RICKREALL, Ore. — The first Mid-Valley Winter Ag Fest is the product of a labor of love for its organizers, who see agriculture as an integral part of the Willamette Valley’s past — and its future.

Deb Thomas has coordinated the Polk County Home and Garden Show — held each year at the end of February — since 2000. Last year, she started thinking about a larger event that would build on “this exciting time in agriculture with the resurgence of the family farm and Saturday markets.”

“The interest in the proposal for a February Ag Fest has been overwhelmingly positive,” Thomas said. The event will be held in the Main Building of the Polk County Fairgrounds, with agricultural seminars taking place at the adjacent Polk County Museum.

“The local 4-H Horse Club will bring horses and show tack and do riding demonstrations,” Thomas said.

Proceeds will benefit local 4-H and FFA chapters.

Some of the events featured over the two days:

• The 9th Annual Home and Garden Show will be held concurrently in another area of the Main Building and feature a Farmers’ Bounty Market.

• The 4-H will host a petting zoo from noon to 4 p.m. each day in the fairgrounds’ swine barn, along with a Favorite Foods contest.

• Artisan vendors will be in the Main Building.

• Antique Powerland volunteers will display old-time tractors and implements.

• An agricultural drone will be on display.

• An authentic covered wagon will be displayed by the Yamhill Historical Society.

• Representatives from the Chemeketa Community College Viticulture Center will talk about winemaking.

• Representatives from Two Towns hard cider and Rogue Brewery will be on hand.

• Eola Hills Winery will host an ag-themed brunch on Feb. 28.

A full slate of seminars will also be offered at the two-day Ag Fest:

Museum seminars

10:30 a.m.: John Burt, Farmers Ending Hunger, “Farm to Food Bank to Solve Things.”

11 a.m.: Sherri Noxel, Oregon State University’s Austin Family Business Program, “Planning for a Productive Family Farm Transfer.”

Noon: Stephanie Wood, “Native American Natural Harvesting.”

2 p.m.: Tiah Edmundson-Morton, OSU Hops and Beer History Archive, and Makaela Kroin, University of Oregon Folk Life Network, “History and Hop Lore in the Mid-Willamette Valley.”

3 p.m.: Amy Garrett, OSU Extension Small Farms Program, “Farming without Irrigation.”

Main Building Seminars

11 a.m.: Gretchen Anderson, “Secrets of the Lazy Urban Chicken Keeper.”

1 p.m. Dr. Ryan Scholz, district veterinarian for Western Oregon, “Avian Influenza.”

2 p.m.: Domenica Protheroe of MI Chicken Revolution, “Tips for the Winter Chicken Coop.”

Museum Seminars

11 a.m. Local authors forum.

2 p.m.: Robert Faust of Bio-Ag, “Restoring Soil Health.”

Main Building Seminars

1 p.m. Gretchen Anderson, “Other Tips on Raising a Flock from Chick to Hen.”

Information

What: Mid-Valley Winter Ag Fest

Where: Polk County Fairgrounds, Rickreall, Ore.

When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28.

Admission: $5 for adults and free for those under the age of 18.

Parking: Free at the fairgrounds.

Website: www.mvwagfest.com

Email: mvwagfest@gmail.com

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — With the FBI tightening its ring around them, the last four holdouts in the armed takeover of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon surrendered Thursday, ending a 41-day standoff that left one man dead and exposed simmering anger over the government’s control of vast expanses of Western land.

Federal authorities in six states also arrested seven other people accused of being involved in the occupation and brought charges against a leader of the movement who organized a 2014 standoff. Two more suspects remained at large.

The last occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge gave up without incident a day after federal agents surrounded the site.

Nearby residents were relieved.

“I just posted hallelujah on my Facebook,” said Julie Weikel, who lives next to the nature preserve. “And I think that says it all. I am so glad this is over.”

At least 25 people have now been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to impede employees at the wildlife refuge from performing their duties.

Meanwhile, Cliven Bundy, who was at the center of the 2014 standoff at his ranch in Nevada, was arrested late Wednesday in Portland after encouraging the occupiers not to give up. Bundy is the father of Ammon Bundy, the jailed leader of the Oregon occupation.

The elder Bundy appeared in federal court Thursday in Portland to hear the charges against him, all of which stem from the 2014 confrontation with federal authorities in Nevada.

He’s accused of leading supporters who pointed military-style weapons at federal agents trying to enforce a court order to round up Bundy cattle from federal rangeland. The charges include conspiracy, assault on a federal officer, obstruction of justice and weapons charges.

Federal authorities have not said why they chose to arrest the 69-year-old now. They may have feared Bundy’s presence would draw sympathizers to defend the holdouts.

At the court hearing, the elder Bundy asked for a court-appointed attorney. U.S. Magistrate Judge Janice Stewart said she wanted to see financial documents first. She set a detention hearing for next Tuesday, and Bundy will stay in jail until then.

Bomb squads planned to go through the refuge’s buildings to make sure no explosives were left behind, said Greg Bretzing, the agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland division.

The refuge will remain closed for weeks as specialists collect evidence and try to determine whether the occupiers damaged any tribal artifacts and burial grounds sacred to the Burns Paiute Tribe, he said.

Videos posted online showed members of the armed group exploring buildings at the site and criticizing the way tribal artifacts were stored there.

The last four occupiers had been living in a rough encampment on refuge grounds. The videos sometimes showed group members living in tents or gathered around a campfire, driving vehicles and setting up barricades. They erected a canopy next to a pickup truck and an old car and put camping chairs and coolers around it. The area appeared strewn with plastic water bottles, cardboard boxes, clothes, packages of bullets and beer cans.

The last four occupiers were scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Portland. They are 27-year-old David Fry of Blanchester, Ohio; Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nevada; and married couple Sean Anderson, 48, and Sandy Anderson, 47, of Riggins, Idaho.

The FBI began moving in Wednesday evening, surrounding their encampment with armored vehicles. Over the next several hours, the occupiers’ panic and their negotiation with FBI agents could be heard live on the Internet, broadcast by a sympathizer of the occupiers who established phone contact with them.

The Andersons and Banta surrendered first on Thursday. Fry initially refused to join them.

“I’m making sure I’m not coming out of here alive,” he said at one point Thursday, threatening to kill himself. “Liberty or death, I take that stance.”

After ranting for a while, he too gave up.

Federal authorities were criticized during the occupation for not acting sooner to end it. But some experts said the FBI’s strategy of letting tensions die down before moving in ensured there would be no bloodshed.

“This was beautifully executed,” said Brian Levin, a criminal justice professor at California State University-San Bernardino. “This siege and the way it was handled will go down in law enforcement textbooks.”

The standoff began when Ammon Bundy and his followers took over the refuge south of Burns, demanding that the government turn over the land to locals and release two ranchers imprisoned for setting fires.

Federal agents, Oregon state troopers and sheriff’s deputies monitored the occupation to avoid a confrontation. As the weeks passed, there were growing calls for the FBI to act, including from Oregon’s governor.

They did, on Jan. 26. On that day, Ammon Bundy and other occupation leaders were heading for the town of John Day to give a talk on federal overreach. FBI agents and Oregon state troopers stopped the group’s two-vehicle convoy. Robert “LaVoy” Finicum was shot dead in that confrontation. The FBI said he was reaching for a pistol inside his jacket pocket.

A total of 12 people were arrested that week, including Ammon Bundy. Most of the occupiers fled the refuge after hearing they would not be arrested if they left quickly. Four stayed behind, saying they feared they would be arrested if they left.

Oregon elected officials rejoiced at the end of the long occupation but said it will take a while for the rural area to recover. Gov. Kate Brown called the episode “very traumatic.”

“The level of harassment and intimidation by folks who were staying in the Burns community was horrific,” she said. “And the healing will take a long time.”

———

Bellisle reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers Terrence Petty in Portland, Oregon, and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and AP videographer Manuel Valdes in Burns contributed to this report.

SALEM — A proposal to give local governments in Oregon the power to regulate biotech crops has been scrapped in favor of a labeling requirement for genetically engineered fish.

Lawmakers recently considered overturning the state’s prohibition against local restrictions on genetically modified crops, which was passed in 2013.

Biotech critics claim that local ordinances are necessary to prevent cross-pollination between transgenic, conventional and organic crops because the state and federal governments have failed to act on the issue.

Opponents of the proposal, House Bill 4122, argued that it would complicate farming across county lines, reduce crop options and put a strain on local governments that would have to enforce such ordinances.

The House Committee on Consumer Protection and Government Effectiveness heard extensive testimony from both sides during a Feb. 9 hearing but ultimately decided to “gut and stuff” the bill with language that requires labeling for genetically engineered fish sold at retail.

On Feb. 11, the amended bill was approved 5-3 and is headed to the House floor with a “do pass” recommendation.

Prior to the amendment’s approval, Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Dallas, said it would be unfortunate if the current system of voluntary cooperation among farmers were replaced with a “bureaucratic solution” for cross-pollination concerns.

“They try to solve their problems by talking with each other and working with each other,” Nearman said.

Rep. Susan McLain, D-Hillsboro, said she agreed that an ideal solution would allow all types of farmers to co-exist.

“Let’s not pre-empt that possible pathway,” she said.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, said he also wishes such problems could be worked out amicably, but farmers who fear cross-pollination from biotech crops don’t currently have a system to prevent economic losses.

After the legislature pre-empted local regulation of seeds — including biotech crops — in 2013, their concern hasn’t been addressed, he said.

“I think they have a legitimate issue that needs to be solved,” Holvey said. “I hope the Department of Agriculture solves it or the legislature does in the future.”

Committee Chair Shemia Fagan, D-Clackamas, said she hopes the recent discussions in the legislature will pressure the Oregon Department of Agriculture to come up with a solution.

Fagan noted that heirloom crop varieties cannot be replaced once they’re lost, so she hopes to give farmers some method to protect such cultivars.

“There is some urgency to this issue,” she said.

A similar bill that would have more broadly reversed Oregon’s seed pre-emption law, House Bill 4041, recently failed to clear the committee.

As for labeling of genetically engineered fish, Holvey said the proposal will likely be subject to further revisions in the Senate if it’s approved in the House.

Transgenic salmon received regulatory approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year but its sale is on hold until the agency devises possible labeling rules.

If the FDA does require such labeling, those regulations would likely pre-empt any rules enacted in Oregon, Holvey said.

SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown said that Oregon will focus on helping the community of Burns to recover, after the remaining four occupiers at a nearby national wildlife refuge surrendered to FBI agents on Thursday.

Brown said she continues to seek federal reimbursement of state and local government costs associated with the occupation, and she is also talking to federal officials about federal land management issues.

“I’ll certainly be having conversations with our Congressional delegation, and will continue the conversations that I’ve started with folks at the federal level, for example the Department of Interior, (Secretary of the Interior) Sally Jewell,” Brown said. “So we’re just beginning those conversations now, but we’ll be working closely with our federal delegation.”

In late January Brown said the federal government should do more to engage with people on how to manage federal lands. On Thursday, Brown declined to provide any specifics on what she hopes to achieve through discussions about federal land management.

Brown said Oregon has work to do, now that the occupation has ended.

“For the Harney County residents, this has been very traumatic,” Brown said. “The level of harassment and intimidation by folks who were staying in the Burns community has been horrific and the healing will take a lot of time. And I think that is our first mission is to support the Harney County community as they heal, and provide them with the resources and the tools they need to recover.”

Brown also noted that the incident affected the Burns Paiute Tribe.

“This entire incident has been extremely devastating to them,” Brown said. “We will be working with them to provide them with the support and assistance they need as well.”

In January, Brown said Oregon’s response to the occupation had cost roughly half a million dollars. On Thursday, the governor did not have an updated cost figure but said she expects the state will pick up the tab in the short term.

“I think in total costs for Harney County, as well as the local sheriff’s association, will run probably higher than that,” Brown said. “But I’m confident there is bipartisan support in the building for reimbursing those costs.”

Brown said her administration is working with the staffs of U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to seek federal reimbursement for Oregon’s costs.

The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Hillary Borrud can be reached at 503-364-4431 or hborrud@eomediagroup.com.

SALEM — Oregon hemp growers would be free to propagate the crop from cuttings and propagate it from cuttings under a bill that’s headed for a vote in the House.

Under current law, hemp can only be seeded directly outdoors in fields at least 2.5 acres in size, which was intended to facilitate industrial production but proved too inflexible for growers.

At the time Oregon lawmakers originally legalized hemp production in 2009, they enacted these restrictions with the expectation the crop would be used for oilseed and fiber instead of human consumption.

Since then, the Oregon Department of Agriculture found that many hemp producers were more interested in growing the crop for cannabidiol, a compound used for medicinal purposes, than for such traditional products.

To this end, they wanted to use greenhouses, clone desirable plants and produce the crop on a smaller scale.

Under House Bill 4060, which was passed by a key legislative committee, the minimum 2.5 acre field requirement would be scrapped and hemp farmers would be given the same flexibility in production and propagation methods as growers of other crops.

The Oregon Farm Bureau is supporting HB 4060 because it wants hemp treated like other crops.

The bill was approved 8-1 by the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on Feb. 11 after a last-minute amendment that clarified hemp would be subject to the same Oregon Department of Agriculture water and pesticide regulations as other crops.

The amended version of the bill, which will soon be subject to a vote on the House floor, also clarifies that growers can cultivate all varieties of hemp and that the crop won’t be considered a food adulterant, among other provisions.

Growers can also send crop samples to accredited laboratories for required testing, which is expected to be cheaper than using ODA staff and facilities.

During the Feb. 11 hearing, the committee also unanimously approved House Bill 4007, which creates a new way to form rangeland protection association, which fight wildfires.

Landowners must currently win approval from the Oregon Board of Forestry to create such associations, but HB 4007 would also allow them to be approved by county governments.

Currently, 20 rangeland protection associations staffed by volunteers protect 4.6 million acres in Eastern Oregon.

New associations organized by counties would still have to submit annual budgets to the Oregon Board of Forestry and enter into cooperative agreements with the Oregon Department of Forestry.

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — A live stream of a telephone call indicates three of the four remaining occupiers of an Oregon wildlife refuge have surrendered, but one is refusing to budge.

The surrender is playing out over a phone call on an open line streamed live on the Internet by an acquaintance of occupier David Fry, who delayed leaving Malheur National Wildlife Refuge after he said the other three walked out.

They are the last remnants of armed group that seized the refuge on Jan. 2 to oppose federal land use policies.

The FBI hasn’t confirmed that the three surrendered, and the area was too far away for reporters at the scene to see.

Fry is on the call with his acquaintance and a Nevada legislator who drove to the site to aid in the surrender. Fry said Jeff Banta of Nevada and married couple Sean and Sandy Anderson of Idaho have left.

Fry says he “declares war against the federal government.” The holdouts have been indicted with conspiracy to interfere with federal workers and have previously said they wanted assurances they won’t face arrest.

Local leaders say they are dismayed with the renewed effort to demolish four Klamath River dams, three of which are in California.

Siskiyou County Supervisor Grace Bennett, District 4, said she feels like Siskiyou County, Calif., leaders were left behind in the decision-making process. Bennett said she believes lawmakers prioritize the needs of upper Klamath Basin communities and the downstream Basin tribes before Siskiyou County.

Bennett said she believes taking the dams out will have a negative impact on the county’s economy, especially in the summer months when the reservoirs attract recreationists from around the region.

“Siskiyou County has been working since 1986 to improve water quality and quantity. For them to take out the dams would be a shame. It would be devastating to Siskiyou County. It would impact us greatly,” Bennett said.

Bennett’s comments came on the heels of an announcement last week by the Department of Interior, stating the agency will work with Oregon, California and the dams owner, PacifiCorp, to amend the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement — known by the initials KHSA — and move forward with plans to remove the J.C. Boyle, Copco 1 and Copco 2 and Iron Gate dams from the Klamath River.

The renewed effort will rely on administrative processes governed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a news release said.

Siskiyou County Supervisor Ed Valenzuela, District 2, said he is concerned about property values declining after the reservoirs created by the dams disappear. He said although to him the benefits of dam removal are not obvious, he isn’t altogether contesting dam removal.

“I’ve always said it’s a private party matter. It’s not like it’s a government entity, where the county has a lot of say,” Valenzuela said.

Klamath County Commissioner Jim Bellet said he opposes dam removal, but supports private property rights.

“I don’t like tearing out infrastructure I think is important to the Klamath River, but a private company owns the dams and if they want to tear them out, it’s sure their right to do that,” Bellet said.

Malin Irrigation District Manager Luke Robison said his district supported the KHSA when it was being proposed as a joint agreement with the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, which is known by the initials KBRA.

“We were never in support of the KHSA as a stand-alone agreement,” Robison said. “The agreement (the KBRA) that benefited the irrigators expired on Dec. 31.”

Tulelake Irrigation District Manager Brad Kirby said the biggest concern shared by project irrigators is getting left behind without a path to water certainty and having the dam removal move forward. Kirby said like other irrigators, he does not support dam removal as a stand-alone effort.

“All the things that were part of the KBRA were a package deal,” Kirby said.

District 1 Siskiyou County Supervisor Brandon Criss agreed.

“There’s no need for the dams to be removed,” Criss said. “I see no benefit to Klamath Basin agriculture because it takes away water storage and replaces it with no water storage.”

Oregon Rep. Gail Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, said she believes the decision about whether the dams should be removed belongs with FERC.

“I typically am not in support of removing dams, but I think to go through the FERC process is the way to go if we’re going to do it so it’s not a political decision.”

“FERC has traditionally decided if dams come out or if don’t dams come out. … Hopefully they will base it on the science,” she said. “To turn it over to FERC is the right path, versus deciding politically whether to do that.”

BANDON -- The Bite of Bandon Culinary Showcase and Auction will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Bandon Community Center/The Barn, 1200 11th St. SW.

BANDON -- The Bite of Bandon Culinary Showcase and Auction will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Bandon Community Center/The Barn, 1200 11th St. SW. Fifteen local restaurants donate their time and "bites" in support of…

LANGLOIS -- Margaret Grundstein returns to Langlois at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, to talk about her experience living on a commune up Floras Creek in the 1970s.

LANGLOIS -- Shannon Applegate, descendant of a prominent Oregon pioneer family, will speak of her family's history at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 5, in Langlois at the old Cheese Factory.

LANGLOIS -- The Friends of the Langlois Library will hold their annual book sale from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Langlois Lions Club, Floras Lake Loop, in Langlois. Coffee, tea and goodies are available while you browse.

LANGLOIS -- Margaret Grundstein returns to Langlois at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, to talk about her experience living on a commune up Floras Creek in the 1970s.

LANGLOIS -- Shannon Applegate, descendant of a prominent Oregon pioneer family, will speak of her family's history at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 5, in Langlois at the old Cheese Factory.

LANGLOIS -- The Friends of the Langlois Library will hold their annual book sale from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Langlois Lions Club, Floras Lake Loop, in Langlois. Coffee, tea an…

Cliven Bundy, the father of the jailed leader of the Oregon refuge occupation and who was the center of a standoff with federal officials in Nevada in 2014, was arrested in Portland, the FBI said.

Authorities arrested the 74-year-old Nevada rancher after he arrived at Portland International Airport from Las Vegas Wednesday night. He was booked into the lockup just before 11 p.m., according to Multnomah County Jail records. No charges were listed and his projected release date was listed as unknown.

The FBI confirmed Bundy was taken into federal custody but declined to provide a reason or other details, saying further information would be released by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Las Vegas, which did not respond to a phone call early Thursday.

The Oregonian reported Bundy will face a conspiracy charge of interfering with a federal officer related to the stalemate at his ranch in 2014.

In March of that year, Bundy clashed with federal officials over grazing rights on government land. Federal officials eventually backed away from seizing his cattle, but the dispute remains unresolved.

The Bureau of Land Management says the family has not made payments toward a $1.1 million grazing fee and penalty bill.

Armed group leader Ammon Bundy had been demanding that the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon be handed over to local control for ranching, mining, logging and other uses and that that two jailed ranchers in the area be freed.

Authorities arrested Ammon Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy and other group leaders as they traveled to a community meeting Jan. 26 north of the refuge when authorities set up a road block.

Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, the group’s spokesman, was killed in a confrontation with the FBI and Oregon State Police on the remote road.

Bundy and others arrested in conjunction with the standoff face felony charges of conspiracy to impede federal officials in their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The FBI surrounded the last four occupiers of a wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon on Wednesday night as the holdouts argued with a negotiator and yelled at law enforcement officers in armored vehicles to back off.

The tense standoff between law enforcement officers and the four occupiers was being played out on the Internet via an open phone line being livestreamed by an acquaintance of one of the occupiers, David Fry.

Fry, 27, of Blanchester, Ohio, sounded increasingly unraveled as he continually yelled, at times hysterically, at what he said was an FBI negotiator.

“You’re going to hell. Kill me. Get it over with,” he said. “We’re innocent people camping at a public facility, and you’re going to murder us.”

“The only way we’re leaving here is dead or without charges,” Fry said, who told the FBI to “get the hell out of Oregon.”

Fry said the group was surrounded by armored vehicles.

A Nevada legislator, Michele Fiore, called in to try to get the occupiers to calm down. Fiore said she could help them only if they stayed alive.

“I need you guys alive,” said the Republican member of the Nevada Assembly who was in Portland earlier in the day to show support for Ammon Bundy, the jailed leader of the occupation.

Fry and the three others are the last remnants of an armed group that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2 to oppose federal land-use policies. The three others are Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nevada; and married couple Sean Anderson, 48, and Sandy Anderson, 47, of Riggins, Idaho

Greg Bretzing, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon, said in a statement that the situation had reached a point where it “became necessary to take action” to ensure the safety of all involved.

The four remained despite the arrests of group leader Ammon Bundy and others Jan. 26 on a remote road outside the refuge.

Sandy Anderson said after the group was surrounded: “They’re threatening us. They’re getting closer. I pray that there’s a revolution if we die here tonight.”

Her husband, Sean Anderson, said in the livestream: “We will not fire until fired upon. We haven’t broken any laws, came here to recognize our constitutional rights. Help us.”

The occupiers said they saw snipers on a hill and a drone.

The standoff was occurring on the 40th day of the occupation, launched by Ammon Bundy and his followers to protest prison terms for two local ranchers on arson charges and federal management of public lands.

Bundy was arrested on Jan. 26 on a remote road as he and other main figures of the occupation were traveling to the town of John Day. Four others were also arrested in that confrontation, which resulted in the shooting death of the group’s spokesman, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum. The FBI said Finicum was reaching for a gun.

Most of the occupiers fled the refuge after that. Authorities then surrounded the property and later got the holdouts added to an indictment charging 16 people with conspiracy to interfere with federal workers. The four recently posted a series of defiant videos in which Fry shows a defensive perimeter they have built and takes a joyride in a government vehicle. Fry says the FBI told him he faces additional charges because of the barricades.

At first, Bundy urged the last holdouts to go home. But in response to the grand jury indictment, he took a more defiant tone from jail.

“Taking over the refuge was not only right, it was the duty of the people to do,” Bundy said in a recording released by his family on Feb. 4.

AP writer Lisa Baumann contributed to this report from Seattle.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — Lee and Glenda Stilwell of Country Inn Cattle Co. were surprised and pleased after their success in last weekend’s 56th annual Klamath Bull & Select Ranch Horse Sale at the Klamath County Fairgrounds.

The Stilwells, who have a small ranch in nearby Algoma, had the sale’s supreme bull that sold for $12,500, the champion halter Limousin bull that sold for $7,500, and the top judged pen of replacement heifers that sold for $10,250.

“We had an outstanding day,” said Glenda Stilwell, a fourth-generation rancher, who said the showing was unexpected because of the sale’s many outstanding bulls and heifers. “It’s always a surprise — and always a good surprise.”

Pleased, too, was Jolene Moxon, the sale’s cattle manager, who said 90 bulls were sold for a total price of $403,850, an average price of $4,487.22. Eight pens of replacement heifers, including the Stilwells’, were sold for $62,300, an average price of $7,787.50. Four horses were sold in the select horse sale for a total of $22,550, an average of $5,637.50.

In comparison, last year’s sale price for 56 bulls averaged $5,397, the select ranch horse sale averaged $6,090 for five horses while replacement heifers sale averaged $2,480 per head on six pens. She said this year’s sale will have nine pens of heifers.

Jason Chapman, a bull sale committee member, said he expected prices would be lower this year but noted the overall total sale prices, because of the volume of bulls, was up over 2015. “I expected it would be lower than it was,” he said of the decreased sale prices.

“We had a great turnout,” Moxon said, noting there were 114 registered buyers and strong participation in a variety of sale-related events, including a ranch rodeo she said drew thousands of spectators.

Other activities included stock dog trials, a Beef N Brews, brandings, Klamath County Cattlewomen’s dinner and dance, an “amazing” trade show and several kids functions, including goat roping and a stick horse boot race.

Erin Daughtery of Bly was named the contributor of the year for the four-day sale that began last Thursday and ended Sunday.

“People really seemed to enjoy the variety of activities,” Moxon said.

“The whole event ran really well,” Chapman agreed, who credited bull sale chairman Stan Gorden and other committee members. “We had great participation in all the events. It was really a well-run, smooth sale.”

Glenda Stilwell, who said her family has participated in sales for many years, shared Chapman’s and Moxon’s enthusiasm.

“We’ve participating in the bull sale as long as I can remember,” she said, giving credit to event organizers with the Klamath Cattlemen’s Association. “I think this year’s sale was an outstanding event with all the activities. I think the committee really stepped up. It’s a good event for the entire community.”

Winners in the ranch rodeo was Gorden Ranches of Bonanza with team members Clay and Steve Gorden and Flint Lee.

In the stock dog finals, Kathy Garner took first in the open and nursery divisions with Rango and Vaquero while Gayle Hybarger and her dog Zeva won the intermediate category.

The Stilwells’ supreme bull was bought by Don-Lo Ranch of Macdoel, Calif., which also bought their champion halter bull limousin. A third bull, another limousin, was bought by Jimmy Lyman of Tulelake, Calif. Drost Ranch of Klamath Falls bought the Stilwell’s pen of replacement heifers.

“We’re a small operation so we try to have good ones,” Stilwell said of Country Inn Cattle, which has about 60 cows.

Nicholas Sheridan, 15, of Yamhill, Ore., who was featured in a previous bull sale story and was the sale’s youngest ever consigner when entered and sold a reserve champion bull in 2014, again did well. One of Sheridan’s Angus bulls sold for $5,500 to Matt Merkley of Bly, Ore., while a second bull sold for $4,500 to Bryan Penterman of Santa Helena, Calif.

Stilwell had praise for Sheridan and other young participants in the various events, noting, “There were lots of young kids, lots of young families. It made my heart happy.”

Periodically it seems there can be a disconnect between the Oregon Department of Transportation and cities, counties or school districts.

Sundays