09/16/2002

Associated Press

Dave Rogers used to complain that a layer of blue clay in his fields gummed up farm equipment and made harvesting a grass-seed crop nearly impossible.

Today, he has found a way to make money with a crop state agriculture officials are pushing for marginal Willamette Valley farmland -- wild rice.

The state has natural advantages for growing wild rice, which is a native North American grain that grows in wetlands and can benefit wildlife.

"It grows best on absolutely the worst land," said Rogers, who farms 60 acres of wild rice near Brownsville. The clay soil that Rogers used to curse traps water like a bowl, forming the artificial wetlands needed to grow wild rice.

At the end of July, Rogers drains the ponds. Several weeks later, a modified combine with tracks instead of wheels drives through the muddy fields to harvest the crop, which sells on commodity markets for about $1.10 per pound. Wild rice in grocery stores sells for about $6 per pound.

Rogers is turning a profit, a rarity in Oregon agriculture these days.

Lots of rain and poor drainage are good for wild rice -- and could give Oregon producers an advantage over farmers in California who must irrigate.

The state's climate allows wild-rice growers to produce higher yields per acre than major rice-producing regions. Rogers said his fields yield on average 1,200 pounds per acre.

Oregon wild-rice growers see fewer plant diseases and insect problems than growers in other states. Insecticides are unnecessary to grow wild rice here. The crop re-seeds itself under growing conditions in Oregon, while farmers elsewhere must plant each year.

More than 15,000 acres in Oregon could be used for cultivating wild rice, said Daryl Ehrensing, an Oregon State University agronomist. Now, less than 150 acres are grown in the state.

Farmers are leery of planting an unfamiliar crop, and have been burned before when a profitable crop quickly turned into a loser.

Grass seed was a reliable money-maker not long ago. Now, grass-seed prices are below the break-even point.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)