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CapitalPress.com
December 15, 2017
Oregon radish seed suit stayed despite objections
Litigation
postponed until
appeal resolved
in related case
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Over the objections of
farmers, a federal judge has
stayed a lawsuit that accuses
a bank of unlawfully inter-
fering with the sale of radish
seed.
Earlier this year, the Radish
Seed Growers’ Association —
which represents nearly 40
Oregon farms — filed a com-
plaint seeking $6.7 million
in lost crop value and added
storage costs from Northwest
Capital Press File
The Wayne L. Morse Courthouse in Eugene, Ore., where farmers
are pursuing a $6.7 million lawsuit against a bank over lost radish
seed value. A federal judge recently stayed the litigation despite
the growers’ objections.
Bank of Warren, Pa.
Northwest Bank had
claimed about 7.4 million
pounds of radish seed as col-
lateral for a loan taken out by
Cover Crop Solutions, a fi-
nancially defunct seed broker.
However, the company’s
attempt to take ownership of
seed in the farmers’ posses-
sion was rejected by a federal
judge in 2016. That ruling is
now being challenged before
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals.
The growers allege that
Northwest Bank filed meritless
liens, pursued a meritless law-
suit and discouraged potential
buyers from purchasing the
seed they’d grown for Cover
Crop Solutions.
However, the bank count-
ers that these actions were per-
missible under the “absolute
litigation privilege” of its com-
plaint, even if the legal action
has so far proven fruitless.
During a court hearing in
September, the company asked
a federal judge to dismiss the
farmers’ lawsuit.
“It’s clear the bank had a
good faith basis to assert a
security interest in the seed,”
said Peter Hawkes, the bank’s
attorney. “They had a right to
go to court and have that ad-
judicated.”
Paul Conable, attorney for
the growers, argued that North-
west Bank wasn’t protected by
the absolute litigation privilege
because the meritless liens and
interference with customers
occurred before the lawsuit.
“You don’t immunize your-
self from the effects of your
actions by later filing a law-
suit,” he said.
However, U.S. District Judge
Ann Aiken will postpone any
decision on these matters until
Northwest Bank’s original law-
suit is resolved in the 9th Circuit,
based on legal precedents.
“In addition to being con-
sistent with the weight of au-
thority, waiting for the resolu-
tion of the pending appeal has
obvious benefits: It minimizes
the risk of conflicting judicial
decisions, conserves judicial
resources, and will aid the
court in reaching the correct
result in this case,” Aiken
said.
The farmers had opposed
the stay, arguing they’d suf-
fered million of dollars in
losses by having to wait years
to sell the radish seed due to
Northwest Bank’s unlawful
actions.
“This lawsuit is their only
means to recoup those losses,”
Conable said in a court brief.
“Forcing them to wait anoth-
er significant period of time
for this litigation to proceed
would be unfairly prejudicial.”
Idaho Farm Bureau members
support protecting water rights
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Workers sort Gala apples at Chelan Fruit Cooperative in Chelan, Wash., earlier this year. Estimates of
the new 2017 crop are approaching record levels, pressuring prices.
Idaho Farm Bureau Federation
Bonneville County, Idaho, farmer Andrew Mickelsen debates an
issue Dec. 5 during the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation’s annual
meeting, in Fort Hall. IFBF members supported a Bonneville
County Farm Bureau resolution that seeks to ensure future water
agreements protect the state’s longstanding “first in time, first in
right” water rights doctrine.
If wolves in conflict areas
are collared, “you can show
it was in the area of the dep-
redation at the same time, so
we can better identify the of-
fending wolves,” Davis said.
“That’s the science fish and
game needs to make deci-
sions to do control actions.”
IFBF members also unan-
imously supported a Val-
ley-Adams resolution sup-
porting “year-round hunting
and trapping (of wolves)
statewide with emphasis in
high depredation areas.”
Farm Bureau members
unanimously supported a
proposed rule change by the
Idaho Wheat Commission
that would require first pur-
chasers of wheat, such as el-
evators, to submit the names
and contact information of
growers to the commission.
Several farmers spoke
in favor of the rule change,
which will go before the Ida-
ho Legislature in 2018.
North Idaho farmer Rob-
ert Blair told his fellow
voting delegates that “other
commodity commissions in
Idaho have this ability and
Idaho is the only wheat com-
mission (in the U.S.) that
does not have this ability.”
IFBF members voted
down a resolution that op-
posed wheat being discount-
ed at elevators for less than
the feed wheat price.
According to members
of Clearwater-Lewis County
Farm Bureau, which drafted
the resolution, some wheat
was discounted well below
the cost of feed wheat at el-
evators in that region in 2016
because of low falling num-
bers and protein issues.
“There were some pretty
big discounts,” Chris Bran-
nan, a farmer and voting del-
egate from Clearwater-Lew-
is, told Capital Press. “The
growers in that area felt you
should be able to at least sell
it at the feed wheat price be-
cause the elevator companies
are getting the feed wheat
price out of it.”
Mickelsen argued against
the resolution, saying that “it
interferes with private busi-
ness.”
If someone wants to
change that, he said, “let
them work it out in their con-
tract, not try to legislate it.”
Washington apple crop
estimate nears record
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
WENATCHEE, Wash. —
The Washington apple crop
estimate continues to grow,
putting downward pressure on
prices, but an industry expert
says that could be countered
by more exports.
The Washington State
Tree Fruit Association now
estimates the crop at 142.3
million, 40-pound boxes, up
8.7 percent from the Aug. 1
forecast and second only to
the record 143.6 million box-
es of 2014. That was a year of
poor grower returns, but this
year likely will be helped as
light crops in Europe and else-
where fuel overseas demand
for Washington apples.
The large crop “means
marginal downward pressure
on prices but exports are do-
ing well, and if that contin-
ues it will really help,” said
Desmond O’Rourke, retired
Washington State University
agricultural economist and
world apple market analyst.
A substantial part of the
crop is Red Delicious, which
customers in Asian countries
like, O’Rourke said. Nonethe-
less, marketers will struggle
to maintain current prices for
the next couple of months, he
said. Prices have slid some in
the last month or two, typical
after being higher in August at
the start of harvest.
“The wild card is how soon
will the European crop wind
down. They’ve had a much
smaller crop and that will
shift exports our way,” said
Tom Riggan, general manager
of Chelan Fresh Marketing,
one of the state’s leading sales
desks.
The shift will come in Jan-
uary. Already European and
Middle East customers are
inquiring more about Wash-
ington apple availability and
prices than they typically do
this time of year, Riggan said.
“That tells us supply is
tight over there. One customer
wanted a certain volume and
price and we said we need-
ed another price. They came
back a week later and were
OK with it,” he said.
Exports got off to a slow
start because this year’s crop
was later than those of the last
two years, O’Rourke said. As
of Dec. 1, the industry had
exported 8.3 million boxes of
apples compared to 8.8 mil-
lion at the same point a year
ago. But the pace is picking
up with good movement to
Mexico and India, he said.
Season-to-date, domestic
and export shipments totaled
29.6 million boxes as of Dec.
1. That’s 20.8 percent shipped
this year versus 25.6 percent a
year ago.
There’s already significant
pressure on Red Delicious and
Gala prices. Pressure will in-
crease on Granny Smith, Hon-
eycrisp and Fuji due to large
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volumes, O’Rourke said.
The Dec. 1 estimate shows
34.4 million boxes of Red De-
licious, 32.8 million of Gala,
20.9 million of Granny Smith,
18.7 million of Fuji, 11.9 mil-
lion of Honeycrisp, 7.7 mil-
lion of Golden Delicious, 5.4
million of Cripps Pink, 1.8
million of Ambrosia, 1.3 mil-
lion of Braeburn and 504,000
of Jonagold.
The rest of the crop con-
sists of minor varieties and
a growing amount of propri-
etary varieties.
The estimates for Gala,
Granny, Honeycrisp and Am-
brosia would be record highs.
The estimates for Fuji and
Cripps Pink are the second
highest, O’Rourke said.
The Granny Smith volume
is OK because there is tre-
mendous demand and move-
ment domestically and over-
seas, Riggan said. Prices will
stabilize at the end of January
and climb a little as the crop
shrinks, he said.
Good weather allowed har-
vest to run to the end of No-
vember with some marginally
profitable apples left on trees
due to not enough pickers,
Riggan said.
The national fresh crop
on hand Dec. 1 was 131.1
million, 42-pound boxes, 9
percent more than the previ-
ous year. The total fresh and
processing crop was 182.5
million boxes, up 12 percent
from last year and 18 percent
from the five-year average
for that date, according to the
U.S. Apple Association.
The larger national inven-
tory pressures prices, but the
smaller crops in Europe, Mex-
ico and Canada help, O’Ro-
urke said.
Washington growers are
barely breaking even on Reds,
Gala, Goldens, Braeburn,
Cameo and Jonagold and
making money on Honey-
crisp, Granny, Fuji and pro-
prietary varieties, he said.
“Overall, it will be a
breakeven year on profit-
ability for growers unless
they have premium variet-
ies,” O’Rourke said. “Inte-
grated companies will have
more packing and marketing
fees with a larger crop so
they will do OK, but they
have big investments on new
orchards.”
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the following
vehicle will be sold, for cash to the
highest bidder, on 12/18/2017. The sale
will be held at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2017 CHEV CRUZE
VIN = 3G1BE6SM9HS534981
Amount due on lien $3,615.00
Reputed owner(s)
LOGAN R. HEARD & JOE L. HEARD
ALLY FINANCIAL
legal-49-2-3/999
FORT HALL, Idaho —
During their annual meeting,
Idaho Farm Bureau Federa-
tion members adopted a poli-
cy that seeks to ensure future
water agreements protect the
state’s “first in time, first in
right” water doctrine.
Andrew Mickelsen, a
farmer and member of Bon-
neville County Farm Bureau,
which drafted that resolution,
said members want to make
sure senior water right hold-
ers are not treated unfairly
when water agreements are
made.
He said agreements that
are made to avoid water calls
but punish senior water right
holders almost the same as
junior water right holders
appear to bypass the “first in
time” doctrine.
The resolution states that
IFBF opposes “agreements
between water groups that
neglect the first in time,
first in right (doctrine) and
treat senior, junior, trust and
expansion rights (as) near-
equal.”
The Dec. 5-7 meeting
was attended by 350 IFBF
members from the state’s 36
county Farm Bureaus.
IFBF members also vot-
ed unanimously to support
a resolution by Valley-Ad-
ams County Farm Bureau
to mandate that Idaho Fish
and Game Department collar
wolves as a way to support
depredation management de-
cisions.
Phil Davis, a rancher who
drafted the resolution, said
he’s concerned fish and game
is moving away from its wolf
collaring program.
Having wolves collared
enables the department to
make science-based depre-
dation decisions, he said.