January 23, 2015
CapitalPress.com
9
Idaho
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Idaho net farm income jumped 46 percent in 2014
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Dry beans are harvested in a fi eld near Wilder, Idaho, Aug. 26. Idaho net farm income soared 46
percent to a record $4.53 billion in 2014, according to University of Idaho estimates.
said, “is that Idaho agricul-
ture has just skyrocketed in
Planning, zoning
board deadlocks on
proposed ethanol plant
By SEAN ELLIS
Greenleaf, Idaho,
site of proposed
ethanol facility
Capital Press
Ontario
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55
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21
Boise
lawmakers recently that net
farm income is highly vol-
Idaho embezzlement case continued
BLACKFOOT, Idaho — A preliminary
hearing has been continued until Feb. 19 in
the case of a former fresh potato shed em-
ployee charged with embezzling funds.
Russell C. Leonardson, the former fi nan-
cial controller at Aberdeen-based Idaho Se-
lect, Inc., was originally scheduled for a Jan.
15 hearing in Bingham County district court
on two counts of grand theft and 70 counts
of forgery.
Leonardson is accused of using his po-
sition to embezzle $1.6 million from the
company and an affi liated agricultural trans-
portation company that he managed, Select
Express.
“It was continued essentially for the basis
for both parties to be able to work with the
case and communicate with each other,” said
Bingham County Prosecutor Cleve Colson.
Grand theft carries a penalty of up to 14
years in prison and fi nes of up to $4,000, and
each count of forgery carries up to 14 years
in prison and fi nes of up to $50,000.
Idaho Select and Select Express have
fi led a separate civil lawsuit against Leon-
ardson. According to the civil complaint,
Leonardson was hired by the company in
1997, and his duties included “establishing
internal controls to protect Idaho Select from
fi nancial predators and defi ciencies.”
After he resigned last August, the civil
complaint alleges his company hired Cooper
Norman fraud investigators, who discovered
he’d apparently embezzled funds from Jan-
uary 2007 to July 2014 by altering records
and diverting corporate funds for his per-
sonal use. The civil suit alleges the chang-
es were discovered by security features in
QuickBooks software.
Nampa
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detail
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Alder, Maple, Cottonwood
Saw Logs, Standing Timber
Capital Press graphic
www.cascadehardwood.com
The public hearing on the
CUP request has stretched
through four separate meet-
ings and public testimony has
been heavily against it.
Opponents of the proposed
ethanol facility packed the
planning and zoning hearing
room Jan. 15 wearing red
“no” tags. Concerns included
odor, increased traffi c, pollu-
tion, the impact two 100-foot
towers would have on crop
dusters, and decreased prop-
erty values.
“Is this the kind of industry
that we want?” Martin Koch,
who has acted as a spokesman
for the opposition, asked com-
missioners. “There’s a lot of
people in this room and most
of them say ‘no.’”
The applicant, Sot Chi-
monas, chief operating offi cer
of Demeter-Bio-resources,
said his company addressed
all of the concerns adequately
and added the facility would
be much different from a
nearby ethanol plant operat-
ed by J.R. Simplot Co. that
closed in 2004.
Chimonas designed and
operated that plant, which
turned potato waste into eth-
anol.
“This is a much more
modern facility,” he said. “It’s
very different from that potato
plant.”
rop-31-53-5/#17
CALDWELL, Idaho —
Canyon County planning and
zoning commissioners again
failed to reach a decision Jan.
15 on a proposed facility near
Greenleaf that would use bar-
ley and tubers to produce eth-
anol.
After three hours, commis-
sioners voted 2-2 to deny a
conditional use permit for the
facility, which would include
a food processing plant. Mo-
ments later, they deadlocked
again on a motion to approve
the ethanol plant.
The seven-member com-
mission makes recommenda-
tions to the Canyon County
Commission on proposed
rezones and plats but makes
fi nal decisions on CUPs.
Canyon County Devel-
opment Services Director
Tricia Nilsson said that’s the
fi rst time the commission has
deadlocked on a CUP during
her tenure at the county.
“You can’t have a tie in a
decision” when it comes to a
CUP, she said. “There has to
be, by state law, a written de-
cision.”
Nilsson said she will con-
sult with county attorneys
and will present the commis-
sioners some possible options
for making a decision at their
Feb. 5 meeting.
Three of the seven com-
missioners can’t vote on the
CUP because they didn’t at-
tend all of the previous hear-
ings on the issue. One of the
options could entail having
one of the absent commis-
sioners hear all the testimony
so a fi fth vote can be cast.
The commission’s decision
can be appealed to the Canyon
County Commission, “so we
want to make sure there is a
written decision and it’s very
clear,” Nilsson said.
growth in the last 10 years.”
But Taylor also cautioned
nue increased 29 percent to
$2.47 billion.
“It was a very good year,
one of the best years on re-
cord for our industry,” said
Idaho Cattle Association
Executive Vice President
Wyatt Prescott. “It was defi-
nitely the best year cow-calf
producers have ever had.”
It was also a great year
for dairy producers, said
Kuna dairyman Jack Davis.
“It was the best year I’ve
ever had in my lifetime,” he
said. “Most everybody did
really good last year.”
Taylor told lawmakers
not to expect another record
year for gross cash receipts
or net farm income in 2015,
largely due to decreasing
dairy prices. If dairy prices
return to the 10-year aver-
age, total milk revenue in
Idaho would be down by
almost $1 billion this year,
he said.
He said it’s possible cash
receipts and net income
could return to 2013 levels,
which were also records at
the time.
“It would still be a really
good year, it’s just not going
to break any records,” Tay-
lor said.
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BOISE — Idaho farm-
ers and ranchers recorded a
record $4.53 billion in net
farm income in 2014, while
net farm income nationwide
declined by an estimated 22
percent.
That record was set as a
result of an 11 percent in-
crease in total farm revenue
during 2014 and a 6 percent
decrease in farm expenses.
The estimates were made
by University of Idaho ag-
ricultural economists Garth
Taylor and Ben Eborn, and
are based on a calendar year.
Net farm income in Ida-
ho also increased 48 percent
in 2013 and has grown at a
rate of 12.6 percent a year
since 2005, Taylor said. Ida-
ho net farm income in 2014
was also a record in infla-
tion-adjusted terms.
“We’re on a different
growth pattern than U.S. ag-
riculture,” Taylor said.
Idaho net farm income in
2014 was higher than gross
cash receipts were 10 years
ago.
The take-home message
for policymakers, Eborn
atile and experiences wild
swings. Idaho net farm in-
come fell 37 percent in 2009
and it increased 40 percent
in 2010. Idaho has experi-
enced double-digit increas-
es or decreases in net farm
income in each of the last 10
years.
“Net farm income is
hugely volatile. It just slams
from one side to the other,”
he said. “For government,
that means volatile taxes.”
UI economists estimate
farm-origin inputs such as
feed, seed and replacement
livestock, were down 4
percent in 2014, manufac-
tured inputs (fertilizer, fuel,
chemicals) were also down
4 percent, and other expens-
es such as contract labor,
custom work, marketing,
storage, repairs, transporta-
tion and maintenance, were
down 12 percent.
The net farm income re-
cord was set largely due to
a stellar performance by the
state’s beef cattle and dairy
sectors, which both brought
in record amounts of cash
receipts. Total revenues
for milk in Idaho were up
26 percent to $3.25 billion
in 2014, while cattle reve-
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