10 CapitalPress.com
April 14, 2017
Oregon
Japanese beetle eradication in a
Portland suburb begins April 17
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
A state ag department cam-
paign to kill destructive Japa-
nese beetles begins April 17
when contractors will apply a
granular insecticide to lawns
on 2,500 private properties in
the Cedar Mill area of Wash-
ington County, just west of
Portland.
The Oregon Department
of Agriculture says the action,
which could extend to annual
treatments for up to five years,
is crucial to knock out an in-
festation of the beetles that
was confirmed last summer.
The project could become
an uncomfortable legal prob-
lem for the ag department,
however. The effort’s success
hinges on the cooperation
of all property owners, and
a handful — 16 of the 2,500
as of April 6 — have said
they won’t allow insecticide
applied on their lawns. Sev-
eral hundred others have not
responded despite five direct
mailings, 46 community pre-
sentations, social media post-
ings and 500 hours of door-to-
door canvassing.
If necessary, the depart-
ment is prepared to ask a
judge for an order allowing it
to go on private property and
complete the treatment, said
Bruce Pokarney, the ODA
spokesman. The department
believes it has legal authority
to take the action, he said.
“If we don’t have to do
that, it would be great,” Po-
karney said.
If it goes that far, the issue
could involve balancing pri-
vate property rights against
the potential economic harm
to businesses and property
owners outside the area.
Ag officials say Japanese
beetles are capable of caus-
ing heavy damage to com-
mercial nurseries, vineyards,
orchards, and crops ranging
from cannabis to cane ber-
ries. A department analysis
estimated that an infestation
could cost Oregon agriculture
an estimated $43 million a
year in damaged plants, lost
Japanese beetle
Imperial Stock Ranch gains animal
welfare, land management certification
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org
Binomial name:
Popillia japonica
Appearance: Iridescent
copper-colored elytra, green
thorax and head
Diet: Roots of grasses during
larval stage; foliage and fruits of
many common trees, vines and
crops during adult stage
Life cycle: Typically one year;
extended in
cooler climates
Origin: Japan
First observed
in U.S.: 1916
14-16 mm
near Riverton,
(Actual size)
New Jersey
Control methods: Chemical and
biological; mechanical traps
Source: USDA Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service
Capital Press graphic
crop value, export restrictions
and increased spraying and
other production costs.
Clint Burfitt, the ag depart-
ment’s insect pest program
manager, said the property
owners who have said they
won’t allow insecticide ap-
plications are scattered across
the 1,000-acre treatment area.
“We’re trying to com-
municate with them about
what their concerns are,” he
said. “Some are concerned
about pesticides in general. It
doesn’t matter what pesticide
it is, it’s a word that sparks
fear. Others don’t want the
government on their proper-
ty.”
He said nurseries would be
hardest hit initially, followed
by small farms, berry crops,
orchard fruit and nut crops
and “definitely grape produc-
tion.” In the Great Lakes re-
gion, some vineyards have to
spray three times a summer
to control adult Japanese bee-
tles, he said.
Imperial Stock Ranch, a
small Oregon wool producer
that has carved out a niche in
high-profile markets, is the
first U.S. farm to gain the Tex-
tile Exchange’s Responsible
Wool Standard certification.
The certification is over-
seen by the Michigan-based
NSF International, which
describes itself as a global
public health organization.
Certification means the ranch
“practices the highest levels of
animal welfare and land man-
agement, and that the wool is
fully traceable throughout its
supply chain.”
According to NSF Inter-
national, the Responsible
Capital Press File
Jeanne Carver of the Imperial
Stock Ranch in Shaniko, Ore.
The ranch is the first in
the U.S. to gain the Textile
Exchange’s Responsible Wool
Standard certification.
Wool Standard means sheep
are treated under a “Five
Freedoms” concept. That in-
cludes freedom from hunger
and thirst; freedom from dis-
comfort; freedom from pain,
injury or disease; freedom to
express normal behavior; and
freedom from fear and dis-
tress.
The standard also requires
farms or ranches to follow
land management practices
that protect soil health, bio-
diversity and native species.
The certification process re-
quired audits throughout the
supply chain, from the ranch
to the manufacturers.
On her ranch blog, Impe-
rial co-owner Jeanne Carv-
er said meeting certification
standards is not new to the
business, but the latest may be
the most comprehensive. Au-
ditors were at the ranch over
the course of three months,
checking the operation, she
said.
“It requires a little more
record keeping, and the will-
ingness to open our books,
records and operation to in-
spections, but it is one of the
best tools I know to share a
true and positive story of
agriculture,” Carver wrote.
The Oregon wool pro-
ducer has sought out new
markets among high-fash-
ion companies, and in 2014
provided material for the
U.S. team’s Winter Olym-
pics uniform sweaters. Yarn
made from Imperial Stock
Ranch wool has also been
picked up by companies
such as Ralph Lauren and
Patagonia.
Deadline kills Oregon pesticide lawsuit bill, other legislation
Proposal would
have eased filing
of lawsuits over
pesticide damages
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
SALEM — A proposal to
make lawsuits over alleged
pesticide damages easier to
file in Oregon has died along
with several other bills that
could have impacted agricul-
ture.
Senate Bill 500 wasn’t
scheduled for a work session
as of April 7, killing the legis-
lation.
Under current law, anybody
who claims to be harmed by
pesticides must submit a report
within 60 days to the Oregon
Department of Agriculture be-
fore taking legal action against
the landowner or applicator.
Senate Bill 500 would have
removed the requirement,
which was characterized by
proponents as an unfair imped-
iment to justice and by critics
as a reasonable barrier to friv-
AP File
A bill aimed at making litigation against farmers who use pesticides easier has died in the Oregon Legislature.
olous litigation.
Critics of the bill argued the
reporting requirement allows
ODA to gather facts substanti-
ating or repudiating the claims
of pesticide loss, thus avoiding
litigation based on weak or
nonexistent evidence.
The 60-day window also
ensures that accused farmers
have an opportunity to collect
evidence, which may not be
possible if a lawsuit is filed
long after an alleged incident,
opponents said.
Supporters of SB 500, on
the other hand, said the “report
of loss” requires submitting
specifics that are difficult for
people to obtain, such as the
type of pesticide applied and
who sprayed the chemical.
Rural residents who are
exposed to pesticides often
won’t realize they must submit
a report to ODA, according to
proponents.
If they find out about the
60-day deadline too late, res-
idents are then permanently
blocked from seeking legal re-
course, supporters said.
The April 7 deadline, which
lawmakers set early in the leg-
islative session, also marked
the death of other farm-related
proposals:
• Senate Bill 499 would
have changed Oregon’s “right
to farm” law to exclude pesti-
cide usage. The statute current-
ly protects common agricultur-
al practices from lawsuits over
nuisance and trespass, but SB
499 would have specifically
allowed litigation over pesti-
cide use.
• Senate Bill 198 would
have established an Indepen-
dent Science Review Board
to analyze controversial deci-
sions by state agencies, such
as wolf management or re-
strictions on genetically engi-
neered crops. Representatives
of natural resources industries
objected to SB 198, arguing
that such a panel would create
another layer of bureaucracy
without ensuring objectivity.
• Senate Bill 866 would
have held cities liable for dis-
charging pollutants in storm-
water into irrigation canals
without permission. Support-
ers claimed SB 866 was nec-
essary for irrigators to comply
with environmental laws, but
municipal governments said
the bill would unrealistical-
ly require them to collect and
divert all the rainwater falling
within their boundaries.
• House Bill 2180 would
allow workers with unpaid
wage complaints to file liens
against the property of their
employers. Supporters of HB
2180 said the proposal would
prevent employers from trans-
ferring assets to another en-
tity to avoid paying unpaid
wages. Critics countered that
such liens could disrupt busi-
ness transactions even without
proving any wrongdoing by an
employer.
• House Bill 2181 would
have created a “rebuttable
presumption” that employers
unlawfully retaliated against
workers who were fired with-
in 90 days of filing an unpaid
wage claim. Employers argued
that under HB 2181 they’d be
considered guilty until proven
innocent.
• House Bill 2365 would
have created a task force to
study transferring federal
land to state ownership. Such
transfers are opposed by en-
vironmental groups that say
state government wouldn’t be
able to afford the upkeep of
such lands, forcing their sale
to private parties.
• House Bill 3016 would
prohibit discrimination by
county and city governments
against any specific type of
livestock in zones where live-
stock are generally allowed.
Critics of HB 3016 worried
the bill would prompt local
governments to make more
zones livestock-free.
SAGE Fact #140
Pacific Ethanol’s Boardman plant
produces 40 million gallons of ethanol
a year which is blended with gasoline
to reduce the use of fossil fuels.
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