‘9TH WONDER OF THE WORLD’: CAMPAIGNS AIM TO CHANGE POTATO PERCEPTIONS Page 7
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2016
VOLUME 89, NUMBER 8
WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM
$2.00
STANDOFF
AFTERMATH
Producers
hope for
a real
change
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
ANALYSIS
SHRINKING
APPETITE
Dop Jepkips/Capital Press
The Hopg Kopg-registered cargo vessel OOCL
Rotterdam is moored at the Port of Tacoma to be
uploaded. Before tyipg up at Tacoma, the ship
had made stops at Vapcouver, British Columbia;
Nipgbo apd Shapghai ip Chipa; apd Busap ip
South Korea.
Growers, investors nervous as China
reduces its imports of U.S. crops
C
Koppie Kopg,
right, speaks
with Hepry Chep
of Guapgzhou
Yapgchepg
Food Co. apd
ipterpreter Willow
Zhepg duripg a
recept meetipg
ip Portlapd, Ore.,
that was part
of ap ipboupd
trade missiop
by Chipese food
buyers.
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
hina’s appetite for U.S. farm products
once seemed limitless.
The nation of 1.3 billion people,
with its wealthy emerging middle
class, demanded shiploads of U.S.
crops ranging from almonds and ap-
ples to raw materials such as cotton.
Overall, the an-
nual value of
U.S. food ex-
ported to China
surged in val-
ue roughly 15
times over since
the dawn of the
21st century,
peaking at nearly $26 billion in 2012.
No longer.
Since then, demand has ebbed.
Imports of farm goods leveled off in
2013, receded a bit in 2014 and fell in
value by 17 percent in 2015.
However, experts say the slow-
down in imports from the U.S. isn’t
necessarily cause for alarm, especially
in light of the white-hot growth seen
over the past decade.
Turn to CHINA, Page 12
China vs. U.S. —
agricultural production
and trade statistcis
Statistic
Population (2015 est.)
Labor force in ag (2012 est.)
Total land area (sq. mi.)
Ag land as percent of total (2011 est.)
Irrigated land (sq. mi., 2012)
Ag as percent of GDP (2015 est.)
China
United States
1.37 billion
321.4 million
270.1 million
10.9 million
3.7 million
3.8 million
54.7%
44.5%
266,440
87,200
8.9%
1.6%
Total value of ag imports
$140.4 billion (2013)
$111.7 billion (2014)
Total value of ag exports
$79.8 billion (2013)
$150 billion (2014)
Source: USDA ERS, FAS; www.cia.gov
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
“There are
no miracle
markets. It’s
all just global
competition.”
Photos by Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Glepp Loehr of NW Bierhaus Jerky & Oregop Wipe Couptry Jerky,
left, speaks with Eric Lee of Eurosia Group duripg a recept meet-
ipg ip Portlapd, Ore., that was part of ap ipboupd trade missiop by
Chipese food buyers.
Nick Kukulan,
CEO of Paramoupt Export
Harney County residents,
government agencies, ranch-
ers, farmers and politicians
breathed a sigh of relief when
the last occupier left the Mal-
heur National Wildlife Refuge
without further bloodshed.
But is that the end of it?
Does the occupation get
written off by Eastern me-
dia and average citizens as a
spasm by armed, out-of-state
crackpots, and it’s back to
business as usu-
al?
Hard to say,
but there are
signs the un-
derlying causes
of despair and
anger in the
Waldep
rural West —
including loss
of economic opportunity and
a sense of government over-
reach — received attention
that may lead to action.
The fi rst opportunity to
drive the point home may
come soon. A coalition that
includes U.S. Rep. Greg
Walden, whose congressional
district covers Eastern Ore-
gon, is working to head off
presidential designation of a
2.5 million acre Owyhee Can-
yonlands national monument
and wilderness. President
Obama recently designated
three California monuments,
and producer groups fear he’ll
do the same in Southeast Or-
egon.
Oregon Natural Desert
Association, backed by the
Keen Footwear company,
has proposed the Owyhee
Canyonlands
designation.
Opponents say it would cov-
er 40 percent of the land in
Malheur County. Despite as-
surances to the contrary, op-
ponents believe monument
designation would prohibit
or hopelessly snag grazing,
mining, logging, hunting and
other pursuits.
“We can’t afford to have
that loss,” said Katie Fast,
executive director of Orego-
nians for Food & Shelter. “If
the industry doesn’t build off
the attention and momentum,
it would be a loss.”
Fast said people “on the
ground” in Eastern Oregon
need to be the leading voices
on such issues.
“My hope is all of us who
work in industry and love the
industry can help them,” she
said.
Turn to CHANGE,
Page 12
Search for bird fl u grows cold
Don’t relax; return
migration ahead
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
The highly pathogenic
bird fl u virus that spread from
South Korea to North Amer-
ica and claimed 48 million
American chickens and tur-
keys last year has not resur-
faced in the U.S. so far this
winter, a vanishing act that
Washington State Veterinar-
ian Joe Baker calls a “sweet
mystery.”
“We’ll take the relief from
it, whatever the reason,” he
said Tuesday.
Eurasian bird fl u — some-
times mixing with milder
North American strains — hit
15 states between late 2014
and mid-2015. Besides com-
mercial and non-commercial
poultry fl ocks, the disease
showed up in ducks, geese,
falcons, eagles and owls.
The interplay in the wild
between Eurasian and North
American bird fl u strains
created viruses never seen
before in the U.S. Bird fl u
evaporated over the summer
as waterfowl, virus reservoirs,
Turn to FLU, Page 11
Dop Jepkips/Capital Press
A duck swims amopg the weeds ip a lake ip southwest Washipgtop
op Feb. 16. More thap 43,000 wild birds patiopwide have beep
tested sipce July apd pope have positively beep foupd to be carry-
ing a highly pathogenic bird fl u virus.
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