Joe Hill supports Baker County’s efforts to control noxious weeds.

But he doesn’t want to compete with the county in the marketplace.

Hill, who owns businesses that cater to farmers and ranchers who have noxious weeds on their properties, objects to the Baker County Weed District renting weed sprayers and selling herbicides, both of which are new programs this year.

“I just don’t want them selling in direct competition to businesses,” said Hill, who owns J&D Hill Farms and Joe Hill Consulting LLC.

He believes the county, by adding sprayer rentals and herbicide sales, would compete with at least 16 businesses.

Hill said he’s most concerned about the county selling herbicides because as a government entity it might be able to buy products at a lower rate than he and other private businesses can.

Jeffrey Pettingill, the county’s weed control supervisor, said the addition of rental sprayers and herbicide sales is not intended to compete with private companies.

The goal, Pettingill said, is to give landowners another option if they want to control weeds on their property and to make that possible when a contractor might not be available.

To that end, the county has bought two 200-gallon sprayers, one on a trailer and one that can be placed in a pickup truck bed. Pettingill said the city used grant money from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, as part of the county’s multiyear effort to improve sage grouse habitat, to buy the sprayers, which cost $7,000 each.

The county is offering those sprayers for rent, at $40 per day. The county also had three other smaller sprayers, designed to be carried on all-terrain vehicles, that were bought earlier. One rents for $30 per day, the two others for $20.

Pettingill said he would prefer that landowners buy herbicide from private suppliers rather than the county.

He said he doesn’t expect the county will sell much herbicide — less than $3,000 per year.

Hill, though, contends that having the county rent sprayers and sell herbicide, at whatever frequency or amount, constitutes a “slippery slope” of government competing against private businesses.

He concedes that county officials have good intentions in wanting to expand weed control, but he’s still worried about “driving private business out a little at a time.”

Hill said he appreciates Pettingill’s efforts to promote work to stem to spread of weeds, which can reduce the productivity and value of farmland and rangeland, and respects his “passion” for the task.

Hill said he also supports the county’s cost-share program, which helps defray landowners’ expenses to control weeds.

“I’m not trying to dampen that fire at all,” Hill said. “What I’m saying is we’re going about it the wrong way.”

Hill brought his complaints to Baker County commissioners during their meeting on Wednesday, April 6.

Commissioners’ agenda included buying a credit card reader to handle transactions for sprayer rentals and herbicide sales.

Hill told commissioners he “vehemently” opposes the county buying a card reader for the weed district because it promotes what he considers unfair competition with his business and others.

“The bigger issue of the card reader is why does the county even need to sell products?” Hill said. “You have eleven different pesticide suppliers in this county.”

Commission Chairman Bill Harvey said he doesn’t want the county to compete with private firms, either.

But both he and Pettingill, in response to Hill’s concerns, said there aren’t enough local contractors to do all the types of work that landowners need.

Harvey said he prefers private contractors do as much weed control work as possible. But if a contractor isn’t available, he said, it’s important to deal with weeds.

Hill countered by saying that the county’s weed control board isn’t complying with its bylaws, which require it to keep an updated list of weed control contractors.

Hill said he’s been in the business for seven years, but he’s not on the county’s list of contractors.

“They aren’t even following their own commitment to you and to the county to do their job to maintain that list of contractors,” Hill said.

“If the work is there, let’s let private business take care of it,” he said. “The government has an unfair competitive advantage over a private business like myself.”

Commissioner Mark Bennett said he doesn’t think the county is trying to compete with Hill’s or anyone else’s business.

The goal, Bennett said, is to deal with noxious weeds as effectively, and as widely, as possible.

“I think there’s a balance there” between the county promoting weed control and supporting local businesses.

He said a simple solution would be to have a list of weed contractors available to citizens.

“But there gets to the point of, some of the people won’t do it, so we’ve got to help them and if they can’t find anybody because all of you are so busy in the hot spring time, and then next thing you know hot weather shows up and you can’t do it, but these little spot spraying things and I think there’s that balance,” Bennett said.