Hannelore Sudermann

Seeds of change 1. Filling and sealing seed bags was done entirely by hand when this photo was taken at Jacklin Seed in 1949... File/The Spokesman-Review 2. ...Automation has simplified the process today for Shawn Pitchford and Marshall Emmons. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

A Superior Court in Kennewick this summer ruled that a grain elevator operator's uncommon lung problems were likely related to his work. The case has caught the attention of grain growers and grain elevator operators throughout the region because it points to possible safety hazards within the business. "Anything that suggests that we are operating in an unsafe environment is naturally of concern to us as employees and as employers," said Jonathan Schlueter of the Pacific Northwest Grain and Feed Association in Portland. The association maintains this case is one of a kind.

A fish issue may help farmers in the upcoming Conservation Reserve Program sign-up. Having a nationally recognized salmon habitat near their acreage may benefit regional landowners who want to use the federal program to set aside erodible and environmentally sensitive land. With only 21 percent of their applications accepted in the spring sign-up, and after a reduction of $31 million in annual CRP payments, Washington landowners and their congressional delegation are arming themselves to recover those lost acres this fall.

Rooted in North Idaho by time and family, Jacklin Seed Co.'s owners announced Thursday the sale of their company to Boise-based J.R. Simplot Co. The sale will end more than a half-century of Jacklin family ownership when the grassgrowing and processing business is turned over to the region's top agricultural company. Pending federal regulatory approval, Jacklin Seed plans to transfer ownership to Simplot on Oct. 8.

Washington cattle ranchers are avidly watching a patch of U.S. Forest Service land in Ferry County. Though only 90 head of cattle now graze the 20,000-acre Tonata site in the Colville National Forest, what happens here may affect how ranchers can use public land for grazing statewide. "We're following it very closely," said Mary Burke, president of the Washington Cattle Association. "When there's new and different requirements, federal agencies tend to use those as a precedent."

During the past five years, most job growth in the area has been in the service industry, trade, and local government, said Fred Walsh, regional labor economist with the Employment Security Department. By contrast, real estate and construction jobs have cooled off, because fewer people are moving to the area, he said. This summer, the job placement office of the Employment Security Department is buzzing, as between 90 and 120 people look for work each day. What they want are jobs with security.

The recent labor battle between the Teamsters Union and United Parcel Service is viewed by some as a major turning point in labor relations. Perhaps it may even have as positive an impact for labor as the air traffic controllers' strike was negative 16 years ago. The two-week strike by Teamsters against the country's largest shipper ranks among the more memorable labor actions in recent years, locally as well as nationally.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is starting over again. In considering favorable factors to allow lands in the set-aside program, it appears volcanic ash is in, wildlife covers are in, air quality is in and even salmon might be in. Though Washington farmers were burned in the last CRP sign-up when they lost acreage eligible for federal funds, they soon will have another chance at winning money to idle a portion of their lands, prevent erosion and protect the environment.

Happy to be back UPS driver Ron Skogstad delivers a high-five to a well-wisher as drivers celebrate the end of their strike during a lunch break Wednesday at Zip's on East Sprague. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

After more than two weeks of postal pandemonium, the nation's package delivery system may soon begin to snap back into place. "We're hoping to begin to pick up customers (today) and start rebuilding UPS," said Al Rapp, spokesman for UPS in Seattle. Though the United Parcel Service strike may be over and 185,000 Teamsters nationwide - including 650 in Eastern Washington and North Idaho - start their return to work today, things may never be the same.

Bruce Billingsley, at left, a UPS driver for the past 22 years, talks with Robert Hawkinson, a part time UPS worker, on the picket line Monday. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

1. Penny Piper consults with family members by radio while harvesting wheat. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Mike Piper checks a few stalks of barley in a field next to his home outside Davenport. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Picture-perfect harvest. Dwarfed by an ocean of grain set against a majestic summer sunset, Penny Piper's combine tracks across wheat fields last week at the family farm outside Davenport. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

They're in the same boat for different reasons. Anchored together by the Teamsters Union, the full-time and part-time United Parcel Service employees are striking for themselves and each other. The full-timers want the union to keep control of their health and pension benefits. The part-timers want more money and a better chance at full-time jobs. "It's sort of an all-or-nothing type of deal," said full-time driver Kent Fleming. He was sipping an iced coffee outside the UPS center gates in East Spokane Tuesday afternoon instead of cruising the same rural route he has driven for the past 21 years. "What happens to them can certainly affect me as a full-timer and what happens to me will affect them." While full-time UPS workers have their own reasons for striking, they empathize with the part-timers. They've been in their shoes.

It was one of the biggest days in aviation history. On Monday morning more than 200,000 Boeing Co. employees gathered at workplaces around the country, including Spokane, to hear talks officially inaugurating the newly enlarged Boeing the largest company in the aerospace industry following its merger with McDonnell Douglas.

Bargaining talks continued Friday, but even the threat of a Teamster strike sharply cut deliveries at the United Parcel Service branch in Spokane. Some local businesses delayed shipments or used other ways to ship their goods. Meanwhile, UPS and the Teamsters resumed negotiations in Washington, D.C., under the guidance of a federal mediator. The company's contract covering nearly two-thirds of UPS's 302,000 U.S. employees expired at midnight Thursday. Nationally, UPS spokeswoman Gina Ellrich said the company "lost (delivery of) hundreds of thousands of packages" as customers shifted to rival carriers. UPS carries about 12 million packages and documents daily.

Washington State officials are seeking to stop the spread of an unwanted transplant: California grape vines which could be infested. The state Department of Agriculture is cautioning consumers about vines recently brought to the state in violation of a 50-year-old quarantine. The plants may carry pests and viruses that could devastate the wine industry, officials said. "This is not a food safety issue," said Jennifer Boaz of the Washington State Department of Agriculture. "It's not affecting the grapes themselves, but it does affect the vine."

Customers line up Thursday to refuel their vehicles at Costco's new gas station on North Division. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

It involves legumes, a world-class athlete and an international marketing campaign. Idaho farmers liked the idea, but Washington farmers didn't. According to the results released Monday, legume growers voted against a Washington Dry Pea and Lentil Commission assessment increase which would have planted more money into both crop research and an international marketing campaign featuring decathlon world champion Dan O'Brien.

Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, gesturing, tours CRP land. He got an earful from farmers such as Jerry Snyder, top, during an informal question-and-answer session. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Though there are no Teamster shops in the Washington apple industry, the national labor union produced a report Tuesday criticizing the billion-dollar business for paying its warehouse and field workers poverty-level wages. The apple growers responded that the facts and statistics in the report titled "Ripe for Fairness" have been twisted to suit the purposes of the union and the whole campaign is designed to distract from the real issue: that apple workers aren't unionizing. "They aren't feeling that they have the support of the workers," said Mike Gempler, executive director for the Washington Growers League, a Yakima-based association of growers and packers. "The real issue here is whether the apple packing employees have the right to have a union. The answer is, they do."

1. Field of dreams. Willow Wind Organic Farms owner Steve Walser shows off one of his potato fields. Walser's operation produces about 6,000 tons of potatoes, most of which will be exported to Japan. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review 2. Arlene Tugel checks the soil at Willow Wind Farms during a tour highlighting sustainable agriculture practices.

More than 80 Darigold employees, most of them Teamsters, will lose their jobs now that Darigold Inc. and Broadview Dairy are consolidating their Spokane processing plants. And the joint processing and distribution operation will likely be based at the Darigold-owned plant in North Spokane. Darigold Inc. and Broadview Dairy announced Wednesday they would join their processing operations to improve efficiency and expand distribution for both brands. All Darigold employees will lose their jobs, though Broadview, which is to be the majority owner of the merged processor, has encouraged the workers to apply at the new operation to be called Inland Northwest Dairies, L.L.C. On the same day as the merger announcement, Teamsters Union 582 met with Darigold authorities to negotiate a labor contract that had expired in May. It was all for naught since the 85 jobs, including those of 64 Teamsters, will soon be over. "It was a shock to all of us. We didn't know anything about it," said Denny Young, secretary-treasurer of the Teamsters in Spokane. "There are no negotiations now except for severance packages for those who will be laid off."

Nelson Cordill has raised wheat and buckwheat the conventional way for as many years as it has taken for his hair to turn gray. But this week the Cheney-area farmer considered a change as he wandered out to a test plot deep in a barley field just east of Davenport, Wash.