Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2016)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016 VOLUME 89, NUMBER 32 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 FEELING THE CRUNCH RUSSIAN IMPORT BAN WREAKS HAVOC ON WORLD APPLE MARKET Producers scramble for alternative buyers By DAN WHEAT Capital Press R ussian President Vladimir Putin’s de- cision to slap a two-year embargo on the importation of apples and other fresh fruits and vegetables from the European Union and the U.S. is still reverberating through global markets. Putin announced the ban Aug. 7, 2014, in re- taliation for Western economic sanctions against Russia for its seizure of Crimea and aggression in Ukraine. On June 29, he extended the embar- go through next year. Before the embargo, Russia was the world’s lead- ing importer of fresh apples. Now its apple purchases — from growers in non-embargoed na- tions — have plummet- ed by nearly half. Within the apple in- dustry, the embargo has wreaked havoc on exports and created an oversupply Dan Wheat/Capital Press of apples worldwide that’s Workers thin Gala apples July 14 pressuring growers, packers at a Zirkle Fruit Co.’s orchard near and marketers, particularly Rock Island, Wash. in Eastern Europe. “It’s like a little wart on our fi nger, one more thing to deal with. But for Poland it’s a dagger in the heart,” said Desmond O’Rourke, owner of the consulting fi rm Belrose Inc. in Pullman, Wash. He’s a retired Washington State University agricultural economist with 40-plus years of experience tracking the world apple industry. Illustration by Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Turn to APPLES, Page 12 “It took us 10 years of pain to reduce our industry from the Asian crisis. Grower-by-grower and packer-by-packer decisions. Europe and Poland will go through the same painful process.” Desmond O’Rourke, owner of Belrose Inc. Japan, S. Korea suspend U.S. wheat until new test in place By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press Japan and South Korea will defer new purchases of U.S. wheat until they can im- plement a new test for geneti- cally engineered wheat, a U.S. Wheat Associates spokesman says. Twenty-two genetically engineered wheat plants were found in a fallow Washing- ton state fi eld. The discov- ery is under investigation by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Japan’s Ministry of Agri- culture, Forestry and Fisher- ies deferred new purchases of Western white wheat — a blend of soft white wheat and subclass club wheat pro- duced in the Pacifi c North- west for customers in Japan and Taiwan — until the new test could be put into place. It should take two to three weeks for Japan to implement the test, according to U.S. Wheat. The South Korean gov- ernment is holding any U.S. wheat from mills until it can implement the new test. With the test materials already in the country, the South Korean government is expected to start testing U.S. wheat as soon as this week, half of August and are expect- ed to be unloaded and distrib- uted under normal conditions. There have been no addi- tional restrictions or requests for testing from other coun- tries, Mercer said. Different variety AP Photo/James A. Finley, File The entrance to the Monsanto Co. headquarters in St. Louis is seen in a fi le photo. Twenty-two plants of a variety of genetically modifi ed wheat developed by the company have been found in a fallow fi eld in Washington state. said Steve Mercer, vice pres- ident of communications for U.S. Wheat Associates. The next ships carrying U.S. wheat will arrive in South Korea in the second APHIS announced the dis- covery of the genetically en- gineered wheat plants on July 29. The wheat was developed by the Monsanto Co. and called MON 71700. It was evaluated in a limited num- ber of fi eld trials in the Pacifi c Northwest from 1998 to 2001 but never commercialized, ac- cording to Monsanto. “Any answer to how these plants got into a fallow fi eld would be speculative at this point,” said Charla Lord, spokesperson for Monsanto. “The USDA requested Mon- santo’s technical support in this matter and we will con- tinue to help them as needed.” MON 71700 contains the same inserted DNA as MON 71800, which was found in an Eastern Oregon fi eld in the spring of 2013. An APHIS investigation was unable to pinpoint the source of that wheat. The DNA is in a different genomic position, ac- cording to Monsanto. Turn to WHEAT, Page 12 Publicity sank What’s Upstream plan to tap social media Organizers planned petition to regulate farmers By DON JENKINS Capital Press A Seattle lobbying fi rm was poised to tap social media to rally grass-roots support for new re- strictions on Washington farmers when the Environmental Protec- tion Agency pulled back its sup- port of the advocacy campaign, according to newly released EPA records. The records, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act re- quest, also disclose that the EPA purportedly spent $655,529 over fi ve years on What’s Upstream, a bid by the Swinomish Indian tribe and several environmental groups to impose mandatory 100-foot buffers between farm fi elds and waterways. The EPA disowned the cam- paign in April after some federal lawmakers condemned its tone and purpose. Most of the EPA money went to Strategies 360, which was hired by the tribe with a feder- al grant originally awarded to the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. The firm crafted a media campaign beginning in 2011. In late March, it recommended Courtesy of Save Family Farming posting a petition on change.org to obtain contact information of This billboard, since removed, near Bellingham, Wash., people likely to support manda- was part of the What’s Upstream campaign funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. News stories about tory buffers. its involvement in the campaign caused the EPA to nix a Turn to UPSTREAM, Page 12 plan to tap social media to further its objectives. EVER WONDERED WHAT TO DO WITH THAT OLD, WORN OUT COMMODITY TRAILER? Our Rebin Program can turn your old trailer into a new trailer! We will remove all working mechanical parts, and replace the bin with a new Stainless Steel STC Bin on your existing running gear. All parts deemed reusable are reinstalled on the new bin. All of this at the fraction of the cost of a new trailer! 32-1/#16 WWW.STCTRAILERS.COM 494 W. Hwy 39 Blackfoot, ID 83321 208-785-1364
