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SPOKANE AG EXPO SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE Capital Press The West s Weekly FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2015 VOLUME 88, NUMBER 4 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 EU bans Northwest poultry as bird fl u cases increase By DON JENKINS Capital Press CLIMATE Record temperature claim gets hot and cold receptions DEBATE By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press C lair Bosen watched cattle graze on the stubble of corn he raised for grain — a spectacle he insists would have been nearly impossible on his Preston, Idaho, farm just a couple of decades ago. It used to be, the 78-year-old farmer and ranch- er explained, that area producers dared only to raise silage corn in this part of the state. Even then, earli- er frosts would often cut into their yields. INSIDE Nowadays, Bosen Potato growers said, the area’s grow- ing season has gotten adjust to markedly longer, to the changing point that he can con- sistently raise corn for conditions grain and even count Page 12 on an extra cutting of alfalfa. Bosen raised his fi rst short-season variety of corn for grain about 13 years ago and switched to better-yield- ing, 100-day maturity corn a couple of years later. “I don’t think our average temperatures are any higher, but we don’t have the cold weather through half of May,” Bosen said. “We used to think we had to wait until May 15 to 20 to plant. Now we’re planting on May 1.” John O’Connell/Capital Press Clair Bosen, of Preston, Idaho, stands in a fi eld of corn stubble while their cattle graze. He raised the corn for grain, which he believes has become possible during the past 15 years because of a longer growing season. 58.42º F — 1.22 degrees higher than the mean average temperature* 59 degrees Fahrenheit Average global temperatures on the rise 58 57 NASA calculates that 2014 was the hottest year on record, based on land and ocean temperature data dating back to the late 19th century. * 57.2º F (Mean avg. temp., 1951-1980) 56.35 56.82 56 1880 Turn to CLIMATE, Page 12 Source: NASA, Goddard Institute for Space Studies John O’Connell and Alan Kenaga/Capital Press ’90 1900 ’10 ’20 ’30 ’40 ’50 ’60 ’70 ’80 ’90 2000 The 28-member Europe- an Union on Jan. 20 banned poultry products from Wash- ington, Idaho, and Douglas County in Oregon as con- firmed cases of bird flu have increased. The EU joined Japan and Belarus, which add- ed Idaho to their previous bans on poultry from Wash- ington and Oregon. China announced Jan. 16 that it would reject U.S. poultry shipped after Jan. 9. Three non-commercial flocks in Washington, one in Oregon and one in Ida- ho have been infected with highly pathogenic bird flu since mid-December. Wild birds with the disease have been found in Washington, California and Utah. Offi cials suspect migra- tory waterfowl are spreading the disease. The virus has not been detected in U.S. com- mercial fl ocks, but its ap- pearance in backyard fl ocks has brought restrictions on U.S. poultry exports. Highly pathogenic bird flu was detected in backyard chickens, captive falcons and wild ducks in western and southern Idaho, State Veterinarian Bill Barton said Tuesday. Several wild ducks infect- ed with H5N8 avian infl uen- za were found in Gooding County, while the falcons and chickens in a small non-com- mercial fl ock were infected with H5N2 in Canyon Coun- ty. The three falcons con- fi rmed to have had the virus were fed wild duck, Barton said. The owner has other fal- cons, which are under quar- antine and are being tested, Barton said. The chicken fl ock was about 20 miles away, he said. The owner had not been mov- ing birds off the property, Barton said. The premises were imme- diately put under quarantine, and the birds were eutha- nized. ’10 ’14 Turn to BIRD, Page 12 DOL drops ‘hot goods’ charges against growers Agency will return money, pay farms additional $30,000 By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press The U.S. Department of Labor will return money previ- ously paid by Oregon blueber- ry growers and drop lawsuits accusing them of “hot goods” labor law violations. The agency will also pay an additional $30,000 to each of the two farms — Pan-American Ber- ry Growers and B&G Ditchen — as part of a recent legal settlement. The farms have agreed to withdraw their counterclaims against DOL and neither party is admitting to any liability under the deal. Turn to DOL, Page 12 Pan-American Berry Grow- ers produces blueberries near Salem, Ore. The U.S. Department of Labor will return money previously paid by Pan-American and B&G Ditchen and drop law- suits accusing them of “hot goods” labor law violations. Matuesz Perkowski/Capital Press THIS WEEK IN THE CAPITAL PRESS CALIFORNIA Strawberry acreage to decline slightly in 2015 The prolifi c qualities of some new varieties may be one reason California’s overall strawberry acreage is expected to decline. Page 5 OREGON Stripe rust found early in Willamette Valley wheat Page 11 0000000-rop-M4695-CascadeFarm - Page 1 - Composite 4-7/#5