A nucleus of Wallowa County hay growers is working to possibly form the first certified weed-free hay program in Oregon.

Dan Schofer of the United States Department of Agriculture's Ag Marketing Service says their effort to do so from the ground level up is a novelty. He says that certified weed free programs in other states such as Idaho began from the state level and worked down to the farmer. He is optimistic about the local effort.

Twenty hay farmers met with Schofer, Wallowa County vegetation manager Dan Sherwin and Pennie Diebel of the OSU Ag Program at Eastern Oregon University Thursday morning at the Cloud 9 Bakery in Enterprise to hear the results of a recent weed free survey and an outline of the proposed program.

The goal of the proposal would be to raise the quality of hay to a weed free standard set by the North America Weed Management Association, have it certified as such, then market the value added hay not only locally but across state boundaries or even internationally. ( Canadian Thistle. Illus is a hotlink to a page about the weed.)

The cost to the farmer to elevate the quality of hay should be more than offset by the value added to the certified and tagged product. Those additional costs include time, chemical and the cost of certification itself.

Wallowa County Extension agent John Williams told the group that efforts have been made for many years to encourage the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) to create such a program. One farmer in attendance Thursday, Pat Wortman, sits on the ODA's board of directors and said it is not feasible in Oregon to organize such a program on the state level. Williams felt the ODA would be much more likely to get involved if Wallowa County showed how the idea could first work at a local level.  (Photo of Queen Anne's Lace, the progenitor of the carrot, is a hotlink to a page about it.)

Diebel shared survey results from 95 respondents to a questionnaire. Targeted were hay producers and consumers primarily in Wallowa County and Union County. Sixty-eight percent of the respondents produce their own hay. When asked to rank four characteristics based on their importance on purchasing decisions, quality was ranked #1, followed by price. The respondents ranked weather damage, protein content, then weed free as the top three issues in determining quality of hay.

An important component missing in the survey results was feedback from hay brokers. Sherwin said that 15 hay brokers from Oregon, Washington and Idaho were sent surveys and only one responded. He has taken it upon himself to pursue additional information from the brokers.

In addition to brokers who traditionally market hay to such locations as the international market and to Kentucky for horse consumption, possible markets for the value-added hay would be back country horsemen, the USFS, cattle owners, rodeos, dairies, retail feed stores and the
county's hay station. (Photo of little-known Kentucky Mountain Horse is a link to a page about them.)

The groundwork laid prior to the meeting was the result of a $25,000 grant from the USDA Department of Marketing and Transportation. In addition to the costs of the survey, initial moneys have been spent to train Sherwin. He would become the certification inspector for Wallowa County and trained by the Idaho Crop Improvement Association.

The specific goals of the grant were to present policies and procedures for developing a certified weed free program, to explore marketing possibilities for weed free hay and to provide educational information in regards to cooperatives and hay associations.

Sherwin says the intended timeline of the project is to begin inspections this June. Farmers would be asked to apply for inspection (at an estimated cost of $3 per acre) a minimum of ten days prior to cutting the hay crop which could be alfalfa hay, grass hay, a mixture of the two, or even straw.
Inspections would precede the cutting of the crop.

In an educational mode Schofer informed the small group about the advantages and disadvantages of forming cooperatives or hay associations. A five person steering committee was formed with one objective being to involve the Wallowa County board of commissioners with their plans.
Named to the steering committee were Jim Petty, Jay McFetridge, Dan Gover, James Yost and Jim Dawson.

Certified weed free hay in Wallowa County, by definition, would amount to hay without any contents from a list of 53 noxious weeds prevalent in the region.

Schofer encouraged the group to start small and be meticulous about the absolute quality of the hay that was certified and marketed.

Dawson said that Wallowa County already has a reputation for growing quality hay, but would benefit even more with a certification program in place.

© Copyright 2002 Wallowa County Chieftan   Reprinted by permission