Southern Oregon Business Journal - March 2022

Proudly Serving Benton, Coos, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln & Linn Counties Since 2015

The Journal for Business in Southern Oregon

SouthernOregonBusiness.com

FOREST SERVICE IN OREGON AND WASHINGTON ALLOCATED $291.2 MILLION TO ADDRESS EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS FROM 2019-2021 - PAGE 12

MERKLEY, WYDEN SOUND THE ALARM, URGE MORE FUNDING TO ADDRESS SUDDEN OAK DEATH - PAGE 5

Grown Rogue : Building Positive Partnerships Between the Cannabis Industry & the Southern Oregon Community Page 24

Sponsored by

March 2022

The Southern Oregon Business Journal extends sincere thanks to the following companies for sponsoring the journal. Without their support we could not produce a FREE resource for Southern Oregon businesses.

A Few Words from Jim

Let’s Grow Last month's issue celebrating Black History month was mostly dedicated cover to cover to Black owned businesses in Southern Oregon.

It was wildly successful. It is the most read issue so far and the most commented on. It was the most shared on social and the most positively responded to issue. It was surprisingly also the most controversial. I had to block two posters on our Facebook page for the terrible and sad remarks they publicly made.

The Southern Oregon Business Journal continues to be what it has been from day one. A conglomeration of news and posts that are found online and aggregated into a monthly journal to make it easy for you to digest relevant news.

The February issue was a shift because it contained a lot of interviews that I had with Black business owners and hours and hours of editing and writing. It wasn't my intent, it just grew into it.

This month I'm getting back to aggregating business news relevant to Southern Oregon but I am including my breakdown of a panel discussion on cannabis and it's challenges and impact on the community.

Grown Rogue is a husband and wife run company and fundamentally they are trying to run a business the right way. It is highly regulated, hyper competitive and has stigmas associated with it. I encourage you to read the article Building Positive Partnerships Between The Cannabis Industry & Community staring on page 24 and learn from Obie what you can do in your business to build community and your business.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AMERITITLE - PAGE 4 ONE BANK, ONE NAME - PEOPLE’S BANK - PAGE 30 MANAGED HOME NET - PAGE 31 SOU - LEADERSHIP BEGINS HERE SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY PAGE 33 UMPQUA BROADBAND - PAGE 35

Another intentional move in this months journal is to focus more on Agriculture as well as Coos, Curry, Josephine and Klamath County. The February issue had readers thanking me and asking for more news about those counties and I heard you. Please keep providing feedback.

Next month we will celebrate the retirement of a Southern Oregon leader with a feature story on him and his organizations growth during his run.

Finally, let me share with you that sometime soon, the monthly journal might go away and be replaced with daily news. 95% of you read the news posts on the website and never open the digital journal layout. That takes me the most time to create and the writing is on the wall. Let me know what you think.

Founder Greg Henderson ghenderson703@gmail.com Greg started the Southern Oregon Business Journal in 2015 and retired in 2020.

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I am about 5 years from retirement and being able to spend more time with this side hustle I took over from Greg. Until then it’s one of several jobs I have, so bear with me as it grows.

Looking forward,

Cover photo and photos on page 24 are from grownrogue.com

5350 HWY 66, Ashland, Oregon 97520

www.SouthernOregonBusiness.com

A JOURNAL FOR THE ECONOMICALLY CURIOUS, PROFESSIONALLY INSPIRED AND ACUTELY MOTIVATED

MARCH 2022 - TABLE OF CONTENTS

CURRY COUNTY - MERKLEY, WYDEN SOUND THE ALARM, URGE MORE FUNDING TO ADDRESS SUDDEN OAK DEATH - PAGE 5 JOSEPHINE COUNTY - RENTEC DIRECT ACQUIRES TRUERENT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE - PAGE 6 JOSEPHINE COUNTY - RENTEC DIRECT CELEBRATES SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES AND 13 YEARS OF ADVANCING THE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY - PAGE 7 COOS, CURRY, JACKSON AND JOSEPHINE COUNTIES - SOUTHWESTERN OREGON JOB VACANCIES REACH RECORD IN 2021 - PAGE 8 JOSEPHINE COUNTY - RCC WELCOMES SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER TO REDWOOD CAMPUS - PAGE 10 SPECIAL - FOREST SERVICE IN OREGON AND WASHINGTON ALLOCATED $291.2 MILLION TO ADDRESS EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS FROM 2019-2021 - PAGE 12 KLAMATH COUNTY - GROWLER GUYS FRANCHISEE PURCHASES FORMER REAMES PROPERTY FOR NEW MULTI-PURPOSE DEVELOPMENT - PAGE 14 OREGON AGRICULTURE - OREGON STATE RESEARCHERS MAKES KEY ADVANCE IN TURNING APPLE WASTE INTO PACKAGING MATERIAL - PAGE 16 OREGON AGRICULTURE - OREGON AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS - PAGE 18 SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER - THE MOST CRITICAL ELEMENT OF YOUR BUSINESS TO FOCUS ON TODAY - PAGE 22 OREGON CANNABIS - BUILDING POSITIVE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY & COMMUNITY - PAGE 24 HIGHER EDUCATION - SOU RECOGNIZED AS “FIRST-GEN FORWARD” INSTITUTION - PAGE 32 A FINE LINE - CRISIS MANAGEMENT - PAGE 34

CURRY COUNTY

By Press Release https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-wyden-sound-

MERKLEY, WYDEN SOUND THE ALARM, URGE MORE FUNDING TO ADDRESS SUDDEN OAK DEATH but more funding is needed to treat the area currently infected. Without treatment, SOD would have serious economic impacts, including job losses, declines timber harvest, and other signi cant economic and cultural impacts.”

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today sent a letter to the Bureau of Land Management strongly urging the agency to put funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to go towards the mitigation and treatment of Sudden Oak Death, a disease that poses severe economic and environmental threats to counties in Southern Oregon.

“Sudden Oak Death poses a signi cant threat to a multitude of ecosystems and plant species and has already killed millions of tanoaks in southern Oregon and northern California,” the senators wrote. “The disease has been in Curry County since 2001, but a new site was recently identi ed outside of the quarantine area. The State of Oregon has increased its investment in SOD treatments,

Senator Merkley has been a long-time leader in ghting the spread of Sudden Oak Death, and ensuring Oregon continues receive the federal funding and resources needed to combat this disease. He convened a task force in 2017 to develop a collaboration-based action plan to contain Sudden Oak Death and last year secured funding for key Oregon research programs on Sudden Oak Death and to support ongoing efforts to treat Sudden Oak Death.

Sudden Oak Death, caused by the nonnative pathogen Phytopthora ramorum (P. ramorum), is a devastating disease that has killed hundreds of thousands of tanoak trees in Curry County. It was rst detected there in 2001; about one-third of the county has since been affected. In Oregon, it occurs only in the forests of southwest Curry County, where a containment program is in place to slow the spread. Continued treatment may constrain SOD south of the

Rogue River to 2028 and within Curry County in 2038. If further measures aren’t taken, it could spread north into Coos County and west into Josephine County in coming years.

Full text of the letter below. A web version of the letter can be found at https:// www.merkley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/ 22.02.18%20SOD%20Letter.pdf : ### February 18, 2022 Dear Chief Moore and Director Stone-Manning: As you work to implement the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, we are writing to urge you to prioritize funding for the mitigation and treatment of Sudden Oak Death.

The IIJA provides your agencies with $200 million for the detection, prevention, and eradication of invasive species, like Sudden Oak Death. Sudden Oak Death poses a signi cant threat to a multitude of ecosystems and plant species and has already killed millions of tanoaks in southern Oregon and northern California.

The disease has been in Curry County since 2001, but a new site was recently identi ed outside of the quarantine area. The State of Oregon has increased its investment in SOD treatments, but more funding is needed to treat the area currently infected. Without treatment, SOD would have serious economic impacts, including job losses, declines timber harvest, and other signi cant economic and cultural impacts.

We urge you to allocate funding provided in the IIJA to address the growing problem of Sudden Oak Death in Southern Oregon.

Sincerely,

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Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2022 | 5

JOSEPHINE COUNTY

By Press Release

Rentec Direct Acquires TrueRent Property Management Software

https://www.rentecdirect.com/

https://www.rentecdirect.com/blog/rentec-direct-acquires-truerent-property-management-software/

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entec Direct, the industry-leading property management software solution, has acquired TrueRent, an all-in-one property management system designed for property owners and property managers to save time and streamline tenant interaction. Rentec Direct and TrueRent of cially entered an acquisition agreement on January 20, 2022.

"TrueRent is an outstanding company who has not only built a platform that ultimately serviced tens of thousands of property managers, but also holds core values that include providing an innovative product and amazing customer support to their clients,” said Nathan Miller, President of Rentec Direct. “We found that our values aligned well with theirs, and are pleased to give their clients even more options for streamlining their real estate business by providing them an automated migration path to the Rentec Direct platform."

Founded in 2009, Rentec Direct is one of the highest-rated professional property management software solutions on the market

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and the third-largest property management software system in its sector. The company serves more than 25,000 landlords and property managers who own over 750,000 units across the country. TrueRent was founded in 2013 and has continued to grow and innovate over the years by providing essential features integrated into one accessible and affordable software.

Both companies were founded as a result of two entrepreneurs investing in and managing rental

properties themselves, nding inef ciencies in the industry as their real estate portfolios began to grow.

“We have always strived to provide user-centric software, with exceptional service and enhanced features,” said Haley Anastassiou, Co-Founder of TrueRent. “We shared a vision with Rentec Direct and feel con dent knowing our customers will be in great hands.”

All TrueRent subscribers now have access to a Rentec Direct property management software account, and an automated data migration process to move their data to the new platform that has extensive features and award-winning customer service. Rentec Direct began migrating TrueRent client data to the Rentec Direct platform on February 9, 2022 and TrueRent will formally discontinue operations on March 20, 2022.

To learn more about Rentec Direct’s acquisition of TrueRent, visit: https://www.rentecdirect.com/ blog/rentec-direct-acquires-truerent-propertymanagement-software/.

Rentec Direct offers industry-leading property management software and tenant screening solutions for real estate professionals. Features include online rent payments, tenant and owner portals, the industry’s largest vacancy listing syndication network, full property, tenant, and owner accounting, 1099-MISC reporting and more.

Rentec Direct was recognized as Real Estate Company of the Year in the 2021 American Business Awards®, was named one of the Most Customer Friendly Companies of the Year in the 2021 Best in Biz Awards, has been named to the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing Private Companies for ve years in a row (as of 2021), and was also included on the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Entrepreneur360 list for Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America. http:// www.rentecdirect.com About TrueRent TrueRent offers a unique property management software system targeted to help small to mid-sized property owners streamline their business. TrueRent offers online rent collection, integrated tenant screening, work orders, property analytics, and more. TrueRent was recognized as one of Software's Advice Front Runners of 2021, was placed on Capterra's ShortList of 2021, was listed on Digital's Best Property Management Software of 2021, and has been published in both Starter Story and The Advertising Review.

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entec Direct, the award-winning property management software solution, is celebrating signi cant milestones including its 13th anniversary this year. In 13 years of business, Rentec Direct has grown to a team of 15 employees and has maintained a 30% or higher year-over-year growth rate.

Founded in 2009 with the mission to save landlords and property managers time and money, the company has grown to meet the demands of the changing marketplace. Today, Rentec Direct is one of the highest-rated professional property management software solutions on the market and the third-largest property management software system in its sector, serving more than 25,000 landlords and property managers with more than 750,000 units across the country.

“Rentec Direct started as a passion project to solve the inef ciencies I was personally facing as a real estate investor and landlord,” said Nathan Miller, President of Rentec Direct. “Today we empower more than 25,000 landlords and property managers to ef ciently run their businesses while saving time and money. I’m so

RENTEC DIRECT CELEBRATES SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES AND 13 YEARS OF ADVANCING THE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY proud of where we are today as a company and so grateful for the amazing team behind Rentec Direct. We continue to make advancements in customer experience, innovation and technology and will always make decisions based on the best interest of our clients and the industry.”

2021 was a signi cant year of growth and achievement for Rentec Direct: •

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Maintained a 30% year-over-year growth rate while competitors in the industry are averaging 20% year-over-year growth. The company has a three-year revenue growth of 136% and remains 100% organically grown and debt-free today.

Recognized for business performance and growth by prestigious national award programs like the Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies (for the fth consecutive year); the American Business Awards® (for the fourth consecutive year); and the Best in Biz Awards (for the fourth consecutive year).

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Earned high rankings and commendations by industry platforms like Software Advice, GetApp and Capterra as a leading software provider based on user reviews, ratings and data.

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Completed the launch of a redesigned software platform interface with streamlined, modern design improvements and new features to enhance user experience and promote a seamless, responsive work ow.

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Granted four scholarships to students pursuing degrees in computer science or related eld through the Rentec Direct Tech Mastery Scholarship program.

Since its inception in 2009, Rentec Direct continues to advance in client experience, product innovation and software technology. The company’s forward-thinking and client-centric software has helped tens of thousands of landlords and property managers improve customer satisfaction, increase pro ts and protect assets. To learn more, visit RentecDirect.com.

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Southern Oregon Business Journal February 2022 | 7 fi

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About Rentec Direct

COOS, CURRY, JACKSON AND JOSEPHINE COUNTIES

Southwestern Oregon Job Vacancies Reach Record in 2021

By Guy Tauer Regional Economist Oregon Employment Department Original Post at https://www.qualityinfo.org/-/southwestern-oregon-job-vacancies-reach-record-in-2021

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rivate employers in Southwestern Oregon were looking to ll about 4,800 job vacancies in 2021 according to estimates

from the Oregon Employment Department’s annual Job Vacancy Survey. The record level of vacancies came as employers tried to replace jobs lost during the pandemic recession in 2020. Employers reported a record 71% of vacancies were dif cult to ll, up from 68% in 2020.

Statewide, the Portland Metro area (Multnomah, and Washington counties) led the way with 28,000 vacancies or about 29% of the Oregon total. Southwestern Oregon accounted for about 5% of total statewide vacancies.

The average starting wage offered by employers in Southwestern Oregon was $16.46 compared with $19.69 statewide.

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Southwestern Oregon had generally lower educational requirements for vacancies than the

Oregon average. Of the vacancies where an

more than any other industry.

educational requirement is known, only about

Health care and social assistance

18% in Southwestern Oregon required more

was next with 11% of total

than a high school education, compared with

vacancies. Manufacturing, retail

about 30% of Oregon vacancies requiring an

trade, natural resources and mining,

education beyond high school. Almost 60% of

and construction accounted for

Southwestern Oregon vacancies had no

between 8.4% and 9.5% of all

educational requirement compared with about

vacancies.

34% of Oregon vacancies that lacked any educational requirements.

Even with demand concentrated in leisure and hospitality, and health

Although the majority of vacancies have no

care and social services industries,

education requirement, the old adage that

businesses were hiring for a wide

“education pays,” holds true in this data. The

variety of occupations in 2021,

average starting wage for vacancies that require

reporting vacancies in 154 different

post-secondary education, such as an

occupations. Fast food and counter workers had

associate’s degree or some other certi cation

the most vacancies at 407. Agriculture,

nursing assistants (72), community health workers (52), and registered nurses (33).

Other occupations with a high number of vacancies include farmworkers and laborers (299), heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (259), food preparation workers (218), carpenters (167), and cashiers (164).

As we mentioned earlier, Southwestern Oregon had both a record number of total vacancies and dif cult-to- ll vacancies in 2021. The top dif cult-to- ll position was heavy tractor-trailer truck drivers. Restaurant or food industryrelated occupations comprised four of the top 12 most dif cult-to- ll occupations in 2021.

Personal care aides, nursing assistants, and community health workers jobs were also noted as dif cult to ll by survey respondents.

was $24.85, and vacancies that required a

transportation, food preparation, customer and

bachelor’s degree or higher averaged $29.76.

personal service, and construction-related

Comparatively, openings that require a high

occupations had spots on the list of most

school diploma averaged $15.87 and starting

vacancies.

wages averaged $14.27 for openings with no requirement.

The health care-related eld had vacancies in several occupations including personal care

The leisure and hospitality industry accounted for 29% of vacancies in Southwestern Oregon,

aides with 159 vacancies. Others include

The 2021 Southwestern Oregon estimates are based on responses from 1,300 private employers with two or more employees who were surveyed throughout the year.

For more details on statewide and regional vacancies, visit https://www.qualityinfo.org/ pubs and scroll down to the section titled “Job Vacancy Survey.”

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JOSEPHINE COUNTY

By RCC Press Release https://www.roguecommunity.net/rcc-welcomes-small-business-developmentcenter-to-redwood-campus/

RCC welcomes Small Business Development Center to Redwood Campus

Photo via RCC SBDC Facebook Post - Our new location is just about completely up and running! Friendly Reminder that we are located on the Rogue Community College Redwood Campus in the B building. 3345 Redwood Highway, Bldg 'B' Grants Pass OR 97527.

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n spite of pandemic impacts, the Rogue Community College Small Business Development Center team helped 35 new businesses get started in 2020-21, and assisted regional small businesses in securing $88 million in capital and small business loans. Now, the services of the SBDC have an accessible, welcoming new home at RCC’s Redwood Campus.

RCC’s dedication to supporting small businesses is elevated with the recent relocation of the SBDC

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of ces to the Redwood Campus, easily accessed from the Redwood Highway at the West Entrance to the campus. This move conserves resources and makes it possible for the SBDC to offer services in updated technology classrooms with ample of ces for advising and training.

“RCC is committed to utilizing our resources in ways that enable us to continue to support our students, clients and community, which is why the SBDC is now located on the Redwood Campus,” said President Cathy Kemper-Pelle.

RCC’s Small Business Development Center was founded in 1984 to support small businesses throughout its college service area. Services offered by the SBDC include advising, training, strategic planning, counseling, nance and accounting, small business management, access to capital, government contracting, business operations, human resources, branding, communications, mentoring, revenue growth strategies, and access to credentialed industry experts.

The SBDC’s core mission is “Building Oregon’s Best Businesses.” Since its founding, the SBDC’s con dential advising staff have supported some 12,000 small businesses throughout Southern Oregon, with over 50,000 advising hours. Nearly 3,000 training events have served an estimated 20,000 attendees since the center’s inception.

“We are thrilled to be located on the beautiful Redwood Campus, easily accessed from the West RCC entrance off the Redwood Highway,” says Ruth Swain, SBDC Director. “Our center assists emerging and growing businesses with training, resources and unparalleled expertise.

The center’s business advisers have well over 100 years of combined experience — helping businesses weather ever-changing trends, including the devastating impact to small businesses from the current pandemic.”

In 2020 and 2021, the SBDC elded the highest number of calls and contacts from small businesses in its history. With COVID-19 closures over the last 22 months, the SBDC team converted in-person advising sessions to Zoom and telephone options.

At the new Redwood Campus location, appointments are now being scheduled to accommodate small business owners’ availability – including in-person, Zoom, and phone meetings.

Over the past two years, the SBDC has provided over 3,000 hours of con dential and crisis advising to an average of 490 clients yearly.

SBDC advisers helped clients apply for Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Loans (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Grants and Loans (EIDL), and with business crisis services including adaptive strategies necessary to start or grow their businesses during economically uncertain times. The center also bene ts our community through a strong and collaborative partnership between RCC and the Oregon statewide network of Small Business Development Centers.

of Grants Pass CARES Act and ARPA funding. The Illinois Valley Community Development Organization (IVCDO) collaborated with the SBDC and distributed grants from Josephine County and City of Grants Pass during 2020. In 2021, Josephine County CARES and ARPA funds were distributed through a partnership between SOREDI and IVCDO, with application assistance to small businesses from RCC SBDC. Con dential one-on-one counseling sessions are by appointment, and may be scheduled by

calling 541-956-7494 or emailing SBDC@roguecc.edu, with appointments available Monday through Friday during regular business hours. You can also view our classes or register for con dential advising through the RCC website: sbdc.roguecc.edu. Individual advising appointments are also available onsite at RCC’s Illinois Valley Learning Center located at 24353 Redwood Highway in Kerby.

RCC SBDC also supported small businesses during the pandemic by assisting them with applications for Josephine County and the City

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Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2022 | 11

SPECIAL

By USDA.Gov https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/rogue-siskiyou/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD997555

Forest Service in Oregon and Washington allocated $291.2 million to address effects of natural disasters from 2019-2021

Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

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T

he USDA Forest Service in the Paci c Northwest has been allocated $291.2 million in disaster relief supplemental funding to address damage caused by the wild res, oods, and extreme weather events the region experienced in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The funds will go to priority road and bridge repair, hazardous material/waste removal, watershed restoration, and other critical recovery needs on National Forest lands.

The funding is a share of the $1.36 billion of supplemental appropriations provided to the Forest Service through the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act of 2021. The act provided a total of $28.6 billion in new supplemental appropriations for disaster relief recovery to federal agencies.

Most of the funding, $262.7 million, will be used in Oregon, with $254.6 made available to eight National Forests and the Forest Service Regional Of ce to address critical needs from the 2020 wild res and Labor Day windstorm. $6 million is designated for recovery needs in Oregon on nonFederal lands. $2.1 million is allocated for the Paci c Northwest Research Station. $28.5 million will be used in Washington State, with $18.1 million made available to six National Forests and the Forest Service Regional Of ce to address critical needs due to wild res and storms across the state. $9 million is designated for recovery needs in Washington on non-Federal lands. $1.4 million is allocated for the Paci c Northwest Research Station.

Total disaster relief funding received on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest is $30 million, with $27 million for post-Slater Fire recovery and $3 million for J. Herbert Stone Nursery operations to support reforestation efforts across the Paci c Northwest Region of the Forest Service.

It is important to note that disaster relief funding is multi-year funding that will require preliminary design and/or environmental analysis prior to project implementation.

Disaster Relief Funds-Wild Rivers Ranger District: (post re recovery: Slater Fire) Roadside danger tree removal 7.5 miles of chip seal on Forest Service Road 48, including 8 large culvert replacements 100 miles of road maintenance during danger tree removal activities 25 miles of primary road resurfacing 54 miles of forest boundary replacement Disaster Relief Funds-J. Herbert Stone Nursery: (post- re restoration: region-wide) The building of a new containerized seedling growing facility Two new nursery combines for native seed production used for post- re restoration needs New equipment for boxing harvested native plant seed and updating to a ducted drying system Hire 4 seasonal employees to work on see harvest and seedling production for forest restoration

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Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2022 | 13

KLAMATH COUNTY

By Press Release http://www.chooseklamath.com/growler-guys-franchisee-purchases-former-reames-property-new-multipurpose-development/

Growler Guys Franchisee Purchases Former Reames Property for New Multi-Purpose Development

Photo of former Reames Golf Course & Country Club and Logos of everyone mentioned in the press release provided by chooseklamath.com

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n a joint press release, the Klamath County Economic Development Association (KCEDA), the City of Klamath Falls, and Coldwell Banker announced that developers for the northwest franchise, Growler Guys (locations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Wisconsin), will be purchasing the former Reames Golf Course & Country Club. The developers plan to operate the main clubhouse as a Growler Guys restaurant location, however, other sections of the building are being evaluated for

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additional amenities and enterprises. Longterm, the developers intend to use the remainder of the 200+ acre property for a variety of outdoor recreation and transportation based purposes.

Following in the footsteps of Europeans and East coasters, the original Growler Guys opened its doors in early 2012, having their operation located in Bend, Oregon. What started as a ll station has now grown to many locations across several states serving

amazing craft beer in tap house, neighborhood-like settings.

In early September of 2020, representatives of Coldwell Banker and KCEDA worked together to recruit the northwest developer to the region, performing an extensive due diligence process which took dozens of locations throughout the County into consideration. Courtney Shaw, realtor for the buyer, commented on the lengthy site selection time the project took, saying, “The developers have had an interest in Klamath

Speaking on behalf of the development team leading the project, Butch Price, stated, “We like to have each of our restaurants have dimensions which are unique only to it. Klamath always seemed perfect for us to add to our locations, but nding the right match is the challenge when there’s growth. Now, we get to use this stage of the development to just be endlessly creative with the property.”

Discussing the timeline for when the restaurant would be operational, the developers estimated somewhere likely in late Spring of 2022. Price stated, “There’s work we need to do on the clubhouse to make it our own, but nothing which should demand too much time or resources. This is a multi-phase, mixed use development we are about to undertake on a pretty large scale. We can’t wait to get the restaurant completed and onto incorporating some of our other development concepts on the property.”

Speaking for the Klamath County Economic Development Association (KCEDA), CEO Randy Cox spoke about all the parties involved with helping secure the development to the region, stating, “I

continue to be impressed by how committed our area’s leaders are about working together to collectively solve the wide-ranging needs of development.

KCEDA, Coldwell Banker, the City of Klamath Falls, and many other stakeholders stepped up to help the community accomplish this win. With the Swan Lake Project and other new development on the horizon, our visitor traf c will increase dramatically, helping the developers long-term vision arrive all the faster.” The economic development organization has been working with the development team for over a year now, providing services, including: market research analysis, site selection assessments, regulatory assistance, facilitate infrastructure development, incentive packaging, among many other offerings.

Project Manager for KCEDA, Andrew Stork, brie y added to Cox’s comments saying, “The restaurant industry has developed a niche subsector of ‘experience driven’ locations. Growler Guys saw back in 2012 that this trend wouldn’t stay niche long, and this location is the developers’ taking their creativity to the next level. That said, freedom to ‘dream big’ in development introduces hurdles the bigger you go. In this case, the City staff really demonstrated strong leadership from top to bottom navigating some of the more complex issues which came up at times.”

The City’s Director of Development Services, Scott Souders, spoke on behalf of the City of Klamath Falls about the developer’s announcement, following a City Council meeting this past December,

where he and City Attorney, Mike Swanson, proposed a special agreement which would correct historic infrastructure issues on the location relating to domestic water access, giving the developer a clear pathway to proceed with closing.

Souders commented on the work leading up to the earlier council meeting, and what the developers’ announcement means to the city staff. “There were a lot of factors as to why this particular development was the right t for that property. From a timing and technical standpoint, certainly, but also a community momentum standpoint. I’m quite proud of how the City of Klamath Falls handled some complex logistical obstacles and was able to remain missionoriented the whole way through. This announcement is a great example of partners problem solving together. It is collaboration like that locally which will attract new development in our community.”

About the Klamath County Economic Development Association (KCEDA) Since 1975, KCEDA has re ected the best of private enterprise, responsibility and dedication. Its mission is to provide tailored recruitment and business retention/expansion programs, new opportunities for jobs, and a diversi ed, value-added industrial base/expanded economic development climate in southern Oregon. To learn more about KCEDA and how they can help you, please visit their website, www.ChooseKlamath.com

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for a long time, but are especially excited by what growth has recently been achieved in the community and feel the time to strike is now on adding a location here.

Just wanted to make sure the location and property were suitable for this unique version of Growler Guys. These developers take a lot of pride in being highly creative with each of their facilities. They are very thoughtful about ensuring each location pays real tribute to its surrounding community’s history and culture.”

OREGON AGRICULTURE

By Press Release https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/oregon-state-researchers-makes-key-advanceturning-apple-waste-packaging-material

Oregon State researchers makes key advance in turning apple waste into packaging material

Yanyun Zhao, an Oregon State professor, conducts research that turns apple pomace into an environmentally friendly packaging material that could serve as an alternative to plastic.

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new study by Oregon State University scientists outlines a key advance in turning apple waste into an environmentally friendly packaging material that could serve as an alternative to plastic.

Recycled newspaper has traditionally been the main ingredient of so-called molded pulp packaging products, which have become increasingly popular because they are compostable. But the supply of recycled newspaper is in decline, creating a market for substitute materials.

Yanyun Zhao, an Oregon State professor who leads a research team focusing on sustainable food packaging and processing, has studied apple pomace and other byproducts from processing fruit and vegetable juice and

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winemaking as an alternative for recycled newspaper in molded pulp manufacturing. She and the team received a patent for this research.

When apples are processed for juice about 70-75% of the apple goes into the juice, leaving the remaining 25-30% as pomace.

“Right now, apple pomace is typically just composted or used for animal feed,” said Zhao, whose research aims to reduce food loss and waste across the food supply chain. “We thought why not turn it into an environmentally friendly product that meets an industry need.”

One of the key problems to solve in creating pomace and paper-based packaging is improving water resistance so that it could withstand high moisture, liquid food or non-food items and products stored under high humidity conditions.

Zhao envisions apple pomace being the main ingredient for molded pulp packing products such as take-out containers, ower pots, beverage cartons and bottles and clamshell packaging used for fruits and vegetables.

In a just-published paper in Food and Bioproducts Processing, the team sought to create eco-friendly, bio-based, compostable and cost-effective solutions that would improve the hydrophobicity, or water resistance, of the apple pomace-based molded pulp products.

She is focused on apple pomace, in part, because it is readily available in the Paci c Northwest.

exible. Previous studies had shown that at low levels glycerol decreased water absorption.

Lignin is a polymer that forms key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants.

Rhubarb pomace, which is particularly lignin rich, was used in this study.

Zhao’s team has a long history of studying food coatings as a barrier to water and gases. The team had previously created a two-step preparation of superhydrophobic coating that is heat, cold and water resistant. They applied a simpli ed, onestep coating on the surface of the apple pomacebased product to enhance water resistance.

Chitosan is a bio-based polymer commonly used in the papermaking industry. A previous study from Zhao’s team found that chitosan reduced water absorption of cellulose nano ber (CNF) lms signi cantly through adsorption of chitosan onto CNF bers via hydrogen bonds.

Finally, glycerol is an organic compound often added to a material to make it softer and more

The researchers determined the optimal amounts of those polymers and compounds while also adding a small amount of cardboard ber for stability of the molded pulp packaging products.

They concluded that the study demonstrated the feasibility of using fruit pomace as a new source of ber in producing molded pulp packaging and effective approaches to enhancing water resistance in those packaging materials.

Co-authors of the paper are Clara Lang, Jooyeoun Jung and Taoran Wang, all of whom are former or current members of the Sustainable Food Packaging and Processing team in the Department of Food Science and Technology in Oregon State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

The research was supported by the Oregon Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Kerr Concentrates, Inc. of Salem and Hood River Juice Company of Hood River provided fruit pomace for the research.

About the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences: Through its world-class research on agriculture and food systems, natural resource management, rural economic development and human health, the College provides solutions to Oregon’s most pressing challenges and contributes to a sustainable environment and a prosperous future for Oregonians.

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They used two strategies: incorporating polymers and compounds with characteristics to improve water resistance into the pulp formulation and applying superhydrophobic coatings on the product surface. The polymers and compounds studied include lignin, chitosan and glycerol.

OREGON AGRICULTURE Trifold Published in 2021 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Created in collaboration with: Dave Losh, Oregon State Statistician Overview from 2021 economic impact report at https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/sites/agscid7/ les/main/about/ oragecon_report_2021.pdf

BASIC ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS

industries that take agriculture, food and ber products from the farmgate and/or processors to market or the consumers are not regularly reported as part of economic impact analyses.

Economic analyses have typically focused on producer prices and backward linkages to suppliers.

W

hat businesses are included in the agriculture, food and ber industry?

Since the last report we have reconsidered what industrial sectors to include in the aggregated agriculture, food and ber industry. We must include the farmgate and dockside production sectors (e.g. grain farming, beef cattle ranching and shing), agricultural support services, food processing (e.g. frozen fruits, juices and vegetables manufacturing and seafood processing), and ber processing (e.g. fabric mills and leather and hide tanning). The

While the majority of food and ber goods sold in retail trade (food and beverages) and used by food services and drinking places are from outside Oregon, signi cant portions of retail trade (food and beverages) and food services and drinking places sell and use Oregon products.

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OREGON AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS

Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Agriculture support these sectors both directly and indirectly.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture regulates food stores and licenses and inspects nearly every type of food establishment in Oregon except for restaurants (county health departments inspect restaurants). Since the majority of inputs to the retail and food services and drinking places sectors are not produced in Oregon, a subtotal for the products that are all produced in Oregon has been provided in Tables 11 and 12.

Oregon Farm and Ranch Overview Oregon is home to approximately 37,400 farms and ranches.

This number is based on 2017 Agricultural Census estimate of 37,616 and the 2019 USDA estimate of 37,200 weighting the number more towards the 2019 small sample survey.

These farms and ranches grow and raise over 225 different crops on 16 million acres.

It is notable that both estimates reverse a trend that began after 2002 of declining numbers of farms. A farm is de ned as any place from which $1,000 of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold.

When paid and unpaid workers and non-principle producers are added to principle producers they are 4.6% of Oregon’s population. Producers and hired workers comprise more than 5.7% of Oregon’s workforce.

Oregon’s principal producers on farms and ranches make up 1.3% of Oregon’s population and more than 2.0% of Oregon’s workforce.

While a farm or ranch is a business entity, much of the work may be contracted out to labor or other

types of input suppliers. Over the years the decline of the number of farmers may have been exaggerated. Certainly, production ef ciencies have reduced the need for farm labor.

Yet, the changes in the operator to hired labor ratio and living arrangements for hired labor has moved “farmer” or farm labor residences off the farm though the work is still done on the farm.

Whereas in the past each farm was very vertically integrated (on farm residents did all or most operations from soil preparation to harvest), now many of the steps in production e.g. spraying or

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baling, may be contracted out to other farmers or off farm contractors.

systems require massive xed-capital investments.

Table 1 provides a snapshot of Oregon farms and ranches. Note the value of farm sales estimates are in current year dollars rather than real dollars indexed to a single year, the Producer Price Index for agricultural commodities does not consistently rise. Many years it falls so current year dollars can provide a reasonable approximation for comparative purposes. As Table 1 shows, while the number of farms has increased the acreage continues to decline, with the USDA acreage estimate for 2019 at 15.8 million acres. The decline in acres may be considered in terms of the increasingly ef cient use of inputs noted above and the increasing per acre productivity. The number of farms increased during 2012-2017 but a notable pattern emerged. There were gains in the number of very small and very large farms (as measured in acres), but losses in the number of mid-sized farms. For example, farms 1-9 acres in size rose by 3,417 to the point that they now represent one-third of all Oregon farms.

With suf cient volume, however, the per unit cost of production can be quite low. Therefore, consolidation and high capital investments goes hand-in-hand with the high levels of volume necessary to accommodate low pro t margins. The rise in very small farms, however, suggests that interest in farming is growing across a broad swath of the population. Farmers with smaller

Meanwhile, mid-sized farms between 50 and 179 acres, 180 to 499 acres, and 500 to 999 acres fell by 881, 289, and 101, respectively. The very largest farms (2,000 or more acres) increased by 1.4 percent; such that Oregon gained 21 more very large farms between 2012 and 2017.3 The rise in very small farms likely re ects growth in organic farming, value-added on-farm operations, direct sales, and agritourism. These are relatively labor-intensive activities. The opposite likely happened with respect to the largest size class of farms. The rise in very large farms likely re ects consolidation as a means to attain economies of scale in production, and ultimately the ability to compete in a marketplace with intense price competition. Expensive technologies such as large GPS-guided machinery and large-scale irrigation

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acreages may be growing very high value specialty crops, or crops with attributes that consumers value such as local production.

Alternatively, very small farms may be sustained by off-farm income earned by one or more family members.

See full 2021 economic impact report at https:// agsci.oregonstate.edu/sites/agscid7/ les/main/ about/oragecon_report_2021.pdf

Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2022 | 21

SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

By Marshall Doak, SOU SBDC Director

The Most Critical Element of Your Business to Focus on Today

22 | Southern Oregon Business Journal February 2022 Photo by Zachary Keimig on Unsplash

S

igns are nally trending towards an end point to the COVID Pandemic. Several countries have of cially declared an end, and momentum has a way of building towards a common end result in most cases. We will see if that holds over the next few months to nd if we are of cially past the Pandemic.

For your business, will being past the Pandemic have an effect? Will you or have you experienced a fundamental turning point? The answer to these questions lie in your assessment of human behavior, one of the principal drivers of economic activity. You will be making decisions on how to proceed post-COVID, but what will you be basing those decisions on?

Astute business owners have spent the relative available time these past couple years giving their nancial recordkeeping/reporting systems a tune-up so that accurate timely information is at their ngertips. For these business owners, I would like to suggest that concentrating on how the cash ow in your business is structured and operating is where you should put your attention to at this time.

By far and above, the companies we have worked with over the past several years have, in general, found out that a reliance on maintaining a steady cash ow has been a matter of life and death. Too many companies have not survived past COVID due to their reliance on faltering cash ows. In 2020, when businesses were ordered to close, the sudden stop in revenues killed many businesses oftentimes within a week or two. The majority of the closed businesses did not have any concept of what cash ow was until it stopped. Recognition of that came way too late for those businesses.

We are currently at a point where businesses have been trained to think of Government Grants and Loans as cash ow. They aren’t, and in addition, they are going away. Nationally, we are into the next election-cycle, so any additional government assistance will undoubtedly be a matter of debate before it is received in rural America. At this moment, some aide is currently in the pipeline that may come out looking like new programs to deliver fragile businesses from

closing, but it is not a reliable ‘ x’ for systemic cash- ow issues. The translation of this is: If your business is not breaking even or better at this time, you should have a program in place to remedy this at once, including how you plan to pay yourself to remain solvent. This is what a concentrated effort to understand your cash ow can help you with.

To concentrate on cash ow, you need to build a cash ow projection. This is what nancial modeling comes in, to construct a model of what future earnings and expenditures are likely to be and then analyzing the potential for your business to survive the stress periods that will undoubtedly be revealed. If you are not capable of doing this kind of a study, you need to contact obtain the instruction you need in order to be able to make this a reality for your business.

Proper cash ow analyses include: Inventory Control: Have you leaned-out your inventories to support robust sales but not carrying obsolete items? Are your inventory turns in line with industry norms, or better?

Sources and Uses study: Are you tracking where your cash is coming from and where it is spent? If you are not tracking this measure, you might not have a handle on your company’s performance.

Managing your Accounts Receivable: What are your collectibles average turn time? Is it increasing or decreasing? Is your eye on your performance?

Managing Payables: Are you taking advantages of cash discounts for prompt payment? Are you asking for better terms from your suppliers?

Credit Review and Mending: How are you allocating your cash assets and are you keeping current with expenses from revenues?

Reviews of Cash Controls: Who has access to cash in your business? Are there

proper tracking and chain of custody procedures in place that are followed?

Developing Realistic Projections: This is the heart of Cash Flow understanding.

Using quality projections to forecast upcoming needs and cash balances is key to using your nancial information to manage your operation.

Cash Management: Are you keeping adequate reserves to manage daily bills?

Are you checking your balances to avoid defaults? Are you wisely investing reserves to generate additional income?

Capital Acquisition: Do you need money to operate? How do you know that, whether you need it today or will in the future? How are you going to project those needs?

Understanding your Cash Conversion Cycle: How long is it between being in a cash position, purchasing inventory and converting it back to cash?

If you are building and reading your nancial statements on a regular basis and have benchmarked your business against national averages, then the addition of the items just listed should give you a great understanding how your business is weathering the ongoing storm. Or the just completed storm if you prefer to look at it that way. Of course, if your business volume and pro tability are not up to 2019 ‘standards’ or your recovery from the effects of the COVID Pandemic are not strong enough from earned revenues and expense controls to demonstrate pro tability, then you have work to do with your business’s survival. If so, then it is important you get started today.

—Marshall Doak is the Director of the Southern Oregon University Small Business Development Center and a huge supporter of innovation and the community that forms around innovation in the economy. In private practice, he works with businesses that plan to transition to new ownership within the next ve years, assisting them to build value that can be converted to retirement income when the business sells. He can be reached through: mdoak06@gmail.com or 541-646-4126.

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OREGON CANNABIS

By Jim Teece Panel Discussion hosted by Grown Rogue

Grown Rogue : Building Positive Partnerships Between the Cannabis Industry & Community

Photos from GrownRogue.com

Grown Rogue hosted a panel discussion focussing on the community and cannabis in January. I attended via zoom and left the discussion fascinated by what I found out.

Grown Rogue International (CSE: GRIN | OTC: GRUSF) is a vertically integrated, multi-state Cannabis family of brands. Their story began more than 15 years ago when the founders, Obie and Sarah Strickler, started growing as part of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program.

Oregon Recreational Legalization in 2016 started a new chapter for the company. Grown Rogue

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built a best in class grow team, with over 75 years of combined experience, and carefully hired a diverse team of professionals, with a range of skillsets and backgrounds, from across the Rogue Valley.

They went public in 2018 and continued expanding its foundation by focusing on ef ciencies and best practices across the organization that would allow it to expand production and drive sales with enhanced pro tability. Grown Rogue is now taking what they learned in the hypercompetitive Oregon

market and selectively expanding its footprint by acquiring distressed and non-core assets across the rapidly growing US markets.

I learned about Grown Rogue a couple of years ago.

Sarah gave me a fascinating tour of the indoor grow as part of the E2E (Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur) program where we tour local businesses and hear how they got started and what keeps the owners up at night. I was impressed with how clean, organized and professional the operation was.

I met Obie a year or so later and was again impressed by the business they built and with his industry leadership and passion.

On January 19, 2022, Grown Rogue hosted an online panel discussion with local of cials to discuss the challenges they are facing including but not limited to illegal pot and hot-hemp grows.

Hot Hemp is grown as hemp (less regulated) but because the THC levels are too high (hemp should have less than 5% THC) it’s really being illegally grown and ooding the legal marijuana market.

good about how well everyone has been working together on the challenges they face.

operate about 200,000 square feet of cultivation between those two states.”

As an aside, our water rights were curtailed last year for several weeks on our mini farm in Ashland because of drought and an empty Emigrant Lake, but all of us blamed all the growers for sucking the lake dry. This panel discussion helped me understand how to frame my concerns for next year when we all meet to discuss the problem.

He went to to explain that he and his wife, Sarah, are both born and raised in Southern Oregon and they wanted to make sure they built a business that integrates well with the community and that they operate in a very positive and collaborative manner.

Obie is also the Chair of the Jackson County marijuana advisory committee and works closely with the sheriff and water master.

Shandell Clark (Planning) :

The panel was moderated by Lisa Manyon and was made up of the following leaders:

“I'm responsible for the overseeing the processing and permitting of cannabis grows, production and processing establishments.”

• Obi Strickler CEO of Grown Rogue

Sheriff Sickler :

• Shandell Clark Jackson County Planning Division Manager

“I have been the Jackson County sheriff for just over 5 years and have been in law enforcement since 1998.”

• Nate Sickler Jackson County Sheriff

“Since measure 91 passed, we've seen a lot of challenges arise from the marijuana industry.”

• Shavon Haynes Jackson County Water-master

Measure 91 legalized recreational marijuana for people ages 21 and older, allowing adults over this age to possess up to eight ounces of "dried" marijuana and up to four plants. Additionally, the measure tasked the Oregon Liquor Control Commission with regulating marijuana sales.

• Jeff Golden Oregon State Senator • Mike Odenthal Hemp Program Manager Oregon Department of Agriculture • Dave Dotterrer Jackson County Commissioner Below is a loose transcription of the excellent panel discussion. The main take away for me was that Legitimate and Legal Cannabis growers are getting a bad rap because of all the illegal growers in the valley and that the county and state are working hard to nd the resources to combat this issue. I left the discussion feeling

What’s your role and what are you doing in relationship to building better relationships and partnerships and making it a more positive experience with the cannabis industry and our community?

Obie: “We’re a multi state cannabis operator, with facilities both in Oregon and Michigan. We

“My role on the marijuana advisory committee is really getting to know them, and understand what they're dealing with, as people who are trying to do everything legal and follow the rules and try to advocate for their industry to be viewed as prosperous and legitimate in our community. “ “I think that for me as a sheriff and primarily, law enforcement perspective is trying to get rid of the bad actors, so to speak. So the the legal industry can do what they they would like to accomplish.”

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Watermaster Haynes: “I work for the agency that issues water rights and water use permits. So anytime there's anything that needs to be grown, they're going to need a water, that’s where I come in. “ “Making sure that the cannabis growers that are licensed, have water rights and are getting it from the right sources and the right amounts. “ “I'm learning about the law enforcement process with cannabis cultivation. “ “One of the things that has happened recently, as a result of people being outspoken and sharing concern, and being very vocal, is my agency was just awarded some additional funding to get additional staff to be boots on the ground."

Senator Jeff Golden: “My focus since the summer has been to focus state attention and resources on our illegal grow situation, which is … devastating to the valley in so many ways. “

“You probably know there's a moratorium on THC marijuana licenses” “We're asking the state, please, can we take a pause and try to get this under control? And that's going to be a little controversial, not everybody is going to support that. “ Mike Odenthal (Or. Dept. Ag): “I am the head program manager for the Department of Agriculture. My role in that position is to license hemp growers and to verify that they are following the rules, and are properly licensed and producing hemp, not marijuana and to assist growers to be successful in their legal cultivation of hemp. “ “I'm building this program from the ground up as far as enforcement goes. “

“We need boots on the ground. We need law enforcement. We need code enforcement. We need water enforcement. We need human rights help. “

“We've got to build our enforcement so that we get people in line and our community knows that we're making an effort and we've got good people out there trying to grow hemp or recreational marijuana and not the illegal stuff.”

“I think one of the really damaging aspects of the illegal grows is their impact on the relationship between community members in the legal industry, which most of us want to do everything we can to encourage and nurture.”

“When we say cannabis, we're talking about both plants. I spent the bulk of my summer down in your area with Operation Table Rock. We had plenty of people that were de nitely growing, what they knew was illegal. “

“It can be a very important economic component. And it can save farmland too. But that's not going to happen if the illegal grow situation can't be controlled.”

County Commissioner Dotterrer:

“Essential to improving relationships, is getting a handle on the illegal growth problem. And that'll that'll be my focus going forward.”

“There's a lot of proposals on the table… a couple of them have to do with water and water law and stiffening penalties for repeat offenders.

Right now, there’s not enough deterrence for illicit water use. And some measures that have

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been proposed as an example would be requiring proof of water rights as a condition of getting a license. That's one issue. There are several others.”

“From the standpoint of a county commissioner it is our role to highlight the issue and to make sure that the community understands what the issue really is. There is a lot of concern that not enough is being done about it “ “As a county commissioner, I will tell you that the other implication for this is just the whole concept of what this illegality and corruption can do to our community and what it means to this great community we live in, and the fact that, that this is essentially a cancer on our

community. And it really has a dramatic impact across the board and all these other issues we've been talking about. But we just need to remember that we live in this great community and we need we want to keep it that way. “ “What we don't want is this illegality and this corruption that enters in, when you start bringing in cartels and you start bringing in illegality and corruption.”

“I think we often need to step back and look at the larger community issues that are involved here.”

What is the biggest challenge that each of you are seeing in your respective areas when it comes to building partnerships and trying to really get everyone on the same page to do things right.

Obie : “The biggest challenge we face is twofold. One is the magnitude of the illegal production. It really puts a black eye on the legal industry. Which are those of us who are taking the right approach, going through licensing, working with the state, working with the county, working with the city, getting permits, paying our taxes, and workers comp bene ts. We do all the things you do as a business owner and trying to integrate this industry, which has been kind of in the shadows historically and is now becoming mainstream.

Did you know, across Canada, it's fully legal. I think there’s 15 legalized states in the US with a bunch more than have legalized medical use of cannabis.”

“It doesn't give people con dence that our industry can actually exist within more of a mainstream environment.“ “The second piece is that we don't have deregulation yet. In the US, there's still a signi cant demand for product in other states where the price may be much higher. So a lot of the illegal activity is because they grow it here where the climates right and then they'll ship it.

It puts pressure in the markets we operate in, like

them, because they're just simply farming. Come see us and get your permits for production and processing.”

“They have a cheaper cost of production, because of all the things they don't have to pay for… taxes, permitting, licensing.”

“The illegal industry really casts a pretty big shadow over the legal industry. The ability for the relationships to grow is going to be to weed out those bad actors… the ones that are not following the rules, so to speak, because it really does paint a broad brush across the cannabis industry as a whole”

“The other thing I think it really impacts is one of the beauties of legalized cannabis, the testing and transparency. When they go and do these raids, you're nding chemicals, and things that you should not be ingesting or consuming. It's actually hurting the people who are trying to use this for health and wellness.“ Watermaster Haynes: “There's only one of me in my district, there's de nitely is a need to have additional staff. “ "There’s a lot of water users and a lot of newer farmers who just don't understand the rules and regulations regarding water use and irrigation rights. People will get a piece of exclusive farm use property, get a hemp registration, and think they can use water without even having water rights. “ "Legislation we're looking at right now is looking at the enforcement capabilities of the Water Resource Department, because it's not a very good deterrent to keep people from using water illegally. “ Shandell Clark (Planning) : “Of course, we are not enforcement based, we are actually the folks issuing the permits to allow the production or processing. But we hit those seasonal highs and we are just slammed. So that's part of it, getting the permits out in a timely manner. “ “I think another big issue is that planning is kind of the strange animal where folks don't often think about it. But yes you do need a planning permit to grow cannabis. So just getting that out there, so folks are aware as it may not occur to

Sherriff Sickler:

“When people see this illegal activity when they see law enforcement having to go out and eradicate grows, or when they see the violent crime associated with the black market or when they see the deputies too busy to handle the other calls for service because we're running from grow, to grow, to grow, because of different things, livability issues, noise complaints, domestics, you name it, all manner of crimes, that takes away our ability to manage the other issues within the county with regards to the criminal justice system. So I think getting rid of the bad actors and letting people see that the industry can not consume all those additional resources when they're operating legally, and that it can not impact the county as a whole. “ County Commissioner Dotterrer: “I've had the pleasure in the last month of going on a couple of rides with sheriff's deputies, and it's absolutely amazing to ride along with them and listen to all they're talking about… this grow, or that grow, and all the information they've got and all the background, and how big this really is.”

“We have heard how complex this issue really is.

And I think the big challenge for all of us is to synchronize our response, as we decide how we're going to move forward to address this issue which is clearly a very complex issue for our community. “

Senator Jeff Golden: “Well, I'd really like to hear the answer to main challenges from more rural residents and farmers around the Rogue Valley, because they have been living with it every single day. “ “I believe in mounting a credible law enforcement response to this, which we haven't had, until now. The message we've been sending is ‘come to southern Oregon and make 10s or hundreds of millions of dollars’, at the expense of the community with no risk really, for prosecution or punishment. That's what we're trying to change.”

“We've got amazing law enforcement in Jackson County, and now with more appropriate resources. On the other hand, we have some hardened folks who are not going to easily walk away from the kind of pro ts that they've been seeing. “ “I'm really interested and a little anxious about what happens now when we stand up a response. “ “Another clear challenge, I think it was Obie who underlined it, we have a structural problem, when we have states that have decriminalized or legalized recreational marijuana and a federal government that hasn't. As long as that's the case, roughly half the country is going to be a really lucrative black market for marijuana grown in Oregon and a few other states. Hence those huge pro ts are going to continue to draw some people who, how shall we say, aren't highly concerned with the well being of the Rogue Valley community.

‘And then the other thing that occurs to me is nding the right balance between the need for reasonable law and order and private property rights.”

“Some people have have felt that over time law enforcement has had a real punitive attitude, and criminal justice about marijuana may use this as an excuse to go overboard and violate legitimate private property rights. “

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Michigan, where you have an illegal product coming into the market. And simultaneously, you're competing with additional product inside of Oregon, or you're now competing with illegal operators and the consumer base. “

“I don't think we have the balance right now. “ “It strikes me that law enforcement in the face of such out in the open, brazen violation of the law, has not been given the tools they need to respond in a timely way. “ “I think over time, it's gonna be a challenge to nd a balance that that meets our objectives.”

Sheriff Sickler: “Counties to the north of us and to the east and to the west, are now seeing an increase in the cartel activity and the hoop house is going up in their counties, and they're going like, ‘Hey, what are we going to do?’, because they don't have the resources either. “ “We've become a little bit desensitized in Jackson County and Josephine County, just because of the sheer amount, for so many years.“ “The Oregon State Sheriffs Association, which will predominantly be the agencies really responding to these grows started a workgroup to try to be uniform in our approach and we can offer guidance and some advice and/or training to these other sheriff's of ces and share what we've learned over the last ve years with this cannabis industry. What works and what doesn't and what's effective and what's not. “ “Being able to have a very uniform approach across the state is my hope. Other sheriffs will be able to follow the lead that Sheriff Daniel and I have been dealing with for many years here. “ “I'm hoping that will help alleviate some concerns within the cannabis industry as far as how things will be handled in different parts of the state.”

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“I see no evidence for that that in Jackson County, but there are a lot of counties in Oregon, and not all of their leadership is supportive of the legal cannabis industry. “

Senator Golden: “I have got to give a shout out to Sheriff Sickler here, because this is the balancing act that I'm talking about. “ “The sheriff gets calls every single day, pushing him to crack down, go out and just bust everybody around cannabis.”

“I think he has a really dif cult job with really diverse views about what's right. “ “He has worked really hard and with a variety of stakeholders to hold that balance and I really commend him for it.”

Obie Stickler: “Yeah, I was also going to add that we do have to recognize that this issue was seen through different eyes throughout the state of Oregon. “ “I do want to give a shout out to Senator Golden about working on recognizing that. Because this issue is moving to the Salem arena, and it's going to be handled at a state level."

“Sheriff Sickler is on working on it with the other sheriffs to understand how much this really is a state issue. It's really important that we view it from that perspective.”

Senator Golden: “There was a turning point in the state's awareness about all this, in a legislative committee meeting, right before the short session when we passed the measure. “ “A whole bunch of people testi ed. “ “A 40 year old guy, who I didn't recognize, got up and said, “I’m a third generation farmer. It's how I make my whole living, and all of my water is surface water from a creek I have rights to. One day, the creek dried immediately and I walked upstream and ran into a very heavily armed guy around sandbags and his diversion was taking all the water out of the creek and I told him, “What are you doing? That's our water”, and he said, “It's

not anymore. You just ran out of water for the rest of the year.”

“And I'm thinking that creek could that have been in Jackson County.

When asked where he lived he says, “I live 25 minutes from downtown Portland, I live in Clackamas County” and I really saw some legislators sit up who hadn't been paying attention.”

County Commissioner Dotterer: “This is not a just a Southern Oregon issue and problem. “ Mike Odenthal (Or. Dept. Ag): “I think it all comes down to trust.”

“Our industries have such a bad reputation, nobody believes them, whether we've got a really good legitimate legal grower, the neighbors don't believe them.

“My regulated hemp growers don't believe me and I don't believe most of them.

“Until we can get some trust built, we're not going to make headway.

I think that's my biggest challenge. They've got to start believing in me and believing I'm here to help them be successful as legitimate hemp growers.

The neighbors have to start to trust me and I them, in that same effort, so that we can work together to build this industry up where it needs to go.

What's the number one solution that each of you are working towards?

Obie: “These panels and talking to the community and giving them a chance to be heard. “

“From our perspective, we try to integrate as well as we can, via the advisory work I do on the Marijuana Advisory Committee. “ “Sarah, my wife and I, do tours all the time of our facilities to try and destigmatize and educate people on what cannabis is doing. “ “We joined the chamber. “ “Our sales director just joined Rotary.”

“Sarah’s at the MDA, the Medford Development Agency. “ “These are things that we can do to give back and show our commitment.“ “I'd like to see more cannabis companies doing it the right way, and contribute in that manner. “ “We're a business. We’re in the community. We want to be a part of it.”

“That’s the biggest thing we're doing.”

Shandell Clark (Planning) : “The best thing we can do is to continue to produce approvals that are very succinct and very well written so that code enforcement has the tools that they need to enforce. The better the staff reports and approvals we write, the more information they have to go on. “ Sheriff Sickler: “Enforcement. That's really the crux of this. A lot of the issue are byproducts of the illegal industry, meaning those who are doing things illegally. “ “We have the labor traf cking piece and the humanitarian piece, where workers are being treated poorly and kept in poor conditions. “ “We have the criminal activity associated with the black market, and we have the water issues and the code enforcement issues. “ “If we get rid of the illegal industry, much of that will go away. “

“That would be what I would focus on. “ “Senator Golden talked a little bit about the funding for law enforcement, which we're very thankful for. “ “Now, we just need to gure out how we sustain that ability to have a presence and be able to respond to these reports as they come forward in time and be able to really send a message that our county is not going to be a haven for this black market.”

Watermaster Haynes: “We're going to be working toward is getting out in the eld early and often, since we're going to have some additional eld staff, and that's going to actually increase our presence 300% at locations, as they're starting to use water and starting those education processes.”

“Informing these individuals what needs to happen before they start growing something.”

“I'm hoping those processes will help weed out some of these bad actors.”

Senator Golden: “My piece of this puzzle ,for as long as I'm in the legislature, will be to continue to nd ways to sustain the resources coming to local communities and local governments to do this work. “ Mike Odenthal (Or. Dept. Ag): “My plan and efforts right now are tightening enforcement. We want to make sure that everybody involved is abiding by what they're supposed to do.

County Commissioner Dotterer: “I want to thank Senator Golden for bringing up the idea of the sustainability issue here. Because from the county perspective, we want to make sure that whatever we're doing, we can sustain the future to continue these projects.”

“The Senator is absolutely right, it makes no sense to do this on a short term basis at all.”

What is the perspective on the marijuana reform slated for the spring of 2022? Speci cally, the federal government's role?

Obie: “The rst step been trying to get safe banking passed. It's one of the challenges our industry faces. We don’t have access to general banking services. There's still a lot of cash transactions. “ “We don’t have access to loans and traditional debt service. “ “It's almost been like a political football. There's has been a lot of excitement last year in the beginning part of 2021, when Biden was elected.

Since then the regulatory changes really shifted.”

“So there's been some expectation that safe banking and some form of decriminalization may occur in the spring. “ “If that happens, I think it's just a it's another step in the overall process of getting to full deregulation. “ “You have to remember Southern Oregon is just a small entity within Oregon, and it's hard to get resources. “ “It took a quite a tremendous effort from a lot of people on this panel and folks like Representative Pam Marsh, to get some money coming down here to help try and combat what's been a pretty big problem.”

“So I'm not sure how much we're gonna to in uence what happens, at the federal level.”

—Find out more about Grown Rogue at grownrogue.com.

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Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2022 | 29

One Bank,

One Name.

We knew that bringing Willamette Community Bank and People’s Bank together would be a strong combination. Now, almost a year later, we are ready to exhibit that strength under one name – People’s Bank.

We are excited about this next evolution and are committed to providing our communities with the same high level of service our clients have come to expect from us.

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Albany Branch

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509 SE 7th Street Grants Pass, OR 97526 541-955-8005

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Southern Oregon Business Journal October 2021 | 31

HIGHER EDUCATION

By Press Release https://news.sou.edu/2022/02/sou-recognized-as- rst-gen-forward-institution/

S

outhern Oregon University has been selected to be part of the 2022-23 cohort of First-gen Forward, a nationwide initiative to improve academic outcomes for rst-generation college students. SOU will become one of about 300 higher education institutions to have received the designation, becoming eligible for professional development opportunities, community-building experiences and access to the research and resources of sponsoring organizations.

“This is a recognition of our hard work to level the playing eld for rst-generation and other nontraditional students,” said Neil Woolf, SOU’s vice president for enrollment management and student affairs. “Our strategic planning process a few years ago identi ed seven ‘strategic directions’ for SOU, one of which is to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment where all learners will ourish. We are committed to providing services to assist students from under-represented backgrounds to be successful.”

Higher education institutions must apply for the Firstgen Forward designation, and demonstrate both buy-

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32 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2022

SOU recognized as “First-gen Forward” institution

in by campus leaders and their campuses’ efforts to help students from non-academic backgrounds make the transition to college life. Existing SOU programs that focus either largely or wholly on supporting the needs of rst-generation students include the Bridge Program, Advanced Southern Credit, Success at Southern/TRIO-SSS, the McNair Scholars Program and University Coaching & Academic Mentoring.

First-gen Forward is an initiative of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, known as NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and the Suder Foundation.

NASPA is a U.S.-based organization for student affairs professionals with more than 15,000 members at 1,200 campuses worldwide. It is dedicated to cultivating student success in collaboration with the missions of its institutional members.

Texas tech and commercial real estate entrepreneurs Eric and Deborah Suder launched the Suder Foundation in 2008 with the goal of increasing graduation rates for rst-generation college students.

“First-gen Forward is an exciting opportunity for Southern Oregon University to join a dedicated community of professionals prepared to share evidence-based practices and resources, troubleshoot challenges, generate knowledge and continue to advance the success of rst-generation students across the country,” said Kevin Kruger, the president and CEO of NASPA. “We are excited to see a groundswell of activity from the First-gen Forward cohort and know SOU will be a signi cant contributor.”

The full 2022-23 cohort for First-gen Forward has not yet been announced, but other institutions that have achieved the designation since the program was launched in 2019 include just three others in Oregon – Portland Community College, University of Portland and Oregon State University.

“SOU gave me the opportunity to grow and to change my life and to help change the lives of other people.”

ANGELICA RUPPE MS ’86

sou.edu • 855-470-3377 Southern Oregon Business Journal November 2021 | 33

Crisis Management

by Greg Henderson

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash

usiness failure rates are high. Every.

The effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on local

most cases that is no longer true. (There are

Single. Year. Records indicate 100,000

businesses has been unexpected by many, if not

instances where it would improve our company’s

more business failures occurred in 2021

most, small business enterprises. The seriousness

success if some peers would work harder ). Cell

than just the normal 400,000 when nothing

of the pandemic on a national and world-wide

phones are ubiquitous – everyone seems to have

unusual is going on. One business trainer

scale has been brought to the local level from

one. Regular and rapid responses to messages

frequently teaches students to “Fail fast.” Get it

political and medical organizations not normally

are nearly automatic. There was a time when we

over with and move on. Failure happens for a

of great concern to the family businesses

had to stop at a phone booth to call the of ce for

multitude of reasons.

because there is a disconnect in communication

messages, now we can respond to dozens of

between small, main street businesses and

inquiries before our rst cup of coffee is nished.

international in uences. Experience is a quick

There is an on-line library that lists 77 million

and effective teacher. Business plans are certainly

books in its inventory (digital inventory, I am

encouraged to include better and more frequent

sure). That is amazing.

Blame it on the Coronavirus, COVID-19, or the responses to it. Blame it on Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the world’s responses to it.

communication than has been utilized in the

Most business crises, large and small, aren’t as devastating as war or a pandemic. But they are often enough to end an entrepreneur’s dream.

The best advice might be to have a business plan.

Its about avoiding risk, not all, but the most important. Remember the phrase, “Failure to plan is planning to fail.” It’s a risk reduction effort that doesn’t guarantee success but certainly helps to eliminate many potential hazards that had been overlooked. Its also a living document that needs to be reviewed regularly; because things often change. Some suddenly.

recent past. Our world is shockingly small because of amazing technology now available at the local level and must be utilized in the risk reduction plans of business organizations.

Crisis management in business is necessary when business growth, sustainability and potential expansion is considered. These are chapters in the business plan that are necessary

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Crisis management? Absolutely.

If you believe, as I do, that an 80% business failure rate is unacceptable, then be sure to include a complete chapter on Crisis Management in your Business Plan.

It’s the reasonable thing to do.

if business-ending risks are to be avoided.

“Work smarter, not harder” is an adage we’ve heard and stated for years. When a strong back was the most valuable tool for business success, we were able to succeed by working harder. In

34 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2022

Cyber security? Of course. Risk avoidance? Yes.

Greg Henderson is the retired founder of the Southern Oregon Business Journal. A University of Oregon graduate and a six year U.S. Air Force veteran. Contact him at ghenderson703@gmail.com

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