January 30, 2015
CapitalPress.com
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$1.53M in new funding would support ag research
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
PNW pears
selling
strong as
demand rises
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
WENATCHEE, Wash. —
Pacific Northwest pears are
selling at strong prices, despite
the longshoremen’s work slow-
down and Russian ban, because
demand is rising and supply is
flat.
That’s what Kevin Moffitt,
president of The Pear Bureau
Northwest, told growers at
North Central Washington Pear
Day at the Wenatchee Conven-
tion Center, Jan. 21.
The world’s population has
increased 16 percent or about
1 billion people in 12 years, in-
creasing demand, while world
pear production, outside China,
has remained flat, he said.
Production is flat in Wash-
ington and Oregon, the nation’s
main pear region, because
there’s no large areas of unde-
veloped land suitable for grow-
ing pears, Moffitt said. Apples
have expanded acreage in the
Columbia Basin but that area
isn’t conducive to pears, he
said.
Demand will increase as the
middle class is projected to in-
crease 160 percent in the next
five years in developing coun-
tries such as China and India,
he said.
China produces 75 percent
of the world’s pears, crunchy
Asian varieties that are popu-
lar in Asia but not so much in
Europe and the Western Hemi-
sphere, he said. Chinese pears
sold in the U.S. have averaged
345,000, 44-pound boxes per
season over the past five sea-
sons, he said.
European varieties grown
in Europe and the Northwest
are more flavorful and Chinese
consumers have bought more
Northwest pears each year
since accepting them two years
ago, he said.
Season-to-date, as of Jan.
16, 141,000, 44-pound boxes
of Northwest pears have been
shipped to China, despite the
longshoremen’s work slow-
down, compared with 139,000
for the same period a year ago,
he said. It would be more with-
out the slowdown, he said.
China was the sixth largest
export market for Northwest
pears last year, at 184,840 box-
es, and probably will crack the
top five this season, he said.
Mexico is No. 1 at just under
3.5 million boxes, followed by
Canada, Russia, United Arab
Emirates and Colombia.
The 2014 Northwest crop is
20.8 million boxes, second only to
the 21.6 million box crop of 2013,
Moffitt said. Of the total, 59.75
percent was shipped as of Jan. 16
versus 59.12 percent a year earlier,
he said. About 8.4 million boxes
remain in storage compared with
8.8 million last year.
Exports are down 10 per-
cent at 4.38 million boxes ver-
sus 4.88 million a year ago,
Moffitt said. The port slow-
down, Russia’s ban of western
produce and a stronger U.S.
dollar have all contributed to
the export drop, he said. But a
smaller crop eases export pres-
sure, he said.
With the smaller crop, the in-
dustry can weather the Russian
embargo and longshoremen’s
slowdown this season but both
could really hurt next season if
they continue and there’s a larg-
er crop, Moffitt said.
Meanwhile, pear prices re-
main good. Washington whole-
sale prices of d’ Anjou, prime
size 70s, 80s and 90s, were $22
to $26, mostly $22 to $24 per
box on Jan. 20, said Jeff Main
of USDA Market News in Ya-
kima. Standard Bosc were the
same and Golden Russet Bosc
were $26 to $30, mostly $26 to
$28, he said.
File photo/Associated Press
An additional $1.53 million in funding for ag research proposed by
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter would support 21.5 new or existing positions
at University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
cal 2016 request, if approved
in full by lawmakers, would
complete his promise to re-
store that lost funding over five
years.
The fiscal 2016 request in-
cludes $102,000 that would
be used to hire an experienced
grant writer that would be re-
sponsible for helping faculty
and researchers identify addi-
tional funding sources, such as
grants and industry support.
The college has set a goal
of increasing this so-called
extramural funding from $17
million now to $25 million
over the next five years.
Grant writing is time-con-
suming and researchers can
tension and research articles
and reports.
Funding for these posi-
tions was cut in half during
the recession and 50 percent
of the burden was shifted to
researchers, who had to dip
into their own resources to
help fund them.
“This restores that funding
so it’s not a burden on the re-
searchers,” Garber said.
Otter’s request includes
$155,000 in stipends for sev-
en to10 new graduate research
assistants with doctorate or
master’s degrees that would
assist researchers and exten-
sion programs.
According to the budget
request, “graduate students
conduct novel research im-
portant to Idaho and are the
next generation of agricultur-
al-science trained leaders.”
The request includes
$245,000 for three new 4-H
extension educator faculty po-
sitions, $65,000 to help fund
a marketing and communica-
tions manager position and
$52,000 for a web technician.
Judge stays Idaho water curtailment on 474 junior users
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
TWIN FALLS, Idaho
— Fifth District Judge Eric
Wildman has issued a stay
on curtailment of 474 junior
groundwater users affected by
the Hagerman-based Rangen
trout farm’s delivery call.
The Jan. 22 ruling granting
a stay until Feb. 7 narrowly
averted a calamity for the Magic
Valley dairy industry, as well as
several other industrial and mu-
nicipal users.
The Idaho Department of
Water Resources had already
mailed curtailment orders in-
forming recipients — including
large cheese plants, J.R. Simplot
and 189 Magic Valley livestock
operators — to prepare to shut
off their pumps, pending notifi-
cation by a department official.
In January, IDWR Director
Gary Spackman ruled junior
Magic Valley groundwater users
owe Rangen 9.1 cubic feet per
second of spring water to off-
set declines to Rangen’s spring
flows attributable to their use.
He allowed mitigation to be
phased in over five years, start-
ing with 3.4 cubic feet per sec-
ond for 2014.
Idaho Groundwater Appro-
priators had been rushing to
build a $3.8 million pipeline to
transport mitigation water from
the Magic Springs hatchery to
the nearby Rangen hatchery be-
fore a Jan. 19 curtailment dead-
line.
Though the pipeline was
on schedule, IGWA Executive
Director Lynn Tominaga ex-
plained some of the perma-
nent pipe wasn’t going to ar-
rive on time, so the contractor
opted to purchase temporary
pipe to cover 1.2 miles. It was
later discovered that 400 feet
of the temporary piping had
been previously used, against
an IDWR order based on
Rangen’s concerns that used
piping could be contaminated.
Spackman rejected IGWA’s
affidavits that the used pipe was
clean and should be allowed,
ordered curtailment and denied
IGWA’s request for a stay. He
limited curtailment to the Mag-
ic Valley, where users have the
greatest impact on Rangen’s
spring flows, though a court
ruling that took effect Jan. 16
would have allowed him flex-
ibility to impose curtailment
throughout the Eastern Snake
River Plain.
IGWA then sought a stay in
district court, which was granted
on Jan. 22.
Tim Luke, an IDWR water
rights enforcement official, said
exemptions allow for continued
domestic use in the event of a
call, covering homes and up to
13,000 gallons per day to water
livestock. He said many indus-
trial users also have additional
senior rights that would cover
them adequately through winter.
Luke said IDWR has continued
planning for a call, in the event
that the pipeline isn’t finished by
the stay’s expiration.
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Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Roel Nolasco runs a forklift
loading Bartlett pears for
Stemilt Growers Inc., in East
Wenatchee, Wash., on Aug. 23.
Bartletts are now sold out but
Northwest sales of d’ Anjou and
Bosc are continuing.
BOISE — Gov. Butch Ot-
ter’s request for an addition-
al $1.53 million in ongoing
funding for University of Ida-
ho’s College of Agricultural
and Life Sciences could sig-
nificantly boost the universi-
ty’s ag research and extension
efforts.
The money would be used
to support 21.5 new or exist-
ing positions as well as pro-
vide stipends for seven to 10
graduate research assistants.
“I’ll sure support it,” Sen.
Jim Patrick, a Republican
farmer from Twin Falls, said
of Otter’s request, which is in
his proposed fiscal year 2016
budget.
“The work they do for
Idaho’s agricultural industry
is invaluable,” Patrick said
about CALS. “They do a lot
of work that is valuable to
Idaho farmers.”
CALS lost $5 million in
ongoing state funding during
the recession and Otter’s fis-
spend a lot of effort writing
grant proposals, said Rich
Garber, CALS’ director of
industry and government re-
lations.
Garber said the university
is focusing on increasing ex-
tramural funding “to enhance
our research capabilities. This
is part of that effort.”
By putting the responsibili-
ty on someone who specializes
in this area, “our success rate
will increase and it will allow
more time for scientists and
researchers to be doing the
things that they are experts at,”
he said. “It takes the burden off
of scientists and researchers,
who really need to be working
on their research projects.”
The budget request includes
$911,600 for 16 full-time tech-
nical support positions that
assist CALS’ research and ex-
tension programs around the
state.
These positions perform
duties such as supervising
the day-to-day operations of
fields, greenhouses and labo-
ratory efforts, and writing ex-
This is an advertisement
Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association
Policy Memorandum
DATE:
January 21, 2015
TO:
Sen. John Braun, Vice Chair, Ways & Means Committee
Sen. Jim Honeyford, Vice Chair & Capital Budget Committee Chair
AWB Water Resources Committee and Interested Parties
FROM:
Ron Reimann, President, CSRIA
Darryll Olsen, Ph.D., CSRIA Board Representative
SUBJECT:
CSRIA Opposition to Water Infrastructure Bill (S-0544.3/15 3rd draft)
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Our thanks for Sen. Braun’s briefing to the Association of Washington Business (AWB) last week on the Water
Infrastructure Bill being drafted by the Senate leadership and others. We fully understand the history leading to
this bill, and we do acknowledge the worthy intent behind your efforts. Nevertheless, CSRIA is firmly opposed to
the bill.
We respectfully submit that the primary beneficiaries of water projects should first exhaust their own capital
resources before turning to state (or federal) funding sources; and proposed projects for state funding should stand
on their own individual merits and public sector circumstances, with direct Capital Budget Committee scrutiny.
Relative to the bill proposal:
1. CSRIA does not support an added, statewide property tax.
2. CSRIA perceives the new property tax proposal as being only a few heart beats away from turning into a direct
water use tax—a factor perhaps downplayed by the bill supporters. The legislative review process will beckon
calls for a new state water tax.
3. In Eastern Washington, the genesis for the bill proposal is the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (IP), a costly and
economically questionable conglomeration of actions. The IP proponents may have inadequately defined a
least-cost path and insufficiently explored their own financial development capability.
4. Also, in this budget cycle, several new/additional revenue sources will need to be considered by the legislature
to fund state operational-education, capital, and transportation budget requirements. These demands should
receive first priority and should not be subject to competition with other infrastructure needs, at this time.
3030 W. Clearwater, Suite 205-A, Kennewick, WA, 99336
509-783-1623, FAX 509-735-3140 • DOlsenEcon@AOL.com
____________________________________________________________________________________________
The legislatively authorized WSU economics study (December 15, 2014) points to several IP economics problems. The IP supporters
may be well served to address first internal water efficiency problems and access to reservoir dead storage—using internal/private sector
financial capability--before making state funding requests.
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