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10 CapitalPress.com January 27, 2017 Idaho Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Commission seeks to change how winery assessment is calculated By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press Courtesy of Idaho Department of Environmental Quality A farmer burns his field after harvest to clear it of pests and disease. The Idaho Senate is taking up the issue during this year’s legislative session. Senate committee votes to introduce field burning bill DEQ has proposed loos- ening Idaho’s ozone stan- dard, to 90 percent of the federal standard, to avoid that. Tiffany Floyd, who man- ages DEQ’s air quality di- vision, told members of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee that the goal of the state’s crop residue burn- ing program is to protect public health while allowing farmers to continue to use field burning as a tool. “DEQ believes the (change) will meet both of these goals,” she said. But environmental groups and public health ad- vocates blasted the proposed loosening of the ozone stan- dard in public comments and accused DEQ of ignoring science and caving in to the agricultural industry. Those groups pushed for tightening the state’s small particulate matter standard to offset the loosening of the ozone standard, an idea DEQ rejected. A joint letter from the groups said the change “is irresponsibly endangering people’s health.” According to DEQ data, Idaho farmers burn about 45,000 acres a year. Produc- ers use field burning to erad- icate and prevent pests and diseases, maintain yields and decrease their use of chemi- cals and diesel fuel. Katseanes-Satterlee said it would be a huge hit to grain producers if there was a large reduction in allow- able burn days. “Having field burning as a tool for grain producers is im- portant,” she said. “The pro- cess (DEQ has) been through has been thorough and it’s science-based and we support it. We’ll be ready for the hear- ing.” By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — A state Senate committee voted unanimous- ly to print a bill that would amend Idaho’s field burning program, a move aimed at avoiding a large reduction in the number of allowable burn days for farmers. The changes, proposed by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, are strongly supported by farm groups but adamantly op- posed by several environ- mental groups and public health advocates. People on both sides of the issue were at a Jan. 17 committee hearing where the bill was introduced but they didn’t testify, which is nor- mal for a print hearing. But both sides expect a lot of debate during the pub- lic hearing on Senate Bill 1009, which hasn’t yet been scheduled. “We’re glad they printed the bill today and we’ll be there to support it as it goes through the process,” said Stacey Katseanes-Satterlee, executive director of the Idaho Grain Producers Asso- ciation. She said plenty of grow- ers will show up for the pub- lic hearing to support the legislation. DEQ can only approve a field burning request if ozone and small particulate matter levels aren’t expected to exceed 75 percent of the national standard. But the federal ozone standard has been tightened and, unless Idaho’s program is changed, that would result in the number of allowable burn days for Idaho farmers being reduced by a third to half, according to DEQ offi- cials. BOISE — The Idaho Wine Commission is ask- ing lawmakers to approve a change in how the state’s wine assessment is calcu- lated, a move designed to simplify record-keeping for wineries. The assessments paid by wineries and wine grape pro- ducers are currently calcu- lated differently but the rule proposed by the wine com- mission seeks to put them on the same page, IWC Legisla- tive Educator Roger Batt told lawmakers Jan. 17. “It will provide more con- sistency and make for better recording when people go to fill out the assessment form,” he said. Idaho wine grape growers pay an assessment of $7 a ton on the grapes they grow, while wineries pay an assess- ment of 4 cents a gallon on Capital Press File The Idaho Wine Commission has proposed a new way to calculate the assessments for grapes and wine. the wine they produce. This can be confusing and results in unnecessary ex- tra calculations by wineries, said IWC Executive Director Moya Shatz-Dolsby. “Wineries buy the grapes by the ton and then we’re asking them to recalculate that” to figure out their assess- ment,” she said. “The new rule is making it (easier).” Wineries will also pay $7 a ton on any grapes they buy from out of state. However, if they purchase grape juice from out of state, they will pay 4 cents a gallon. That’s because in that case, the grapes have already been turned into juice and there is no other way to calculate it, Shatz-Dolsby said. Most of the IWC’s budget of $500,000 comes from the state’s wine excise tax, and the commission collects about $44,000 a year in wine assess- ments, which are split almost evenly among growers and wineries. The change in the assess- ment formula will result in the wine commission collect- ing about $2,500 more a year from the state’s 50 wineries based on current production, according to IWC calcula- tions. The pending rule has been approved by Senate and House committees and is headed to the floors of both chambers for final approval. Potato equipment sales remain steady By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press POCATELLO, Idaho — Farm equipment manufacturers participating in the recent Ag- ricultural Expo at Holt Arena say they’re still doing plenty of business on machinery used in potato production, though sales of agricultural equipment in general has slumped. Leaders in agricultural equipment production such as John Deere have reported sharp declines in sales during the past two years, due to de- pressed commodity markets. The potato market has been no exception to low pric- es, with current fresh-market spud payments still well be- low production costs, as re- cently estimated by Universi- ty of Idaho economists. However, companies spe- cializing in potato equipment, such as the Blackfoot, Ida- ho-based manufacturer Spud- nik, say they’re somehow bucking the machinery sales trend. “We’re doing a good busi- ness this year, maybe a little ahead of where we were this time last year,” said Spudnik sales representative Phil Car- don, based in Pasco, Wash. “We’ll still have a strong year. We’ve got strong orders.” If there’s been a challenge for Spudnik recently, it’s been keeping up with orders, said Cardon, whose company has improved controls in the cabs John O’Connell/Capital Press Evan McEntire lifts his 4-year-old son, Apolo Boyd, into the cab of a new tractor Jan. 17 at the Agricul- tural Expo in Holt Arena on the Idaho State University campus in Pocatello. of its latest generation of field equipment. Cardon believes that the potato market can turn around more quickly than oth- er commodities since spuds are perishable, and he noted Northwest fresh sheds have been “shipping hard since the very beginning of the year.” Brock Mitchell, vice presi- dent of sales with the Burley, Idaho-based potato equip- ment manufacturer Double L, believes the contract mar- ket with processors provides some stability for the potato industry, enabling growers to take advantage of new prod- uct innovations. “Whether it’s domesti- cally or worldwide, potato equipment seems to still be moving, in spite of some of the pressure on commodity prices,” Mitchell said. “It will be interesting to see how it goes throughout the year, but it seems to be moving.” Bruce Nyborg, with the Rexburg, Idaho-based pota- to machinery manufacturer Logan Farm Equipment, said truck-bed sales have been strong as growers seek to har- vest with less labor. “Our sales have been steady,” Nyborg said. “It’s down a little bit this year, but it’s still a pretty good year.” Dan Reeves, with the Blackfoot-based potato equip- ment manufacturer Milestone, highlighted his company’s new piler at the Expo. It should reduce bruising while allowing growers who often need to use side-by-side pilers to cover their largest potato storages to get by with a sin- gle machine. Reeves said his sales have been flat. “(Declining sales) are something you’re seeing across the board in the agri- cultural industry, but we’re staying steady with our Mile- stone stuff,” Reeves said. By contrast, Harvey Stush- noff, with Agri-Service in Twin Falls, believes hay-in- tensive growers have been especially hard hit by low commodity prices and are “hanging on to their equip- ment.” Idaho State University students host equipment rodeo at Agricultural Expo By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press POCATELLO, Idaho — Students in Idaho State Uni- versity’s diesel tech program have organized a rodeo with a unique twist in conjunction with the 38th Annual Agricul- tural Expo — they’re substi- tuting heavy equipment for bulls and bucking broncos. Their heavy-equipment rodeo Jan. 17-19 challenged competitors to move logs us- ing a skid steer in the fastest time and to pick up volley- balls from atop cones and move them into trash cans us- ing a mini-excavator. Participants paid a $20 fee and competed for the chance to win a television or tool kit. Proceeds will help ISU’s Diesel Mechanics SkillsUSA team cover the costs of attend- ing a heavy-equipment me- • Fertilizer and Irrigation Water Management • Crop Diseases • • Falling Numbers • Soil Health • Precision Ag • • Unmanned Aerial Systems • Drone Flight Demo • chanics’ competition in Boise. Diesel tech program officials hope to make the rodeo an an- nual fundraiser at the Agricul- tural Expo. Hailey Wynn, vice pres- ident of the ISU SkillsUSA team, said the competition tests participants in areas such as hydraulics, electrical systems and transmissions, involving equipment used in agriculture, trucking, mining and construction. Cody Johnston, a freshman in the program, said he’d nev- er operated heavy equipment before the equipment ro- deo but was offered a “crash course” and quickly got the hang of it. “Anybody who hasn’t done it before can do it, be- cause I did,” Johnston said. Instructor Terro Anderson said ISU has a nationally ac- claimed diesel technology program, training workers who are badly needed to ser- vice equipment for agricul- ture, mining and other indus- tries. “There is a deficit of me- chanics in this state, and they’ve required us to hire another instructor to try to get more and more people to fill those positions...,” Anderson said. At the Expo, the ISU pro- gram also showed off a trail- er students built last fall with virtual-reality machines sim- ulating the controls of heavy equipment. Anderson said the program has taken the trailer to several Idaho schools as a recruitment tool. CROPPING SCHOOL Best Western Plus Caldwell Inn & Suites 908 Specht Avene, Caldwell, ID 83605 Feb. 10, 2017 • 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. NO RSVP required; Cost: $20 (cash or check please) 1.5 CCA - Soil & Water Management • 4.5 CCA - Crop Management Morning coffee/doughnuts and lunch provided Host: Olga Walsh, University of Idaho, Parma Research and Extension Center, owalsh@uidaho.edu, 208-722-6701 8:30-9 a.m. Registration, coffee & doughnuts/welcome 9-9:45 a.m. Efficient irrigation methods 1-1:45 p.m. Soil health demo 1:45-2:30 p.m. Unmanned aerial vehicles 2:30 p.m. Adjourn ROP-4-2-4/#17 9:45-10:30 a.m. Crop disease update 10:30-10:40 a.m. Break 10:40-11:10 a.m. Precision fertilizer management 11:10 a.m.-noon Low falling numbers demo noon-1 p.m. Lunch 4-4/#14