Pendleton, OR – The Oregon
Wheat Growers League is disappointed in the breakdown of process that led to SB
1530, Cap and Trade, being pushed out of committee without adequate consideration
given to the impacts such legislation would have on rural communities. We support our Senate Republicans in their decision to deny
quorum in order to prevent the passage of this legislation.
Under the proposed Cap and
Trade bills, we would see no significant reduction in Oregon’s carbon emissions.
Money would be extracted from rural Oregon’s natural resource industries and
redistributed to programs that have little to do with carbon
reductions/adaptation. The legislation does not take practical steps for
climate adaptation, such as supporting agronomic practices like no-till and
precision ag which further reduce our carbon footprint. Instead, it imposes
significant costs over time. As an industry with many centennial and
sesquicentennial family farms, we are keenly aware that these delayed costs
will eventually come due. Including but definitely not limited to, higher fuel
and energy costs that increase further over time, higher costs for all our farm
inputs, and higher transportation costs to ship our crops to markets. This is
on top of significant regulatory cost increases, tax increases, and higher wage
and benefit costs already inflicted on our growers by legislative actions in
the last few years. Further rise in our costs will simply drive wheat farmers,
especially smaller operations and new and young farmers, out of business in the
years ahead.
The short session does not
provide the time for necessary and meaningful discussion on important topics. We
appreciate all the legislators who have worked so diligently, but with little
success, to amend Cap and Trade to reduce the impacts to agriculture and rural
Oregon. Leaving Salem was a last resort and only employed when there were no
other options available to ensure the voices of all Oregonians are considered
in the political process. We support our Senators for taking action to prevent
this legislation from moving forward.