Archive for year: 2016

Media Release

 Larry Treleven Named To Pest Management Professional Magazine Hall of Fame

 Tacoma, Wash. (October 18, 2016) – Accomplished local business leader and a long-time advocate for the professional pest management industry, Larry Treleven, vice president and co-owner of Tacoma-based Sprague Pest Solutions (spraguepest.com) has been named to the Pest Management Professional magazine Hall of Fame. Treleven received his award at a ceremony on October 17 during the PestWorld Conference.

Treleven, a third-generation pest professional, has been with the company since 1971 and has served in virtually every capacity from service technician to president. During his tenure, Sprague has grown from a small family business to one of the top 50 pest management operations in the United States.

Sprague provides vital preventive and remedial pest management and consulting services to leading food and beverage processing, healthcare, hospitality, retail and agriculture facilities in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain regions. It operates service centers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Colorado.

Treleven’s commitment and dedication to his profession stretches well beyond the walls of Sprague as he is deeply involved in numerous industry and civic organizations. He served as president of the National Pest Management Association in the mid-1990s, the Washington State and Oregon Pest Control Associations on several different occasions, and was a founding member of the Professional Pest Management Alliance.

The University of Washington graduate is also active in local business and civic organizations including the Association of Washington Business, Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, Tacoma Rotary Club, Goodwill Industries, Franciscan Health System and Washington Building Owners & Managers Association.

“I am certainly humbled at this honor and join an esteemed list of previous inductees who have contributed so much to the pest management industry,” says Treleven. “I share this honor with my family and coworkers who have not only supported me throughout my career but who share their talents and friendship with me each and every day.”

“Larry Treleven’s unwavering dedication to the education and professionalism of the pest management industry made him an obvious choice,” says Heather Gooch, PMP editor. “Who else can say they’ve served as president of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), president of the Oregon Pest Control Association, and president of the Washington State Pest Management Association?”

To read the complete article on Treleven’s Hall of Fame induction, visit https://pmphalloffame.com/

Sprague Pest Solutions, founded in 1926, is a Copesan Services partner (www.copesan.com). In addition to protecting clients’ facilities and products from pests including rodents, ants, cockroaches, bed bugs, nuisance birds, stinging insects, stored product pests, and flies, Sprague offers specialty technical services including heat treatments, fumigations, fumigation alternatives, large-scale bird exclusion, risk assessments and employee training.

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 Media Contact:

Carrie Thibodeaux
Sprague Pest Solutions
(253) 405-2590 / carriet@spraguepest.com

Cattle and calves No. 1, followed by greenhouse, nursery products

SALEM, Ore. – While Oregon agriculture’s overall growth curve has slowed down in recent years, certain crops and livestock commodities have enjoyed a very healthy increase in production value over the past decade.

In fact, only one commodity in the top 20 has recorded a decrease over the 10-year period, and that drop is very small, the state Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday.

Newly released statistics from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service provides a preliminary picture of 2015’s crop and livestock value of production. The numbers indicate that Oregon agriculture continues to be a major contributor to the state’s economy with an overall production value expected to be in the neighborhood of $5.4 billion– similar to the preceding two years.

The value of agricultural production in Oregon last year includes a top ten list with familiar names. Onions returned to the list while hazelnuts dropped out:
(1)       Cattle and calves, $914 million
(2)       Greenhouse and nursery products, $894 million
(3)       Hay, $604 million
(4)       Milk, $474 million
(5)       Grass seed, $383 million
(6)       Wheat, $217 million
(7)       Potatoes, $176 million
(8)       Pears, $152 million
(9)       Wine grapes, $147 million
(10)     Onions, $125 million

Oregon produces more than 220 agricultural commodities, so there are always winners and losers any given year. Several top ten commodities dropped in production value in 2015, but still show strong gains over a 10-year period.

For the second year in a row, cattle and calves tops the list with a production value of $914 million, which is slightly down from 2014. However, over a 10-year period beginning in 2005, the value has increased 71 percent.

The cattle industry tends to be cyclical, and the strong prices enjoyed the past couple of years are weakening in 2016. Nonetheless, cattle and calves is expected to be a mainstay at or near the top of all commodities in the foreseeable future.

The greenhouse and nursery sector has steadily recovered from the nation’s economic recession shortly after the commodity reached above the billion dollar mark in 2007. Greenhouse and nursery’s production value hit a low point of $667 million in 2010. The industry is now fairly close to where it was a decade ago, at $894 million– a 3 percent increase from 2005.

Hay saw a near $100 million decrease in 2015, compared to 2014. However, the commodity remains solidly in the No. 3 position in Oregon and has actually increased in production value the past 10 years by 70 percent.

Similarly, milk recorded a big drop last year of more than $180 million, but has increased 32 percent since 2005. Like greenhouse and nursery, the grass seed industry suffered greatly during the recession but is now back to where it was 10 years ago, recording a 2 percent increase since 2005 to $383 million.

Wheat prices continue to decrease the crop’s value, which also saw a drop from 2014 to 2015. However, wheat is still 20 percent higher in production value than it was 10 years ago. The pendulum has swung widely over the years. Five years ago, wheat’s value was $441 million– twice as much as last year’s figure.

Potatoes remains in 7th place among Oregon’s top commodities and recorded a slight increase in 2015. Potatoes was also 7th in 2005, but the value has increased 36 percent since then. Pears moved up to 8th after showing a healthy gain in 2015. Going back 10 years, that increase has been a remarkable 108 percent.

Easily the most astonishing growth over the years has been the wine grape sector. Just 10 years ago, the production value stood at $36 million. In 2015, it topped $147 million – a whopping 308 percent increase from 2005. No other Oregon agricultural commodity has seen a higher increase.

After dropping out of the top 10 for a year, onions has returned after a moderate increase in production value this past year  to $125 million, exactly where it was 10 years ago. Gone from the top 10 is hazelnuts, which saw a large decrease in production in 2015. Nonetheless, its value has grown 50 percent from 2005.

Also outside the top 10, there are three commodities that have shown triple-digit percentage increases over a 10-year period.

Blueberries remains a shooting star among Oregon crops, with a slight bump in 2015, but a huge jump of 246 percent since 2005. Last year’s production of 96.9 million pounds harvested is a record in Oregon and the second consecutive year the value has topped $100 million.

The other two growth commodities include eggs and apples. Egg production value last year skyrocketed to $116 million, which is a 131 percent increase from 2005. Coincidentally, the value of production for apples has also increased 131 percent over that same 10 year period, even though the number is only $44 million. The growing interest in ciders is one possible reason for the recent higher number.

The only Oregon agricultural commodity in the top 20 to actually lose production value in the past 10 years is Christmas trees. Still, the decrease is only 2 percent, and the production value of Christmas trees last year was actually $20 million more than in 2014.

Overall, the swings in production and prices for Oregon crops and livestock have not been tremendously dramatic, with a couple of exceptions. The top 10 and even the top 20 generally contains the same names with a few changes in ranking. Look for that to continue when statistics for 2016 are tabulated.

To download a copy of the latest Oregon Agriculture Facts & Figures brochure, go to:
https://www.oregon.gov/ODA/shared/Documents/Publications/Administration/ORAgFactsFigures.pdf

View the original article at ktvz.com

Risa Demasi looks back on her time as the first female chair of the American Seed Trade Association

Risa Demasi is wrapping up her term as chair of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). As the first woman to lead the board of the 133-year-old organization, she’s preparing to hand the reins off to a new chairperson, and in doing so will pass on some valuable lessons that she learned while at the helm.

“Talk about learning a lot. I’ve really grown professionally,” the 50-year-old partner at Grassland Oregon says. “ASTA is in a good position now. The board is engaged and committed, and it’s a tremendous honor to serve with some of the greatest leaders and thinkers of our industry.”

Demasi took the helm as chair at a crucial time for ASTA, when the organization was gearing up to move into a new era in the seed industry — one marked by exciting new technology and an increasingly connected world. Her immediate goal was to speak with all incoming regional vice presidents, division and committee chairs, directors at large, U.S. regional and Canadian and Mexican representatives, and ASTA senior staff. And she wanted to do it in the first 100 days of her time as chair.

She calls them her “hundred-day calls”.

“Those first calls were really instrumental for me to get a finger on the pulse of what everyone was thinking and allowed us to open a deeper dialogue than we may have had otherwise. It was clear to me right off the bat that we all want the best for the industry, to make sure it’s positioned well, and to bring everyone up to a top level of influence,” she says.

“Those calls were key in understanding what I needed to do and know that we were all on the same page. We used the results of those calls as we opened both of our executive committee meetings. It was incredibly valuable.”

For Demasi, the fact that ASTA was in such a good place when she became chair made her job all the more important, she says. She notes that ASTA board members and staff are active within the industry, and are working to ensure a healthier seed industry for everyone.

“Our director of state government affairs, Pat Miller, has been to every U.S. state capitol on our behalf. He continues to monitor every bill or initiative that may affect our industry and keeps us abreast of new developments,” she notes.

Tim Johnson of Illinois Foundation Seeds, who is on ASTA’s executive committee, has also recently served as president of the International Seed Federation. “The world is smaller all the time. We’re committed to taking a leadership role on critical issues in international organizations that influence the seed industry,” Demasi says.

She adds that Ric Dunkle, ASTA’s senior director for seed health and trade, is well respected by government agencies around the world and continues to work with them to ensure seed is able to move efficiently across borders and eliminate non science-based barriers.

“You could likely name any country and Ric will have participated in phytosanitary regulations or conversations there,” Demasi says.

“When things are working as well as they are, that’s the best time to review. That’s a real position of strength. We have such a rich and harmonious diverseness, which is our strength. Not only do we ensure every voice is heard, we want everyone to see themselves as a part of the organization,” she says.

Reaching Out

Her second goal was to establish benchmarks and metrics to measure ASTA’s progress in executing its five-year strategic plan, especially in regard to reaching out and improving communication — between sectors, with federal and state governments, among generations, within the association and to the public.

The feedback she received fell into five areas: Cross-sector communication, advocacy, inter-generational communication, internal communication and public outreach.

“While other organizations inside and outside of agriculture are just becoming aware that communication is critical, ASTA is ahead of the curve. One of our biggest challenges is communicating how innovations such as new breeding techniques are contributing to our quality of life,” she says. “People are lining up to get the latest iPhone, but advancements in agriculture aren’t viewed in the same light. We need to change that.”

ASTA recently launched a brand new website, just one of its efforts to capture attention and ensure the organization is able to better reach out to a wider, younger audience.

“When we meet people where they are, instead of just responding to fears, we can give them confidence, whether it’s organic products or new breeding techniques.”

Legacy

ASTA has been working on new communications tools it plans to unveil in the next few months. It’s those tools that will help build on the legacy Demasi leaves as she passes the torch to a new chair — Mark Herrmann of AgReliant Genetics, who is currently vice chair. Second vice chair Tracy Tally will move into the position of vice-chair.

“Risa brought up communication as a major issue, and it just so happens it coincides with what the ASTA board has been working on for a few years now,” says Tally, owner of Texas-based Justin Seed Co. “I think that will be a big part of her legacy — continued communication, reaching out and understanding the need to communicate, to reach out to the membership and have one-on-one conversations with them.”

Tally says Demasi had a knack not just for helping ASTA communicate better as an organization, but for helping individual board members better communicate with one another in situations where a collective mentality can sometimes take over.

“She always made the situation relaxed and allowed people to open up and discuss their concerns,” he says. “With her board meetings, we typically started off as a whole board, but then we had breakout sessions to allow us to take a very serious topic and situation and talk about it in small groups. Then we’d bring it back to the whole group. That was hugely helpful in fostering a sense of individuality in that group setting, which is very important.”

Demasi says it’s crucial to her that board members feel like they have a say, which allows members to stay positive and work for the benefit of the organization as a whole.

“Too often people get caught up looking at differences, making it easy to get sidetracked. When you focus on what you have in common, you find the glue that holds you together and you find the path forward. You can accomplish anything you set out to,” she says.

Read the article at Seedworld.com

The prohibition against genetically engineered crops in Oregon’s Josephine County has been struck down by a judge who ruled the ordinance is pre-empted by state law.

Voters in the county approved the ban on genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, in 2014 even though state lawmakers disallowed local governments from regulating the crops the prior year.

Proponents of the GMO ban claimed that the state pre-emption was unconstitutional, but Josephine County Circuit Court Judge Pat Wolke has rejected that argument and held the county ordinance to be invalid.

“The state law says that the localities may not legislate in this area; and the voters of Josephine County have attempted to legislate in the exact same area. It is impossible to read the two enactments in harmony; so that the local ordinance must give way,” Wolke said in the May 16 ruling.

Farmers Robert and Shelley Ann White challenged the legality of the GMO ordinance last year, arguing it had prevented them from planting biotech sugar beets on 100 acres of leased property.

During oral arguments in April, much of the debate focused on whether the Whites had legal standing to file the case.

Supporters of the GMO ban called them “hobby farmers” who filed a “manufactured lawsuit” on behalf of agribusiness lobbyists and didn’t have a valid lease to the 100 acres or a contract to grow biotech sugar beets.

Oregonians for Safe Farms and Families, a nonprofit, and Siskiyou Seeds, an organic seed producer, had intervened to defend the ordinance after the county government took a neutral position in the litigation.

The intervenors claimed the Whites had a “purely hypothetical” interest in growing GMOs, which isn’t enough to establish standing.

“They need more than their general disdain for this ordinance to get into court,” said attorney Melissa Wischerath, who represented the intervenors.

The judge disagreed with that characterization, ruling that “the plaintiffs have demonstrated that their conflict with the ordinance is not academic or speculative and that the determination in this case will have a practical effect on them.”

Proponents of the GMO ban also claimed the ordinance should not be pre-empted by state law because Oregon has a “regulatory void” in regard to biotech crops.

Because lawmakers had barred local restrictions on GMOs without establishing a statewide system to protect organic and conventional farmers from cross-pollination, the pre-emption statute is unconstitutional, the invervenors argued.

Wolke found that Oregon law doesn’t require a “replacement regulatory scheme” for a statute to pre-empt local rules.

He also rejected the argument that the pre-emption statute only applies to packaged seeds and not plants, calling this an “absurd interpretation” of the law.

Oregon’s Jackson County was allowed to prohibit GMO crops in 2014 because the initiative in that county was already on the ballot when lawmakers passed the pre-emption statute.

Supporters of Josephine County’s ordinance claimed the limit was arbitrary, but Wolke said it was a “legislative prerogative” to set the cut-off date.

Wolke likewise refused to disregard an Oregon Supreme Court precedent dealing with conflicts between state laws and county ordinances, saying he lacked the authority to do so.

Oregonians for Food and Shelter sees the ruling as a victory for farmers across the state, said Scott Dahlman, the agribusiness group’s policy director.

“It’s a great affirmation that the seed pre-emption law is legal,” he said.

While the ruling confirms the statute is constitutional, it’s possible that a similar court battle would have to be fought if another Oregon county passes and tries to enforce a similar GMO ban, Dahlman said.

Currently, supporters of a GMO ban in Lane County are gathering signatures for a prospective ballot initiative, he said.