Friday, May 21, 2021
CapitalPress.com 11
Port bottlenecks pinch potato exports
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
U.S. potato exports have
faced “a great deal of adver-
sity” in the marketing year
that started July 1, Potatoes
USA said.
Spring 2020’s sharp
decline in frozen product
sales was followed by contin-
ued low demand in July-Sep-
tember, the marketing group
reported.
As COVID-19 restrictions
eased and markets adjusted,
demand started to rebound in
the fall.
Shipping issues then
began to limit the ability
of U.S. exporters to meet
demand.
Potatoes USA said the
lack of containers, port con-
gestion, delayed and can-
celed shipments, and costs
have increased in 2021.
These factors limited exports
— and resulted in shortages
of frozen, dehydrated and
fresh potatoes in many mar-
kets — despite the return of
demand.
Importers have begun to
ration the limited supplies,
prioritizing large restaurant
and retail chains and estab-
lished accounts.
“The pervasive and
underlying issue for Ore-
gon and Northwest potato
exports, and really most U.S.
food and agricultural exports,
are the shipping vessel chal-
lenges that we are facing,”
Oregon Potato Commission
Executive Director Gary
Roth said.
Shipping containers arriv-
ing with import goods nor-
mally are unloaded and
then sent to rural areas to
be loaded with agricultural
crops and products.
But recently, with lucra-
tive freight rates on the
imports combined with con-
gestion and delays at U.S.
ports, “these containers that
have brought imported cargo
are being sent back empty,
and that has severely lim-
ited U.S. agricultural exports
including potatoes,” he said.
“This issue has been going
on for some time now,” Roth
said. “It is approaching crisis
proportions.”
Shipper consolidation is
also a factor.
Oregon is a major potato
producer. Roth said about
80% of the state’s potatoes go
to frozen processing. About
one-third of the frozen, pro-
cessed product grown and
produced in the Columbia
River Basin of Oregon and
Washington is exported.
“When you no longer
have the ability to ship a
product to a customer who
wants it, that can only be bad
news for everyone on the
supply side,” he said.
Idaho Potato Commis-
sion International Marketing
Director Ross Johnson said
the commission agrees bot-
tlenecks at ports across the
world are causing exports to
slow dramatically.
Third attempt to ban Oregon
coyote-hunting contests fails
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
An attempt to ban coy-
ote-hunting contests in Ore-
gon has failed for the third
time after a key legislative
committee didn’t take action
on the bill.
House Bill 2728, which
would have prohibited kill-
ing of coyotes in compe-
titions for cash or prizes,
passed by House 32-14 last
month but has now died in
the Senate Energy and Envi-
ronment Committee.
The committee did not
schedule a work session on
HB 2728 by the May 14
deadline, the most recent
cutoff date for keeping leg-
islation alive.
Proponents of the bill
argued that it would stop a
cruel and counterproductive
practice while still allow-
ing ranchers to protect their
livestock.
“It is past time we put
an end this is vestige of a
bygone era of non-fair chase
wildlife management, said
Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clats-
kanie, referring to the “fair
chase” ethical standard
of hunting without unfair
advantages.
Such coyote-killing con-
tests are different than hunt-
ing competition or fishing
derbies in which participants
vie to obtain the largest ant-
USDA
A bill that would prohibit coyote-hunting contests in Oregon has failed for the third time.
lers or fish within bag lim-
its, he said before the House
floor vote.
Killing coyotes on a large
scale also doesn’t result in
meaningful population con-
trol of the predators, since
they typically respond by
accelerating reproduction,
Witt said.
However,
the
bill
wouldn’t limit hunting coy-
otes for this purpose, he
said. “Problem animals or
not, coyotes may still be
hunted or shot year-round,
just not for contest money or
prizes.”
Rep.
Mark
Owens,
R-Crane, said he disagrees
with the characterization of
coyote-hunting contests as
wasteful slaughter.
The pelts are collected
and used to raise money
for good causes, while the
average number of coyotes
killed by a competitor is less
than one, he said.
The contests also bring a
Trade Representative Tai
hosts first USMCA meeting
labor complaint with Mex-
ico under the USMCA. The
complaint alleged a labor
WASHINGTON, D.C. — violation at a General Motors
This week, U.S. Trade Rep- plant in northern Mexico.
resentative Katherine Tai is
The next day, Mexico
hosting the first major talks fired back, calling for an
on the United States-Mex- investigation of how Mex-
ico-Canada Agreement, or ican migrant workers are
USMCA.
treated in the U.S. at meat-
Trade officials from the packing plants and across
U.S., Mexico and Canada agricultural industries.
will discuss the deal
Labor leaders
near its one-year
and farm groups
anniversary.
are watching to see
Agricultural trade
how Tai — who
between the coun-
has called herself
tries is a key part of
a
“worker-cen-
tered” trade nego-
the USMCA, and the
tiator — will han-
talks could have sig-
nificant impacts for Katherine dle the accusations
Tai
American farmers,
and perceived labor
trade experts say.
rights violations.
Agriculture
Secretary
Agricultural
industry
Tom Vilsack told the Capi- leaders are also watching for
tal Press earlier this spring any possible shifts in Mexi-
both he and Tai have already can trade barriers.
In recent months, Mexi-
had some individual conver-
sations with trade leaders co’s president, Andres Man-
in Mexico and Canada. But uel Lopez Obrador, has
this will be the first official imposed many commer-
USMCA meeting under the cial trade barriers on U.S.
imports, hurting some Amer-
new administration.
U.S.-Mexico immigra- ican farmers.
tion and labor tensions,
Several pro-ag and busi-
Mexican ag barriers, Cana- ness groups are calling for
dian dairy markets and lum- change.
ber trade agreements will be
“Mexico’s failure to
among the discussion topics. adhere to the USMCA over
Tensions
between the last nine months has
the U.S. and Mexico are threatened American jobs,”
expected over the issue of Brian Pomper, executive
labor.
director of the Alliance for
On May 12, the Biden Trade Enforcement, a U.S.
administration filed its first business coalition, said in
By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
a statement. “It’s time for
USTR to bring Mexico into
full compliance with the
agreement.”
Canadian dairy questions
will also be on the table in
this week’s discussions.
The U.S. dairy industry
has long been trying to pry
open Canada’s market to
allow more milk, cheese and
other dairy products from
the U.S.
In public statements, the
U.S. Dairy Export Council
and National Milk Producers
Federation have criticized
Canada’s existing trade pol-
icies relating to dairy and
urged a more open market.
It’s not yet clear what
Tai will do. The USTR told
the House Ways and Means
Committee last week that
she takes the Canadian dairy
issue seriously but that she
hopes to resolve the problem
through discussions rather
than litigation.
Timber and other natural
resource industries are also
watching this week’s talks.
A bipartisan group of more
than 90 U.S. House mem-
bers, in a letter sent to Tai
Monday morning, asked the
trade representative to nego-
tiate a new softwood lumber
agreement with Canada.
The lawmakers wrote
that a new agreement was
needed because “lumber
prices have skyrocketed
more than 300% since last
spring.”
surge of tourism to remote
parts of Oregon during the
wintertime, Owens said.
While the science shows
that contests aren’t a long-
term way to reduce coyote
populations, the competi-
tions do serve an intermedi-
ate purpose due to their tim-
ing, he said.
“They allow the dispatch
of some coyotes around
calving grounds and are his-
torically done when the cows
begin to calve,” Owens said.
He said demand for the
state’s potatoes is at an all-
time high, “which makes
the West Coast port situation
even more frustrating.”
Mexico’s supreme court
recently allowed the import
of U.S. fresh potatoes. Pre-
viously they were allowed
only in a small area near the
border.
“We anticipate that with
the recent decision in Mex-
ico, along with port author-
ity hopes for the situation
to sort itself out, the future
for export volumes should
rebound very strongly as we
head into our new crop,”
Johnson said.
IPC marketing efforts set
the stage for strong demand
in fresh, frozen and dehy-
drated categories, he said,
and “as we look ahead to the
future, we anticipate growth
numbers to look even more
impressive than the decline
numbers we have seen due to
supply-chain constraints.”
Potatoes USA said exports
of frozen potato products for
July 2020-March 2021 were
down 10%. Exports in March
2021 were up 13% from
March 2020.
U.S. exports of dehy-
drated potatoes were down
3% for the year and up 19%
in March compared to a year
ago.
Exports of fresh potatoes
— chipping and table-stock
— were even for the year but
up 32% in March compared
to a year ago.
Court dismisses ranchers’
case against the USDA
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
A federal judge in Wyo-
ming has dismissed an
amended lawsuit filed by
R-CALF USA and four
ranchers that alleged the
USDA Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service
violated the Federal Advi-
sory Committee Act in its
effort to mandate radio fre-
quency identification eartags
on adult cattle entering into
interstate commerce.
South Dakota ranchers
Kenny and Roxy Fox and
Wyoming ranchers Tracy
and Donna Hunt were the
other plaintiffs.
The court determined
the documents provided by
APHIS did not prove the
agency unlawfully estab-
lished and utilized two com-
mittees that helped it address
technical and logistical
issues necessary to imple-
ment a mandatory RFID
system.
R-CALF
contended
those committees consisted
of RFID manufacturers and
other advocates and alleged
they pursued the precise
agenda dictated to them by
APHIS.
Federal District Judge
Nancy Freudenthal ruled
APHIS did not form or select
the membership of the Cattle
Traceability Working Group
and the Producer Traceabil-
ity Council and did not exer-
cise management or control
over the operations of either
for the purposes of FACA.
The court also found
APHIS was not a member
of either group. It provided
input but no funding to either
group.
The amended lawsuit
sought to prohibit APHIS
from using the work prod-
uct of the two committees
should the agency proceed
with future efforts to man-
date RFID tags.
Unless the case is
appealed, APHIS is free to
use whatever work product
it obtained from the commit-
tees should it start a future
rulemaking process for
RFID technology, according
to the judge.
While R-CALF might
have lost this battle, it has
had success in the broader
war over the RFID mandate,
according to the organiza-
tion’s leader.
Represented by the New
Civil Liberties Alliance,
R-CALF and the ranch-
ers filed an initial complaint
in October 2019 alleging
APHIS’ pronouncement that
it would mandate RFID by
2023 was unlawful. APHIS
promptly withdrew its
mandate.
In July 2020, APHIS
issued a formal notice
announcing it was reinstat-
ing its RFID mandate with
a start date of January 2023.
The New Civil Liberties
Alliance, R-CALF and oth-
ers filed comments in oppo-
sition to the notice arguing it
was unlawful.
Oregon hemp commission makes headway
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
SALEM — A proposal to
create a commodity commis-
sion for hemp is making head-
way in Oregon after three ear-
lier attempts failed to pass
muster during previous legis-
lative sessions.
House Bill 2284 would
assess hemp farmers up to
1.5% of the crop’s value to
raise money for promotions
and research.
Because the crop was only
recently legalized at the fed-
eral level through the 2018
Farm Bill, farmers have scant
science-based
information
about the most effective grow-
ing methods, according to
proponents.
Research would also delve
into encouraging coexistence
among different forms of can-
nabis, which is often grown
for unseeded female flow-
ers and is thus vulnerable to
cross-pollination.
“We all know there is a
lot of research the industry
still needs,” said Courtney
Moran, president of the Ore-
gon Industrial Hemp Farmers
Association.
“We see House Bill 2284
as an incredible opportunity
for the Oregon hemp program,
putting hemp on the same
level playing field as other
agricultural commodities in
our state,” she said during a
recent legislative hearing.
Oregon currently has 23
other commodity commis-
sions for crop, livestock and
fish products, which are over-
seen by the state’s Department
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press FIle
Proponents of a commod-
ity commission for hemp
are making headway with
their fourth attempt in the
Legislature.
of Agriculture.
Moran said the hemp
industry is trying to obtain
one-time federal funding,
which would minimize the
need for assessing farmers
during the commission’s first
operating year in 2022.
The original seven mem-
bers of the hemp commission
would be appointed by the
ODA’s director, with a major-
ity of them having grown the
crop for at least three years.
These temporary mem-
bers would then establish the
rules for the commission, such
as the number of permanent
members and their geographic
representation.
The Senate Committee on
Natural Resources and Wild-
fire Recovery will decide on
May 19 whether to refer HB
2284 for a vote on the Sen-
ate floor. The bill was unani-
mously passed by the House
last month.
Hemp prices have steeply
fallen due to an oversupply
of the crop intended for the
CBD market, which has suf-
fered due to uncertainty about
how the compound will be
regulated.
Cannabidiol, or CBD,
is touted for its anti-inflam-
matory properties and other
health benefits but the fed-
eral government hasn’t yet
decided whether to approve it
as a dietary supplement.
The extraction process for
CBD has also run into federal
limits on THC — the psycho-
active substance in marijuana
— that the hemp indus-
try is challenging in court as
unworkable.
These struggles indicate
it’s probably the wrong time
to create a commodity com-
mission in Oregon, though the
concept itself is sound, said
Seth Crawford, a hemp seed
breeder from Independence,
Ore., in written testimony.
Commodity commissions
are “much easier to establish
than they are to disband, and
I would hate to see Oregon
farmers paying assessments
to a commission without clear
federal guidance established,”
he said.
Though the hemp commis-
sion proposal hasn’t encoun-
tered much opposition in
2021, neither did earlier ver-
sions of the bill that ultimately
failed.
The concept was first
introduced and unanimously
approved by a House com-
mittee in 2017 but died in the
Joint Committee on Ways and
Means, which is the same fate
that met a similar bill in 2019.