Capital Press
A g
The West’s
FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2018
Weekly
VOLUME 91, NUMBER 2
WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM
$2.00
TRUE
GRIT
Trump praises farmers
for grit, self-reliance
and foresight
Courtesy American Farm Bureau Federation
President Donald Trump Monday became the first chief executive since George H. W. Bush to address the convention of the American Farm
Bureau Federation.
Agriculture thriving under new policies, president says
Capital Press
N
ASHVILLE, Tenn. — Pres-
ident Donald Trump praised
American farmers for their
grit and self-reliance during
his Jan. 8 speech at the
American Farm Bureau Federation’s con-
vention in Nashville, Tenn.
Trump also commended growers on
their foresight in supporting his presiden-
tial campaign, which many political an-
alysts regarded as a long shot before his
upset victory more than a year ago,
“Oh, are you happy that you voted for
me,” he said. “You are so lucky that I gave
you that privilege.”
The crowd seemed to agree whole-
heartedly, at one point spontaneously
breaking into a chant — “USA! USA!
USA!” — after Trump spoke about re-
specting the American flag and the nation-
al anthem.
Aside from appealing to their patri-
otism, Trump reminded farmers of the
“regulatory assault” they and other rural
working-class Americans experienced be-
fore he came into office.
Since then, Trump said he’s more than
honored his promise to revoke two regula-
tions for every new one enacted.
The rate has actually been 22 repealed
regulations for each one imposed, he said.
“Remember, you are forgotten no
more,” Trump said. “We are fighting for
our farmers and we are fighting for our
country.”
After the U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency and Army Corps of Engineers
began rolling back the “waters of the U.S.
Oregon Farm Bureau
Jenny Freeborn, right, meets with Agriculture
Secretary Sonny Perdue. See Page 12 for story.
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
rule,” which threatened to restrict farming
practices, “tough” men and women cried
with gratitude, Trump said.
“I gave them back their property. I
gave them back their farms. They couldn’t
use them,” he said.
The recent tax reform bill, which low-
ered the corporate tax rate from 35 percent
to 21 percent, also contains provisions that
will especially benefit farmers, he said.
For example, growers will be able to
deduct the entire cost of a new piece of
machinery from their income within one
year, Trump said. “That is something I
think is going to be the sleeper of the bill.”
Doubling the exemption from the
estate tax, from $5.5 million worth of
Turn to TRUMP, Page 12
More American Farm
Bureau Federation
stories on Page 12
Bureau grateful to
• Farm
Trump but anxious on trade
Farm Bureau members take up
• immigration reform, farm bill
runner-up in Farm
Bureau YF&R discussion meet
• Oregonian
Hirst bill seen as too stingy with water
Environmentalists target outdoor watering
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Washington Senate Agriculture and Natural Resourc-
es Committee Chairman Kevin Van De Wege, D-Se-
quim, gavels to order a hearing Jan. 8 in Olympia.
OLYMPIA — A Senate com-
mittee heard complaints Mon-
day that a Democratic plan to
reopen rural Washington to new
wells would leave landowners
high and dry.
The proposal would cap
withdrawals from new wells at
400 gallons a day, compared to
the current 5,000-gallon limit.
Some property owners told
the Agriculture and Natural
Resources Committee that the
lower lid would be insuffi-
cient for lawns, gardens and
animals, a concern shared
by the panel’s lead Republi-
can, Moses Lake Sen. Judy
Warnick.
“I would not want to build a
house and have nothing around
it but weeds,” she said after the
hearing.
The two-hour meeting, on
day one of a 60-day session,
was the first chance for the pub-
lic to comment on Senate Bill
6091. The legislation responds
to the state Supreme Court’s
2016 Hirst decision. The ruling
casts doubt on whether land-
owners can drill wells in some
watersheds, unless they prove
they won’t draw any water from
streams.
The Democratic proposal
could reopen basins to more
wells, but with less water al-
lowed each new household. The
plan also calls for a new $1,500
fee on wells, trying out meter-
ing wells in one watershed and
spending at least $200 million
over 10 years for fish projects.
By 2023, watershed committees
made up of government offi-
cials and tribes would draw up
permanent rules for regulating
new wells.
Turn to WATER, Page 5
Both sides declare victory in 9th U.S. Circuit Court’s ‘ag gag’ ruling
Capital Press
BOISE — Supporters and
opponents of Idaho’s so-called
“ag gag” law both claimed
victory following a recent 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ruling on the law.
Supporters of the Idaho Ag-
ricultural Security Act, which
is called the “ag gag” law by
opponents, say last week’s ap-
peals court ruling on the statute
largely vindicates the purpose
of the law.
Although the court ruled
the law’s ban on secret video
or audio recordings is uncon-
stitutional, it upheld most of
the remaining provisions in the
statute that protect agricultural
production facilities, support-
ers say.
“Almost all of the law got
upheld,” said Gayle Batt, a
former state representative
who sponsored the bill in the
Idaho House of Representa-
tives. “The meat of the bill sur-
vived.”
The bill was crafted by
the Idaho Dairymen’s Asso-
ciation after video footage of
dairy cows being abused was
released by an undercover an-
imal activist group. IDA offi-
cials said the footage was used
to attempt to unfairly damage
the dairy’s business.
Gayle Batt, who
as a legislator
carried the Idaho
Ag Security Act in
the House, said
the 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals
upheld most of the
statute. “The meat
of the bill survived,”
she said.
Capital Press File
Turn to RULING, Page 5
REGISTER NOW!
go to www.cascadiagrains.com
REVITALIZING THE LOCAL GRAIN
ECONOMY IN THE CASCADIA REGION
2-4/HOU
By SEAN ELLIS