Capital Press
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Friday, November 12, 2021
Volume 94, Number 46
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WAR ON STRIPE RUST
Scientist leads PNW battle against devastating wheat disease
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
P
ULLMAN, Wash. —
Xianming Chen and
a crew of researchers
planted winter wheat
seeds by hand on a recent
November morning. They carefully
deposited the seeds in just the right
spot so they could be easily identi-
ﬁ ed as they grew.
Chen, a USDA Agricultural
Research Service research plant
geneticist, greeted everybody cheer-
fully, with a big grin and enthusias-
tic waves.
For several hours, he dug deep
lines in the soil so the researchers
knew exactly where to plant the
seeds.
At times, the only sounds were
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
USDA research plant geneticist Xianming Chen and other researchers
will monitor wheat varieties for susceptibility to stripe rust. The ﬁ eld
is marked oﬀ with packets full of wheat seeds they would plant by
hand Nov. 1 at the USDA Palouse Conservation Field Station in Pull-
man, Wash.
stakes being driven into the ground
to mark the plots, and the shaking of
seeds from tiny packets.
The seeds they planted are new
wheat varieties from breeding pro-
grams around the country. Chen’s
team will monitor them as they
grow to determine how vulnerable
they are to stripe rust, a devastating
fungus that can reduce the yield of a
wheat crop by nearly half. The fun-
gus attacks a plant by growing in its
leaves and reducing photosynthesis.
“Because stripe rust is one of
the most destructive diseases in our
region and throughout the coun-
try, it is important ... for growers to
use scientiﬁ c knowledge to solve or
reduce the problem in their ﬁ elds,”
Chen said.
See Disease, Page 9
Washington State University
Stripe rust infects
wheat in a variety trial
at Washington State
University’s test plot
near Pullman.
Biden vaccination rule exempts
‘truly’ outdoor workers
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press File
An Oregon dam intake tunnel. The newly passed infrastructure package contains
more than $8 billion in water-related investments, including dam repairs.
Infrastructure bill invests
in Western water systems
WASHINGTON, D.C.
— The U.S. House Nov.
5 voted 228-206 to pass a
$1.2 trillion infrastructure
bill that includes $8.3 bil-
lion dollars in water-related
investments.
The package, HR 3684,
includes investments in
dams, waterways, ﬂ ood
prevention eﬀ orts, drought
resilience, groundwater stor-
age and conveyance, aquifer
recharge projects and other
water works.
Agriculture
Secretary
Tom Vilsack in a statement
called the deal a “transfor-
mative, historic investment
for America.”
Western water experts
say it’s too early to map out
which speciﬁ c watersheds
or districts will receive dol-
lars to fund projects because
much of the funding will be
oﬀ ered in the form of com-
petitive grants and loans that
project managers must apply
for in the coming months.
Several Oregon irrigation
district managers who are
looking to modernize their
facilities told the Capital
Press they’re already draft-
ing portfolios and compiling
data to be ready when grant
windows open.
Though many site-level
speciﬁ cs are still unknown,
broadly, the bill outlines
some big-picture plans for
water projects in the West.
A section of the bill titled
“Western Water Infrastruc-
ture” authorizes $1.15 bil-
lion to go toward improving
See Water, Page 9
IT’S RENEWAL
SEASON
Dan Wheat/For the Capital Press
Ernesto Salgado picks Kanzi apples in Mt. View Or-
chard, East Wenatchee, Wash. Under rules released
Nov. 4, people who “truly” exclusively work outdoors
won’t have to be vaccinated.
tary of Labor for Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Jim
Frederick said vaccinations,
tests and masks will prevent
the virus from spreading.
“As part of OSHA’s mis-
sion to protect the safety and
health of workers, this rule
will provide a roadmap to
help businesses keep their
workers safe,” he said in a
statement.
The rule will apply to
84 million workers, or two-
thirds of the U.S. work-
force, according to the
department. The depart-
ment invited public com-
ments on whether the man-
date should be extended to
smaller businesses.
The rule will apply to
seasonal and part-time agri-
cultural workers. Once a
farm hits 100 employees, it
will come under the rule and
stay there, even if the work-
force drops below 100.
Marsh said he expects
the mandate to eventu-
ally be expanded to smaller
farms that never top 100
workers. “I’m sure that will
be coming,” he said.
Washington State Dairy
Federation director Dan
Wood said the outdoor
exemption could have lim-
ited application for dairy
workers in milking barns.
See Vaccination, Page 9
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By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
The Biden administra-
tion rolled out its vaccina-
tion rule for larger employ-
ers Nov. 4, providing a
narrow exemption for some
outdoor workers.
Most workers, in busi-
nesses with 100 or more
employees, will have to
be fully vaccinated against
COVID within the next two
months. As an alternative,
employers could let unvac-
cinated workers be tested
weekly and wear a face
covering.
People who “truly”
exclusively work outdoors
won’t have to be vaccinated,
according to the Labor
Department. They will
lose that exemption, how-
ever, by “routinely” riding
in vehicles with co-work-
ers or working in partially
enclosed buildings.
“It looks like most farm-
workers would qualify (for
the exemption). The chal-
lenge would be on the trans-
portation,” said Michael
Marsh, president and CEO
of the National Council of
Agricultural Employers.
The U.S. Department
of Labor said the rule was
necessary because COVID
poses a grave workplace
danger to unvaccinated
workers.
Deputy Assistant Secre-