EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER
Friday, January 15, 2021
Volume 94, Number 3
CapitalPress.com
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Jonathan Richards
Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, welcomed farmers to the organization’s virtual convention for 2021, which began
Jan. 10.
FARM BUREAU HOLDS STEADY
DESPITE POLITICAL SHIFT
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
D
espite the upcoming shift in political
power at the national level, the Amer-
ican Farm Bureau Federation expects
to remain plugged into top-level pol-
icy discussions about COVID-19
relief and other issues facing agriculture.
The organization’s president, Zippy Duvall,
recounted AFBF’s accomplishments under the
Trump administration during the Jan. 10 online
commencement of the group’s annual convention
— including the disbursal of billions of dollars in
farm aid, reduced taxes, updated trade deals and
regulatory reforms.
“We have made the most of our time,” Duval
said.
Even so, the organization is well prepared for
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE ON PAGE 4
the new make-up of Congress and the change in
presidential administrations, he said.
“Folks, let me assure you, it’s still our time,”
Duvall said. “Farm Bureau has built strong
relationships with every administration, every
Congress, and we’re already building those
relationships again to continue to be the strong
national voice of agriculture.”
On Jan. 11, the Farm Bureau’s congressio-
nal advocates are scheduled to expand on the
“new challenges and opportunities” facing
farmers, now that both the presidency and both
chambers of Congress will be controlled by
Democrats.
The theme of the organization’s 2021 vir-
tual convention — “Stronger Together” — was
chosen before the coronavirus pandemic hit
the U.S., Duvall said. “Little did we know how
appropriate that theme would be.”
Disruptions to the food chain from the pandemic
See Farm Bureau, Page 11
Oregon irrigators gain access to Willamette dam water
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Corps of Engineers
The Lookout Point Dam on the Middle Fork
Willamette River is one of 13 in Oregon’s Willa-
mette Basin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
has won Congressional approval to allocate 1.6
million acre-feet stored annually behind the
dams among irrigators, cities and fish.
Farmers, under new federal law, have
gained access to about 328,000 acre-feet
of water stored behind 13 dams in Ore-
gon’s Willamette Valley.
However, they’d be wise to wait until
further regulatory processes are finished
before installing irrigation structures to
take advantage of the newly available
water, experts say.
“We’re not going to encourage people
to invest money on-the-ground until we
have a better sense of what we’re talking
about long-term here,” said Mary Anne
Cooper, vice president of public policy
with the Oregon Farm Bureau.
Congress approved a plan to split
nearly 1.6 million acre-feet of water in
Willamette Valley reservoirs among irri-
gators, cities and in-stream flows in a
broader, $1.4 trillion spending bill that
became law in the final days of 2020.
The legislation contains several cave-
ats that are subject to different interpre-
tations among the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, which developed the plan, and
various groups that will compete for the
water.
Irrigators are allocated 327,650 acre-
feet under the plan, while municipal and
industrial users get 160,000 acre-feet.
More than 1.1 million acre-feet will be
dedicated to fish and wildlife purposes,
but the exact amounts are subject to revi-
sion based on regulatory findings.
The water’s division between agri-
cultural, municipal and environmental
purposes has been undefined for more
than two decades while the Corps navi-
gated legal obstacles, so the Congressio-
nal affirmation of its reallocation plan is a
major step forward.
Even so, the specifics of how the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers will adminis-
ter the water — especially when reservoir
levels are lower than normal — remains
ambiguous and will require clarification,
Cooper said.
“It’s one of the most complex water
management issues we’ve seen state-
wide,” she said. “You’d need a crystal
ball to accurately predict the future.”
While the recent federal legislation
See Irrigators, Page 11
Timberland owners face challenges after 2020 fires
Timberland owners
face seedling, labor and
equipment shortages after
2020 fires
By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
Timberland owners across the
West are facing a hard winter as they
struggle to replant millions of acres of
burned trees after 2020’s devastating
fire season.
The work is hard every year;
workers shovel, climb rough terrain
and hack cold ground while carrying
sacks of 100 seedlings around their
waists. This year, fire damage pres-
ents even greater challenges, includ-
ing seedling, labor and equipment
Rayonier
Companies and individual landowners face challenges replanting
timberlands after 2020’s devastating fires.
shortages.
“The fires are having major ripple
effects,” said Cindy Mitchell, senior
director of public affairs at the Wash-
ington Forest Protection Association.
California’s fires burned more than
4 million acres of forestland last year,
according to officials.
In Oregon, according to the state
Department of Forestry, more than 1
million acres were scorched, includ-
ing at least 250,000 acres of industrial
forestland.
Clearing debris has been diffi-
cult — made more so by the fact that
many logging companies lost equip-
ment, with equipment losses ranging
from $200,000 to $1.5 million apiece.
Timber companies are also facing
a major labor crisis.
The shortage is not as critical as
it was last summer when President
Trump’s immigration ban capped the
number of H-2B work visas; industry
groups have since won an exemption.
But Tim O’Hara, director of
governmental affairs at the Forest
Resources Association, said national
demand for forestry workers is inten-
sifying, especially after the fires. He
estimated that for fiscal year 2021,
See Timberland, Page 11