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FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018 VOLUME 91, NUMBER 23 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 Capital Press A g The West’s Weekly PRICE PRE$$URE Potato farmer Doug Gross of Wilder, Idaho, says it’s getting tougher to buy farm ground in parts of his county. Brad Carlson/Capital Press Growing land values pose challenges By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press $5,000 B area landowners, in a sense. “It does raise the benchmark uying farm ground isn’t easy these days, as land value in our area” including property Gross already Wilder, Idaho, potato grower Doug Gross was owns, he said. recently reminded. Although Wilder is about 40 miles west of fast-growing “We tried to buy a farm adjoining us and Boise, Gross sees land in the area drawing more interest we were outbid by an insti- lately among institutional tutional investor,” he said. Prices climb, especially as institutional investors and “1031 ex- change” buyers, who take Gross put in a bid investors join the bidding near advantage of the federal tax he thought represented fast-growing urban areas code to defer taxes on gains fair-market price. The in- stitutional investor offered from property they have re- “hundreds of dollars more” per acre, he said. He would cently sold by purchasing a similar parcel. While it has always been a challenge for farmers and not elaborate except to say the investor’s offer was about 7 percent more than his. Turn to LAND, Page 12 But he did say the investor’s purchase benefited other Ranchers advised to fight grizzly reintroduction By DAN WHEAT Capital Press Ranchers with grazing allotments in Washington’s North Cascade Range should do all they can to prevent re- introduction of grizzly bears, the leader of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association says. “My advice is become very active and do everything possible to prevent a reintro- duction because once that happens there’s no relief, no satisfactory response,” says Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the association in Cheyenne. Grizzlies will kill calves and even cows and are a worse problem for ranchers in the northwest corner of Wyoming than wolves, said Magagna, himself a sheep rancher on the edge of grizzly range. On May 23, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved the state’s first griz- zly bear hunt since 1974, say- ing the bears have exceeded recovery criteria since 2004 and that management is nec- essary. Fall hunts will occur for 13 to 22 bears. Environ- mental groups have filed law- suits to stop the hunts. Idaho also approved a hunt and the two states, plus Mon- tana, are working together on grizzly management, said Renny MacKay, Wyoming Game and Fish Department spokesman. Grizzly populations in and around Yellowstone Nation- USFWS A Yellowstone grizzly bear. al Park have increased since they were federally listed as a threatened species in 1975 and delisted last year, Magag- na said. There are 718 grizzlies in a suitable habitat area which is Turn to GRIZZLY, Page 12 U.S. cropland value (Average dollars/acre) $4,130 4,000 $4,090: Up 61.7% from 2007 3,000 $2,530 Source: USDA NASS Alan Kenaga/Capital Press 2,000 2007 ’09 ’11 ’13 ’15 2017 Mexican tariffs hit U.S. apple exports By DAN WHEAT Capital Press WENATCHEE, Wash. — A new 20 percent Mexican tariff on U.S. apples means Washington may fall short of its goal of shipping 15 million, 40-pound boxes of apples there this season, the president of the Washington Apple Commission says. “Any tariff is clearly going to have eco- nomic impact to our industry, especially when you consider its cumulative effect along with tariffs imposed by China and expected by within the next few weeks from India,” said Todd Fryhover, commis- sion president. All the tariffs, he noted, are in retaliation to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum from those countries. The Trump administration announced May 31 that it will impose a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent tariff on alu- minum imports from Europe, Mexico and Canada after failing to win concessions from them. President Donald Trump announced the tariffs in March but exempted Europe, Mexico and Canada to allow negotiations. On June 5, Mexico announced retalia- tory tariffs on U.S. apples and other items such as pork. Washington produces approximately 65 percent of all apples grown in the U.S. More than 90 percent of U.S. fresh apple exports come from Washington. Mexico is the top export market for Washington apples. During the 2016-17 season Washington shipped 13.7 mil- lion boxes of apples to Mexico valued at more than $215 million, Fryhover said. Shipments this season have been 13 percent greater and were on track to ex- ceed 15 million boxes worth an estimated $241.8 million, he said. “This new tariff now puts that goal in doubt,” he said. Mexico has imposed tariffs several times over the past 15 years on U.S. ap- ples, usually for alleged apple dumping, selling them at less than cost. Tariffs were imposed from 2009 into 2011 over truck- ing issues. Tariffs have ranged as high as 47 percent. The last tariff, ranging from 2.44 to 20.82 percent for alleged apple dumping, was imposed Jan. 7, 2016, and was lifted that June. Even with tariffs, shipments have re- mained around the 10 million-box level. The new tariff will impact growers dif- ferently depending on the amount of their sales to Mexico, but collectively Washing- ton growers will see a decrease in returns, Fryhover predicted. The impact of a 15 percent retaliatory tariff set by China in April has been “neg- ligible” so far since it’s the time of year China imports more Southern Hemisphere apples, he said. India is adding a 30 percent tariff on top of its regular 50 percent tariff on apples in retaliation for the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs.
