10 CapitalPress.com
March 31, 2017
Washington
Washington Farm Bureau
likes new recipe for food forum
Panel would tackle
regulations
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA — An urban
legislator’s longstanding pro-
posal to set up a “food poli-
cy forum” has been refash-
ioned enough to win over
the once-critical Washington
Farm Bureau.
The Farm Bureau’s top
lobbyist, Tom Davis, en-
dorsed House Bill 1562 on
Tuesday. As amended by the
House, the forum no longer
looks like a platform for tell-
ing producers how to do busi-
ness, he told the Senate agri-
culture committee.
Instead, the forum would
talk about relieving hunger,
connecting small farms with
local customers and easing
regulations that hold back ag-
riculture, Davis said.
“Boy, we’re all open to
having that conversation —
to help those especially in
the fringe areas, the suburban
and urban areas, where farms
have a harder time existing,”
he said.
Lawmakers have kicked
around for several years the
idea of appointing a panel to
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Rep. Mia Gregerson, D-SeaTac, has won support from the Wash-
ington Farm Bureau for her bill to appoint a food policy forum. Gre-
gerson, shown here at a House committee meeting, calls getting
some Republican support a “huge success.”
study food-related programs
and policies. Urban Demo-
crats have touted the potential
benefits, but rural Republi-
cans have been wary, espe-
cially because of the idea’s
association with the Wash-
ington State Food System
Roundtable.
The roundtable was cre-
ated in 2012 by Gov. Chris
Gregoire’s executive order.
Made up mostly of nonprofit
groups, the roundtable recent-
ly released a report calling for
more government interven-
tion to create an “equitable”
food system. As introduced,
SB 1562 directed the food
policy forum to coordinate
and build on the roundtable’s
“processes.”
The bill no longer men-
tions the roundtable. The
House also deleted references
to housing and obesity, and
added a section sought by the
Farm Bureau to look at how
regulations affect farms.
The State Conservation
Commission and Department
of Agriculture would oversee
the forum. The two agencies
were once part of the roundta-
ble, but later distanced them-
selves from the group.
SB 1562’s sponsor, Rep.
Mia Gregerson, D-SeaTac,
told the agriculture commit-
tee that she’s learned a lot by
talking with farm groups and
visiting farms.
“I want to be very, very
clear that this is not the round-
table,” she said. “I want to be
very clear, the intent is to do
no harm.”
The bill passed the Demo-
cratic-controlled House by a
63-34 vote. Most Republicans
voted “no,” but Gregerson
called the 13 “yes” votes from
Republicans “a huge suc-
cess,” considering past oppo-
sition.
Davis said the bill was
probably still tainted by its
history.
“Our concern with the
original bill was that it was
going out of its way to tell
conventional ag how to do its
business. And our response
was, frankly, we think we
have that down pretty well,”
he said. “We don’t need a
forum to tell conventional ag
how to do its business. It’s
like putting one together to
tell Boeing how to build an
aircraft wing.”
Crop tours to answer disease questions, highlight new varieties
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Washington wheat farm-
ers are expected to ask ques-
tions about stripe rust, snow
mold and falling number tests
during field tours this season,
a Washington State University
research leader says.
Ryan Higginbotham, di-
rector of WSU’s cereal vari-
ety testing program, released
the 2017 crop tour schedule,
which kicks off May 24 in
Columbia County and ends
July 14 with a barley field day
in Pullman, Wash.
New varieties will be high-
lighted, he said. All major
breeding programs will have
entries, Higginbotham said,
including newly named lines
and some still in the experi-
mental stage.
“There’s something new
for everybody in just about
every location that people
will want to keep their eyes
on and see how they perform
this year,” he said.
Higginbotham is getting
questions from farmers about
soil fertility, given higher
moisture levels.
“Should they or should they
not be adding some extra fer-
tilizer?” he said. “That’s a dif-
ficult decision to make when
it’s $3.50 per bushel wheat —
it’s a lot easier to do that when
it’s $7 per bushel wheat.”
WSU, Oregon State Uni-
versity and Northwest Grain
Growers are cooperating on
field trials in Eureka, Walla
Walla and Dayton, Wash.
28 crop tours scheduled
The
Pacific
Northwest
2017
Crop Tour Schedule, released by
Washington
State
University:
Columbia County Conservation Tour: 9
a.m., May 24, contact Paul Carter at 509-
382-4741
Horse Heaven: 8 a.m., June 6, contact
Ryan Higginbotham at 509-641-0549
Ritzville: 3 p.m., June 7, contact Aaron
Esser at 509-659-3210
Western Whitman County and Lacrosse:
9:30 a.m., June 8, contact Steve Van Vleet
at 509-397-6290
Connell: 5 p.m., June 8, contact Ryan
Higginbotham at 509-641-0549
Pendleton, Ore: 7:30 a.m., June 13, con-
tact Mary Corp at 541-278-4415
Moro, Ore.: 7:30 a.m., June 14, contact
Mary Corp at 541-278-4415
WSU Weed Science in Pullman: 1 p.m.,
June 14, contact Drew Lyon at 509-335-
2961
Harrington: 4 p.m., June 14, contact Di-
ana Roberts at 509-477-2167
Lind: 8:30 a.m., June 15, contact Bill
Schillinger at 509-235-1933
St. Andrews: 5 p.m., June 16, contact
Dale Whaley at 509-745-8531
Mayview: 9 a.m., June 20, contact Mark
Heitstuman at 509-243-2009
Eureka: 3 p.m., June 20, con-
tact Ryan Higginbotham at 509-641-
0549
Higginbotham said the re-
searchers decided to work to-
gether instead of duplicating
efforts. He hopes the coopera-
tive field days will help boost
attendance.
WSU’s biennial Spillman
Field Day in Pullman, Wash.,
would normally be this year,
Walla Walla (cereals): 1 p.m., June 21,
contact Paul Carter at 509-382-4741
Dayton (legumes): 8 a.m., June 22, con-
tact Paul Carter at 509-382-4741
Anatone: 3:30 p.m., June 22, contact
Mark Heitstuman at 509-243-2009
Moses Lake (irrigated): 8 a.m. June 27,
contact Andy Jensen at 509-754-2011
University of Idaho/Limagrain; Moscow,
Idaho: 8:30 a.m. June 27, contact Debby
Rigby at 208-885-6681
Almira: 3 p.m., June 27, contact Diana
Roberts at 509-477-2167
Reardan: 7 a.m., June 28, contact Diana
Roberts at 509-477-2167
Wilke Farm Soil Workshop; Davenport:
9:30 a.m., June 28, contact Aaron Esser at
509-659-3210
Fairfield: 7 a.m., June 29, contact Diana
Roberts at 509-477-2167
St. John: 10 a.m., July 6, contact Steve
Van Vleet at 509-397-6290
Lamont: 2:30 p.m., July 6, contact Steve
Van Vleet at 509-397-6290
Farmington: 8 a.m., July 7, contact Steve
Van Vleet at 509-397-6290
Palouse: 3:30 p.m., July 7, contact Steve
Van Vleet at 509-397-6290
Bickleton: 1 p.m., July 11, contact Han-
nah Brause at 509-773-5817
Know Barley, Know Beer; Pullman: 3
p.m. July 14, contact Kevin Murphy at 509-
335-9692
but the university decided not
to have it due to lagging atten-
dance in recent years.
“(We’ll) see if we can re-
group and maybe try some-
thing a little different next
summer,” Higginbotham said.
WSU researcher Drew Ly-
on’s weed science field day
June 14 will be in Pullman.
The field day June 28 on
WSU’s Wilke Farm east of
Davenport, held as a soil
workshop, will also be differ-
ent, Higginbotham said.
Online
http://smallgrains.wsu.edu/2017-
pnw-crop-tour-schedule/
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press File
Cattle at a feedlot near Pasco, Wash. The state House agriculture
committee on March 23 endorsed raising the beef checkoff. The
issue has divided the beef industry.
Washington GOP lawmaker
slices beef checkoff hike
Fee would increase
by 50 cents
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA — Given a sec-
ond take, a Moses Lake Re-
publican passed through the
House Agriculture and Natu-
ral Resources Committee on
Wednesday a bill to raise the
beef checkoff by 50 cents this
year, but without another in-
crease in two years.
The committee had passed
the checkoff bill March 23.
The bill then called for a 50-
cent increase now and another
50-cent hike in 2019. A proce-
dural error, however, forced
the committee to vote again.
Between last week and this
week, Rep. Tom Dent, who’s
taken a lead on the issue, re-
considered his position.
Dent said the majority of
producers he’s heard from
support a $1 increase. But he
noted that the industry was
not unanimous, so he dropped
the second half-dollar hike.
“We give them a little bit
of a raise, and we’ll see where
the money goes,” he said. “I
think this was a good com-
promise for everybody, I truly
do.”
For more than a year, beef
producers have argued stren-
uously for and against rais-
ing the per-head tax on cattle
transactions from $1.50 to
$2.50. The $1 increase would
double the annual budget of
the Washington Beef Com-
mission to about $2 million.
The state’s $500,000 a year
contribution to the national
Beef Board would stay the
same.
The House committee ac-
cepted Dent’s proposal and
voted 13-2 to amend a Sen-
ate-passed bill, which provid-
ed for a $1 increase this year.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen.
Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake,
said after the House commit-
tee vote that she preferred a
$1 hike, but agreed to Dent’s
proposal.
“I would have liked to see
it increase in two years, but
we have been in a lot of con-
versations, and I think it’s the
best we can get this year,” she
said.
The Washington Cattle-
men’s Association, the Cattle
Feeders of Washington and
Washington Farm Bureau
supported the $1 increase. The
Cattle Producers of Washing-
ton and Northwest Farmers
Union opposed it.
Cattle Feeders Executive
Director Jack Field said the
organization would have pre-
ferred the dollar, but will be
grateful for the 50 cents.
“I think this is going to be
outstanding. I’m sure people
will see great things, though
we can’t have $1 expectations
based on a 50-cent increase,”
he said.
The Cattle Producers ar-
gue their members, cow-calf
ranchers, see little benefit
from the checkoff.
The group’s president,
Stevens County rancher Scott
Nielsen, said last week that he
was “exasperated” at propos-
als to incrementally raise the
checkoff. “It’s either good or
bad,” he said.
Dent also included a pro-
vision in the bill requiring the
Beef Commission to present
producers and legislators with
budget reports. While some
ranchers heap praise on the
Beef Commission, others say
they aren’t informed about
how their money is used.
“One of the big push-
backs is, ‘We don’t know
where the money is going,’”
Dent said.
The beef industry was torn
over the checkoff last year, so
Dent and Warnick took on the
issue.
Dent said he doesn’t re-
gret stepping in, though it’s
brought him some heat.
“There was way more pas-
sion than I expected on both
sides at times,” he said.
13-1\#14