NURS
August
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18, 2017
Gray’s
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PAGE 4
THE ANNUAL NURSERY SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Bambo
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AGE 8
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 2017
VOLUME 90, NUMBER 33
WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM
$2.00
Settlement reached in Duarte lawsuit
By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
SACRAMENTO — Agriculture
advocates say they are mildly disap-
pointed by the $1.1 million legal set-
tlement farmer John Duarte reached
with the federal government over his
alleged violation of the Clean Water
Act.
Under the agreement, which is
pending a judge’s approval, Duarte
would admit no liability but pay the
government $330,000 in civil pen-
alties, purchase $770,000 worth of
vernal pool mitigation credits, and
do additional work on his property in
Tehama County, his attorneys said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
B
Courtesy of Pacifi c Legal Foundation
Pacifi c Legal Foundation attorney Tony Francois, right, and farmer John Duarte
have reached a settlement with the federal government. Duarte was accused of
plowing wetlands in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.
neers had sought $2.8 millions in
fi nes as well as mitigation credits
after accusing Duarte of plowing
through wetlands while planting a
wheat fi eld on his property in Teha-
ma County, Calif., in 2013.
Paul Wenger, president of the Cal-
ifornia Farm Bureau Federation, said
he understands Duarte’s desire not to
risk losing millions more by continu-
ing to fi ght. But he said the agreement
illustrates that the government has
too much leverage when it’s backed
by sympathetic courts.
“It’s unfortunate that we see this
time and time again with a number
of cases,” Wenger told the Capital
Press. “The government will ask for,
and the court will say, they’re going
to put these huge penalties out there
and you could be tied up in court for
10 or 12 years. ... It’s unfortunate.
“It’s no longer a government of
the people, by the people,” he said.
“It’s almost that the government
agencies are above reproach.”
Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., a
rice farmer and House Agriculture
Committee member, said he’s “bit-
terly disappointed” by the settle-
ment, arguing it means land that is
left fallow for too long essentially
belongs to the government.
LaMalfa, whose district includes
Duarte’s land, had urged Attorney
General Jeff Sessions to “call off the
dogs.”
Duarte, who also owns Duarte
Nursery in Modesto, Calif., said in a
statement that agreeing to the terms
“was a diffi cult decision” that he
reached reluctantly.
Turn to DUARTE, Page 12
IODYNAMIC
A different kind of agriculture involves unusual
practices, but producers stand by their results
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
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CARIBOU-
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Mike Reid and Tibby Plasse tend to their cattle at Paradise Springs Farm, a biodynamic dairy in Victor, Idaho.
Their production method uses only inputs generated on the farm, treating it as a living organism, and also
includes several esoteric farming practices to improve soil health.
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John O’Connell/Capital Press
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Victor,
Idaho
N
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Idaho Falls
Where the livestock have names and are
celebrated for their unique personalities
GRAND
TETON
N.P.
Idaho
Turn to BIODYNAMIC,
Page 12
20
Sn
ICTOR, Idaho —
“Auntie Em!”
A small, Brown
Swiss cow grazing
in sight of the Teton
Range raised her head upon hear-
ing Mike Reid’s call. She trotted
to her master’s side and licked
his face.
“My cows are pets,” ex-
plained Reid, owner of Paradise
Springs Farm, a 30-cow dairy
where the livestock have names
and are celebrated for their
unique personalities. “Some
people have cats and dogs; I
have cows.”
Paradise Springs is part of a
cluster of small farms employ-
ing biodynamic agricultural
practices in this small, East-
ern Idaho town. The quirky,
management-intensive sys-
tem arrived in the U.S. in
the early 1990s. In recent
years, domestic biodynam-
ic production, though still
tiny compared to conven-
tional farming, has grown
by 10 to 15 percent a year.
But it’s long been popular
in Europe and traces back
to the 1920s, when German
philosopher-scientist Ru-
dolf Steiner gave lectures
on an approach to food production
that regarded a farm as a self-suf-
fi cient “organism,” shunning chem-
ical fertilizers and farm inputs and
promoting a variety of esoteric pro-
duction practices designed to help
crops and livestock better capture
“cosmic” energy.
CARIBOU-
TARGHEE
NAT’L FOR.
89
34
Capital Press graphic
Loans stable despite falling farm incomes
Farmers built up fi nancial buff er during boom years, experts say
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Despite dropping farm
incomes, the volume of past-
due loans has remained rela-
tively stable within the Farm
Credit System nationwide
network of agricultural lend-
ers.
As of mid-2017, the sys-
tem reported roughly $2 bil-
lion in non-performing loans,
such as those past due or that
aren’t being paid back.
While that amount has ris-
en since the most recent low
of $1.6 billion in 2015, it’s
at roughly the same level as
in 2013, when U.S. farm in-
comes were nearly twice as
high as they are now.
Similarly, Farm Credit
lenders have charged off $16
million as bad debt during the
fi rst half of 2017, up from $12
million at this point last year.
To compare, charge-offs
reached $61 million by mid-
2013.
Though it may seem sur-
prising the system’s credit
quality hasn’t deteriorated as
steeply as farm incomes, ex-
perts say many growers built
up enough of a fi nancial buf-
fer to keep up with debt obli-
gations.
“They’ve had some very
positive years, so they’re
better prepared,” said Regina
Gill, vice president of inves-
tor relations for the Federal
Farm Credit Banks Funding
Corp., which raises funds for
the network and tracks its fi -
nances.
Turn to LOANS, Page 12
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