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MEXICO SETS TARIFFS ON SOME APPLE EXPORTERS Page 5 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 VOLUME 89, NUMBER 3 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 Georgia farmer elected new AFBF president Complete coverage of the AFBF on Page 12 By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Courtesy of Georgia Farm Bureau Zippy Duvall of Georgia is the American Farm Bureau Feder- ation’s new president. ORLANDO, Fla. — Geor- gia farmer Zippy Duvall is tak- ing the helm of the American Farm Bureau Federation after beating three other contenders for the presidency of the na- tion’s largest agriculture orga- nization. Delegates from across the U.S. elected Duvall to the top job at the group’s 2016 conven- tion in Orland, Fla., on Jan. 12, making him the 12th president in the Farm Bureau’s nearly 100-year history and only the fourth Southerner to win the position. “We’re going to talk about how to make this organization, which is already strong, even stronger,” Duvall said in his ac- ceptance speech. Duvall, who raises cattle and poultry and previously served as president of the Georgia Farm Bureau, replaces longtime AFBF president Bob Stallman, who is retiring after 16 years as the organization’s chief. The campaign for AFBF’s presidency began in the sum- mer of 2015, when Stallman an- nounced he would be stepping down from the position, which pays roughly $800,000 a year and involves representing U.S. agriculture in policy debates and trade discussions, among other functions. Since then, Duvall and three other state Farm Bureau candi- dates — Barry Bushue of Ore- gon, Kevin Rogers of Arizona and Don Villwock of Indiana — have been traveling the country, trying to persuade state Farm Bureau presidents and other delegates of their qualifi ca- tions to lead the group. Turn to AFB, Page 12 WHAT’S NEXT? With attention focused on problems of rural West, some see opportunity for solutions By ERIC MORTENSON and MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press .S. Rep. Greg Walden didn’t have much of an audience Jan. 5 when he stood on the fl oor of the House of Rep- resentatives to talk about the militia takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge head- quarters in southeast Oregon. That’s how it works; Members of Congress give even their most impassioned fl oor speech- es to empty chairs and a single camera. But in the days since, at- tention has turned to Walden’s 24-minute description of the area he represents and the “de- cades of frustration, arrogance and betrayal that has contribut- ed to the mistrust of the federal government.” Judging from more than Turn to NEXT, Page 11 U Submitted photo Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., represents Harney County. Although he doesn’t support the occupation of the Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge by protesters, he understands “the underlying frustration and anger at federal land management and loss of economic opportunity.” Rick Bowmer/Associated Press A Dont Tread On Me flag flies at the entrance of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 10 near Burns, Ore. A small, armed group has been occupy- ing the remote national wildlife refuge in Oregon to protest federal land use policies. While the rest of Oregon grew, Harney County fl at-lined By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Southeast Oregon’s Har- ney County, the scene of the militia takeover that brought the area national media atten- tion, has been economically stagnant for nearly 40 years. Residents and elected of- fi cials who represent the area say that’s the reality at the root of the area’s muted sup- port for the takeover, even as they disavow the militia’s tactics. While the rest of the state increased jobs 74 percent since the late 1970s, the num- ber of jobs in Harney Coun- ty dropped by 10 percent, according to a study by the Oregon Offi ce of Economic Analysis. The county has lost 99 percent of its wood products jobs since 1978, dropping from 768 then to six in 2014, analyst Josh Lehner said in a new report. “Relative to the late 1970s — just before the state went into the severe early ’80s re- cession and timber industry restructuring — the num- ber of jobs today in Harney County is 10 percent below back then,” Lehner said. “Clearly, that is a really long time with essentially no growth.” Harney County residents know that fi rst-hand. County Judge Steven Grasty said there is a “feel- ing of despair” in the coun- ty due to job losses. Federal and state agencies, primarily the Bureau of Land Manage- ment, manage about 75 per- cent of the land in the county. Those agencies are so locked into process and so fearful of lawsuits from environmen- tal groups that they become paralyzed and do no manage- ment at all, Grasty said. As a result, many residents are no longer able to depend on logging, mill or ranching work to sustain themselves. “We believe the wealth of a nation is based on its natural resources,” he said. “We’ve lost access to natural resources, in particular, tim- ber. “Our community wants to be good stewards of the land,” Grasty said. “When we managed the land it looked better than when the BLM does it. Because of rules and pressure from special interest groups, it forces them to fo- cus on single (wildlife) spe- cies and spend their dollars on planning rather than on the ground.” Turn to HARNEY, Page 11 Employment growth since 1979: Oregon versus Harney County 80 percent Oregon Harney Co. 60 40 1979 average annual employment — Oregon: 1.02 million; Harney Co.: 2,579 Up 74%: 1.77 million 20 Down 10%: 2,325 0 Jan. 1976 Jan. 1980 Jan. 1990 Jan. 2000 Jan. 2010 June 2015 For more information, go to the full report: bit.ly/1Rm4y0C Source: Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Alan Kenaga/Capital Press THIS WEEK IN THE CAPITAL PRESS WATER TECHNOLOGY Drone maker announces sales agreement with Papé Machinery Page 4 Idaho pushes for greater recharge funding Page 14 3-1/#5