14 CapitalPress.com
January 2, 2015
Geertson remembered as farmer who did things his own way
By SEAN ELLIS
Seed Co. in Homedale, Idaho,
said Geertson was well known
for doing things his way, even
if it went against the norm.
“Phil was a different cat;
he was pretty unique,” Tolmie
said. “He had the Phil way of
doing things that was not al-
ways the commonly accepted
way of doing things.”
Geertson farmed on both
sides of the Idaho-Oregon bor-
der.
He is widely known as the
lead plaintiff in a lawsuit along
with the Center for Food Safe-
ty against genetically engi-
neered alfalfa that resulted in
the U.S. Supreme Court’s fi rst
Capital Press
RIDGEVIEW, Ore. —
Phillip Walter Geertson, an
Oregon and Idaho farmer who
died Nov. 24, will be remem-
bered by many as a campaign-
er against the use of genetical-
ly engineered alfalfa.
His family members and
others who knew him, howev-
er, say they will remember him
for much more than that.
Geertson was 75 when he
passed away from cancer in a
Portland, Ore., hospital.
Don Tolmie, production
manager of Treasure Valley
Rank/state
1. California
Income ($ billions)
10.14
2. Idaho
3.11
3. Washington
3.01
4. Montana
2.14
1.81
5. Colorado
6. New Mexico
1.42
7. Arizona
1.41
8. Oregon
1.04
9. Utah
0.46
10. Wyoming
0.39
11. Nevada
0.18
Net farm
income in
the West,
2013
Source: USDA ERS
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
Idaho ranked No. 2 in West
in net farm income in 2013
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
The strength of Idaho’s
livestock sector lifted the
state to a No. 2 ranking in
total net farm income among
the 11 Western states in 2013.
Idaho outpaced No. 3
Washington despite trailing
that state by $1.6 billion in
total farm cash receipts in
2013 and was unchallenged
when it came to agricultural
production on a per capita
basis.
California easily ranked
No. 1 in cash receipts at $47
billion and net income at
$10.14 billion in 2013.
The rankings were com-
piled by University of Idaho
agricultural economist Ben
Eborn and are based on U.S.
Department of Agriculture
Economic Research Service
data that recently became
available for 2013.
Idaho farmers and ranch-
ers brought in a total of $3.11
billion in net farm income in
2013 while Washington pro-
ducers earned $3.01 billion.
During that year, Idaho
agriculture recorded $8.4 bil-
lion in total farm gate receipts
while Washington’s farming
sector had $10 billion.
“We’re growing some
crops and livestock commod-
ities that have higher margins
than what they are growing
in Washington,” said UI ag
economist Garth Taylor.
The big difference be-
tween the two states was a
stellar performance by Ida-
ho’s livestock sector, which
accounted for well over half
of the state’s total farm re-
ceipts, he said. Crops ac-
counted for the vast majority
of Washington’s farm re-
ceipts.
Milk and beef are Idaho’s
top two farm commodities in
terms of total cash receipts,
and both had high prices in
2013, Taylor said.
“Those are the hot com-
modities in the U.S. right
now and we are expressing
our comparative advantage in
those commodities,” he said.
Idaho will retain its No.
2 ranking for net farm in-
come in 2014 because beef
and milk prices remained at
record or near-record prices
this year, Eborn said.
“Both milk and cattle pric-
es are sky high (this year),”
he said. “In 2014, Idaho will
be even further ahead be-
cause it was such an amazing
year for livestock.”
ruling, in 2010, on genetically
modifi ed crops.
Geertson claimed the use of
genetically engineered alfalfa
resulted in cross-pollination
with his conventional alfalfa
and resulted in export losses.
That 7-1 Supreme Court
decision overturned a lower
court ruling that placed a na-
tionwide ban on the planting of
alfalfa genetically modifi ed to
resist glyphosate, a weed killer
marketed by Monsanto Co. as
Roundup.
Both sides claimed victo-
ry in that ruling because the
planting of genetically engi-
neered alfalfa was still effec-
tively banned because the U.S.
Department of Agriculture was
required as a result of lower
court rulings to conduct an
environmental impact study
before deregulating it.
Geertson was involved in
several similar lawsuits and
never received a dime from
them, said his nephew, Pat Ge-
ertson. He continued to speak
to other farmers around the
world about the GMO issue
the rest of his life.
“He didn’t understand
what the need for it was and
he feared the contamination
would exclude a lot of hay
exports from this country,”
said his daughter, JoAnn Beh-
rends.
Phillip Geertson special-
ized in growing alfalfa seed
and varieties he developed
were sold around the nation.
He also raised sugar beets,
wheat, hybrid fi eld corn and
native plant seed and was
growing blueberries in Sher-
wood, Ore., shortly before his
death.
Pat Geertson said his un-
cle was instrumental in the
leafcutter bee industry in the
1970s because he built and
patented machines that drilled
bee boards.
“He did a lot of things,”
Pat Geertson said. “He was
always building things and
coming up with different
ideas all the time.”
Behrends said her family
wants Phillip Geertson to be
remembered as someone who
always did things the way he
thought they should be done,
even if it didn’t always line up
with conventional wisdom.
“He wouldn’t just take
what the big companies gave
him for price; he would fi nd
ways to market it himself if he
had to,” she said. “We always
said there was the right way
and wrong way and then there
was the Phil way.”
Study fi nds more wireworm trapping needed
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
ABERDEEN, Idaho —
New research data suggests
it may not always be enough
for growers to set traps just
a few weeks before planting
to monitor fi elds for wire-
worms.
University of Idaho re-
search entomologist Arash
Rashed said his program
has advised growers to bury
handfuls of wet grain in
fi elds, covering them with
dark plastic to heat soil and
spur germination, to attract
wireworms for fi eld sampling
three weeks before planting.
However, in a study he
conducted last season, some
wireworms remained deep
in the soil, well below trap
depths, as late as June until
feeding conditions became
favorable.
“I think (growers) should
start monitoring as soon as
possible and continue moni-
toring so even if it’s too late
for one season, you can use
that data for next season and
know if your fi eld has it you
need to treat your seed be-
fore you plant next season,”
Rashed said.
For his research — fund-
ed by a USDA-REACCH
program grant and Idaho’s
wheat and barley commis-
sions — Rashed set traps in
10 commercial wheat fi elds
throughout the state, and is
continuing to monitor fi ve
of those fi elds with traps at
different depths throughout
the winter. For the second
season of the study, he plans
to approach growers with
wireworm problems at ce-
real schools to signifi cantly
increase the number of fi elds
involved in the study, mon-
itoring traps monthly at 6
inches, a foot and 2 feet.
“Our hope is to get a
timing on their movements
Wireworms cause damage to
an Idaho spring wheat fi eld. Re-
search by University of Idaho
aims to better understand the
movements of wireworms and
the types of soils they prefer.
Photos courtesy of Arash Rashed
A wireworm is exposed. Research by University of Idaho aims to
better understand the movements of wireworms and the types of
soils they prefer.
— when do they start going
down deep and when do they
start to come up and become
damaging?” Rashed said.
UI barley research agron-
omist Chris Rogers will
analyze soil samples from
heavily infested fi elds in the
second year of the study,
looking at factors such as
organic matter, acidity, soil
density, texture and moisture.
“We’ll be looking at the
chemical and physical com-
ponents of the soil and how
those factors will infl uence
the wireworm populations
and using those to potential-
ly identify locations that may
have a higher susceptibility
to wireworm infestations,”
Rogers said.
On Eastern Idaho’s dry-
land farms, Rashed said high
wireworm populations cor-
related with areas with great-
er rainfall. Based on ambient
air temperatures, he believes
they also prefer warmer soils.
He plans to measure soil tem-
peratures with sensors in the
upcoming season.
Rashed explained wire-
worms can survive in the soil
for several years and are the
infant stage of click beetles.
They cause patches of dam-
age within fi elds when they
feed, stunting growth and
killing seedlings, and are
widespread throughout the
Northwest.
Hans Hayden, a dryland
farmer in Arbon Valley, Ida-
ho, said effective chemical
treatments for wireworms
have been removed from the
market, and the neonicoti-
noid seed treatments that are
still available merely make
them sick and delay feeding.
Hayden can detect the
presence of wireworms by
the emergence of Russian
thistles in gaps vacated by
dead spring wheat seedlings.
His winter wheat tends to be
advanced enough to better
withstand wireworm attacks.
Hayden assumes every
fi eld is infested and always
applies a seed treatment. He
supports any research to pro-
vide more information about
when treatments are neces-
sary and potentially help him
save on chemicals.
“I’ve seen them hammer
fi elds really bad,” Hayden
said, adding they seem to be
more destructive along ridge
lines.
Washington implementing animal traceability rules
Industry welcomes
state’s improved
computerized system
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Livestock and dairy indus-
try representatives say several
new state rule changes will
help them deal with an animal
disease outbreak.
The Washington State
Department of Agriculture
director Bud Hover recently
approved several rules that
will be incorporated into the
state’s new animal disease
traceability system. It is slated
to begin operation in 2015.
The new rules will:
• Establish a 23-cent per-
head fee on cattle sold or
slaughtered in Washington or
transported out of state. The
fee will fund the operation
and maintenance of two com-
puter systems used to collect
information needed to quickly
trace animal movements.
• Eliminate a livestock
inspection exemption for
private sales of unbranded,
female, dairy breed cattle in-
volving 15 head or less. Also,
a buyer not moving cattle out
of state must have a certifi -
cate of permit at the time of
inspection.
• Require veterinarians to
report cases of porcine epi-
demic diarrhea virus and val-
ley fever to WSDA monthly.
• Require raw milk dairies
that introduce new animals
into their herds to test for bo-
vine tuberculosis for 60 days,
an increase from 30 days.
Most of the rules become
effective Jan. 30. The animal
disease traceability system
begins July 1. The dairy ex-
emption will be eliminated by
2016.
“The way we currently do
things when we’re trying to
track animal movement is pa-
per — a lot of looking through
boxes and under people’s desk
for fi les, said Hector Castro,
communications director for
WSDA. “It’s very manual,
labor-intensive and can take a
long time.”
The database will allow the
state veterinarian to quickly
trace the origin of livestock in
the event of an animal disease
outbreak and limit exposure,
said Jack Field, executive vice
president of the Washington
Cattlemen’s Association.
“This is a very positive
step forward, this is an indus-
try-led effort,” he said. “This
is going to be a very welcome
system for producers of all
sizes through all segments of
the industry.”
The dairy industry is work-
ing to set up an electronic
reporting system before the
exemption is eliminated. It
would be easier and faster
than having a brand inspec-
tor come out, said Dan Wood,
director of government rela-
tions for the Washington State
Dairy Federation. Removal of
the exemption will coincide
with the introduction of the
new system, Castro said.
“Most of the dairy produc-
ers already have the data in
their computers,” Wood said.
“It makes sense to us that they
be able to transfer that elec-
tronically rather than paying
for time, mileage and a higher
fee for someone to come out
and see with their own eyes
what’s already in the data-
base.”
Ninety percent of produc-
ers indicated they would use
an electronic system, Wood
said.
The state continues to de-
velop the electronic systems
required to implement the
new traceability program,
Castro said.
Backers say factory will buy $26 million from farm sector
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
GREENLEAF, Idaho —
The head of a proposed val-
ue-added ethanol facility just
east of Greenleaf says the plant
would make $26 million worth
of purchases from Idaho’s
farm sector annually.
Sot Chimonas, chief operat-
ing offi cer of Demeter Bio-re-
sources, told the Capital Press
that food processing would be
the main focus of the facility.
A group of local citizens
trying to stop the facility is
concerned about the impacts
of the proposed ethanol part of
the project.
A public hearing on Deme-
ter’s application for a condi-
tional use permit to build the
ethanol portion of the facility
has been delayed until Jan. 15.
Chimonas said he wishes
local residents would think
more about the food process-
ing side of the facility and
what the project could do for
farmers and the local econo-
my.
He said the proposed etha-
nol facility is about one-tenth
the size of a traditional Mid-
west ethanol plant.
“It’s really not an ethanol
facility; it’s a food-processing
facility that makes food ingre-
dients,” he said. “Unfortunate-
ly, the word ‘ethanol’ is what
they are stuck on and that’s
what they are commenting
on.”
Chimonas said the facility
would use barley and a hybrid
tuber called a SunSpud to pro-
duce healthy food ingredients.
Starch would be separated to
produce ethanol and the facil-
ity would also produce organic
fertilizer.
Chimonas said this is the
fi rst of several such projects
Demeter plans to build in Ida-
ho and Montana. The idea is
to build the plants close to the
source of agricultural produc-
tion, he said.
Local farmer Stan Siewert,
who has grown Sun Spuds and
barley for Demeter since 2012,
submitted written testimony in
favor of the project.
Siewert, who helped man-
age or start 25 ethanol plants,
said many of them rejuvenated
small Midwestern towns.
“It is my hope that a new
added-value facility can pro-
vide local farmers new crops
to grow and Canyon County
with local jobs and additional
tax base,” he stated.
But some other farmers,
who testifi ed in opposition
to the facility, have concerns
about the plant’s possible im-
pact and they question how
viable SunSpuds would be in
this valley, which produces
a lot of high-value crops like
seed, onions and hops.
Wilder farmer Ray Gross
said he has a lot of unanswered
questions about SunSpuds and
how they will fi t in here.
“What does it do to the
ground as far as volunteers?
Is it a host for certain diseases
we don’t like to have around
here?” he said.
Like Gross, Dave Dixon,
who farms 2.5 miles from the
proposed facility, said he’s not
dead-set against the idea; he
just wants more information
and it has to make good agro-
nomic sense for farmers.
His main concern is that
the facility would end up using
commodities shipped in from
other areas.
“I am absolutely against
shipping all the (feedstocks) in
from different areas and leav-
ing (us) with only the environ-
mental impact and not putting
any money into the area,” he
said.
Chimonas said the compa-
ny could have done a better job
of reaching out to local farm-
ers.
“We realize that we prob-
ably should have done a little
more PR with the farm com-
munity,” he said. “Eventually
we will and I think the farm
community should welcome
it.”