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4 CapitalPress.com May 26, 2017 Lawsuit challenges lifting of Argentinian lemon ban Citrus growers claim USDA decision motivated by foreign policy, not science By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press A group of U.S. citrus growers has accused the USDA of unlawfully accept- ing imports of Argentinian lemons based on foreign pol- icy rather than science. The U.S. Citrus Science Council, a nonprofit repre- senting 750 lemon growers, and five individual Califor- nia farms have filed a lawsuit Tim Hearden/Capital Press U.S. citrus growers are challeng- ing the USDA’s decision to allow imports of lemons from Argenti- na in federal court, arguing the decision was based on foreign policy rather than science. claiming the USDA’s decision violated federal laws. Due to concerns about pests and diseases, the USDA has largely prohibited lemon imports from Argentina for seven decades. The agency briefly opened the U.S. bor- der to Argentinian lemons in 2000, but that decision was soon struck down by a federal court. The lawsuit argues USDA began to reconsider the ban last year because the Obama administration “wished to ac- commodate” Argentina’s new president, Mauricio Macri, “whom it viewed as a poten- tial ally after years of difficult U.S.-Argentine relations.” A proposed rule allow- ing imports of lemons from Argentina was finalized by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, in late 2016 and affirmed by the Trump ad- ministration this year due to “extraneous foreign policy considerations,” the complaint said. The rule, set to become ef- fective on May 26, violates the Plant Protection Act by taking into account factors other than the risk posed by plant pests, the plaintiffs argue. “Nothing in the Act au- thorizes APHIS, at the behest of the president, to convert import decisions into bargain- ing chips to achieve unrelated foreign policy objectives. Yet that appears to be exactly what happened here,” the complaint said. A spokesman for USDA said the agency is aware of the lawsuit challenging its decision to allow imports of lemons grown under a “sys- tems approach” in Northwest Argentina. “APHIS made this decision because our extensive review and analysis of the science shows that importing Argen- tine lemons can be safely done while protecting U.S. agricul- ture from plant pests. APHIS is currently reviewing the lawsuit and will not comment on pending litigation,” the spokesman said in an email. According to the com- plaint, USDA has justified its decision by pointing to a 2015 trip to Argentina during which APHIS officials assessed cit- rus harvest practices, but the agency has refused to disclose key details from the visit. The plaintiffs allege that USDA has placed an unrea- sonable amount of confidence in Argentinian regulators’ ability to mitigate pest and disease risks, despite their shortcomings in the past. Aside from violating the Plant Protection Act and ad- ministrative law, USDA also failed to conduct an environ- mental analysis of its decision as required under the National Environmental Policy Act, the lawsuit claims. The plaintiffs have asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Stan- ley Boone in Fresno, Calif., to overturn the import rule and block shipments of lemons from Argentina. Growers rush to finish rice planting after field work delays By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press Wikipedia Researchers in Oregon and Idaho are trying to develop a line of stevia seeds that would make growing the plant economically viable in the U.S. Idaho, Oregon researchers work on stevia seed line By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press NAMPA, Idaho — Re- searchers in the Treasure Val- ley area of Idaho and Oregon are trying to develop a reliable seed line for stevia, a plant that is 200 to 300 times sweet- er than sugar. Once that happens, the plant could be an attractive option for the region’s farm- ers. But the plant likely won’t be grown commercially here until researchers learn how to reliably produce the small shrub from seed. Stevia is used as a natural sweetener in drinks and food. Unlike potatoes, corn and other crops that farmers have bred for hundreds of years, stevia has only been researched for about 50 years, said Cheryl Parris, research and development manager at S&W Seed Co. Because of that, there is currently too much genetic diversity in stevia to grow it from seed, so it’s being grown from clones, or rooted cuttings, that are produced in a greenhouse and then trans- planted into the field. The labor and expense in- volved in growing stevia that way at 40,000 plants an acre makes it too expensive to be an attractive alternative to commercial farmers in the U.S., Parris said. The company’s stevia re- search is centered in Nampa. Parris is trying to develop a reliable seed line that farmers can plant. She said this is an ideal re- gion for growing stevia. The company has received a lot of inquiries from farmers inter- ested in growing stevia seed. “There is a lot of variabil- ity in the plants because there is so much that hasn’t been bred out yet,” she said. “It will become more ideal as we develop a seed line. It’s still really an emerging market in the United States because of the cost at this point.” The wide genetic diversity in stevia means the progeny is usually not as good as the parents, said Clint Shock, di- rector of Oregon State Uni- versity’s research station in Ontario. “How to efficiently propa- gate stevia by seed hasn’t been solved,” said Shock, who has researched the plant for more than a decade. “In order for it to be competitive in the U.S., you need to be able to cross reliably and efficiently from seed. That is the Achilles heel of growing stevia in the Unit- ed States.” Most of the world’s stevia is grown in nations with much lower labor costs, Shock said. “The competitive advan- tage now is for places that have super cheap labor,” he said. Parris and Shock are also trying to breed out the some- times bitter aftertaste associ- ated with stevia. “We’re trying to devel- op a plant that tastes better, doesn’t have a bitter after- taste and can be used more as an additive to food products,” Parris said. WILLOWS, Calif. — Rice growers are scrambling to fin- ish planting after persistent winter and early-spring rains delayed their ability to prepare their fields. Growers face an unofficial June 1 deadline for getting their rice seed down, as plant- ing any later would likely push harvests into the rainy season. Rice is typically planted between mid-April and mid- May, with harvests coming six months later. But soggy fields prevented growers from work- ing in them until recently — particularly on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, where fields were flooded by torren- tial rains in February. “I’ve got a little bit left (to plant), but for the most part we’re wrapping it up,” said Charley Mathews, a Marys- ville area grower and a USA Rice Federation executive committee member. “I don’t know what nor- mal is anymore,” he said of the weather. “We didn’t get to start field work until about the 28th of April. Usually we like to start around the first week of April.” Willows farmer Larry Ma- ben said he’ll get all his 800 rice acres planted, but he’s aware of other area growers in low-lying areas that have struggled to get going because Tim Hearden/Capital Press A rice field near Williams, Calif., is prepared in late April for plant- ing. Rice growers are scrambling to finish planting by June 1 after early spring rains delayed their field work. of wet ground. “I’m a couple of weeks behind, but we should be fine unless we have an early fall,” Maben said. The delays could cause a dip in overall acreage. Cali- fornia rice farms are expect- ed to plant 539,000 acres this year, down slightly from the 541,000 acres planted in 2016, according to the USDA. Rice planting rebounded last year from the 421,000 acres planted at the height of the drought in 2015, the agen- cy reported. That year, plant- ing was delayed because of the slow pace of water deliveries as exchange contractors along the Sacramento River agreed to shift their delivery sched- ules to maintain the right river temperatures for winter run salmon. Growers with crop insur- ance could seek compensation for any ground they can’t get to by June 1, the California Farm Bureau Federation advises. Among other field crops in California, according to a USDA prospective plantings report: • Growers expect to plant 430,000 acres of corn, up from 420,000 acres planted last year. • Cotton acreage continues to rebound after the drought stifled planting. Growers ex- pect to plant 85,000 acres of upland cotton in 2017, up from 66,000 last year and 47,000 in 2015. In addition, growers were seeding 190,000 acres of American Pima cotton, up from 117,000 and 155,000, re- spectively, the last two years. • Producers intend to har- vest hay of all types from 1.1 million acres, down from 1.2 million acres last year. • Acreage planted to winter wheat is forecast at 350,000 acres, down from 425,000 acres last year, while anoth- er 40,000 acres are planted to Durum wheat, down from 55,000 acres in 2016. • California growers plan to plant 27,000 acres of spring potatoes and 21,000 acres of sweet potatoes, up from last year’s 26,000 and 20,000, re- spectively. • Growers intend to plant 25,300 acres of sugar beets, unchanged from last year. • Plantings of sunflowers for oil are expected to total 39,000 acres in California, down from last year’s 45,000 acres. Non-oil sunflower acres are expected to total 4,000, up from 1,600 in 2016. U.S. growers face loan defaults over Mexican sugar dispute By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press A national sugar expert says U.S. sugar growers could face loan forfeitures this sum- mer if nothing is done to stop Mexico from dumping subsi- dized sugar here. Jack Roney, director of economics and policy analy- sis with American Sugar Alli- ance, explained under a 2014 agreement Mexico is allowed to export sugar duty-free to the U.S. In exchange, U.S. corn syrup is granted open access into Mexico. While the U.S. has shipped Mexico about 800,000 tons of corn syrup per year, Mexican sugar exports doubled in 2013 to 2 million tons, contributing to a U.S. sugar price collapse, Roney said. The U.S. Interna- tional Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Com- merce ruled in response to a complaint by U.S. sugar grow- ers that the combination of subsidization and dumping by Mexico warranted sugar duties of 48 to 84 percent. But in December 2014, the governments signed an agree- ment to suspend tariffs in favor of reference prices and limits on the refined share of Mexi- can sugar exports. Roney said Mexico hasn’t met the refer- ence prices — the U.S. refined sugar price has dropped from 37.5 cents per pound when the agreement was signed to a current rate of 29 cents per pound. At 26 cents, Roney said growers come out ahead by forfeiting their sugar to the U.S. government rather than repaying their federal loans. Furthermore, Mexico has been shipping the U.S. mostly fin- ished sugar, though the coun- try would rather import raw cane to keep domestic mills in production. Roney holds Mex- ico accountable for the recent closings of sugar mills in Ha- waii and Wyoming. “Our guys are in danger of forfeiture this summer,” Roney said. “We’ve got to get this settled now.” In early May, the U.S. De- partment of Commerce sent a letter to the Mexican govern- ment threatening to impose duties of 80 percent on Mex- ican sugar if new agreements can’t be reached by June 5. Based on price declines following sugar dumping, Roney calculated Mexico cost U.S. sugar producer $2 billion during 2013 and 2014 com- bined, and another $2 billion since the suspension agree- ment was signed. Duane Grant, chairman of Idaho-based Snake River LEGAL CHERRY AVENUE STORAGE 2680 Cherry Ave. NE Salem, OR 97301 (503) 399-7454 AUCTION Sat., June 3rd • 10 A.M. • Unit 45 - Eric Proctor • Unit 52 - Angela Barton • Unit 74 - Shannon Welch • Unit 85 - Angela Kinzel • Unit 124 - Cynthia Mendoza • Unit 183 - Kelly and Shawn Allen Cherry Avenue Storage reserves the right to refuse any and all bids 21-1/#7 legal-20-2-7/#4 Sugar Co., said his growers had a profitable 2016 season, but only because they pro- duced record yields and sugar levels. This season, however, cold weather has slowed beet growth. “We’re well behind in our accumulation of heat units,” Grant said. “That needs to change in order for our crop to get its legs underneath it and start to move toward a yield that would be acceptable.” Grant said members of his company are optimistic the Mexican dumping problem will be addressed in time to im- prove prices of the current crop. Opponents of strengthening the suspension agreements, in- cluding sugary food and bev- erage manufacturers, warn the action would lead to increased food costs for consumers. In a letter dated May 19, 51 mem- bers of Congress urged De- partment of Commerce Sec- retary Wilbur Ross to “consult with and take into account the interests of the companies that make food products and bever- ages using sugar.” The lawmakers asked the secretary to avoid setting any reference prices higher than prices included in the original suspension agreement and ad- vised “bilateral negotiations should not be an excuse for the U.S. sugar lobby to extract yet more benefits from its cus- tomers through market manip- ulation that flies in the face of open and fair competition.” LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 6/6/2017. The sale will be held at 10:00am by DTR RACING 1810 NE COMMERCIAL ST, SALEM, OR 2004 HONDA TRX450 VIN = 478TE300Z4A006259 Amount due on lien $2006.63 Reputed owner(s) THOMAS KUSCHNICK AMERICAN HONDA FINANCE Legal-21-2-2/#4
