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4 CapitalPress.com January 15, 2016 Washington AG opens probe into wage survey advice WAFLA ordered to turn over its records By DON JENKINS Capital Press The Washington attorney gener- al has opened an investigation of a farm labor contractor whose advice to growers on answering a wage survey drew the ire of unions and workers-rights groups. Investigators will look into whether WAFLA, formerly known as the Washington Farm Labor As- sociation, violated state or federal laws regarding unfair business prac- tices or restraint of trade. WAFLA is a major supplier of seasonal H-2A farmworkers in Washington. In a letter to WAFLA, the attor- ney general’s office demanded a wide range of documents related to contacts WAFLA has had with farm- ers about the H-2A program, the wage survey and employing domes- tic workers. “We’re not apologizing for any- Dan Wheat/Capital Press Workers pick apples in Washington state. The state attorney general’s office has opened an investigation into whether a farm labor contractor broke laws by suggesting how growers answer a wage survey. thing we did because we didn’t do anything wrong,” WAFLA’s director, Dan Fazio, said Jan. 8. “I don’t think we broke the law with the survey, and I don’t think we broke the law with any other services.” The state Employment Security Department, in a briefing paper Dec. 22, said WAFLA biased a wage sur- vey by advising growers to report that they pay hourly wages instead of piece-rates. WAFLA defended its advice, not- ing the survey made farmers choose between reporting hourly wages or piece-rates at the peak of the harvest. WAFLA warned farmers that reporting piece-rates paid when de- mand for labor is highest could arti- ficially inflate prevailing wages and form the basis for setting mandatory piece-rates for the entire season. ESD concluded WAFLA’s advice skewed lower how much workers earn picking Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Fuji apples. The survey said workers were paid the state’s minimum wage, $9.47 an hour, but the department said it believes workers actually re- ceived $28 a bin for Fujis and $23 a bin for the other two varieties. ESD found no evidence WAFLA’s advice distorted wages paid for picking sev- eral other varieties of apples. The U.S. Department of Labor uses the survey to set prevailing wag- es for H-2A foreign workers, which affects pay for domestic workers. The Washington State Labor Council and Columbia Legal Ser- vices requested a probe into wheth- er WAFLA’s advice broke laws by artificially depressing wages. It’s unclear whether the attorney gen- eral launched the investigation in response to that request. Efforts to reach the attorney general’s office for comment were unsuccessful. Labor Council spokesman David Groves said WAFLA’s guidance un- dercut wages. “We think it’s an alarming manip- ulation of wages for farmworkers,” he said. “It’s not like farmworkers are overpaid.” The H-2A program has been the target of lawsuits filed by Colum- bia Legal Services, alleging farmers have used foreign workers to dis- place domestic workers. Dan Ford, a Columbia Legal Ser- vices attorney, said the firm was fo- cused solely on WAFLA’s suggested answers to the survey when it com- plained to the attorney general. The firm was aware of WAFLA’s advice to farmers in the fall, and ESD’s analysis confirmed concerns that the suggested answers altered the survey results, he said. “The ef- fect was to suppress workers’ wages dramatically.” Groves said the Labor Coun- cil has been concerned about guest-worker programs being used to hold down wages in several fields. “We think it’s happening not only in the agriculture industry, but also engineering, high-tech,” he said. “In requesting this investiga- tion, it’s not our goal to shut down the Farm Labor Association or its H-2A program. The goal is to make sure wages aren’t manipulated to exploit both H-2A workers and do- mestic workers.” Fazio said WAFLA has hired more staff to comply with the attor- ney general’s request for records. The investigation won’t affect WA- FLA’s ability to supply farmers with workers, he said. Oregon drone maker announces sales agreement with Papé Machinery By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Eric Mortenson/Capital Press Yellow lines indicate the flight pattern programmed for a Honey- Comb AgDrone at work on a farm in Uganda. Eric Mortenson/Capital Press HoneyComb Corp. employees Steve Caldwell, left, and Ben Howard, the chief technical officer, show an AgDrone at the company’s headquarters in Wilsonville, Ore. The blue tape on the wing indicates the drone has been sold to a customer in Argentina. backers believe drones even- tually will communicate in re- al-time with other machinery. Caldwell, the HoneyComb marketer, said farmers’ adop- tion of precision ag technol- ogy such as auto-steer and variable rate equipment has accelerated, and drone use is Become the new generation of farmer - at the forefront of technology and agriculture. Contact us today! Lindsey Williams (509) 524-5239 lindsey.williams@wwcc.edu Mike Hagerman (509) 527-4217 likely to follow. He said the percentage of farmers using drones — either ones they fly themselves or ones operated by agronomic service compa- nies — could climb into dou- ble digits in 2016. “If it blows over 20 per- cent it would not shock me,” Caldwell said. The complete AgDrone system sells for about $21,000. The price includes the drone, case, spare parts and HoneyComb’s data pro- cessing service. There is concern in ag circles about “Big Data” and who controls the informa- tion collected by precision ag equipment. Caldwell said only the drone buyer will own the data and have access to it. The company sells stepped-down versions of the AgDrone kit for about $10,000 or $13,000, but Cald- well said those prices don’t include extras such as data processing. What appealed to Papé was that the AgDrone was “purpose built,” designed spe- cifically for agriculture. The data it gathered could be im- ported directly into the man- agement tools aboard John Deere equipment. “It’s not a toy,” said Barry Peterson, Papé’s integrated solutions manager. In addition, HoneyComb’s AgDrone is a fixed-wing air- craft, more stable than com- peting quad copters, Peterson said. It was the only drone at a Papé field test that carried twin cameras and could pro- vide two images of the same area. It also provided faster data processing than compet- itors. “They get it,” Peterson said. “That’s the one thing about HoneyComb we like. They understand how import- ant this data is. “There’s no better tool than to have same-day infor- mation,” he said. “If you have a problem, you can get on it right away.” HoneyComb was start- ed by CEO Ryan Jenson and friends Ben Howard and John Faus, all of whom grew up in small Oregon towns. They be- gan business in start-up space at Portland State University and two years ago moved to office, design and manufac- turing space in Wilsonville, 20 miles south of Portland. From the start, Honey- Comb has positioned its drones for agricultural use, figuring farmers would be early commercial adopters of the technology. With the Federal Avia- tion Administration slow to approve rules for drone use, HoneyComb has sought out buyers in Ecuador, Argenti- na, Uganda and other areas of Central America, South America and Africa. Direct seed workshop set for Idaho Falls michael.hagerman@wwcc.edu By CAROL RYAN DUMAS www.WWCC.edu Capital Press 500 Tausick Way Walla Walla, WA 99362 3-4/#6 The Southern Idaho Direct Seed Workshop on Feb. 24 in Idaho Falls, will feature a grower panel on local direct seed systems and provide growers with updates on vari- ety and fertility considerations and equipment information. Hosted by the Idaho Wheat Commission, the workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Shiloh Inn Con- ference Center, 780 Lindsay Blvd. The workshop offers a great place to network with other growers and learn what has worked and what hasn’t, said Idaho Wheat Commis- sioner Gordon Gallup, work- shop organizer. In addition to the grower panel on the basics of direct seeding, morning sessions will include cropping systems strategy with Aaron Esser, Washington State Universi- ty, Adams County extension director, and resistant weeds in no-till systems with Don Morishita, University of Ida- ho weed scientist and director of the Kimberly Research and Extension Center. Afternoon sessions will focus on: disease control in no-till systems with Juliet Marshall, University of Idaho cereal pathologist; a panel on crop rotation in no-till sys- tems, including Marlon Wing- er, Natural Resources Conser- vation Service agronomist; and water in no-till systems with Howard Neibling, Uni- versity of Idaho water man- agement engineer. Lunch is provided, and sponsors will be on hand to share information. For more information, con- tact the Idaho Wheat Com- mission at (208) 334-2353. LEGAL ADELL LANE MINI STORAGE AUCTION 2773-B ADELL LANE NE SALEM, OREGON 97301 (971) 240-2755 Sat., Jan. 23rd 10AM • Amie Keller Unit #C-25 • James Wilbur Unit #C-20 • Steve Holmes Unit #B-8 ROP-2-2-4/#4x Adell Lane Mini Storage reserves the right to refuse any and all bids. 3-1/#4 tors, they can spot irrigation, fertilizer or pest problems and upload the exact loca- tion to farmers. Drones also could take inventory and as- sess yield. Drone data can be downloaded to other equip- ment using programs cur- rently available, and industry ROP-2-2-2/#14 WILSONVILLE, Ore. — HoneyComb Corp., which in four years has gone from start- up tech company to marketing its agricultural drones interna- tionally, has announced that Papé Machinery will begin selling its system in the Pacif- ic Northwest. The agreement puts Hon- eyComb’s AgDrone system in 21 Papé equipment dealer- ships in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California begin- ning Jan. 25. Papé also carries John Deere tractors, combines and other equipment. HoneyComb marketing director Steve Caldwell said Papé personnel will be able to train farmers in using the drone system. The AgDrone is a 5-pound, battery-powered plane with a 5-foot wingspan that can be trucked to a field and launched by hand. The delta-winged drone carries vi- sual and infrared cameras en- cased in a Kevlar exoskeleton that company officials say is extremely durable. Advocates believe drone technology could transform agriculture. Flying over fields in patterns set by the opera-