Friday, July 30, 2021
CapitalPress.com 5
Blueberry grower tests self-driving electric tractor
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
CLATSKANIE, Ore. —
California-based Monarch
Tractor will begin field tri-
als in Oregon this year of its
new electric, driver-optional
“smart” tractor.
Electric tractors are a new
frontier in U.S. agriculture,
so researchers, farmers and
Monarch Tractor staff will
be teaming up to test the new
vehicle across California,
Washington and Oregon with
USDA Conservation Innova-
tion Grant funding.
The Oregon portion of the
pilot project will take place
at Hopville Farms, with sites
in Clatskanie and Indepen-
dence. Jim Hoffmann, farm
owner, plans to test the trac-
tor on hundreds of acres of
blueberries.
Hoffmann estimated he
will decrease air pollution
on-site, reduce noise, save
Jim
Hoffmann
Praveen
Penmetsa
about 1,500 gallons of die-
sel per year and, because
the tractor has a self-driving
option, potentially save thou-
sands of hours of employee
labor.
“Like all farms, I’m
constantly looking at how
to do things better,” said
Hoffmann.
He plans to use the trac-
tor for many tasks, includ-
ing mowing between blue-
berry rows.
Hoffmann said he’s also
excited the tractor carries
multiple sensors and has
ports for more sensors so
Hoffmann can track data on
Monarch Tractor
A Monarch electric self-driving tractor drives between
rows of trees and sprays them.
pest pressure, plant health
and productivity.
While moving through
fields, the electric tractor can
simultaneously collect data
from “root to fruit” — from
ground floor to fruit level
— said Scott Fairbanks, an
independent researcher and
computer science expert at
Oregon State University.
This September, Fair-
banks plans to assign sev-
eral of his engineering stu-
dents to do capstone senior
projects related to this elec-
tric tractor’s data-collecting
capacities.
“I think what Monarch
has done is really power-
ful,” said Fairbanks. “It’ll
be almost like a goldrush:
for (OSU) students to go in
and figure out what data is
valuable.”
The e-tractor, accord-
ing to Monarch Trac-
tor co-founder and CEO
Praveen Penmetsa, can be
programmed once for a par-
ticular field and will then
“know” that route. The trac-
tor also uses an artificial
intelligence visual system to
“see” each field and relies on
a backup GPS system.
The tractor can be
recharged at any standard
220-volt outlet.
One of the downsides of
the e-tractor is that, com-
pared to a diesel tractor that
can quickly be refueled,
the e-tractor’s battery life is
expected to be only 6 to 10
hours.
Another obstacle to adop-
tion is the up-front invest-
ment; the base price for a
Monarch self-driving e-trac-
tor is $58,000.
Long-term maintenance,
too, may present challenges.
If an e-tractor breaks down,
a farmer may need to call in
specialty repair experts who
understand software and
electrical engineering.
However, Penmetsa, the
CEO, said Monarch antici-
pated this challenge. Rather
than commingling tradi-
tional mechanical, electri-
cal and software systems,
Monarch kept each system
as separate as possible so a
farmer could repair a basic
mechanical problem without
needing a software expert
if a problem was purely
mechanical.
Despite these drawbacks,
Hoffmann, the blueberry
grower, said he thinks the
tractor will be well worth the
investment.
“There’s no question
that an electric tractor costs
more up-front and possibly
in repairs than a comparable
horsepower vehicle,” he said.
“But all the benefits make it
totally appealing from an
economic standpoint.”
Audit recommends changing
OFRI’s governing statute
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
SALEM — Lawmakers should overhaul
the Oregon Forest Resources Institute’s gov-
erning statute to improve the agency’s objec-
tivity, according to state auditors.
Specifically, an “oversight function”
should verify the agency’s forestry infor-
mation is even-handed and its board should
include non-timber industry representatives
“to ensure a balance of public views,” the
audit by the Oregon Audits Division said.
Secretary of State Shemia Fagan oversees
the division.
The prohibition against OFRI influ-
encing legislation should be clarified to
“reduce the risk of conflict or confusion”
and its governing statute should provide
“greater specificity and direction” regard-
ing the institute’s purpose and authority,
the audit said.
Thirty years ago, lawmakers created the
agency to educate the public and landown-
ers about forest management, with timber
harvest taxes generating about $4 million in
annual funding.
Last year, OFRI came under media scru-
tiny for its alleged attempts to manipulate
legislation, scientific reports and public
perceptions to benefit the timber indus-
try, which prompted Gov. Kate Brown to
request the audit.
In addition to calling for revisions to
OFRI’s governing statute, the audit also
makes several recommendations for the
agency:
• Enact a policy to steer the agency’s
board and staff away from prohibited activ-
ities, such as instructing them when to seek
“legal or ethical advice.”
• Improve the agency’s internal controls
by implementing a mission statement that’s
in line with OFRI’s statutory requirements,
updating the agency’s strategic plan with “a
clear mission” and adopting quality standards
for the information put out by the institute.
• Enhance OFRI’s “transparency” by get-
ting input from environmental groups and
others about the agency’s work and including
the agency’s “statutory mandate” in its educa-
tional materials, among other steps.
• Consult with the state’s
Department of Justice and
Department of Adminis-
trative Services as part of
a “comprehensive review”
of its governing statute and
statewide policies.
Erin
The auditors made these
Isselmann recommendations after fault-
ing OFRI for depicting itself
as an “objective, educational entity” without
being clear that it’s required by statute to sup-
port the forest products industry.
“The agency’s public opinion research and
advertising efforts suggest the agency may be
working to shift public attitudes and opinions
to favor the industry, rather than providing
objective information,” the audit said.
There is “ongoing confusion” about
OFRI’s role as a public entity while the insti-
tute has “broad authority” but “limited over-
sight,” providing few “guard rails” for how
the agency pursues its goals, the audit said.
All of the institute’s board members are
associated with the timber industry, which
is inconsistent with “good governance prac-
tices” and tends to undermine the objectivity
of its educational information, the audit said.
Auditors also argue that OFRI has “made
some misleading statements” about the state’s
forestry laws by oversimplifying the “posi-
tive aspects of forestry” without delving into
adverse environmental impacts.
“By avoiding the inclusion of opposing
viewpoints, OFRI’s portrayal omits informa-
tion important for understanding the com-
plexities of forest management and forest
practice law in Oregon and therefore risks
misleading the public,” the audit said.
In a response letter to the audit, OFRI
pointed out that it’s funded entirely by taxes
on timber companies. It would be unfair to
deny the industry “the right to determine how
these funds should be spent,” the letter said.
Erin Isselmann, OFRI’s executive direc-
tor, said the agency has been transparent,
since its website explains how the agency is
funded and who sits on its board.
While the agency didn’t agree with some
of the auditor’s characterizations, OFRI has
agreed to implement the audit’s recommen-
dations by next fall, the letter said.
Investigation into fertilizer sparks price fears
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
U.S. trade regulators are
investigating whether fertil-
izer manufacturers in Rus-
sia and Trinidad are “dump-
ing” urea ammonium nitrate
fertilizer, or UAN, onto the
domestic market at less-than
fair value.
The U.S. International
Trade Commission has
launched the investigation
at the behest of CF Indus-
tries, a major U.S. nitrogen
manufacturer, which claims
it’s being hurt by subsidized
UAN imports that depress
domestic prices.
Fertilizer producers in
Russia and Trinidad have
“targeted the U.S. market”
with increased shipments of
UAN because the European
Union has restricted imports
due to dumping concerns,
according to the company’s
petition.
“These increased vol-
umes of subject imports
oversupplied the U.S. mar-
ket, swelled U.S. invento-
ries, and forced U.S. pro-
ducers to lower their prices
to remain competitive,” the
petition said.
Based on the subsidies
to foreign manufacturers,
duties of nearly 400% on
UAN from Russia and 160%
from Trinidad may be justi-
fied, the petition said.
The demand for tar-
iffs on imported UAN has
sparked fears that farmers
will be forced to pay more
for the product at a time
fertilizer prices are already
rising.
CF Industries claims Rus-
sia and Trinidad provide man-
ufacturers with natural gas, a
major input that accounts for
one-third of UAN’s cost, at
below-market prices, in addi-
tion to tax incentives.
Imports of UAN from
Russia and Trinidad grew
from about 2 million short
tons in 2018 to 2.65 million
short tons in 2019 before
dropping to 2.2 million short
tons in 2020, the petition
said.
The domestic industry
was able to “recapture” mar-
ket share last year “but only
by dropping prices in order to
remain competitive,” accord-
ing to CF Industries.
Domestic UAN manufac-
turers should be able to realize
higher prices because domes-
tic consumption of the fertil-
izer rose 5% in 2019 and 3%
in 2020, the petition said.
The U.S. industry can-
not interrupt UAN produc-
tion because idling factories
is expensive, the petition
said. “The result was that
domestic production, capac-
ity utilization and employ-
ment remained essentially
flat, while income, prof-
itability, returns on assets
and capital expenditures fell
dramatically.”
Fertilizer
distributors
have come out against new
tariffs on UAN, claiming
that higher prices would
have “a devastating impact
on U.S. farmers.”
CF Industries, the peti-
tioner, is the “clear price
leader” and the “dominant
supplier in the U.S. mar-
ket” whose own expansion
has caused larger domestic
UAN supplies — especially
after European antidump-
ing restrictions on the com-
pany limited exports to that
continent, according to the
Gavilon agribusiness firm.
CF Industries is an “unre-
liable supplier” that pur-
posely undersells UAN in
certain markets to avoid
logistics and transportation
costs, which forces distribu-
tors to rely on imports, said
Brent Hardlander, Gavilon’s
president, in submitted
testimony.
The company “gets
away” with missed deliver-
ies and “leaving customers
in the lurch because of its
outsized market power,” he
said.
Capital Press File
Wine grapes grow on a vine. A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit
claiming that a California winery mislabeled its Elouan wine as coming from Or-
egon.
Federal judge refuses to dismiss
lawsuit alleging mislabeled wine
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
A federal judge has
refused to dismiss a law-
suit that alleges a Califor-
nia company deceived con-
sumers by misrepresenting
its wine as coming from
Oregon.
The complaint, which
seeks class action status to
allow other consumers to
join the litigation, claims
the Copper Cane winery
of Rutherford, Calif., mis-
labeled its Elouan wine
as “Oregon Pinot Noir,”
among other claims, even
though it was actually made
in California.
The lawsuit contends
that Copper Cane violated
California laws against
unfair competition, false
advertising and unjust
enrichment, among others.
However, Copper Cane
claimed to have “safe har-
bor” from the lawsuit
because its wine labels
had all been approved by
the federal Alcohol and
Tobacco Tax and Trade
Bureau, or TTB, and thus
had the force of federal law.
Though the grapes
were grown in Oregon
and shipped to Califor-
nia, the TTB required pre-
viously-approved Elouan
labels to be changed in
2018. New labels that
omit references to Ore-
gon and the Willamette,
Umpqua and Rogue valleys
were then re-approved by
the agency.
Chief U.S. District
Judge Richard Seaborg in
San Francisco said he can’t
determine at “this juncture”
whether TTB’s approvals
provided the winery with
safe harbor and refused to
throw out the complaint on
those grounds.
There’s no evidence the
TTB specifically investi-
gated the winery’s labels
for falsity and the infor-
mality of the approval pro-
cess indicates it “likely”
can’t provide safe harbor,
he said.
Under some case law,
the agency’s label approval
process is considered too
“informal” to have the force
of federal law, since it only
reflects the alcohol distrib-
utor’s representations and
“hinges on self-reporting,”
the judge said.
Copper Cane also argued
the lawsuit’s misrepresen-
tation allegation should
be dismissed because the
Elouan labels stated the
wine was bottled in Cali-
fornia, but Seaborg rejected
this argument as well.
It’s not clear that two
lines of text — “Vinted
& Bottled” above “Napa,
CA” — would be “suffi-
ciently clear” to prevent
the deception of reasonable
consumers, he said.
“Furthermore, whether
the reference to Califor-
nia on the back-left corner
of the label would clarify a
consumer’s misunderstand-
ing is too close a call at this
stage,” he said.
Seeborg also disagreed
with Copper Cane’s argu-
ment the complaint should
be dismissed because the
label lacked “actionable
affirmative misrepresenta-
tions,” since it didn’t spe-
cifically say the wine was
solely produced in Oregon.
“This argument ignores
the widely understood fact
that the location where a
wine is produced has spe-
cial significance,” the judge
said.