December 22, 2017
CapitalPress.com
5
Onion reload facility on track, backers say
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
NYSSA, Ore. — A pro-
posed major rail reload fa-
cility in Eastern Oregon that
could greatly help the region’s
onion industry is on track to
be built within three years.
The region’s onion ship-
ping companies face constant
transportation challenges. In-
dustry leaders say the problem
is getting worse and the reload
facility is sorely needed.
“Transportation is a chron-
ic problem for us (and) it’s as
bad as I’ve ever seen it right
now,” said Kay Riley, man-
ager of Snake River Produce,
one of 30 onion shipping
companies in southwestern
Idaho and Malheur County,
Ore.
Riley said the planned re-
load facility is so important “it
could keep us in business, and
we could go out of business
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Onions are sorted at a facility near Nyssa, Ore., in September.
Idaho-Oregon onion shippers hope a major rail reload facility being
built near Nyssa will help them solve their chronic transportation
problems.
without it.”
The facility would allow
shipping containers to be
transfered between truck and
rail. It could benefit a wide
range of agricultural com-
modities grown as far away as
southcentral Idaho.
Most onions produced
here are sold to markets on
the East Coast.
Shippers must
currently truck
them
216
miles
north
to the nearest
reload facili-
Rep. Greg
ty in Wallula,
Smith
Wash., before
they
begin
their journey east.
Eliminating that step will
reduce the cost of shipping
onions, improve timeliness
of delivery and possibly open
new markets, said Grant Ki-
tamura, general manager of
Baker & Murakami Produce,
the region’s largest onion
shipper.
“This is a major game
changer for onion shippers,”
he said. “It will help us main-
tain our viability as an indus-
try. Transportation has been a
real issue for onion shippers
in Oregon and Idaho for many
years and it’s been getting
worse and hopefully this will
help us turn it around.”
Bruce Corn, an Oregon
farmer, said the facility could
markedly speed up delivery
times to East Coast markets.
“It can result in a substan-
tial savings in transportation
costs and also be a much more
reliable source of transporta-
tion,” he said.
The $5.3 billion transpor-
tation package passed by the
Oregon Legislature this year
included $26 million for a
reload facility in Eastern Ore-
gon. A 400-acre piece of land
just north of Nyssa was re-
cently chosen as the facility’s
location.
The plan for the facility
is for it to include dry and
cold storage, said Rep. Greg
Smith, R-Heppner, who is
helping lead the effort to build
the facility.
“All of a sudden, we be-
come a regional location that
can compete against anyone
in the world,” said Smith,
Malheur County’s economic
development director.
The plan also includes
building the infrastructure
needed by food processors,
Smith said.
“That way, agricultural
food processors will have a
one-stop location where they
can produce and have a ship-
ping hub right at their back
door,” he said.
The biggest challenge now
is making sure the facility is
designed and built correctly,
Smith said.
“I think our biggest chal-
lenge is expectation. Folks
want this now,” he said.
“We want to take our time
and do it correctly, not do
it quickly just to meet that
expectation. This facility
is going to be here for 100
years. Let’s do it correctly
the first time.”
Feds stop North Cascades grizzly recovery
Capital Press
The USDA announced Dec. 15 that it is withdrawing a proposed
rule dealing with animal handling practices for organic livestock
and poultry. The rule, largely supported by organic interests, was
opposed by conventional livestock producer organizations.
USDA plans to withdraw
contentious organic rule
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
USDA announced on Fri-
day it intends to put an end to
a new rule dealing with animal
handling practices for organic
livestock and poultry, saying
the rule exceeds its statutory
authority.
Supported by the Organ-
ic Trade Association, which
largely developed the rule, and
the National Farmers Union,
the Organic Livestock and
Poultry Practices final rule has
drawn staunch opposition from
conventional livestock groups.
That opposition has shelved
implementation of the rule
twice after the new adminis-
tration put an initial, temporary
hold on it – as well as any new
regulation – after Trump took
office.
Now set to get the ax after a
public comment period, the rule
would have added new pro-
visions for livestock handling
and transportation for slaughter
and avian living conditions in
organic production. It would
also have expanded existing
requirements for livestock care
and production practices.
The Organic Trade Asso-
ciation issued a statement of
dismay on USDA’s intention to
withdraw the rule and vowed to
continue to fight for its imple-
mentation.
“This groundless step by
USDA is being taken against
a backdrop of nearly universal
support among organic busi-
nesses and consumers for the
fully vetted rules that USDA
has now rejected,” OTA stated.
And USDA’s latest action
might not be the final nail in the
coffin.
OTA filed a lawsuit against
USDA in September in U.S.
District Court in Washington,
D.C., seeking judicial review
of the administration’s earlier
delays. It amended its com-
plaint last week to include the
November delay.
“We will continue our fight
to uphold organic standards …
we will see the department in
court and are confident that we
will prevail on this important
issue for the organic sector,”
OTA stated.
National Farmers Union is
disappointed with USDA’s de-
cision, saying the rule would
improve the consistency and
integrity of organic livestock
practices and labeling.
“We urge USDA to find a
solution that provides certainty
to family organic producers and
integrity to the organic label,”
said Rob Larew, NFU senior
vice president of public policy
and communications.
The National Pork Produc-
ers Council was also quick to
issue a statement, saying the
rule would have incorporated
welfare standards that weren’t
based on science and were out-
side the scope of the Organic
Food Production Act, which
limited organic considerations
to feeding and medical prac-
tices.
“We’d like to thank Sec-
retary (Sonny) Perdue and the
Trump administration for lis-
tening to our concerns with the
rule and recognizing the seri-
ous challenges it would have
presented our producers,” said
Ken Maschhoff, NPPC presi-
dent.
NPPC raised several prob-
lems with the regulation, argu-
ing animal production practices
have nothing to do with the ba-
sic concept of “organic.”
It also cited the complexity
the standards would have add-
ed to the organic certification
process, creating significant
barriers to existing and new
organic producers.
Fewer conventional live-
stock and poultry groups
have commented on this lat-
est round in the organic rule
saga. But the opposition has
also included the National
Cattlemen’s Beef Association,
National Chicken Council,
National Association of Egg
Producers and National Milk
Producers Federation.
They’ve opposed the rule
on several fronts, saying the
proposed practices aren’t
based on science but aimed
at consumer perception and
threaten both animal and hu-
man public health.
They’ve contended the rule
would be costly, impractical
and ill-advised and its require-
ments for outdoor access could
help spread animal and avian
diseases, resulting in consum-
er mistrust of their products.
They also contend the or-
ganic program is a marketing
program, which legally does
not include animal welfare.
Some are also concerned the
rule would set a precedent that
could be used by activist to
push unscientific restrictions
on all animal agriculture.
The beleaguered rule was
first proposed in April 2016,
finalized in the final days of
the Obama administration and
set to go into effect last March
20. That implementation was
delayed by Trump’s executive
order putting a hold on any
pending regulation, pushing
implementation to May 19.
Feds halt grizzly
bear recovery
effort in North
Cascades
Vancouver
it
of
Ge
org
i
5
WASH.
5A
Merritt
1
97C
North Cascades
Ecosystem
99
5A
5
Princeton
3
7
ra
St
USDA
WENATCHEE, Wash. —
The National Park Service
apparently is shutting down
its efforts to reintroduce griz-
zly bears into the North Cas-
cades Ecosystem.
Conservation Northwest,
a regional conservation orga-
nization strongly supportive
of grizzly bear recovery, is-
sued a news release Dec. 18
lamenting what it said was a
stop work order announced
Dec. 13 at an Interagency
Grizzly Bear Committee
meeting in Missoula, Mont.
The Missoulian newspaper
reported that North Cascades
National Park Superintendent
Karen Taylor-Goodrich said
at the meeting that her staff
had been asked to stop work
on its environmental impact
statement for grizzly bear re-
covery by Interior Secretary
Ryan Zinke’s office.
Taylor-Goodrich could
not be reached for direct
comment and no statement
was issued by Interior. Tay-
lor-Goodrich reportedly said
the order also stalls discus-
sions with Canadian wildlife
managers who oversee simi-
lar grizzly recovery in British
Columbia.
The North Cascades Eco-
system encompasses 9,800
square miles in the U.S. and
3,800 square miles in British
Columbia. The U.S. portion
is generally the Cascades
from Wenatchee northward.
It includes North Cascades
National Park, Ross Lake Na-
tional Recreation Area, Lake
Chelan National Recreation
Area, Okanogan-Wenatchee
National Forest and Mt. Bak-
er-Snoqualmie National For-
est.
The North Cascades Na-
tional Park staff is in the
third year of a public pro-
cess and was evaluating
127,000 public comments on
a draft environmental impact
statement. That statement
Area in
detail
Chilliwack
3
1
Abbotsford
a
British Columbia
Washington
542
NORTH
CASCADES
NAT’L PARK
Bellingham
5
Victoria
20
Grizzly
bear
habitat
101
20
530
5
Lake
Chelan
Everett
97
Chelan
2
N
153
2
Seattle
20 miles
2
90
Tacoma
97
Wenatchee
28
90
Olympia
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; National Park Service
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
National Park Service
A Yellowstone grizzly bear. The U.S. Department of the Interior
has apparently ordered the National Park Service to cease work
on a grizzly bear recovery plan for the North Cascades.
includes a no-action alterna-
tive and three alternatives to
restore a reproducing popu-
lation of about 200 bears by
bringing them in from other
areas.
Restoring grizzlies would
“enhance the probability of
longterm survival and con-
servation of grizzly bears in
the contiguous United States
thereby contributing to over-
all grizzly bear recovery and
greater biodiversity of the
ecosystem,” the NPS and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice have said.
Grizzlies were listed as a
threatened species in the con-
tiguous U.S. in 1975. They
were listed as endangered in
Washington in 1980.
U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse,
whose 4th Congressional
District encompasses part of
the North Cascades, strongly
opposed the plan.
Jim DeTro, an Okanogan
County commissioner op-
posed to the plan, said Tay-
lor-Goodrich’s
announce-
ment is good news. He said
he had heard at a National
Association of Counties
meeting in Sunriver, Ore.,
in May that such a decision
would be forthcoming.
Okanogan County ranch-
ers already coping with coy-
otes, cougars and wolves said
they didn’t need another apex
predator killing and harass-
ing their cattle.
“Yes, ranchers in the
Okanogan will be happy but
the opposition had biparti-
san support. Even hikers and
people on the green side said
the North Cascades was no
place for this,” DeTro said.
A group in the small
Western Washington town
of Darrington opposed the
plan, saying it would hurt
tourism, hiking and be bad
for general safety since there
are fewer meadows, berries
and no wild bees, elk nor bi-
son for the bears. The draft
plan would close more roads
to hiking, which would be
bad for tourism, members
of the Darrington Area Re-
source Advocates have said.
The group includes resi-
dents, representatives of the
Sauk-Suiattle Tribe, Hamp-
ton Lumber Mill, business
owners and backcountry
horsemen. “Many years of
science, public education
and significant taxpayer dol-
lars have gone into grizzly
bear recovery in our region
and are not being taken se-
riously by this administra-
tion,” said Chase Gunnell,
a Conservation Northwest
spokesman.
The vast majority of the
127,000 comments received
were supportive of recovery
and Conservation Northwest
urges work to continue, he
said.
51-1/106
By DAN WHEAT