suc-cessful operation. Results of a newsurvey on computer usage confirmthat the state’s farming and ranch-ing community is a national leaderin several top categories, enhancingOregon’s reputation as an earlyadopter of high technology.The nationwide survey is con-ducted every two years by the U.S.Department of Agriculture’sNational Agricultural StatisticsService. Oregon is at or near the top in
nearly all 2013 survey categories:• Oregon is tied for first in thepercentage of farm operations withaccess to a computer, at 84 percent,matching its neighbor to the north,Washington. • Oregon is also tied withWashington in the percentage ofoperators that own or lease com-puters (81 percent) and in the per-centage of operations with Internetaccess (81 percent). • Oregon is tied for fifth withMontana in the percentage of farmoperations using a computer forfarm business (48 percent), trailingNew Jersey, Illinois, Iowa,Minnesota, and North Dakota.• In all categories covered by the
survey, Oregon is well above the na-tional average.“We use a lot more (technology)than we used to,” said Nyssa-areafarmer Reid Saito.One area, in particular, is in com-munications with employees.“Cell phones have had a tremen-dous impact,” he said. “Twentyyears ago, you would not have got-ten hold of me,” he said, except ear-ly in the morning or in late evening.With smart phones, farmers cancheck weather data and do some ofthe same things as one can with adesktop computer, Saito said.Computers also help with book-keeping and record keeping onsuch things as fertilizer and fuel use.“The Internet is a big source of in-formation,” he said.Noting he didn’t have computerswhen he started farming, Saito
said, “It would be difficult to runthe size of operations (we havenow) without the technology.”The down side of all the technol-ogy is the learning curve in using it,Saito said, but “technology has al-lowed us to do a lot of good things.”“We’ve seen for years that com-puters are just as important to ouragricultural producers as the trac-tor or any other type of equipmentassociated with farming,” says KatyCoba, director of the OregonDepartment of Agriculture. “Ourfarmers and ranchers are savvywith the computer and use it innearly every aspect of their opera-tion. I’m not surprised to see us con-tinually rank at or near the topamong states every time these com-puter surveys are conducted.”Other states have made hugestrides in the percentage of farmers
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Oregon farms remain a national leader in computer useNew survey shows Oregon farmers haveembraced the computer as a key business tool
and ranchers using computers aspart of their business activities.Oregon’s numbers are up from the2011 survey but not as dramatical-ly as some other states.“Oregon is a pretty progressivestate and I think we see people us-ing a tool that is advantageous forthem on a daily basis,” says ODAInformation Systems ManagerSteve Poland. “The Internet and ac-cess to it gives them the ability to dotheir business more efficiently andeffectively.”At some point, all states mayreach a saturation point when itcomes to computer usage. But fornow, nearly all are showing im-provement in farm computer usage.For Oregon, the 84 percent com-puter access mark is a slight in-crease from 83 percent recorded in2011 as the state continues to makestrides in establishing computer ac-cessibility for rural Oregon commu-
nities.Other survey findings:• At 27 percent, Oregon is tiedwith Wyoming for second in thepercentage of farms and ranches us-ing computers to purchase agricul-tural inputs over the internet. NewJersey leads the nation in that cate-gory at 37 percent. • Oregon is tied with NorthDakota for fourth (20 percent) inoperators who have conducted agri-cultural marketing activities overthe internet by computer, with Iowathe national leader at 30 percent.• In both purchasing agriculturalinputs and conducting marketingactivities over the internet,Oregon’s farmers and ranchershave shown significant increases injust two years as operators are usingthe computer to do more than justget information.
Includes reporting by Larry Meyer of The ArgusObserver.
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6 We salute the hands
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STAFF REPORT AND
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
The planting of desirable grasses andother vegetation is a key strategy inrestoring watersheds for salmon and
other threatened or endangered species inOregon. But it will do no good if what isplanted is infested with noxious weed seeds.The Oregon Department of Agriculture isusing education as a means to ensure theright kind of seeds go into the ground thisspring.“We definitely believe in the importance ofwatershed restoration projects on both agri-cultural and non-agricultural lands,” saysODA Director Katy Coba. “We just need tomake sure efforts are not compromised bythe introduction of invasive weeds in thosesensitive areas.”From the 2-acre landowner who plants froma 20-pound bag of seed to a federal agencyland manager responsible for thousands ofacres that may buy seed by the ton, using
clean, weed-free seed is critical to repairingthe land and enhancing Oregon’s watersheds.With large wildland fires, at least the pastcouple of years, the Bureau of Land Managerhas had to really ramp up seed purchases torehabilitate burned-over areas.Carolyn Chad, associate manager for theVale BLM District, said the agency pur-chased and planted some 800,000 pounds ofseed in the Vale District in 2012. “All of the seed purchased by BLM is, bypolicy, certified weed free,” Chad said.“Additionally, it is tested and proofed for vi-ability.”Availability of suitable seed is dependentupon how many growers are producing seedin any one year, she said, how much viableseed has been held in reserve and how manyfires occur in any given year, which regulatesthe demand for limited available seed, partic-ularly native seed. Crested wheatgrass seedis typically in greater supply but can still behard to come by when the West experiences
PHOTO COURTESY OF DERRICK HENRY/BLM
Seeds like these will help to rehabilitate eastern Oregon’slands in the aftermath of the Long Draw Fire.
Plant seeds, watch for weeds
a severe fire season, Chad said.In Harney County, seed purchase for 2012 amount-ed to 26,960 pounds compared to 11,280 pounds in2011, according to Tara Martinak, public affairs spe-cialist for the Burns BLM District. She said seed ven-
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dors are all aware that the seed pur-chased has to be weed free to go onpublic land. Also, any seed availabil-ity is competitive in years wherewildfire season is active in manycounties/states, when everyone islooking for seed, she said.“We already have some majorweeds and don’t need any morefrom the planting of seeds,” saysTim Butler, manager of ODA’sNoxious Weed Control Program.Yellow starthistle, knapweed, andwhite top are examples of the kindsof weeds that can derail watershedrestoration projects over time.“Watershed restoration projectsare designed to get a desirable plantspecies to establish on site areas toboth compete with invasive weedsand provide fish and wildlife habi-tat ,” says Butler. “Perennial grassesyou are trying to establish have a fi-brous root system that holds the soiltogether and prevents erosion. Butif something undesirable like knap-
weed gets a hold, it can dominatethe site with a tap-root system thatdoesn’t hold the soil and can in-crease siltation in nearby streams.”Oregon’s first line of defense inintegrated weed management isprevention. This includes havingadequate laws in place to regulateseeds such as wildflower seed. In2003, a visiting farmer fromAustralia detected a plant in LinnCounty called Paterson’s curse,which is toxic to most livestock andone of Australia’s major noxiousweeds. ODA worked with theOregon State Weed Board to getPaterson’s curse placed on the statenoxious weed list and took immedi-ate steps for controlling the LinnCounty site as well as another sitethat was confirmed in DouglasCounty in 2004. Today, both sitesare nearing 98 percent control. Ittook a change in the state’s seed lawto regulate wildflower seed mixes,which included the Paterson’s
curse, to help prevent a similar in-trusion in the future.Oregon’s history offers other ex-amples of the unintended conse-quences of seed plantings that inad-vertently included invasive noxiousweeds.In the late 1980s, to prevent ero-sion, the U.S. Forest Service usedaircraft to drop grass seed on thou-sands of acres destroyed by fire inNortheast Oregon. Unfortunately,that seed was contaminated withyellow starthistle. The weed spreadlike a biological wildfire itself andbecame an expensive problem todeal with. Hopefully, the lesson hasbeen learned. Efforts by federalagencies such as the Bureau ofLand Management this year to re-store rangeland destroyed by fire insoutheastern Oregon involve re-plantings that are careful to not in-clude weed seeds.In the late 1990s, contaminatedwheatgrass seed originating from
California but sold by a CentralOregon seed dealer introduced yel-low starthistle to several counties.As part of the construction of a newspillway at Ochoco Reservoir, a fiveacre site was seeded in 1997 withthe tainted supply. When the sitewas monitored the following sum-mer, starthistle was thriving.Workers had to hand pull hundredsof weeds. Officials say the damagecaused by contaminated seed maybe worse than if the site had notbeen seeded at all. Today, the sitestill needs to be monitored for anystarthistle plants that might pop up.An ounce of prevention is wortha pound of weed-free seeds, ormore.“It’s better to spend the dollars upfront — before planting,” says JimCramer, director of ODA’s MarketAccess and Certification programs.
Includes reporting by Larry Meyer of The ArgusObserver.
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A large drill mechanically plants seedsin eastern Oregon.
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STAFF REPORT AND
THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
It may not be the final word onwhere Oregon agricultural com-modities are being exported, but
phytosanitary certificates written byinspectors with the OregonDepartment of Agriculture give agood idea of the state’s top exportmarkets and what is being sent tothose markets. Data from 2012 con-firms Asia as a major destination forOregon agricultural products, butU.S. neighbors Mexico and Canadaremain key export markets for anumber of crops grown in Oregon.“It’s no secret that Asia is a majormarket for us,” said Jim Cramer, di-rector of ODA’s Market Access andCertification Program Area.“Mexico and Canada remain veryimportant, but the growth in thosecountries isn’t nearly as significantas what we see in Asia. In fact, morethan half of the world’s populationlives within a five hour plane ridefrom Hong Kong.”
According to Bill Buhrig, a cropsagent at the Malheur CountyExtension Service, Asia is a majormarket for Malheur county ex-ports.“I would guess that we probablysend as much wheat and cattle tothe Pacific Rim as much as we doanything,” Buhrig said. “Thosewould be two of the primary thingsthat come out of this area.”Malheur County makes the list ofhighest-producers for cattle, hay andpotatoes. More than 198,000 tons ofhay and 1.5 million potatoes are pro-duced by the county annually.About 40 percent of what is pro-duced by Oregon agriculture headsto other countries. According toUSDA’s Economic ResearchService, total annual exports forOregon agricultural commoditiesthe past three years has averagedabout $1.6 billion. In 2012, ODA inspectors — rang-ing from those working at variousshipping point district office toChristmas tree inspectors — issued
phytosanitary certificates enablingmore than 2.3 billion pounds offresh product to be shipped toother countries.The value of just the top 10 ex-ported commoditiesalone exceeded$270 millionlast year.Based on thatfigure, com-bined with thevalue of othercommodities, ODA’sservice of inspection and providingphytosanitary certificates is respon-sible for an estimated 17 percent ofthe state’s agricultural exports.A general estimation of Oregon’stop six export markets based onODA data shows the Asian influ-ence: (ranking based on 2012 farm-gate value of products exportedfrom Oregon to that country)• Hong Kong, $44.0 million• Mexico, $33.7 million• Japan, $28.9 million• South Korea, $27.8 million• China, $25.6 million• Canada, $14.6 millionPerched on top, Hong Kong is aunique market in that it acts as agatekeeper of Oregon agricultural
products to China and SoutheastAsia. Hong Kong is not the ultimateconsumer. The biggest impact onHong Kong comes from Oregonhazelnuts, responsible for morethan $43 million of last year’stotal. Mexico receives a vari-ety of commodities fromOregon, but gets a boost
from being thestate’s top cus-tomer forChristmastrees. Japanand South
Korea remainsteady export partners for Oregon.China is the fastest growing marketfor Oregon and no doubt receivesproduct through Hong Kong, whichis not reflected in ODA’s numbers.Canada’s standing would be higher,but ODA’s statistics don’t take intoaccount the large volume of nurseryproducts that are sent north or therelaxation of trade between the USand its neighbor, eliminating theneed for phytosanitary certificates.Among the next group, Vietnam isemerging as a major export marketand is expected to expand.The top six Oregon export com-modities requiring a phytosanitary
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Asia is still the top export destination, based on ODA inspection & certification
ODA certification provides a snapshot of Oregon ag exports
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certificate from ODA, based on far-mgate value in 2012, is as follows:• Grass seed, $69.5 million• Hazelnuts, $67.2 million• Grass straw and hay, $42.6 mil-lion• Pears, $30.9 million• Cherries, $21.3 million• Christmas trees, $13.6 millionMalheur County isn’t a major pro-ducer of any of the top exports onthe list, Buhrig said, but does rankfifth in the state for production ofalfalfa hay.“Some of our hay does get cubedand exported,” he added. “We raisea lot of hay here in MalheurCounty, but a lot of it goes to feedstores, goes to dairies, or it staysright here. We’ve got 276,000 cows;obviously we have to feed themsomething.”Malheur County is about 94 per-cent rangeland, Buhrig said. It isOregon’s highest ranking producerof cattle.
But if the Idaho Eastern OregonOnion Committee has its way,onions could crack the list.Earlier this year, in May, as a resultof meetings during a trade missionto Asia, two fresh produce im-porters in Taipei, Taiwan, an-nounced plans to import onionsfrom the Idaho-Eastern Oregon re-gion this fall.The Idaho Eastern OregonOnion Committee took part in thetrade mission with Idaho Gov. C.L.“Butch” Otter.This region already producesabout 25 percent of the onions con-sumed in the United States.China remains a major importerof Oregon grass seed, a crop thathas rebounded from global reces-sion. Hazelnuts, with a good pricelast year, remains near the top ofthe list. Grass straw and hay contin-ues to provide forage for Asiancountries. The straw is a good ex-ample of turning what was once
considered a waste product in thefield into something of value. Pearsand cherries are two fresh fruitsthat find their way into a number ofexport markets. In particular,Oregon pears are popular in SouthAmerica. Following the top six arehigh-volume staples such as pota-toes and onions, along with thefastest growing of Oregon com-modities– blueberries.“We don’t look at everything thatis exported from Oregon and noteverything requires a phytosanitarycertificate, but we do inspect nearlyall of the fresh fruits andvegetables, tree nuts, andmany other major agricul-tural commodities such asChristmas trees, nurserystock, and grass seed,”Cramer said. “These sta-tistics are consistentwith what we seefrom other availableexport numbers.”
ODA inspectors examine a vari-ety of field crops before issuing phy-tosanitary certificates that assurethe commodity is clean of pests anddiseases. Without the piece of pa-per with ODA’s stamp of approval,there is no guarantee the commod-ity meets the export country’s stan-dards. The importance of timely in-spection and certification is evenmore critical for highly perishablefresh fruits and vegetables.“When you look at the amount ofproduct that leaves Oregon des-tined for international markets andthe fact that much of it has to trav-el with that certificate, it’s easy to
see that ODA’s role iscritical to helpingOregon agriculturebe successful,”Cramer said.
Includes reportingby ChristinaMarfice of TheArgusObserver.
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LARRY MEYERARGUS OBSERVER
At first glance, the garden atthe historic Hanley Farm inCentral Point, Ore., appears
to be fallow under a cover of thickmulch.But closer inspection reveals rowsof garlic and onions planted be-tween the straw mulch layers.“Bare dirt is not good — bareground is not good,” said NickMahmood, 36, a seasoned gardenerwho swears by no-till gardening.“We really focus on keeping theground covered with organic mat-ter so we can create a zone in thesoil that has adequate air, moistureretention and habitat for life in theground,” he added.Mahmood is one of four membersof the nearby Daisy Creek Farmwho have linked up with theSouthern Oregon HistoricalSociety to establish permanent no-till agricultural practices at HanleyFarm.The historical society owns the37-acre spread in Central Point.“For us, it is important to be tak-
ing care of the soil,” Mahmoodsaid. “We are looking at long-termsoil fertility and soil care. Whenyou promote soil life, you promotea healthy biodynamic existence inthe ground.”As the name suggests, no-till gar-dening is a way to grow crops eachyear without disturbing the soilthrough tillage.The technique increases theamount of organic matter and nu-trients in the soil while retainingwater much longer than tilled soil.It also decreases erosion while pre-serving the rich variety of soil life.The gardeners mulch with every-thing that provides soil-friendly or-ganic matter: animal bedding,wheat straw that has weathered,wood chips, leaves, pine needles,bark.“What we use is really wastesfrom society,” Mahmood said. For Haminishi Farms ofFruitland, no-till farming is part ofits cultural of biological farmingand soil nutrition and protection.The farm has used the techniquefor three years, Jon Fabricius, man-ager said.“It is less destructive to the soilprofile,” he said, and there is a fuel
savings as no-till requires less use oftractors as there is no plowing ordisking. Also, the organic matter inthe soils has been increasing withno-till, he said. Their crop yields have been pret-ty comparable to traditional culti-vation in which the soil is dis-turbed, he said. “We’ve been prettypleased.”The farm rented the planter fromthe Malheur Soil and WaterConservation District the first yearand then purchased its own planter.Over at the Hanley Farm inCentral Point, farmers practice theRuth Stout method of mulch gar-dening.
Beginning in 1944, Stout devel-oped her minimalistic approach togardening which calls for usingyear-round mulch to eliminatemuch of the labor associated withtraditional gardening.Her books include the 1955 clas-sic, “How to have a Green Thumbwithout an Aching Back: A NewMethod of Mulch Gardening.”This marks the second year thegardeners have been cultivating no-till farming at the historic HanleyFarm. They are expanding it thisseason.“Once you get it going, all you dois throw mulch on to suppress theweeds,” Mahmood said. “Basically,
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STAFF REPORT AND
THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Organic agriculture, once con-sidered a small, narrowly fo-cused part of the food indus-
try, has been gradually gaining moreof a foothold in the national main-stream, as well as in Oregon. “Organic agriculture is right athome in Oregon,” said OregonDepartment of Agriculture DirectorKaty Coba. “The same great grow-ing conditions and wonderful diver-sity of products that serves all ofOregon agriculture benefit our or-ganic producers as well.”One farm in Malheur County is em-bracing the growth of the organic sec-tor. Malheur River Meats, a partner-ship between two local families, is
striving to produce healthy range andpasture raised meat, “the way natureintended,” according to its website.The Stokes and Bentz families usesustainable practices like proper nu-trition and efficient management toraise beef, pork, chickens, turkeys andgoats without antibiotics, hormonesor unnecessary confinement.“Besides letting these animals justbe animals and be out moving andgrowing, we’re not reinventing thewheel,” Michelle Stokes said. “Backwhen our grandparents were on thefarms, this is how they ate their meat.This is how their animals wereraised.”While organic foods were once dif-ficult to find, they now fill the shelvesat mainstream grocers. MalheurRiver Meats sells its wares atNatural Grocers and Whole Foodsin Boise, and has plans to expand itssales to Medford and Portland.Oregon ranks fifth in the nationin the number of organic farms, afigure that prompted Oregon Gov.John Kitzhaber to proclaim Sept.15-21 to be Organically Grown inOregon Week. The governor’sproclamation supports the notionthat organic agriculture is alive andwell. It also points out that Oregonpassed the nation’s first organiclegislation in 1973 and revised theOregon Organic Foods Law in1989, which served as the modelfor the current national organicstandards.“Organic agriculture givesOregon consumers a choice in thebounty of products they enjoy,”says ODA Marketing DirectorGary Roth. “What I personally cel-
ebrate during this special week is theavailability of organic products thatjust wasn’t there 20 years ago. Wegrow so many different crops inOregon, and we have so many differ-ent organic crops to offer, as well.”According to a 2011 certified or-ganic production survey conductedby USDA’s National AgriculturalStatistics Service (NASS), Oregonhad 353 certified organic farms op-erating on 132,777 acres and pro-ducing sales of $233 million. That’sstill less than 5 percent of Oregon’stotal cash receipts for 2011, but anumber that has sharply grown overthe past decade.It only takes a trip to a grocerystore to see the evolution of organicfoods.“For many years, consumers could-n’t find organic products readilyavailable in mainstream markets,”says Laura Barton, ODA trade man-ager. “You might have found them ata health food store or a specializedmarket niche. But now you will findthat almost every single mainstreamgrocery store will have organic prod-ucts either integrated with otherfoods or in a special section for or-ganics.”Nationally, total organic food salesjumped 10.2 percent in 2012, reach-ing the $29 billion mark, accordingto a survey by the Organic TradeAssociation. Specifically, US sales oforganic fresh produce increased bymore 13 percent last year to $9.7 bil-lion. That same survey says organicsaccount for 4.3 percent of total foodsales, but the market share is biggerfor organic fruits and vegetables,which accounts for one of every tendollars spent by US consumers onfruits and vegetables.On the global scene, sales of organ-ic foods have grown 25 percent be-
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we get all the organic matterin place, then throw soil ontop of it and grow into thatsoil. By the time the roots getdown into that organic mat-ter, it has been consumed onmicrobial action that is com-ing up. We are building soilversus losing soil.”While they don’t use ma-chine or animal power, theyhave a small herd of Icelandicsheep as well as Toggenburggoats. Both the sheep andgoats are known for browsing.He noted this marks thefirst time in a long period thatthe fields will not be tilled.“There has been a lot ofmachine work on the soilhere that didn’t do the soilany good,” said Mahmood.“It compacts the soil, ruinsthe structure and kills thediversity.”
A salute to organic agriculture in OregonOrganically Grown in Oregon Week highlights an important and expanding ag sector
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Includes reporting by Christina Marfice of TheArgus Observer.
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Rob Stokes, part-owner of Malheur River Meats, looks over one of his fields ofhogs in late summer. Stokes has developed practices for keeping his farm sus-tainable while raising healthy, organic animals.
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