WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU NEWSWATCH

October 19, 2004 No. 87
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SAID MONDAY IT WOULD EXPAND ITS
Produce Safety Action Plan, which has focused on food safety advice for
growers and shippers, to include stores and consumers. (AP/Spokane
Spokesman-Review, Oct. 19) Officials said the plan would become the basis for
comprehensive safety guidelines for fresh produce from farm to table.
The plan could result in new guidelines for restaurants and greater
surveillance of produce all along the food chain. An estimated 12 percent
of all outbreaks of food-borne illnesses were linked to fresh produce in
the 1990s.

A CRITICAL AREAS ORDINANCE THAT WOULD REQUIRE MANY RURAL KING County
property owners to leave up to half their land in its natural state was
described as "psychotic overregulation," and "the Sovietization of King
County," by irate landowners at a public hearing Monday. (Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 19) More than 90 people spoke at the hearing, with
about 75 percent opposed to the ordinance. Those who testified in favor
of the ordinance contend that a provision requiring 35 percent to 50
percent of the property owner's land to be left untouched, depending on
the size of the lot, is necessary to maintain healthy watersheds. The
King County Council is set to vote on the ordinance Monday.

IN AN EDITORIAL MONDAY, THE TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE SAID MORE WORK IS
needed on Pierce County's proposal to protect about 31,000 acres of the
county's most productive farmland. The newspaper criticized the county for
proposing to refer key land-use decisions to local boards "that could
easily be dominated by developers, landowners who want to sell farmlands
to developers and city officials who want to annex former farmlands."
However, the newspaper applauded the county for proposing an aggressive
effort to purchase development rights from farmers with the proceeds of
a $5-per-parcel real estate fee adopted a year ago.

FEDERAL, STATE AND TRIBAL AGENCIES INVOLVED IN SALMON RECOVERY ON the
upper Columbia River will participate in a panel discussion about fish
harvest and hatchery issues at the Chelan Fire Station on Oct. 28. The
Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board, Governor's Salmon Recovery Office
and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife are sponsoring the
meeting. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colville Confederated Tribes and
the Yakima Nation will also participate. The meeting is scheduled from
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, ALONG WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL
Education Association and Audubon Washington, last week urged state
lawmakers to increase funding for environmental education. (Seattle Times, Oct.
14) The groups issued a report card that gave the state a "D" for its
current support of environmental education. The report, requested by the
Legislature, urged that state education, natural resource and
environmental health agencies collaborate on a strategic, statewide plan for
environmental education; create a state resource center where teachers can
get assistance in weaving environmental education into regular courses;
and provide grants to help zoos and other institutions take their
programs into the schools.

THE CITY OF SUNNYSIDE LAST WEEK AGREED TO BUY THE MONSON FEEDLOT, which
had been blamed for the dust and smell of cow manure that gave the
community the nickname "Smellyside." (AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct.
14) Sunnyside will pay $2.5 million for the feedlot. The Monson family
agreed to remove all cattle by Aug. 31, 2005, and to have all
improvements and manure removed by July 31, 2006. The city had been negotiating
to buy the feedlot for five years.
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* 2004 Washington Farm Bureau. NewsWatch is a periodic update on news
of interest to agriculture. Contact Dean Boyer, director of public
relations, 1-800-331-3276 or, to receive NewsWatch by fax or e-mail.