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Wednesday, December 11, 2019
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Small-business & Ag
HAPPENINGS
Wheat producers reminded of
Dec. 12 conference call
SALEM — The Oregon Wheat Growers
League and Oregon Wheat Commission
will hold a special meeting at 8 a.m. Thurs-
day by conference call to approve the Wheat
Industry CEO.
For dial-in information, call the Oregon
Wheat Commission Offi ce at 503-467-2161
or e-mail tsimpson@oregonwheat.org.
OFB comments on gray wolf
decision
SALEM — On Nov. 27, the Oregon Farm
Bureau released the following statement:
“After sitting pending for years, the Oregon
Court of Appeals fi nally ruled on a chal-
lenge by Cascadia Wildlands to the Oregon
Department of Fish & Wildlife’s decision
to delist the gray wolf under the Oregon
endangered species list. Oregon Farm Bu-
reau and Oregon Cattlemen’s Association
intervened in the lawsuit to support the
delisting decision and ensure the Court un-
derstood the impacts on ranching families.
“The Court held today that a bill cham-
pioned by OCA and OFB, which delisted
the gray wolf, rendered the case moot and
the challenge was dismissed. This is a huge
win for ranch families and the livestock
industry, which have long advocated for re-
sponsible wolf management in Oregon. It’s
important to note that wolves are still listed
in parts of eastern Oregon and western Or-
egon under the federal Endangered Species
Act, though OFB has strongly supported
the recent proposal to delist them.”
Oregon Mint Commission
announces upcoming meeting
for producers
SALEM — A press release from the
Oregon Mint Commission announced to
producers next month’s Oregon Essential
Oil Growers League’s 71st annual meeting.
The event is scheduled for Jan. 9-10, 2020,
at the Salishan Resort in Gleneden Beach.
The Oregon Essential Oil Growers League
is composed of more than 250 mint growers,
researchers and supplier members. Top-
ics and speakers at the 2020 meeting will
include: gene mapping and biotechnology in
mint with WSU’s Mark Lange and OSU’s
Kelly Vining; the industry’s No. 1 problem
— verticillium wilt control with OSU’s Kelly
Vining and Jeremiah Dung and WSU’s Mark
Lange; winter 2020 ENSO (El Niño - South-
ern Oscillating) weather pattern and impacts
on the Pacifi c Northwest with meteorologist
Phil Volker from ERF Company; and earth-
quakes in Oregon with Scott Burns, profes-
sor of geology at Portland State University.
There also will be presentations on advancing
water effi cacies through innovative irrigation
approaches, an update on the hemp industry
in Oregon, advancements in managing weeds
in mint, a buyer’s viewpoint on what is ahead
for the mint industry and more.
Dec. 20 is the deadline for making res-
ervations at the resort with special rates.
Pre-registration for the annual meeting by
Dec. 27 comes with a discount. Attendees
may also register at the door. For registra-
tion information, go to www.oregonmint.org
for more information.
EOU magazine recounts alumni’s
efforts to repurpose ag waste
LA GRANDE — According to a press
release from Eastern Oregon University,
the fall edition of the EOU alumni maga-
zine, The Mountaineer, tells stories of local
people making an impact in their com-
munities at home and abroad, including
the efforts of EOU alumni to repurpose ag
waste. Read the whole issue at www.eou.
edu/mountaineer-magazine.
Secretary of State’s Offi ce
warns of business scam
SALEM — The Oregon Secretary of
State’s offi ce issued a warning of a known
business scam. Newly formed Oregon busi-
nesses have received a solicitation from OR
Certifi cate Services offering a Certifi cate
of Standing/Existence for $77.25. Many
businesses do not need this certifi cate.
Those that do may obtain one directly from
the Secretary of State for $10. This solicita-
tion may appear to be from a government
agency, but it is not.
Business owners who wish to request a
refund after being misled by the solicitation
may call OR Certifi cate Services at 1-855-
210-6990 or 1-855-755-3357 between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m. EST.
If you believe you’ve been the victim of a
business scam, email corporation.division@
oregon.gov or call 503-986-2200.
Photo by J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-California, speaks last week during a news conference. House Democrats and the White House
announced a deal on a modifi ed North American trade pact Tuesday, handing President Donald Trump a major Capitol Hill win on the
same day impeachment charges were announced against him. Both sides hailed the deal as a win for American workers.
USMCA moves forward
By Andrew Taylor
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — House
Democrats and the White
House announced a deal on a
modifi ed North American trade
pact, handing President Donald
Trump a major Capitol Hill win
Tuesday on the same day that
impeachment charges were
announced against him. Both
sides hailed the deal as a win for
American workers.
They said the revamped
U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement
was a signifi cant improvement
over the original North Ameri-
can Free Trade Agreement,
with Democrats crowing about
winning stronger provisions on
enforcing the agreement while
Republicans said it will help
keep the economy humming
along.
“There is no question of course
that this trade agreement is
much better than NAFTA,”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
D-California, said in announcing
the agreement, saying the pact
is “infi nitely better than what
was initially proposed by the
administration.”
Trump said the revamped
trade pact will “be great” for the
United States.
“It will be the best and most
important trade deal ever made
by the USA. Good for every-
body - Farmers, Manufacturers,
Energy, Unions - tremendous
support. Importantly, we will
fi nally end our Country’s worst
Trade Deal, NAFTA!,” the presi-
dent said in a tweet.
The deal announcement
came on the same morning that
Democrats outlined impeach-
ment charges against Trump.
The trade pact is Trump’s top
Capitol Hill priority along with
funding for his long-sought
border fence.
In Mexico City, President
Donald Trump’s son-in-law and
senior adviser, Jared Kushner,
U.S. Trade Representative
Robert Lighthizer and Canadian
Deputy Prime Minister Chrys-
tia Freeland joined Mexican
offi cials to sign the updated
version of the United States-
Mexico-Canada trade agree-
ment, or USMCA, at a ceremony
in Mexico City’s centuries-old
National Palace.
Mexican Foreign Minister
Marcelo Ebrard congratulated
the negotiators for reaching a
second set of agreements to an-
swer U.S. concerns about labor
rights in Mexico, and regional
content.
“Mission accomplished!” Eb-
rard told the gathered offi cials.
Lighthizer praised the joint
work of the Trump administra-
tion, Democrats, business and
labor leaders to reach an agree-
ment, calling it “nothing short of
a miracle that we have all come
together.”
“This is a win-win-win
agreement which will provide
stability for working people in
all three countries for years to
come,” Freeland said. “That is no
small thing.”
A U.S. House vote is likely
before Congress adjourns for the
year and the Senate is likely to
vote in January or February.
Pelosi was the key congressio-
nal force behind the deal, which
updates the 25-year-old NAFTA
accord that many Democrats —
especially from manufacturing
areas hit hard by trade-related
job losses — have long
lambasted.
She and Ways and Means
Committee Committee Chair-
man Richard Neal, D-Massachu-
setts, forged a positive working
relationship with Lighthizer,
whom they credited with work-
ing in good faith.
“Thanks to President Trump’s
leadership, we have reached
an historic agreement on the
USMCA. After working with
Republicans, Democrats, and
many other stakeholders for the
past two years we have created
a deal that will benefi t American
workers, farmers, and ranchers
for years to come,” Lighthizer
said. “This will be the model
for American trade deals going
forward.”
NAFTA eliminated most
tariffs and other trade barriers
involving the United States,
Mexico and Canada. Critics,
including Trump, labor unions
and many Democratic lawmak-
ers, branded the pact a job killer
for the United States because
it encouraged factories to move
south of the border, capitalize on
low-wage Mexican workers and
ship products back to the U.S.
duty free.
Weeks of back-and-forth,
closely monitored by Democratic
labor allies such as the AFL-
CIO, have brought the two sides
together. Pelosi is a longtime free
trade advocate and supported
the original NAFTA in 1994.
Trump has accused Pelosi of
being incapable of passing the
agreement because she is too
wrapped up in impeachment.
The original NAFTA badly
divided Democrats but the new
pact is more protectionist and
labor-friendly, and Pelosi is con-
fi dent it won’t divide the party,
though some liberal activists
took to social media to carp at
the agreement.
“There is no denying that the
trade rules in America will now
be fairer because of our hard
work and perseverance. Working
people have created a new stan-
dard for future trade negotia-
tions,” said AFL-CIO President
See USMCA / Page 3B
Barley breeders work toward new varieties
By George Plaven
Capital Press
HERMISTON — Oregon
State University is poised to
release several new varieties of
barley for growers looking to tap
into the beer, food and animal
feed markets.
Daniela Carrijo, a postdoc-
toral student and agronomist
with Barley World — the barley
breeding program at OSU —
provided an update of research
projects Dec. 5 at the 46th an-
nual Hermiston Farm Fair, held
at the Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center.
Barley World researchers are
participating in a three-year,
fi ve-state project funded by the
USDA to study “naked” barley,
where the grain is naturally
stripped of its outer-layer hull
that is otherwise indigestible.
“Some advantages of naked
barley is that it is edible as is,”
EO Media Group fi le photo
Patrons are shown at the Hermiston Farm Fair. Oregon State University is poised to release
several new varieties of barley for growers looking to tap into the beer, food and animal feed
markets, the school said in an update at last week’s fair in Hermiston.
Carrijo said. “It’s also considered
a whole grain.”
OSU has already released a
few varieties of naked barley,
with cheeky names like “Buck”
and “Streaker.” Naked barley
has been around for 10,000
years, the result of a genetic
See Barley / Page 2B