Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current, August 31, 2018, Image 1

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    OPINION: WE HOPE JURORS WILL PUT THE FACTS ON TRIAL, NOT MONSANTO. Page 6

FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2018
VOLUME 91, NUMBER 33
WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM
$2.00
FAR
FROM
HOME
Antonio de Jesus Bailon is one of thousands of foreign
guestworkers who U.S. growers depend on to harvest their
crops. But their story goes beyond the fields and orchards.
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Antonio de Jesus Bailon in the bunkhouse kitchen, where other H-2A guestworkers are beginning to prepare dinner. They work at Griggs Orchards in Orondo, Wash.
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
O
RONDO, Wash. — He’s up
and down a ladder in mere
seconds, picking apples
quickly with both hands
and placing them into the
canvas bag strapped to his chest.
It’s grab the ladder and on to the
next trees. He’s moving fast because
the Gala apples are sparse, most having
been picked days earlier. This is the final
sweep for apples that needed more time
to ripen.
Antonio de Jesus Bailon is a good
picker, slightly faster than average. He
picks a 700-800-pound bin of apples per
hour, says his foreman, Gustavo San-
Turn to WORKERS, Page 9
Drought lingers across PNW
Western U.S. drought
conditions (As of Aug. 23)
Wildfires, low
stream flows
impact agriculture
Legend
D0-Abnormally dry
D1-Drought (moderate)
D2-Drought (severe)
Antonio de
Jesus “Chuy”
Bailon picks
Gala apples
at Griggs
Orchards
in Orondo,
Wash., on
Aug. 21.
He’s in his
fifth season
as one of
thousands
of H-2A-visa
agricultural
guestworkers
from Mexico.
chez, at Griggs Orchards in Orondo.
Bailon, 34, is a quiet man of short,
slender build affectionately called
“Chuy” — pronounced “Chew-wee” —
by his peers, a common Mexican nick-
name for people named Jesus.
“These are good apples,” he says,
grabbing nicely sized red Gala at ground
level.
Bailon is one of a growing number of
foreign guestworkers working on U.S.
farms and orchards. He has received a
temporary H-2A (agricultural) visa often
used to pick tree fruit, berries or vegeta-
bles. His employer has obtained special
permission from the federal government
to hire him and bring him from his home
D3-Drought
(extreme)
D4-Drought
(exceptional)
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
Intensity of drought by percent area affected
Date
None D0-4
Current
15.8% 84.2
3 mo. ago 39.4 60.6
1 yr. ago
64.8 35.2
D1-4 D2-4 D3-4
58.1 35.9 15.9
44.6 31.6 18.8
15.3 7.5 4.3
D4
3.6
4.6
1.5
Source: National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Capital Press graphic
More hot and dry weather
is expected to hang around the
Pacific Northwest, exacerbat-
ing drought conditions that
have gripped the region.
As of Aug. 23, every cor-
ner of Oregon, Washington
state and Idaho is experienc-
ing some stage of drought,
from “abnormally dry” to
“extreme,” according to the
latest U.S. Drought Monitor.
The result is a summer
filled with wildfires belching
smoke that has impacted air
quality for days at a time, and
low stream flows prompting
water regulators to curtail de-
liveries in some basins.
The worst conditions ap-
pear to be in Western Oregon,
which is reeling from a his-
toric lack of rainfall in some
areas. The National Weather
Service reports the city of Sa-
USDA to provide $6.1 billion in farm aid
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
USDA Monday announced
details of a three-pronged
plan to assist U.S. farmers
and ranchers in response to
trade damages from retaliato-
ry tariffs by China and other
countries.
The plan includes nearly
$4.7 billion in direct pay-
ments to producers harmed,
more than $1.2 billion in gov-
ernment food purchases and
$200 million to develop for-
eign markets.
“For months President
Trump has been standing up
to China and other nations
sending a clear message that
the United States will no lon-
ger tolerate the unfair trade
practices, which include
non-tariff barriers and forced
transfer of intellectual prop-
erty,” Sonny Perdue, USDA
secretary, said in a phone con-
ference with the media.
“President Trump has said
enough is enough,” he said.
But he also did not want
agricultural producers bear-
ing the brunt of the retaliatory
tariffs and instructed Perdue
to craft a short-term relief
strategy, Perdue said.
Economic pressure al-
ready exists in farm country,
where net farm income has
dropped more than 50 percent
in the last five years. Produc-
ers simply cannot pay their
bills with patriotism, he said.
The $6.1 billion in farm
assistance announced Mon-
day is about half the $12
billion USDA expects in lost
exports. There may be an-
other round of aid depending
on how the trade disputes
evolve, but the goal is to be-
gin taking applications for as-
sistance Sept. 4.
Turn to USDA, Page 9
lem had gone 78 straight days
without any significant rain as
of Wednesday, and will likely
break the record of 79 consec-
utive days set in 1967. Other
parts of the region did get a
few light showers last week-
end and Monday.
Overall, Oregon precip-
itation is averaging 86 per-
cent of normal, while stream
flows are averaging less than
50 percent of normal — rang-
ing from 30 percent in the
Turn to DROUGHT, Page
9
Market Facilitation
Program payments
(Direct payments to producers)
Commodity
Payment
Total
($ dollars) ($ millions)
Cotton
Corn
Dairy (milk)
Pork (hogs)
Soybeans
Sorghum
Wheat
Total
0.06/lb
0.01/bu.
0.12/cwt
8/head
0.86/bu.
0.86/bu.
0.14/bu.
—
276.9
96
127.4
290.3
3,629.7
156.8
119.2
4,696.3
Source: USDA
Capital Press graphic