May 22, 2015
CapitalPress.com
3
GMO ban fails in Oregon’s Benton County
Oregon State University
concerned by proposal
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Friend Hayley Huber, last year’s Washington FFA state sentinel,
gets a hug from incoming president Julia Spangler of Wenatchee,
Wash., May 16 after Spangler was elected during the 85th annual
state convention in Pullman, Wash. Huber and Spangler were both
in the Wenatchee chapter together.
FFA gives Washington
officers a sense of place
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
PULLMAN, Wash. — The
incoming and outgoing Wash-
ington state FFA presidents say
the organization is all about
giving its members a feeling of
belonging.
During the 85th annual con-
vention May 16 in Pullman,
Wash., FFA members elected:
Julia Spangler, of Wenatchee,
president; Monica Haugen, of
Pullman, vice president; Mitch
Jamison, of Garfield-Palouse,
secretary; Dallas Tyus, of Tonas-
ket, treasurer; Jason Wigen, of
LaCrosse, reporter; and Daniel
Lyng, of Bellingham, sentinel.
Spangler was emotional after
her name was called.
“I can’t even believe my life
right now — I am so honored
and ecstatic about receiving this
opportunity to serve such an
amazing organization,” she said.
Spangler said she doesn’t
come from an agricultural back-
ground. Her involvement with
FFA was in service and sales,
she said.
“I really want to target the
kids who don’t think they have a
place,” she said. “I want to give
them a place and show them
where they can be, where they’ll
grow and love everything about
that place.”
Departing president Apolinar
Blanco, of Chelan, in his retiring
address before the 3,185 mem-
bers of guests at the convention,
remembered his adviser telling
him the only colors that mat-
tered in FFA were blue and gold.
“We all have a different
story, but we all travel the FFA
highway,” he said. “In FFA, we
accept all kinds of kids.... In this
A proposed ban on biotech crops in
Oregon’s Benton County has failed by a
strong margin.
As of Wednesday morning, nearly 73
percent of voters rejected Measure 2-89,
which would have prohibited cultivation
of genetically modified organisms.
The proposal was met with alarm by
scientists at Oregon State University,
which lies in the county, who feared it
would stop research projects that rely on
genetic engineering.
Its defeat shows that once voters learn
the facts, they will reject extreme mea-
sures, said Scott Dahlman, policy direc-
tor of the Oregonians for Food and Shel-
ter agribusiness group, which opposed
the initative.
“I think it’s a resounding statement
that folks in Benton County support all
types of agriculture,” he said.
Dana Allen, a chief petitioner for the
ballot initiative, said OSU’s statements
were likely the reason that people voted
against Measure 2-89.
However, Allen said that the prohi-
bition was focused solely on the coun-
ty’s food system and wouldn’t be as
far-reaching as the university claimed.
“It wouldn’t shut down any research at
OSU at all. All it would shut down is the
open planting of GMOs that would con-
taminate our local food system,” she said.
Even if it had been approved, the ini-
tiative was probably largely unenforce-
able.
Legislation passed by lawmakers in
2013, Senate Bill 863, precluded most
Oregon counties from regulating GMOs.
That bill applied to seed, but OSU was
concerned that research involving geneti-
cally modified bacteria or animals would
not be covered by SB 863 and could be
disallowed by the proposed ordinance,
said Dahlman.
“There was a lot of risk there,” he
said.
Benton County’s ballot initiative
was intended to challenge the statewide
pre-emption statute as undemocratic, said
Allen. “We don’t think the state should
be telling communities what to do.”
Similar measures are likely to con-
tinue being proposed at the county lev-
el as communities resist the statewide
pre-emption, she said. “You’re going to
see this type of activity all over Oregon.”
Aside from local measures, biotech
critics also hope to get a ballot initiative
on the 2016 statewide ballot that would
allow local governments to enact such
restrictions.
Voters in Jackson and Josephine coun-
ties passed GMO prohibitions last year.
Josephine County’s ordinance is
pre-empted by state law, but Jackson Coun-
ty was exempted from SB 863 because its
initiative was already on the ballot.
Alfalfa farmers are now seeking an
injunction prohibiting Jackson County’s
ban from going into effect for allegedly
violating the state’s “right to farm” law,
which disallows local government re-
strictions of farm practices.
Organic checkoff draws supporters, detractors
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Fred Brossy
looks over his or-
ganic wheat field
near Shoshone,
Idaho. Brossy,
who with wife,
Judy, has farmed
organically for
more than 40
years, said he
isn’t sure where
he stands on the
checkoff.
Capital Press
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Departing Washington FFA
state president Apolinar Blanco
begins his retiring address May
16 during the state convention
in Pullman, Wash.
organization, and in this life, we
all matter.”
Abbie DeMeerleer, Wash-
ington FFA executive director,
said she was looking forward to
sitting down with the new team
and learning what their plan is
for the year ahead.
“The things this team wants
to see improve, evolve and to
grow in Washington FFA —
they’re going to help set that
vision and help us work towards
accomplishing those goals,” she
said.
State adviser Rebecca Wal-
lace expects membership to
grow, noting the organization
reached more than 8,000 mem-
bers this year. Agriculture edu-
cation enrollment in the state av-
erages around 36,000 to 37,000
students each semester, she said.
“Our programs, our teach-
ers, our students — we have
to share our stories about what
FFA has done and why it is such
an important part of a student’s
experience in high school and
beyond,” she said
The Organic Trade Associ-
ation has petitioned the USDA
for a national checkoff program,
which would raise an estimated
$30 million a year for research
and promotion.
The proposal, three years in
the making, is being led by OTA,
which has 8,500 members, and a
core committee of stakeholders.
It is focused on research to sup-
port organic production, grow
the industry and communicate
the value of organic agriculture
to consumers.
Widespread support exists
for research, both in plant breed-
ing and addressing pests and
disease, but many organic pro-
ducers mistrust government-run
checkoff programs and some
question the need for promotion.
Organic sales in the U.S.
have grown from $10 billion in
2003 to $39.1 billion in 2014,
and the number of certified op-
erations — producers, handlers
and processors — has grown
from about 8,000 to nearly
19,500.
Organic demand is booming,
production isn’t keeping pace,
research is lacking, and con-
sumers are confused about the
meaning of the USDA organic
seal, said OTA CEO and Execu-
tive Director Laura Batcha.
“The organic industry in
America is thriving and matur-
ing, but it is at a critical junc-
ture,” she said.
An organic checkoff would
give stakeholders the oppor-
tunity to collectively invest in
addressing those challenges and
advancing the entire industry,
she said.
Carol Ryan Dumas
Capital Press
Organic consultant Dave
Carter of Westminster, Colo.,
served on the National Organics
Standards Board and supports
the checkoff, saying it is need-
ed if the industry is going to in-
crease production.
He said research is criti-
cally needed to bring more
acres into production, increase
profitability and ease the tran-
sition period for new growers.
Education and promotion are
also needed to communicate
the health and environmental
benefits of organic and clear up
the confusion between organic,
non-genetically modified foods
and “natural.”
Funding for research is
particularly important because
public funding for research often
has to be matched. Educating
the public on organic agriculture
and organic production is going
to take effort and investment
because organic is such a rich,
complex issue it’s hard to get
out the message in sound bites,
he said.
Doug Crabtree, who with
wife, Anna, farms 4,700 dryland
acres of small grains, pulses and
oil seeds in Havre, Mont., serves
on OTA’s farmer advisory coun-
cil.
“I just think it’s common
sense. We all benefit from or-
ganic markets, and we need a
way to collect funds and give
them back for research and pro-
motion of our own industry,” he
said.
“I just think it’s really im-
portant we reinvest some of our
own funds to benefit our com-
munity, our industry. We can’t
wait for government to do it for
us,” he said.
Longtime organic grower
Nate Jones of King Hill, Idaho,
said he likes the idea of funding
for research but doesn’t think
he’s in favor of the checkoff.
“I have mixed emotions. I
want to know who’s going to
administer it,” he said. “My gut
feeling is it would favor the larg-
er conglomerates.”
Paying to get more people to
increase production is also a bit
counterintuitive, he said.
“Those of us in it maybe
want to keep the golden goose
as long as possible,” he said.
Fred Brossy, who with wife,
Judy, has farmed organically for
more than 40 years, said he isn’t
sure where he stands.
OTA will be the driver of
the checkoff, he said, and he’s
concerned the organization rep-
resents the “big end” of organic.
“I’m not sure big organic
needs to be represented by all of
us. They have deep pockets, let
them do their own,” Brossy said.
Carter said he gets nervous
when so much of the debate gets
tied up in size.
“Being organic is being true
to organic standards,” he said.
Small producers should be
able to benefit by default from
additional product sales, and
research will give them better
tools, he said.
Crabtree suggests organic
producers read the proposal and
become informed. The proposal
was changed a number of times
in response to grower concerns,
he said.
“There’s been tremendous
responsiveness on the part of
OTA,” he said.
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BUYING 6” and UP
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
The new 2015-2016 Washington State FFA officers take a moment
on the Beasley Coliseum stage following the 85th state convention
May 16 in Pullman, Wash. From left to right are reporter Jason
Wigen of LaCrosse, president Julia Spangler of Wenatchee,
secretary Mitch Jamison of Garfield-Palouse FFA, vice president
Monica Haugen of Pullman, sentinel Daniel Lyng of Meridian FFA
in Bellingham and treasurer Dallas Tyus of Tonasket.
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