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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2021)
12 CapitalPress.com Friday, January 22, 2021 Biden: Farmers tell President their hopes, fears in their own words Continued from Page 1 Our priorities include: • Enhancing trade opportunities around the world for U.S. dairy. • Ensuring that borders remain open to foreign-born labor markets and that we enhance workers’ abilities to remain employed in the U.S. • Encouraging long-term prosperity at the farm and processing plant levels. • Working with ag as a solution, not a primary cause, of climate change. • Protecting dairy in the very depend- able school lunch program as a key source of protein and nutrition. Dairy farmers remain committed to feeding the world with safe and nutritious food, and we see ourselves as catalysts of change. So, while the path to solving these issues may be complex, dairy farmers stand ready to collaborate and co-create a future where U.S. agriculture remains strong and a key player in solutions for a healthier globe. We look forward to work- ing with your cabinet choice, Secretary Tom Vilsack and your administration, to keep U.S. agriculture thriving. — John Brubaker is a Buhl, Idaho, dairy farmer, vice chairman of Dairy West and a member of the farm leader- ship team serving the U.S. Dairy Export Council. POTATOES Washington FFA I’m a third-generation potato farmer The Washington FFA state officer team. From left are Secretary Gunnar Aune, Treasurer Alissa Whitaker, President Cole Baerlocher, who sees much potential in her commu- Vice President Lauren Stubbs, Reporter Haley Gilman and Sentinel Tysen White. nity and state. But that potential remains munity needs to be looked at as a solution gram will increase costs and reduce Thank you for listening. at risk without thoughtful, proactive provider in this issue. We need to be part- the availability of the workers — Andrea Davis owns and operates leadership at the national level to nered with to improve our carbon captur- farmers need to produce these Kings Valley Gardens U-Pick Blueberries address a range of agricultural ing ability rather than have the cost of our crops. in Monmouth, Ore. issues, including: • Competitive trade agree- inputs increase and harm the production Dams and water projects HAZELNUTS ments: Idaho agriculture of the very products that will help resolve make America great by pro- Agriculture and natural resource indus- ducing clean, reliable hydro- depends in large part on the issue. Oregon’s trees, plants and crops tries have always been a major identity of power and making Western sequester carbon. Please give us the oppor- exports. Market access will tunity to help solve the climate crisis. the United States, providing food and fiber America one of the most pro- help support a sustainable ag ductive agricultural regions in These are only two of many import- not just within our borders but glob- economy in Idaho for the next Britt Raybould ally. Our great nation is known for ant issues facing our industry and the world. The wrong modifica- generation. tions to regulatory regimes such • Reliable infrastructure: It’s quality rather than quantity, and our great nation. We implore time to repair our transportation networks as the National Environmental Policy Act, it’s taken generations to get us you to be a leader. Please act and build fast broadband to reach all our Endangered Species Act, Waters of the here. and move this great nation forward! communities. Reliable networks, both U.S. and a host of others can be devas- I do have some requests tating to all farmers and the ability of our — Mark Bigej is physical and digital, will help the U.S. on behalf of an entire irrigation districts to deliver water in an co-owner and chief opera- stay competitive in a global market. industry — fight for farm- ers, ranchers and foresters tions officer of Al’s Garden • H-2A modernization: The current efficient and reliable manner. H-2A guestworker program doesn’t meet Center and Greenhouses LLC because we quite literally feed In irrigated agriculture I have great Bryan Harper in Oregon. the needs of Idaho agriculture. Even tar- the world, and the world wants confidence in our local and regional peo- ple at the Bureau of Reclamation. It is my geted changes, like a long-term solution what we can grow. Consider how FFA hope that a new Biden administration will to the Adverse Effect Wage Rates, would your policies may affect our natural We understand the journey you are listen to them and us before they put forth help our farmers significantly. resource industries. Farmers and the like • Regulatory reform: Regulation is about to embark on is not easy, but as the costly and unworkable new regulations. have very little within their control every rarely a silver bullet and often a danger- next generation of America’s leaders and — Charles Lyall is a farmer in Mat- season. We can do everything right and tawa, Wash. ous trap. Proceed with caution and take agriculturists, we believe your term will still come up short. Mother Nature is the the time to involve the ag community in be marked as successful if you consider biggest culprit of that, but politics can be ORGANIC the review process. the three cornerstones of our organization: just as damaging. None of these concerns are new, but Growing Leaders, Building Communities Whether we like it or not, agriculture BLUEBERRIES their urgency is becoming greater as we and Strengthening Agriculture. is a global enterprise and you must keep Congratulations and welcome! My see other nations growing more com- We implore you to embody these ide- our industries competitive nationally and petitive. Do not miss this opportunity to als by encouraging the youth of our coun- partner John Madsen and I own and oper- in the global market. We breathe the same try to graciously serve others through fair ate a small U-pick blueberry farm ensure a healthy future for U.S. agricul- air, drink the same water and the ture, which benefits the whole country. in rural western Oregon. We’ve and just leadership while pursuing their land is our livelihood, so let’s get — Britt Raybould is a Rexburg, used organic practices for 22 passions. In turn, their actions impact the dialogue going. Idaho, potato farmer and president of the those around them, fortifying and build- years. — Bryan Harper is owner ing their communities. Now more than National Potato Council. My biggest wishes for the and operator of Harper ever, we need to strengthen our commu- USDA under your adminis- Farms Inc. in Junction City, TREE FRUIT nities to address the challenges our coun- tration are that: Ore. Farmers and ranchers, big and small, try is facing. • At least a small fraction NURSERY are on the production floor of the Amer- Finally, we urge you to promote the of the billions of dollars of ican economy and are filled with trepi- Our country needs our agricultural industry by advocating for subsidies for rice, corn, wheat, Andrea Davis dation about the incoming Biden admin- factual information and delegating respon- elected officials to work on com- cotton and soybeans grown by promising on issues and mov- sibilities. Agriculture has not ceased istration. On many issues we fear that huge corporate farms will be redi- ing forward. We need you to take action rected to small farms that practice organic nor shied away in the face of adversity. favorable advancements made under Hard-working American agricul- on important topics, not sidestep and regenerative agriculture. (President Donald) Trump will be turists house, clothe and feed them. The fabric of the nursery, • Black people, indigenous erased or go backwards under a billions, not just domestically, greenhouse and retail industry people, and people of color will Biden presidency. Increased but globally. It is your duty is family-owned — not some be recruited for grant review regulation of agriculture will to be well-versed on the pos- “corporate” operation. Agri- panels and USDA advisory negatively impact our bottom culture is a vital part of the itive impact American agri- committees. line and competitiveness in culture is making in the lives community and we are proud The USDA will re-es- a brutal global marketplace. tablish the organic and sus- of all and provide support of our stewardship and envi- The legacies of past Demo- ronmental ethic, but we face cratic administrations’ regula- tainable agriculture policy as our industry continues to tory regimes is the euthanasia big issues. adviser position, which was meet both domestic and global Mark Bigej Charles Lyall of small and independent farms, One of the major issues that eliminated under the Trump needs. We are excited about the which favors the ascension of cor- continues to not be addressed is administration. future of agriculture and youth porate agriculture and foreign ownership development dedicated to growing lead- immigration reform. There is a very real I would also dearly love to see the ers, building communities and strengthen- of American farmland. labor shortage in agriculture, and it is high Americorps/Vista program expanded, Labor is the single most expensive ing agriculture. time that we put politics aside and act. We with farm labor as an option. If young input for many specialty crops such as — The 2020-2021 Washington FFA need a comprehensive immigration solu- folks from the city were encouraged to tion that will lead to a sufficient legal apples, cherries, hops and berries that Association State Officer Team is Cole serve in rural areas, and if young folks workforce. Washington state leads the nation in. Baerlocher, president; Lauren Stubbs, from farms and rural areas could serve in Another major issue facing the coun- Dairy, wine grapes, pears and produce are vice president; Gunnar Aune, secretary; the city and be listened to and validated, try is the reduction of our collective envi- also labor-intensive. Additional regulation Alissa Whitaker, treasurer; Haley Gil- perhaps we could begin to heal the con- ronmental impact. The agricultural com- tentious divide between “red” and “blue.” man, reporter and Tysen White, sentinel. and the wrong changes to the H2A pro- Owl: Roughly 80% of national forests are in reserves, logging is mostly prohibited Inslee: Governor’s plan calls for increasing minimum benefit to $270 a week from $201 Continued from Page 1 Continued from Page 1 to be managed for sustained timber yields, he said. These forested O&C Lands — Ore- gon & California Railroad Revested Lands — exist in a checkerboard pattern in West- ern Oregon. “The BLM doesn’t have any discretion,” Fite said. The Center for Biologi- cal Diversity, an environmen- tal group that opposes the crit- ical habitat reduction, believes the significant increase in excluded acreage in the final rule will make it vulnerable in court. “Whatever the agency does, the final rule has to be a logical outgrowth of the pro- posed rule,” said Ryan Adair Shannon, an attorney with the organization. “What it doesn’t allow for is to come out with a completely different rule, lit- erally an order of magnitude larger than the first.” The environmental group disagrees that O&C Lands must be managed for “indus- trial timber” and doesn’t believe critical habitat is incongruous with “matrix” lands in national forests, said Noah Greenwald, its endan- gered species director. Logging can still occur within critical habitat if an Endangered Species Act “consultation” occurs over a project’s impacts, he said. “It wouldn’t preclude and hasn’t precluded timber sales from moving forward on those matrix lands.” While the Center for Bio- logical Diversity argues that reducing the owl’s critical habitat amounts to a “nail in the coffin” for the species, the American Forest Resource Council counters that barred owls, a competing species, and wildfires pose a greater hazard to the iconic bird. However, the organiza- tions can agree on one thing: The new critical habitat desig- nation will result in litigation. “I have no doubt it will be challenged,” said Shannon. The rate would go up, but not as fast. The Inslee administration character- izes that as a tax “cut.” By 2025, however, the bill would come due. Under the governor’s plan, the average tax rate would be 2.23%. Under current law, it’s projected to be 1.8%. The governor’s plan also calls for increasing the minimum benefit to $270 a week from $201 a week. The state projects paying out $3.3 billion instead of $3.1 billion. “Under the proposal, Washington will main- tain the highest weekly minimum benefit amount in the nation,” said Dan Zeitlin, policy director for the Employment Security Department. The governor’s proposal also allows older workers and those with health prob- lems or who live with some- one at risk to quit during a public health emergency and collect unemployment. The Senate labor com- mittee took testimony on the governor’s plan, con- tained in Senate Bill 5061. It was endorsed by the Washington State Labor Council and the Washing- ton Hospitality Association, whose members, restau- rants and hotels, face crush- ing unemployment tax bills. Some other business groups said that while the bill delays some of the pain, it still raises taxes during a recession. They said law- makers should do just enough to get the unem- ployment fund through the pandemic, without taxing employers out of business. “Although the system has been stressed, getting people back to work is a self-correcting mechanism and should be priority one,” Washington Retail Associ- ation lobbyist Bruce Beck- ett said.