PAGES 7-10 EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER Friday, January 22, 2021 Volume 94, Number 4 CapitalPress.com Farmers pan Gov. Inslee’s unemployment fund tax plan IN THEIR OWN WORDS By DON JENKINS Capital Press The White House Getty Images FARMERS TELL PRESIDENT BIDEN THEIR HOPES, FEARS By MATTHEW WEAVER • Capital Press R ICE, Wash. — “Pretty worried.” That’s how Rice, Wash., rancher Scott Nielsen answers when asked his thoughts on the Joe Biden presidency. Nielsen is one of 2 million U.S. farmers and ranchers who will be watching Biden’s decisions closely in the next four years. His concerns include regulations, environmental issues, running cattle on national forest land and gun control. The Capital Press asked several farmers and ranchers to imagine they were sitting across a table from Biden. What would they tell the new president, if given that chance? Some were cordial. Others were skeptical. Still others didn’t respond at all. And a few refrained from writing, say- ing the words they’d use wouldn’t be appropriate to print in a newspaper. Others expressed willingness to work with Biden and his administration, reminding him that their livelihoods are at stake. Here, in their own words, are messages to Biden from farmers and ranchers. CATTLE A s an independent cattle producer I am asking for help from the federal government. Independent cattle pro- ducers are self-reliant folks who seldom ask for help. As an independent cattle producer I am part of the food supply that feeds the American people. I produce a safe, healthy product that is highly sought after by the Ameri- can consumers. My beef is raised to Ameri- can standards, American regulations for American consumers. American-born and -raised beef is being replaced by a commingled product from multi- ple countries that is marketed as an American product. I believe this is deceptive to American consumers and it is being done to bolster the profits of multinational meat compa- Scott Nielsen nies, not for the benefit of the American consumers or American ranchers. American consumers demand a product that is held to a different standard. As food suppliers we have a responsibil- ity to meet these demands. As independent cattle produc- ers we have modified our operations to meet these demands. Today the federal government allows beef, born and raised under a different standard, to be marketed in a fashion that $2.00 makes it appear as our product. — Scott Nielsen is a Rice, Wash., rancher, president of the Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association and treasurer of the Cattle Producers of Washington. WHEAT F armers make up the base of American agriculture. To help keep this base strong, we urge that any major pol- icy decision made by your administration have grower input from across the differ- ent commodities. Additionally, agen- cies beyond the USDA, like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, can impact agriculture, so it is essen- tial that policy and regulations be based on sound science, interagency coordination and are not unnecessar- ily burdensome. While we understand that poli- Dave Milligan tics must play a role, we hope that your administration will put the grower first. To us, farming is not a job. It is our passion and livelihood. It is critical that your team recognizes this as it works to bring in new guidelines. Every day, America’s wheat farmers work hard to feed consumers here and abroad. Wheat is a food grain and is vital to maintaining a healthy diet. As a result, we believe that wheat can play a large role in ending food insecurity. Lastly, a strong trade agenda and agriculture can create jobs as the economy rebounds from COVID-19. We look forward to working with you and your team over these next four years. — Dave Milligan is a Cass City, Mich., wheat farmer and president of the National Association of Wheat Growers. DAIRY T he dairy industry thanks you for working with agriculture to understand our priorities as you shape your plans for our country. Like many in agriculture, dairy was hard-hit by the impacts of COVID when restaurants and schools closed. While some recovery has been evi- John Brubaker dent and the USDA’s Food Boxes for Families program was successful and much-needed, our future focus will be on driv- ing exports and innovation in the dairy category at large. See Biden, Page 12 Washington agricultural employ- ers face triple-digit tax increases to replenish the state’s unemployment fund, drained by economy-wide lay- offs and raided by a Nigerian fraud ring. Gov. Jay Inslee also proposes to increase jobless benefits by about $200 million this year. To dull the short-term pain to employers, the gov- ernor proposes to somewhat restrain tax hikes in 2021. In the long run, however, the rates that farms and other businesses pay for unemployment insurance would rise even higher. Washington Farm Bureau associ- ate director of government relations Breanne Elsey said Jan. 14 lawmakers should shore up the unemployment fund with state or federal revenues, until government lockdowns end. “Many of us believe the fund will fix itself when the economy reopens,” she said. “The fund itself is incredibly resilient.” The unemployment fund was a robust $4.86 billion a year ago. It dwindled to $1.96 billion by late last year and is projected to decline further this year as the pandemic continues. To make matters worse, a Nige- rian fraud ring scammed $600 million from the fund as of June 30, according to the state’s auditor. Most of the money has been recov- ered. The Employment Security Department says losses now stand at $243 million. Even employers who didn’t lay off workers will pay to rebuild the fund. Unemployment insurance rates are based partly on a “social tax” that spreads out the burden of paying job- less benefits when unemployment rates rise. “Really, the hit to agriculture here is the social cost,” Elsey said. Elsey said she’s talked to farmers whose next payments, due April 1, are increasing by 200% to 600%. “We’ve had rates basically all over the map,” she said. Kittitas County farmer Karen Poulsen told the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee on Jan. 13 that she has paid one $400 unemployment claim in 28 years, yet faces higher taxes. “I have not pulled money out of the unemployment system,” she said. “I think the state should tap the fed- eral funds first and then the general fund rather than adding the cost, espe- cially the social costs, onto the back of employers like myself.” Based on current formulas, the average tax employers pay on wages will rise to 1.88% from 1.03%. Under the Inslee administration’s proposal, the average tax would be 1.17% this year. See Inslee, Page 12 Spotted owl’s ‘critical habitat’ cut by 3.5 million acres By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press The federal government has removed 17 times more land from the threatened spotted owl’s “critical hab- itat” than it had originally proposed, likely provoking a court challenge. Environmentalists and the tim- ber industry expect a legal battle over the Trump administration’s 3.47 mil- lion-acre reduction to the owl’s criti- cal habitat, up from the 205,000-acre decrease initially proposed last year. Critical habitat for federally pro- tected species cannot be adversely modified, even if it’s unoccupied, which is seen as a hindrance to logging on designated acres. Instead of leaving more than 9 mil- lion acres in the owl’s critical habit, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decreased it to about 6 million acres by excluding federal lands that were pre- viously allocated for logging. “It makes sense that would be the Founded in 1945 by Farmers and Ranchers. We still measure success by the acre. focus. It will make forest manage- ment a lot simpler to administer,” said Lawson Fite, attorney with the Ameri- can Forest Resource Council, a timber group. “It really puts things in a more manageable and reasonable space.” Roughly 80% of national forests are already in reserves where log- ging is mostly prohibited, whereas the remaining “matrix” lands are intended to be available for timber harvest, Fite said. However, the earlier 9.5 mil- lion-acre critical habitat designation intruded upon those “matrix” lands, impeding logging projects on that acreage, he said. “You have these conflicting and inconsistent management directives,” Fite said. Likewise, the federal government’s recent critical habitat designation has excluded Bureau of Land Manage- ment property that’s required by law See Owl, Page 12 Welcome to Our Caldwell, Idaho Team! Becky Temple, Alan Bullard, Logan Schleicher, and Gaye Doanato. Experienced and ready to serve Western Idaho, with a focus on Agriculture and Commercial loans. ARLINGTON BOARDMAN CONDON FOSSIL HERMISTON IRRIGON LA GRANDE MORO PENDLETON ATHENA BURNS ENTERPRISE HEPPNER IONE JOHN DAY MADRAS ONTARIO PRAIRIE CITY CALDWELL / 208-402-4887 / 422 S. 9TH AVE. S216203-1 Member FDIC