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EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER Viticulture SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE Friday, September 13, 2019 Volume 92, Number 37 CapitalPress.com $2.00 THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE Young farmers say hardest part is finding land By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press J osh Norris, making his his dream dream of farming a reality, and that controlling seems to his be expenses a good and way doing to try and Josh Norris, 31, 31, is is making of farming a reality, gradually custom building work, his land base, custom cash-flow my out operation,” the work, Caldwell, Idaho, gradually building land base, income. controlling expenses farming on the side to his bring in added “This his year, I made it a priority to seek more custom and that seems farmer to be a said. good “That helps me me grow — — and required to and to doing custom farming on the side to bring Idaho, in added way try and cash-flow my operation,” the Caldwell, farmer said. “That helps grow and pay pay for for the the equipment equipment required start up.” “This year, I made it a priority to seek out more to start up.” income. Providing other farmers with services such as planting, discing, roller-harrowing and plowing works for Norris because the 235 leased acres he farms are spread across six smaller parcels he must drive to anyway — and it helps him scout for land he can add to his operation. “The land that comes up for lease for a beginning farmer is not the most high-quality ground,” he said. “I have given up lower-quality fields to pick up better ground, and that is just a constant process each year.” No. 1 issue Land access is the No. 1 challenge facing farm- ers and ranchers younger than 40, accord- ing to a national survey. Participants in the National Young Farmers Coalition survey pegged it as the top issue regardless of location or whether they grew up on a farm or ranch. Land, and access to it, outranked all other concerns, including financial. Holly “And land access is the num- Rippon- ber-one reason farmers are quit- Butler ting agriculture, and the num- ber-one reason preventing farmers from getting started,” said Holly Rippon-But- ler, the coalition’s land-access pro- gram director. See Challenge, Page 11 Brad Carlson/Capital Press Josh Norris with his tractor. He takes on custom work to bring in more income. WSDA: Don’t put CBD from hemp in food By DON JENKINS Capital Press Washington’s licensed food processors could lose points off inspection scores if caught add- ing cannabidiol to their products, state regulators say, adding that hemp’s hottest product has not been approved as an ingredient by the Food and Drug Administration. The ban on making CBD-in- fused food and beverages likely “WE UNDERSTAND THE CAT’S OUT OF THE BAG. HOWEVER, PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S LEGAL. WE NEED TO CLARIFY THAT FOR PEOPLE.” Steve Fuller, Department of Agriculture’s assistant director for food safety will affect only a handful of the couple thousand food processors inspected by the state Department of Agriculture’s food-safety divi- sion, officials said Monday. CBD is ostensibly regulated by the FDA, even though demand for CBD candy, honey, beverages and other edibles is helping drive the hemp boom. The department does not plan to raid stores. “We understand the cat’s out of the bag,” said Steve Fuller, the department’s assistant director for food safety. “However, peo- ple want to know what’s legal. We need to clarify that for people.” The department’s policy also prohibits food warehouses licensed by the agriculture depart- ment from distributing CBD-in- fused food and drink to in-state retailers. The products can be sent out-of-state. “We’re not regulating interstate commerce, but we are regulating See CBD, Page 11 Alleged marijuana damage to grapes ruled plausible Racketeering lawsuit filed by vineyard to move forward By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press A federal judge has ruled that an Oregon vine- yard has plausibly alleged harm from a neighboring mar- ijuana operation and may pro- ceed with a racketeering law- suit against it. U.S. Senior District Judge Anna Brown has denied the marijuana-growing neigh- bor’s motion to dismiss the complaint, finding that Mom- tazi Vineyard has legal stand- ing under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Orga- nization Act to pursue the case. The vineyard has plausi- bly claimed under RICO that it’s suffered a “concrete finan- cial loss” because a customer canceled an order over fears the grapes were contaminated with the smell of marijuana, the judge said. “The customer’s concerns, whether valid or invalid, arose directly from the proximity of defendants’ marijuana-grow operation,” Brown wrote in the 20-page opinion. The defendants — Mary and Steven Wagner, along with their son Richard — had argued that Momtazi’s alle- gations of lost grape sales, reduced grape marketability and reduced property rental See Damage, Page 11 EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER LET’S CONNECT ! 37-3/HOU
