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CapitalPress.com
Editorials are written by or
approved by members of the
Capital Press Editorial Board.
August 18, 2017
All other commentary pieces are
the opinions of the authors but
not necessarily this newspaper.
Opinion
Editorial Board
Editor & Publisher
Managing Editor
Joe Beach
Carl Sampson
opinions@capitalpress.com Online: www.capitalpress.com/opinion
O UR V IEW
Public needs ‘Fresh Look’ at GMO crops
A
malgamated Sugar Co.
and Western Sugar
Co. are preparing a
$4 million campaign to try to
change consumer perceptions
about genetically modified
crops.
The proposed “Fresh Look”
campaign will initially target
three large urban areas. If
successful, it will be expanded
into a $30 million national
campaign. It will focus on young
mothers who make decisions
about household food purchases.
“We’re losing the online
debate,” said Idaho sugar beet
farmer Duane Grant. “We can’t
just sit back and let this evolve
independently. We have to
engage.”
We agree, and are impressed
that the sugar industry is making
such a large investment. We
hope the campaign doesn’t
come too late to change widely
John O’Connell/Capital Press File
Genetically modifi ed sugar beets grow in Idaho. Two sugar companies want to
provide the facts about GMOs to consumers so they can make informed choices.
held attitudes against genetic
modifi cations that are based on a
lot of misinformation.
There are nine commercially
available genetically modifi ed
crops — sweet and fi eld corn,
soybeans, cotton, canola, alfalfa,
sugar beets, papaya, potatoes and
squash.
In the 20 years since they
began to become available, the
crops have been widely adopted
by farmers. Less than 10 percent
of the corn and soybeans planted
in the United States are non-
GMO varieties.
No one has forced genetic
modifi cations onto the market.
Contrary to widely held belief,
farmers have voluntarily adopted
genetically modifi ed varieties
over conventional seed stock
because they offer economic
benefi ts to growers.
Certainly sugar beet
growers are a prime example.
Weed control is diffi cult with
conventional varieties, requiring
a great deal of manual labor.
Varieties engineered to be
resistant to glyphosate herbicide,
though themselves more
expensive, have greatly reduced
labor costs and increased grower
returns.
Glyphosate-resistant varieties
have also helped farmers reduce
the amount of herbicides they
have to spray on crops, not only
improving their bottomline but
also the environment.
And despite what many people
believe, the scientifi c community
says there is no greater risk from
foods produced with genetically
modifi ed ingredients than there
O UR V IEW
is from food produced with
conventional seed stock. The
USDA, the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Food
and Drug Administration agree.
New advances in the
technology promise to increase
yields, and improve crop
tolerance to drought and changes
in climate.
Over the years we’ve seen
that much of the opposition to
genetically modifi ed crops is
generated by animus toward the
large companies, particularly
Monsanto, that dominate the
seed business. That’s based on
a perception that big is bad, and
won’t be easily changed.
The campaign won’t change
everyone’s mind. Some people
will never accept genetically
modifi ed crops. But an effort of
this scale should at least provide
consumers with facts to make an
informed decision.
Readers’ views
Lack of capital Farm Bureau
budget impacts stands up for
conservation
agriculture
I am an 82-year-old
districts
retired cattleman and
Federal government victimized
Duarte in wetlands case
about the problems the federal
don’t allow any opportunity for
John Duarte has been fi ghting
government infl icts on them.
an administrative appeal without
with the U.S. Army Corps of
They promised to help, to fi nd
the expense of going to court.
Engineers for the last four years.
ways to change the laws and the
Third, they offer a “deal” the
The issue: plowing a farm fi eld.
ways the bureaucracy works.
landowners can’t refuse.
The Corps said the fi eld was
But when it came right down
That’s the problem, not
wetlands and the shanks used
to it, Duarte faced the same
whether Duarte moved around
constituted fi lling in the low-
treatment as before.
a little dirt in his Northern
lying areas.
Whether the president’s name
California wheat fi eld. The
On Tuesday, Duarte accepted
is Trump or Obama, we
a settlement offer
wonder if, in the end,
that reduced his
The
settlement
leaves
in
place
the
basic
it really matters. When
fi nancial exposure
from potentially
problem of how federal agencies steam roll the federal bureaucracy
embraces poorly
tens of millions
farmers and other landowners.
written laws such as the
of dollars to $1.1
Clean Water Act, the
million.
Endangered Species Act or any
fact that he was tagged with a
We cannot fault him for his
number of others that impose the
multimillion-dollar fi ne with no
decision to take the deal. Every
federal will on landowners, the
opportunity to present his side
farmer has to make diffi cult
outcome is no different.
of the case is unAmerican. The
decisions that are in the family’s
President Trump has promised
words kangaroo court come to
best interests. Sometimes that
mind. The old Soviet Union had a to change these and other federal
means backing away from a
laws. So far, his batting average
similar form of “justice.”
years-long battle.
in Congress puts him in the minor
The administration of
But the settlement leaves
leagues. It’s clear he needs to get
President Donald Trump has
in place the basic problem of
his act together to prevent repeats
some good people in it, many
how federal agencies steam roll
of what has happened to Duarte
farmers and other landowners. In of whom promise to stick
and his family.
fact, it offers a perfect example of up for farmers, ranchers and
Until then, citizens such as
landowners. They are people
what’s wrong with the system.
like Agriculture Secretary Sonny John Duarte will be writing big
First, the agencies stick their
checks to the federal government
Perdue and Interior Secretary
victims with outrageously high
— and the bureaucrats will be
Ryan Zinke, who have met with
fi nes — often tens of thousands
giving each other high-fi ves.
Western farmers and ranchers
of dollars a day. Second, they
Tim Hearden/Capital Press
PHOTO: John Duarte, left, talks with his lawyer, Tony Francois of the Pacifi c Legal Foundation, on Duarte’s property south of
Red Bluff, Calif.
As you may know, the
2017 Legislative Session
ended without passing a
new capital budget. That
means the Palouse Rock
Lake Conservation Dis-
trict/Kamiak Direct Seed
Grant is one of several pro-
grams that did not receive
funding for the period of
July 1, 2017 through June
30, 2019. The cost share
programs offered by the
Washington State Conser-
vation Commission will
not be available until a new
capital budget passes.
Statewide 52 full-time
employees with various
conservation districts will
be laid off due to the lack
of the capital budget. Land-
owners who have worked
with conservation districts
on projects that have taken
years of planning not only
are delayed but in some
cases can lose matching
funds from other sources.
The lack of action on
a capital budget has real
cost impacts. Our district
alone has six different pro-
grams or grants that will
not be funded for the next
biennium (CREP; 3 DOE
Grants; WSCC programs
and the state portion of
the Regional Conservation
Partnership Program). This
means landowners and re-
source conservation will
not be funded until a solu-
tion to the Hirst court case
has been agreed to by all
parties.
What does this mean for
our district? The portion
of PRLCD/Kamiak Direct
Seed Grant funding cov-
ered by the state will not
be paid until the Legisla-
ture reconvenes and pass-
es a capital budget. The
next scheduled legislative
session is January-March
2018.
This is not the end of
state funding for the PRL-
CD/Kamiak Direct Seed
Grant. We view it as a tem-
porary lull until the Legis-
lature passes a capital bud-
get. We appreciate patience
and understanding of farm-
ers as we delay as much
work as possible until we
have any funding again.
We’re sorry for the stress
and frustration this situation
causes but we’re doing our
best to let state elected offi -
cials know the real impacts
from not having a capital
budget and urge them to
take action soon.
Dan Harwood
District Coordinator
Palouse Rock Lake
Conservation District
St. John, Wash.
have been abused by the
county, the Washington
Department of Fish and
Wildlife and our irriga-
tion district. I have won
those battles at my own
expense, however, it was
not easy.
I was just doing my job
trying to make a living but
the agencies did not see it
that way. I purchased a
place full of Russian ol-
ives (that were brought
in by WDFW). I cleaned
them up and was leveling
the land when I received a
stop work order from the
wetland people that I had
destroyed a natural wet-
land, and I must restore
this natural wetland. The
fine was $1,000 per day
until I restored it.
To make a long story
short, after two years and
$15,000 I won. The other
stories are too long to tell.
My point is everybody
is after Ag. Therefore in
my opinion we must find
a way to unite! Basically
you are assumed guilty
and must prove otherwise
at your expense. Environ-
mentalists and govern-
ment entities along with
attorneys and judges, who
have no agricultural back-
ground, are going to de-
cide your fate.
My analysis of a judge
is why should he be re-
ferred to as honorable
when as an attorney he
has been dishonorable in
his practice, therefore he
should be referred to as a
dishonorable judge!
My point is that the
odds are against you and
we are being picked off
one at time.
When I was farming I
was not a member of the
Farm Bureau, however,
when the wetland people
came after me, a board
member would help me
if I joined. I agreed, and
we beat the county. They
then asked me to be on the
board, where I have been
ever since — they won’t
let me retire!
As I have observed,
there is no one left with
any clout to fi ght your fi ght
except the Farm Bureau.
This letter is only out
of my concern for ag, as
I have witnessed farmers
and dairymen being put
out of business one at a
time and the others spend-
ing thousands of dollars
to comply in order to stay
in business.
Donald M. Young
Crown Y Ranch
Sunnyside, Wash.