November 24, 2017
CapitalPress.com
5
EPA can’t link cows to fouled shellfish
No cattle DNA in
fecal coliform
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
A study by the Environ-
mental Protection Agen-
cy and Lummi Indian tribe
failed to find evidence that
cow manure is polluting trib-
al shellfish beds in Portage
Bay in northwest Washing-
ton.
The study suggests farm-
ers are keeping manure out of
the Nooksack River and its
tributaries, which drain into
the bay, said Fred Likkel, an
environmental consultant and
executive director of What-
com Family Farmers.
“It shows the farm com-
munity has been working
very hard for the last number
of years to make sure it’s not
polluting the shellfish beds,”
he said.
Dairies have long been
suspected of being a leading
contributor to fecal coliform
contaminating the Lummi
shellfish beds. The Nook-
sack River drains nearly
800 square miles, much of it
farmland, and is the primary
source of freshwater for the
bay.
To identify the sources
of fecal coliform, the EPA
analyzed the DNA in 54
water samples collected in
2016 from the bay, river, five
creeks and a ditch.
The EPA reported last
month that its laboratory
found fecal coliform from
birds in two samples, from
non-cattle hoofed animals
such as horses or deer in four
samples, and from both birds
and non-cattle hoofed animals
in three samples.
The source of fecal coli-
form in 45 samples was unde-
termined. No genetic material
from cattle, humans or dogs
was found.
The EPA in a two-page
summary said it’s possible
that cattle fecal coliform was
present, but at levels too low
to detect or in genetic se-
quences that were not identi-
fied.
The Washington De-
partment of Health in 1997
blamed dairies for fecal co-
liform that caused shellfish
beds to close. Water quality
improved and the beds re-
opened after dairies adopted
new manure-handling rules
enforced by the state Depart-
ment of Agriculture.
In recent years, however,
water quality has again de-
graded. Other potential sourc-
es of pollution include wild-
life, hobby farms and failing
septic tanks.
“This study really vali-
dates our position: You need
to look at other sources,” Lik-
kel said. “That doesn’t mean
we can slack off and not do
our job.”
Efforts to obtain further
comment from the EPA and
tribe were unsuccessful.
In early 2016, the EPA and
the tribe set out to identify the
sources of fecal coliform to
help develop pollution-con-
trol strategies for the Nook-
sack River watershed, accord-
ing to the agreement.
At first, the EPA’s Region
10 laboratory analyzed 53 wa-
ter samples for genetic mate-
rial from humans and hoofed
mammals and found one sam-
ple with human DNA and four
with animal DNA.
The laboratory later added
the ability to test for material
specific to cattle, birds and
dogs for the other 54 samples.
The threat of lawsuits has
hung over Whatcom County
dairies. Seven dairies early
this year agreed to pay the
tribe $450,000 to compensate
it for closed shellfish beds.
The agreement calls for more
payments later and for dairies
and the tribe to collaborate on
pollution-prevention plans.
Six farmer-led watershed
improvement districts have
hired a microbiologist to an-
alyze fecal coliform in Scott
Ditch, one of the waterways
tested by the EPA. The report
has yet to be completed.
Ag industry: CAHNRS dean
candidates are ‘exceptional’
Provost hopes to
make job offer
before Christmas
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
When stakeholders meet
with candidates for the next
dean of Washington State
University’s agricultural col-
lege, they want to find the
right fit, they say.
The four candidates for
dean at WSU’s College of
Agricultural, Human and Nat-
ural Resource Sciences will
visit Washington the weeks of
Nov. 27 and Dec. 4.
Dan Bernardo, provost at
WSU and former CAHNRS
dean, said he is excited about
the “depth and breadth” of the
candidate pool.
This is the second round of
interviews for the position this
year. Bernardo previously an-
nounced in June that he would
not extend an offer to a single
candidate who interviewed
for dean, electing to begin the
search again in the fall.
“As I regularly tell people,
a failed search is not defined
as not making a hire,” he told
the Capital Press. “We want
to make sure we get the right
person, and I think we have
four people here who are all
very capable and qualified.”
Washington State University
Agricultural stakeholders and Washington State University faculty will meet with the four candidates for
dean of the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences the weeks of Nov. 27 and
Dec. 4. University officials hope to make a selection by Christmas.
The four candidates are:
• Gregory Lardy, associate
vice president for agricultural
affairs, North Dakota State
University.
• André-Denis Wright, en-
dowed professor and director
of the School of Animal and
Comparative Biomedical Sci-
ences, University of Arizona.
• Gary Thompson, asso-
ciate dean for research and
graduate education, and direc-
tor of the Agricultural Exper-
iment Station, Pennsylvania
State University’s College of
Agricultural Sciences.
• John Kirby, dean of the
College of the Environment
and Life Sciences, and direc-
tor of the Agricultural Exper-
iment Station and Coopera-
tive Extension, University of
Rhode Island.
They will speak on the
Pullman campus and tour
WSU centers in Wenatchee
and Mount Vernon.
“We feel it’s really important
that they see the scope of the
activity at WSU within this col-
lege and they have the opportu-
nity to visit with our stakehold-
ers,” Bernardo said.
“All of them are excellent
candidates, it’s really going
to come down to which one is
right,” said Jay Gordon, poli-
cy director of the Washington
State Dairy Federation and a
member of the search com-
mittee.
“The dean’s position is
really important,” said Mike
Willett, manager of the Wash-
ington Tree Fruit Research
Commission and a member
of the search committee. “The
stakeholder groups I represent
are heavily invested in and
look to CAHNRS for high
levels of support to ensure
people’s success in these ag-
ricultural endeavors.”
Idaho livestock owners eligible for cattle inspection fee refund
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — Idaho livestock
owners who had a brand in-
spection between July 1 and
Oct. 1 are eligible for a partial
refund.
Because of a paperwork
error, those producers were
overcharged 25 cents per head
during that time.
Idaho State Brand Inspec-
tor Larry Hayhurst told Capital
Press the overcharge was due
to a paperwork error, a claim
that was substantiated by Jani
Revier, budget director of the
state’s Division of Financial
Management.
“In the simplest terms, the
paperwork didn’t all get filed
correctly,” she said.
The Idaho Brand Board in
May proposed a temporary
rule to raise the state’s brand
inspection fee by 25 cents,
from 94 cents to $1.19 a head.
That increase, which was
approved by the governor’s
office, was intended to cover
an anticipated increase in per-
sonnel and equipment costs in
fiscal year 2018 related partial-
ly to the new beef processing
plant in Kuna.
It was expected to raise
$462,000.
But the proposed increase
was never published in Ida-
ho’s Administrative Bulletin
in June, a requirement for it to
become effective.
The brand board didn’t find
that out until late September.
That means producers who
had brand inspections July 1
to Oct. 1 were overcharged
25 cents per head and are el-
igible for a refund. Hayhurst
said they have until Jan. 1 to
request one but that date will
likely be extended.
He said there is confusion
over why the paperwork error
occurred, but ultimately, the
responsibility for the error lies
with him.
“It was just a stupid error,”
he said. “At the end of the day,
I should have caught it. All we
can do is fix it, be upfront about
it and do what is right.”
After correcting the mistake,
the brand board began collecting
the higher fee as of Oct. 2.
Hayhurst
said
about
400,000 cattle inspections
were performed July 1 to Oct.
1, which means the board
could have to refund as much
as $100,000 if every producer
requests a refund.
He said groups represent-
ing the beef and dairy indus-
tries have been notified of the
error and the brand board will
purchase advertisements in
industry publications ex-
plaining the issue.
USDA
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and other groups
laud the proposed eventual elimination of the estate tax, but
they’re concerned about restrictions on business interest
deductions they say could harm rural America.
Farm group reactions mixed
on federal tax relief package
By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
Farm groups and Western
lawmakers are giving mixed
reviews to tax relief legis-
lation now making its way
through Congress.
The National Cattlemen’s
Beef Association and other
groups hail a provision in the
bill approved Nov. 16 in the
House of Representatives that
doubles the current estate tax
exemption limits of $5 mil-
lion for individuals and $10
million for couples. The bill
calls for the so-called “death
tax” to be repealed entirely
after six years.
Among other benefits to
farms, the bill also allows
businesses to write off the cost
of new investments all at once
rather than over time and in-
creases certain small-business
expensing limits, industry in-
siders say.
But the bill also limits the
ability of some businesses
to deduct interest expens-
es — a provision that the
National Council of Farmer
Cooperatives asserts would
drain $2 billion a year from
rural America at a time when
farmers and communities are
struggling through a fourth
year of stagnant commodity
prices.
“This could be a big prob-
lem for some members of the
cattle production business,”
agreed NCBA president Craig
Uden, a Nebraska rancher.
“We’ve worked closely with
members of Congress to ad-
dress this issue, and we’ll
continue to work tirelessly
to fix this problematic provi-
sion as this legislation moves
forward in the Senate and to-
ward a House-Senate confer-
ence committee.”
The nearly $1.5 trillion tax
package passed the House by
a 227-205 margin. A similar
bill advanced out of the Sen-
ate Finance Committee late
Nov. 16 and heads to the Sen-
ate floor, where debate could
begin after the Thanksgiving
break. The House bill won
praise from U.S. Agriculture
Secretary Sonny Perdue,
who said in a statement that
it would create jobs and boost
the economy.
“The people of agriculture
dedicate their lives to putting
food on the table for their fel-
low citizens,” Perdue said,
“and they deserve to keep
more of what they earn from
their labors.”
A key provision for grow-
ers is the eventual elimination
of the estate tax, which has
long been a target of agri-
culture advocates who have
argued it complicates farm
succession plans. The tax
has been a major focus of the
NCBA-backed
Cattlemen
For Tax Reform’s two-month
media campaign, which has
included videos of producers
that have been viewed more
than 1 million times on Face-
book, according to the organi-
zation.
The bill also preserves a
step-up in the value of inher-
ited assets for tax purposes
in addition to 100 percent
expensing of farm property
other than land. Under cur-
rent law, businesses can only
depreciate the costs of such
investments as buildings and
equipment over time — as
long as 39 years, the Califor-
nia Cattlemen’s Association
explained in a legislative
newsletter.
The House bill also tem-
porarily allows farms to ex-
pense up to $5 million for
the cost of both new and used
equipment, buildings, breed-
ing livestock and dairy cows,
with the allowance phased out
when the purchases exceed
$20 million, the CCA notes.
Current law covers only new
equipment, allows for a write-
off of $500,000 and phases out
when the purchases exceed $2
million, according to the orga-
nization. The bill also expands
cash accounting by increasing
the eligibility threshold from
$5 million to $25 million, in-
cluding for farm corporations
and partnerships, the newslet-
ter explains.
However, farms and other
operations would not be al-
lowed to deduct net business
interest expenses beyond 30
percent of the business’ ad-
justed taxable income, which
would be computed without
regard to such things as net
operating losses, the CCA
notes. Businesses with gross
receipts under $25 million
would be exempt from the
limits.
“It is unfortunate that the
House of Representatives ...
approved a tax reform bill that
will raise taxes on farmers and
their co-ops across the coun-
try,” NCFC president Chuck
Conner said in a statement.
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