October 6, 2005

Conservation district to hold annual dinner meeting

The Klamath Soil and Water Conservation District will be holding its annual dinner meeting 7 p.m. Thursday at the Midland Community Hall.

Klamath County Commissioner Bill Brown, natural resources liaison for the commissioners' office, will be the featured speaker.

Awards will be presented to landowners who have demonstrated outstanding conservation measures on their property or individuals who have shown clear leadership in the field of conservation.

The meeting is open to the public. To make reservations, call the KSWCD office at 883-6932 extension 101.

Oregon Wheat Foundation to give out scholarships

The Oregon Wheat Foundation will provide up to 12 scholarships for high school seniors whose families are members of the Oregon Wheat Growers League. Students whose family members are employed by OWGL members are also eligible. An essay on any topic related to the wheat industry and a summary of the student's school and community involvement are required.

One $500 award will be made to a qualifying student from Baker, Gilliam, Klamath, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, and Wasco counties. In addition, one award will be made in the Willamette Valley counties and the Central Oregon counties.

Application forms are due Feb. 1 and are available from the Oregon Wheat Growers League Web site at www.owgl.org, or from Cindy Osterlund, scholarship coordinator for the Oregon Wheat Foundation, P.O. Box 322, Condon, OR 97823.

Winter wheat production estimated at 47.6 million

Winter wheat production for 2005 in Oregon is estimated at 47.6 million bushels, unchanged from 2004, according to a report released last week from the Oregon Agricultural Statistics Service.

Area harvested for winter wheat totaled 780,000 acres, the same as the previous year. The average yield is estimated at 61 bushels per acre, unchanged from last year and up 10 bushels from 2003.

Barley production is estimated at just over 2 million bushels, a 58 percent decrease from the previous year. The significant decrease was driven by lower yields and fewer acres harvested. Harvested acreage, at 45,000 is down 21,000 acres from last year and the lowest harvested acreage since 1890, as was the case nationally. The average yield is estimated at 45 bushels per acre, the lowest average yield since 2001.

Stocks of wheat stored in Oregon in all positions totaled 43.2 million bushels on Sept. 1. This is a 4 percent decrease from the 44.9 million bushels stored a year ago. Off-farm stocks totaled 30.2 million bushels, down 2.2 million bushels from last year's estimate. On-farm stocks, at 12 million bushels, are slightly higher than last year's estimate of 12.5 million bushels and the highest since 2000.

Barley stocks totaled 2.5 million bushels on Sept. 1. On-farm stocks were estimated at only 800,000 bushels. This level represents a historic low for September on-farm barley stocks.