Mitch Lies

Salem

Writer at Freelance

A songwriter and musician based in Salem, Ore.

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Articles

25 years of industry impact

2 days ago | farmprogress.com | Mitch Lies

A mechanical engineer for 18 years, Rob Clarke of Salem, Ore., had his job pulled out from under him when in the summer of 1999 Caterpillar shuttered his place of employment in nearby Dallas. Rather than relocate to stay in his profession, Clarke decided to try something new. “I started looking for something different to do and I saw this viticulture and enology program was starting at Chemeketa,” Clarke said.
Research Uncovering Big Benefits with Cover Crops in Hazelnuts

6 days ago | wcngg.com | Mitch Lies

Oregon State University researchers are finding that cover crops offer significant benefits to hazelnut operations. Most notably, in one case, soil temperature in the top two inches of soil from an orchard under cover crops was 30 degrees lower than the soil temperature in a comparative orchard with bare soil.
Oregon Bee Protection Protocols improve grower-beekeeper relations

3 weeks ago | farmprogress.com | Mitch Lies

Veteran Oregon beekeeper Harry Vanderpool remembers days when it appeared some farmers weren’t over concern about the health of his bees. “I wondered in a few instances if the growers would say ‘You see the beekeeper over there? He’ll be gone in a few minutes and what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,’” Vanderpool said. Today, with Bee Protection Protocols in place for three Oregon crops, Vanderpool said that those days are over.
Beekeepers rebuild after record losses threaten crop pollination

3 weeks ago | farmprogress.com | Mitch Lies

After a year that one veteran beekeeper called the worst ever for honey bees, beekeepers are busy building up their hives this spring and summer. And, Harry Vanderpool said, if all goes well, beekeepers should recover by next year. But, Vanderpool said, if what happened this past fall and winter is not an isolated incident but the start of a trend, the ramifications are substantial.
New Oregon State University Hazelnut Breeder ‘A Really Good Fit’

3 weeks ago | wcngg.com | Mitch Lies

In fall 1986, one month after Shawn Mehlenbacher started as the hazelnut breeder at Oregon State University (OSU), eastern filbert blight (EFB) was found in a Clackamas County hazelnut orchard, marking its first discovery in the heart of Oregon’s hazelnut production area. Over the next three decades, Mehlenbacher released 28 cultivars, including 22 that used the Gasaway gene to provide resistance to EFB, helping the industry survive the disease’s devastating impact on tree health.
Three Strains of EFB Now Identified in PNW Hazelnuts

3 weeks ago | wcngg.com | Mitch Lies

Researchers have now determined there are at least three strains of the Eastern Filbert Blight (EFB) fungus now threatening hazelnut trees in Pacific Northwest orchards, including at least two mutations of the region’s original EFB fungus. “Based on genetic testing, the Silverton strain is actually different than the Woodburn strain, and it’s different from the original strain,” said Oregon State University (OSU) plant pathologist Jay W.
Challenges and benefits for farmers

1 month ago | farmprogress.com | Mitch Lies

Feeling frustrated with the regulations surrounding organic seed certification is not unusual among organic seed growers, and, according to a representative of the organic certification community, is often understandable. But meeting the recordkeeping and paperwork requirements of organic seed certification is needed to protect the integrity of the USDA National Organic Program seal, said Connie Karr of the Accredited Certifiers Association.
Oregon wineries embrace organic practices for sustainable wine production

1 month ago | farmprogress.com | Mitch Lies

In the late 1960s, when the Oregon wine industry started, there were no organic standards or organic certification. “There was a movement about organic gardening,” said Louisa Ponzi of Ponzi Vineyards in Sherwood, Ore. “And a lot of what we did in viticulture grew out of this kind of passion for organic gardening and kind of extended to vineyards.”Growing gardens without pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, however, is far different than producing wine grapes.
Ryegrass cover cracks the fragipan

2 months ago | farmprogress.com | Mitch Lies

For nearly the first two decades of this century, Mitchell Paschall of Murray, Ky., was averaging 180-bushel corn, typically the median amount for Calloway County. In dry years, his yields dropped because he farmed on fragipan soils, a concrete-like layer two feet or so beneath the surface that reduces yields on 50 million acres of farmland in the Southeast and Midwest.
Oregon winemakers unite for organic growing success

2 months ago | farmprogress.com | Mitch Lies

The Oregon wine industry is at it again. A wine region known for its collaboration has formed what appears to be the first organic wine growers organization in the U.S. And it has evolved, as cofounder Drew Herman said, organically. “It was started by my buddy Rob Shultz, who just wanted an organic vineyard trauma support group,” said Herman, director of viticulture for Alexana Winery in Newberg, Ore.