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FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017 VOLUME 90, NUMBER 9 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 T AKING R OOT Marijuana growers consider themselves farmers, even if their ‘fi elds’ are warehouses and their crops are still against federal law By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press S ALEM — Danny Grimm shares many of the con- cerns familiar to produc- ers throughout the Pacifi c Northwest and Northern California. Start with federal regulatory over- reach, because the recent, undefi ned rumblings out of the Trump adminis- tration about “greater enforcement” are enough to give anyone pause. Throw in questions about water quality and nutrient inputs, plus a complicated infrastructure of pumps, water lines and electrical controls that Grimm and his employees must maintain. And don’t forget pests. Like many producers he’d rather not use chemical insecticides, and so far he’s protecting his crop with battalions of predator mites, ladybugs and benefi - cial nematodes. “Once you’re having problems, if you don’t know how to fi x it, bugs will eat you alive,” Grimm said. The biggest issue is market uncer- tainty. Farmers are always looking for the next big thing, and a lot of people are jumping in to meet the demand. But what looks like a gold rush now could go south if over-supply drops the price. Grimm said scaling up production will be the biggest challenge for small producers. “It goes like any other industry,” he said. “There will be people who fail and people who make it — people who are able to scale up and keep the quality.” Eric Mortenson/Capital Press Vendor Jenny Argie, left, of Brooklyn, rubs pain relieving medical cannabis lotion on Brian Bergmann’s hand during the recent Cannabis Collaborative Conference in Portland. The lotion is infused with non-psychoactive CBD oil, or cannabidiol, extracted from pot plants. Eric Mortenson/Capital Press Uplifted Farm owner Danny Grimm won a pair of blue ribbons at the Oregon State Fair for the cannabis he grows in a Salem industrial area. The state’s growers consider themselves farmers and a new sector of agriculture, and the state agrees. Turn to POT, Page 12 Washington commission confi rms What’s Upstream stayed within state law Specific policy, but no specific bill Capital Press OLYMPIA — The Wash- ington Public Commission ruled Feb. 23 that What’s Up- stream organizers did not en- gage in unreported lobbying of state lawmakers, clearing the advocacy campaign fund- ed by the Environmental Pro- tection Agency of one allega- tion of wrongdoing. The three-member citizens panel adopted the staff’s con- clusion that the push to ban farming within 100 feet of water fell short of lobbying. The commission voted to take no enforcement action, a rec- ommendation that will go to the state attorney general’s offi ce for review. PDC Executive Director Evelyn Fielding Lopez said “reasonable minds” could dif- fer on the fi nding, especially since What’s Upstream pro- vided supporters with form letters encouraging lawmak- ers to impose mandatory buf- fers. A PDC investigator said he couldn’t determine wheth- er a website link to the letter Don Jenkins/Capital Press Washington Public Disclosure Commission Executive Director Evelyn Fielding Lopez talks to the commission at a meeting Feb. 23 in Olympia. alone cost more than $1,400, the threshold for triggering re- porting requirements. A bigger point for the PDC staff was that the letter and other elements of the cam- paign didn’t mention a specif- ic bill. Lopez said there wasn’t an “actual nugget of legisla- tion” advocated by What’s Turn to UPSTREAM, Page 12 If agents show up, they need a warrant, farm employers told By DAN WHEAT Dan Fazio Paula McKay Darrin Kenoyer Capital Press YAKIMA, Wash. — Sev- eral agricultural employ- ers, while understanding of the Trump administration’s arrests of criminal illegal immigrants, said at a labor conference that it’s causing apprehension among work- ers. Conference organizers also shared tips on what owners and managers should do if Immigration and Cus- toms Enforcement agents ar- rive at a farm or other work- place. Paula McKay, manag- Additional ICE coverage on Page 3 er and principal owner of Mar-Jon Labor, a large labor contractor in Othello, Wash., said workers are worried be- cause of what they see on television. She said employ- ers are not overly worried because it’s nothing new and that ICE arrests of criminal illegal immigrants have been going on a long time under previous administrations. “What’s new is the media is making a big deal of it and Trump is more blunt,” said McCay, who is Hispanic. She was among a couple hundred employers at the annual labor conference of WAFLA, formerly the Wash- ington Farm Labor Associa- tion, at the Yakima Conven- tion Center on Feb. 23. “I don’t have a problem rounding up criminals, and most people don’t,” she said. Turn to ICE, Page 12 EVER WONDERED WHAT TO DO WITH THAT OLD, WORN OUT COMMODITY TRAILER? Our Rebin Program can turn your old trailer into a new trailer! We will remove all working mechanical parts, and replace the bin with a new Stainless Steel STC Bin on your existing running gear. All parts deemed reusable are reinstalled on the new bin. All of this at the fraction of the cost of a new trailer! WWW.STCTRAILERS.COM 494 W. Hwy 39 Blackfoot, ID 83321 208-785-1364 9-1/#16 By DON JENKINS ICE arrests of criminal illegal immigrants spark concerns
