12 CapitalPress.com September 9, 2016 Flood CONTINUED from Page 1 The issue has pitted the south- western Idaho irrigation commu- nity against the Idaho Department of Water Resources, which claims it has counted flood control re- leases from Boise River reservoirs against storage rights since 1986. Irrigators say it’s a new practice and have challenged it in court. IDWR Deputy Director Mathew Weaver said the ruling vindicates Labor CONTINUED from Page 1 would decimate orchard and packing shed workforces. For the past 10 years, the McDougalls have been ex- panding their operation with more high-return managed apple varieties. They’ve in- vested multi-millions of dol- lars in new high-tech packing facilities and orchards to pro- duce over 5 million boxes of apples, pears and cherries an- nually. “We needed more tonnage to be competitive,” Scott Mc- Dougall said. As they expanded, labor became more of a problem. In late fall of 2011, the domestic labor supply was so scarce that McDougall hired 50 state prison inmates for two weeks to get about $1 million worth of Jazz apples picked. The bind prompted him the next year to accelerate his usage of H-2A workers. Since then he has spent $9 million on housing for the 700 H-2A workers that help with har- vest, but he feels small com- pared with Selah-based Zirkle Fruit Co., which according to the U.S. Department of Labor hired 2,889 H-2A guestwork- ers in 2015. Other companies also use a lot of H-2A guestworkers. The total in Washington may exceed 15,000 this year. “If we can smell the ex- haust of companies like Zirkle, Washington Fruit or Stemilt Growers I think we’re still in the game,” McDougall said with wry humor. Comparing candidates McDougall is a lifelong Republican. His father was a Republican state legislator from 1961 to 1973. McDougall isn’t fond of Trump but likes his business experience, “that he’s had to make payroll” and fears Clin- ton’s desire to raise taxes and turn to socialism is bad for agriculture and the U.S. econ- omy. “It literally forces a lot of people out of business and adds to unemployment. We need tax incentives for those who make investments and take high risks because that stimulates job growth,” he said. “You only have to look at European socialism to see it doesn’t work well.” On immigration, McDou- gall doesn’t mind having some illegal immigrants pay a fi ne, get work authorization and even a pathway to citi- zenship. But he doesn’t think legalizing them will help a lot because many of them al- ready work in other industries that pay more — or they will switch from agriculture once they’re legalized. He views improving the the department, which has been harshly criticized by some legis- lators and people in the irrigation community. “The way we have been doing accounting in the Boise system ... was upheld by the judge,” he said. “The department has done only what it was supposed to do here.” Wildman did rule in favor of ir- rigators on the issue of whether a water right exists for water that is stored in the reservoirs following flood control releases. Wildman ruled that the record clearly shows flood control re- leases occurred many times before 1971 “and that in all of those years, water identified by the (IDWR) di- rector as unaccounted for storage was diverted, stored and ultimately used by the irrigators for irrigation. ... Under the constitutional method, the diversion and use of such water is all that is necessary to complete the appropriation and obtain a vest- ed water right.” But Wildman’s flood control rul- ing was a blow to Treasure Valley irrigators, who have said the prac- ICE deportations from the U.S. Convicted criminal (Thousands of individuals, for fiscal years 2008-15) 409.8 389.8 392.9 396.9 368.6 369.2 31% 35% 235,413: Down 25.5% from FY ’14 55% 55% 80 (Fiscal years 1995-2015) 50% 45% ’10 ’11 Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Dept. of Homeland Security 45% ’12 41% ’13 44% ’14 Up 21.1% from 2011 0 1995 2000 2010 2015 Alan Kenaga/Capital Press 41% 2015 Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Honduras: 20,309 or 8.6% El Salvador: 21,920 or 9.3% Guatemala: 33,249 or 14.1% ICE removed individuals from the U.S. to 181 countries of origin in FY2015. Of the 235,413 deportations, more than 62 percent Mexico: were to Mexico, 146,132 with Guatemala, or 62.1% El Salvador and Honduras rounding out the top four. Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Dept. of Homeland Security Alan Kenaga/Capital Press H-2A guestworker program as more important, and he be- lieves Trump is more apt to do that. H-2A is expensive because employers have to provide housing, pay transportation between the work site and the country of origin and pay a higher minimum wage called the Adverse Effect Wage Rate — or often pay piece rates that are even higher. McDou- gall also questions the fair- ness of that pay rate going up every year based on increases domestic workers receive. McDougall likes that he gets about 80 to 90 percent of the same H-2A workers back every year. They like going home in winter and can earn as much in one month work- ing for him as they can make in Mexico in a year. On piece rate, many of them make the equivalent of $20 per hour. Even at that pay rate and advertising na- tionally, only 2 percent of his workers are domestic. “Over nine years of H-2A we’ve proven no one else will take these jobs,” he said. “Everyone talks about a $15 (per hour) mini- mum wage but it’s kind of mind-boggling to realize tree fruit is paying $20 and no one wants to do it,” he said. Other reactions “All that is certain is uncertainty,” said Chris Schlect, president of North- west Horticultural Council, Yakima, Wash. Comprehensive immigra- tion reform is more likely to happen with Clinton, but she is more likely to pro- mote unionization of H-2A workers while Trump would increase border control and possibly be more aggressive in sanctioning employers hiring illegal immigrants, Schlect said. “In my opinion, either one, if elected to office, would use executive power to advance their own immi- gration policy positions to the maximum extent allowed by federal courts,” he said. Craig Regelbrugge is se- nior vice president of Amer- icanHort, Washington, D.C., and was co-chairman of the Agricultural Coalition for Immigration Reform that worked on the 2013 Senate bill. “Once again the poli- tics are pretty much upside down. With Clinton it comes down to whether she will veer left in the direction of Bernie Sanders and Eliza- beth Warren or toward the pragmatic though shrinking middle where solutions will be found,” he said. The solution isn’t com- plicated, Regelbrugge said, it’s some kind of legal status and work authorization that gives farmworkers the in- centive to stay in agriculture for awhile and a “stream- lined, market-oriented” visa program. Trump, he said, appears to be putting a border wall and mandatory E-Verify ahead of improving the H-2A visa program. Kerry Scott, program manager at masLabor in Lovingston, Va., said he is not sure which candidate and party is more likely to do anything and fears noth- Chris Schlect Leon Sequeira ing will get done. The company is the lead- ing supplier of H-2A and non-agricultural H-2B for- eign guestworkers in the nation, providing 13,000 workers to 800 clients in 46 states. The company’s growth indicates a shortage of people willing to do “en- try-level, outdoor, dirty, hard work,” Scott said. Trump’s resorts in Flor- ida and New England use H-2B seasonal workers, and his family’s winery in Vir- ginia uses H-2A workers, Scott said. “We know he’s favorable to H-2A an H-2B. He’s said so. We have not heard any opinion on it from Secretary Clinton. We do know the administration she has been part of has made usage of H-2A and H-2B more diffi- cult than any administration has done,” he said. Deportations It’s impossible to deport 11 million people, as Trump talks about, and bring those needed back in fast enough to continue agricultural, landscape and other seasonal jobs, Scott said. “The destruction from that would be astronomical. I agree with him (Trump) that there has to be a way to separate the wheat from the chaff and I think there’s more wheat than chaff,” he said. It takes years for people on temporary worker status to get permanent worker sta- tus, he said. That’s why guest- worker programs are neces- sary relief valves, he said. Progress is more likely if Trump is elected with a Re- publican Congress than if Clinton is elected with a Re- publican Congress, he said. “It’s going to be hard to pull that lever, but I’ve been a Re- publican all my life. Right or wrong, I will vote for Trump. CAFO CONTINUED from Page 1 Environmental groups who submitted detailed comments were gener- ally as critical of Ecolo- gy’s proposal as the dairy industry. Ecology should re- quire diaries to line la- goons with synthetic ma- terial and install wells to monitor groundwater, the environmental groups suggested. Environmentalists also criticized Ecology for pro- posing to regulate some dairies under state laws, rather than the federal Clean Water Act, which allows groups to enforce pollution laws by suing dairies. The Washington Envi- ronmental Council urged Ecology to add a provision 2005 Source: U.S. Dept. of State 2015 ICE deportations by country of origin Other: 13,803 or 5.9% Don Jenkins/Capital Press A dairy cow eyes visitors to a farm in Whatcom County, Wash. The Washington State Dairy Federation warns new rules proposed by the Department of Ecology could force some dairies to close. allowing private parties to sue farmers. “In the event that government fails to act, the people of Washing- ton need a back-up plan,” according to the council. program, Gasperini said. Time with Trump 8,379 65% ’09 H-2A visas issued worldwide 40 59% 59% 2008 108,144 315.9 50% 56% 69% 120,000 visas Non-criminal immigration violator acre-feet less water to start the irri- gation season with. ... That’s a lot of water.” Batt said irrigators will like- ly decide in the next few weeks whether to appeal Wildman’s rul- ing to the Idaho Supreme Court or seek a legislative solution. Weaver said a settlement agree- ment between the parties is a valid third option. “There might be an opportuni- ty to push ‘pause’ and try to final- ize (a) settlement agreement,” he said. tice could have dire consequences for agriculture in the region. Water is released for flood con- trol from Boise River reservoirs during seven out of every 10 years. The amount released varies con- siderably from year to year. Nearly 300,000 acre-feet of water was re- leased from the reservoirs this year to prevent flooding. Under the accounting prac- tice allowed by Wildman’s ruling, Batt said, “If (300,000) acre-feet of water is released for flood con- trol, that means we have (300,000) Kerry Scott Tom Nassif I don’t think he refl ects our core values but he does more than Hillary. I’m more afraid of an effective Hillary than an ineffective Trump. That’s my opinion, not my company’s,” Scott said. Frank Gasperini Jr., ex- ecutive vice president of the National Council for Agricul- tural Employers, Vienna, Va., said both candidates present challenges. “One has to hope he would not really attempt to deport 11 million people. That would break not just agriculture but a huge portion of our econo- my,” Gasperini said. Reform may be possible if Trump has a Republican House and Senate and listens to experienced members, he said. “The biggest downsides to Trump are his total lack of governing and government experience and his unpredict- ability,” Gasperini said. Given Trump’s ag advis- ers, it’s unlikely his secre- tary of agriculture would be very knowledgeable about labor-intensive food produc- tion, he said. There’s also trade con- cerns, he said. Clinton would probably try immigration re- form in her fi rst half-year but may not get it with a Republi- can House, Gasperini said. “We must hope that if we see a Clinton presidency that both sides of the aisles in Congress will fi nally decide to work together for at least the first year and that their efforts will include either real reform that includes ag- riculture or at least substan- tial H-2A improvements,” he said. Clinton appointees would not provide any regulatory relief, he said. A real risk with either candidate is mandato- ry E-Verify without some transition period or im- provements in the H-2A The permit could ap- ply to any operation that confines livestock, but the stakes are especially high for dairies that con- fine large numbers of cows year-round. Dairies with few- er than 200 cows would be exempt from the rules. The dairy federation argues that farms have made great strides in pro- tecting groundwater and waterways in the past two decades under the state’s Dairy Nutrient Manage- ment Act, which is enforced by the state Department of Agriculture. Ecology estimates a CAFO permit would cost dairies between $11,000 and $25,000 over five years, depending on the size of the dairy. The federation, howev- er, says the estimate vast- ly understates crop loss- Tom Nassif, president and CEO of Western Growers in Irvine, Calif., met Trump at one of the candidate’s rallies in Fresno last May and rode on his plane with him to San Diego. They talked for 15 to 20 minutes, mainly about im- migration. Nassif was instrumental in reaching a compromise with the United Farm Work- ers to craft the 2013 Senate bill. Trump listened and com- mented how complicated the issue is when Nassif talked about the need for a new guestworker program to meet labor shortages and the need to give loyal, hard- working people a path to citizenship or legalization, Nassif said. “A president Trump would solve H-2A very quickly where I’m not sure Clinton would change it in any way. Organized labor would hold her back,” Nas- sif said. “I want to see im- migration reform, but I don’t think it’s proper to do it by executive order.” Clinton hostility Leon Sequeira, a Ken- tucky labor attorney and former assistant secre- tary of labor under Presi- dent George W. Bush, said Trump would be better for H-2A while Clinton would simply continue or expand the Obama administra- tion’s “hostile approach to- ward farmers and the H-2A program.” “The Democrats’ mis- guided strategy is to make the H-2A program unwork- able, rather than help farm- ers manage the agricultural labor crisis facing our coun- try,” Sequeira said. He was the main archi- tect of Bush administration changes to H-2A, many of which Obama ended. The biggest difference is probably Clinton’s desire to grant illegal immigrants citi- zenship and Trump’s refusal to do so, he said. The problem with the Democratic position is that it insists on citizenship when Congress has rejected that repeatedly, he said. “It’s an all-or-nothing proposition. So Clinton just continues to play pol- itics with the issue rather than looking for common ground,” Sequeira said. “Trump’s recent comments actually reflect an approach that has been support- ed by majorities of both parties.” In the long run, he said, what presidential candidates say is far less important than what Congress is willing to do. es caused by prohibitions against spreading manure within 100 feet of ditches in some cases. The federation also says dairies will need to expand lagoons or acquire land to store or dispose of manure because of prohibitions against spreading manure during non-growing sea- sons. “Applications in late winter and early spring are applications before the growing season, but are done to ensure the nutrients are in the right form, at the right place, at the right time, and in the right amount for growth during the growing season,” according to the federation. The federation also said the rules would contribute to the loss of farmland, contradicting a state law that requires the state to avoid regulating farmers out of business.