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August 14, 2015 CapitalPress.com 3 ‘Ag-gag’ decision hard to overturn Capital Press Idaho’s ag community might be disappointed with the U.S. district court ruling last week that the state’s Agri- cultural Security Act — often referred to as the “ag-gag” law — violates the First Amend- ment, but the ruling is consis- tent with the jurisprudence of freedom of speech, according to a University of Idaho law professor. Idaho irrigators ink long-term water deal 90 95 ake Rive r Lewiston Sn 95 All 10 irrigation entities represented by Idaho Ground Water Appropria- tors, Inc., drawing from Eastern 12 Snake Plain Aquifer wells have signed on to a monumental Snake River water agreement to watershed resolve the decade-old East Snake Plain Surface Water Aquifer Model 2.1 Coalition water call. Surface Water 93 Coalition 10% trim line 20 IDAHO 84 15 Ashton Boise 26 20 Mountain Home Sn a k e R i v er N 26 93 American Falls Res. 93 Source: Idaho Dept. of Water Resources Pocatello 15 Twin Falls 25 miles Idaho Falls Blackfoot 84 Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Idaho groundwater entities all support aquifer agreement By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer groundwater entities represent- ing nearly 1 million well-irri- gated acres have unanimously endorsed an agreement aiming to reverse declining aquifer levels. The affected groundwa- ter groups — including nine groundwater districts and an irrigation district with wells — had until Aug. 1 to opt into the agreement, approved July 1 to resolve the decade-old Surface Water Coalition call. The seven Coalition members, who have also ratifi ed the agreement, claimed injury due to Snake River spring fl ow declines below Blackfoot, attributed to junior well irrigation. The groundwater entities, represented by Idaho Ground Water Appropriators Inc., will be asked to reduce groundwa- ter use within ESPA boundar- ies by 11 percent, in exchange for protection from future cur- tailment. Models estimate the reduc- tion should average 240,000 acre-feet in annual groundwa- ter savings — roughly equal to the aquifer’s rate of decline. “I think the agreement is the only way we’re going to get there, and the aquifer has got to be fi xed,” said Brian Olmstead, general manager of Twin Falls Canal Co., a Coali- tion member. Olmstead said future dis- cussions will focus on well ir- rigators who aren’t represent- ed by groundwater districts or who draw from feeder aqui- fers outside ESPA boundaries, hydrologically connected but not part of the current agree- ment. The state has pledged to average another 250,000 acre- feet of annual recharge — pur- posefully injecting surface wa- ter into the aquifer. IGWA will also give the Co- alition a fl at 50,000 acre-feet of mitigation water annually and invest $1.1 million each season in “soft conversions,” switching certain groundwater users to surface water. Individual groundwater districts will be tasked with setting terms for achieving the reduction, addressing lin- gering questions such as how to factor in well priority dates and how to credit farmers for past improvements aimed at irrigation effi ciency. IGWA Executive Director Lynn Tominaga has spent the past two months educating members about the terms of the agreement. Tominaga said a 17-member steering commit- tee comprising a leader from each participating entity has been formed to help resolve outstanding issues. IGWA attorney T.J. Budge explained the “game chang- er” that drove the discussions was a recent change in Idaho Department of Water Resourc- es policy, adding groundwater levels to the factors used to predict mitigation obligations in the Coalition’s call. Budge said the change, mandated by an Idaho district judge, would have made curtailment much more diffi cult to avoid. Budge said to help farmers cut their water use, groundwa- ter districts may provide sup- plemental funding to improve the attractiveness of USDA’s Conservation Reserve En- hancement Program, which pays groundwater users to stop irrigating farm land. Lynn Carlquist, a Hazelton farmer who chairs the North Snake Groundwater District, said cropping patterns will have to change in his region, where water-intensive corn has become more common in rotations. He views stabiliz- ing the aquifer as imperative for the sustainability of Idaho farming, not just for resolving a water call. “Trying to make this so everybody thinks it’s fair and equitable is going to be a real problem,” he said. siderable public interest.” Winmill’s analysis was thorough as to what rules ap- ply, how the court reasons and how competing rights inter- sect with freedom of speech. His decision goes through the state’s statute with a fi ne-tooth comb, Sanders said. Winmill discussed the mo- tivation for the statute, quot- ing the legislative history of the statute in which legislators and proponents compared an- imal rights activists to terror- ists, persecutors, vigilantes, blackmailers, and invading marauders. Sanders said purpose is a fi rm factor of constitutional interpretation, and motivation becomes really important in part of the judge’s ruling. Winmill also looked back at the history of the First Amend- ment in serving society by facilitating positive change, which is not uncommon in the Supreme Court’s free-speech jurisprudence in the Supreme Court, she said. He used the story of Up- ton Sinclair — whose expose of the meatpacking industry brought needed changes in how the industry was regulat- ed — to illustrate the benefi t of undercover investigation and how Sinclair’s conduct would have exposed him to criminal prosecution under Idaho’s stat- ute, she said. “He also uses that example to say when engaged in an ac- tivity of public interest, such as food, privacy is not a trump card. An issue of public interest is treated differently than pure- ly private matters,” she said. “The public’s right to know outweighs private property and privacy rights,” she said. Sanders said she thinks pro- ponents of Idaho’s law failed to realize farmers are operating a business that’s in the public interest. Price rebound predicted for Washington apple industry By DAN WHEAT Capital Press YAKIMA, Wash. — Apple marketers are optimistic about higher prices with a smaller 2015 crop, good fl ow of exports through seaports and full access to China. Harvest is underway and will run to early November. The crop is forecast at 125.2 million, 40-pound boxes by the Wash- ington State Tree Fruit Associa- tion in Yakima and Wenatchee. That’s down 10.5 percent from the record 140-million-box 2014 crop. The sheer size of that crop caused prices to tumble to eight-year lows and the dump- ing of millions of boxes of fruit. Red Delicious, the dominant apple variety by volume, fell to $9 per box during the last sales season, well below break-even, after peaking at $22 in the ban- ner year of 2012. But new crop Gala will start in the mid to upper $30s per box and some old crop Gala is sell- ing at that range because of short supply, said Tom Riggan, gen- eral manager of Chelan Fresh Marketing in Chelan, Wash. “It’s short-lived but it’s a Dan Wheat/Capital Press Refl ective ground cover helps apples gain color at CRO Orchard, south of Rock Island, Wash., on Aug. 5. Bins stacked in the background will be used for harvest. The industry is forecasting a smaller crop this fall. good start. Typically, we start in the low to mid $30s on prime sizes and grades,” Riggan said. A lack of Southern Hemi- sphere Gala volume or quality is helping, he said. The asking price of mid-size Washington extra fancy Red De- licious averaged $10 to $13 per box on Aug. 7, compared with $16 to $18 a year earlier, ac- cording to USDA Market News. Granny Smith apples were $17 to $20 versus $24 to $26 a year ago. Fuji is $20 to $22. Prices for the last year have been hurt by the huge crop, la- bor issues slowing down West Coast ports and the lack of mar- ket access to China and Russia. Though China has opened its doors to U.S. apples, Russia continues to boycott U.S. and European produce. “I would say the ingredients for having a successful year are presenting themselves from a much more manageable crop to export markets looking to be more accessible,” said Howard Nager, vice president of market- ing at Domex Superfresh Grow- ers in Yakima. Key to better prices is low carryover of old crop into the fall as it sells out and new crop takes over. About 9.5 million boxes of old crop remained to be sold as of Aug. 1 compared with 8 million boxes a year ago. Red Delicious gained 124,000 boxes in July as pack- ers re-estimated packouts from what they have left in storage, said John Onstad, sales manager of Sage Fruit Co. in Yakima. The old crop was 91.5 per- cent shipped as of Aug. 1, the normal percentage for this time of year, Onstad said. Inventory of most varieties is about where it should be but Granny Smith is a little high, he said. Domex will clean up old crop by the end of August and fi rst week of September and is feeling good about the carry- over, Nager said. The 9.5 mil- lion boxes, as of Aug. 1, is not a big concern because the indus- try has been shipping 1 million boxes of old crop per week in July and August versus normal- ly a little more than half that, he said. Study says GMO labels don’t act as warnings By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press A new study concludes that shoppers aren’t scared off by labels on food containing ge- netically modifi ed organisms, but labeling opponents are skeptical of the fi ndings. The study by University of Vermont economics professor Jane Kolodinsky found that support for mandatory GMO labeling didn’t measurably correspond with opposition to biotechnology. “A label doesn’t seem to change people’s opinion of genetic engineering,” she said. The results were released at a time when GMO labels are in the public spotlight. A proposal to ban state and local governments from requiring labels for GMOs is currently pending in Congress and Vermont’s labeling law is being challenged before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Ap- peals. An average of 89 percent of Vermont residents, who were surveyed fi ve times between 2003 and 2015 as part of the study, favored mandatory GMO labeling. About 60 percent of survey respondents said they opposed GMOs being used in commer- cial food products. Among people who want labeling, those without college educations, those in single-par- ent households and those with the highest incomes tended not to oppose GMOs. Support for labeling tended to increase GMO opposition among men and people with median incomes, but the over- all impact of backing labels was negligible to non-existent, the study found. Kolodinsky said she was surprised by the results be- cause opponents claim that GMO labels will act as warn- ings to consumers and reduce consumption of products con- taining biotech ingredients. Given the study’s fi ndings, however, such fears are un- founded, she said. The Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food, which rep- resents food manufacturers and farm groups opposed to GMO labeling, believes the study “conveniently over- looks” statements by an- ti-GMO advocates who tout labels as the fi rst step in con- vincing the public to avoid biotech products. The coalition pointed to a recent survey by the Pew Re- search Service that found the majority of scientists view GMOs as safe while the ma- jority of the public does not. 15-5/16 x 10 x 2 18-3/4 x 14-3/8 x 3 ROP-31-3-2/#7 “It’s a very sound opinion and could prove very diffi cult to overturn on appeal,” said Shaakirrah Sanders, a UI asso- ciate law professor who focus- es on individual rights and lib- erties under the Constitution. Chief U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill Aug. 3 struck down the 2014 law that crim- inalizes covert audio or video recordings on ag operations and obtaining employment by misrepresentation with the intent to cause economic or By CAROL RYAN DUMAS other injury. “ … Legislators drafted and passed a law creating a crimi- nal felony offense for activities that facilitate undercover in- vestigations at agricultural fa- cilities.” The law “seeks to lim- it and punish those who speak out on topics relating to the agricultural industry, striking at the heart of the First Amend- ment values,” Winmill wrote. He further stated, “Indeed, the lies used to facilitate under- cover investigations actually advance core First Amendment values by exposing misconduct to the public eye and facilitat- ing dialogue on issues of con- CALL FOR PRICING AND AVAILABILITY. Delivery Available 503-588-8313 2561 Pringle Rd. SE Salem, OR Bag needs? Bag solutions! 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