$81 million proposed to aid farms, timber

OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday proposed an $81 million budget package to help protect and expand the state’s farm and timber economies over the next two years.

Included: $57 million for Eastern Washington water projects, as well as money for crop research, better marketing and a new long-range plan to strengthen agriculture in Washington.

“We must look to the future of these industries by creating a market for biofuels, making sure water is available for irrigation and improving the long-term viability of family forests,” she said.

But the announcement left some local farm-area state lawmakers steaming. It wasn’t so much what she said; it was where she said it.

Gregoire had planned to announce her “Working Lands Initiative” at the Mesa ranch of Republican state Rep.-elect Steve Hailey. But late Tuesday afternoon, the governor’s office told Hailey that the event was being moved to Richland’s Barnard Griffin Winery.

“It was (due to) schedule,” said Kristin Jacobsen, a spokeswoman for Gregoire. The winery, she said, was closer to an airport.

Hailey, a third-generation rancher and farmer, said he would have welcomed the chance to show Gregoire some of the concerns of grain- and irrigated-crop farmers.

“I would have hoped she would have seen more of agriculture than just the wine industry,” Hailey said. The visit had been set up by a longtime friend of Hailey’s, state Department of Agriculture Director Valoria Loveland.

A couple of Hailey’s GOP colleagues blasted Gregoire, a Democrat, in a joint press release Wednesday.

“It’s disappointing that the governor’s scheduling concerns are apparently more important than the message she could have sent by spending that time in the district and at the Hailey farm,” said Rep. David Buri, R-Colfax. Part of the reason farmers are struggling, he said, is “years of failed policy put in place by her party.”

“It’s like she’s saying, ‘I’ll have a glass of wine and chat instead of dealing with the tough realities facing the rest of the ag community,’ ” said Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda.

Jacobsen said that Wednesday’s event was only a preview of the governor’s agriculture agenda. Gregoire will unveil her full farm budget plan next week, along with the rest of her 2007-2009 budget proposal.

“I would hope they (critics) would read that before criticizing,” she said.

In Richland, Gregoire called farms and forests “the backbone of our state’s history and heritage.” She pledged to:

“Create a new “Office of Working Farms and Forests” to help landowners facing pressure to develop their land.

“Promote crop-based energy.

“Boost promotion of Washington products.

“Find better ways to meet the water needs of farmers, fish and people.

As for his ranch, Hailey said, the governor has a standing invitation.

“The little town of Mesa was really looking forward to having the governor in the area,” Hailey said. “I hope she can fit it into her schedule in the future.”