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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2015)
2 CapitalPress.com January 30, 2015 Researcher seeks to solve phosphorus mystery By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press MOUN Y T CK New Steel • Fasteners • Stainless Steel • New & Used Pipe • Beams • Springs • Turnbuckles Used Cable • Fence Clips • Cable Clamps • Oil Field Sucker Rod in all sizes Family: Wife, Marilyn, and sons, Brady, 11, James, 9, Bryan, 7, and Jackson, 4. Education: Associate’s degree from Rick’s College, bachelor’s and mas- ter’s degrees from Brigham Young University in agronomy, Ph.D. in soil science from North Carolina State University. Age: 43 Occupation: Soil scientist with USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory in Kimberly, Idaho. Hometown: Twin Falls John O’Connell/Capital Press David Tarkalson, a soil scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Northwest Irrigation and Soils Laboratory in Kimberly, Idaho, stands where research corn and sugar beet plots meet. He’s interested in studying why corn seems to be deficient of phosphorus following beets in his facility’s research projects. mycorrhizae, which also can be impaired by fallow years and flooding. A fallow syndrome pamphlet published by Channel Seed warns the deficiency can reduce yields and recommends applying phos- phorus in bands near seed rows or planting cover crops, such as oats, to supply mycorrhizae. fective in University of Idaho re- search conducted about a decade ago. He said some hybrid corn va- rieties may also better withstand the deficiency. “If you’re patient, often corn does just fine after beets,” Sato said. “Would it have done bet- ter if it hadn’t followed beets? Probably, but a lot of times the rotation doesn’t work that way.” USDA estimates Idaho farmers planted 171,000 acres of sugarbeets and 340,000 acres of corn in 2014. 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Regardless, Lam- bregts believes he’s found the right combination of technology to achieve a 10- fold production increase at his Grace fish farm. There, he raises warm-water tila- pia in an outdoor environ- ment thanks to geothermal springs that stay 83 degrees year-round. Lambregts is preparing to market his first tilapia crop raised using a system with cir- cular raceways designed for enhanced waste removal and an innovative oxygenation system. He first built the thermal ti- lapia farm in 2000, expanding it in 2008. Last fall, Lambregts installed the first three of 10 planned circular raceways, which allow waste to fall into a conical basin to be piped to another settling area. His Grace site manager uses the phosphate-rich nutrients in the waste to fertilize alfalfa fields. 495 ACRES - Ranch for cattle and the production of top-quality hay. Cattle and equipment available. Very nice home and improvements show pride of ownership. Must See To Appreciate! 281 ACRES - Hay, pasture, pivots, good water rights. Will run approximately 200 head, nice improvements. SOLD www.rjrealty.com 26884 Pearl Rd • Parma, Idaho 83660 (208) 635-0700 208-733-0404 Bob Jones, Broker, 208-308-6060 Mark Jones, Associate Broker, 208-308-3030 IDIN15-5/#16 www.Farmseller.com ver, British Columbia, each week. He’s one of five Idaho fish farmers raising tilapia with geothermal water. “We’re the only state with an abundance of hot water at the right temperature,” said Challis, Idaho, tilapia farmer Mark Lupher, who manages a geothermal farm poised to increase annual production to 1 million pounds per year. “The resource of the hot water around here is just unparal- leled.” Lambregts also leases a rainbow trout farm, developed in 1967 with cold spring water from near the Portneuf River in Pocatello. In that facility, he raises 150,000 rainbows per season, each weighing 1-3 pounds. About three-quarters of his trout business is devot- ed to stocking private ponds. He has about 180 ponds he routinely stocks in Southern and Eastern Idaho. Lambregts noted that in 2012 the world’s fish farmers surpassed beef for total annu- al pounds of production. Re- gardless, he said he’s turned Western Innovator John Lambregts Occupation: Operates trout farms in Pocatello and Grace, Idaho Education: Master’s degree in agricultural economics, Texas A&M; bachelor’s de- gree in marketing manage- ment and finance, University of Oregon Hometown: Originally from The Netherlands, he now resides in Pocatello Family: Daughter, Irene; son, Anthony to the niche live-fish market to stay in business as the con- solidation of commercial fish processors has squeezed small fish farms. We are your #1 Source for retreading & repairing rubber tracks for your ag tractor. FEBRUARY IRRIGATION SPECIAL BUY 14 PIVOT TIRES - GET 1 FREE! LET US REBAR YOUR RADIAL TRACTOR TIRES. SAVE 50% OVER NEW! 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On 500 acres, good water rights, good location. DAIRY FARM - One of Southern Idaho’s top dairy locations. Double 24 rapid-exit barn, 2910 CAFO, canal water, 3 pivots, 548 acres, many improvements. John O’Connell/Capital Press Southeast Idaho fish farmer John Lambregts grades rainbow trout at his Pocatello fish farm, using a frame of metal bars allowing only fish below a certain size to pass through. D&S TIRES INC. 471 ACRES - Canal water, 3 pivots, spacious home, garage, heated shop, corrals. 1766 Addison Ave. E Twin Falls, Idaho “(Mycorrhizae) really is something we’re not focusing on. We just noticed it,” Tarkalson said. “We’re trying to play around with it.” Next season, he intends to plant corn in a field currently in sugarbeets that were treated at a variety of commercial fertilizer rates, and with varying histories of manure application, to see if the deficiency surfaces. American Falls, Idaho, grow- er Jim Tiede suspects his use of dairy compost, which is high in phosphorus, may explain why he’s never experienced any prob- lems in corn following sugarbeets, which is a rotational order he likes to avoid planting potatoes in corn cobs and crown roots. Mike Sato, account manager with Pioneer Seed in Twin Falls, has seen the deficiency often. He suspects manure may help but said banding fertilizer wasn’t ef- By JOHN O’CONNELL Direct ship & cutting available REAL ESTATE SERVICES, LLC David Tarkalson John Lambregts sees 10-fold jump with new technology, raceway design STEEL 208-466-8913 (FAX) 800-851-8612 / 208-466-0036 Western Innovator Fish farm’s production increases with new system IN A RO KIMBERLY, Idaho — Soil scientist David Tarkalson be- lieves a startling discovery he made while conducting an irri- gation study may have implica- tions for farmers who raise corn following sugarbeets. Tarkalson, with the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Northwest Irrigation and Soils Laboratory, planted sugarbeets in 2011 while researching the effects of different irrigation rates. Beans were planted in the ground surrounding the plot in the same field. The following year, he planted the whole field to corn. The corn emerged healthy and green where the beans had been but was stunted and pur- ple where the sugarbeets had grown — clear signs of phos- phorus deficiency. As the sea- son progressed, the purple corn seemed to recover. Also in 2012, David Bjorne- berg, research leader at the ARS facility, noticed purple, stunted corn following sugarbeets in a field involved in a long-term ro- tation study. Tarkalson said local field agronomists have noticed the phosphorus deficiency but at- tributed it to cool spring condi- tions impeding phosphorus me- tabolization by young plants. However, Tarkalson said cool weather can’t explain why only the corn on the former beet plot was stunted. He intends to research the is- sue in more depth, first determin- ing if the apparent phosphorus deficiency is adversely impact- ing corn yields. He also finds it curious that the phosphorus levels were adequate in both of the fields where stunted corn was found. He hypothesizes the defi- ciency resulted from a condi- tion referred to in the Midwest as fallow syndrome, caused by a lack of beneficial mycorrhizae fungi in the soil. The fungi de- velop a symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants such as corn, effectively extending the roots’ reach by 100 times. But some plants such as sugar- beets and canola don’t support NOW IN STOCK 20.8R38 TRACTOR TIRES $1,375 (Dial entire number) IDIN15-5/#17 IDIN15-7/#17