Capital Press
EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER
Friday, November 5, 2021
Volume 94, Number 45
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C apturing
CARBON
Oregon sets sights
on sequestration to
meet climate goals
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
C
ONDON, Ore. — Tom
Rietmann
drove
his
pickup truck off the gravel
road and onto a rugged,
grassy hilltop known as
Devils Butte in rural Eastern Oregon.
The area, along Highway 206
between Wasco and Condon, is
mostly empty save for wheat fields,
cattle and the occasional abandoned
schoolhouse or old family cemetery
— conjuring images of early settlers
and homesteaders on the American
frontier.
As its name might suggest, farming
atop Devils Butte is no easy feat. The
land is particularly vulnerable to ero-
sion, Rietmann said, with soil washing
away in the rain and snowmelt.
Rietmann began working full-time
on his family’s ranch in 1981. Since
then, he has adopted several practices
aimed at controlling soil erosion such
as reducing tillage, rotational grazing
and replanting native vegetation.
The goal at first was simply to
keep the soil on the property, but
over time Rietmann said he has come
to recognize added benefits for the
environment.
One advantage is the increased
ability to capture and store carbon
from the atmosphere.
“If a plant is green and growing,
it’s not only converting carbon diox-
ide to oxygen, but it’s also growing
roots,” Rietmann said. “So the roots
are putting carbon into the soil.”
Oregon officials are looking to
farmers like Rietmann to increase soil
carbon sequestration on farms and for-
ests as a way to help the state reach
its climate goals, reducing greenhouse
gas emissions by 45% below 1990
George Plaven/Capital Press
levels by 2035 and 80% below 1990
Tom Rietmann, of Rietmann Ranch, looks over Devils Butte on his Eastern Oregon
levels by 2050.
ranch, between Wasco and Condon. This field has been enrolled in the USDA Conserva-
Commission proposal
tion Reserve Program since 1986, swapping agricultural production for native grasses
Last year, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to control soil erosion. A co-benefit, Rietmann says, is sequestering carbon from the
signed Executive Order 20-04 outlin- atmosphere.
ing the state’s climate objectives, and
George Plaven
directing agencies to come up with
Capital Press
plans for how to get there.
Example of
As part of the order, the Oregon
a no-till drill
Global Warming Commission has
at Rietmann
developed a natural and working lands
Ranch, used to
proposal that calls for increasing car-
seed wheat and
bon sequestration by 5 million met-
grain without
ric tons of carbon dioxide per year by
convention-
2030, and 9 million metric tons per
al tillage to
year by 2050.
promote soil
Carbon sequestered in natu-
ral and working lands across the
health and
carbon seques-
U.S. reduced total greenhouse gas
tration.
emissions by 12% in 2019, accord-
ing to the Environmental Protection
Agency.
See Carbon, Page 13
Bill tracking foreign farmland ownership introduced in Senate
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bill
intended to crack down on foreign
ownership of American farmland
and agricultural firms was intro-
duced in the U.S. Senate Oct. 28.
The bill, called the Food Secu-
rity is National Security Act of
2021, would give top U.S. food
and agriculture officials, includ-
ing USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack,
a permanent voice on the Com-
mittee on Foreign Investment, an
interagency committee tasked with
reviewing proposed mergers and
acquisitions by foreign compa-
nies. The committee includes rep-
resentatives from 16 U.S. depart-
ments, including Defense, State
and Commerce.
The bill would also require the
committee to consider new food
and agriculture-related criteria
when reviewing transactions that
could result in foreign control of
U.S. businesses.
The bipartisan bill was intro-
duced by Senate Agriculture
Chair Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.,
along with Sens. Chuck Grassley,
Capital Press File
U.S. Capitol
R-Iowa, Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and
Jon Tester, D-Mont.
The legislation was prompted
by concerns over foreign invest-
ments in American farmland. In
recent decades, according to a
USDA database, foreign investors
have bought more than 35 million
acres of U.S. farmland worth $62
billion — about 2.7% of all pri-
vately held land nationwide, an
area larger than New York state.
“As foreign entities continue
their acquisitions of U.S. food
and agriculture companies, Amer-
ican farmers and families deserve
to know these transactions receive
proper scrutiny,” said Senate Agri-
culture Chair Stabenow.
The purpose of this bill, accord-
ing to Tester, is to ensure “foreign
investments in American agri-
culture are thoroughly vetted so
we can protect our producers and
consumers.”
The bill would make two major
changes to the way foreign pur-
chases are tracked.
First, it would require the Com-
mittee on Foreign Investment to
take agriculture-related concerns,
including food security and avail-
ability, into consideration when
evaluating foreign investments.
See Ownership, Page 13
Biden administration leaves ESA ‘habitat’ undefined
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
The Biden administration moved
Oct. 27 to undo Donald Trump’s
Endangered Species Act reforms,
proposing to give federal officials
a free hand in designating habitat
deemed critical for recovery of a
species.
Opening a comment period, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said
it plans to repeal a definition that
limited “habitat” to land that could
support the species.
The agency said it will leave
habitat undefined and decide case-
by-case the area a species needs
based on the best available science.
The agency also said it planned
to repeal a rule that requires the
benefits of designating land as crit-
ical habitat to outweigh the eco-
nomic costs.
If finalized, the actions will
restore the ESA’s “original intent
and purpose,” Assistant Secre-
tary for Fish and Wildlife and
Parks Shannon Estenoz said in a
statement.
By repealing the Trump ESA
reforms, President Biden will ful-
fill a campaign pledge. It also sides
with blue states such as Washing-
ton, Oregon and California that
sued to overturn the rules.
The ESA proposals follow by a
few weeks the Biden administra-
tion’s announcement it will repeal
Trump reforms to the National
Environmental Policy Act.
The Biden administration is
returning to complicated and bur-
densome rules that do little to
advance conservation, Ameri-
COME SEE US AT OUR SALEM LOCA TION
can Farm Bureau President Zippy
Duvall said in a statement.
“Adding uncertainty to environ-
mental regulations creates another
obstacle for farmers as they work to
keep America’s pantries stocked,”
he said.
The Trump ESA reforms went
into effect on Donald Trump’s last
full day in office. The next day,
President Biden signed an exec-
utive order directing agencies to
review Trump policies.
See ESA, Page 13
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