Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2019)
AG FINANCE SPECIAL SECTION | PAGES 8-9 EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER Friday, December 13, 2019 CapitalPress.com Volume 92, Number 50 $2.00 THE RURAL VOTE WAS IMPORTANT IN THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, AND IT’S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT IN THE 2020 ELECTION. Nati Harnik/Associated Press File In this July 24, 2018, photo, corn grows in front of a barn carrying a large “Trump” sign in rural Ashland, Neb. President Donald Trump continues to be popular with many farmers. By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press How voters feel about President Trump B UHL, Idaho — Three helped push the New York real estate years ago, dairy farmer mogul and reality TV show boss over John Brubaker saw pres- the top in the 2016 election. A recent idential candidate Don- poll by Grinnell College in Iowa shows ald Trump as the that Trump’s approval rat- ing among rural voters ranges lesser of two evils. from 56% to 63% on issues Back then, Trump wouldn’t such as his performance as have been his first pick — but president, the economy and there was no way he’d vote on immigration. for Hillary Clinton, the former Voters’ one caveat is the U.S. senator and secretary of trade war with China, which state under President Barack has cost U.S. farmers bil- Obama. lions of dollars in an already Fast forward to a cold, Dairyman windy day checking cows on John Brubaker severe agriculture economic recession. Even so, the poll his dairy, and it’s a different showed a 49% approval rat- story — Trump is now his top ing on China. choice. Frustration over China and how “He has done a lot for rural Amer- ica, and he has done a lot for the nation, long the trade dispute will linger — in my opinion,” he said. with Trump now saying a resolution Brubaker, 65, is one of Trump’s See Trump, Page 15 many rural backers, a segment that This portion of The Grinnell College National Poll illustrates how urban/ rural Americans likely to vote view Donald Trump: Response (by percent) Category City Suburb Town Rural Total Definitely vote to re-elect Trump 31% 32 38 54 38 Consider someone else 12 14 18 10 13 Definitely vote to elect someone else 53 51 42 35 47 Not sure 3 2 2 1 2 Trump approval rate ... Response (by percent) City Suburb Town Rural Total 34% 36 45 56 40 ... As president ... On the economy 45 48 54 63 50 ... On immigration 34 33 45 56 40 ... On trade with China 35 31 42 49 38 NOTE: Based on telephone interviews with 1,003 U.S. adults ages 18 or older, including 806 likely voters in the 2020 general election. Responses were adjusted by sex, age, and race to reflect the general population. Margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Source: Grinnell College; Selzer & Company, Oct. 17-23, 2019 Capital Press graphic ••• RURAL VOTERS ACCOUNTED FOR 17% OF THE ELECTORATE IN THE 2016 ELECTION AND TRUMP CARRIED 62% OF THE RURAL VOTE, ACCORDING TO EXIT POLLS. Tiegs prevails over Simplot in auction for NORPAC facility Entrepreneur will buy Quincy, Wash., processing plant By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press PORTLAND — Farm entrepreneur Frank Tiegs has prevailed over the J.R. Simplot Co. in an auction to buy the bankrupt NORPAC cooperative’s pro- cessing plant in Quincy, Wash., for up to $107 million. The transaction is significant for farmers and workers in Oregon’s Wil- lamette Valley because it’s considered necessary for Tiegs to also take over the operations of Oregon processing facilities in Brooks and Salem. Lineage Logistics, a Michigan-based cold storage company, has made a $49 million offer to buy the bankrupt NOR- PAC cooperative’s Oregon processing facilities in Brooks, Salem and Stayton. NORPAC Foods has received a let- ter of intent to purchase the properties from Lineage Logistics, which would likely lease the Brooks and Salem plants to Tiegs’ Oregon Potato Co., said Albert Kennedy, the cooperative’s attorney, during a Dec. 10 bankruptcy court hearing in Portland. He did not discuss what Lineage Logistics planned to do with the Stay- ton facility. Tiegs, owner of the Oregon Potato Co., had previously bid on NORPAC’s Oregon facilities and its process- ing plant in Quincy, Wash., but later backed out, citing environmental and Capital Press File See NORPAC, Page 15 Workers at NORPAC Foods prepare onions for process- ing. Hemp swamps market and machinery Problems dampen enthusiasm for new crop By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press The surge of enthusi- asm that spurred a five- fold expansion of Oregon’s hemp acreage this year has been dampened by numer- ous problems that prevented many farmers from cashing in on the crop. A shortage of equip- ment necessary to harvest, dry and process hemp has forced many growers to abandon fields they initially hoped would reap robust financial rewards. “They got caught up in the grand illusion,” said Rick Kozen, a hemp entre- preneur whose Operation: Hemp Aid is helping dis- tressed growers. “It was almost set up for failure.” Expectations of strong revenues have often proven overly optimistic as the amount of hemp produced in Oregon and elsewhere has swamped the fledg- ling infrastructure needed to make finished prod- ucts available to potential buyers. “People heard there was a lot of money and they went into it fast and furious,” said Mark Taylor, founder of the Southern Oregon Hemp Co-Operative. “Poor plan- ning produces poor results in any commerce.” To compound the logis- tical issues facing hemp farmers, ill-timed rain downpours, hail storms and freezing weather damaged the crop’s quality in certain areas. While the 2019 season was bitterly disappointing for some hemp farmers, the turbulence and uncertainty are unfortunate “growing pains” that likely won’t per- manently hamper the indus- try’s potential for profit, experts say. See Hemp, Page 15 EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER LET’S CONNECT ! S159411-1
