A ballot measure in Lincoln County would ban the aerial spraying of pesticides and herbicides.
The last few years have seen a number of local and statewide agriculture reform measures face overwhelming industry opposition--for example the 2014 GMO bans in Jackson and Josephine County, a similar attempt in Benton County in 2015, and Oregon's attempt to institute GMO labelling in 2014.
Though the Lincoln County aerial spray ban has so far avoided the record-breaking donations from industry giants that characterized those campaigns, the opposition to the ban has gained the support of Oregonians for Food and Shelter, which gets much of its money from companies like Dow, BASF, Monsanto and Syngenta, or their political/financial arms.
The opposition group has used some of this money to buy the services of high-profile DC-based consultants and campaign managers, while the group supporting the ban is largely funded by local sources, and has received some unpaid guidance from the Pennsylvania-based Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund.
KBOO reporter Sam Bouman has more.
Oregonians for Food and Shelter and Hilltop Public Solutions did not respond to interview requests in time for broadcast.
- KBOO