CALIFORNIA: USDA ANNOUNCES $30M TO COMBAT CITRUS GREENING Page 9
Capital
Press
The West s
Weekly
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015
VOLUME 88, NUMBER 7
WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM
$2.00
Loss
of ocean
carrier a
big blow
to ag
exporters
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
BIRD
FLU
LANDS IN
THE WEST
The Associated Press photos
Veterinarians from the USDA and the Washington State Department of Agricul-
ture capture birds that have been exposed to avian fl u — also called bird fl u —
on Jan. 6 at a backyard farm in Richland, Wash. The birds were placed in blue,
trash-can sized barrels fi lled with carbon dioxide to be euthanized in an effort
to help prevent spread of the disease. This year, three strains of bird fl u have
been confi rmed in Washington state, including highly pathogenic H5N1.
Unpredictable virus appears far and
wide as offi cials try to curb its spread
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
It was just a single goose, but its
death sent a jolt of alarm through author-
ities who are trying to stop the spread of
a bird fl u virus that during the past year
has surfaced in Europe, Asia and North
America.
The goose belonged to a 120-bird
backyard fl ock on the Olympic Peninsu-
la in Washington state. Though the other
birds didn’t die, state and federal author-
ities found the fl ock was infected with a
highly pathogenic form of bird fl u.
The case, confi rmed Jan. 16, was un-
usual. Normally, the highly pathogenic
bird fl u wipes out domestic birds, such
as geese, chickens, ducks and turkeys.
This time it didn’t.
The spread of avian infl uenza — also
called bird fl u — ebbs and fl ows across
the globe. Carried by migrating birds, it
can show up virtually anywhere and any-
time in many forms that are created as it
mutates. Though animal health offi cials
say most types are low-pathogenic, or
minor, they treat seriously the discovery
of every case.
The last time a highly pathogenic bird
fl u was confi rmed in the United States
was in 2004 among 6,600 broiler chick-
ens in Texas.
But the biggest U.S. outbreak of
highly pathogenic bird fl u was in 1983.
It began in a backyard duck fl ock in
Pennsylvania. Over 15 months, the virus
spread to four states. Some 17 million
birds, mostly in Virginia and Pennsylva-
nia, had to be destroyed as health offi -
cials worked to stamp out the virus.
Authorities worldwide routinely de-
stroy fl ocks and quarantine farms to stop
the spread of bird fl u.
Turn to BIRD FLU, Page 12
A sign is posted closing a footpath as experts work to establish the source of a bird fl u
outbreak at a farm in the village of Upham in Hampshire, Britain, on Feb. 3.
PORTLAND — The loss
of a major ocean carrier at the
Port of Portland will effectively
eliminate export opportunities
for some agricultural shippers,
experts say.
“This is a very devastat-
ing blow,” said Bill Wyatt, the
port’s executive director during
a Feb. 11 port commission
meeting.
Farm products — includ-
ing peas, lentils, beans, french
fries, grass seed, potatoes, on-
ions and hay — are commonly
shipped from the port to Asian
markets.
With the Hanjin shipping
line no longer calling on Port-
land, those exporters will now
have to spend up to $800 more
per container to truck those
crops to ports in Seattle and Ta-
coma, Wyatt said.
For some shippers, the cost
of getting farm goods to port
will now exceed the price of
ocean freight, he said.
“Some of these commodi-
ties cannot bear the added cost
because they would not be
competitive,” Wyatt said. “For
people who depend on the ser-
vice for their business interests,
this is very consequential.”
Hanjin, a carrier that shipped
farm products from Portland to
South Korea and China, an-
nounced it will stop calling the
port on March 9.
A dispute between the long-
shoremen’s union and the ter-
minal operator, ICTSI Oregon,
has negatively impacted pro-
ductivity at Portland’s contain-
er terminal.
The port and operator blame
work slowdowns by the In-
ternational Longshore and
Warehouse Union, while long-
shoremen claim inadequate
equipment and safety problems
are causing the problem.
Hanjin was caught in the
middle of the fi ght and decid-
ed to discontinue service rather
than endure further costly de-
lays, said Wyatt.
Turn to CARRIER, Page 16
Immigration debate heats up again
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
Agricultural groups concerned with immigra-
tion reform are increasing their attention on the
issue as Congress begins to consider legislation.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Im-
migration and Border Security held a hearing
Feb. 4 on The Legal Workforce Act, HR 1772
fi led during the last session of Congress, that
In this Sept. 24, 2013 fi le
photo taken near Fresno,
Calif., farmworkers pick
paper trays of dried
raisins off the ground and
heap them onto a trailer
in the fi nal step of raisin
harvest.
would mandate use of E-Verify, an electronic
record check system, to confi rm legal status of
prospective employees.
Western United Dairymen, the Nation-
al Council of Farmer Cooperatives and other
members of the Agricultural Workforce Coali-
tion called on Congress to address agricultural
labor needs before implementing E-Verify.
Gosia Wozniacka/
Associated Press
Turn to IMMIGRATION, Page 16
THIS WEEK IN THE CAPITAL PRESS
OREGON
‘Rocks District’ is newest AVA
The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater
will be the newest American Viticulture
Area.
Page 8
LIVESTOCK
Lawmakers hear
howls, but no action
expected on wolves
Page 14
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