February 3, 2017
CapitalPress.com
7
Harsh winter challenges Idaho dairies
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
A string of winter storms
delivering blowing snow
and sub-zero temperatures
has wreaked havoc on Idaho
dairies.
“We’re
just
surviv-
ing,” Wendell dairyman
Tony VanderHulst said on
Monday.
“We’re doing what we
can to keep cows comfort-
able, employees motivated
and keep them (cows) warm
and fed,” he said. “It’s been
a rough one. I’ve been here
since 2001, and it’s the first
really big, big, big winter
I’ve seen.”
The first storm rolled in
around Thanksgiving, and
it’s been going ever since.
The snow keeps coming, and
everything’s turning to ice,
he said.
“We’re using a lot of ex-
tra straw to keep cows from
slipping (and) to keep them
comfortable,” he said.
The dairy typically uses
one bale of straw per cow
during the winter, but that’s
up to about 1-1/2 bales this
winter. He’s also had to add
more protein to the feed ra-
tion to compensate for cows
using more energy to main-
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press
Cows at the Bokma Dairy take a sunny break on Jan. 30 after
weeks of snow storms and extreme temperatures.
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press
Willie Bokma enjoys a little sunshine at his dairy south of Twin Falls, Idaho, on Jan. 30. “It’s really
stressful on cows when it is this cold for this long,” he said.
tain their body heat.
But the harsh conditions
are still taking a toll. It’s
stressing cows’ immune sys-
tems, making them more sus-
ceptible to mastitis and pneu-
monia, he said.
“There’s a lot more cows
going to beef because of the
weather,” he said.
South of Twin Falls, Wil-
lie Bokma is dealing with
his share of challenges as
well. His cull numbers are up
about 15 percent from a typi-
cal winter, with more mastitis
and frozen teats taking a toll.
“For sure, we’re losing
more than regular. It’s really
stressful on cows when it is
this cold for this long,” he
said.
The cold and snow have
been steady on his place
since late December.
Icy conditions have caused
cows to slip in alleyways,
and he lost quite a few during
the slick days. He’s also lost
quite a few baby calves to ex-
tremely cold nights.
“It’s hard to keep an eye
on cows calving and get them
to warm areas,” he said.
Getting around the dairy
has also been challenging.
He’s had to fight to keep
county roads open for em-
ployees and milk trucks,
working day and night at
times, and keep feed bunks
clear and corrals as dry as
possible.
Near Wendell, snow has
been blowing over the north/
south roads. Pushing it off is
creating snow piles as tall as
six feet in some spots. The
problem is there are only so
many snow plows. Counties
are relying on farmers to help
keep roads clear, Vander-
Hulst said.
For now, mud isn’t a prob-
lem. But it will be when the
snow starts to thaw, he said.
Bokma hopes the thaw
comes slowly. He has the
means to control both run-
off from his farm and run-in
from higher ground, but it will
be challenging if it melts too
quickly, he said.
Nonetheless, both dairy-
men are grateful for the snow.
“We need it, we need the
water,” VanderHulst said.
“We have plenty of mois-
ture coming to the mountains
east of us; that’s good. You
have to keep positive,” Bok-
ma said.
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
The border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico. Observers say work on
immigration reform bills likely will start soon in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
Immigration reform likely
to be piecemeal effort
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
ELLENSBURG, Wash. —
Work on immigration reform
bills likely will start soon in
the U.S. House of Represen-
tatives, as the Senate will be
busy considering President
Donald Trump’s Supreme
Court nominee and Cabinet
appointments, a labor attor-
ney and former Bush admin-
istration official says.
Leon Sequeira, assis-
tant secretary of labor under
President George W. Bush,
spoke Jan. 26 at the annual
Workforce Summit of WAF-
LA, formerly the Washington
Farm Labor Association, at
Central Washington Universi-
ty in Ellensburg,
“A comprehensive reform
approach you can bet on not
happening,” Sequeira said,
noting comprehensive efforts
“failed spectacularly” in the
Bush years in 2006 and 2007
and in 2013 during the pres-
idency of Barack Obama,
“who never lacked for self
confidence.”
A piecemeal approach of
enforcement bills regarding a
U.S.-Mexican border wall and
security is likely to start soon
followed by domestic enforce-
ment, including mandatory
E-Verify (electronic verifica-
tion of employment eligibili-
ty), he said.
“Once they clear out im-
migration and enforcement
issues there’s a chance you
could see some reforms of
visa programs, particularly in
agriculture because there is a
well-documented shortage of
workers,” he said.
The shortage is well under-
stood by legislators, he said.
However, Frank Gasperini
Jr., executive vice president
of National Council for Agri-
cultural Employers, has said
labor-intensive agriculture is
very concerned that E-Veri-
fy will devastate their work-
force if not accompanied by
guestworker reform and legal
status for illegal domestic
workers.
House Judiciary Commit-
tee Chairman Robert Good-
latte, R-Va., will be the driv-
ing and controlling force, and
any H-2A agricultural visa
reforms likely will follow his
HR 1773 bill of two years ago,
Sequeira said.
That bill moved adminis-
tration of H-2A from the De-
partment of Labor to the De-
partment of Agriculture and
changed the name to H-2C. It
broadened the definition of ag-
riculture to include processing
and activities that are currently
on the edge of eligibility.
“It contained significant re-
forms to housing requirements
and made the program more
user-friendly so you don’t have
to hire a lawyer before you hire
a farmworker,” he said.
It also provided legal work
status for illegal immigrants
in the country without giving
them citizenship, he said.
Allocating visas by state is
being talked about and requir-
ing electronic processing of ap-
plications by agencies, he said.
Dan Fazio, WAFLA di-
rector, said he doesn’t think
immigration reform will pass
this year or next because Dem-
ocrats want a comprehensive
bill and Republicans don’t.
That leaves regulatory reform
by agencies as the only relief,
he said.
But Sequeira said Repub-
licans have political pressure
to act. He said they will pass
something in the House and the
only question will be whether
it can make it past Democratic
opposition in the Senate.
Trade associations are busy
formulating their immigration
approaches for the administra-
tion and Congress, and a big
part of what happens depends
on who ends up in sub-cabi-
net secretary positions in key
departments, Sequeira said.
He said he’s not looking for a
position, being very busy with
current clients.
The Trump administration
likely will end Obama’s “ex-
treme hostility” to H-2A and
deficiency notices on non-sub-
stantive issues, he said.
It’s interesting, he said,
that the federal government
has programs like H-2A
geared to alleviating farm-
worker shortages while it has
other programs designed to
help farmworkers find other
employment.
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