June 17, 2016
CapitalPress.com
5
Farmers seek attorney fees in Oregon GMO litigation
Plaintiffs successfully sued to overturn county GMO ban
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Farmers who won a law-
suit invalidating a ban of ge-
netically engineered crops in
Oregon’s Josephine County
are now seeking $29,000 in
attorney fees from the ordi-
nance’s supporters.
A state judge struck down
the county’s prohibition in
May, holding that Oregon law
pre-empts local governments
from restricting biotech seeds.
Voters in Josephine Coun-
ty approved the ordinance in
2014, which was challenged
last year by Robert and Shel-
ley Ann White, who wanted
to grow genetically modifi ed
sugar beets.
While the county govern-
ment took a neutral position
in the litigation, supporters of
the ordinance — Oregonians
for Safe Farms and Families, a
nonprofi t, and Siskiyou Seeds,
an organic farm — intervened
in the case to defend the ban
on genetically modifi ed organ-
isms.
The intervenors claimed
U.S. hops acres harvested
51.1
(Thousands of acres)
35.3
2007
’10
*June forecast
’13
2016*
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
Hop acreage records
may be broken
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
YAKIMA, Wash. — Pa-
cific Northwest hop acreage
increased 17 percent this
year putting Washington,
Idaho and the United States
on track for new record lev-
els, according to USDA’s
National Agricultural Sta-
tistics Service.
U.S. acreage is forecast
at 51,115, up 7,482 from
43,633 in 2015 and besting
a record of 44,653 set in
1915.
Of the U.S. total, Wash-
ington is estimated at
37,475, up 5,317 from its
record of 32,158 in 2015.
Washington accounts for
73 percent of the total U.S.
acreage.
Oregon is estimated at
7,669 acres, up 1,057 from
6,612 in 2015. Oregon is
15 percent of the U.S. total.
Oregon’s record was 26,000
acres in 1935.
Idaho is estimated at
5,971, up 1,108 from a re-
cord 4,863 in 2015. It is 12
percent of the U.S. acreage.
In late April, Hop Grow-
ers of America in Moxee,
Wash., predicted 51,275
U.S. acres for 2016. It is
including lesser acreage in
states outside the Northwest
that NASS is not tracking.
Acreage increases con-
tinue to be driven by the
increase in craft breweries,
Ann George, administrator
of Hop Growers of Ameri-
Thresher shuts down for safety training
Capital Press
Up 17.1% from 2015
Source: USDA NASS
The group is still deciding
whether to appeal Wolke’s
ruling but doesn’t think it will
impede others from seeking
GMO-free zones.
“The movement is grow-
ing across the country,” she
said.
As for the petition for at-
torney fees, Middleton said
it’s likely an attempt by bio-
tech developers to thwart such
efforts.
“I can only speculate, but
the way it looks on the sur-
face is they’re trying to scare
counties and scare people
who object to their agenda,”
she said.
38
31.3 29.8 29.7
30.9
of the plaintiffs’ legal costs,
they’re seeking the award in
part to deter similar arguments
in a future case, according to
the petition for attorney fees.
“An award of fees in this
case will discourage those
similarly situated to abandon
meritless claims and to con-
centrate on those issues which
they might impact in a respon-
sible way,” the petition said.
Mary Middleton, execu-
tive director of OSFF, said it
“would very negatively impact
us to pay attorney fees for the
other side,” but her attorneys
don’t think such an order
would have legal precedent.
By JOHN O’CONNELL
43.6
40.9 39.7
that the Whites lacked stand-
ing to fi le the lawsuit because
they were “hobby farmers”
who didn’t have a fi nancial
stake in growing GMOs.
Supporters of the ordinance
also argued that Oregon’s
pre-emption law was uncon-
stitutional because lawmakers
created a “regulatory void”
by disallowing local rules for
GMO crops without imposing
their own regulatory scheme.
Josephine County Circuit
Judge Pat Wolke rejected those
arguments and overturned the
GMO prohibition, fi nding that
the confl ict between state law
and the local ordinance “could
not be more clear.”
The plaintiffs’ attorneys are
now seeking $29,200 from the
intervenors, but not the county,
because several of their legal
claims “had no objectively
reasonable basis.”
For example, the interve-
nors cited no legal precedents
from Oregon to support their
argument that the pre-emption
statute was unconstitutional
and instead pointed to a ruling
from Ohio, the petition said.
Though the amount rep-
resents less than 20 percent
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Hop harvest at Roy Farms,
Moxee, Wash., Sept. 24, 2013.
Washington, Idaho and the
United States likely will harvest
record hop acreage in 2016.
ca and the Washington Hop
Commission, has said. That
trend is expected to contin-
ue to 2020, she has said.
In April, the Internation-
al Hop Growers Convention
in Paris estimated fall 2016
U.S. hop production at 97
million pounds, up from
80.2 million in 2015. Glob-
al production is expected
to increase from 190.4 mil-
lion pounds to 232 million
pounds.
The 2016 Northwest crop
looks good with normal pest
pressure but erratic weather
causing higher disease pres-
sure of downy and powdery
mildew, NASS said in a
June 10 news release. Wa-
ter supply is expected to be
adequate with junior water
right holders in the Yaki-
ma Basin, where most U.S.
hops are grown, to receive
86 percent of normal irriga-
tion water.
IDAHO FALLS — Bur-
ied up to his knees in grain,
Thresher Artisan Wheat em-
ployee Lamont Benford said
he could feel the pressure
against his legs intensifying
amid a June 9 engulfment ex-
ercise at the company’s local
grain elevator.
For two days, Thresher shut
down its seven Eastern Idaho
facilities to run 95 seasonal
and full-time workers through
rigorous safety training, exer-
cises company offi cials vow to
continue annually. The compa-
ny also intends to offer a fall
training for regional growers.
After Benford’s colleagues
pounded rescue tube panels
around him, Thresher Safe-
ty Manager Eric Neibauer
quizzed the trainees on the
proper tool to dig him out. He
explained a shovel would be
too cumbersome, given the
limited space within the tube,
and a spark from a vacuum
could cause the grain dust to
explode.
Before long, an employee
shouted the correct answer:
“His hard hat!”
Neibauer explained a panel
from the tube could also dou-
ble as a gurney.
In addition to engulfment
training, Thresher covered
safety topics including fall pro-
tection, working in confi ned
spaces and fi rst aid. Thresher
also tested employees’ hearing
and plans to work with its in-
surance carrier to assess which
areas of its facilities could ben-
efi t from new hearing protec-
tion requirements.
“Especially in the ag busi-
ness, safety is becoming a
bigger and bigger issue. Every
company is looking at zero
injuries,” said Thresher CEO
Don Wille. “Our people need
to get home in the same shape
in which they came to work
every day.”
Wille said the tempo-
rary workers had never been
through such a training.
“This is a time when
we’re not worried about the
customer,” Wille said. “At
the moment, we’re worried
about ourselves and getting
back into those good practic-
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Workers with Thresher Artisan Wheat pound panels of a rescue tube around their colleague, Lamont
Benford, during a June 9 engulfment training in Idaho Falls. Thresher closed its seven Eastern Idaho
facilities on June 9-10 for a comprehensive safety training.
es and good habits.”
Neibauer, whose position
was created in November, told
the workers a quarter of fall-re-
lated deaths that occurred in
2015 happened under 10 feet,
according to the Bureau of La-
bor Statistics. Thresher, which
purchased the regional Gen-
eral Mills facilities in April
2014, has implemented a new
requirement for fall protection
to be used at its Moreland, Ida-
ho, elevator.
“We will not have anybody
on a rail car without the prop-
er equipment,” Wille said.
To limit the risk of grain en-
gulfment, Neibauer explained,
Thresher has a prohibition on
workers making top entries
into grain bins, though he
stressed walls of bins may still
rupture or grain carts may tip.
Neibauer said Thresher
has avoided major accidents
but has taken precautions to
mitigate the risk of workers
slipping on ice due to a cou-
ple of recent injuries. Thresher
now spreads salt at its facilities
in winter and makes rubber
cleats available workers.
Neibauer said employees
are encouraged to stop any
operation if they have a safety
concern, and the company has
a policy of addressing reported
safety hazards within 30 days.
Corine Kingzio, who works
at Thresher’s Blackfoot facil-
ity, told superiors one of the
catwalks was too narrow, mak-
ing her uneasy while taking in-
ventory. The company quickly
remedied the problem.
“I feel so much safer,”
Kingzio said.
By GEORGE PLAVIN
EO Media Group
Pendleton Grain Growers
might be a thing of the past,
but its upcountry elevators
and Columbia River terminal
will remain open under new
ownership.
United Grain Corporation,
based in Vancouver, Washing-
ton, has agreed to buy all of
PGG’s grain assets including
facilities, contracts and inven-
tory. The deal was announced
Tuesday, though terms were
not disclosed.
PGG announced it would
try to sell its grain division in
October 2015, foreshadowing
the co-op’s fi nal collapse and
dissolution on May 2. Negoti-
ations continued with United
Grain, whose vice president
of business development,
Tony Flagg, used to head up
Pendleton Flour Mills.
United Grain is one of the
West Coast’s largest grain ex-
porters, owned by the Mitsui
Group of Japan. Mitsui is one
of the largest corporate groups
in the world, with a market
value of $22.5 billion, accord-
ing to Forbes. Rick Jacobson,
PGG general manager, said
United Grain will invest “a
signifi cant amount of money”
Kathy Aney/EO Media Group
Pendleton Grain Growers has
agreed to sell its grain division
to United Grain Corporation.
upgrading facilities around
Pendleton, something PGG
wasn’t able to do in recent
years.
“They will be looking for
speed and space to meet the
changing needs of the grow-
ers,” Jacobson said. “I think
this is going to be a step in the
right direction.”
Flagg did not return calls
Tuesday for comment. Unit-
ed Grain is in the process
of opening local offi ces and
has retained a majority of
PGG employees, according
to a press release from the
co-op. The sale comes about
a month ahead of wheat har-
vest for most Eastern Oregon
farms.
Tim Hawkins, chairman
of the PGG Board of Direc-
tors, said the deal with Unit-
ed Grain is the best possible
outcome for growers and the
community.
“Through the negotiated
agreement, (United Grain)
has voiced a commitment
to maintaining crucial oper-
ations as well as investing
in the long-term viability of
grain facilities,” Hawkins said
in a statement.
For PGG, it’s another
step forward in dissolving
the 86-year-old cooperative,
which had been synonymous
with the region’s agriculture.
Members voted to dissolve
PGG on May 2 following a
string of devastating fi nan-
cial losses that pointed to a
crisis of confi dence among
growers.
In 2012, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture suspend-
ed PGG’s grain warehouse
license for 44 days due to
auditing discrepancies. The
license was restored, but the
co-op discovered it had over-
stated earnings in 2010 and
2011 by a combined $7.5 mil-
lion. The East Oregonian has
requested public records from
the Farm Service Agency per-
taining to the case.
25-4/#6
PGG sells grain assets to United Grain Corporation