NorthwestSeptember 28, 2019
Producers of beef, wheat and other exports are feeling the pinch of dispute
ANDREW SELSKY Of the Associated Press
In this Aug. 16, 2017, photo, operator Justin Waggoner swings his combine into wheat growing outside Condon, Ore.
In this Aug. 16, 2017, photo, operator Justin Waggoner swings his combine into wheat growing outside Condon, Ore.The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — A mail carrier who stole thousands of dollars worth of cash deposits and money orders from her mail route was sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A mail carrier who stole thousands of dollars worth of cash deposits and money orders from her mail route was sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday.Associated Press
In this photo taken Sept. 20, 2019, rancher Jerome Rosa, who is executive director of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, walks toward some of his cows in Marquam, Ore. The Trump administration's trade war is affecting Oregon's agricultural exports more than most states because 40% of the state's agriculture production is sent abroad. That's compared to 20% for the rest of the U.S. The heads of the associations representing Oregon's wheat and hazelnut farmers and cattle ranchers recently joined the director of the state agriculture department to describe the toll to state lawmakers. They say sales of beef and wheat to China have halted. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)
In this photo taken Sept. 20, 2019, rancher Jerome Rosa, who is executive director of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, walks toward some of his cows in Marquam, Ore. The Trump administration's trade war is affecting Oregon's agricultural exports more than most states because 40% of the state's agriculture production is sent abroad. That's compared to 20% for the rest of the U.S. The heads of the associations representing Oregon's wheat and hazelnut farmers and cattle ranchers recently joined the director of the state agriculture department to describe the toll to state lawmakers. They say sales of beef and wheat to China have halted. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)The Associated Press
FILE - This Sept. 18. 2015, file photo, shows hazelnuts harvested in Eugene, Ore. The Trump administration's trade war is affecting Oregon agriculture more than most states because 40% of the state's agriculture production is exported, compared to 20% for the rest of the nation. The heads of Oregon's wheat growers, cattle raisers, and hazelnut producers recently joined the director of the state agriculture department to describe to lawmakers the toll. (Kelly Lyon/The Register-Guard via AP, File)
FILE - This Sept. 18. 2015, file photo, shows hazelnuts harvested in Eugene, Ore. The Trump administration's trade war is affecting Oregon agriculture more than most states because 40% of the state's agriculture production is exported, compared to 20% for the rest of the nation. The heads of Oregon's wheat growers, cattle raisers, and hazelnut producers recently joined the director of the state agriculture department to describe to lawmakers the toll. (Kelly Lyon/The Register-Guard via AP, File)The Associated Press
In this photo taken Sept. 20, 2019, rancher Jerome Rosa, who is executive director of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, sits in his pickup truck during an interview in Marquam, Ore. The Trump administration's trade war is affecting Oregon's agricultural exports more than most states because 40% of the state's agriculture production is sent abroad. That's compared to 20% for the rest of the U.S. The heads of the associations representing Oregon's wheat and hazelnut farmers and cattle ranchers recently joined the director of the state agriculture department to describe the toll to state lawmakers. They say sales of beef and wheat to China have halted. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)
In this photo taken Sept. 20, 2019, rancher Jerome Rosa, who is executive director of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, sits in his pickup truck during an interview in Marquam, Ore. The Trump administration's trade war is affecting Oregon's agricultural exports more than most states because 40% of the state's agriculture production is sent abroad. That's compared to 20% for the rest of the U.S. The heads of the associations representing Oregon's wheat and hazelnut farmers and cattle ranchers recently joined the director of the state agriculture department to describe the toll to state lawmakers. They say sales of beef and wheat to China have halted. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)The Associated Press

MARQUAM, Ore. — Rancher Jerome Rosa sat in his mud-spattered pickup truck, glumly watching some of his cows resting on a grassy slope in Oregon’s fertile Willamette Valley.

Rosa, the executive director of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, told state lawmakers a few days earlier about the disruptions to Oregon’s beef exports because of the U.S.-China trade war. Also testifying were the director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the head of Oregon wheat producers’ associations and a hazelnut expert.

Sales of U.S. beef and wheat to China have all but halted. The trade conflicts affect Oregon agricultural producers more than other states because about 40 percent of Oregon’s agricultural exports head abroad, compared to 20 percent for the rest of the U.S., Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Alexis Taylor told lawmakers.

Some relief came Wednesday, when the U.S. and Japan signed a limited trade deal that will lower or eliminate tariffs and expand market access on farm and other products.

President Donald Trump’s pullout from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017 had created a 10 percent tariff disadvantage in Japan for American wheat compared to other suppliers like Canada and Australia, Blake Rowe, CEO of the Oregon Wheat Commission and the Oregon Wheat Growers League, told legislators. Oregon wheat producers had taken the setback personally because Oregon growers established relations with Japan in 1949 and opened a Tokyo wheat office in 1956, Rowe said.

U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican, welcomed Wednesday’s agreement. Around 90 percent of Oregon’s wheat is exported.

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“Japan is a top market for Oregon wheat, and represents great opportunities to grow markets for beef, blueberries, potatoes and wine, among other Oregon products,” Walden said.

Oregon is not alone in feeling the pinch. Ports in California saw a 30 percent decrease in exports to China in 2018, including a 97 percent decline in soybean exports, the directors of the West Coast’s main ports told Trump on Monday. They warned of “irredeemable economic harm” from the trade conflict.

Low global wheat prices of about $5 per bushel have prompted Oregon wheat farmer Tim Hawkins to carefully maintain his three aging combines instead of replacing them at a cost of $500,000 each.

“That’s something that you really have to analyze: what you’ve got as to what you would like to have,” said Hawkins, whose farm is in northeastern Oregon near Pendleton. He believes other market forces, such as global supply, are more behind depressed prices than the trade wars.

But Rowe told lawmakers that the trade wars have resulted in slower wheat sales, increased inventory and lower wheat prices.

Back on his cattle ranch, Rosa said that waiting for promised benefits from America’s international trade renegotiations is “like being at the bottom of a pool holding your breath and hoping that you’re going to be able to go up and get a breath of air.”

“We’ve gone from what was a very good time in our industry, to the last three years that have been extremely painful, not only for beef but also for dairy and also for many other crops,” Rosa said.

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