April 22, 2016
EPA
CONTINUED from Page 1
“I can’t give you an exact
date, but I can assure you that
EPA also was distressed about
the use of the money and the
tone of that campaign,” McCa-
rthy said.
According to EPA records,
the agency directed the Swin-
omish tribe in 2011 to select a
consultant to “develop a cam-
paign strategy.”
The tribe hired Strategies
360, which the EPA directed
to “test and refine” messages.
The tribe kept EPA informed
as Strategies 360 developed the
campaign over the next several
years, according to EPA records.
Efforts to contact the tribe
were unsuccessful. A fisheries
commission spokesman de-
clined to comment.
Gerald Baron, director of the
farmer-advocacy group Save
Family Farming in northwestern
Washington, noted EPA didn’t
criticize What’s Upstream until
members of Congress began
asking questions two weeks ago.
“My concern is EPA is trying
to shift the blame for something
they approved,” he said.
What’s Upstream grew from
a regional dispute into a national
issue April 5 when Senate Ag-
riculture Committee Chairman
Pat Roberts, R-Kan., described
What’s Upstream billboards as
“malicious.”
The tribe has since removed
the billboards, which were in
Olympia and Bellingham. The
What’s Upstream website and
Facebook pages remain active.
“I do know the most egre-
gious tone was reflected on bill-
boards. That will not be reim-
bursed,” McCarthy said.
Baron said the website’s im-
agery and claims are worse than
the billboards.
“The billboards were the
most publicly visible and got
farmers upset and got the most
attention, but I don’t think they
were the most egregious,” he
said. “The website is false and
malicious.”
Environmental groups in-
volved with What’s Upstream
have stood by the campaign.
“The main gist of this has
been to educate the public,” Tr-
ish Rolfe, director of the Center
for Environmental Law and Pol-
icy, said Tuesday. “Agriculture
pollution is a concern. We all
need to work together to find
solutions.”
Although the website re-
mains mostly intact, a “Take
Action” link has been removed.
The link allowed people to send
form letters to state lawmak-
ers urging mandatory 100-foot
buffers between farm fields and
waterways.
The EPA said earlier it con-
cluded the link did not violate
prohibitions against using EPA
funds to lobby because the letter
and website did not support or
oppose specific pending legis-
lation.
The website discloses EPA’s
financial support, but the letter
to lawmakers generated by the
website does not.
In December, the GAO
found that EPA engaged in
“covert propaganda” because
it used social media and con-
servation groups’ websites to
spread messages in favor of the
new Waters of the United States
rule without acknowledging the
agency was the author.
“The fact that the ‘Take Ac-
ton’ link is off doesn’t change
things,” Baron said. “It’s still
a political campaign aimed
at influencing legislators and
influencing public opinion in
preparation of influencing leg-
islation.”
In a letter Monday, the in-
spector general for the EPA,
Authur Elkins, told two U.S.
senators that his office will look
into three grants to the fisheries
commission totaling $20.5 mil-
lion.
The fisheries commission
receives grants from the EPA
for fish projects in the Puget
Sound.
The EPA money that sup-
ported What’s Upstream came
from a $3 million grant award-
ed to the fisheries commission.
Elkins said his office will
probe whether the money was
properly spent and whether any
of it must be paid back.
The EPA, tribe or fisheries
commission have not answered
how much has been spent on
What’s Upstream. Reports the
tribe filed with the EPA sug-
gest at least $570,000 had been
spent on the campaign through
the end of September. The tribe
is due to file another report this
month.
CapitalPress.com
13
Dryland wheat off to a good start in E. Idaho
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
Soil moisture was ideal
when Kendall Jones planted
his dryland wheat last fall,
and the Raft River, Idaho,
farmer believes spring show-
ers have further helped the
crop progress.
“My dad was saying,
‘We’ve been farming there
for 40 years, and this is prob-
ably our best-looking crop,’”
said Jones, who planted about
7,500 acres of dryland winter
wheat. “It’s thicker, and it’s
almost closed rows already.
It’s ahead of what it usually is
at this time of year.”
Dryland farmers through-
out Eastern Idaho say they’re
pleased by the growth and
condition of their fall grain
crops, which enjoyed strong
germination thanks to ample
soil moisture, and soil condi-
tions also look good for plant-
ing spring grain.
A possible damper on this
season’s dryland grain out-
look is that certain crop dis-
eases, such as stripe rust, also
thrive in the cool, moist con-
ditions that have replenished
soil moisture.
Jones said he’s starting
to see a bit of stripe rust —
a fungal disease spread by
spores — in his fields, but the
extent of the infection isn’t
yet evident.
Soda Springs area dryland
growers Sid Cellan and Scott
Brown say their fall grain has
emerged with minimal winter
kill, and good moisture estab-
lished a strong stand.
“What wheat we’ve got
that’s up looks really good,”
Cellan said.
Brown said good soil
moisture should help his
spring crops germinate as
well, and more storms are in
the forecast.
In Arbon Valley, dryland
farmer Hans Hayden applied
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Twain Hayden plants spring wheat on April 18. Hayden said he has a good stand of winter dryland winter wheat thanks to ample soil
moisture in the fall, and soil moisture is again good for spring seeding.
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Twain Hayden checks his seeding depth after planting spring
wheat on April 18. Hayden said he has a good stand of winter
dryland winter wheat thanks to ample soil moisture in the fall, and
soil moisture is again good for spring seeding.
humic acid to melt snowdrifts
that lingered in his fall wheat
fields to reduce the likelihood
of snow mold. He had far less
winter kill than expected.
“There’s a lot of good dry-
U.S. Senate passes
Yakima water measure
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
The Yakima River Ba-
sin enhancement bill has
passed the U.S. Senate as
an amendment to a biparti-
san energy bill.
The bill passed the Sen-
ate on a vote of 85 to 12
on April 20. The Yakima
amendment was sponsored
by Sen. Maria Cantwell,
D-Wash. A companion
measure was introduced in
the House in early March
by Republican Reps. Dan
Newhouse and Dave Re-
ichert.
The bills authorize the
first 10-year phase of a 30-
year plan to improve the
water supply in the Yakima
Basin for farmers, conser-
vationists and residents.
It includes water conser-
vation and ecosystem res-
toration, additional water
storage and construction of
fish passage at Cle Elum
and Rimrock reservoirs.
Lake Kachess water
storage would be improved
and decisions will be made
USDA
CONTINUED from Page 1
These replies, as well as
USDA planning documents
for the updated regulations,
have caused GMO critics to
doubt that its new biotech
rules would be stronger.
Up until now, the agency
hasn’t regulated crops due to
their noxious weed potential,
which the updated rules are
intended to change.
Freese of the Center for
Food Safety said he’s con-
cerned the definition of
“noxious weed” will be con-
strued so narrowly by USDA
as to exclude all but the
most prolifically spreading
plants.
“The gap is only going to
get bigger unless we change
their course,” he said.
The Center for Food Safe-
ty would prefer if the USDA
had a “simple trigger” for ex-
ercising its regulatory author-
on expanding the capac-
ity of Bumping Lake and
building a new Wymer res-
ervoir between Ellensburg
and Selah.
The Senate bill provides
$92 million for a Cle Elum
pool raise, groundwater re-
charge, Wapato irrigation
upkeep and environmental
compliance efforts.
The Senate action was
lauded by the state De-
partment of Ecology and
others who have worked to
enhance water supply from
the Yakima River. It was
criticized as “bad policy”
by conservation organiza-
tions and some residents of
Lake Kachess, one of the
U.S. Bureau of Reclama-
tion reservoirs serving Ya-
kima Basin irrigators.
Opponents say the plan
costs more than $4 billion
with no revenue offsets
and exploits water above
encouraging stewardship.
Opponents include Ya-
kima Citizens Coalition,
Friends of Lake Kachess
and Friends of Bumping
Lake.
ity, based on whether a crop
was made with biotechnology,
Freese said.
However, the agency has
insisted on limiting its juris-
diction to plant pests — and
now noxious weeds — be-
cause it doesn’t want to imply
that biotechnology is more
risky, he said.
Another question is wheth-
er USDA will actually com-
plete any changes to its biotech
rules, or if the current process
is mere “window dressing,”
said Doug Gurian-Sherman,
director of sustainable agricul-
ture for the group.
The Bush administration
also proposed updating the
USDA’s biotech regulations
but they were left unfinished
and eventually scrapped by
the Obama administration, he
said.
Now, the Obama admin-
istration plans to propose its
own regulatory overhaul less
than year before a new U.S.
president takes the reins,
Gurian-Sherman said.
land winter wheat in the state
of Idaho because everybody
has got moisture,” Hayden
said.
Hayden applied products
12-month waiver
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24 spd, Trelleborg 850/55R-42 duals, 5
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in the fall to control aphids
and protect against barley yel-
low dwarf, which appears to
be widespread this season.
University of Idaho Exten-
sion cereals pathologist Juliet
Marshall said the recent mois-
ture should help crops infect-
ed with barley yellow dwarf
outgrow damage, though test
weights will still likely be
down. She’s also seen ram-
pant stripe rust infections in
Brundage soft white winter
wheat and recommends grow-
ers plant spring wheat vari-
eties with resistance to stripe
rust.
Complicating matters for
dryland fall wheat growers,
Marshall has seen several
cases of wheat streak mosa-
ic virus, which is spread by
curl mites and is exacerbat-
ed by dry and hot conditions
that may surface later in the
season. Marshall said wheat
3 Years @ 0%
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streak mosaic symptoms
are similar to barley yellow
dwarf, and she’s seen several
wheat samples that have test-
ed positive for both diseases
already.
Some good news for fall
wheat growers is that May
futures prices have rallied re-
cently, with hard red winter
contracts out of Kansas City
rising a quarter to $5.44 per
bushel from April 11 to April
19. Kansas State University
Extension agricultural econ-
omist Dan O’Brien suspects
the rally may be short-lived
but attributes the gains to a
weakening dollar, rumors of
lower stocks in India and an
“accumulation of short po-
sitions,” involving investors
who borrow commodities
from a broker to sell on the
open market and make a prof-
it by buying it back for less
when the price drops.
5 Years @ 0.9%
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JD 6125R, 380 hours, premium cab, IVT,
JD 9300, 9631 hours, 4WD, PS trans., MFWD, headland mgmt., dual PTO, 3
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..................$59,900 McMinnville 40643 JD 5085M, 6528 hours, ROPS, MFWD,
Case IH 535, 2600 hours, 4WD, PS Power Reverser trans., loader, new tires
trans., 800/70R-38 duals, 4 remotes, all around...$35,000 Donald BJ316657
bareback, leather seat............................ NH TC34, 461 hours, open station,
...............$170,000 Walla Walla 108988 MFWD, hydro trans., 240TL loader, R4
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cab, MFWD, IVT trans., 3 remotes, JD6125M, 1967 hours, open station,
single rear tires........................................ MFWD, H340 loader, 2 remotes, 18.4-34
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Case IH MX125, 1,274 hours, Std. cab, Case IH MAX140, 3420 hours,
MFWD, PS trans, dual PTO, 16.9-38 premioum cab, MFWD, 16x16 trans.,
singles..............$63,250 Madras E09936 3 remotes, L750 loader............................
..................$71,500 Hillsboro 9BE02185
KUBOTA M135X, 2288 hours, cab,
JD 8520, 6700 hours, cab, ILS axle, PS MFWD, partial PS trans, dual PTO, 3
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............$130,000 Harrisburg OP002681 ..........................$46,000 Tangent 50481
COMBINES
JD S670, 1045 hours, small grain, Hillco JD 9660WTS, 2859 hours, small grain,
28% leveler, Prodrive, 24.5-32 tires....... spike tooth cyl., straw chopper, chaff
.................$400,000 Moscow C0755421 spreader, 800-32 tires..............................
JD S690, 350 hours, small grain, 28% ..........$125,000 Walla Walla OA078927
Hillco leveler, 24,5-32 duals, 4WD, JD 9660STS, 3079 hours, small grain,
Countour Master..................................... 35% Rahco leveler, 630R platform &
................$500,000 Moscow D0765122 cart.............$225,000 Colfax OS730470
JD 9650STS, 3112 hours, sm grain, JD 9770STS, 3688 hours, small grain,
18% Hillco leveler, grass seed combine, level 635F platform and cart, 4WD, 520-
42 duals......$189,000 Colfax A0736737
914P BPU.....$118,000 Salem 0S700523
JD T670, 1127 hours, small grain,
JD 9870, 1389 hours, sm grain, level
MacDon BPU platform (grass seed
land, 650/85-38 duals, straw spreader........ combine)...$179,900 Donald 0A084501
.............$189,900 Four Lakes B0741568
JD S680, 962 hours, 28% Hico Leveler
24.5-32 duals, MacDon harness, chaf
spreader......$415,000 Tekoa D0756086
JD S680, 602 hours, 35% Rahco leveler,
650/65R-38 duals, 4WD, Powergard Ext.
Warranty.....$445,000 Colfax D0765184
JD S670, 280 hours, small grain, Rahco JD S680, 962 hours, 28% Hlco Leveler
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....................$390,900 Tangent 765553 spreader......$415,000 Tekoa D0756086
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JD 9870STS, 2335 hours, 35% Rahco
leveler, 4WD, 635F platform with cart...
.....................$289,000 Colfax 0S730229
JD 9660WTS, 1892 hours, small grain,
level land, MacDon PW? BPU platform.
.................$135,000 Madras OA078924
JD T670, 1917 hours, small grain, rasp
bar, Autotrack ready, straw chopper,
615P BPU platform..................................
................$165,000 Tangent OA082615
JD S660, 129 hours, Vari Stream rotor,
small grain, premium cab, GS3
equipped, Autotrack ready....................
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17-2/#5