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January 13, 2017 CapitalPress.com Subscribe to our weekly dairy or livestock email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Dairy/Livestock Mexican veterinarians sue Idaho dairy Not yet served By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Six Mexican veterinarians are suing an Idaho dairy for human trafficking, racketeer- ing and breach of contract, al- leging they were fraudulently recruited to work as animal scientists but were instead forced to work as low-wage general laborers. The plaintiffs claim they were unlawfully lured to the U.S., arriving in late 2014, with false promises of profes- sional-level employment but instead were assigned such duties as milking and moving cows and cleaning cow pens. The lawsuit against Funk Dairy of Murtaugh, south- east of Twin Falls, also names Shoesole Farms of nearby Hansen; David Funk, owner of both farms; dairy manager Curtis Giles; attorney Jeremy Pittard, who arranged the vet- erinarians’ visas; and 10 yet- to-be-named individuals or entities “legally responsible in some manner.” It was filed Jan. 3 in U.S. District Court in Boise. The lawsuit alleges crimi- nal conspiracy to bring Mex- ican nationals to the U.S. il- legally for purposes of forced labor. It places Giles at the center of an alleged conspira- cy to evade U.S. immigration laws to fraudulently acquire general laborers under tempo- rary professional visas. Plaintiffs Cesar Marti- Capital Press File Holstein dairy cows are seen in this photo. Six Mexican veterinar- ians have sued an Idaho dairy farm alleging their were promised professional work but were assigned menial jobs. nez-Rodriguez, Dalia Padil- la-Lopez, Mayra Munoz-Lara, Brenda Gastelum-Sierra, Les- lie Ortiz-Garcia and Ricardo Neri-Camacho allege Giles told them Funk Dairy wanted them to “develop, implement and oversee effective animal reproduction, nutrition, ani- mal health and related dairy programs with the university studies they had received.” Allegations listed They claim defendants had no intention of providing professional work, threatened them with deportation and ex- ploited their fear, unfamiliarity with the American legal sys- tem, inability to speak English and their immigration status, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs are all li- censed veterinarians in their mid to late 20s and most were recent graduates, seek- ing more experience in their field, professional work and a chance to receive higher pay than they would in Mexico, said their attorney, Edgar Ivan Aguilasocho of Bakersfield, Calif. They were promised work as professionals, but were defrauded and co- erced into working as gen- eral laborers at the dairy, he alleged. “Very early on, they regis- tered their concerns both with the management at the dairy and the recruiter in Mexico, and those complaints fell on deaf ears,” he said. Dairy manager Giles said the dairy had not been notified of any lawsuit against it but of- fered the following statement: “We care for our employees and do our best to ensure they are well taken care of in all as- pects of their employment.” Pittard, a public defense and immigration attorney in Burley, also said he had not yet been served. He said Funk was not a cli- ent before approaching him to look into visas to bring in an- imal scientists to work on the dairy and he helped with the process to make sure they got the proper visas to enter the country lawfully and legally. “This is all coming out of left field. All I did was help some guys get visas and that’s about it,” he said. The dairy has a good repu- tation and is run by good peo- ple, he said. “What’s frustrating about this whole thing is they’re try- ing to get a legal workforce, and this comes out,” he said. Pittard said he assumes the lawsuit stems from disgruntled workers who weren’t expect- ing dairy work to be so hard and trying to get something out of it, as well as an out-of-state law firm looking for big mon- ey, he said. “It blows me away just what’s alleged and how they’re trying to tie me into it,” he said. The plaintiffs, who were recruited through three uni- versities in Mexico, also al- lege Giles promised to provide transportation to Idaho, trans- portation to and from work and living accommodations. Promises made? They allege he also prom- ised an opportunity to earn higher than their $10-an-hour wage after an undetermined period and promised a $2,000 bonus, one week of paid va- cation and cost of travel to Mexico after one year of em- ployment. The plaintiffs claim none of those promises material- ized and they worked as gen- eral laborers 9 to 14 hours a day, six days a week in “high- ly unhygienic” working and eating areas and were not provided adequate protective gear or bathroom facilities. One of the veterinarians left within the first year, and the five others were terminat- ed after one year, despite hav- ing been offered three years of employment, Aguilasocho said. It is still unclear why they were terminated, he said. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary and pu- nitive damages. “More than anything, they want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else recruit- ed for work in the U.S.,” Agu- ilasocho said. USDA moves to dismiss HSUS pork trademark lawsuit By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press USDA filed a motion last week in U.S. District Court to dismiss a years-old lawsuit the Humane Society of the United States filed against the agency for approving the 2006 sale of the Nation- al Pork Producers Council’s “Other White Meat” trade- marks to the National Pork Board. HSUS — joined in the lawsuit by an Iowa farmer and Iowa Citizens for Com- munity Improvement — filed the lawsuit in 2012 alleging misappropriation of pork checkoff funding, claiming the trademarks were overval- ued and seeking to have the $35 million sale rescinded. In its motion, USDA ar- gues the lawsuit lacks merit, the plaintiffs failed to estab- lish standing or show they were harmed by the sale and the trademarks provided sig- nificant value to the pork in- dustry — well above the sale price. The agency also argues the lawsuit is barred by the six-year statute of limitations. “We’re certainly pleased that USDA has done this, but quite frankly it should have done it a long time ago,” said Dave Warner, NPPC director of communications. USDA’s previous han- dling of the lawsuit, in which it entered into settlement talks with HSUS in Decem- ber 2015 before arguing the case, rankled pork producers. NPPC members responded by approving a resolution in March 2016 calling on USDA to uphold the sale and defend the checkoff, he said. At that time, a spokesman for the Department of Justice told Capital Press the litiga- tion had been stayed pending USDA’s review of the Pork Board’s contract for the pur- chase of the trademarks and that there were no ongoing settlement discussions with any party during USDA’s in- dependent review. The joint stipulation re- questing the stay was filed in court Dec. 23, 2015, and granted Jan. 6, 2016, with US- DA’s decision on its approval of the contract following the review due by the beginning of May 2016. USDA initially defended the sale, filing a motion to dismiss in January 2013. The District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the case for lack of standing in September 2013, but in Au- gust 2015 a U.S. Court of Ap- peals ruled the Iowa farmer does have standing and rein- stated the case. The appeals court only ruled that the farmer had standing; the merits of the case hadn’t been argued when USDA entered into settlement talks, Warner said. “No one even knows if he’s a hog pro- ducer or paid into the check- off.” The first thing government lawyers should have done is argue that the plaintiffs don’t have standing. Rather than that happening, USDA en- tered into settlement talks, he said. “Pork producers were ticked off,” he said. Courtesy of Whatcom Family Farmers Lummi Nation Chairman Timothy Ballew II, left, and Mitch Moorlag of Edaleen Dairy talk during a sign- ing ceremony forming the Portage Bay Partnership on Jan. 5 at the Lummi reservation in Whatcom County, Wash. Dairies pledged to work with the tribe to manage manure, while the tribe promised to hold back on suing over contaminated shellfish beds. Washington dairies and Lummi tribe sign accord Sides avert court battle in agreement By DON JENKINS Capital Press Seven northwest Washing- ton dairies have pledged to step up efforts to keep manure from spoiling Lummi Nation shellfish beds, while the tribe has agreed to pull back on plans to sue. Dairies also will compen- sate the tribe with nearly $1.2 million for beds closed by bacteria since 2014 in Portage Bay in Whatcom County. Over the next several months, the tribe and dair- ies will try to out work wa- ter-quality improvement plans for the farms. The agreement gives the seven dairies a reprieve from costly litigation and a fo- rum to improve long-term relations with the tribe, said Ferndale dairyman Rich Ap- pel, who helped negotiate the accord. “We’ve never had what I call a working relationship, where we can negotiate and come to an agreement and get things settled,” Appel said. “This takes some risk off the table now and maybe more later.” The Nooksack River car- ries bacteria from many urban and rural sources into the bay, according to state and coun- ty officials. There are dozens of dairies in the watershed, but the seven that signed the agreement forming the Por- tage Bay Partnership were under the most scrutiny by the tribe. The tribe retained Eugene, Ore., lawyer Charlie Tebbutt, the lead attorney in a suit filed against the Cow Palace Dairy and several other Yakima Val- ley dairies. A settlement last year cost the dairies millions of dollars. The tribe preferred to work with the Whatcom Coun- ty dairies as fellow farm- ers, Lummi Indian Business Council policy analyst Jeffrey James said. “Our intention wasn’t to put small businesses out of business,” he said. “We want to build a better relationship. We’re both harvesters.” The memorandum, signed by the tribe and dairies at the Lummi reservation, capped 15 months of negotiations. Appel credited the tribe’s chairman, Timothy Ballew II, with intervening last fall to move forward stalled negoti- ations. Ballew and three members of the tribe’s business council sat down with four farmers to work out the agreement, with- out lawyers. Idaho livestock research facility back in spotlight By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press The University of Idaho is leading an effort to establish a state-of-the-art livestock re- search facility, a project pro- posed a decade ago but side- lined by the recession. The university has com- missioned a consulting team to perform a feasibility study. The results of that study are due mid-January and will dic- tate how the project moves forward. Commitment to the facili- ty “never actually went away. We were on a long hold,” said John Foltz, the university’s special assistant to the pres- ident for agricultural initia- tives. The project gained re- newed vigor with the arrival of Chuck Staben, the univer- sity’s newest president, who took office in March 2014. Because agriculture is so im- portant to Idaho and the state has risen to the third-largest milk producer in the nation, he recognized the importance of the facility and the need to support the industry and help with the challenges, Foltz said. Idaho’s dairy industry has experienced phenomenal growth, and the land-grant university hasn’t kept up, he said. The research center has gone through several name changes and mission state- ments along a path to fruition to arrive at the current initia- tive for the Center for Agri- culture, Food and the Envi- ronment (CAFE). 15 A large part of its focus will be on dairy production and everything surrounding it. Numerous lawsuits involving manure management, includ- ing those in the Yakima Valley of Washington state, have fu- eled interest in research aimed at sustainability, he said. Manure management, nu- trient management and add- ing value to byproducts while addressing long-term water issues are some of the big challenges facing the industry and issues the research facili- ty will be modeled to address, he said. A full blueprint has not yet been drawn, but prelimi- nary plans are for a 1,500- to 2,000-cow dairy with appro- priate acreage to house a live- stock/crop operation, he said. “All of this depends on how successful we are in the financial package,” he said. The current proposal is for a $45 million project, with $15 million each coming from the state, the university and the industry. “That’s our goal. Whether or not we realize that … re- mains to be seen,” he said. But key lawmakers are ready to go to bat for the proj- ect this legislative session, the governor has indicated sup- port and university officials have called it a key priority, he said. If funded, the university is looking at a five-year plan- ning process. The plan is to locate the facility within 20 miles of the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, but that will de- pend on land availability. It’s not been determined whether an existing facility will be purchased and retrofit- ted or the project will be built from the ground up, he said. The plan is for the facil- ity to function like an indus- try-size dairy in Idaho, with all the benefits and challenges of a modern western dairy, said Rick Naerebout, director of operations for the Idaho Dairymen’s Association. There is no other research facility on the scale of western dairies or doing research in an arid western climate, he said. Key legislators are sup- portive and seem optimistic that a request for state funding could be successful, he said. “They like the concept and the idea of bringing this back to life … the feasibility study will be key,” he said. Dairy Markets Lee Mielke Dairy markets seeking direction By LEE MIELKE For the Capital Press C ash dairy prices started the new year looking for direction. Cheddar block cheese closed the first Friday of 2017 at $1.67 per pound, up a penny on the holiday-shortened week and 21 cents above a year ago. The barrels closed at $1.5750, down 2 1/2-cents on the week and 3 1/2-cents above a year ago. Prices were unchanged Monday, with four bids of bar- rel at $1.5650 going unfilled. The blocks jumped a nickel Tuesday hitting $1.72, while the barrels were up 5 1/2-cents, to $1.63, 9 cents below the blocks. Milk remains available for Midwestern cheese producers, reports Dairy Market News, but milk prices are beginning to in- crease following the discounted holiday influx. Cheese demand, which was slow the last week of 2016, was better than expected New Year’s Week. Butter gave up 4 3/4-cents last week, falling to $2.22 per pound, but 18 1/2-cents above a year ago. Twenty-one cars were sold. A rebound came Monday, jumping 8 cents to $2.30, but held there Tuesday. Central butter production is active due to the availability of cream following the holidays. With many schools reopening, butter producers face readily available cream from bottlers and much of it is clearing to churns. Retail butter demand is seasonally slow, while food ser- vice remains steady to slightly slower. Inventories are steady to building. Cash Grade A nonfat dry milk closed Friday at $1.0525 per pound, up 3 1/4-cents on the week, the highest spot price since March 4, 2015, and 31 cents above a year ago. The powder dropped 3 1/2-cents Monday but inched back a quarter-cent Tuesday to $1.02. Milk prices differ Benchmark milk prices in California and federal orders ended 2016 in different direc- tions. The Agriculture Depart- ment announced the December FO Class III price at $17.40 per hundredweight, up 64 cents from November, $2.96 above a year ago, and the highest Class III since December 2014. It is 81 cents above California’s comparable Class 4b price. It equates to $1.50 per gallon, up from $1.44 in November and $1.24 a year ago. That put the 2016 Class III average at $14.87, down from $15.80 in 2015 and $22.34 in 2014, and the lowest annual av- erage since 2010. Monday’s Class III futures portended a January Class III at $16.62, February at $17.14, and March at $17.29, with a peak of $17.82 in September. The December FO Class IV price is $14.97, up $1.21 from November but 55 cents below a year ago. Its 12-month average is $13.77, down from $14.35 in 2015 and $22.09 in 2014. California’s December Class 4b cheese milk price was $16.59 per cwt., down 86 cents from November but $3.69 above a year ago. The 2016 average is $14.27, down from $14.47 in 2015 and $19.93 in 2014, and the lowest since 2010. The 4b trailed the FO Class III price by an average of 71.6 cents in 2016, ranging from a high of $1.39 in May to a low of 19 cents in June. But the No- vember 4b price topped the FO price by 69 cents for the first time since December 2009. The 2016 lag average is down from $1.33 in 2015 and $2.41 in 2014.
