WATER ISSUES THAT AFFECT PACIFIC NORTHWEST FARMERS | PAGES 13-14
Capital Press
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Friday, February 11, 2022
Volume 95, Number 6
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Ag community mourns farmer, firefighter
Austin Smith, 30, died battling barn blaze
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
ST. PAUL, Ore. — To know Austin
Smith is to embrace his hometown of St.
Paul, Ore., a community of less than 500
people about 30 miles south of Portland.
The 30-year-old Smith was a
sixth-generation farmer, growing hops
at his family’s B&D Farms in the lush
Willamette Valley countryside. His spirit
of service extended from the local vol-
unteer fire department to the St. Paul
Jaycees. He was the president of both
organizations.
Later this year, Smith planned to open
his own restaurant and taproom on Main
Street, which he envisioned becoming a
destination for the rural area.
“He was passionate about everything
he was involved in,” said Ed Charron, a
longtime friend and colleague. “There
was a lot. I don’t know how he found the
time.”
Smith died Feb. 3 from injuries suf-
fered in a barn fire and explosion in
northern Marion County. He is survived
by his wife, Ashley; parents, Dave and
Lisa; brother, Zach; nephew, Brayden;
niece, Callie; and extended family.
The cause of the fire remains under
investigation. The barn was at Cham-
poeg Farm, which raises turkeys and
other poultry.
Those who knew and worked with
Smith described him as a pillar of the
community, an up-and-coming leader in
the U.S. hop industry and someone who
was always ready to help.
Brenda Frketich, owner of Kirsch
Family Farms in St. Paul, knew Smith
since he was a kid, when she used to
babysit for him. They would later serve
together on the St. Paul Rural Fire
See Fire, Page 12
Austin Smith
GOV. JAY
INSLEE
Occupation: Governor
of Washington state
Age: 71
Hometown: Seattle
Education: Degree in
economics, University
of Washington; law
degree, Willamette
University
Previous home: Selah, 4
miles north of Yakima,
working as an attorney
and prosecutor; had
a 3-acre field of alfalfa
mix horse hay
Family: Wife Trudi, three
sons, four grandchil-
dren
Office of Gov. Jay Inslee
Q A
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and his wife, First Lady Trudi Inslee, at the Pike Place Market July 1, 2021, in Seattle. The
visit was part of the Washington Ready tour, re-opening the state after closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
&
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee talks
about agriculture, dams and COVID
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
ince he was first elected in 2012,
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has
put environmental and climate
issues on the front burner.
Then the COVID-19 pan-
demic came along.
He’s prioritized combating climate
change and protecting salmon popula-
tions in addition to trying to control the
spread of COVID.
His approaches have generated criti-
cism from many in agriculture, who say
his efforts will have little impact on the
environment overall, at the expense of
S
Public service: Washing-
ton House of Represen-
tatives, 1989-1993; U.S.
House, 4th Congressio-
nal District, 1993-1995;
1st Congressional Dis-
trict, 1999-2012. Elect-
ed governor 2012 and
is the longest serving
current governor in the
U.S. Made a brief run for
president in 2019
the state’s economy.
The state’s rules requiring overtime
pay for farmworkers, which he sup-
ported, were also controversial.
Inslee spoke with the Capital Press by
phone on Jan. 14. The interview has been
edited for clarity and length.
How would you characterize your
relationship with Washington’s farm-
ers and ranchers? What’s working
and what needs to be improved?
Inslee: Well, I wish that I had a one-
on-one relationship with every single
farmer and rancher. It would be great.
Unfortunately, there’s quite a number of
folks.
How would I characterize that rela-
tionship? Well, I get up trying to help
everybody in Washington state every
morning and do the best I can, and that
includes for farmers and ranchers.
Maybe it’s a little easier for me to
do that than others, because I spent two
decades in Selah, trying to set my little
irrigation box to just the right amount of
water to water my hay field, surrounded
by orchardists and people in the ag
industry.
So I think it’s a little easier for me to
have that relationship, because of that 20
years in the valley, surrounded (by) peo-
ple in the industry.
Office of Gov. Jay Inslee
See Q&A, Page 11
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee delivers the State
of the State Address remotely on Jan. 11.
‘THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING SO CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE AND DILIGENT AND WE
HOPE TO HELP IN THE WAYS THAT WE CAN. WE’VE GOT THE BEST AG INDUSTRY IN THE WORLD
BECAUSE WE HAVE THE MOST CREATIVE AGRICULTURAL LEADERSHIP.’
Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee’s message to farmers and ranchers
Oregon ag overtime bill faces opposition
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
SALEM — The promise of temporary tax cred-
its didn’t convince critics to drop their opposition
to a bill that would require Oregon farmers to pay
higher overtime wages.
House Bill 4002 would phase out the state’s
agriculture overtime exemption while providing
farmers with tax credits to help with added labor
expenses for several years.
Opponents said the approach would only fore-
stall the harm to small operators, who’d bear the
brunt of higher costs.
“When you talk about transition, you’re talking
about the transition from small family farms to
large private equity companies,” said Larry George,
a hazelnut grower and processor who is a former
lawmaker.
The gradual implementation of overtime
requirements won’t ultimately mitigate the bur-
den for Oregon’s farm industry, said John Zielinski,
who farms near Salem.
“The national and international markets don’t
care what our crop inputs are,” Zielinski told the
House Business and Labor Committee.
Farmers overwhelmingly opposed the bill
during a Feb. 8 legislative hearing, arguing they’ll
be forced to limit weekly work hours and effec-
tively deprive workers of income.
“We see it as a false promise to farmworkers,”
said Kyle Fessler, speaking on behalf of the Oregon
Association of Nurseries. “That’s a lose-lose for the
farmers and the farmworkers.”
Prices for crops and livestock are set by global
markets that don’t recognize higher agricultural
labor expenses in Oregon, they said.
See Overtime, Page 12
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