Friday, November 22, 2019
5
CapitalPress.com
Agriculture directors ask
U.S., Canada to OK USMCA
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
State and provincial
agriculture directors from
the U.S., Canada and Mex-
ico affirmed their support
last week for the new North
American trade deal.
Meeting in Winnipeg,
Canada, at the Tri-Na-
tional Agricultural Accord,
the directors issued a joint
statement asking U.S. and
Canadian lawmakers to
ratify the agreement as
soon as possible. Mexico
already has approved the
pact.
“I think collectively, in
our countries, we do have
the ability to help move
the ball, particularly when
we’re on the same page,”
said Washington Agricul-
ture Director Derek Sandi-
son, who attended the
annual conference.
The Trump adminis-
tration finished negotiat-
ing the United States-Mex-
ico-Canada
Agreement
almost 14 months ago. The
nonpartisan U.S. Inter-
national Trade Commis-
Tri-National Agricultural Accord
Representatives of state and provincial agricultural
directors from the U.S., Mexico and Canada sign a
statement Nov. 14 in Winnipeg, Canada, supporting
ratification of a new trade agreement between the
three countries. From left, Rodolfo Huipe of the Mexican
association of agriculture secretaries, Manitoba
Minister of Agriculture Blaine Pedersen, Mexican
Undersecretary of Agriculture Miguel Garcia Widner
and North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug
Goehring.
sion estimates the deal will
increase global U.S. farm
exports by 1.1%, or $2.2
billion a year.
Much of the gain would
come from higher exports
of dairy and poultry prod-
ucts to Canada. Quotas
would be lifted, but not
eliminated, before tariffs
that range from 200% to
300% took effect.
The USMCA also would
set up new processes for
resolving sanitary and
phytosanitary issues, and
approving biotechnology.
The USMCA would
replace the North Ameri-
can Free Trade Agreement.
Labor and environmental
groups have criticized the
new deal.
While the agriculture
directors were meeting in
Canada, House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi said an agree-
ment among House Dem-
ocrats that would allow
for a ratification vote was
“imminent.”
Meanwhile,
NAFTA
remains in force.
“There would be much
more nervousness about
(ratification) if there were
no underlying agreement
already in place,” Sandi-
son said.
“We’re anticipating an
incremental increase (in
exports). NAFTA did the
heavy lifting,” he said.
“What Washington agricul-
ture is interested in is, let’s
not undo a good thing.”
Although the agreement
remains unratified by the
U.S., it’s already helped
relations with Mexico,
Sandison said.
Idaho governor authorizes hemp transportation
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Idaho Gov. Brad Little
issued an executive order
Nov. 18 authorizing inter-
state transportation of indus-
trial hemp within the state’s
borders.
The executive order is
meant to resolve a conflict
between state and federal
law and serves as a stopgap
measure until the Idaho Leg-
islature enacts a more per-
manent solution.
The executive order
does not authorize or legal-
ize the production of hemp,
its byproducts, oils or any
other derivative prohibited
by Idaho law.
The 2018 Farm Bill legal-
ized hemp production and
prevents states from pro-
hibiting the transportation
of hemp. In October, USDA
issued interim rules regulat-
ing the production of hemp
in states where it is legal.
Idaho law prohibits the
possession of hemp unless
it is comprised of only the
stalks of the mature canna-
bis plant and contains 0.0%
of
tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC).
Executive action is
needed to temporarily
resolve the conflict between
state and federal law with
respect to interstate trans-
portation of hemp, the gov-
ernor’s office stated.
The Idaho State Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Idaho
State Police and Idaho
Transportation Department
will promulgate temporary
rules and work coopera-
tively to carry out the exec-
utive order.
“From the start, I have
stated I am not opposed to a
new crop such as hemp, but
that we need to be sure the
production and shipping of
industrial hemp is not a front
to smuggle illicit drugs into
and around Idaho,” Little
said in announcing the exec-
utive order.
The legal transporta-
tion of hemp was expected,
and his administration has
prepared for that develop-
ment by working with law
enforcement and others, he
said.
“My executive order is a
stopgap measure to address
the narrow issue of interstate
transportation of hemp until
the Idaho Legislature devel-
ops a permanent regulatory
framework around hemp,”
he said.
Drivers
transporting
hemp across Idaho will
be required to stop at the
first port of entry and pres-
ent documentation. Trans-
portation will be limited to
interstate highways and the
immediate vicinity of an
interstate highway, except in
the case of a state-authorized
detour.
Dan Wheat/Capital Press File
H-2A guestworkers from Mexico pick late blossoms off
apple trees in Washington state. Legislation in the U.S.
House would improve some aspects of the program but
not others, a critic says.
Farm labor bill draws
support, opposition
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
More than 300 agricul-
tural groups this week sent
a letter to U.S. House lead-
ers backing a farm labor
bill before its first Judiciary
Committee consideration,
but a Washington state farm
labor association has sharp-
ened its opposition to the
legislation.
The Farm Workforce
Modernization Act, H.R.
4916, introduced Oct. 30 by
Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Ca-
lif., and Dan Newhouse,
R-Wash., was to be heard by
the House Judiciary Com-
mittee on Nov. 20. It had the
backing of 24 Democrats
and 20 Republicans when
introduced.
“As foreign producers
take advantage of our labor
shortage and gain market
share, America will export
not only our food produc-
tion but also thousands of
these farm-dependent jobs.
Securing a reliable and
skilled workforce is essen-
tial, not only for the agri-
culture industry but for the
U.S. economy as a whole,”
the agricultural groups
wrote.
The bill provides renew-
able visas for agricultural
workers in the country ille-
gally, phases in mandatory
E-Verify (electronic verifi-
cation of employment eligi-
bility), makes changes to the
H-2A-visa agricultural for-
eign guestworker program
and freezes the minimum
wage of H-2A workers at
2019 levels throughout 2020.
Dan Fazio, executive
director of the farm labor
association Wafla, in Olym-
pia, Wash., says the bill
doesn’t do enough to rein in
escalating labor and housing
costs.
doesn’t reduce labor costs
enough and that he’s con-
cerned about housing costs
but thinks the bill can be
amended, if not in the House,
in the Senate.
The letter signed by the
more than 300 groups says
a few provisions in the bill
“raise significant concerns”
that should be worked on
as the bill moves forward in
Congress.
“The House must pass
legislation that preserves
agriculture’s
experienced
workforce by allowing cur-
rent farm workers to earn
legal status. For future needs,
legislation must include an
agricultural worker visa pro-
gram that provides access
to a legal and reliable work-
force moving forward,” their
letter states.
Fazio
wrote
Wafla
“strongly opposes” the bill
because “it will not lead to
a workable future flow” of
workers for labor-intensive
agriculture.
Wafla is the largest pro-
vider of H-2A-visa guest-
workers in the West.
Fazio called the bill
“mean-spirited and anti-
farmer” in a Nov. 18 email to
Wafla members. For exam-
ple, he said, bill sponsors
refuse to add a provision
allowing farmers to charge
foreign workers for housing.
“How is it fair that a
farmer who petitions work-
ers for H-2A visas must pro-
vide free housing while a
landscape company bring-
ing workers in to mow lawns
in King County, Wash., can
charge workers who are
here with an H-2B visa?” he
wrote.
Domestic workers who
live within 30 or 40 miles of
a farm are not eligible for free
housing, creating animus in
the workforce, he said.
PIONEER ®
HYBRID/BRAND
CRM
COMPETITOR
HYBRID/BRAND
P9188 Family
91
All Competitors
47
72%
15.1
P9998 Family
99
DeKalb
139
83%
13.2
P0075 AM™
100
All Competitors
73
84%
16.4
P0339 Family
103
DeKalb
79
72%
7.6
P1055 AM™
110
All Competitors
55
76%
13.3
P1366 Family
113
All Competitors
70
70%
13.0
S144664-1
S144657-1
LOCALLY TESTED
FOR LOCAL SUCCESS.
NUMBER OF
PERCENTAGE
PIONEER YIELD
COMPARI SONS
OF WINS
ADVANTAGE (BU/A)
THANKSGIVING
Advertising Deadlines
Because of Thanksgiving holiday, our
ad deadlines for the November 29 th ,
2019 issue must move ahead to:
See your local Pioneer sales professional for details. Visit us to see the
News Display & Legals
latest harvest results near you.
DEADLINE MON., NOV. 25TH at 3PM
Pioneer.com/yield
Classified Display Ads
DEADLINE TUES., NOV. 26TH at 5PM
Classified Line Ads
DEADLINE TUES., NOV. 26TH at 5PM
Data is based on an average of 2016-2019 comparisons made in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Utah through Nov. 8, 2019.
Comparisons are against any number of products of the indicated competitor brand, unless otherwise stated, and within +/- 5 CRM of the competitive
brand. Product responses are variable and subject to any number of environmental, disease and pest pressures. Individual results may vary. Multi-year
and multi-location data are a better predictor of future performance. DO NOT USE THIS OR ANY OTHER DATA FROM A LIMITED NUMBER OF TRIALS AS
A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN PRODUCT SELECTION. Refer to www.pioneer.com or contact a Pioneer sales representative or authorized dealer for the
latest and complete listing of traits and scores for each Pioneer ® brand product. Pioneer ® brand products are provided subject to the terms and
conditions of purchase which are part of the labeling and purchase documents. TM ® SM Trademarks and service marks of Dow AgroSciences, DuPont or
Pioneer, and their affi liated companies or their respective owners. © 2019 Corteva. PION9LOCL051_JP
1-800-882-6789 • CapitalPress.com
S152228-1
S147799-1