12.08.2005 ET

(CSRwire) BOARDMAN, OR - In a letter to Bishop Robert Hoshibata, Resident Bishop of the United Methodist Church, Marty Myers -- General Manager of Threemile Canyon Farms -- recounted the highlights of his company's 2005 successes in sustainable agricultural practices. In addition, Myers outlined the programs that have been put in place for 2006 -- including a Corporate Social Responsibility report on animal welfare, environmental and employment practices -- that will ensure that Threemile Canyon Farms will earn the trust of its customers, neighbors and employees.

In the letter, Myers stated: "When we met in June of this year, I told you that I firmly believed that sustainable farming and dairy practices would create a sustainable business, with living wage jobs for families in rural communities -- while growing the healthy foods that will meet the increasing demand of customers in urban and suburban markets. I am writing to tell you that we are both proud of what we have accomplished in 2005 and aware of the challenges to improve in 2006."

Myers continued: "In 2005, we continued to improve on our business model and farm practices, blending one of the region's largest dairy operations with extensive production of potatoes and other crops to create a closed-loop system that yields high value-added agricultural products while recycling nearly all farm wastes. For example:

• We use water wisely through precision irrigation and conservation techniques; we voluntarily surrendered a portion of our rights to Columbia River water to enhance habitat for salmon; our 100 square mile wi-fi system controls the irrigation of each of our 246 irrigation circles; and we are a leader in "black-water" application of diluted manure as organic liquid fertilizer;
  
• We maintain a quarter of our farm -- 23,000 acres -- in a conservation area, preserving irreplaceable grassland habitat and the species that depend on it; we partner with The Nature Conservancy to manage the preserve;
  
• We partner with the City of Spokane and North Pacific Paper Co. to recycle yard debris and paper sludge; we recycle or reuse all of our agricultural water, except that used as drinking water for animals; we recycle and reuse food wastes from area food processors;
  
• We use natural solutions to avoid soil erosion, to limit pesticide and herbicide use and to apply compost to improve our soil;
  
• We produce milk without growth hormones (BST), feed our cows an all-vegetarian diet and grow our own herd to provide complete traceability for customers;
  
• We abide by strict zero-discharge permits to protect nearby wells and the Columbia River;
  
• We recycle all of our dairy manure, creating compost that can be used on our 2800 acres of organic crop fields or sold to Oregon nurseries and landscaping companies;
  
• We are building a methane digester for operation in 2006/2007 to produce 7.5 megawatts of "green power" and to improve air emissions; we are permitted to build an ethanol plant in 2006.

• We provide jobs for 300 year-round employees and 400 seasonal employees; that's a $10 million payroll that translates into a $250 million annual boost to the communities of Morrow and Gilliam counties;
  
• Our dairy employees receive an average of $10.40/hour [well over Oregon's minimum wage] and that is before performance and quality bonuses are added to salaries;
  
• In 2005 employees were provided opportunities for promotions and skills training in new farm-related activities [our equipment repair shop,
  forage harvesting and trucking units]
  
• We continued to provide medical coverage for our employees and optional family benefits plans with company matches;
  
• Working with Morrow County Health Department, we paid for all our employees flu and tetanus shots at the county clinic;
  
• We cooperated with occupational health and safety reviews by state and federal agencies and were found in compliance with all key areas; workplace committees continue to generate ideas that improve the safety, efficiency and working conditions on our farm and dairy;
  
• To meet the challenge of our diverse workforce, we partnered with Blue Mountain Community College to create an innovative language program called "Puentes" [Bridges]: Spanish-speaking workers learn English and English-speaking workers learn Spanish -- our aim is to make Spanish the common language on our farm;
  
• While women continued to play an important role in farm operations, we recently settled a discrimination lawsuit requiring hiring practices at the dairies ... by instituting a more formal job-opening notification and "application acceptance" process we will have farm-wide policies and practices that will assure hiring without gender bias;
  
• A recent controversy involving comments allegedly made about women workers is being taken very seriously. A.J. Bos strongly denies and refutes the statement that is attributed to him. We believe A.J. Bos's version of this incident because of what we know about his values and because of certain facts that have come to light, which cast doubt on the credibility of some who have repeated the alleged remarks ... while we do not believe the offending statements were made, it is clear that language and translation confusions created an impression that needs to be thoroughly investigated, addressed and remedied -- I have asked an individual with impeccable credentials in civil rights and social justice in the workplace to review the situation and make recommendations to me for any necessary, corrective action;
  
• To assure that our workplace practices live up to our values of embracing diversity and offering opportunities for long term sustainable personal growth, I am hiring a new senior level member of my executive management team with responsibilities for Human Resources and Social Responsibility -- this person will oversee policies and practices for all farm and dairy operations and lead our comprehensive effort to implement best practices standards throughout our workplace;
  
• The complex issues relating to union representation and collective bargaining continue to present challenges; as we discussed in June, I am firmly committed to the principle that it is the employee's right to choose whether or not to have union representation -- and we continued to support state legislation that would allow farm workers the same rights as other workers in Oregon to express their choice through secret ballot elections [a position opposed by the United Farm Workers union]; when it became clear that the legislature wouldn't pass a law for all agricultural settings over the opposition of the United Farm Workers union, I offered to Governor Kulongoski to use Threemile Canyon Farms as a "pilot project" for organizing in an agricultural setting, but that was also rejected by the UFW ... State legislators [Sen. Nelson and Ferrioli and Rep. Smith and Sumner have written letters to Governor Kulongoski], The Capital Press, in a recent editorial, and numerous state organizations have agreed with our position and condemned the tactics used by the UFW to kill this legislation and reject a constructive solution to this issue; I can promise you that I will continue to work with the Governor and state legislature in 2007 to pass a law that lets agricultural workers have the same rights as other Oregon workers: to accept or refuse union representation, free of intimidation, by using a secret ballot election."

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