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8 CapitalPress.com January 27, 2017 Oregon ‘Right to farm’ law among targets in Oregon Legislature By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press SALEM — Agribusi- ness groups have cheered the Trump administration’s vow to roll back federal regula- tions but they continue to fear overreach by the state govern- ment in Oregon. With Democrats con- trolling the Oregon Legisla- ture and the governor’s of- fice, farm lobbyists said they expect new threats to emerge during the 2017 legislative session. Despite optimism at the national level, the political cli- mate in Oregon “sucks some of the air out of the room,” said Katie Fast, executive di- rector of the Oregonians for Food and Shelter agribusiness group. Though Republicans Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press File Katie Fast, left, executive director of the Oregonians for Food and Shelter agribusiness group, speaks with Jenny Dresler of the Oregon Farm Bureau about the legislative session. picked up one seat in the state Senate during last year’s elec- tion, they’re still a minority in both legislative chambers and several moderate-leaning Democrats have left their po- sitions, Fast said during the 2017 Ag Summit, organized by the Dunn Carney law firm. One proposal to be consid- ered during the upcoming leg- islative session, Senate Bill 499, would remove protec- tions for pesticide usage from the state’s “Right to Farm and Forest Law,” which prohibits lawsuits and local ordinanc- es against common farming practices, she said. “It’s a big attack on the whole program,” said Fast. Another piece of legis- lation — House Bill 2469 — would effectively allow Josephine County to ban ge- netically engineered crops, she said. State law pre-empts local governments from regu- lating such crops, but includes an exception for Jackson County. Lawmakers will also be asked to consider Senate Bill 500, which removes the re- quirement that people notify the Oregon Department of Agriculture before filing law- suits that allege damage from pesticides, Fast said. Though bills have yet to be introduced, Oregonians for Food and Shelter also expects legislation that would impose new notification requirements for pesticide spraying as well as restrictions on neonicoti- noid insecticides, she said. Labor advocates succeed- ed in getting paid sick leave and minimum wage increases passed during recent legis- lative sessions, and will turn their aim to new policy pro- posals in 2017, said Jenny Dresler, state public policy director for the Oregon Farm Bureau. Under House Bill 2193, for example, large employers would have to provide “pre- dictable scheduling” under which workers would be paid “penalty wages” if their shifts change with less than two weeks’ notice. While smaller-scale em- ployers wouldn’t be subject to the requirement, their workers would have the right to offer input on their work schedules under the bill. It’s also likely that labor advocates will propose a 1 percent payroll tax to pay for a statewide family and medi- cal leave policy for workers, Dresler said. Farms and other busi- nesses will be pushing for transportation funding that would alleviate congestion and reduce the time their products get to market, said Jeff Stone, executive direc- tor of the Oregon Associa- tion of Nurseries. However, there may not be “enough oxygen” for such a proposal given the need to fill the state’s $1.7 billion budget hole, Stone said. “You may not be able to get both.” Wallowa County ranch to adopt new water conservation practices Flows to benefit both farm and fish By GEORGE PLAVEN EO Media Group A Wallowa County ranch figures to save 1 billion gal- lons of water annually through a series of conservation proj- ects, such as adding sprinklers and forgoing irrigation during peak summer months. The Freshwater Trust, an environmental nonprofit with offices in Portland, announced it is working with Wolfe Ranch to upgrade irrigation infrastructure, transfer points of diversion and lease water rights on the farm to benefit endangered salmon in the Los- tine River. Funding comes from a $1.4 million grant awarded by the Oregon Water Resources De- partment. Irrigation upgrades are also expected to boost crop yields by 5 to 20 percent on the ranch. Courtesy photo by Leon Werdinger The confluence of the Lostine and Wallowa rivers in Oregon’s Wallowa Valley. “We’ve formed lasting relationships with dozens of farmers and ranchers who un- derstand conservation isn’t just about protecting fish,” said Aaron Maxwell, flow resto- ration project manager for The Freshwater Trust, who works in Enterprise. “It’s about the longevity of their farms, econ- omies and entire communi- ties.” Nearly 1,100 acres of for- age and grain crops will be converted to pivot sprinklers as opposed to flood irrigation at the ranch — which Maxwell compared to the difference between letting your hose run into the yard, or watering just the section that needs it most. “In the face of present and future water scarcity, mod- ernizations like this will only become more imperative,” he said. Ditching flood irrigation may also have a positive ef- fect on water quality, Maxwell said, reducing the amount of standing water in fields that can become contaminated with sediment, bacteria and toxins before draining back into streams. Water saved through the irrigation upgrades will be transferred back into the Los- tine River, which harbors sum- mer chinook and steelhead populations. Wolfe Ranch will also voluntarily abstain from irrigating in August and Sep- tember, when the river reaches critically low water levels. The changes may allow Wolfe Ranch, a sixth-gener- ation family operation, to be- gin growing more high-value food crops, which could have a ripple effect down the entire Wallowa County agricultural industry. Local businesses are already slated to provide ap- proximately $2 million in con- struction materials and labor. “Production and economics must always be taken into con- sideration with projects like these,” Maxwell said. “This will have positive implications for the landowner and the local economy.” The Freshwater Trust has been working with farms and ranches on the Lostine River for more than a decade, Max- well said, after chinook runs were nearly wiped out in the 1990s. The organization was also awarded $114,265 from the Water Resources Depart- ment last year to study wheth- er irrigation efficiencies could help protect salmon on upper Catherine Creek in Union County. Woody Wolfe, owner of Wolfe Ranch, said water scar- city and quality issues aren’t going to simply go away. “Projects like this help further the responsible use of our natural resources while benefiting the environment,” Wolfe said. 4-4/#4