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Teacher and Former OSA Scholarship Recipient receives state recognition for AG Science Program

OSA congratulates Jaimee Brentano and her colleague on this remarkable achievement. Jaimee was an OSA scholarship award winner in 2013 and 2014.


(Photo courtesy of Bend-La Pine Schools Press Release)

Mountain View High School’s agriculture science program named best in Oregon


Bend Bulletin Staff

The agricultural sciences and technology program at Mountain View High School was named the best secondary agricultural education program in the state by the Oregon Agriculture Teacher’s Association in June.

The program, led by teachers Jaimee Brentano and Jeff Papke, teaches students about animal science, plant science, metals and fabrication, natural resources, agriculture leadership and more, according to a Bend-La Pine Schools press release. About 230 students enroll in Mountain View’s agricultural science classes each year.

Students in the program recently calculated a Water Quality Index for Tumalo Creek, created nesting tubes for ducks in the Deschutes River and practiced blood draws and injections on simulation animals, the release stated.

“We are excited to earn this honor and highlight how we are building the program and striving to do better each year,” Brentano said in the press release.

Read the article in the Bend Bulletin HERE>>>
Read the Press Release for the Bend-La Pine Schools HERE>>> 

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Wild West Seed sees flower interest rising

Wild West Seed Inc. has a quiet but substantial presence in southwest Idaho, where it grows some of its flower seeds and most of its vegetable seed. The Treasure Valley is far and away our biggest production region by acres,” Business Development Manager Matt Hilbert said. “On the vegetable side, most is grown in the Treasure Valley.”

The 20-year-old Wild West Seed, a family-owned company based in Albany, Ore., produces open-pollinated flower, vegetable and herb seed, and wildflower mixes for other seed companies that sell primarily to home gardeners. With 10 full-time employees, it does business nationally and to an extent internationally — competing with big-name, merger-enlarged agribusinesses, among others.

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OSU names new dean for College of Ag

Alan Sams has been named dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University.

Alan Sams has been named dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University.

A new dean is coming to the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences.The university on Tuesday named Alan Sams to lead the college, succeeding Dan Arp, who will retire at the end of August.

Sams has spent the last nine years as executive associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, managing academic programs, personnel and budgeting for one of the largest agricultural colleges in the country, with 350 faculty, 7,800 students and a budget of more than $69 million.

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Automation paves the way for West Coast Companies in Salem

By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press

SALEM, Ore. — Andrew Burleigh knows the concern is there, that robots could soon replace many human workers in agriculture and food processing, but he insists that isn’t the case.

Automated systems are not replacing people, Burleigh said, but redefining what they do. For example, instead of hoisting 50-pound bags of product and loading them onto pallets by hand, a machine can now do the heavy lifting while employees transition to more favorable, less physical jobs.

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Oregon Court of Appeals affirms ruling overturning GMO ban

September 26, 2017

A ruling that invalidated a GMO ban in Oregon’s Josephine County has been affirmed on appeal.

The Oregon Court of Appeals has affirmed that a prohibition against genetically engineered crops in Josephine County is pre-empted by state law.

Voters in Josephine County approved the ban in 2014, nearly a year after state lawmakers passed a bill barring local governments from regulating genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.

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Landmark Turf and Native Seed joins the Alliance for Low Input Sustainable Turf

Alist

August 23, 2017; Landmark Turf and Native Seed has joined the Alliance for Low Input Sustainable Turf. The A-LIST is proud to have Landmark join its ranks and help further promote sustainable turf nationally. As a leader in the reclamation, native and rangeland segments of the seed industry, Landmark brings a wealth of knowledge to the group and a history of promoting “green” products. This core competency helped set Landmark apart from other prospective new members the A-LIST had been evaluating.

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Native seed business takes root

Craig Edminster started Pacific NW Natives in 1996. Native Seeds

Craig Edminster with his daughters Michele Santoyo, left, and Sarah Stutzman, right. Although Michele and Sarah helped in the fields growing up, it was only in the past couple of years that they decided to work full-time for the company.

ALBANY, Ore.- Sarah Stutzman and Michele Santoyo didn’t realize how hard their dad, Craig Edminster, worked until they joined him at Pacific NW Natives a few years ago.

You have to be a glutton for punishment, Stutzman said about their native seed production enterprise. My dad works his a– off, always has.

Edminster started Pacific NW Natives in 1996 after working as a research scientist for a cooperative of Western farmers.

It was there that Edminsters interest in native plant species began.

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Lebanon resident wins seed award

The Oregon Seed Association’s Scholarship Committee recognized two talented young women as recipients of the OSA Memorial Scholarship Award during its 2017 Summer Convention, held in June, at the Riverhouse on the Deschutes in Bend.

Awards to Nicole Cavill and Brenda Birrueta were presented at their respective high school awards ceremonies in May, and recognized by OSA membership.

Brenda Birrueta is from Lebanon, and is the daughter of Celestino and Carmen Birrueta, both longtime employees of Barenbrug USA in Tangent. Brenda just finished her sophomore year of studies at Oregon State University, majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Spanish. With a career focus in Human Resources, she is hoping to find an internship this summer working for a local company in Business Management.

OSA established its Memorial Scholarship award to honor the memories of leaders of the seed industry, and to recognize their commitment and service to the Oregon Seed Association. The Memorial Scholarship is awarded each year to a student that is the child or grandchild of a member employee and is seeking higher education. Students are selected based on academic achievement, as well as extracurricular and community involvement.

Read the article in the Lebanon Express here.

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Albany Democrat Herald-At Our Best

at our best

OSU students win fellowships

The Oregon Seed Association Scholarship Committee recognized two Oregon State University as recipients of the Kent Wiley Jr. Fellowship during its mid-winter meeting, held Jan. 10 at the Salem Convention Center.

At the time of the award, Tara Bergland was a first-year graduate student researching the efficacy of plant growth regulator mixtures on seed yield and yield components in tall fescue. She has volunteered at the OSU Dairy Barn, and has done trail maintenance for Corvallis parks. In 2013, while traveling in Tanzania, she was able to see different sides of agriculture, including coffee and sugar cane farms.

Also receiving an award was Lucas Bobadilla. Bobadilla grew up in Brazil on his grandfather’s farm, which shaped his love of agriculture and his desire to improve practices. At the time of the award, he was a first-year graduate student studying the frequency and distribution of Glyphosate-resistant populations of annual ryegrass. In 2015, he spent a year as a research assistant in the weed science lab at University of California, Davis. He previously worked as an intern studying the control of the weed Elesine indica in sugar cane in Brazil. He is a twice-published co-author of research papers.

Read the article in the Albany Democrat-herald here

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Ports hail longshore contract extension

The Pacific Maritime Association says it has reached a three-year contract extension with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union hopefully preventing any work slowdowns like one three years ago that damaged agricultural and non-agricultural exports and the U.S. economy.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association have agreed to a three-year extension of their current contract, which was due to expire in 2019.

PMA President James McKenna announced the extension July 28, saying PMA proposed a contract extension earlier in the year with the intent to create long term certainty for West Coast ports and all stakeholders. The PMA negotiates labor agreements on behalf of port operators.

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