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EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER DAIRY SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE Friday, June 5, 2020 Volume 93, Number 23 CapitalPress.com $2.00 A SECOND CHANCE As the agricultural economy falters, more farms file for bankruptcy protection to reorganize their finances By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press M ABTON, Wash. — The Mensonides family designed its dairy with “cow flow” in mind. Cows enter the milking barn in one direction and exit a different way. Free stalls are 3 feet longer, giving the cows easier access to feed and exercise. “Easier cow flow is less stress for the cow, and less stress for the cow equals more milk for the dairy farmer,” said Kris- tyn Mensonides. But at this dairy, it’s the farmers who are under stress. The Mensonides family is among a growing number of family farmers who have sought protection under federal bankruptcy laws as the agri- cultural economy falters. In gen- eral, the laws allow them to prevent lend- ers and others from foreclosing on land or equipment while they develop a plan to repay their debts. In many cases, farms emerge on stable financial footing, experts say. Art and Theresa Mensonides own the Mabton, Wash., dairy. Their daughter, Kris- tyn, manages accounts, and another daugh- ter, Amy, works in the office. Three other daugh- CHAPTER 12 BANKRUPTCIES ters are not affiliated with the dairy. The Mensonides family has 11,500 cows and milks about 5,200 of them. They raise corn, triticale and hay for feed on 650 acres. They employ 70 people. The dairy filed for Chapter 11 bank- ruptcy protection in June 2018. The Men- sonides family cited the years-long drop in BY THE NUMBERS 2019 2020 130 170 The West: 9 20 Oregon: 0 9 Idaho: 3 3 Washington: 0 3 U.S. totals: See Farms, Page 11 Matthew Weaver/Capital Press Kristyn Mensonides, left, with her parents, Theresa and Art Menson- ides, at the family’s dairy in Mabton, Wash. The dairy has reorganized its finances under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy law. Oregon governor announces $30M investment to protect farmworkers Food Security and Farmworker Safety Project includes funding for housing, PPE By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press SALEM — Oregon will pro- vide $30 million to help protect essential agricultural workers and maintain food supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Kate Brown announced May 28. Funding will go toward distrib- uting personal protective equip- ment, quarantining sick workers and helping farms to comply with temporary rules increasing field sanitation and housing restrictions. “Oregon’s agricultural work- ers on the front lines during this COVID-19 crisis, working to pro- vide food for Oregon families,” Brown said. “This investment will bring essential resources to agri- cultural producers and farmwork- ers, providing critical resources to keep workers safe and mitigate COVID-19 outbreaks while pro- tecting the food supply chain.” State lawmakers set aside $200 million from the federal Corona- virus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act to assist cities, counties and tribes paying for items such as face masks and hand sanitizer, contact tracing and testing capacity. Part of the money was also made eligible for agricultural field san- Oregon Gov. Kate Brown itation and worker housing under rules implemented by Oregon OSHA, the state’s occupational safety and health administration. Among the requirements, farms must roughly double the number of portable toilets and handwashing stations for crews picking crops and keep beds at least 6 feet apart or separated by an impermeable barrier — such as plastic sheets or Plexiglass — in labor camps. Oregon OSHA will begin enforcing the rules June 1, and they will remain in effect no later than Oct. 24 during the busy sum- mer harvest season. The governor’s office worked with state agencies, farmers and worker advocates to develop the Food Security and Farmworker Safety Project using $30 million in coronavirus aid. Volunteers have already handed out 1 million masks and 500 gallons of hand sanitizer to farms statewide at local drive-thru distribution centers. Other components of the pro- gram include: • $14 million for mitigating COVID-19 outbreaks, quaran- tining sick workers and award- ing grants to community-based organizations for field education, outreach and engagement with migrant workers. • $10 million for agricultural workforce housing and reimburs- ing farms to pay for motels and alternative housing for displaced workers. • $5 million for field sanitation, reimbursing farms for additional portable toilets and handwashing stations. See Safety, Page 11 EPA issues report analyzing heat pollution in Columbia, Snake rivers By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press PORTLAND — Oregon and Washington regulators are taking steps to address high water tem- peratures in the Columbia and Snake rivers that impact migrating salmon and steelhead. The U.S. Environmental Protec- tion Agency issued a report May 18 that details when and where the two rivers become too warm for fish to survive — especially at each of 14 federally operated dams spanning 900 river miles. The report, known as a “Total Maximum Daily Load,” or TMDL, typically studies industrial pol- lutants in waterways such as mer- cury, nitrogen or phosphorous. In this case, heat is the pollutant that causes stress in salmon, which are protected as an endangered species, Associated Press File The Ice Harbor dam on the Snake River near Burbank, Wash. A new EPA study blames dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers for raising the water temperature. and prevents them from spawning. Oregon and Washington have set a maximum temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the rivers to protect fish. According to the EPA, water temperatures at the dams regularly exceed that threshold between July and October. Conditions vary by time and location, but are generally warm- est farther downstream in August, ranging from 70 degrees at McNary Dam to nearly 72 degrees at Bonne- ville Dam on the Columbia River. Temperatures also exceeded 68 degrees in the lower Snake River, from 69 degrees at Lower Gran- ite Dam to 71 degrees at Ice Har- bor Dam. Environmentalists argue just a few degrees can be the difference between life and death for fish. In summer 2015, warm water exceeding 70 degrees was blamed for the death of 250,000 Snake River adult sockeye salmon, about half of that year’s anticipated run. Groups have urged the federal gov- ernment to consider removing the lower Snake River dams to avoid a repeat catastrophe. Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper, said the EPA’s TMDL is a victory See EPA, Page 11