September 21, 2018
CapitalPress.com
3
Airport grant worries
farmland preservationists
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Farmer Mike Iverson
grows fresh market vegetables
along both sides of the Aurora
State Airport, so a prospective
runway expansion makes him
nervous for several reasons.
An immediate concern
would be any disruption to traf-
fic on Keil Road, which runs
directly south of the airport and
is necessary for him to transport
workers and equipment back
and forth.
Noise and pollution from
added air traffic are worrisome
to Iverson, who is also troubled
by the implications for develop-
ment on surrounding farmland
from a more bustling airport.
While such concerns about
increasing the runway from
5,000 feet to 6,000 feet are
nothing new, an upcoming pro-
posal from the Oregon Depart-
ment of Aviation has Iverson
and other opponents on high
alert.
On Sept. 26, the agency will
ask the Oregon Emergency
Board — which makes funding
decisions when the Legislature
isn’t in session — for permis-
sion to apply for a $33.3 mil-
lion federal grant to expand the
Aurora airport’s runway.
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
An airplane departs the Aurora State Airport near Aurora, Ore. A
proposed $33.3 million grant application to expand the facility’s
runway has stirred alarm among opponents of the extension,
including farmland preservationists.
The fear is that if the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration
approves the application, pro-
ponents of the controversial
proposal will be emboldened
to sidestep normal regulations
to expand the runway.
“There was no public pro-
cess and they’re trying to by-
pass the public process now,”
said Iverson.
The Oregon Department of
Aviation counters that even if
the Emergency Board does au-
thorize applying for the grant,
that hardly means the runway
expansion would be exempt
from requirements by local,
state and federal governments.
“Once the money is there, it
doesn’t circumvent the permit-
ting or planning process,” said
Matthew Maass, the agency’s
state airports manager.
Increasing the runway’s
length has already been ex-
tensively discussed during a
“master planning” process for
the airport, also paid for by the
FAA, and the grant applica-
tion is just another incremental
step, he said.
The FAA doesn’t subscribe
to a philosophy of “if you
build it, they will come” — it
only funds such expansions for
airports that have demonstrat-
ed their operations are already
constrained, Maass said.
A study of the Aurora air-
port determined that more than
500 aircraft operate at less than
full capacity by taking on less
fuel or cargo to adapt to the
shorter runway, he said.
Extending the runway by
1,000 feet would allow these
aircraft to gain more airspeed
and improve their lift, letting
them take on more fuel and
cargo, he said. Agricultural
traffic could still be accom-
modated if the runway were
longer.
“They are going to fund
it based on the existing need
today,” Maass said, while ac-
knowledging the expansion
could increase air traffic at the
facility.
If the runway was extend-
ed, the state would buy more
land south of the facility to
protect the airspace, but new
buildings wouldn’t be al-
lowed in that area, he said.
“Our intent would be to keep
that farmland because it pro-
tects the approach to the air-
port.”
Opponents of the project
are dubious whether the run-
way extension would ever face
full regulatory scrutiny, partly
because of House Bill 4092,
which would have eased land
use laws for such an airport ex-
pansion onto farmland.
The bill died in committee
earlier this year, but it’s likely
other legislation could again
be proposed to “super-site” the
expansion — especially if the
funding is already in hand, said
Ken Ivey, chairman of the
Aurora-Butteville-Barlow
Community Planning Orga-
nization.
“They don’t want to go
through the land use plan-
ning, they don’t want the
community involved,” he
said. “They will hammer a
square peg into a round hole
because they have the fund-
ing.”
Farmworkers reject UFW in long-fought election
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
With ballots counted five
years after an election, farm-
workers at California’s larg-
est peach and stone fruit farm
have overwhelmingly reject-
ed the United Farm Workers
Union.
Workers at Gerawan
Farms, in Fresno, voted 1,098
to 197, a 5-to-1 margin, in fa-
vor of decertifying the union
as their representative, ac-
cording to a Sept. 18 count
by the state Agricultural La-
bor Relations Board. Another
635 disputed ballots were not
counted.
The election was Nov. 5,
2013, but ALRB impounded
the ballots at UFW’s request,
concluding that it was “im-
possible to know” whether the
workers’ request for an elec-
tion represented their “true
sentiments” when it came
time to vote and alleging Ger-
awan manipulated the vote.
On Sept. 11, 2018, the
California Supreme Court
upheld a lower court order
to count the ballots, rejecting
arguments by UFW and the
ALRB. It is one of the largest
union decertification elections
in California agricultural la-
bor history.
Tom Nassif, president and
CEO of Western Growers in
Irvine, said it took the state’s
highest court to force ALRB
to do the right thing.
“We now know the reason
behind the ALRB’s delay tac-
tics, which lasted nearly five
years. The ALRB knew or
believed the outcome of the
Courtesy of Gerawan Farms
Workers protest to have their votes counted in a UFW decertification election. The Sept. 18 count was
5-to-1 to decertify United Farm Workers Union from representing the workers.
vote was ‘No Union’ and was
attempting to shield the UFW
from the humiliation of its ir-
relevance,” Nassif said.
“It is clear the UFW does
not represent the voice of Cal-
ifornia’s farmworkers and the
results of this election must
compel the state to stop acting
as a surrogate of the UFW and
move instead to guarantee jus-
tice for all agricultural work-
ers,” he said.
The ALRB will next rule
on the disputed ballots and
certify final results before tak-
ing up the broader issue of the
fairness of the election.
“Our employees have been
waiting since November 2013
for their votes to be counted.
After a historic struggle, they
achieved that right today, in
spite of the efforts by the UFW
and millions of taxpayer dol-
lars spent by the ALRB to deny
them that right,” Gerawan
WDFW shoots one wolf
in Northeast Washington
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
A 50-pound juvenile wolf
was shot and killed Sunday by
a Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife marksman
in the Kettle River Range in
Ferry County, the department
reported Tuesday.
The wolf was one of four
seen by a helicopter crew. The
department said distinguish-
ing between an adult and ju-
venile from the air is difficult
this time of year because of
the size of the young wolves.
The pack has been preying
on cattle in the Colville Na-
tional Forest in an area that
Fish and Wildlife calls the Old
Profanity Peak territory after
a former pack.
The department confirmed
Monday that the pack had
killed a cow. The cow was
likely killed before the wolf
was shot, according to the de-
partment.
The department previously
confirmed that the pack had
killed at least one calf and in-
jured at least four more.
Fish and Wildlife says
removing wolves as a last
resort to stop attacks on live-
stock is consistent with the
state’s overall plan to re-es-
tablish wolves in Washing-
ton. A Thurston County judge
on Sept. 14 denied a request
by environmental groups to
block the department from
killing a wolf.
Farms said in a statement.
The right of workers to
choose their representation is
at the heart of what the ALRB
is “designed to protect,” the
election is a “ringing endorse-
ment” of that right and a “repu-
diation of concerted, unlawful
and anti-democratic efforts to
deny them that right,” Ger-
awan Farms said.
Armando Elenes, UFW
national vice president, told
the Fresno Bee he was disap-
pointed, not surprised and that
the election should be thrown
out because the ALRB found
Gerawan committed multiple
unfair labor practices.
George Radanovich, pres-
ident of the California Fresh
Fruit Association, applauded
the outcome, saying farm-
workers have a fundamental
right to choose whether to be
represented.
“The Agriculture Labor Re-
lations Board together with the
United Farm Workers joined to
work against the true voice of
these employees, their votes,”
Radanovich said.
He joined Gerawan in ask-
ing the ALRB to certify the
election results and decertify
the UFW. They called on the
Legislature and Gov. Jerry
Brown to ensure ALRB’s vi-
olation of farmworkers’ free-
dom to choose never happens
again.
UFW won an election
at Gerawan in 1990. Five
years later, workers rebuffed
UFW-negotiated contracts.
Gerawan contends the union
abandoned the workers for
more than 17 years. UFW
reappeared in 2012 when a
new state mandatory media-
tion law allowed the union to
impose a contract. Workers
didn’t like that and chose the
decertification election.
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Matthew Beltran, grain inspection program assistant for the
Washington State Department of Agriculture, holds up a mixture
of wheat and water used in the falling number test Sept. 14 at
the agency office in Spokane Valley, Wash.
Grain elevators blend wheat to
meet falling number standard
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Washington grain eleva-
tors say they’re finding suc-
cess blending wheat to make
sure it meets the industry
standard for the falling num-
bers test.
HighLine Grain Growers
is blending some carryover
crop from 2017 to achieve
the industry standard falling
number score of 300, CEO
Paul Katovich said.
“If you think you have a
good handle on a lot that’s
270 wheat and another lot
that’s 350, how much 350
do you need to make the 270
get over the line and average
300?” he said. “If it’s blend-
ed well, it works just fine.”
In the Columbia Basin,
falling number test scores
were 40 to 60 seconds higher
than 300, said Damon Filan,
manager of Tri-Cities Grain
in Pasco, Wash.
The falling number test
measures starch damage
caused by rapid changes in
temperature or rain during
critical stages of wheat de-
velopment. The test involves
mixing water and wheat to-
gether and measuring how
long a plunger takes to “fall”
through it. A test score of 300
seconds is the industry stan-
dard.
Filan believes the indus-
try is more prepared this year
and able to better segregate
wheat in areas where low
scores occurred. The wheat
industry was caught off
guard in 2016, when starch
problems caused much low-
er falling number test scores
and cost farmers more than
$30 million in reduced pric-
es.
He said the majority of the
problems this year seemed
to occur north of Interstate
90 and east of Highway 95,
from Colfax to Spokane.
HighLine has two facil-
ities testing wheat, and will
keep at it throughout the year
to determine the variability
in the wheat sample, Ka-
tovich said.
“Every time we move a
bushel from one bin to an-
other, or from one location to
another, we’re testing again
and again and again,” he
said. “That’s where the extra
expense and management
comes in. Ultimately, you’re
trying to hit the mark on 300
when it goes to export.”
The Pacific Northwest
Farmers Cooperative says
on its website that it will
not discount for low falling
numbers this year.
“There were a few iso-
lated areas of low FNs at
the start of harvest, but as
harvest progressed north-
ward and eastward, enough
high FNs had been deliv-
ered to alleviate any poten-
tial problems,” the website
states.
Katovich said HighLine
is discounting some wheat,
but will work to absorb as
much risk internally as pos-
sible.
The entire reason for the
test is to make sure dough
holds together and lasts the
entirety of its mix cycle for
customers overseas, Ka-
tovich said.
“That’s why they set the
line where they set it,” he
said. “...It’s all about wheth-
er this product is going to be
usable in making a cookie,
bread or whatever.”
Wheat that doesn’t meet
customer quality require-
ments won’t get to end-us-
ers, Katovich said. “We
don’t want to undermine
these markets. Our custom-
ers are the best customers
in the world. ... We want to
make sure that they have full
confidence that every time
we ship something to them,
it’s going to work for them.”
Katovich will visit over-
seas customers in October.
He expects the falling num-
ber question to come up
with customers.
“They’re going to ask
about this. They’re going to
ask, ‘Can we deliver?’” he
said. “Yeah, we’re going to
deliver and they don’t have
to worry.”
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Weekly fieldwork report
Ore.
Item/description (Source: USDA, NASS; NOAA)
• Days suitable for fieldwork (As of Sept. 18)
6.5
• Topsoil moisture, surplus
0
• Topsoil moisture, percent short
93%
• Subsoil moisture, surplus
0
• Subsoil moisture, percent short
92%
• Precipitation probability
33% Below/
(6-10 day outlook as of Sept. 18)
Normal
Wash.
Idaho
Calif.
6.8
0
63%
0
54%
6.6
0
69%
0
70%
7
0
75%
0
80%
33-40% Above
Normal
33% Below/
Normal
38-3/108
Extending runway
suspected to invite
more development