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November 9, 2018 CapitalPress.com 7 Washington poised to up organic fees, mostly on small producers Agency set to adopt new logo By DON JENKINS Capital Press Washington organic farm- ers and ranchers with modest sales likely will pay higher fees to have their products certified by the state Depart- ment of Agriculture beginning early next year. The department says it spends more money evalu- ating organic producers than the current fees raise. The de- partment proposes to close the gap with a rate structure that moves away from basing fees on gross sales. Instead farms would pay Area in detail 26 Washington State Department of Agriculture The label affixed to organ- ic products in Washington includes an image of George Washington. It may not much longer as the state Department of Agriculture develops a more distinctive logo. the same first-time application and inspection fees, regard- less of size. Large producers would still pay more because an annual fee to renew certi- fication would be based on revenue. But while most larger pro- ducers would see modest in- creases in fees, many small producers would pay nearly double, The department said it evaluated 176 farms in 2017 with less than $15,000 in in- come from organic sales. In most cases, the farms paid the minimum fee of $220 for certification. Such farms will now pay a $375 inspection fee, plus a $137 renewal fee. The fee for first-time appli- cants for all farms would be $375. The application fee is now $250. The department’s organic program supervisor, Brenda Book, said the new schedule will better reflect the time the agency spends certifying farms and processors. “A small operation can be quite complicated and take a long time,” she said. “The reality is we don’t have a shorter or more abbreviated inspection we can do.” The agriculture depart- ment certifies more than 1,100 organic producers in Washington. The voluntary program allows producers to market their products as cer- tified organic. The department hasn’t made a major restructur- ing of fees in more than 30 years. Along with new fees, the department proposes to adopt a new logo to affix to organic products. The depart- ment plans to replace the cur- rent logo that depicts George Washington with a design that features leaves. Designing a schedule that bills each producer for the de- partment’s exact costs would have been too complicated, Book said. “We want to focus on organic certification, not an administrative evaluation of fees,” she said. The department checked 1,123 organic producers in 2017, according to an agency filing. Producers paid an aver- age of $2,295 in fees, bring- ing into the department nearly $2.6 million. If the proposed fees had been in place, pro- ducers would have paid an av- erage of $2,853, which totals $3.2 million. The department will have two public hearings on the rates: 10 a.m. Nov. 28 in Olympia at the Natural Re- sources Building, conference room 259; 1111 Washington St. SE; and 1 p.m. Nov. 30 in Yakima at the department’s office, 21 North First Avenue. Written Comments on the proposal are due by Nov. 30. To comment by mail, write to Henri Gonzales, Agency Rules Coordinator, P.O. Box 42560, Olympia, WA 98504- 2560. Send email comments to wsdarulescomments@agr. wa.gov. The department tentatively plans to have the new fees in place by Jan. 14. WSDA snares Asian gypsy moth; egg hunt is on OREGON No decision on spraying yet Seneca GRANT By DON JENKINS 395 Capital Press 20 HARNEY Burns 20 Crane Malheur Lake Harney Wagontire Lake 78 395 Warm Springs Herd Management Area N 205 10 miles Fields 140 Ore. Nev. Alvord Lake A rare Asian gypsy moth was trapped recently near Lake Martha in Snohomish County, only the second time in the past two decades that the more-dangerous kin to the European gypsy moth has been found in the state. Even one Asian gypsy moth could be reason enough to spray pesticide over the area, though the state De- partment of Agriculture has not made a decision, department spokeswoman Karla Salp said Monday. In all, the department trapped 52 gypsy moths in 10 counties, all west of the Cascades. Aside from the one in Snohomish County, the trapped gypsy moths were of the European strain. The department trapped nine in a neighborhood north of Bremerton, eight near a boat launch on Orcas Is- land, seven near Ames Lake in Red- mond and four along Lake Symington in Kitsap County. The department is hunting for egg masses in those areas to confirm the pests are reproducing and to pinpoint the outbreak, Salp said. Egg masses are difficult to find. The department has trapped at least one European gypsy moth ever year since 1977. The European strain got lose in 1869 in Medford, Mass., and is now established in 20 states. The pest defoliates 500,000 to 1 million acres of forest land a year, according to the USDA. The Asian strain of gypsy moth has not gotten a foothold in the U.S., but is considered potentially more dangerous because it can spread faster. The fe- males, as well as the males, fly. Female European gypsy moths are flightless. In 2015, the agriculture department trapped 10 Asian gypsy moths at six locations. The following spring, the de- partment responded by spraying a total of 10,500 acres. Asian gypsy moths have not been found in those areas since. The department had previously trapped an Asian gypsy moth in 1999. The gypsy moth catch this year was modest compared to some previous years. The department trapped a gyp- sy moth in Bangor, the site of a Naval base on the Kitsap Peninsula, where the department sprayed last spring. The department did not trap any gypsy moths in a Pierce County neigh- borhood where the department also sprayed. The agriculture department will de- cide in December or January whether to spray any areas next spring when caterpillars emerge. The department typically contracts with an aviation company to spray Bacillus thuring- iensis var. kurstaki, or Btk. Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Wild horse sterilization blocked by judge By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press An experiment aimed at sterilizing mares from a herd of wild horses rounded up in Eastern Oregon last month has now been blocked by a federal judge. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management had gathered more than 800 horses from the Warm Springs herd management area in Oc- tober, with plans to return about 200 to range after half the females had their ova- ries removed. Wild horse populations are a point of contention in the area, as ranchers say they cause resource damage that leads to cattle grazing restrictions. U.S. District Judge Mi- chael Mosman in Portland agreed to enter a prelim- inary injunction against the experiment on Nov. 2, though the court docket doesn’t explain his reasons for the ruling. According to the plain- tiffs — including the Animal Welfare Institute, American Wild Horse Campaign and the Cloud Foundation — the judge agreed that their free speech rights would be vio- lated if BLM excluded them from watching the steriliza- tion procedures. Mosman also found it was “arbitrary and capri- cious” for BLM not to study the social acceptability of the experiment, as planned during an earlier study, the plaintiffs said. “Hopefully, BLM will re- think their decision to move forward with the most inhu- mane and impractical man- agement tool imaginable,” said Ginger Kathrens, the Cloud Foundation’s execu- tive director, in a statement. Tara Thissell, public af- fairs specialist for BLM, confirmed the injunction has prohibited the spaying portion of the study, which will be put on hold pending the outcome of the litiga- tion. Because of Thanksgiving holiday, our ad deadlines for the November 23 RD , 2018 issue must move ahead to: News Display & Legals DEADLINE FRI., NOV. 16 TH @ Noon Classified Display Ads DEADLINE TUES., NOV. 20 TH @ 10AM Classified Line Ads DEADLINE TUES., NOV. 20 TH @ Noon 1-800-882-6789 • CapitalPress.com ROP-44-2-2/HOU Lawsuit challenges experiment with ovary removal Fall Forage Festival 2018 All are welcome to join us in Corvallis, Oregon, Friday & Saturday, November 16th & 17th, 2018. SPONSORED BY: If you grow or feed hay, work with livestock, manage pasture or have interest in the science and human energy that goes into the sward or bale, this is the gathering for you! Interact with the Northwest’s finest hay growers, livestock managers, forage seed producers, Extension educators and researchers, agricultural consultants, and livestock farmers. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH • 8:30AM - 4:30PM AT GUERBER HALL Benton County Fairgrounds, 110 SW 53rd, Corvallis, OR 97333 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS: Valuing Alfalfa from a Nutrient Perspective Steve Norberg, Forage and Cropping Systems, Regional Specialist WSU Extension Hay Market Perspective and Input Drivers Jon Driver, Industy Analyst, Farm Credit Services NW Storing Hay - What is the Cost to Quality? Glenn Shewmaker, Extension Forage Specialist, University of Idaho Overcoming Current Challenges, Identifying Opportunites Statewide Producer Round Table For the full program, go to: www.oregonforage.org HAY KING CONTEST • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH, 9AM An extravaganza of hay, from many At the Oldfield Animal Teaching different farms, will be assessed Facility, 3521 SW Campus Way, visually and compared to chemical Corvallis, OR 97333. Parking & analysis of nutrient content and Admission for no additional digestability. The judges will keep you charge on Saturday. enthralled! In cooperation with For more information, go to: OSU Extension Service & http://oregonhaygrowers.com/ OSU Agricultural Experiment Station. Pre-Register by email to Jerome Magnuson: jmagnuson@dlfna.com or call (541) 990-5409 Include Fall Forage Festival 2018 in the subject. Indicate name(s) and affiliation. Friday registration of $30 is payable by check or cash at the door on November 16th. No charge for students with valid ID. Lunch (Friday) sponsored by Farm Credit Services Northwest. 45-3/100 45-3/100
