ORECA Honors OTEC’s Buehler with Distinguished Service Award

Werner Buehler, Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative’s executive vice president and general manager, was awarded the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Distinguished Service Award at ORECA’s 74th annual meeting Nov. 30 to Dec. 1 in Salem.

“This is an honor we bestow on the elite of the elite, and Werner is indeed one of the groundbreakers of our industry,” ORECA Executive Director Ted Case said at the meeting. “Werner is just a tremendous person with a great heart and with over four decades in the business. I have called on his expertise many times over the years. He’s got so much knowledge in his head, and I know I’ve just got to extract every little bit that I can before he retires.”

At the meeting, Buehler thanked his wife, Nancy, the OTEC Board of Directors and his colleagues for the honor and reflected on his career.

“Forty-six years is a long time, and nobody who makes this journey does it by themselves,” he said. “I feel so honored and appreciative of all of those who have taught me, supported me and brought me to this point.”

“This is a tough one for me,” Case said. “I will miss him starting on day one. It is definitely the end of an era.”

Buehler is set to retire in early 2017.

Utah home care provider acquires Care at Home

BAKER CITY — Canyon Home Care & Hospice of Utah has acquired Care at Home, an Idaho company that also operates in Baker City.

Canyon Home Care & Hospice provides home health, hospice, personal care and pediatric services.

USDA partners with farmers, ranchers to protect grasslands

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Deputy Under Secretary Alexis Taylor today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will accept more than 504,000 acres that were offered by producers during the recent ranking period for the Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands enrollment.

Through the voluntary CRP program, grasslands threatened by development or conversion to row crops are maintained as livestock grazing areas, while providing important conservation benefits.

USDA will accept more than 2,100 offers totaling more than 504,000 acres across 34 states. Over 70 percent of the acres are from beginning farmers, veterans and underserved producers. About two-thirds of the acres are in counties with the highest threat for conversion. Additionally, nearly 60 percent of the acres are in wildlife priority areas, and nearly three-fourths of the acres will have a wildlife-focused conservation plan as part of the operation.

USDA is also reminding producers that it is still accepting additional offers for CRP Grasslands. The current ranking period that closes on Dec. 16, also includes a new CRP Grasslands practice specifically tailored for small-scale livestock grazing operations to encourage broader participation.

Small livestock operations with 100 or fewer head of grazing dairy cows (or the equivalent) can submit applications to enroll up to 200 acres of grasslands per farm. USDA’s goal is to enroll up to additional 200,000 acres. Small livestock operations are encouraged to contact their local Farm Service Agency office to learn more about this program before Dec. 16, to be considered as part of the current ranking period.

— From staff reports