It was just a decade ago that about a quarter of a million acres of grass seed fields were torched as a measure to help growers eliminate straw residues while also controlling weeds, insects, and diseases. This summer marks year three of that limitation. Willamette Valley grass seed growers continue to respond favorably to the limit. A total of 76,582 acres have been registered for open field burning this year compared to 74,926 acres in 1999 and more than 80,000 acres in 1998. ODA uses a formula for allocating how much can be burned.
Growers normally burn considerably less than what is actually registered.
Last year, only 33,310 acres acres of regular open field burning took place. While valley residents will once again notice the classic plumes associated with field burning, the impact on urban areas should be minimal if not nonexistent. We have a full time meteorologist who watches weather conditions on a daily, if not hourly, basis. We have field personnel that constantly observe weather conditions once a field is released for burning. When conditions deteriorate, that's when we think about stopping because we don't want to impact the urban population if we can avoid it.