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August 31, 2018 CapitalPress.com 3 Judge rules dairy can stay in operation By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press PORTLAND — A controver- sial Oregon dairy will not be shut down despite violating a settlement agreement with farm regulators over wastewater management. Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Kelly Skye has asked attor- neys for the Oregon Department of Agriculture and Lost Valley Farm to come up with less drastic remedies that will get the facility into regula- tory compliance. “I’m not inclined to order an im- mediate shutdown of wastewater,” Skye said at an Aug. 24 court hearing in Portland, Ore. However, the judge did find that Greg te Velde, the dairy’s owner, had willfully violated his deal with ODA to maintain enough wastewater stor- age capacity. As a “lifelong dairyman,” te Vel- de “should know what it takes to get his dairy into compliance” with reg- ulations, Skye said. A follow-up hearing on remedies for the violation has been scheduled for Aug. 30. Oregon farm regulators had asked a judge to order Lost Valley to stop generating wastewater, which would effectively shut down the facility. During the court hearing, the former farm manager of Lost Val- ley Farm testified that he quit on moral grounds after being asked to unlawfully spread wastewater on a field. Jedediah Aylett said he resigned his position from Lost Valley Farm of Boardman, Ore., because he was Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Mike Gamroth, a retired Oregon State University animal science professor, testifies at the Aug. 24 contempt of court hearing for Greg te Velde, owner of the controversial Lost Valley Farm in Boardman, Ore. concerned the facility wasn’t com- plying with its confined animal feed- ing operation permit. The Oregon Department of Ag- riculture called Aylett as a witness against te Velde, the dairy’s owner, who is accused of contempt of court for violating a settlement deal with the agency. “The stuff he was doing wasn’t legal, wasn’t right,” said Aylett during the hearing in Portland, Ore. “I did not want to be involved.” According to Aylett, te Velde requested that he apply wastewa- ter to a center pivot-irrigated field that was already saturated, risking contamination of groundwater with nitrogen. “He asked me to just pick a cir- cle and he would take the fall for that circle if we over-applied,” Aylett said. Other witnesses defended the dairy’s performance and refuted al- legations by ODA, which wants to shut the facility down. A retired Oregon State Univer- sity animal science professor, Mike Gamroth, cast doubt on ODA’s claims of excessive water usage at the dairy. (Direct payments, millions of dollars) Area Dairy Wheat Corn Cotton Total By DON JENKINS Calif. Idaho Wash. Ore. $23.83 8.58 3.87 1.45 0.95 6.30 9.52 2.76 0.14 0.24 0.17 0 13.10 NA NA NA 38.01 15.11 13.55 4.21 Capital Press NOTE: Crop payments are based on USDA August 2018 crop production report. Dairy payments are based on January-June 2018 production. Capital Press graphic Farm groups still want trade, not aid By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Several farm groups said they appreciate USDA’s an- nouncement on Monday that it will provide $6.1 billion in assistance to farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs, but others said it isn’t enough to offset their impending losses and called for an end to the Trump administration’s trade dis- putes. USDA’s three-pronged plan includes about $4.7 bil- lion in direct payments to farmers, $1.2 billion in gov- ernment food purchases and $200 million for trade promo- tion. The American Farm Bu- reau Federation said farm in- come is at a 12-year low, so any assistance is appreciated. “The additional burden of tariffs on the goods we sell to China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union has been more than many farmers can bear. Today’s announce- ment gives us some breathing room, but it will keep many of us going only a few months more,” said Zippy Duvall, the Farm Bureau president. The real solution is to take a tough stance at the negoti- ating table and quickly find resolution with U.S. trading partners, he said. National Farmers Union said the aid will begin to help many who are suffering the brunt of retaliation, but farm- ers need strong markets and long-term certainty. “This trade war has al- ready caused irreparable, long-term harm to what were strong trade relationships for American family farmers and ranchers,” said Rob Larew, NFU senior vice president of public policy and communi- cations. NFU wants the administra- tion to pursue fair trade agree- ments, transition from an ad hoc emergency aid strategy and work with Congress to develop a legislative solution to low farm prices, he said. The National Associa- tion of Wheat Growers said USDA’s proposal poorly re- said. A variation of just one inch in la- goon levels equates to 160,000 gal- lons of water, he said. “I don’t have confidence in those measurements, basically,” he said. Gamroth said he has probably visited every dairy in Oregon and does not believe Lost Valley Farm’s water usage is abnormally large. “I don’t see any difference for a dairy of that size,” he said. Similar conditions exist at other dairies, for which they haven’t been cited, Gamroth said. “I think it’s a fairly clean dairy. Compliance issues are quite minor in most cases,” he said. Overflow problems have been “minor,” wastewater storage is no longer a problem and the facility poses no greater environmental risk than other dairies, Gamroth said. During cross-examination by the state’s attorney, Lisa DeFever, Gam- roth acknowledged that he submitted a declaration in Lost Valley’s bank- ruptcy proceedings in May stating that the facility used nearly an acre- foot of water per day, or roughly 320,000 gallons. DeFever said the dairy hasn’t properly tested the nitrogen content of wastewater applied to fields, po- tentially causing groundwater con- tamination. She also said the facility’s ma- nure storage problems will likely resume once summer is over, which will “come back and bite us” when the rainy season begins. “We will end up with them in the winter full and overflowing,” DeFever said. Elk raid farm, eat nearly 100,000 pounds of blueberries USDA tariff-mitigation plan Source: American Farm Bureau Federation Since starting operations in 2017, the second-largest dairy in Oregon has been cited repeatedly for waste- water problems by ODA, which led to the lawsuit. Under the settlement deal Lost Valley reached with ODA in March, the facility must limit its water usage to 65,000 gallons per day. The agency now alleges that te Velde has committed contempt of court by exceeding the agreed-upon amount by up to 375,000 gallons per day, thereby contributing to waste- water management problems at the site. To sanction the dairy, ODA is requesting that a judge order the facility to stop generating wastewa- ter, which would effectively shut it down. During the court hearing, Gam- roth — who has extensive experi- ence in the dairy industry — said he doubted ODA’s estimates of water usage. Gamroth testified that he doesn’t see how hundreds of thousands of additional gallons could be used without a glaringly obvious “Olym- pic size swimming pool” of excess water at the facility. “I can’t find where that water goes, I really can’t,” Gamroth said. One factor that could figure into ODA’s estimate is an inaccurate wa- ter meter that varies in its flow rate and total usage data, he said. “It’s simply not realistic, and it’s got to relate to that meter,” he said. State officials also based their estimate on the changing levels of water in manure lagoons, which are difficult to measure, Gamroth flects the reality that all farm- ers are being harmed by tar- iffs. “Farm income is down, and rural America is endur- ing a prolonged economic downturn. This relief package shows that the administration isn’t grasping the tough con- ditions being faced by farm- ers,” Jimmie Musick, NAWG president, said. The long-term solution is to end the trade war, he said. National Pork Producers said the aid package demon- strates Trump’s commitment to American farmers and will bring some relief from retalia- tory tariffs. “While we’re grateful and commend the administration for its action to help us, what pork producers really want is to export more pork — and that means ending these trade disputes soon,” Jim Heimerl, NPPC president, said. The American Soybean Association said the payments to farmers will partially offset the impact of China’s tariffs on U.S. soybeans and increas- ing funding for market devel- opment is even more crucial, given the need to find new ex- port markets. “While this assistance package will definitely help our farmers get through the bad patch we’re currently fac- ing, we must remain focused on market opportunities in the long term,” ASA president John Heisdorffer said. The National Corn Grow- ers Association said the aid to farmers won’t begin to ad- dress the serious damage done to the corn market because of the administration’s actions. “While most members prefer trade over aid, they support relief if it helps some farmers provide assurance to their local bankers and get through another planting sea- son. Unfortunately, this plan provides virtually no relief to corn farmers,” said Kevin Skunes, NCGA president. The National Milk Produc- ers Federation said the plan falls far short of addressing the losses dairy producers are experiencing. Elk ate an estimated 90,000 to 100,000 pounds of blueberries this sea- son at a large farm in northwest Wash- ington, according to farm managers. The elk damaged about 40 acres of the 650-acre Golden Eagle Farms on Cockerham Island, according to farm official Michele Cherchi. Fencing off the fields would be impractical, he said. “It’s a large area,” Cherchi said Thursday. Elk in the North Cascades herd, also known as the Nooksack herd, have moved onto agricultural land in east- ern Skagit County over the past sever- al years. The Department of Fish and Wildlife says it’s working to reduce agricultural damage by building fences, increasing hunting and issuing permits to shoot elk on farmland. Farmers, however, report their losses are continuing. The county assessor’s office is conducting a yearlong assess- ment of elk damage to agriculture. The assessor estimates damages could total $1.4 million annually. A Fish and Wild- life commissioner said recently the “sit- uation was out of hand.” Cherchi said the elk also damaged plants, though they can be saved by pruning. The farm has not estimated its dollar losses, he said. The USDA report- ed that Washington grown blueberries fetched an average of 98 cents a pound. Elk last year ate shoots on 10 acres of blueberries about to come into produc- tion, according to Golden Eagle. Farm site manager Wilhelm Gutier- rez said elk come into fields nearest a forest. Farmworkers saw one group of about 25 elk and another group of about 40 elk on a recent morning, he said. Workers on four-wheelers chase the elk away, but the animals return the next day, Gutierrez said. The farm recently inquired for the first time about obtaining a permit from Fish and Wildlife to shoot one elk to dis- courage the herd from coming back. The Don Jenkins/Capital Press File Elk have eaten upward of 100,000 pounds of blueberries at a Skagit County, Wash., farm. Elk pose a problem for many farmers and ranchers in the area. Courtesy of Randy Good Blueberry plants at Golden Eagle Farms in Skagit County, Wash., show signs of elk damage. Farm managers estimate elk ate 90,000 to 100,000 pounds of blueberries this season. permit was still being arranged, Cherchi said. The farm has installed cameras to learn more about where the elk are com- ing from, but Cherchi said the farm has no way to keep them out. “Right now, we don’t know what to do.” Golden Eagle Farm is owned by the Aquilini Investment Group, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with nine Native American tribes, enlarged the herd over the past two decades by limiting hunting and transporting elk from the Mount St. Helens area. The de- partment is due to report to lawmakers in September on its efforts to minimize elk on farmland. Weekly fieldwork report Ore. Item/description (Source: USDA, NASS; NOAA) • Days suitable for fieldwork (As of Aug. 28) 7 • Topsoil moisture, surplus 0 • Topsoil moisture, percent short 91% • Subsoil moisture, surplus 0 • Subsoil moisture, percent short 90% • Precipitation probability 33-40% Below (6-10 day outlook as of Aug. 28) Wash. Idaho Calif. 6.6 0 59% 0 46% 7 0 69% 0 63% 7 0 70% 0 70% 33-40% Below Normal 33-40% Below