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March 9, 2018 SE ED & RO W C RO P S Alfalfa seed crop requires uniq ue farm The We st’s Garlic, proc ess onions thriv ing e despite cha llenges Page 8 Page 2 SEED & ROW CROPS SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE THIS ISSUE Capital A Press FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2018 g Weekly Capital Press A g The West’s Gene technolo impacts GMO gy debate Page 15 Weekly VOLUME 91, NUMBER 10 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 Boom, bust, break even — AND REPEAT Vicious dairy cycle tests farmers’ ability to survive U.S. milk production costs, loss By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press (Average annual dollars per hundredweight) $30 P ete Wiersma’s dairy legacy stretches back to 17th century Holland. He grew up on a dairy in Cali- fornia and now milks 1,400 cows on his farm near Buhl, Idaho. He started his own operation in 1991. Milking cows is in his blood. He likes the lifestyle and working where he lives, and he likes the idea of producing wholesome food people need. He doesn’t, however, always like the prices he receives for the milk he produces. “Milk prices are really lousy right now. They’re projected to get somewhat better through the course of the year, get up to break-even maybe,” he said. Like most of the 40,219 dairy farmers in the country, he’s been operating at a loss following three years of low prices. For example, the Class III price for milk to make cheese in regulated federal marketing orders was $13.40 per hundred- weight in February. They were comparable elsewhere, such as Idaho, where the average cost of production is about $17.50. Total cost of production Total gross revenue † Loss per cwt $26.10 -$7.80 per cwt in 2016 $21.15 20 $20.90 $18.30 † Includes value from milk, cattle, income from renting or leasing stock or space, co-op dividends, and fertilizer value of manure. Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press Pete Wiersma looks out at his cows at Fairview Dairy near Buhl, Idaho, on Feb. 28. Source: USDA ERS Carol Ryan Dumas and Alan Kenaga/Capital Press 10 2007 ’10 ’13 2016 “Sometimes, it doesn’t seem worthwhile. Other times, it’s profitable again.” Pete Wiersma, dairy farmer Turn to DAIRY, Page 10 Washington social justice groups carry on fight for carbon fee Energy tax stalls in state Legislature By DON JENKINS Capital Press OLYMPIA — Labor, environ- mental and social justice groups are picking up the campaign to tax car- bon emissions in Washington. The coalition, operating under the banner Clean Air Clean Ener- gy Washington, filed an initiative March 2, the same day the Senate formally shelved a carbon tax bill. The proponents will have until July 6 to gather at least 259,622 signatures to qualify their proposal for a statewide vote. For the first time, a carbon tax ad- vanced through the Senate environ- mental and budget committees. But as in previous sessions, the policy failed to have majority support in ei- ther the Senate or House. As promised, activists were ready with their own proposal to put a $15 per metric ton fee on the carbon con- tent of fuels. The tax would increase by $2 a year plus inflation annually, with no cap unless the state gets on course to meet ambitious carbon-re- duction goals. Based on previous proposals, the tax could be expected to raise gas- oline prices by 15 cents a gallon at first. Washington State Labor Council is one of the main proponents of the initiative. Its president, Jeff Johnson, said Wednesday in an interview that higher fuel costs will be less econom- ically damaging than climate change. “The cost of doing nothing is greater to the average citizen,” he said. Turn to CARBON, Page 10 USDA farm loans vulnerable to environmental lawsuits Environmental analysis can be challenged as weak, attorneys say By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Federal loans to “concen- trated animal feeding opera- tions” may be vulnerable to lawsuits opposing the con- struction of “factory farms,” according to environmental attorneys. Public policy — rather than the free market’s “in- visible hand” — has spurred the proliferation of CAFOs in the U.S., said Tarah Heinzen, an attorney with the Food & Water Watch environmental group. Filing lawsuits can affect which facilities are funded by USDA’s Farm Service Agen- cy and how they’re construct- ed, Heinzen said. “We want to cut out the root cause of this, which is the FSA lending in a way that’s not in the public interest,” she said. The possibility of using federal statutes to influence USDA lending to CAFOs was discussed by attorneys during the recent Public Interest En- vironmental Law Conference in Eugene, Ore. The USDA’s environmen- tal review of such loans can be challenged as cursory and insufficient under the Nation- al Environmental Policy Act. The agency can also be faulted for failing to properly consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the ef- fect of such loans on protect- ed species, as required under the Endangered Species Act. “We’re looking for more robust, substantive analysis,” said Kevin Cassidy, an attor- ney with Earthrise Law Center. Cassidy said one serious problem is the USDA looks at CAFOs in a “piecemeal” fashion rather than examining the full impact of multiple op- erations. Turn to LOANS, Page 10