The grass seed industry in Union County has long been of importance to the economic health of the county and to the communities that provide the infrastructure that benefit from this industry.

The maintenance of the rural lifestyles that contribute to the quality of life are valued by the residents of Union County. To continue to provide the open spaces that are so valued here requires the continuation of a strong partnership between the rural and urban residents of Union County.

The commodity that is provided by the grass seed industry helps to protect one of the most critical natural resources we have – soil. Not only does the growing of grass seed help to stabilize and protect the soils where it is planted, it also helps to protect the precious and valuable soils of Union County from loss when erosive winds blow across our landscape.

The opportunity to periodically burn agricultural residue is a vital part of this industry. However, the impact to our communities and those sensitive to the smoke is a serious concern for all residents. The Union County Smoke Management Plan is intended to minimize health and lifestyle impacts.

Program Overview – Union County administers the open field burning rules by conducting a smoke management program through its Smoke Management Office. The program includes:

• Coordinating, registering, and issuing of agricultural field burning permits.
• Authorizing burning activities during the field burning season.
• Providing ground surveillance service and limited weather forecasting.
• Monitoring acreage burned and receiving fees from those who burn.
• Enforcing rules governing open field burning and propane flaming.
• Collecting fees ($10.00 per acre open burned, $2.00 per acre rapid fire propane burning) from growers.
• Providing monies collected from grower fees to the research and development program administered by the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA).

Registration – Every field of grass seed or cereal grain residue to be open field burned or propane flamed in Union County must first be registered with and approved by the Smoke Management Office as dictated by the ODA. There are no exceptions. Open field burning or propane flaming any plot of land of grass seed or cereal grain residue not listed on a registration form is illegal.

Registration is essentially a permit application. It identifies the grower registrant and each candidate field for open burning or propane flaming. Field information includes: the total number of acres available for open field burning; the total number of acres available for propane flaming; coordinates of the fields and location; crop type; and individual field acres.

Permits – It is illegal to burn any grass seed or cereal grain field or residue in Union County without a permit. Permits for open field burning or propane flaming are issued by the Smoke Management office to the grower for specified field and acreage on the day of the burn, in exact accordance with the times, places, amount, burn type and other provisions and limitations announced by the ODA. One field, one permit; one location, one permit.

Daily Operations, Burn Season – Burn season is designated from June 15 to September 30 of each year. The Union County Smoke Management Office has the responsibility to set the times, places, amounts and other burning restrictions as needed throughout the day. Within the limits of the rules, burn decisions are made in an effort to allow reasonable burning opportunities with minimal impacts to the public. In general, good open field burning conditions develop mid-day and deteriorate sometime before sunset.

Background – The Smoke Management Program is responsible for overseeing open field burning and propane flaming of all grass seed residue and cereal grain residue within Union County. The program administers open field and propane flaming rules. The objective of the program is to increase the degree of public safety by preventing and minimizing smoke intrusions to the public, highways and freeways within Union County.

The Smoke Management Program is a cooperative effort involving the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Union County Seed Growers Association, approximately 6 local fire protection districts, and about 45 growers.

INTERESTING FACTS…

• Burning of grass seed fields began in the 1940’s when farmers and Oregon State University agronomists found it to be the only effective method of controlling fungus disease and weed contaminants. It is still the most cost-effective method for sanitizing fields. Agricultural field burning is also conducted in central Oregon and the Willamette Valley, Idaho, Washington, California, Hawaii and in other countries.
• The objective of smoke management is to match burn levels to the airshed’s dispersion capabilities while minimizing smoke impacts. To do this, the Smoke Management Office specifies the times, places and amount of burning to be allowed. This is continually re-evaluated and adjusted throughout the burn day by tracking smoke drift, plume rise and indications of shifting winds.
• Burning usually begins in early July and continues through September or until the fall rains begin. (There are no official beginning or ending date to start or finish). In a typical summer, more than 75% of the burning takes place on just 10 to 15 separate days.
• Direct cell phone communications between the Smoke Management office and the grower, constant ground surveillance, and continuous monitoring of winds and smoke allow a rapid response to developing changes or problems. Growers can be fined for burning without permission or after a “stop burning” order is issued.
• Growers pay a fee of $5.00 per acre for propane-burned fields and $10.00 per acre for open burned fields.

Contacts:

Union County Smoke Management Office (Burn season only)
(541)534-6625

Union County Commissioners Office
(541)963-1001