Vilsack awaits security report on Port of Vancouver as United Grain, House GOP ag leaders ask for inspectors
August 07, 2014 | 07:20 PM
With harvest progressing, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is under increasing pressure to resolve the lack of grain inspections at the Port of Vancouver in Washington state, but he said today he is waiting for a final report from USDA’s own internal security team before taking any action.
Vilsack told The Hagstrom Report that he has no timeline for a decision on how to the handle the situation, but that he expects to receive the report soon. But he said he is “concerned” about the security situation, and will take that into consideration.
Grain cannot be shipped internationally without federal inspection. USDA’s Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) is responsible for official grain inspections before export, but in Washington state, the federal agency has designated the state Agriculture Department to undertake the task.
There has been a labor dispute between export grains companies, including the United Grain Corporation, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) since 2012. After United Grain locked out the ILWU in 2013, the company transported the state inspectors by helicopter, but the inspectors found the transportation system dangerous and the state started to provide security escorts.
On July 6, after Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, removed security from the port in what he said was an attempt to get the two sides to settle, the Washington state grain inspectors refused to cross the union picket line, citing safety concerns.
United Grain, whose elevator in the port is the largest in the Pacific Northwest, today called on Vilsack to replace the state inspectors with FGIS inspectors, and offered to provide transportation for the inspectors during the lockout. United Grain noted it transports its employees to the port with a security team and that it would also transport the FGIS inspectors in its company bus, in a separate van, or by helicopter.
David Lyons, a senior director of Faegre BD Consulting, which represents United Grain in Washington, said the situation is even more problematic because there is such a buildup of grain in the Midwest due to rail shipment problems.
“If this situation continues, not only will growers lose sales and income, but the reputation of the U.S. grain exporting system as a reliable supplier will be severely damaged — a reputation which has taken over 30 years, since the 1980 Russian grain embargo, to rebuild,” United Grain noted in another description of the situation.
“At a time of declining grain prices and farm income, growers cannot afford such lost opportunities,” the company added.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Rep. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, who chairs the subcommittee in charge of commodities, sent Vilsack a letter today asking him to act.
Meanwhile, Lyons noted, negotiations between United Grain and the ILWU resumed last week. The main issue, he said, is not wage or health issues, but the number of personnel needed to load ships.
▪ House Agriculture letter on Port of Vancouver grain inspections
▪ United Grain Corporation — Statement requesting Federal Grain Inspection Service inspect grain at Port of Vancouver, Wash.
Vilsack told The Hagstrom Report that he has no timeline for a decision on how to the handle the situation, but that he expects to receive the report soon. But he said he is “concerned” about the security situation, and will take that into consideration.
Grain cannot be shipped internationally without federal inspection. USDA’s Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) is responsible for official grain inspections before export, but in Washington state, the federal agency has designated the state Agriculture Department to undertake the task.
There has been a labor dispute between export grains companies, including the United Grain Corporation, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) since 2012. After United Grain locked out the ILWU in 2013, the company transported the state inspectors by helicopter, but the inspectors found the transportation system dangerous and the state started to provide security escorts.
On July 6, after Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, removed security from the port in what he said was an attempt to get the two sides to settle, the Washington state grain inspectors refused to cross the union picket line, citing safety concerns.
United Grain, whose elevator in the port is the largest in the Pacific Northwest, today called on Vilsack to replace the state inspectors with FGIS inspectors, and offered to provide transportation for the inspectors during the lockout. United Grain noted it transports its employees to the port with a security team and that it would also transport the FGIS inspectors in its company bus, in a separate van, or by helicopter.
David Lyons, a senior director of Faegre BD Consulting, which represents United Grain in Washington, said the situation is even more problematic because there is such a buildup of grain in the Midwest due to rail shipment problems.
“If this situation continues, not only will growers lose sales and income, but the reputation of the U.S. grain exporting system as a reliable supplier will be severely damaged — a reputation which has taken over 30 years, since the 1980 Russian grain embargo, to rebuild,” United Grain noted in another description of the situation.
“At a time of declining grain prices and farm income, growers cannot afford such lost opportunities,” the company added.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Rep. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, who chairs the subcommittee in charge of commodities, sent Vilsack a letter today asking him to act.
Meanwhile, Lyons noted, negotiations between United Grain and the ILWU resumed last week. The main issue, he said, is not wage or health issues, but the number of personnel needed to load ships.
▪ House Agriculture letter on Port of Vancouver grain inspections
▪ United Grain Corporation — Statement requesting Federal Grain Inspection Service inspect grain at Port of Vancouver, Wash.
