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Area nurseries not immune to drought ...................................3

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Fruitland farm takes organic challenge ....................................7

Farmers turn to alternative methods to improve bottom line.................................................................10

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Area nurseries not immune to droughtSTORY BY BRANDON WALTON

ONTARIO

Those who have lived any length of

time in the Western Treasure Valley

know the weather can be a little spo-

radic, if not downright crazy. But one thing

that has been consistent over the past few

years has been a lack of rain and winter

snow that has resulted in several drought-

filled years.Drought has been tough on area farmers,but it also has had an impact on area nurs-

eries. Andrews Seed Co. in Ontario andJayker Wholesale Nursery in Middleton andNyssa have had their own unique experi-ences due to the recent droughts.Andrews Seed representatives say thedrought has caused its customers to look atother options.“The biggest thing that we are noticing ispeople are approaching us looking for morewater-wise plants,” co-owner Mike Kurthsaid. “There is a trend away from a lot of thethings that are water hogs.” Kurth said there is also a new landscaping

trend in the area.“Xeriscaping is coming back,” he said.Xeriscaping is landscaping that gets rid ofthe need for supplemental water from irriga-tion canals.Kurth said he likes the fact that people aremore aware of the drier conditions the valleyhas experienced as of late.“People should be doing this, because if thistrend continues it’s going to be necessary forpeople to have something for them to grow,”Kurth said. “There are many things, that ifyou can just use water wisely, you can really

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Area nurseries are modifyingbusiness practices in thedrought by planting fewertrees and making plants thatuse less water available totheir customers.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOE CARTER

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get them going. Once these plantsget rooted in, they are pretty effi-cient.”According to Kurth, theseplants include ornamental grass-es, junipers and boxwoods.“These classes of plants have re-ally gone up in popularity,” Kurthsaid. “They do fantastic year-round, do good in shade, sun, wetsoils and dry soils. A very well-adaptive plant, people just don’trealize it.” In terms of the business side ofthings, Kurth said there havebeen a few changes.“It has changed our outlook,” hesaid. “We are thinking moreabout what we are bringing in.We are still bringing in the broadscope of everything like we havealways done, but we are doing lessof the things we call water hogs.”Jayker Wholesale Nursery hasstruggled a bit more than itsOntario counterpart.General manager Joe Carter saidthe drought has had a severe im-pact on the many trees the compa-ny plants and grows each year.“We haven’t had good moisturefrom rains, and this has had aneffect on us,” Carter said. “Ourtrees have been without water

since the first of August, and as aresult, we have lost a lot re-growth.”This has caused the company totake drastic measures to keep thetrees it still has alive.“Without any rain to speak of,we have had to do a lot of handwatering, which is slow, cumber-some and expensive,” Carter said. In fact, due to the drought, thecompany didn’t plant trees at itsNyssa location this year.“We are anxiously watching thewater,” Carter said. “If we don’tget a good snowpack this year, itwill get even tougher.”Carter said that if the recentdroughts continue, his nurserywon’t be the only one feeling itscosts.“We are all really at the mercyof it,” he said. “If we don’t get ournormal winter supply of water,we’ll all feel it.“If there isn’t any water, newcrops can’t be planted. If I or any-one else plants them, we take therisk of late summer losses.“Everyone is in the same boat.We all depend on the water forour livelihood. We will continueto plant our crops and hope andpray for the best.”

STORY AND PHOTOS BY LESLIE THOMPSON

NYSSA

To date, there have been no

reported cases of avian in-

fluenza in humans, but

there have been nearly 49 million

birds affected by the highly conta-

gious disease. There isn’t a single

species of bird that isn’t suscepti-

ble to avian flu.

While outreach and education are

ongoing, efforts increase in the fall.

That’s when migratory birds

take to the sky for their annual

trek. Those traveling birds, such

as ducks and geese, are the pri-

mary hosts of the avian flu. “Getting the word out aboutpracticing good biosecurity is im-portant 12 months a year, but falland winter are especially criticalbecause migration of waterfowl is

taking place,” Madeline Benoit,avian health coordinator forOregon Department ofAgriculture, said in a newsletterreleased by the agency this fall.Numerous deaths in recent yearshave caused both state and federalagencies to create a footprint of poli-cies surrounding avian flu. That in-cludes things such as free lab analy-sis of test kits, mandatory reportingand, when necessary, quarantines.Isolating the birds is one meas-ure that can help prevent thevirus’ spread.There are currently no quaran-tines in the Western TreasureValley, but in January a small por-tion of Nyssa was included in aquarantine issued from CanyonCounty. That quarantine issuedby the Idaho Department ofAgriculture was due to a small

Without heavy snow in thewinter and rain in the springand fall, Jayker WholesaleNursery has struggled to keepits trees alive. Drought pre-vented the Middleton-basedcompany from planting at itsNyssa location this year.

Bird biosecurity

Agencies continue educationawareness for avian flu

Some populations of great blue herons migrate to Central and South America duringthe winter months. Migratory birds are thought to be the primary hosts for avian in-fluenza.

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Wild turkeys roam on a country road near Nyssa. Avian influenzacan infect all species of birds, including wild turkeys.

Biosecurity is a set of practicesdesigned to reduce the risk ofspreading disease from sick birdsto healthy ones. The OregonDepartment of Agriculture rec-ommends adding these practicesto your routine:• Restrict access to your prop-erty and keep your birds awayfrom other birds.• Keep a designated pair ofshoes to wear around your birds,wash clothing after visiting yourbirds and use disinfectants cor-rectly.• Clean and disinfect cages,poultry equipment, and car tires after visiting a farm store, poultry swap or other location with birds present.

• Keep new birds separatefrom your flock for 30 days;quarantine returning birds fromthe rest of your flock after visit-ing a poultry swap or otherevent.• Do not share equipment orsupplies with others, but if youmust, disinfect it first.• Wash hands before and afterbird handling .

Source: Oregon Department of Agriculture

Prevention tips

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backyard poultry flock testingpositive for H5N2.The flock ended up being de-stroyed, but due to how easily theinfluenza spreads, the quarantinerestricted movement of eggs,poultry and poultry products. According to the U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture, that was thelast reported case in Idaho.Things have quieted down sincethen; the quarantine has been lift-ed and no new ones are in place.But even though the flu has seem-ingly run its course for the season,prevention is as important as ever.That includes testing.“I have only given out one kit

this year, earlier in May,” saidMarilyn O’Leary, administrativeassistant for Payette CountyExtension Office. The extension office is not re-sponsible for enforcement regard-ing the flu, she said. Instead, it isa local source for information, aswell as a spot to get a free test kit.“If someone has sick bird andfeel it needs tested, we have testkits at the office that they cancome and get,” O’Leary said.The test kits, which include acotton swab and vial, also have amailing envelope with postage al-ready paid. Kits go to the IdahoDepartment of Agriculture.

In Oregon, the last reportedcase of avian influenza was inDeschutes County in February.“Since the two Oregon outbreaks,we’ve reached out to at least 8,000people through bird shows, poultryswaps and other events that attractbackyard flock owners,” Benoitsaid in the newsletter.The largest focus of agenciesnow is outreach and awareness.While the best prevention is toavoid exposure, that’s not alwayspossible. There are, however, anumber of steps that can be takento reduce the spread of the diseasefrom waterfowl to domestic birds.That includes preventative

measures, such as ensuring wildbirds don’t have access to domes-tic birds’ food and water supply,placing new birds in a 30-dayquarantine and ensuring equip-ment is kept clean.“This could be a way of life forthe next several years,” Benoitsaid. “We all need to be preparedand conscientious.”

Get a free test kit In Idaho, call the Payette County Extension Office at (208) 642-6022. • In Oregon, call (800) 347-7028.

Geese take advantage of early morninglight at Malheur Lake, on the border ofDeschutes County. Though no new casesof avian flu have been reported in Oregonsince the one in Deschutes County inFebruary, the Oregon Department ofAgriculture is increasing its outreach ef-forts during the winter months when mi-gratory birds are traveling.

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Fruitland farm takes organic challenge

STORY AND PHOTOS BY APRIL EHRLICH

FRUITLAND

Hamanishi Farms in Fruitland is one ofthe few to test the bounds of organicfarming in the tri-county area, and

for good reason.Becoming a certified organic farmer is toughbusiness, according to Hamanishi Farms manag-er Jon Fabricius. The paperwork alone takes outtwo weeks of his year, which could be spentseeding, harvesting or repairing equipment. “We are inspected and audited, and no-body’s really doing that on the conventionalside,” Fabricius said. “There’s an added costfor doing the audits and expenses.”

That’s because certifiedorganic farmers need to

show the U.S. Department ofAgriculture that they are following

proper organic methods. Everything needs tobe organic, from the seed that’s put into theground to the manure that’s used on thecrop. According to the USDA’s website, thesemethods “foster cycling of resources, promoteecological balance and conserve biodiversity.”Then there’s the work involved with keep-ing a crop free of pests and weeds. There areseveral alternative methods for replacing her-bicides, though not all work out.For instance, farmers could keep weedsdown by growing a cover crop. They roll itup, crimp it down, lay it flat on top of the

surface and plant their seeds through it. Thelayer of dead mulch acts as a weed barrier,and it traps moisture in the ground so theydon’t have to water as much. “You’re leaving the crop on top of the soil,”explained Fabricius. “So you haven’t dis-turbed your microbiology, you haven’t dis-turbed the earthworms, your fungus, every-thing that’s working for you underground.” Unfortunately, he hasn’t been too successfulwith this method. He’s struggled with timing,particularly crimping the cover crop so that itstays down; he doesn’t want it to take root

Organic farming requires more equipment, labor andtilling than conventional farming, according toHamanishi Farms manager Jon Fabricius.

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Hamanishi Farms grows a variety of organic produce, including kale seed, which issold to a seed company in Oregon. After collecting the seed, farmers till the kale plantback into the soil for nutrients.

and become competition. To keep the weeds away,Hamanishi Farms tills the groundmore frequently, which requiresmore equipment and labor thanconventional farming. It also re-leases the soil’s healthful carbon in-to the atmosphere, disturbs earth-worms and disrupts the growth ofbeneficial fungus and microbes.High carbon content lends to morenutritionally dense produce andstronger soil structure. “Carbon belongs in the soil, notin the atmosphere,” ChiefExecutive Officer GeorgeMcClelland said.Aside from Hamanishi, there aresix certified organic farmers inMalheur County, six inWashington County and five inPayette County. Crawford Farmswas once on the list, but GalenCrawford said he ditched the labeland went with pesticide-free in-stead. Since he uses non-organicfertilizer, he cannot get the USDAsticker on his produce. Grocersdon’t usually mark produce that ispesticide free but not certified or-ganic, so the best way to gaugefarming techniques is to speakwith the farmer. Crawford said he switched prac-tices upon realizing the time com-mitment and how high he’d haveto set his prices.“If you’re organic, you want toset your premium price,” Crawford

said. “Not everybody’s willing tothe pay premium price, especiallyin this area. Then, shipping faraway eats a lot of cost.”If it’s so expensive, time-inten-sive and labor-inducing, why go or-ganic at all? For McClelland, it wasinitially about the challenge. “I thought it could be done on alarge scale profitably,” he said. “Istill think we could.”In the end, his primary concernis soil health. Pesticides and herbi-cides can leave behind chemical

traces called residuals. This meansthe chemical will stay in the soilfor a month or so. Farmers cannotplant until that time period is up,or else risk a damaged crop.Despite increased tillage, organicpractices can lead to a healthiersoil, Fabricius said.“If you’re going to be a qualityorganic gardener, it forces you todo things like green manurecrops,” he said. “You start tryingto take care of your soil biology, asto where you don’t necessarilyhave to do those things when youhave chemical options.”Green manure is the practice ofgrowing a crop, then tilling it backinto the soil as opposed to pullingit out of the ground. This adds nu-trients into the soil, and futurecrops to grow from it.If organic farming is done right,there should be no need for pesti-cides, McClelland said.“If you build up the organic materi-

al in the ground, the crop will takecare of itself,” McClelland said. “Ifyou have a healthy crop, you won’tneed pesticides. A pest sensesthere’s something wrong with thatcrop, and it’s trying to recycle it.”If given a choice between an or-ganic apple and a conventionallyfarmed apple, Fabricius said hewould choose organic, because it ismore likely to have more nutrients.Chemicals strip the soil, and farm-ing in a rush can cause convention-al farmers to overlook the soil’s nu-trient content.Chemicals, in the end, are short-cuts — they speed up the process,but can provide poor results.Fabricius said the best way tofarm for a healthy soil and a nutri-ent-rich crop would be using meth-ods from both conventional andorganic farmers. He would usegreen manure for nutrients, butuse some herbicides in order to tillless frequently.

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Organic farming is tough business, HamanishiFarms Chief Executive Officer George McClellandsays while scoping his field of organic kale seed.He took it on because of the challenge and hopesto scale it out in the future.

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HUNTER MARROW STORY AND PHOTOS

JAMIESON

Over the past 10 to 15 years,farmers have begun usingalternative methods to im-

prove their yields and increasetheir crops’ efficiency.Reasons for this vary, but for manyfarmers in eastern Oregon andwestern Idaho, the reason is mainlyto improve their bottom line.Kenneth Jensen, the owner ofJensen Farms, a 1,000-acre farmlocated in Jamieson, is one ofthose farmers looking to improvehis yields.Jensen, who said he has been till-ing soil for the past 25 years, be-gan what is called high-residuefarming in 2008. Methods thatuse this approach include no-tillfarming, strip-till farming and theuse of cover crops.According to WesternLaboratories soil scientist JohnTaberna, three properties of soilmust be kept in balance to ensurethe soil remains healthy: physical,chemical and biological.He said an example of improv-ing a soil’s biological propertieswould be to place humic acid and

microorganisms into the irrigationsystem.“What this does is it stimulatesand produces more nutrients,”Taberna said. “It stimulates theroot.” Taberna mentioned a chemicalproperty of soil used to deter-mine its health: the level of sodi-um. Like any living organism, theright balance has to be made be-tween too much sodium and toolittle, he said.Some physical properties of soilthat determine its health are howgravelly — or coarse — the soil is,which can be based on things likelocation, as soil in different re-gions vary in composition.Another physical property, water-holding capacity, is something thatcan be improved through the useof organic matter. This takes the form of covercrops, plants seeded into agricultur-al fields, either within or outsidethe regular growing season, withthe primary purpose of improvingor maintaining ecosystem quality,according to information from theMidwest Cover Crops Council.Taberna explained why usingcover crops helps improve soil

Farmers turn to alternative methods to improve bottom line

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Turnips line a large patch of farmer Kenneth Jensen’s land in Jamieson. Jensen us-es strip tilling, pictured with the turnips, no tilling and cover crops on his farm to im-prove efficiency and yields, while maintaining healthier soil.  

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health, and as a result, improvescrop yields.“Organic matter improves water-holding capacity because microor-ganisms consume carbon,” Tabernasaid.Carbon is a crucial element of soilhealth, according to the YoungCarbon Farmers organization. It re-leases nutrients for plant growth,promotes the structure, biologicaland physical health of soil and is abuffer against harmful substances.This is important for farmers be-cause 70 percent of crop productioncomes from water, specifically thewater supply and how the water issupplied to the crops. Taberna said cover crops, withhelp from current drip irrigationtechniques, are especially useful ineastern Oregon, which has been ex-periencing a drought for the pastfour years.Drip irrigation, known as “spoonfeeding,” he said, has cut approxi-

mately one-third of water use. Hesaid the technique also has yieldedbetter results than traditional irri-gation. Jensen said he has been using high-residue farming methods since at-tending seminars in WashingtonState University. For him, the deci-sion to switch to cover crops and thedifferent tilling methods was an eco-nomical one.“How is this going to affect mycrop?” Jensen said he had askedhimself at the time.“It has to be economical.Economically, you can win in differ-ent ways,” he said. “Besides beingeconomical, it’s good for the soil.”Jensen said the new methods

Kenneth Jensen, a farmer in Jamieson, re-cently harvested his corn crop. The farmerhas approximately 1,000 acres used tofarm corn, wheat, turnips and alfalfa seedswith a variety of high-residue farmingtechniques like strip tilling, no tilling andcover crops.

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have reduced labor and reduced overallcosts. He said he saves 10 percent by nottilling, and using cover crops requires 3 to5 inches less precipitation.Jensen said his expertise on soil health is-n’t as technical as a microbiologist’s, but hesaid he looks for signs of earthworm activi-ty when determining the health of his soil.“Besides that, the yield my crops make isthe biggest factor,” he said.Jensen said he is pleased with the resultsof no-till farming on his wheat crops.“I get the same, sometimes better yieldsas conventional,” he said. “You win on

all fronts.”For his cover crops, Jensen said waterlimitations are crucial but that through theuse of the crops, he has managed to reducewind erosion.“Wind erosion is drastically reducedwith these methods,” he said.Taberna agrees with using cover cropsfor this method, as wind from the sur-rounding rivers has been known to comeup and destroy the wheat crops.“East Oregon soil is very sandy,” Tabernaadded. “It needs more cover crops to pre-vent wind erosion.”

Jensen said cover crops help in otherways as well.“The cover crops provide food for cattle,decompose into the soil and keep evapora-tion down,” Jensen said. “If a thunder-storm occurs, infiltration goes up.”Although he said he has been pleased sofar with results, Jensen cautioned that notevery attempt a farmer makes will be suc-cessful, including implementing more high-residue farming techniques. “Not every field is a success,” he said.“We’ve learned what works and what does-n’t work.”