Capital Press
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Friday, January 7, 2022
Volume 95, Number 1
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THE
YEAR
AHEAD
Three states, three sets of priorities
T
he legislatures of Washington, Oregon and
Idaho will convene in the coming weeks to
pick up where they left off last year.
Political leaders in each state have a dif-
ferent set of priorities, ranging from Wash-
ington Gov. Jay Inslee’s plans to expand his state’s
environmental eff orts to a proposal in the Oregon
Legislature to require farmers to pay their employees
overtime wages.
In Idaho, a major focus will be on water — increas-
ing the holding capacity of a key dam and expanding
aquifer recharge eff orts in the eastern part of the state.
These and other issues will impact the three states’
farmers for years to come. Capital Press takes a look
at the proposals and what they mean to agriculture.
IDAHO: Water project
funding a top priority
WASHINGTON: Inslee
presses for ‘bold’ growth
OREGON: Overtime,
timber deal on agenda
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
B
O
OISE — Water storage and delivery infra-
structure could get a large portion of Ida-
ho’s $1.1 billion share of American Rescue
Plan Act funds that the 2022 Legislature will
allocate during the upcom-
ing session.
Gov. Brad Little, a Republican
rancher from Emmett, will open the
three-month annual session with his
State of the State and Budget Address
on Jan. 10.
“The governor has made clear his
Alex
goal is to use it for infrastructure —
Adams
specifi cally water, sewer and broad-
band infrastructure,” said Alex Adams,
the governor’s budget director.
The U.S. Treasury is yet to issue fi nal rules for Res-
cue Plan Act funds.
“It does appear (aquifer) recharge projects are allow-
able under the interim Treasury guidance,” Adams said.
“So that is benefi cial as we look to invest in Upper Snake
recharge projects.”
Brian Patton, executive offi cer of the Idaho Water
LYMPIA — The Washington Legislature
will convene Jan. 10 for a 60-day session
that Gov. Jay Inslee says should be an
ambitious one for ruling Democrats.
Over four days in
December, Inslee rolled out his pro-
posals for 2022. The agenda includes
mandating riparian buff ers along
streams, phasing out natural gas use
and subsidizing solar energy.
“The moment calls for boldness,
and it calls for action that is at a scale
Gov. Jay
commiserate with the challenges we
Inslee
face,” he said.
Democrats have fi rm majorities in
the House and Senate. During 2021, they passed cap-
and-trade, a low-carbon fuel standard and a new cap-
ital gains tax.
S
Legislators also adopted a two-year, $58 billion
operating budget that went into eff ect July 1. Inslee has
proposed $4.1 billion in new spending to supplement
ALEM — Farm groups and labor advocates
are expected to be preoccupied with agri-
cultural overtime wages during Oregon’s
month-long legislative session that begins
on Feb. 1.
The prospect of eliminating the
agriculture industry’s exemption
from higher overtime wages got a
lot of attention from lawmakers last
year, but attempts to negotiate a com-
promise have been complicated by
litigation over the issue.
A lawsuit alleges the exemp- Mary Anne
Cooper
tion lacks an underpinning in state
law and isn’t constitutional because
farmworkers are excluded from “privileges” enjoyed
by other employees.
It’s been an unsettling experience for farm repre-
sentatives, who were negotiating in “good faith” with
labor advocates who were “looking at us in the eye”
while planning the legal attack, said Mary Anne Coo-
per, vice president of public policy for the Oregon
Farm Bureau.
See Washington, Page 11
See Oregon, Page 11
New spending
See Idaho, Page 11
Biden administration targets meat, poultry processors
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
The Biden administration hopes to
reel in the costs families are facing
by increasing competition across the
economy, with a major focus on meat
and poultry processing.
“In too many industries, a hand-
ful of giant companies dominate the
market,” President Joe Biden said in a
virtual press conference on Monday.
“And too often they use their
power to squeeze out smaller com-
petitors and stifl e new entrepreneurs,
making our economy less dynamic
and giving themselves free rein to
raise prices, reduce options for con-
sumers or exploit workers,” he said.
The meat industry — in which four
big corporations control over 80% of
the market — is a “textbook exam-
ple,” he said.
“Without meaningful competi-
tion, farmers and ranchers don’t get
to choose who they sell to,” he said.
Producers have to take the price
processors want to pay, and corpo-
rations can use their power to over-
charge grocery stores and, ultimately,
families, he said.
Fifty years ago, ranchers got over
60 cents of every dollar a family
spent on beef. Today they get about
39 cents. Hog farmers got 40 cents
to 50 cents. Today they get about 19
cents, he said.
“And the big companies are mak-
ing massive profi ts,” he said.
As those profi ts go up, grocery
store prices go up, and the prices
farmers see go down, he said.
“This refl ects the market being
distorted by lack of competition,” he
said.
Small, independent farmers and
ranches are being driven out of busi-
ness — sometimes businesses that
have been around for generations, he
said.
The administration has an action
plan to create fair markets and more
opportunities for family farmers and
ranchers and bring down the price of
meat and poultry at grocery stores, he
said.
That plan includes investing $1
billion to expand independent meat
See Meat, Page 11
The White House
President Joe
Biden has an-
nounced his plan
for increasing
competition in
the meat process-
ing industry.
Researchers warn farmers to prepare for glyphosate shortage
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
University extension services nationwide are
alerting farmers to a glyphosate shortage that is
expected to worsen in 2022.
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in some
common weed killers, including Roundup.
According to USDA’s Economic Research Ser-
vice, glyphosate has been the most widely used
herbicide in the U.S. since 2001.
The shortage, extension specialists say, will
challenge growers who rely on glyphosate,
including those planting Roundup-ready crops,
those who have no-till systems and those who
use glyphosate to terminate cover crops.
“Farmers are worried about how this will
impact them,” said Bill Johnson, a professor of
botany and plant pathology at Purdue University.
Johnson has been surveying pesticide retailers
about how much glyphosate they expect to have
in stock next year. Some said they will only have
80% of their three-year average volume, others
even less. Many retailers are only guaranteeing
Bayer
A Roundup Ready corn fi eld. Researchers and pesticide retailers are warning of a glyphosate
shortage. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup and some other herbicides.
delivery to long-time customers, while others are
regulating how many gallons per day a customer
can buy.
The shorter supply means higher prices.
Researchers estimate glyphosate prices increased
from $10 per gallon a year and a half ago to $60
per gallon in 2021, and prices are expected to rise
to $80 per gallon in 2022.
A constellation of factors is to blame for the
shortage.
See Glyphosate, Page 11