Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 2018)
WEEKEND EDITION DISCOVER EASTERN OREGON 2018 RECREATIO & VISITOR’S GUID N E 175th Anniversary of the OREGON TRAIL EastOregonian.co East Oregonian + Hermiston Herald m // 1 DISCOVER EASTERN OREGON THE 2018 RECREATION & VISITOR’S GUIDE INSIDE A sign marking the Oregon Trail stands on the side of Highway 207 west of Echo. Staff photo by E.J. Harris SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 2018 142nd Year, No. 117 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Trade uncertainty hits home Economic impact ripples into rural communities, affecting region’s wheat farmers By GEORGE PLAVEN EO Media Group he beginning of spring ushers a flurry of activity on the vast, rolling wheat fields of Umatilla and Morrow counties. Farmers drive large sprayer rigs over still-green plants to control weeds and pests, while crossing their fingers for make-or- break rainstorms that can turn otherwise average yields into a bumper crop. This year, however, a new layer of uncer- tainty has emerged for the Northwest wheat industry. Since the U.S. pulled out of the Trans-Pa- cific Partnership, or TPP, growers are worried about maintaining strong relationships with longtime foreign customers in countries like Japan, which signed on to a revised version of the trade deal March 8 in Santiago, Chile, along with 10 other nations. The vast majority of Oregon wheat — between 85 and 90 percent — is exported, with 21 percent of export sales to Japan. That amounts to $60 million, at current prices from Portland grain terminals. While the price of soft white wheat has rebounded modestly from its sub-$5 per bushel low last year, Japanese flour mills estimate higher tariffs on American wheat could negatively impact market share by more than half, from 3 million metric tons to less than 1.4 million metric tons. And once that market share is gone, it can be difficult to recapture. Matt Wood, who farms several thousand acres of dryland wheat and cattle pasture near the small town of Helix, said farmers are wary of the unpredictability. But the economic consequences extend even further. “The community you draw business support from is ever shrinking,” Wood said. “That’s a real concern.” T Staff photo by E.J. Harris Wheat farmer Jeff Newtson of Helix plants barley in a field off of Dorran Road on Friday northwest of Helix. Newtson says he is currently working 20-hour days to get his crops in the ground. Ripple effect What has happened in Helix — popula- tion 181 — is what continues to happen all over rural America, Wood said. Wood took over the lease on his family’s farm in 1993. Since then, he said the town has lost its grocery store, hardware store “The President has promised to negotiate great new deals. American agriculture now counts on that promise and American wheat farmers — facing a calamity they would be hard-pressed to overcome — now depend on it.” See FARMERS/12A Excerpt from a letter written by state and national wheat industry groups that was sent to Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, urging President Donald Trump to reconsider the TPP Oregon’s rare loss from U.S. tax law sets off political fight By TOM JAMES Associated Press SALEM — President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul is a short-term boon for most states, but one is set to miss out entirely: Oregon. Instead of a bonus, Oregon faces a loss of $217 million in the two years after the overhaul goes into effect, the largest of any state that has revealed its predictions. Democrats created a plan to avoid losing hundreds of millions of dollars, but Republicans are using it to try to make political inroads in this deep blue state. The Democratic-con- trolled Legislature passed the proposal after a bitter argument, but weeks later is still awaiting action from Gov. Kate Brown, who has expressed hesitation about her own party’s plan. She faces re-election in November, and Republicans said the divisive proposal is one of their main tools against her. State Rep. Knute Buehler, a leading Republican candi- date, said it amounts to “a massive tax hike.” The federal tax law that sparked the fight will mean extra money for most states. See FIGHT/10A HERMISTON Believers remember biblical events through Way of the Cross By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Actors re-enact Jesus meeting his mother Mary at the fourth station, part of the Way of the Cross passion play on Friday in Hermiston. As Christians around the world celebrate what they believe was the most important three days in Earth’s history, hundreds of believers in Hermiston gath- ered to pay their own tribute. The crowd participated in Way of the Cross, an annual pageant by Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church that takes people through 14 stations depicting the final See TRIBUTE/11A