Sherman County weed control Supervisor Rod Asher suggested several ways Azure Farms might be able to control the noxious weeds that other farmers in the area say are spreading to their fields. Owners of the 2,000-acre certified organic farm oppose using herbicides recommended by the county, which warns it will ask the Oregon Department of Agriculture to quarantine the farm if it does not agree to a weed management plan by May 22.

“Your control practices are not destroying the weeds, specifically the root systems that continue to flourish after mowing,” Asher wrote in an April 27 letter to the farm’s parent company.

He suggested:

• “Heavy deep tillage that would rip up and bring the root to the surface,” but said it probably would have to be done every 10 to 14 days through the growing season.

• Covering the weeds with dark plastic or rubber to block out the sunlight. Escaping shoots would have to be cut off during the growing season and the coverage would have to be maintained for multiple years.

• Treatment with organic herbicides. “I am not familiar with any of these so I cannot make a recommendation,” Asher said.

• Treatment with traditional herbicides. The farm would lose organic certification for three years if it uses them.

• Intense burning or “any other method that can effectively destroy the entire plant and root,” Asher wrote.