Northwest Farm and Ranch, Summer 2017

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Pulse-Pounding Campaign Half-Cup Habit looks to increase consumption of pulse crops: dry pea, bean, lentil, chickpea — Page 10

2 | Saturday, June 24, 2017 |

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WSU researchers will try to identify risk factors for Weak Calf Syndrome I 6

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Industry experts say beef exports to Canada, Mexico would likely decline from President Trump’s proposal I 8

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Robotic pickers, packers and pruners replacing employees I 4

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Declining agricultural workforce pushes farmers toward technology Robotic pickers, packers and pruners replacing employees

A worker picks apples Oct. 3, 2014, at Flat Top Ranch in Walla Walla County, Wash. A shortage of workers is pushing some orchards to offer incentives or replace them with technology.

By Shanon Quinn For Northwest Farm & Ranch

The farming season is ramping up in agricultural areas throughout the Northwest and employers are searching for a few good men and women to tend, pick and pack in orchards, fields and sheds. Some are seeking more desperately than they’ve had to in the past. A shortage of agricultural workers is becoming more and more evident across the U.S., and farmers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho are seeking ways to get their product into the hands of consumers. In Yakima, Wash., where agricultural products, specifically cherries, pears

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and apples, are the bread and butter for most residents, business owners are struggling more than ever before to keep on keeping on. David Henze, president of the Fourth Leaf Fruit Company, said he’s seen a decline in agricultural workers over past years. “It’s harder to find workers both in the orchard and in the plant,� he said. While Henze said he and other agricultural professionals have been able to get their fruit off the trees, it hasn’t been easy. Like most agricultural businesses, Fourth Leaf has become accustomed to a certain set of skilled workers. “The great majority is a Hispanic workforce and it’s an awesome workforce,� he said. It’s also a declining workforce. Henze said his company has been increasing wages and offering bonuses and other incentives in the plants and the orchards in order to attract the best workers. It has also started doing something it hasn’t in the past. “Overtime is attractive to workers, so we’ve begun offering that,� he said, noting plant positions typically start at about $14 per hour while orchard work ranges from roughly $12-$14 per hour. As all of their attempts are seeing most farmers merely making do with the workers they have, it’s likely the money set aside for wages will soon go another direction. “There’s a lot more automation coming in — robotic picking, robotic

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

| Saturday, June 24, 2017 | 5

“

There’s a lot more automation coming in — robotic picking, robotic pruning� David Henze Fourth Leaf Fruit Company president pruning,� he said. The same is trending in Idaho, according to the agricultural website Capital Press, which reported April 12 that companies like the Driscoll Brothers Partnership are also going robotic. According to the website, the Aberdeen, Idaho, based company recently installed a robotic packing system that will take the place of 15 employees. Henze attributes part of the lack of agricultural workers to children of current workers finding better opportunities outside the agricultural industry, rather than following in their parent’s footsteps. There may be another factor exacerbating the issue, according to Oregon farmers and the Oregon Farm Bureau. Bill Sweat, who co-owns of Winderlea Vineyard & Winery in Dundee, Ore., told the Portland Oregonian in April that on a scale of 1-10 he would place worry over an immigration-enforcement related worker shortage at an 8, as about half of the agricultural workforce in Oregon do not have legal status in the U.S. Shanon Quinn can be reached at 208-883-4636 or by email to squinn@dnews.com.

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Trying to solve mystery of early bovine deaths WSU researchers will try to identify risk factors for Weak Calf Syndrome By Garrett Cabeza For Northwest Farm & Ranch

The causes of Weak Calf Syndrome, a calf that appears to be normal at birth but dies shortly after, are a bit of a mystery. So, a team of Washington State University researchers are looking to find answers to the problem and, from their research, be able to advise beef producers how to prevent the syndrome, which appeared to spike this winter in the Northwest, said John Wenz, veterinarian in WSU’s Field Disease Investigation Unit. “It’s not really anything new but it seems to keep coming up again and again,” Wenz said. Wenz said the syndrome seems to be preva-

lent in an area for several years before going away. Brad Stout, a Genesee resident who operates a ranch near Lewiston, said he brought three of his calves to a Lewiston veterinarian this past winter. He said one was alive when he took it in and the other two were dead. The live calf eventually died, he said. The veterinarian examined the animals and their lab work was sent to Washington State University, Stout said. He said the Lewiston veterinarian and WSU told him all three had respiratory issues. The veterinarian said one of the calves exhibited signs of WCS more than the others, Stout said. Stout said he thinks WCS is an underlying issue that is not diag-

Lewiston Tribune file photo

Researchers at Washington State University are looking for ways to prevent Weak Calf Syndrome. nosed. “People usually don’t want to spend the money if a calf dies to find out why it died unless they have a whole bunch of them (die),” Stout said. Wenz; Craig McConnel, an assistant professor at WSU’s

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College of Veterinary Medicine; and a student working toward her master’s degree are researching the problem. Wenz said they are in the process of calling cattle ranchers to participate in the study. He said the goal is to have 30 herds that have exhibited signs of WCS and a control group of 30 herds that have not exhibited signs of the syndrome part of the study by the end of the summer. He said they have identified some herds already that will be part of the research. Wenz said there are several possible causes of the syndrome that researchers have identiKyle Mills/Lewiston Tribune file photo fied over the years but A calf looks for some attention from its mother near there has not been a consensus. Tammany Creek Road south of Lewiston. In the early 1970s, the University of Idaho calf’s birth is delayed. be tough because the studied WCS and asso“That delay in getting definition of the synciated the deadly syn- out from calving can drome is vague and vardrome with a lack of pro- deprive their brain of ies, Wenz said. tein in the cows’ diets, oxygen for a while, and He said calves thought Wenz said. so what could be going to have WCS initially Harsh winters, like on then is essentially appear normal but then the one the Northwest they have some brain develop a hunched back just experienced, might damage,” Wenz said. “So and are often described seem to be another maybe they don’t do as as cold and shivering cause, Wenz said, but a good of a job of nursing. before dying. veterinarian in Oregon So then what’s actually Wenz said they plan said weather does not killing them is starva- to follow the study’s seem to play a role. tion and some of that herds for a few years He said one of the depends on how closely to learn more about the most likely causes of they’re observed.” syndrome. WCS that has been Infections and virusdescribed before is diffi- es are other possible Garrett Cabeza can be reached cult calving, or the birth- causes, he said. at (208) 883-4631, or by email ing process, in which the Diagnosing WCS can to gcabeza@dnews.com.

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News

| Saturday, June 24, 2017 | 7

WSU exploring the potential for hemp University among entities looking to see if it is a viable, sustainable crop By Eric Barker For Northwest Farm & Ranch

The Washington Department of Agriculture has issued five industrial hemp research licenses including one to Washington State University and another to the Colville Indian Tribe. The state is one of several across the country exploring hemp to see if it is a viable agricultural crop with sustainable commercial markets. Worldwide, hemp is grown both for food and for fiber. It is used to make things like fabrics, textiles, paper, skin care lotions, industrial oils and food products like granola and protein bars. But in the United States, hemp is tightly monitored by the federal government. Both hemp and marijuana come from cannabis plants and is considered a Schedule 1 controlled substance under feder-

al law. Marijuana varieties of the plant have been bread to be high in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive ingredient. Cannabis, from which hemp is derived, is low in THC and instead has been bred to produce fiber and oil-rich seeds. A provision of the 2014 Farm Bill allowed hemp to be grown in state-sanctioned pilot programs. The Washington Legislature approved the state’s Industrial Hemp Research Pilot in 2016 and the department of agriculture began granting approval to grow and process hemp this month. Successful applicants include Hemp Logic of Moses Lake; Kevin Murphy, a researcher at Washington State University; the Colville Confederated Tribes; and Palmer Farms of Moses Lake. Murphy declined an interview request but the university’s

public relations department ies perform best in the state issued a statement saying and whether the crop and the researchers will conduct dry- products made from it can land trials on five different be successfully marketed. To varieties of that end, parhemp, with ticipants will the potential be allowed to to produce sell their prodboth food and ucts unencumfiber. The bered within WSU effort is the state, but unfunded, but will likely have according to to take an the statement, additional step the school to sell across believes the state lines. initial results “Research “are expected (hemp grown) to generate in the state is preliminary likely to have Emily Febles information to stay within for growers Industrial Hemp Program director the state until interested in it receives some planting industrial hemp in level of processing,” Febles Washington state.” said. Nearly all of the initial The department also hopes research in the state is focus- to learn something about ing on hemp as a grain or food hemp’s impact on soil. As part source, said Industrial Hemp of the program, all particiProgram Director Emily pants must perform soil tests Febles at Yakima. Much of before and after they plant the initial research will try and harvest their crop. to determine which variet“Some people claim it

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cures the soil of everything and after you grow it, it’s just really great and we also hear that it depletes the soil of all of its nutrients,” Febles said Febles said there are equally divergent claims about hemp’s need for water and fertilizer. In the Midwest, she said, it is called ditch weed because it volunteers along agricultural water ways. Some have used that trait to argue it doesn’t need a lot of irrigation or fertilization. Others argue it grows in agricultural ditches because of the availability of both water and the fertilizer it carries. “It will be interesting to see what the water inputs and nutrient inputs are,” she said. More information on the state’s pilot hemp program is available at https://agr. wa.gov/Inspection/Hemp/. Oregon also has a hemp pilot project, but Idaho does not. Eric Barker can be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 8482273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.

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Scrapping NAFTA would hurt U.S. cattle producers Industry experts say beef exports to Canada, Mexico would likely decline from President Trump’s proposal

Industry experts are concerned that future changes to NAFTA may negatively impact the United States’ beef market.

By Josh Babcock For Northwest Farm & Ranch

President Donald Trump has stated on multiple occasions he would like to renegotiate or scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement, but those in the cattle industry say it’s a move that would be detrimental to thousands of cattle-producing families in Idaho and throughout the country. Since NAFTA’s inception in 1994, Canada and Mexico have become two of the largest importers of U.S. beef, with Canada as the No. 4 market and Mexico at No. 3, according to 2016 statistics from the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Cameron Mulrony, Idaho Cattle Association executive vice president, said getting rid of NAFTA or renegotiating the pact could result in the loss of those Canadian and Mexican

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See NAFTA, Page 9A

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markets and leave cattle-dependent families pinching pennies. Mulrony said any reinstated preNAFTA tariffs on trade in North America could price Mexico or Canada out of the market, which would affect the entire U.S. economy. “The possibility of a loss in market share, that’s the main concern,” he said. “Not that that market share couldn’t be picked up eventually, but there would be a large loss right out of the gate if those imports from Canada and Mexico were reduced.” Mulrony said the loss of one or both markets would drop the demand of U.S. beef, and thereby its price — and profit — to cattle producers. “The potential loss of a market has a direct impact on the cow and calf producer,” Mulrony said. “NAFTA going away is going to have an impact on those farms.” He said in 2003 when the Canadian border was closed because of one cow with mad cow disease in Yakima, Wash., it was financially devastating for cattle farmers. He said if NAFTA was renegotiated it could have a similar effect. “We call it the cow that stole Christmas,” Mulrony said. “It had a negative effect on our market here.” Climbing back financially for cattle producers isn’t as simple as selling their beef elsewhere. Mulrony said if pre-NAFTA tariffs were put back in place, countries like Japan and South Korea, which rest at the top of the United States’ beef export list, would be expected to pick up that slack, but at cattle farmers’ expense. He said trading with countries overseas would cost cattle farms more than they were being charged under NAFTA, as they must also cover the cost to ship their product. “Cattle producers buy at retail price and pay shipping both ways,” Mulrony said. Mulrony said many cattle producers in Idaho transport cattle north of the border by truck, but shipping product overseas to countries like

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| Saturday, June 24, 2017 | 9

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Cameron Mulrony Idaho Cattle Association executive vice president Japan and South Korea could hike up their price. He said other tariffs in those countries overseas — which are excluded under NAFTA — would also eat away at profits made by cattle farmers. While the loss of the Canadian or Mexican markets would decrease the demand for U.S. cattle, it would also diminish the supply of cattle. Mulrony said cattle from Canada and Mexico coming into U.S. feed yards to be raised on U.S. feed — which is highly valued globally — would likely fall. He said not having those cattle in U.S. feed yards would decrease the supply of U.S. beef worldwide. For the sake of cattle farmers and their families, Mulrony doesn’t want NAFTA to go away, nor does he think it will. “I don’t think a complete repeal of NAFTA is feasible,” he said. “From an agriculture standpoint and trade standpoint it’s been very beneficial for us. … If it was repealed I think we would feel the market shift.” He said a rewrite of the trade deal is more likely. “It would definitely have an affect on us; the scope of it’s hard to know because it’s been in place so long,” Mulrony said. “You would see trade tariffs; how those tariffs were established would ultimately affect the whole outcome.” Josh Babcock can be contacted at jbabcock@ lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2275.

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Pulse-pounding campaign Half-Cup Habit looks to increase consumption of pulse crops: dry pea, bean, lentil, chickpea By Mary Stone For Northwest Farm & Ranch

Consumers will be healthier and pulse growers will see more demand for their crops if a campaign launched this month to encourage dry pea, bean, lentil and chickpea consumption hits its mark. The Half-Cup Habit campaign asks people to add a half-cup serving of cooked pulses to three meals a week, said USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council domestic marketing director Jessie Hunter. The council, based in Moscow, joined with the American Pulse Association and Pulse Canada to organize the social media-based drive. “The whole emphasis of the program is to show how easy it can be to just add pulses to your diet,” Hunter said. That message is being promoted on Facebook and Instagram — and through “influencers” such as food bloggers and dieticians who share See Pulse, Page 11A

Lewiston Tribune

Clockwise from bottom: Kabuli chickpeas, split peas, lentils, pardina lentils, whole green peas, red duet lentils and split green peas.

THANK YOU FOR FEEDING THE WORLD!

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Pulse from Page 10

the message with their followers. The drive comes as follow-up to the United Nations declaring 2016 the International Year of the Pulse. Experts reviewed dietary recommendations from around the world and determined a half cup of pulses provides “a meaningful amount of key nutrients,� Hunter said. Protein and fiber top the list of pulses’ healthy attributes, she said, with B vitamins, iron, potassium and magnesium rounding out the nutritional profile. The Half-Cup Habit campaign also serves to further familiarize consumers with the term “pulse� and to draw attention to products that contain pulses as an ingredient. The term comes from the Latin word “puls,� Hunter said, meaning thick soup or porridge. It’s more specific than the previously often used “legume,� a family that extends beyond peas and lentils to include crops as varied as soybeans, alfalfa, peanuts and mesquite. While many people do enjoy pulses in soups, such as lentils, the half-cup campaign aims to showcase more creative ways to incorporate them into everyday dining, Hunter said. “There’s a lot of ways to eat pulses, and that’s what this campaign is designed to do is to create awareness about those ways,� she said. Cooked peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas can be added to pasta dishes, salads

| Saturday, June 24, 2017 | 11

— even smoothies. One smoothie recipe that has been “a big hit� with young taste testers at the Moscow Farmers Market contains blueberries, yogurt, milk, cooked beans or lentils, vanilla and a little honey, Hunter said. Ultimately, the hope is that by encouraging consumers to add a half cup of pulses to meals three times a week, average consumption in the U.S. will grow from the current 8 to 9 pounds per person per year to closer to 13 pounds per year. Another strategy for reaching the 13pound-per-person annual goal is to market products made with pulses, Hunter said. That includes a rapidly expanding number of items, such as cheeses, milks and breads. Foods made with pulse flours — such as tortillas, chips and crackers — are becoming increasingly common, she said. To direct consumers to foods containing pulses, a brand logo appears on items that contain at least 5 percent pulse ingredients by weight and in which pulses are in the top five ingredients. “That brand is modeled after the whole grains stamp on foods that contain a certain amount of whole grains,� Hunter said. More information about the Half-Cup Habit campaign can be found at www. pulses.org. Mary Stone may be contacted at mstone@ lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2244. Follow her on Twitter @MarysSchoolNews.

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Trade groups essential to Northwest wheat exports Face-to-face contact helps ag officials demonstrate quality, reliability of product By Kathy Hedberg For Northwest Farm & Ranch

Steve Hanks/Lewiston Tribune

Japanese millers Koji Deguchi, Hideo Kakinuma, Keiji Akatuska, Yoshiyuki Arai and Wataru Utsunomiya discuss this year’s wheat crop with farthest to nearest: Tereasa Waterman, Idaho Wheat Commission; Joe Anderson, Idaho Wheat Commissioner Genesee; Blaine Jacobson, director Idaho Wheat Commission; and Sam White, Pacific Northwest Wheat growers marketer.

Trade team visits from countries such as Japan and Taiwan are key to keeping Pacific Northwest-grown crops competitive with other wheat-producing nations, an agriculture officials says. Recently the Washington Grain Commission served as host for a team of four milling executives from mid-sized companies representing Japan’s National Cooperative of Millers. In an unrelated visit, four wheat purchasing managers from leading flour mills in Taiwan toured a local wheat farm and Port of Lewiston businesses to learn more about the quality, value and reliability of Idaho’s 2017 wheat crop. “Japan will be the second largest buyer of soft white and hard red spring wheat this year, which means no matter the size of the mill, it is important that these millers are familiar with the value of U.S. wheat and the U.S. wheat marketing system,” said Steve Wirsching, vice president and director of the West Coast office of U.S. Wheat Associates. “Japanese millers are always quality conscious and ask

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Northwest Farm & Ranch good questions about improving overall wheat quality and end use.� Port of Lewiston President Mike Thomason said the visit of the Taiwanese officials “clearly demonstrate what the river system means to wheat farmers, their global competitiveness and the local economy.� Japan and Taiwan are the secondand sixth-largest buyers, respectively, of U.S. wheat. Joe Bippert, program director for the Washington Grain Commission, said these visits represent a powerful marketing strategy to persuade Pacific Rim countries to buy from the U.S. rather than its competitors. “For sheer proximity we compete against Australia for the Pacific Rim simply because they’re closer than we are and they have an advantage just given the location,� Bippert said. Canada also is a large exporter of wheat and, like the U.S., focuses on the quality of their product to attract customers. Australia and Canada aren’t the only players in the game, however. “I would say one of the tough players that we’re looking at is Russia or the Black Sea region,� Bippert said. “Up until recently they were the largest exporter of wheat in the world. And most recently the U.S. passed them up this year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t stop paying attention to them.� Russia and the Black Sea wheat

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

producers sell their product for less than the U.S. or Canada, but the quality is not the same, he added. That high quality is the biggest attraction for buyers from Pacific Rim countries, who use soft white wheat for pastries and other artisan products. “The thing with Japan is, the government is the entity that buys wheat. So we only deal with one buyer, then the millers have to buy wheat from the government,� he said. “The mills are constantly giving feedback on the wheat that they’re preferring and that can impact decisions. “So there’s no sure deal that comes from this, because wheat buying is regulated by the government. But we want to make sure that our wheat continues to be the most desirable.� Bippert said the Japanese contingent also was able to visit Lower Granite Dam and watch as a barge was loaded and then passed through the locks on its way to the West Coast ports. “The locks and dams are important to make sure we can efficiently and in a cost-effective way get our wheat to the ports and overseas,� Bippert said. “We were able to explain to them why that’s important for us to be able to transport wheat.�

| Saturday, June 24, 2017 | 13

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14 | Saturday, June 24, 2017 |

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News

A new path to follow for suds seekers Agriculture department, Idaho Brewers United release map to hop heaven By Joel Mills For Northwest Farm & Ranch

Cary Wilton/Daily News file photo

University of Idaho student Brett Travis pours a cup of 208 Golden Ale from Grand Teton Brewing during the Dads weekend beer tasting Saturday at Moscow Alehouse.

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Beer enthusiasts can chart a course to a growing number of barley pop paradises with the latest version of the Idaho Brewers Trail Map. Produced by the Idaho Department of Agriculture and trade group Idaho Brewers United, the map aims to do more than just steer suds seekers to more than five dozen craft breweries that operate in the state. It also spotlights the agricultural products like hops and barley that join in the almost-alchemical process of beermaking to create the various nectars that consumers crave. “It was something we didn’t have, and we both wanted to make something like it happen,� Idaho Brewers United Executive Director Sheila Francis said of the collaboration and the need for a consumer guide. “Breweries in Idaho are still opening, and the industry is still growing.� Local ingredients are a big draw for many breweries for a couple of reasons, Idaho Department of Agriculture Trade Specialist Skylar Jett said. First, the high quality of Idaho’s hops and barley help ensure that their final products have the flavors they are looking for. But featuring agricultural products that are grown close to home also presents a marketing opportunity as more and more consumers seek out products that feature locally sourced ingredients, she said. Hops and grains are the main Idaho-grown ingredients included in the state’s sudsy brews, but they aren’t the only ones. The trail map mentions other homegrown fruits that many brewers utilize, like huckleberries and other berries. “The local sourcing is important to many brewers,� Francis said. “It just makes sense to get it in your local community, or as close as you can. In the end, everybody benefits.� And Idaho generates just under 10

“

It just makes sense to get it in your local community, or as close as you can. In the end, everybody benefits.� Sheila Francis Idaho Brewers United executive director percent of America’s hops, ranking third in the nation. With demand for the tart green buds rising, production continues to increase, Jett said. In 2014, the harvested acres of hops grew by 11 percent, for example. Hops are primarily grown in the hot, dry southwest part of Idaho, or the panhandle to the north. “Hops have some particular growing needs, and we are right in the sweet spot for those hops,� Francis said. The regional differences in climate and soil provides distinct growing conditions that have fostered a wide variety of hops, allowing brewers to create specialized concoctions for their customers. Varieties that thrive in Idaho include Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, El Dorado, Galena and CTZ, according to the Department of Agriculture. Other new varieties are being introduced all the time, like the Idaho 7 that has been catching on with brewers across the country, Francis said. One farm has even been producing organic hops. Barley is the other big Idaho-grown ingredient in beer, and the state typically leads the country in producing both the malting variety for brewing and the feed variety for livestock. Lewiston is a hub for the distribution of malting barley, with regional growers delivering their crop to the CHS Primeland site on Snake River Avenue for shipment by rail. The 2017 Idaho Brewers Trail Map is available at craft breweries, local tourism offices and online at http:// tinyurl.com/brewersmap Joel Mills can be contacted at jmills@lmtribune. com or (208) 848-2266.

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| Saturday, June 24, 2017 | 15

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Moscow Brewery owners Aaron Hart, Leah Hart and Andy Severson pose in the fermentation room of the establishment on May 5.

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16 | Saturday, June 24, 2017 |

Northwest Farm & Ranch

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Washington on track to meet 2020 cropland goal More acreage needed as population is likely to increase by 1.8 million By Taylor Nadauld For Northwest Farm & Ranch

Washington state is on track to meet its goal of increasing its cropland by 100,000 acres by 2020, according to data from the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Washington currently has 7.33 million acres of working cropland, an increase from 7.237 million in 2012, putting the state well on its way to meeting its 7.347 million acre goal over the next three-and-ahalf years. Statewide, cropland increased an average of 0.5 percent per year from 2008 to 2014, according to WSDA data. Eastern Washington currently has approximately 7 million acres of cropland, WSDA Director Derek Sandison told Results Washington, a group of agency directors, and Gov. Jay Inslee in March during a meeting to review the state’s progress. Western Washington’s

total cropland sits at 290,000 acres. Farms tend to be larger in rural eastern Washington, Sandison told the group. The average farm size in Whitman County, which is among the nation’s top wheat producers, is about 1,000 acres. Moving west to Skagit County, that number drops to 99 acres. In King County, the average farm is 27 acres, Sandison said. With Washington’s population predicted to increase by 1.8 million people over the next 25 years, pressure on the state’s agricultural land base and infrastructure is expected to increase, according to the WSDA. “In spite of the difference in scale, agriculture on both sides of the Cascades is extremely important to the state of Washington,” Sandison said. To aid in achieving the state’s goal, the WSDA is focusing on protecting current cropland to ensure growth of the agricultur-

A farmer harvests wheat in a field on Airport Road near Pullman. al economy. Sandison said the Palouse region has especially had trouble with soil erosion, one of several problems that threaten the health of current working farmland. “There’s great strides being made in terms of reducing the amount of soil erosion and promoting soil health,” Sandison said. And though some eastern Washington counties have little room to increase cropland, WSDA representatives say

counties near water have the potential. Perry Beale, agricultural land use mapping manager for the WSDA’s Yakima office, said cropland continues to pop up near the Horse Heaven Hills, which runs across Klickitat, Yakima and Benton counties. Red Mountain near the TriCities has seen thousands of acres developed into wine grape vineyards as the result of a recent water flow project, Beale said.

Geoff Crimmins/Daily News file photo

At Results Washington’s March meeting, Sandison advised the state to keep track of several factors that indicate potential increases in cropland, including farmers’ financial satisfaction, the contribution of farming to the health and vitality of local communities and whether the next generation wants to farm at all. Taylor Nadauld can be reached at (208) 883-4630, by email to tnadauld@ dnews.com.

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| Saturday, June 24, 2017 | 17

Cattle ranchers sue to return countryof-origin labeling By Nicholas K. Geranios Associated Press

SPOKANE — Ranchers on Monday sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture, seeking to force meat to again be labeled if it’s produced in other countries and imported to the United States. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Spokane, seeks to overturn a March 2016 decision by the Department of Agriculture to revoke regulations requiring imported meat products to be labeled with their country of origin. That change allowed imported meat to be sold as U.S. products, the lawsuit said. “Consumers understandably want to know where their food comes from,” said David Muraskin of Washington, D.C., an attorney for Public Justice, which filed the lawsuit. “With this suit, we’re fighting policies that put multinational corporations ahead of domestic producers and shroud the origins of our food supply in secrecy.” Between 2009 and 2016, the USDA required country-of-origin labeling on meat. The lawsuit said the change violated the nation’s Meat Inspection Act, which required that slaughtered meat from other countries be clearly marked. The Department of Agriculture on Monday declined to comment on a matter that is in litigation. The lawsuit was brought by the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America,

the nation’s largest group of independent cattle producers, and the Cattle Producers of Washington. Bill Bullard of United Stockgrowers said the labeling is essential to allow Americans to support U.S. ranchers. “Empowering consumers to buy American beef with country of origin labels will strengthen America’s economy,” Bullard said. Multinational corporations use the lack of clear labels “to import more beef from more foreign countries, including countries with questionable food safety practices,” he said. The lawsuit asks the court to vacate USDA’s current regulations, which allow corporations that import beef and pork and other products into the United States to label that meat “Product of USA.” Beth Terrell, another attorney for Public Justice, which is a nonprofit legal group, noted that President Donald Trump initially expressed support for country-of-origin labeling, but he has since backed off. “Both consumer advocates and domestic producers were disheartened by President Trump’s reversal,” Terrell said. More than 800 million pounds of foreign beef is imported into the United States each year, Public Justice said. Without country-of-origin labeling, “domestic ranchers and farmers tend to receive lower prices for their meat because multinational companies can import meat and misleadingly present it as homegrown,” Public Justice said in a news release.

Associated Press

Ranchers are suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture, seeking a return of labels that clearly identify meat produced in other countries and imported to the United States.

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18 | Saturday, June 24, 2017 |

Northwest Farm & Ranch

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Researchers seek better ways to farm popular Pacific fish By Phuong Le Associated Press

Associated Press

Bill Fairgrieve, a fisheries research biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, holds a sablefish March 28 at a research facility in Manchester, Wash.

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PORT ORCHARD, Wash. — The dark gray fish prized for its buttery flavor lives deep in the ocean, so researchers keep their lab cold and dark to simulate ideal conditions for sablefish larvae. A biologist shines his dim red headlamp and uses an ultrasound to scan the belly of an anesthetized sablefish about the length of his forearm to tell if it’s female and has eggs to collect. He gently squeezes out hundreds of tiny, translucent eggs into a glass beaker. Once the eggs are fertilized externally, they’ll grow in large indoor tanks and some in floating net pens in Washington state’s Puget Sound to be used for research. At this federal marine research station near Seattle, scientists are studying sablefish genetics and investigating ways to make it easier and more efficient to commercially grow the fish. It is part of a larger effort

by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to support marine aquaculture as a solution to feed a growing demand worldwide for seafood. People are consuming more fish than in previous decades, with average worldwide per capita consumption hitting 43 pounds a year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Fish consumption is expected to grow even more in coming years. NOAA says aquaculture can relieve pressure on fishing populations and promote economic growth. Fishermen along the U.S. West Coast, mostly in Alaska, catch millions of pounds of wild sablefish each year but no commercial sablefish net-pen farming exists in the U.S. Sablefish, also known as black cod or butterfish, are long-lived species that is native to the northeast Pacific Ocean and highly valued in Asia for its beneficial nutrients and delicate flavor. The fish are grilled, smoked, poached,

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News

| Saturday, June 24, 2017 | 19

Associated Press

This photo taken March 28 shows outdoor fish pens used to house sablefish at a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research facility in Manchester, Wash. Rubino and others say wild harvests and aquaculture can complement each other, particularly during months when there are lower catch limits for wild sablefish. “You always have this yin-yang problem between fisheries and aquaculture,” Rick Goetz, who leads the marine fish and shellfish biology program at the Manchester Research Station, across Puget Sound from Seattle. “The big problem is allaying the fears of people that you can have both. You can have both of those things working, particularly because this fish is such a high-value product.” In recent years, NOAA Fisheries scientists have worked to reduce potential barriers to sablefish aquaculture. They have developed techniques to produce all-female stocks of sablefish that grow faster and much bigger than males in about 24 months. Ideal market size is roughly 5 1/2 pounds. They’ve also studied different ways to reduce the costs of feeding juvenile fish, increase larvae survival rates and decrease deformities. One research project is replacing more expensive algae with clay that is used to help sablefish larvae better find their prey. Another looked at finding the optimal temperature to increase larval growth. Wild fish are caught off the Washington coast and used to develop captive brood stocks, or mature fish that are used for breeding.

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roasted or served as sushi. Michael Rubino, who directs the NOAA aquaculture program, noted that practices for farming fish in the U.S. meet very strict environmental regulations. But some critics worry large-scale farms could harm wild fish stocks and ocean health, and some commercial fishermen worry about potential competition. “This would be a big threat for us,” said Robert Alverson, executive director of the Fishing Vessel Owners’ Association, a Seattle-based group that represents about 95 commercial fishermen in Alaska, Oregon, Washington and California. In 2015, fisherman harvested about 35 million pounds of sablefish worth $113 million in the United States, all along the U.S. West Coast. Of that, nearly two-thirds, or about 23 million pounds, were caught in Alaska, with smaller amounts in Oregon, Washington and California. Nearly half of the sablefish caught in the United States is exported, with a majority going to Japan. “Our fear is that science isn’t going to stay in the U.S., and it will be exported to a Third World country where people work for a few bucks a day,” Alverson said. “They’ll raise it with low-valued labor and use our science to undercut our commercial fishery and coastal communities.” Alaska law prohibits finfish farming.

20 | Saturday, June 24, 2017 |

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