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8 CapitalPress.com December 18, 2015 Idaho Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters State appeals district court ruling that invalidated ‘ag gag’ law By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — The question of whether Idaho’s Agricultural Security Act is constitutional is headed to the 9th U.S. Cir- cuit Court of Appeals. The Idaho attorney gener- al’s office will ask the appeals court to reverse a district court judge’s decision earlier this year that invalidated key pro- visions of the statute, which opponents refer to as an “ag- gag” law. The law makes it a crime to film an agricultural operation without the owner’s consent or gain employment with a farm operation through decep- tion with the intent to cause it harm. The legislation was craft- ed by the Idaho Dairymen’s Association and supported by most Idaho farm groups. “I’m glad to hear it’s be- ing appealed,” said Sen. Jim Patrick, a Republican farmer from Twin Falls who spon- sored the legislation in the Idaho Senate. “It’s a private property rights issue for all of agricul- ture, not just cattle,” he said. A coalition of animal rights, civil liberties and other groups filed a lawsuit against the law in federal court in Ida- ho. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill struck down the major provisions of the law, agreeing with plaintiffs that it violated the First Amend- ment’s free speech provision as well as the U.S. Constitu- tion’s Equal Protection Clause. In his Aug. 3 ruling, Win- mill stated that “an agricultural facility’s operations that affect food and worker safety are not exclusively a private mat- ter. Food and worker safety are matters of public concern. Moreover, laws against tres- pass, fraud, theft and defama- tion already exist. These types of laws serve the property and privacy interests the state pro- fesses to protect through the passage of (the legislation) but without infringing on free speech rights.” Winmill also wrote that the law discriminates based on viewpoint, saying that the nat- ural effect of the recording and misrepresentation provisions “is to burden speech critical of the animal-agriculture indus- try.” IDA attorney David Clai- borne applauded the state’s decision to appeal Winmill’s ruling. “We feel very confident we will be able to obtain a rever- sal of many aspects of Judge Winmill’s decision,” he said. Claiborne said the bill was crafted in a way that prohib- its certain conduct on private property but doesn’t single out a specific group. “It only prohibits record- ing in non-public areas on pri- vate property, where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy,” he said. “The court kind of overlooked that fact. That’s an important con- cern we will bring up during the appeal.” Representatives of plain- tiffs expressed confidence the 9th Circuit will uphold Win- mill’s decision. The law’s intent “is to shield animal abusers from public scrutiny (and) it’s clear the law in intended to stifle and suppress the speech of a specific group of people,” said Mercy for Animals President Nathan Runkle. “We believe that the judge rightly deemed it unconstitutional and that it will and should be upheld.” Animal Legal Defense Fund Senior Attorney Mat- thew Liebman in an email statement said his group ex- pects the 9th Circuit “will agree with us that Idaho’s ag-gag law violates the First Amendment by silencing crit- ics of the meat, egg and dairy industries.” PCN panel considering compensating affected growers By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press John O’Connell/Capital Press From left to right, Sara Erb, Margie Cooke, Susan Brown and Elizabeth Kohtz receive Woman of the Year awards Dec. 2 during Idaho Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting in Fort Hall. Idaho Farm Bureau honors four women By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press FORT HALL, Idaho — The Idaho Farm Bureau Federation has honored a dairy veterinar- ian, a livestock auction owner, a Christmas tree farmer and a potato farmer and rancher with the organization’s Woman of Year awards. The awards, presented during a Dec. 2 luncheon in conjunction with the organiza- tion’s annual convention, rec- ognized a woman in each Farm Bureau district who has made outstanding contributions to agriculture. Award recipient Eliza- beth Kohtz, president of Twin Falls County Farm Bureau, was raised on a dairy and has worked as a dairy veterinarian for 11 years. She’s employed by Cedar Ridge Dairy, which has more than 10,000 cows. Kohtz was also among 10 women from around the coun- try chosen by American Farm Bureau Federation to partic- ipate in a two-year program, which recently finished, for young leaders in agriculture. She was also selected to rep- resent farming and ranching during the recent shareholders meeting of Dean Foods, the nation’s largest dairy processor. Kohtz said the meeting in Dallas marked the first time Farm Bureau has had a voice before the company’s share- holders. Award recipient Sara Erb has owned the Blackfoot live- stock auction, with her hus- band, Cole, for the past 14 years. “The livestock auction has a big role in the agriculture in- dustry,” Erb said. “We’re the middle guy to help the buyers and to help their sellers.” Erb was raised on a farm and ranch, where she said she learned to appreciate the value of hard labor, “working from sunup to sundown.” Margie Cooke owns For- ever Green Tree Farm in St. Maries with her husband, Lar- ry. In addition, she has a full- time job as a nurse. Her farm, which they pur- chased 35 years ago, spe- cializes in providing Christ- mas-season memories for families — hosting sleigh rides, meetings with Santa Claus and a U-pick tree oper- ation, in addition to wholesale sales. They also have a shop with holiday merchandise. Cooke said her land is ideally locat- ed for a Christmas tree farm, as there’s plenty of natural rainfall for the evergreens, and raising them at 3,500 feet makes them winter hardy for sale in cold environments. Award recipient Susan Brown and her husband, Randy, own a potato farm and cow-calf operation with 416 mother cows in Madison County. In addition to her involve- ment with Farm Bureau, Brown serves as a local pre- cinct chairwoman with the Republican Party. In that capacity, she’s helped elect lawmakers to the state Legis- lature. IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Discussions among members of an Idaho State Department of Agriculture pale cyst nem- atode program advisory com- mittee have turned toward compensating growers for past and future hardships due to farming under quarantine. The growers and indus- try leaders on the committee, who met Dec. 8, acknowledge finding the funding will be a challenge. “We feel like there ought to be some help there that at least keeps a person whole as they grow through this,” said Bryan Searle, a Shelley farmer on the committee who has fields under quarantine, speaking on behalf of other affected growers. The only confirmed U.S. infestation of PCN — a mi- croscopic worm that feeds on potato roots — was de- tected in dirt from Eastern Idaho potatoes in 2006. Cur- rently, 2,897 acres within a 7.5-mile radius in Bonneville and Bingham counties are un- der quarantine. The growers are prohibited from planting spuds while their fields under- go rigorous PCN eradication treatments, which have in- cluded the use of the powerful fumigant methyl bromide in the past. Some quarantined growers have filed a lawsuit alleging methyl bromide has tainted their soil, and alfalfa from John O’Connell/Capital Press Members of an Idaho State Department of Agriculture pale cyst nematode program advisory committee discuss proposed changes to the program, including compensation for affected growers, during a Dec. 8 meeting in Idaho Falls. treated ground has made live- stock sick. Another 7,419 acres are being regulated, facing spe- cial sanitation and testing re- quirements for known associ- ations with infested fields. The committee quickly dismissed eight previously proposed alternatives to the current program it deemed would adversely affect trade. The plan they’re now serious- ly considering entails retiring land from production — or at least potato production — for up to three decades, which is the maximum duration PCN cysts are known to remain vi- able in soil in the absence of a host. St. Anthony grower Jeff Raybould suggested a one- time payment — perhaps $3 million — to be divvied among landowners in the pro- gram to compensate for soil damage and other losses. For future years, he ad- vised an extra penny potato assessment per hundred- weight, which would generate roughly $1 million per year to pay growers to idle land, similar to a conservation ease- ment. “We’ve got to put our arms around a solution and move forward,” Raybould said, em- phasizing his funding num- bers are open for debate. “We can’t continue to offload this problem on a handful of indi- viduals in the state.” Raybould advised ap- proaching the state Legislature for the one-time payment. The committee discussed increas- ing the Idaho Potato Commis- sion’s assessment to cover the continuing payments, though some were uncomfortable granting the organization ad- ditional authority to redirect revenue to individual grow- ers. They also suggested cre- ating a stand-alone entity to administer the assessment. Both options would require legislative action. Though USDA has indi- cated it won’t be in the busi- ness of buying or leasing land, IPC President and CEO Frank Muir suggested approaching the agency for funding any- way, given the apparent re- percussions to growers who followed its methyl bromide program. “I’ll be surprised if there’s rousing support for a tax in- crease,” Muir said. ISDA Director Celia Gould said her agency has commenced research into what crops can be grown safe- ly on land treated with methyl bromide. Tina Gresham, director of USDA’s PCN program, said one field that’s advanced through the program was planted to red potatoes this season, and testing for viable cysts is underway. Further- more, she said the program is awaiting data on use of a trap crop, planted in two commer- cial fields this season to stim- ulate hatching in the absence of a host, and is researching other tools such as biological controls, alternative chemi- cals and resistant potato vari- eties. The committee is sched- uled to meet again at 1 p.m. Jan. 6 in Idaho Falls. Pocatello ranch provides holiday wagon tradition By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press POCATELLO, Idaho — Back when Cherie and Jim Hart raised cattle and buffalo, their draft horses had an important job, helping them distribute feed throughout snowdrift-cov- ered pastures. Hart Ranch, which once kept a herd of about 75 mother cows and 20 bison, got out of the livestock business in 2005, and is now solely focused on John O’Connell/Capital Press Residents of the Pocatello, Idaho, area take a wagon tour Dec. 12 to check out holiday lights. alfalfa production. But their six draft horses are still earning their keep, as the stars of a longstanding Po- catello agri-tourism tradition. The city’s former mayor grant- ed the Harts lifetime permis- sion to take groups on horse- drawn wagon rides through 51-2/#5 51-1/#4x city streets. Their route passes by some of the largest homes in the community, highlight- ing holiday lights, and ends at the couple’s renovated dairy barn, where guests are served Dutch-oven dinners. Groups have ranged from 15 to 80 people, traveling in a train of wagons covered in lights and playing Christmas music. They charge $25 per adult and $13 per child for the ride and meal. “It’s really just a way to share with those people what these big horses can do,” Che- rie Hart said. “It’s all about the experience — an experience of the Old West and the way things used to be.” Their 2,000-acre ranch on the outskirts of Pocatello was homesteaded by Jim Hart’s grandparents nearly 110 years ago. Visitors can still find wag- on ruts and relics left by travel- ers on the Oregon Trail. They started offering wagon rides in 2000, originally bas- ing them out of a tepee, where they served hot dogs and chili. In 2004, Cherie Hart and her cousins renovated a dilapidated dairy barn into a reception hall with a dance floor and a bar for serving Dutch-oven dinners. They also offer catering and wagon services for weddings, and a local funeral home some- times uses their draft horses to pull a funeral buggy. Cherie Hart said the ranch occasionally uses the draft horses for farm labor, such as pulling a harrow or road grad- er. Rick Giles, president of the Southern Idaho Draft Horse Association, said insurance takes a large chunk out of prof- its for members who use their animals for agri-tourism, but many still offer public services, such as wedding transportation, due to their love of working with their horse teams. Giles, who runs a 40-acre farm in Magic Valley, said some members earn a supple- mental income with their hors- es by working with a sled-ride service at Sun Valley Ski Re- sort. A couple of members have a carriage business.