OFF PAGE ONE
Wallowa.com
Meat:
Continued from Page A1
Martin said he’s encour-
aged by Agri Beef’s con-
struction of a beef-process-
ing plant in Jerome, Idaho.
It’s expected to open by the
end of 2022, and will have a
capacity of about 500 head
per day.
“That’s a great thing, but
I still see the need for more
competition,” Martin said.
Smaller processing plants
would also benefi t rural
economies by creating jobs,
he said.
Increasing competition
Martin said he’s encour-
aged that Attorney General
Merrick Garland also partic-
ipated in the recent virtual
meeting.
Martin has been advocat-
ing for years to have the U.S.
Justice Department investi-
gate what he believes consti-
tutes “price manipulation” in
the beef industry.
Matt McElligott, who
raises cattle between Haines
and North Powder, said he’s
glad that issues in the beef
industry are being acknowl-
edged at the federal level.
“The good thing is that it
is being talked about,” said
McElligott, who is chair-
man of the public lands com-
mittee for the Oregon Cat-
tlemen’s Association and
president-elect. “It’s some-
thing we in the industry
have been talking about for a
long time, the need to have a
more vibrant and competitive
industry.”
McElligott said that
although details of the Biden
administration’s $1 bil-
lion campaign have yet to
be determined, a prelimi-
nary draft called for spend-
ing $375 million, over two
phases, to “jumpstart inde-
pendent processing” for beef
and other meat.
The fi rst phase could
include $150 million ear-
marked for 15 specifi c local
processing projects, which
could potentially help ranch-
ers market beef to local con-
sumers, McElligott said. Pro-
spective processors would
compete for the dollars under
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Cattle graze in Bowen Valley, just south of Baker City, on
Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022.
the proposal.
he advocates for
The second phase
the federal govern-
would designate the
ment to eliminate or
remaining $225 mil-
streamline regula-
lion to expand the
tions that deter peo-
capacity at existing
ple from pursuing
processing
plants
regional or local pro-
Bennett
across the nation, he
cessing plants, and
said.
to assign a coordi-
McElligott said
nator to work with
boosting indepen-
prospective owners
dent processing, and
to help them with
thus reducing the
all aspects of the
dominance of the
endeavor, including
four leading pro-
fi nancing.
cessing companies,
McElligott said
Martin
would be benefi cial
a signifi cant obsta-
to both ranchers and
cle in the industry for
consumers.
ranchers who want
“The more pro-
to sell beef directly
cessing you have the
to local custom-
more opportunities
ers is that packaged
we have for diff er-
products must be
ent markets for the
inspected by some-
cow-calf producer,”
one certifi ed by the
McElligott
he said. “That gives
USDA.
producers
more
He said he can
options and it gives consum- sell a half of beef “on the
ers more options.”
hoof” to a neighbor, but not
Now, only about 5% of a single pound of packaged
the beef cattle born in Ore- hamburger unless it’s been
gon are actually butchered inspected.
here, McElligott said.
McElligott said he’s
Both he and Martin encouraged that a draft plan
pointed out that building a for spending the $1 billion
processing plant is no small includes $100 million to pay
undertaking.
overtime to USDA-certi-
“To say it’s complex is fi ed inspectors, which could
an understatement for sure,” expand independent process-
Martin said.
ing markets.
Complying with federal
Truth in beef labeling
food safety rules and other
Mark Bennett, a Baker
regulations is neither simple
nor inexpensive, and Mar- County commissioner who
tin said he hopes the Biden also owns a cattle ranch
administration’s $1 billion in the southern part of the
campaign will also include county near Unity, agrees
resources to help potential with Martin and McElli-
entrepreneurs negotiate the gott that the Biden admin-
istration’s announcement is
regulatory labyrinth.
Among other things, promising.
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
“I think it’s a worthy
undertaking,” Bennett said.
“Any time you have concen-
tration it limits competition
and the opportunity for inno-
vation. This whole discus-
sion is really crucial.”
Bennett said one of the
most common topics that
come up in his conversa-
tions with other ranchers is
mandatory country of origin
labeling.
Although some meat
sold in the U.S., including
chicken, is required to be
labeled to show where the
animal was raised, that’s not
the case with beef.
Beef can be labeled as
a product of the U.S. even
if the cattle were raised in
another country but were
butchered in the U.S.
(Retailers also can include
details about where animals
were born and raised; they’re
just not required to do so.)
Ranchers and industry
groups have been pushing
for beef, which has not been
subject to mandatory coun-
try-of-origin labeling since
2016, to be reinserted into
the labeling law along with
chicken and other meats.
“American
consumers
want to know where their
beef comes from,” Bennett
said.
There has been some
interest in Congress in rein-
stituting mandatory labeling
for beef. It ended after offi -
cials from Mexico and Can-
ada vowed to impose tariff s
on American beef if the man-
datory labeling continued.
A group of U.S. sena-
tors introduced legislation in
September 2021 calling for
the U.S. trade representative
and USDA to come up with a
plan to improve beef labeling
transparency.
McElligott said coun-
try-of-origin labeling “really
needs to be addressed.”
He pointed out that Amer-
icans’ demand for beef has
continued to grow even with
rising retail prices.
He considers this evi-
dence that people recognize
the value of beef.
“If you look at everything
beef gives you from a nutri-
tional standpoint, it’s still
an economical part of your
plate,” McElligott said.
Howe:
Continued from Page A1
program from the ground up.
That program enjoyed some
great success and provided
students the ability to com-
pete in Future Business Lead-
ers of America at the regional
and state level.”
The last thing Howe said
he was particularly proud of
was the increase in test scores
from when he arrived until
now. Most scores on state and
PSAT test, he said, are among
the best in the county, state
and nation.
He attributed this suc-
cess to “the dedicated staff
who routinely go above and
beyond to help students suc-
ceed,” he said. “They are mir-
acle workers.”
Howe said later that his
Christian faith is critical to
his direction in life.
“I know that several of
your readers do not believe
in our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, but I do,” he told the
Chieftain. “He brought me
here and I continue to lean on
His will for my life. No, I’m
not perfect, never will be; He
is still working on me.
Howe concluded his res-
ignation letter with a para-
phrase from the movie,
“Hoosiers.”
“I’ve made some mis-
takes but they’re mistakes I
take full responsibility for,”
Howe wrote. “I was hired to
be the principal of Wallowa
High School and I’ve done
that to the best of my ability.
I apologize for nothing. You
may not be pleased with the
results, but I am. I am very
proud of the high school staff
and students.”
Violence
Violence also has raised
its ugly head, according to
Howe’s letter.
“Students have threatened
my life by shooting me or
stabbing me,” Howe wrote in
his letter. “As a result, I have
anxiety about getting in my
vehicle after dark. I wonder is
there someone waiting to stab
or shoot me? I have night-
mares about someone stand-
ing in my bedroom doorway
with a gun. So violent that it
A7
wakes my wife up — I have
never had nightmares. The
fi nal straw is when I came
home from the December
board meeting and start yell-
ing at my wife in response to
a simple question.”
During the interview,
he also concluded, “Basi-
cally, in my mind, stuff rolls
downhill.”
Responses?
Superintendent Tammy
Jones said she couldn’t
release the contents of the res-
ignation letter and wouldn’t
comment on it. Howe did,
however, provide a copy to
the Chieftain.
“It included names of peo-
ple that wouldn’t be legal
according to our attorney,”
Jones said. “It would vio-
late our board policy on
complaints.”
She deferred a request for
a copy of the letter to board
Chairman Woody Wolfe,
who deferred the request
back to Jones. Board mem-
ber Matt Howard, who Howe
also mentioned in his resig-
nation letter, was unavailable
for comment on Jan. 27.
Jones did speak highly of
Howe to the Chieftain.
“He loves Wallowa and
there isn’t a harder worker,”
she said. “He’s passionate
about Wallowa and the kids.”
She said his resignation
comes amid those of oth-
ers who are retiring or have
decided to leave for other
reasons, such as the pressures
of mandates related to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Others depart
Howe’s departure is not
the fi rst among Wallowa
County school administrators
in the past six months.
Enterprise School Super-
intendent and Elemen-
tary School Principal Erika
Pinkerton left her post
Aug. 30, for a position in
La Grande. Sherri Kilgore,
Joseph High School prin-
cipal, left earlier last sum-
mer for an elementary school
principal’s job in Pendleton.
Enterprise High School Prin-
cipal Blake Carlsen resigned
Oct. 11, to be eff ective at the
end of 2021. Carlsen would
not comment on his reason
for leaving or future plans.
Conatact Elaine at 541-263-1189
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