December 9, 2016 CapitalPress.com 7 Farm lobbyists to track issues during 2017 Idaho Legislature By SEAN ELLIS IFBF governmental affairs representatives recently asked members to alert them of any proposed rules they are con- cerned about. Voters in November ap- proved an amendment to the state constitution that solid- ifies the legislature’s ability to reject proposed rules and protects that right against po- tential court challenges. “I think now that (the amendment has) passed, leg- islators will be emboldened to take a finer tooth comb to re- viewing the rules,” said IFBF Director of Governmental Af- fairs Russ Hendricks. “There Capital Press BOISE — When the 2017 Legislature convenes next month, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation officials will have their radar focused on several issues that could impact agri- culture. First, they will be looking to stop any proposed rules that could be harmful to the state’s agricultural industry. Legislators typically spend the early part of each session reviewing rules proposed by state agencies and others. Lawmakers can accept or reject those temporary rules. are lots of rules rejected and it can be done. Let us know if there are any rules you have concerns about.” Farm Bureau will also fight any proposed changes to Idaho’s dyed fuel program if they are burdensome or un- fairly target agriculture, said Dennis Tanikuni, IFBF’s as- sistant director of governmen- tal affairs. Dyed fuel is exempt from state and federal fuel taxes and used heavily by the agriculture, construction, timber and min- ing industries. A bill that would have creat- ed a dyed fuel enforcement pro- gram in Idaho and allowed law enforcement officers to inspect vehicles for illegal use of the fuel failed to pass in 2016 but is expected to resurface in 2017. “We’re willing to sit down and talk about dyed fuel en- forcement but it’s got to be fair,” Tanikuni said. Farm Bureau will also track the development of a new East- ern Snake Plain groundwater management area created in November by the Idaho De- partment of Water Resources. “We’re not sure what that’s going to mean yet,” Hendricks said. “We are going to keep a close eye on ... how this evolves.” He encouraged members to report any concerns about it because Farm Bureau “wants to make sure there is nothing detrimental to agriculture.” IFBF will also push a bill that requires the legislature to take affirmative action on any minimum stream flows set by IDWR, said Braden Jensen, Farm Bureau’s energy and nat- ural resource specialist. Minimum flows set by the department go before the leg- islature but they go into effect even if the body doesn’t take affirmative action on them. “We want the legislature to say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’” Jensen said. IFBF will support a bill that will amend Idaho’s field burn- ing program but that legislation will be challenged by environ- mental groups, Jensen said. The change, proposed by the Idaho Department of En- vironmental Quality, is meant to avoid a large reduction in the number of allowable burn days for farmers due to a re- cent tightening of the national ozone standard. “We can definitely ex- pect that environmental groups will be lobbying against this proposal,” Jensen said. Appeals court tosses out Members of Congress push for more hops research Calif. egg rule challenge By DAN WHEAT Capital Press Capital Press A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by several state govern- ments against California’s rules for egg-laying chick- ens. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a decision by U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller that Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Ken- tucky and Iowa lack stand- ing to challenge the regula- tions in court. California voters ap- proved a ballot initiative in 2008 that prohibited egg farmers in the state from confining hens so they were unable to lie down, stand up and move about. In 2010, California law- makers extended those rules to eggs produced in other states but sold in California, which prompted a lawsuit by the governments of ma- jor egg-producing states. The state governments claimed California’s law unlawfully interfered with interstate commerce and was pre-empted by federal law. Mueller dismissed the lawsuit because the state governments didn’t have an interest in the California law apart from the interest of private chicken growers who could represent them- selves in court. The 9th Circuit has agreed with that reasoning, finding that negative effects on egg producers are not of the same scale as, for ex- ample, a health hazard that could affect large swathes of a state’s population. The impacts of Califor- nia’s law on egg prices in the other states are “remote” and “speculative,” while eggs are not of “central eco- nomic significance” to con- sumers, the court ruled. Prices for eggs may rise Capital Press File Cartons of eggs are on display at a California market. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has tossed out an appeal of the state’s chicken welfare law. if farmers in Missouri, Ne- braska, Oklahoma, Ala- bama, Kentucky and Iowa make significant changes to their operations to comply with the California law, the ruling said. On the other hand, if they fail to comply with the law, they would lose the Califor- nia market — potentially causing an internal over- supply and lowering prices to the benefit of consumers, according to the 9th Circuit. California’s law also isn’t unlawfully discrimi- natory because “California egg farmers are subject to the same rules as egg farm- ers from all other states, in- cluding California itself,” the ruling said. While upholding much of Mueller’s ruling, the 9th Circuit did reverse the judge’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, which meant it couldn’t be refiled. The plaintiff states could allege new facts that would show they have standing, so the 9th Circuit found their complaint should be dis- missed without prejudice. Dan Wheat/Capital Press Hops are harvested at Roy Farms near Moxee, Wash., in 2013. Members of Congress are asking the USDA to fund more research on hops. Commission in Moxee, Wash. The increase is important because would it means a research scientist will be de- voted full-time to hops rather than sharing the time with an- other crop, Brophy said. “There’s huge demand for new varieties and you can’t really bring out new varieties unless you have all the tech- nical profile, like chemical levels, ready that brewers are looking for,” she said. While several private hop breeding programs exist, the two largest-volume hop vari- eties, Cascade and Centenni- al, were developed by public programs. With growth of the craft brewing industry, consumers continue to demand new aro- ma and flavors so develop- ing new aroma hop varieties is important, the members of Congress wrote in their letter. The brewing industry gen- erated more than $250 bil- lion in economic activity in 2014, directly and indirectly employing more than 1.75 million Americans, the letter states. “This activity is only sus- tained through a healthy, sta- ble hop market,” the members wrote. Hop growers face a vari- ety of challenges, including mites, mildew, blights and other pests and development of new varieties that are pest- resistant and climate-tolerant would help increase yields and reduce pesticide use, they said. In 2015, Washington pro- duced 75 percent of the U.S. hop crop, followed by Oregon and Idaho. The three states produce about one-third of the world supply. Michigan and other states are also beginning to grow hops. “Developing new cli- mate-tolerant varieties could help expand commercial production putting growers closer to their customers and reducing the threat that a di- saster in the Pacific Northwest would affect U.S. and global supplies,” the members of Congress wrote. ROP-40-42-4/#17 By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI More than 100 members of Congress are asking the USDA to increase hop-related research to two full-time po- sitions so that new pest-resis- tant and climate-tolerant hop varieties may be developed faster. Reps. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.; Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.; Erik Paulsen, R-Minn.; and Chellie Pin- gree, D-Maine, led 100 other members in a Dec. 1 letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Under Secretary Cathie Woteki asking for the change. It would involve a realloca- tion of $200,000 to $300,000 in research funding and could be done administratively, Ne- whouse’s office said. The Agricultural Research Service within USDA current- ly has one research scientist for hop pathology in Corval- lis, Ore., and .7 of a position for genetic research on hops in the Lower Yakima Valley. The request is to make it a full-time position. “This is something we started working on a little while ago and it’s a process to get it done. It’s nice to have so many members of Con- gress supporting this,” said Jaki Brophy, spokeswoman for Hop Growers of Ameri- can and the Washington Hop 50-1/#7 Egg-producing states lack standing to challenge law on hen housing WATER The # # 1 Issue in the West! Capital Press Ag Weekly will focus on this most crucial resource in an award-winning special section. Publishes Feb. 3, 2017 This section will provide valuable background and an insightful look at the current water situation with a forecast of what may happen in the future. Reach our print and online readers by advertising in this special section. Ad space deadline is Jan. 6, 2017 ROP-50-4-1/#13 50-1/#4N