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.
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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