The Growers' Guide January 2023

NW wheat organizations get new leaders

By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press

Anew era of leadership has dawned at the three Pacific Northwest wheat commissions.

Each of them has new top executives.

Amanda Hoey took over as Oregon Wheat’s CEO in January 2020, overseeing the Oregon Wheat Commission and Oregon Wheat Growers League. She replaced Blake Rowe, who held the position for eight years.

Casey Chumrau replaced Glen Squires as chief executive officer of the Washington Grain Commission in 2022. Squires held the position for 10 years.

Previously, Chumrau was executive director of the Idaho Wheat Commission for two years, replacing Blaine Jacobson, who held the position for 18 years.

Matthew Weaver/Capital Press

From left, Amanda Hoey, Oregon Wheat CEO; Britany Hurst Marchant, Idaho Wheat Commission executive director, and Casey Chumrau, Washington Grain Commission chief executive director, during the Tri-State Grain Growers Convention Dec. 1 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Beef isn’t just for dinner, it’s for breakfast too. Here are some recipes from the Idaho Beef Council.

Corned beef hash

Ingredients

12 ounces cooked Corned Beef or thickly sliced deli Corned Beef, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 cups cubed potatoes (such as redskinned, baking or sweet potatoes)

2 medium leeks, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Fried or poached eggs (optional)

Cooking Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Stir in potatoes, leeks and garlic salt.

Cover and cook 12 to 16 minutes or until pota-

By Dana

toes and leeks are tender, stirring occasionally.

Remove cover and continue to cook 3 to 5 minutes or until potatoes begin to brown, stirring occasionally and adding remaining 1 tablespoon

oil to prevent sticking, if needed.

Add Corned Beef to skillet. Continue to cook 2 to 3 minutes or until beef is heated through. Serve hash with fried or poached egg, if desired.

Wild west beef hash

Ingredients

1 pound Ground Beef (93% lean or leaner)

3 cups frozen potatoes O’Brien

1 jar (15 to 16 ounces) prepared thick-andchunky salsa

1 cup frozen corn

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup shredded reducedfat Cheddar cheese

Toppings

Reduced-fat dairy sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, lime wedges (optional)

Cooking

Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot. Add potatoes; cook 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from skillet. Keep warm.

Cook’s Tip: Refrigerated diced potatoes may be substituted for frozen potatoes.

Brown Ground Beef in same skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, breaking up into 3/4-inch crumbles and stirring occasionally. Pour off drippings, as necessary. Season beef with salt and pepper, as desired. Stir in salsa, corn and 1/4 cup cilantro; cook 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Stir in potatoes; sprinkle with cheese. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Cook’s Tip: You may substitute Mexican cheese blend for Cheddar cheese.

Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef . Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160ºF. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.

Serve with toppings, if desired.

Beef breakfast burritos

Ingredients

12 ounces Ground Beef (93% lean or leaner)

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons ground ancho chile powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

4 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

1/3 cup reduced-fat shredded Mexican cheese blend or shredded Cheddar cheese

4 medium spinach or plain flour tortillas (10-inch diameter), warmed Salsa (optional)

Lime-Cilantro Cream

1/2 cup reduced-fat dairy sour cream

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

Cooking

Combine Lime-Cilantro Cream ingredients in small bowl, if desired. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add Ground

Beef with bell pepper, onion, chile powder and cumin; cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking into small crumbles and stirring occasionally. Pour off drippings, as necessary. Remove from beef mixture from skillet; keep warm.

Cook’s Tip: Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160ºF. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness. Combine eggs, water and 1 tablespoon cilantro in medium bowl. Spray same skillet with cooking spray. Pour into skillet; cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes or until scrambled, stirring occasionally.

Season with salt, if desired. Stir in beef mixture and cheese; cook 1 minute or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Cook’s Tip: You may substitute 1 cup egg substitute for beaten eggs. Omit water. Continue as directed in step 3.

Spoon beef mixture evenly in a row across center of each tortilla, leaving 1-inch border on right and left sides. Fold right and left sides of tortilla over filling. Fold bottom edge up over filling and roll up; cut diagonally in half. Serve with Lime-Cilantro Cream and salsa, as desired.

I’m a shop rat. Always have been. If I wasn’t working on my cattle or other FFA projects I was more than likely to be found in our shop.

I was also a vocational student which meant in my last three years in high school I spent an hour every day in the school’s ag shop. This was in addition to two automotive classes I took and one woodworking class in junior high school. Nearly every piece of furniture in

our house has either been refinished or reupholstered by me. I’ve worked on all our cars and trucks and consider myself a profi-

By Lee Pitts www.leepittsbooks.com

The cowboy arts

cient welder.

By watching You Tube videos and reading books I’ve taught myself blacksmithing, silver soldering, plastic molding, engraving, and how to use a milling machine, wood and metal lathe and a key making machine which I restored. I even took classes in jewelry making which helped me in making belt buckles and repairing old bits and spurs. For years I restored items for a very high end antique store.

Having said that, I hate the household arts. I don’t have the “thyme” for cooking and couldn’t stand working at Starbucks and doing the same old “grind”

every day. (Puns intended.)

By far, the thing I enjoy the most is leatherworking and I’ve collected hundreds of leather working tools along the way. I taught myself and it was the second most difficult skill I’ve learned. (Engraving was the hardest.) It took me years before I was proud enough of my work to stamp my name on it.

Now I’ve restored saddles for museums and leather bound French clock boxes that held $25,000 clocks.

One of my miniature saddles brought $50,000 and a scrapbook I made was auctioned off for $18,000.

But leatherworking does have its drawbacks.

For example, one of my best friends bartered a swap with a well known leatherworker for a floral tooled belt and I was with him when he picked it up. It was antiqued, fully tooled, the edges were smooth and it was a beautiful belt that I know took at least 10 hours hours to complete.

But upon closer inspection my friend found where the leatherworker had sewn off the edge of the belt. It was a big boo-boo and I would have scrapped it and started over, as I’ve had to do many times. To make a long story short my friend refused the belt and the leatherworker, who was obviously embarrassed, made him a new one.

That’s the thing with leatherworking... it’s just not that forgiving. In most other trades if you make a mistake you can back up and redo it, or do something cosmetically to hide your error. Not so with

See Pitts, Page A7

Beef sausage and gravy Ingredients

1 recipe Basic Country Beef Breakfast Sausage (recipe follows)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup flour

3 cups skim milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Serving Suggestions: Warmed buttermilk biscuits, toasted English muffins or steamed asparagus (optional)

Cooking

Prepare Basic Country Beef Breakfast Sausage. Remove from skil -

let; keep warm.

Basic Country Beef Breakfast Sausage: Combine 1 pound Ground Beef (93% lean or leaner), 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage or 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper in large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add sausage mixture; cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking into 1/2inch crumbles and stirring occasionally.

Cook’s Tip: Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of

160°F. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.

Heat oil in same skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour; cook and stir 4 minutes.

Stir in milk; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat; simmer 2 to 3 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. Stir in sausage, salt and pepper. Cook

1 to 2 minutes or until beef is heated through, stirring occasionally.

Serve over biscuits, muffins or asparagus, as desired.

Pitts

Continued from Page A6

your error. Not so with leatherworking.

Years ago I made what I considered to be a beautiful leather tooled binder with ornate silver engraving on the cover. To give the leather a nice patina I covered it with neatsfoot oil and set it outside in the sun for two days before applying the final finish. But when I went to retrieve the binder I was shocked to find that the neighbor’s dog had turned it into a chew toy.

The worst example of a lot of time being completely wasted was experienced by a great saddle maker I know by the name of Ron Butler. He’s no relation to my Wyoming idol Don Butler who passed away a few years ago.

Don was the best designer and tooler of leather I’ve ever seen. And Ron Butler might be in second place. He is that good.

Ron had just completed hours of tooling on the fender of a saddle and it was gorgeous. After tooling it Ron and his lovely wife spent hours dyeing all the spaces between the flowers and the leaves which in itself is an art because it’s very easy to get the dye on the flowers, leaves and scrolls. Ron’s very young grandson seems to want to follow in Ron’s footsteps because he paid close attention to everything Ron did.

The next morning Ron went to his shop only to discover that his grandson had taken his permanent markers and crayons and colored all the flowers and leaves every color of the rainbow on the finished fender. And he had definitely not stayed within the lines!

I’m told Ron almost “dyed”.

Britany Hurst Marchant replaced Chumrau as executive director of the Idaho commission last September.

“It’s exciting times for the industry,” said Nicole Berg, president of the National Association of Wheat Growers and a Paterson, Wash., farmer. “We have had some great leaders in the past, but now we have some leaders coming in with fresh eyes. I look forward to the huge opportunities they can create for the industry.”

The three wheat leaders spoke with the Capital Press during an online roundtable discussion on Oct. 21. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q. What are the strengths of the Pacific Northwest wheat industry?

Marchant: One of the biggest strengths is our transportation infrastructure. We are able to quickly and easily get wheat to port downriver.

Hoey: There are two others I would add in. Our producers — the innovation and the leadership we have within the Pacific Northwest is unrivaled. The three (commissions) in the Pacific Northwest have worked together as a tri-state collaborative. I think that’s a really unique relationship, with the longevity and the foresight our producers have had to combine together, recognizing that as we are looking at those markets, we are one Pacific Northwest as a whole. The logistics then give us that access to some really sophisticated markets.

The third one being our long-term focus on increasing quality, the dollars we put into research, grower communication — that has put the region’s wheat industry definitely a step above on a global scale.

Chumrau: You’re kind of seeing the collaboration here today. The three states have a very long history of working together. That really strengthens our position in the market and has really been beneficial over the years.

See Wheat, Page A9

AMANDA HOEY

Age: 40

Hometown: The Dalles, Ore.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics, Whitman College

Family: Husband Ben, lives on the farm with her extended family Farming background: Family has a dryland wheat farm

Hobbies: Running and gardening Website: https://www. owgl.org/

BRITANY HURST MARCHANT

Age: 39

Hometown: Heyburn, Idaho

Current location: Firth, Idaho

Education: Bachelor’s degree in history and political science, Boise State University

Family: Husband Luke, two stepsons

Farming background: “I grew up in rural Idaho.” Hobbies: Running, anything outside, travel, reading. “I worship the sun.” Website: https://www. idahowheat.org/

CASEY CHUMRAU

Age: 39

Hometown: Missoula, Mont.

Current location: Spokane Education: bachelor degree in history, University of Oregon; master’s degree in business administration, University of Montana

Family: Husband Valentin, dog Canela

Farming background: Aunt and uncle have a wheat farm

Hobbies: Hiking, traveling, reading and eating Website: https://wagrains. org/

Continued from Page A8

We have excellent relationships with our customers. We have 50, 60, 70 years building those relationships. We have incredible information exchange programs with our customers that help us improve our wheat varieties so they better fit the needs of those customers. We have really consistent production. We have focused on end-quality for decades.

In addition to that higher functionality of the wheat and flour, we have a lower-moisture product and cleaner crops coming out of this region than some of the other regions and suppliers around the world. That just creates higher value for our customers.

Q.

What needs work?

Chumrau: We need to do a better job of sharing our story. The pandemic really exposed some of the logistics and transportation that we take for granted.

See Leaders, Page A11

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Idaho Wheat Commission

Idaho Grain Producers Association past president Jamie Kress, Idaho Wheat Commission board member Cory Kress and Idaho Wheat Commission executive director Britany Hurst Marchant meet with Joe Bippert, U.S. Wheat Associates assistant regional director for South Asia, and Joe Sowers, regional vice president for South and Southeast Asia at U.S. Wheat’s o ce in Singapore.

AC Harrow

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As people have moved farther away from the farm, they don’t understand how their food is produced and how it gets to market.

We’re doing a lot of great things. The farmers are very sophisticated, they are technologically advanced, they’re excellent stewards of the land. ... Farmers are very good at putting their head down and getting to work, but sometimes we need to look up and share that story as well.

Marchant: More and more consumers also want to know where their food is coming from. There’s a large movement in that direction, to know exactly what is in their food and where it has come from.

We’re the ones that need to let them know that, that growers raised wheat in an environmentally conscious, sustainable way, that they are good stewards of the land, but also that the product they’re getting is coming from family farms.

Q: What are your short-term priorities?

Chumrau: To reconnect with our customers in person. We had over two years where we were not able to meet our customers face-to-face, and we got back to a really good start this summer. There were over 20 trade teams that visited the region and now being able to get back overseas ourselves and meet them in their mills and plants, and hear what the customers are needing from us, is an important priority.

Marchant: Just building on the collaboration we already have in the PNW, but making that stronger. Exploring more opportunities to create avenues that we can strengthen each other.

Q: What are the long-term goals?

Hoey: Keeping wheat in business, that is my long-term priority, the focus on our producers. I feel a strong obligation and responsibility for that, in all the work that we do.

Change how we communicate the work we are doing as we see that shift in population from rural to urban. It really only takes one generation away from the farm to lose some of that connection. ...

Urban consumers really want to have and feel a good connection to farm and field. We need to do a better job of supporting our producers and helping consumers understand the practices we’re using on the farm and the fact that the United States and the Pacific Northwest are extremely sustainable in the practices we’re using.

Lori Maricle/Washington Grain Commission

Washington Grain Commission chairman Mike Carstensen, left, stands by as Casey Chumrau assumes the title of commission CEO in October from retiring CEO Glen Squires.

Chumrau: We need to move toward marketing our PNW wheat as an ingredient, as opposed to a commodity. We rarely compete on price, so we really have to differentiate our wheat on quality.

To do that, we need to continue improving our end-use quality and functionality of

the wheat varieties we are breeding, while also maintaining the yield and agronomic factors that are important to farmers.

Marchant: We can’t just keep doing what we’ve always done. In the future, we’re going to have to continue to innovate, use research and technology advancements to produce more wheat to feed a growing population with less land,

fewer resources.

Already over the past several decades, that’s what our farmers have been doing. They’ve been staying up to date on those advancements so they can be profitable and they can continue to produce more with less.

In that way, we are going to do what we’ve always done, which is to grow along with the advancements in technology.

Q: What’s on your wish list?

Hoey: Definitely reinvestment in the infrastructure that allows us to deliver wheat to market.

Stability for our producers. Top of mind right now is the cost of inputs, the ability to source material and get it timely.

Increasing our exports and sustaining and maintaining wheat prices.

Getting a farm bill passed that has elements related to risk mitigation, expansion of the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development program.

Marchant: I would like to see better communication, so that the consumer understands what we do and how we do it — trust the process and the product.

Chumrau: I would love to see more growers involved in leadership. We would love to have more feedback from growers on what they need from the commission.

I think a lot of times growers think they just know how to farm and who’s going to

want their opinion? But they are the ones on the ground every single day and know what the challenges are and where we should be going and what we should be pushing for legislatively and in society.

I would love to see a bigger focus on mental health and the well-being of farmers. That’s an issue in general, but especially in the farm and agricultural community. If we could learn to talk about that a little bit more openly, it would be really beneficial to our industry.

Q: Is there something farmers should have on their radar that they’re not thinking about right now?

Hoey: There’s very little that’s not on the radar of our producers, they’re the ones out innovating in the field, dealing with the issues day-to-day. They’re always the ones calling me to be aware of what should be on our radar. They’ve done that from the farm field end all the way up to the policy end.

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Hoey: I see the trends of continuation of population growth, combined with a whole new generation of farmers. Farming won’t get any easier, so we won’t reduce those challenges on thin profit margins.

Those things I think combine to further increase the mechanization within our farming practices, to provide more focus on precision agriculture and really increase some of the complexity of the data our farmers are already beginning to use to make decisions on the farm, in relation to soil, input and water management. The biggest change is acceleration of a trend that is already here and in place. ...

Marchant: We will see a definite acceleration in mechanization, innovation and technology. And farming operations that keep up with that and are on the cutting-edge.

Chumrau: I think consumers are going to drive a lot of the change in our industry in the next 25 to 50 years. For example, will those markets accept biotechnology? Will they accept new forms of weed management and those kinds of things we’re looking at right now, because we see short-term and long-term challenges?

Q: Any specific challenges you want to spotlight?

Chumrau: High input costs are on the forefront of everybody’s mind right now. That’s been a trend over the last year and we don’t see any relief right now.

Marchant: Market volatility. Prices that are all over the place, depending on the news out of the Black Sea region.

Hoey: We’ve been in a place where those higher wheat prices have helped, to a degree, to offset some of the high input prices. We’ve seen doubling and tripling on fuel and fertilizer prices and all the things required to plant and maintain a healthy wheat crop.

If those high input prices continue but if the price of wheat moves lower, the ability to operate in that environment and higher borrowing costs will make it even more challenging for producers.

We’ve had an ability with higher wheat prices to manage through the last couple of years, but that will be a challenge as we move forward, and a really concerning one.

Q. How will wheat farming look different in the next 25 to 50 years?

Oregon Wheat

Former Oregon Wheat Growers League president Clint Carlson and Oregon Wheat CEO Amanda Hoey tour Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River system in June 2021.

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Matthew Weaver/Capital Press Wheat farmer Ian Clark and herb farmer Lindsay Myron with their daughter Elsie, now 17 months, on their farm Oct. 5 near Pullman, Wash. Another baby is due in January.

Farmer looks forward to ‘fun stuff’

By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press

PULLMAN, Wash. — Ian Clark sees the potential for taking his farm in many different directions.

But there’s just not enough time for him to explore them all.

He imagines having “15 of yourselves just to do all these different things or live all these different iterations of life where, in this one, I’m going to do that, try and push real hard on this,” he said.

The Pullman, Wash., farmer lives to try new things.

As a graduate student at Washington State University, he worked on perennial wheat, and he has grown quinoa, a popular specialty crop.

“Maybe it’s just a ‘the grass is greener’ (thing),” he said. “There’s always some way you can improve. I know there’s some things

IAN CLARK

Title: Co-owner, Clark Farms Age: 33 Hometown: Pullman, Wash.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in biology, University of Canterbury, New Zealand; master’s degree in crop science, Washington State University, 2017

Family: Wife Lindsay Myron; daughter Elsie, 17 months; baby due in January

we do really well, but we also have some weak points in our system.”

Clark grew up farming, and is now in his fourth season partnering with his uncle and cousin. He took over for his father, Asa, when he retired.

They raise wheat, canola, chickpeas, peas, barley, spring wheat, timothy and alfalfa on 7,000 acres.

“Ian is a thoughtful and conscientious farmer who embraces innovation,” said Kevin Murphy, WSU specialty crops breeder.

Clark takes part in on-farm experiments and works with researchers to come up with new ways to conserve and improve soil quality, Murphy said.

Clark allowed Murphy to plant quinoa trials on his farm, and, as a graduate student, worked on perennial grain in Murphy’s lab.

“Directed innovation” is the biggest need in the industry, Clark said.

“We have all this technology that is helping us, but we still haven’t realized what we can do with so much of this stuff,” he said. “Where can we cut our inputs to really improve the soil, but also continue to keep our profits where we need to see them to keep the system rolling?”

Clark previously tried raising quinoa, but hasn’t for a few years because of the cost of hauling the crop to southern Idaho for processing. It would take time and money to build the infrastructure necessary for such crops, he said.

But still, “I’d like to get back into it,” he said.

See Farm, Page B7

Matthew Weaver/Capital Press

Ian Clark farms near Pullman, Wash., with his uncle and cousin.

After graduate school, “when I came back to the farm full-time, it was everything I could do to keep up,” he said. “I still feel I’m getting my feet established. Keep the farm going and then as that goes, we can go back to the fun stuff.”

Clark originally intended to pursue a career in plant research. Love for his family, the Palouse and agriculture drew him back into the family business.

“A lot of things kind of folded back together in ways you didn’t think when you left high school,” he said. “You appreciate those things that a tight-knit community and family give you.”

He hopes to increase

crop diversity on the farm. He wants to take a holistic approach beyond focusing solely on yield and instead emphasizing soil health.

He wants to address fundamental issues such as soil acidity and erosion.

“(My parents) left me with a lot better system than what they started with,” he said.

Daughter Elsie and her sibling — his wife, Lindsay Myron, is expecting — will be the sixth generation of the family on the farm.

“I’m proud of that, but I also see it as a huge burden,” he said. “If we do something to this land that means that they can’t (farm) — to me, that’s like a nightmare situation, to kind of hand someone a pile of rocks that they can’t do anything with.”

Matthew Weaver/Capital Press

Ian Clark farms with his uncle and cousin on 7,000 acres near Pullman, Wash. Clark and his uncle and cousin raise wheat and other crops on 7,000 acres and Myron raises herbs on less than an acre.

Christopher D. Stuvland

Washington Ecology rules alarm dairy federation

By DON JENKINS Capital Press

The Washington State Dairy Federation will consider challenging parts of the Department of Ecology’s new pollution-prevention rules for concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.

Dairy federation policy director Jay Gordon said two requirements are particularly concerning.

One will require a network of wells to monitor groundwater. The other will limit spreading manure on some crops, potentially requiring farmers to buy more commercial fertilizer.

The wells and additional fertilizer would be expensive, Gordon said. A smaller dairy required to follow the rules could be facing a “death sentence,” he said.

Only livestock operations that accidentally release manure into water must have a CAFO “permit.”

The permit gives permission to discharge pollutants, but imposes a uniform set of practices on storing and spreading manure to prevent the discharges from imperiling water quality.

Currently, Ecology has issued 24 CAFO permits, mostly to dairies.

To comply with the federal Clean Water Act, Ecology must review, and possibly revise, the practices every five years. Ecology finished doing that this month.

The two practices most concerning to the dairy federation were not in a proposal Ecology circulated for public comment earlier this year.

Nor were they considered in Ecology’s study of how much the practices will cost producers. “The economic analysis is useless,” Gordon said.

A network of wells would likely cost tens of thousands of dollars, he said.

The monitoring wells respond to a court order and criticism from the Environmental Protection Agency, Ecology spokeswoman Colleen Kretz said.

An appeals court in Tacoma last year rejected Ecology’s earlier position that groundwater-monitoring wells were unnecessary and impractical.

The department argued that testing fields was a better way to detect excess manure that might seep past plant roots and into groundwater. A three-judge panel discarded Ecology’s expertise.

In response to the court ruling, Ecology initially proposed

testing groundwater to document a problem before requiring farmers to drill wells.

The EPA pushed for stricter requirements. In the end, Ecology went straight to wells, skipping the study to confirm whether a problem exists.

Since each farm is different, any cost estimate for groundwater monitoring well would be a wide range and not be much use to individual producers, Kretz said.

See CAFO, Page B10

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“We recognize groundwater monitoring can be expensive for operations of all sizes,” she said.

The other rule concern-

ing to the dairy federation regards the build-up of phosphorous in manure-fertilized fields.

Originally, Ecology proposed balancing the “nutrients” in manure fertilizer with the yearly nutrient needs of a crop.

Responding to comments that it should be more specific, Ecology expanded “nutrients” into “nitrogen and phosphorous.”

This will cause problems, Gordon said. Farmers “bank” phosphorous in fields to rotate in crops that need more phosphorous.

If the phosphorous isn’t there to draw on, farmers will have to buy more commercial fertilizer or change rotation plans, he said. “It will wreak havoc on crop rotation.”

As permit holders implement the requirements, “we are happy to work with them on how they can do this in a way that protects water quality and supports a productive farm,” Kretz said.

The dairy federation hasn’t decided yet whether to challenge the CAFO permit, Gordon said.

The first step would be appealing to the Pollution Control Hearings Board, an administrative panel that hears challenges to Ecology decisions.

Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press File

Washington state has proposed new rules for farms and ranches with livestock.

Farm groups react to new WOTUS rule

Rule, which many farm groups favored.

The definition of WOTUS has changed several times under different administrations.

By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press

The Biden administration on Dec. 30 updated the definition of which “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, are protected under the Clean Water Act.

Under the finalized rule, hundreds of thousands of additional wetlands, lakes and rivers may qualify as federally protected, repealing the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection

The Trump-era rule, finalized in 2020, was preferred by farmers who were concerned about “federal overreach” across ravines, creeks, isolated ponds and gullies on private land.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army said the reworked rule, based on the pre-2015 definition, provides a “durable definition” of waterways to reduce uncertainty.

Farm groups, however, said the definition will create even more uncertainty.

Mary-Thomas Hart, chief counsel for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said the new rule “creates new uncertainty for farmers, ranchers and landowners across the nation.”

Hart said the rule fails to clearly exempt from federal jurisdiction “isolated and ephemeral” water features — such as small, lone and temporary streams or bodies of water on farms and ranches.

Exclusions for these water features have been included in previous WOTUS rules under Republican and Democratic administrations. In contrast, the new rule will rely on “case-by-case” determinations to assess whether a water feature is federally regulated.

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Hart said case-by-case evaluations will likely cost farmers time and money — time waiting on officials and money paying for third-party consultants.

American Farm Bureau Federation’s president Zippy Duvall said farmers deserve rules that won’t push them to hire attorneys and consultants to help them identify what waters on their land

are federally protected.

The new rule applies federal protections to traditional navigable waters, territorial seas, interstate waters and impoundments, such as reservoirs.

It also applies to tributaries, wetlands and other waters that are either relatively permanent or have a significant nexus, meaning connection, to navigable waters, territorial seas or interstate waters.

According to the pre-publication final rule notice, “relatively permanent” means water that is “relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing” and is connected to navigable waters, territorial seas or interstate waters. The definition also includes waters with a “significant surface connection” to navigable waters, territorial seas, interstate waters or other relatively permanent waters.

The “significant nexus standard” means “waters that, either alone or in combination with similarly situated waters in the region, significantly affect the chemical, physical or biological integrity of traditional navigable waters, the territorial seas or interstate waters.”

Chuck Conner, president of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, said that “while the rule does reel in some of the dramatic regulatory overreach seen in the 2015 rule published during the Obama administration, it would still bring significant acreage that was not subject to regulation prior to 2015 under federal jurisdiction.”

Critics say they are also concerned that EPA and the Army Corps issued the definition while a U.S. Supreme Court case on WOTUS is pending.

The Supreme Court next year is set to issue a decision on a case in which Idaho landowners Chantell and Michael

Sackett are challenging the EPA’s determination that a wetland on their private land is protected under the Clean Water Act.

The Sacketts wanted to build a home on their land, but the EPA stopped their work, declaring wetlands on their property were federally regulated and the Sacketts would need a permit.

Legal experts say the case could set the course for Clean Water Act regulations nationwide.

Chandler Goule, CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers, said he is “deeply concerned that the EPA and U.S. Army Corps rushed to get this revised definition out prior to the end of the year instead of waiting for the decision in the Sackett case before the Supreme Court.”

Hart, of the cattlemen’s association, said the new rule “seeks to directly preempt ongoing Supreme Court ligation, leaving farmers and ranchers with more questions than answers.”

Hart said the rule should be published in the Federal Register in the next few weeks and will go into effect 60 days after publication.

The outcome of the Sackett case, however, could send EPA back to the drawing board. Hart said the case may result in an “entirely new test” for determining what waters are federally protected.

Ted McKinney, CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, a nonpartisan association, said the EPA’s ruling “wastes tremendous federal, state and private sector resources” since the Supreme Court’s decision could shift water regulations yet again.

Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press

Agency building.

Washington AG joins suit against Syngenta, Corteva

By DON JENKINS Capital Press

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Dec. 23 joined a federal lawsuit alleging pesticide makers Syngenta and Corteva engage in antitrust practices that drive up prices farmers pay for crop-protection products.

The suit claims Syngenta and Corteva squash competition by giving rebates to a handful of large pesticide distributors who favor the companies’ products over lower-priced generic competitors.

Syngenta and Corteva have moved to dismiss the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Middle North Carolina by the Federal Trade Commission and 12 state attorneys general.

Syngenta argued in a brief Dec. 22 that the rebates reward customer loyalty and that the suit was premised on the “remarkable proposition” that cutting prices was anticompetitive.

The FTC and 10 states, including Oregon and California, originally filed the suit in September. The suit was amended to add Washington and Tennessee as plaintiffs.

The bipartisan group of attorneys general includes eight Democrats, including from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and four Republicans from Indiana, Nebraska, Tennessee and Texas.

The suit was filed after a three-year investigation by the FTC. Key information collected during the probe, such as financial figures and comments from company emails, remain undisclosed.

The suit alleges Syngenta

and Corteva give rebates to prop up sales for products with active ingredients that they no longer have exclusive control over.

Distributors allegedly received “substantial” payments for selling a certain percentage of “off-patent” Syngenta or Cortreva products rather than low-cost generic alternatives.

Since only seven distributors control 90% of the pesticides sold to farmers, the loyalty program was an efficient way to maintain a near monopoly, the suit claims.

The lump-sum, end-ofthe-year rebates were complex and lacked transparency, making it more likely distributors pocketed the money rather than pass along the discount to farmers, the suit alleges.

“Substantially all leading distributers” participated in the loyalty programs, according to the suit. Manufactures of generic alternatives were allegedly discouraged from making low-cost products that would have saved farmers money.

Syngenta Group, based in Switzerland and with North American headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, defended the program as a legitimate way to compete with generic products.

Corteva made similar arguments in a separate motion to dismiss the suit. “A rebate is simply a discount,” according to the company, based in in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Syngenta is accused of using rebates to prop up the sales for products with three off-patent active ingredients: azoxystrobion, a broad-spectrum fungicide; mestotrione, a widely used

corn herbicide; and metolachlor, a herbicide used on a wide variety of crops.

Corteva is also accused of seeking to shield from competition products with three off-patent active ingr-

dients: rimsulfuron, a herbicide used on many crops; oxamyl, an insecticide and nematicide primarily used on cotton and potatoes; and acetochlor, a herbicide primarily used on corn.

“When farmers are paying more for their crops, it impacts everyone,” Ferguson said in a statement. “The law demands fair competition. I will stand up to corporate greed.”

By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press

Spokane Ag Show attendees will get an up-close look at Washington State University Spokane County Extension’s new meat processing mobile classroom.

WSU Extension purchased the custom-built refrigerated truck in December 2021 using about $210,000 from the state Department of Agriculture under the CARES Act for COVID-19 relief, said Paul Kuber, regional livestock extension specialist.

The truck will be part of a booth during the Spokane Ag Show showcasing WSU’s offerings for farmers and ranchers, Kuber said.

It’s designed to teach about retail and wholesale meat cuts for beef, lamb, pork and goat.

The target audience includes producers and processors, particularly

small- to mid-scale processors, Kuber said. He hopes to show “new cuts

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or innovative ways to look at traditional cuts” used in the meat industry and promoted by national meat commodity groups.

“Anyone from farm to table, we’re trying to get everybody along the distribution chain,” he said.

Kuber also pointed to a “whole food culture” for further processing meat, such as charcuterie or curing.

“They are giving something that’s very particular and very unique to their customer, and so they should command a higher price as a result of it,” he said.

Producers who are direct-marketing meat aren’t competing with national grocery store chains, Kuber said.

“They’re competing with a higher level of product quality and product integrity, and that direct

relationship,” he said. “They should be charging a higher price and able to educate their consumers on that.”

Processors also need to be able to educate producers why there are up-charges when they’re being asked to do more, Kuber added.

The truck and trailer can also be set up for smallscale sausage processing. Equipment includes a tabletop saw, knives, scabbards, stainless steel cutting tables for sausage production, grinders, stuffers and several portable smokers.

Kuber said the mobile classroom can accommodate 8 to 12 people.

The university and the state want to bring the education to the people instead of vice versa, he said.

“Small processors might have two to five people in their entire work force,” Kuber said. “To ask one or two people to show up to an educational program that they have to take a day to drive across the state, a day to drive home, and one day of education — and many of these programs were two or three days of education — that shut down their facility for the week, so there were no takers.”

He’s applied for more grants to provide more programs in partnership with the state Department of Agriculture.

Kuber hopes producers and processors can swap ideas on ways to improve efficiency.

“As we learn what they need and we engage with all of these groups, we’re going to be able to tailor-make our educational programs to fit their needs,” he said.

Reports, Check www.stocklandlivestock.com

WSU Spokane County Extension Washington State University Extension’s new mobile meat education truck and trailer, designed to educate ranchers and processors about the latest in meat preparation, will be on display during the 2023 Spokane Ag Show.

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press.com

MONDAY-THURSDAY JAN. 16-19

Idaho Water Users Association Convention: 1 p.m. Riverside Hotel, 2900 W. Chinden Blvd., Boise. The convention will cover water issues and trends. Website: https://www.iwua.org/

THURSDAY JAN. 17

USDA’s Beginning Farmers and Ranchers ‘In the Know’ Event (virtual): 4-6 p.m. Are you new to farming or ranching, thinking about becoming a producer or serve this audience in your work? You’re invited to Oregon USDA’s Beginning Farmer Ranchers: In The Know virtual events 2023. Join us online for this informational virtual event series on the third Tuesday of January, April and July. Tuesday, Jan. 17, from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 18, from noon to 2 p.m. Zoom link: https://www.zoomgov. com/j/1608664258 Meeting ID: 160 866 4258 Dial in: 669 254 5252. Website: https://bit.ly/3PHmd4t

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY JAN. 18-19

University of Idaho Potato Conference: Idaho State University, Pocatello. The conference includes seminars and workshops on a wide variety of potato industry topics. Website: https://bit.ly/3PapKYT

WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY

JAN. 18-20

2023 Northwest Ag Show: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. -2 p.m. Friday. Oregon State Fair & Exposition Center, 2330 17th St. NE, Salem, Ore. The annual Northwest Ag Show is back and better than ever. On Jan. 18, 19 and 20, you can come for all the agriculture education, products and services one could need. More than 100 exhibitors. Earn OSHA safety credits free of charge. This year’s keynote speaker is Derrick Josi, who has a huge following among farmers and ranchers and on social media with his TDF Honest Farming. Website: https://northwestagshow.com/

WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY JAN. 18-21

American Sheep Industry Annual Convention: Ft. Worth, Texas. The annual meeting brings all sectors of the industry together to set priorities, share information and conduct business. Website: https://www.sheepusa.org

THURSDAY JAN. 19

Field-to-Fork Festival: Jack’s Urban Meeting Place, 1000 W. Myrtle St., Boise, Idaho. Interactive trade fair brings together farmers, ranchers and other independent food and beverage industry professionals. Website: https://www.fareidaho.org/ eld-to-fork

Terry

Mark

Larry

THURSDAY JAN. 19

Oregon Pasture Network Winter Classes-Educational Series (virtual): 6:30-8 a.m. From January through March, on Thursdays, we are bringing advanced education and technical resources to our members and to the public community of pasture based farmers. The Winter Class Series begins Thursday, Jan. 19, and concludes on Thursday, March 9. This year, we’re addressing some of our farmers’ most pressing issues, including but not limited to meat quality and on-farm butchery, increased pasture nutrition, drought-tolerant pasture varieties, livestock emergency veterinary care, succession planning, successfully running a pastured poultry business and predator control and soil health. Website: http://bit. ly/3Vc9BUa

WEDNESDAY JAN. 25

Renewable Energy Options for Rural Landowners (webinar): 6:30-7:30 p.m. Properly sited renewable energy systems have the potential to mitigate climate change, conserve energy, reduce utility bills, and serve as a visual example of a business’ sustainable practices. In this presentation, you will learn about the pros and cons of di erent renewable energy technologies available to rural Oregon landowners. Hosted by Spark Northwest. Registration required. Website: http://bit.ly/3FM0mEr

FRIDAY-SATURDAY FEB. 3-4

Native Plant Sale — Trees and Shrubs: 560 Oak Grove Road, Salem, Ore. Polk Soil and Water Conservation District’s winter native plant sale is now live at Polkswcd.com. This year, Polk SWCD is expanding with a larger quantity and variety of trees and shrubs. Your purchase supports native habitat on your farm, and also oak woodland and prairie restoration on Polk SWCD’s conservation easements. You can pre-order your plants now and pick up Feb. 3-4 in West Salem. The district is also looking for volunteers for the event.

JAN. 19-MARCH 2

Oregon Pasture Network Winter Classes (online): 6:308:30 a.m. every Thursday through March 9. From January through March, on Thursdays, we are bringing advanced education and technical resources to our members and to the public community of pasture based farmers. We will address some of our farmers’ most pressing issues, including but not limited to meat quality and on-farm butchery, increased pasture nutrition, drought-tolerant pasture varieties, livestock emergency veterinary care, succession planning, successfully running a pastured poultry business and predator control and soil health. Website: http://bit.ly/3Vc9BUa

By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press

CANBY, Ore. — A small Oregon meat plant is using a USDA grant to track livestock electronically from the farm to the meat package.

Last year, USDA awarded a $661,000 Local Food Promotion Program grant to a Canby-based facility called Marks Meat, which works with 60 ranches annually and produces meat under the brand Revel Meat Co. The plant had to match 25% of the grant.

Revel Meat Co. is using the grant to track livestock on the farm and through processing using radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags and packaging barcodes.

Leah Scafe, the plant’s rancher support associate, said ranchers who participate in the voluntary program can use the technology to boost tracking of offspring to breeding pairs, vaccinations, weaning times, grazing rotations, slaughter weights and other useful data.

Ben Meyer, the plant’s owner, said ranchers can use the data to make management decisions and to market their meat as traceable and transparent.

The grant, said Meyer, makes these

accessible to small farms.

Rich Crowder/Revel Meat Co.

Ben Meyer, owner of Revel Meat Co.

A rancher investing in traceability on their own would typically spend $2 to $3 per RFID tag, said Lilly Harris, traceability program manager at Revel Meat Co. With this grant, the plant provides ranchers with RFID tags manufactured by Allflex Livestock Intelligence, handheld scanners, spreadsheet templates and training.

Revel Meat Co.’s clients have had mixed responses to the program. Of the 15 ranchers the plant invited to participate in the 2021 pilot year, nine agreed. This year, 14 are on board.

“We knew that buy-in was going to be difficult for the ranchers because taking on anything extra during operations is always difficult,” said Meyer.

One rancher who opted not to participate was Ryan

Ramage, a cattleman who processes about 50 head annually.

“I see a lot of benefits with that program, but I just don’t have the time,” said Ramage.

The rancher, who runs a one-man operation in Canby, said he does not have time to put RFID tags on his cattle.

Other ranchers say the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Pat Mallon, a cattleman at Pat-n-Tam’s Beef in Stanfield, near Hermiston, agreed to participate because he anticipates the data will help him make more finetuned decisions about breeding, forage management and other practices.

“Every decision we make ends up on somebody’s plate,” said Mallon.

Mallon, who markets about 300 head annually, said he also thinks that in the case of future disease outbreaks, those ranchers with the best records tracing their animals’ movements will be the first

to get their “clean” animals back in the food chain.

Zach Menchini, co-owner of Campfire Farms in Mulino, also opted to participate.

“I’m a data enthusiast, so

I was quick to jump on it,” said Menchini. “The more information we can gather, the better.”

Campfire Farms raises about 200 pigs, more than

2,000 broiler chickens and about 1,000 meat ducks annually.

Menchini expects the data will help him make management decisions.

Courtesy of Ryan Ramage

Ryan Ramage, right, with one of his daughters.

Study: Organic farming produces higher grain yields in drought

By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press

Organic farming may produce higher yields of certain crops during periods of drought, according to a long-term study led by the Rodale Institute.

Data comes from a 40-year report of the institute’s Farming Systems Trial based in Kutztown, Pa., the longest running side-by-side comparison of organic versus conventional grain production systems in North America.

The report shows that, while organic and conventional farming methods typically yield the same, some

organic grains performed better in drought years.

Overall, organic corn yields were 31% higher than conventionally grown corn. Organic oats also had nearly twice the output over conventional oats, research discovered, though wheat yields were not significantly different between conventional and organic from 2008 to 2020.

The findings could be meaningful for growers in other parts of the country, including the droughtstricken West, said Reza Afshar, chief scientist for the Rodale Institute.

“We believe a lot of these benefits will be seen

in other locations,” Afshar said.

Founded in 1947, the Rodale Institute is a nonprofit organization that supports research, education and outreach for organic agriculture.

The Farming Systems Trial was established in 1981 to provide scien-

tific evidence that organic farming practices can compete with conventional practices. It combines 72 research plots on 12 acres, comparing three production systems — conventional, organic manure and organic legume.

Each system was further

subdivided in 2008 to compare full tillage to reduced tillage practices.

Higher yields in organic systems during drought can be traced back to soil health, Afshar said.

Their research has determined organic plots retain 50% more soil carbon, which in turn helps the ground hold more moisture for longer periods of time.

“We see higher carbon sequestration in the soil that can lead to higher organic carbon,” Afshar said. “That is the backbone of soil health.”

Using conventional fertilizers and herbicides, on the other hand, does not spur as much soil microbial activity, Afshar said. Using cover crops in organic systems also promotes soil health by minimizing wind and water erosion.

“Organic systems are much more diverse,” Afshar said. “You have a much higher biodiversity in organic systems.”

Transitioning to organic farming, however, does not come without risk. It takes three to five years to convert to organic, depending on the system and commodity.

During that time, farmers pay more for inputs and learn new farming methods while not receiving any of the price premiums for organic products.

Afshar acknowledged that information from the Farming Systems Trial may not be directly applicable to crops in other regions, though he said the principles of soil health are the same.

Rodale Institute

The Rodale Institute’s Farming Systems Trial was established in 1981 to provide scientific evidence that organic farming practices can compete with conventional practices.

Reza Afshar

Risk Management Agency leader talks crop insurance, farm bill

By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press

Last November, longtime USDA official Marcia Bunger became the first woman to hold the role of administrator at the Agriculture Department’s Risk Management Agency, which manages federal crop insurance.

Before becoming RMA administrator, Bunger worked for decades in USDA’s Farm Service Agency. She is also an owner and operator of a 2,000-acre family farm.

Dec. 16, Bunger talked with Capital Press about recent and potential changes to crop insurance programs and the outlook for the 2023 Farm Bill.

Insurance programs

RMA has long offered insurance options for row crops, such as corn. The agency, however, has few individual policies for specialty crops. Bunger said this is partly because it has been difficult to get yield and pricing data for many specialty crops.

“There just isn’t the data that we need to have a defined, stand-alone policy for many of them,” she said.

Bunger said although it will take time to collect that data, one of her priorities is to make insurance available for more individual specialty crops in the future with the same coverage levels traditional row crop policies have offered.

In the meantime, RMA offers specialty crop producers other insurance, including the Whole-Farm Revenue Program, which lets farmers insure all commodities on a farm under a single policy.

RMA also rolled out the Micro Farm program, similar to Whole-Farm but with less paperwork, in 2022.

Starting in 2023, the Micro Farm plan, which this year only insured up to $100,000, will be able to approve revenue up to $350,000 in the

Bunger, administrator of USDA’s Risk Management Agency.

first year and $400,000 for carry-over policies.

Bunger said her agency may also explore ways to reduce paperwork on other insurance programs in future years, but she said it will be important to strike a balance between simplifying paperwork and making sure the agency collects all necessary information.

2023 Farm Bill

As an appointee, Bunger said she does not see shaping the farm bill as her role.

“It’s probably not our role to go to the Hill and say, ‘Hey, you should do this or that,’” she said.

Her job, she said, is to answer questions and provide technical assistance to members of Congress.

Nevertheless, Bunger has been listening with interest

to conversations surrounding potential crop insurance changes in the farm bill.

“I have been hearing a couple of things from farmers and then also from folks on the Hill, that farmers have repeatedly told their congressional people: ‘Don’t touch crop insurance.’ I view that as: ‘… Don’t make reductions.’ That’s my interpretation of that,” she said.

Bunger has also noticed

a heightened interest in margin protection policies, which provide coverage against unexpected decreases in operating margin and may factor in input costs. She said legislators are “trying to understand” margin protection in the leadup to deliberations on the farm bill. Although Bunger understands the interest, she said the additional premium a farmer must pay for margin pro-

tection is “quite a bit, in my opinion.”

Finally, Bunger said the conversation surrounding disaster payments is heating up. With the significant increase in disaster payments recently paid out — after heat waves, for example — Bunger said there’s uncertainty about whether permanent disaster aid will be part of the farm bill, and if it is, how it will impact crop insurance.

Marcia

Roxor

By DON JENKINS Capital Press

The Washington State Department of Agriculture

plans to toughen penalties for pesticide violations, arguing that current punishments, unchanged since 1999, are too light to be a deterrence.

The department anticipates adopting a slate of stiffer fines and longer license suspensions early next year.

Currently, fines range from

$200 to $7,500, depending on the seriousness of the violation and the offender’s history. The maximum fine, set by the Legislature, will stay $7,500.

The department, however, proposes to start fines higher and levy maximum fines after the third violation within three years, rather than the fourth.

For example, a first-time violator who exposes people to pesticides typically faces a $450 fine and seven-day suspension. The department proposes to increase the penalty in such cases to a $1,500 fine and five-day suspension.

Also, for the first time, violations will fall into three categories: off-target applications, safety violations and unlicensed activities.

Each category will have its own schedule of fines and suspensions. The categories will better reflect the seriousness of the offense, according to the department.

Here are details about the proposed penalties:

• Exposing people to pesticides: first violation $1,500 and five-day suspension; second violation $3,000 and 10-day suspension or license revocation; third or subsequent violations $6,000 and 20-day suspension or revocation.

• Endangering animals, plants and pollinators: first violation $1,000 and fourday suspension; second violation $2,000 and eight-day suspension or revocation; third or subsequent violations $4,000

and 16-day suspension or revocation.

• Unlicensed commercial application of pesticides: first violation $2,500; second violation $5,000; third or subsequent violations $7,500.

• Distributing restricted use pesticides without a license and other unlicensed activities: first violation $1,000; second violation $2,500; third or subsequent violations $5,000.

• Worker Protection Standards related to training, protecting, supervising and providing emergency aid to workers: first violation $1,000; second violation $2,000; third or subsequent violations $3,000.

• Other Worker Protection Standards: first violation $500, second violation $750; third or subsequent violations $1,000.

• Record-keeping violations: $250 fine.

• The department can raise or lower fines by 25% for aggravating or mitigating circumstances. Carelessness or sickening people could be aggravating factors, for example. Immediately reporting or trying correct a problem could be mitigating factors.

The department will take comments on the proposed penalties until Jan. 10.

Comments can be emailed to wsdarulescomments@agr. wa.gov, sent by fax to (360) 902-2092 or mailed to: Gloriann Robinson, agency rules coordinator, P.O. Box 42560, Olympia, WA 98504-2560.

By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press

The number of rural food animal veterinarians has reached a “critically low point,” according to a new report from the Farm Journal Foundation, a nonprofit.

More than 500 U.S. counties face a shortage of food animal veterinarians, according to Clinton Neill, the report’s lead author and an assistant professor in veterinary economics for the Cornell Center

for Veterinary Business and Entrepreneurship.

“The decline in food animal veterinarians in rural areas heightens concerns for a number of risks, including food safety threats, animal disease outbreaks, the potential passing of animal diseases to human populations and decreasing rural economic growth,” said Neill.

Several factors have led to shortages, including high levels of educational debt outpacing potential earnings, a flat to slightly declining num-

ber of veterinary students pursuing food animal practice annually and a rapidly growing companion animal sector offering veterinarians better salaries and quality of life.

Excluding the 17% of students who graduate with zero debt, the 2020 average debt for veterinary students was $188,853, and 41% of students have a debt of $200,000 or more.

Veterinarians entering the workforce can expect a median full-time income of $84,000 to $110,000, depend-

ing on practice type, with urban pet practices generally paying more.

Forty years ago, about 40% of veterinary program graduates specialized in livestock or other food-animal practice areas. Today, only 3% to 4% of graduates do so.

Much of the lack of growth in farm veterinary medicine can be attributed to the increase in students pursuing companion animal practice, according to the report.

Industry growth is evident in the pet sector.

Between 2015 and 2020, the percentage of veterinarians working in companion animal practices increased from 65% to 70%, according

to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Demand for pets has grown annually by about 1.4% over the past five years, according to a 2021 report from the industry research firm IBISWorld.

Early on, the COVID-19 pandemic further spiked interest in pets.

More than 23 million American households — about one in five — adopted a pet during the pandemic, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“Moreover, pet owners are demanding more frequent and higher levels of care…,” Neill wrote.

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Washington state officials answer ag overtime FAQs

JONES TRUCK & IMPLEMENT

By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press

the minimum wage.

pay overtime?

Yes.

WENATCHEE, Wash.

— In 2021, Washington state’s Legislature passed a bill expanding overtime pay to all agricultural employees, to be rolled out over three years.

In 2022, the minimum wage was $14.49. In 2023, it will be $15.74, said Rodriguez.

Connecting Mexican Brewers With Farmers, Maltsters

From U.S. Grains Council

“If the work is performed, it must be paid,” Gonzalez said.

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As the law gets phased in, employers have logistical questions.

Employees who are paid piece-rate wages — based on productivity — must earn at least minimum wage for all hours worked and rest breaks.

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) recently connected company representatives from the three largest Mexican breweries with the three largest U.S. barley-producing states—North Dakota, Montana and Idaho—to receive a crop report directly from U.S. farmers and updates on the latest in research and development for barley and malt.

“Hours worked” can include travel time between worksites, required training and meetings, setup and teardown, time spent putting on and taking off personal protective equipment, on-call time and waiting time on work premises.

“Just as we have been doing with feed producers, we are taking our buyers to hear directly from U.S. farmers and suppliers about the current year’s crop, quality and other information,” said Javier Chavez, USGC marketing specialist for Mexico. “In turn, customers can ask questions about market factors, supply and demand issues related to COVID-19 while providing their own outlook on Mexican beer production.

If an employee is salaried rather than hourly, are they exempt?

“By providing market information and education, we are able to better reach out to our end-users. We now have brewers asking for updated information on U.S. barley varieties and U.S. malt suppliers, as well as for help on specific trade projects.”

During a panel discussion at the Washington State Tree Fruit Association’s annual meeting, officials from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries — Emmanuel Gonzalez, outreach specialist on agricultural overtime, and Cristina Rodriguez, agricultural employment specialist — answered farmers’ questions.

What’s the phase-in timeline?

Jan. 1, 2022, all agricultural employees got the right to earn overtime pay after 55 hours of work per workweek.

It depends. Some salaried employees are exempt; others are not. Exempt employees must meet particular requirements outlined on the department’s website.

Who is considered an agricultural worker?

Mexico is the world’s largest beer exporter in terms of both value and volume—good news for U.S. barley farmers and malt producers who supply the main ingredient. Mexico dominates imports of U.S. barley and barley products, purchasing 350,000 metric tons (12.9 million bushels) in 2019/2020.

Jan. 1, 2023, farm employees will receive overtime pay after working 48 hours per workweek.

An agricultural worker performs any of the following activities:

• Cultivating soil and crops.

The outbreak of COVID-19 essentially shut down the brewing industry in Mexico in spring 2020 as beer production was deemed a non-essential industry. Some brewers near the border and in rural areas could operate, but malt imports quickly dropped to a third of normal demand.

Jan. 1, 2024, farm employees will get overtime pay after working 40 hours per workweek.

Under a separate law, since 2020, dairy employees have been entitled to overtime pay after 40 hours per workweek.

• Harvesting.

• Handling livestock.

• Farm operations.

• Packaging and commercial canning of any agricultural or horticultural commodity.

As these large companies have resumed production, the Council has stayed in close contact with key customers to stay tuned-in to their concerns. The shift to a virtual setting for this program meant the Council could not only answer questions, but also expand participation to include more staff from each of the companies as well as more presence from members of the U.S. barley and malt supply chain.

Can a farm employee opt to not receive overtime pay?

How much must workers be paid if they have earned overtime?

Employers must pay time and a half, 1.5 times the regular rate, for every overtime hour.

No. Employees cannot waive their right to overtime pay, said Gonzalez.

Can an employer limit an employee’s hours?

“This business-to-business approach takes advantage of the virtual nature of meetings to make it easy to include more participants from both sides of the border,” Chavez said. “We can go beyond procurement staff to include other individuals from these Mexican companies working in research and development, quality control and management. At the same time, we can include a larger number of U.S. farmers, maltsters, researchers and suppliers.”

The Council has follow-up programs scheduled with each individual brewing company to address specific needs identified through this virtual meeting.

Employers must pay workers an agreed wage or the minimum wage for regular hours, whichever is greater.

Yes. Employers are not required to offer overtime hours.

“Through these programs, we reaffirm the Council as a source of education, market information and an active partner in enabling trade,” Chavez said. “As a result, we have more inquiries than ever from brewers, feed producers and grain importers.”

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The Palouse, one of the top wheat-producing areas in the nation, had one of its wettest springs ever in 2022, meteorologists say.

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The Palouse covers parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington and northeast Oregon. The Palouse “was able to wring a lot of moisture out of that pattern,” Snodgrass said.

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Snodgrass said the period from April to June was the wettest on record for the region.

“It was the wettest in 130 years,” he said. “That three-month stretch where normally by the time we get into May, we’re talking about dry weather settling in, the jetstream flow continued to make it wetter and wetter across that region.”

In Pullman, it was the wettest three-month period since at least 2008, said Nathan Santo Domingo, field meteorologist with Washington State University’s AgWeatherNet.

“It’s nowhere close to the wettest 90-day period on record, which was the 90 days ending on Jan. 30, 1959, with 15.98 inches of precipitation,” Santo Domingo said.

Data goes back to 1893, he said, “though it gets a little hairy as you get into the early 1900s.”

Capital Press File

According to NOAA data at the Pullman-Moscow Airport, 2022 was the third wettest April-June on record with 8.7 inches, beaten out by 1941 with 9.34 inches and 1948 with 9.13 inches.

Ben Barstow, a Palouse, Wash., farmer and Washington Grain Commission board member, said it was one of the wetter years for his farm.

Many spring crops on the eastern border between Washington and Idaho did not get planted because it was too wet, Barstow said.

For those that were planted, some did well and others did poorly, he said.

“We had a lot of rain for a long time,” he said.

Barstow planted the newer club wheat, Castella, developed by USDA Agricultural Research Service breeder Kim Garland-Campbell.

“As I had it in the ground and it started raining this spring, I was thinking, ‘Huh, Kim told me she thought this variety would work really well in the eastern Palouse, but she wouldn’t recommend it under irrigation’ because it would

grow tall and fall over — it would lodge,” Barstow said. “When you get rained on every seven to 10 days, from some time in March clear through June, that’s just about like being irrigated. ... It just kept getting rained on every five, seven, 10 days, all spring long.”

Still, Barstow considered it “a very good year,” yielding 15 to 20 bushels more than normal as he raised wheat and barley.

The Pacifi c Northwest is “highly susceptible” to seasonal variability, such as El Nino and La Nina, Santo Domingo said.

“I think the Pacifi c

Northwest is in a unique scenario because we are so heavily impacted by these large scale climate infl uencers,” he said.

Generally speaking, Santo Domingo pointed to an expression: “The wet get wetter, the dry get drier.”

“Our wet events will likely be wetter,” he said. “Months like June 2022, which is outside our typical wet season, may become more common, but the precipitation may be confined to only a few heavy events during that month.”

In the winter, Santo Domingo expects the region

will still see arctic outbreaks and cold stretches, but on average, the snow level will be a bit higher in the Cascades in particular, and even to some extent in eastern Washington.

Snodgrass said the record was “almost certainly” an anomaly.

“I would not consider it a new normal,” he said. “I would not expect it again for 2023.”

Rolling wheat elds are seen in the Palouse in Washington.