Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2015)
March 20, 2015 CapitalPress.com 13 BYD virus confi rmed in Burley area By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Winter wheat and winter barley are showing signifi cant symptoms of barley yellow dwarf virus in the Burley area, the PNW Pest Alert Network reported on Thursday. The virus was confi rmed in winter barley on the Cassia County-Twin Falls County border in the Murtaugh area, said Joel Packham, Univer- sity of Idaho Extension edu- cator. Thus far, the grower has only found it in one pivot, around 125 acres, he said. The virus was found in winter barley following corn. Corn is often a silent carrier for the virus as it does not show the disease. But the Idaho trout sales 60 million Number of fish sold* Value of fish sold $52.8 million: Up 19.2% from 2013 aphids that feed on the corn carry the virus to the newly fall-planted/sprouted winter barley or wheat, he said. A sample from another suspected winter barley fi eld south of Burley has been tak- en and sent for testing. Results are expected soon, he said. BYDV is a serious and widely occurring viral dis- ease of cereal crops and other grasses. Important economic hosts include wheat, barley, oats and occasionally corn and rice. It can affect both winter and spring crops, but is often a greater concern in winter crops, according to a University of Idaho bulletin. It is very diffi cult to distin- guish between the BYDV and winter kill or root diseases, Packham said. Another problem is the lack of moisture currently being experienced. The mois- ture stress appears to be com- plicating the symptoms even more, he said. Deciding what to do with a BYDV-infected crop depends upon the severity of the in- festation. It may only affect patches or certain areas of the fi elds, usually the outsides or borders of the fi elds, Packham said. “Often producers will grow and green chop the crop to be used as a forage, as the grain production is severely damaged by the disease,” he said. There are no known vari- eties of the winter cereals that are any more or less suscepti- ble to the virus, he said. Lambing keeps Coast Range farmer busy By JAN JACKSON For the Capital Press 50 34 million 40 30 36.1 million: Up 19.9% from 2013 20 $27 million 10 *Trout Trout 12 inches and longer Source: USDA NASS 0 2003 ’05 Carol Ryan Dumas and Alan Kenaga/ Capital Press ’07 ’09 ’11 ’13 2014 Idaho food-trout sales up 19 percent in 2014 By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Idaho sales of food-size trout, 12 inches and longer, was up 19 percent year over year to $52.7 million in 2014, accord- ing to USDA National Agricul- tural Statistics Service. That increase came from an additional 6.5 million pounds to 42.2 million pounds, up 18 percent over 2013, and an extra penny per pound at an average $1.25 per pound. The state’s trout producers sold an additional 6 million fi sh with an average weight of 1.2 pounds, according to the NASS survey of producers in January. The notable increase in pro- duction and sales is most likely due to facilities coming back on line, said Gary Fornshell, extension aquaculture specialist with the University of Idaho in Twin Falls. Three facilities changed hands in 2012 when junior-right ground water pumpers miti- gated their out-of-priority use with senior-right holders Clear Springs Foods and SeaPac of Idaho. The pumpers purchased three trout farms, transferring one farm and leasing another to Clear Springs Foods and leas- ing a third to SeaPac of Idaho. At least two of those fa- cilities did not return to full production right away due to needed reconstruction and modernization and were some- what out of commission in 2013, Fornshell said. With production at those three facilities now at or close to capacity, the industry ex- pected production numbers would come up, but 42. 2 mil- lion pounds is “pretty high,” he said. Clear Springs Foods has increased production about 30 percent — to 26 million pounds annually — since as- suming production at the farm it acquired and the farm it leas- es through the mitigation set- tlement, said Randy Macmil- lan, vice president of research and environmental affairs for Clear Springs Foods. “Whether that accounts for the difference (in production in 2014), I don’t know,” he said. He also doesn’t know if a 6.5 million pound increase in Idaho’s trout production in 2014 is reality or perhaps bet- ter accounting, he said. Clear Springs doesn’t have previous production data on its two additional farms, but the farm it now leases was largely offl ine for a number of years and the farm transferred to Clear Springs wasn’t as heav- ily utilized, he said. Clear Springs’ increased production could account for Idaho’s increase, but there’s no way to verify the NASS-sur- veyed production number, he said. SeaPac’s production has remained fairly level since it began leasing the facility from the Idaho Ground Water Asso- ciation, as the facility was al- ready in production prior to the lease, said Gary Marquardt, SeaPac general manager. Idaho’s total trout sales, food-size and smaller, ac- counted for 52 percent of the $102.5 million in trout sales nationwide in 2014, up from 46 percent in 2013, according to NASS. U.S. food-size trout sales in 2014 totaled $95.1 million — up 4 percent from 2013 — on 60.6 million pounds (up 4 million pounds) at an aver- age price of $1.57 per pound (down 4 cents per pound). The average per-pound price of food-size trout in the 10 reporting states other than Idaho was $3.02 per pound, with a high of $4.28 in Penn- sylvania, NASS reported Idaho’s price is always be- low Eastern states and the na- tional average because most of Idaho’s production goes to processors as opposed to direct sales to consumers, restaurants or retail, said Linda Lemmon, executive secretary of Idaho Aquaculture Association. RAINIER, Ore. — Scot- ty Davidson started raising sheep in 4-H because they were the only animals he wasn’t allergic to. He has continued to raise them because he likes them. Now retired, Davidson is able to give them his full attention, which is necessary in the coy- ote-infested hills of Columbia County. With 240 new lambs on the ground, Davidson and his fi ve guard dogs are on duty around the clock. Davidson’s farm is a 28- acre wooded parcel about 10 miles west of Rainier, Oregon. While part of his fl ock is pas- turing on rye grass fi elds near Corvallis, lambing takes place in the barn near his house. Once the lambs are born, he transports them and the ewes to pasture he rents in nearby Clatskanie. “Raising sheep here in the foothills of the Coast Range means one thing for sure — coyotes,” Davidson said. “I have fi ve guard dogs (Marem- mas) — I keep two here at the lambing barn, two in Clats- kanie and the other one on a strip of land I rent under- neath some Bonneville Power lines.” USDA National Agricul- ture Statistics Service says about 190,000 sheep and lambs are raised on 2,753 farms in Oregon. Davidson’s fl ock accounts for a big per- centage of the 1,000 sheep in Columbia County. With hundreds of lambs on hand, Davidson has a set process. “I lamb and ear tag them in the barn before loading them on the truck for the trip to Clatskanie,” he said. “I load the new lambs in a large pet carrier so they won’t get tram- pled on the way.” Davidson retired after 30 years as a Columbia County deputy sheriff. “The positive for raising sheep where Davidson is, is that we can use the grass cy- cle well,” Chip Bubl, long- time Oregon State University Extension agent for Columbia County, said. “We get 60 to 70 percent growth from mid- April to early July so we can graze effi ciently and put meat on the lambs. “Coyotes, internal para- sites and foot rot, however, are another matter,” Bubl said. “These health problems espe- cially need a lot of thought and planning help from our veteri- narians. There are not a lot of new materials developed to help with these problems.” Bubl said Davidson’s worming management plan is targeted. Photos by Jan Jackson/For the Capital Press Part of a 240 lamb crop, triplets thrive in the warming pen in preparation for a 10-mile trip to pasture. “We are trying to make worming management target- ed to ewes, time the worming when those parasite numbers are high, try to target treat- ments based on parasite loads in droppings per-sheep and breed for more parasite resis- tant lambs,” he said. “Scotty knows what he’s doing and is doing a good job.” “It is just a given that par- asite and coyote problems come with 46-inches a year of rain and living in the foothills of the Coast Range,” David- son said. “In the meantime, with the help of my boys, who are involved in 4-H, and the guard dogs, we’re seeing a nice crop of lambs.” Columbia County, Ore., sheep grower Scotty Davidson. By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press DENVER — The U.S. Potato Board has approved a program that matches in- dustry donations to buy up to 3,000 salad bars for school cafeterias during the next fi ve years. USPB also plans to main- tain contact with school district food service profes- sionals — both at schools receiving new salad bars and those that had them previous- ly — to suggest creative pota- to preparation ideas and offer display materials. Members of USPB’s sev- en caucuses gave their con- sent to allocate $900,000 in reserves toward the fi rst year of the program during the organization’s recent annual meeting in Colorado Springs, said USPB spokesman David Fraser. Fraser said USPB will evaluate the program follow- ing the fi rst year before mov- ing forward with year two. USPB President and CEO Blair Richardson suggested the USPB Salad Bar Chal- lenge, which is similar to another salad bar program offered by United Fresh Pro- duce Association, in January. Fraser said USPB is well on its way toward meeting its goal for the fi rst year, thanks to strong industry support. For example, the Michigan Pota- to Industry Commission has agreed to donate funding for 150 salad bars. Syngenta also plans to participate, Fraser said. Donors will be allowed to select schools to receive their salad bars. “Since January, the dis- cussion has been very good,” Fraser said. “There’s a lot of people jumping on board.” Fraser said the United Fresh program is responsible for placing 4,000 salad bars in U.S. schools. However, he said United Fresh didn’t follow up with school districts to inquire about fresh produce con- sumption or offer menu sug- gestions. Fraser said USPB envisions the salad bars will be stocked with baked pota- toes, potato wedges, potato salad or other potato dishes, in addition to other traditional fruits and vegetables. “Nobody has proposed an after-the-installation market- ing and support program like we are proposing,” Fraser said. “This very well could become a model for other segments of the produce in- dustry.” Fraser said new school lunch program guidelines set minimum consumption requirements for each food group, but no maximum lev- els. Fraser said USPB plans to start placing salad bars in schools this summer. 12-1/#6 U.S. Potato Board boosts salad bar program