4
CapitalPress.com
March 20, 2015
Quinoa gains a foothold in E. Idaho Wood River well
Growers experiment
with crop native to
South America
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
AMERICAN FALLS, Ida-
ho — Growers in Eastern Idaho
are experimenting with quinoa
this season, enticed by strong
prices for the high-protein, glu-
ten-free crop.
Jeremiah Clark, owner of an
Idaho Falls-based seed-cleaning
business, fi rst became interested
in quinoa three years ago, when
doctors recommended it for his
son, who has celiac disease. Ce-
liac sufferers cannot eat foods
that have gluten.
Last season, Clark had a
small quinoa acreage under con-
tract in Montana and worked
with a Grace, Idaho, grower to
raise 20 acres. The Montana
crop was too poor to harvest.
Though the Grace crop was
badly sprout-damaged by wet
weather, Clark salvaged enough
seed to plant 400 acres this sea-
son.
This spring, about Idaho 14
growers — in Soda Springs,
Submitted by Jeremiah Clark
Growers in Eastern Idaho are
experimenting with small acre-
ages of quinoa this season.
Preston, American Falls and
Blackfoot — will raise small
fi elds of quinoa for Clark, most-
ly under irrigation. Two growers
will raise organic quinoa. He’s
also working with two Montana
growers.
He’ll pay $1 per pound and
anticipates yields could ap-
proach 2,000 pounds per acre.
Though growers assume a risk
by planting an untested crop for
the region, Clark noted, “Wheat
prices are kind of low this year,
and there’s a real high upside
with quinoa.”
Quinoa is popular among
“foodies” and others who avoid
gluten. Though most of it is
grown in the Andes region of
South America, some is grown
in Colorado and parts of the
Northwest.
Farming inputs to raise qui-
noa are comparable with wheat,
Clark said.
Buyers including the Scoular
Co. have expressed interest in
Clark’s quinoa, but he may opt to
market it under his own Ameri-
can Mills brand. His father, who
owns a mill in Bancroft, Idaho,
offered the use of his facilities,
or to sell equipment Clark could
modify.
Clark started with a
multi-colored blend of com-
mon quinoa varieties from
Colorado, sorting out the white
seeds to clean and provide to
growers. He’s also developing
his own quinoa varieties adapt-
ed to Idaho’s climate, planting
seed raised in an Idaho fi eld and
propagating his best seedlings.
He’s increasing seed from two
of his own white varieties and a
red variety, naming them for his
children Eli, Kailey and Emily.
Clark intends to grow seed-
lings of his new varieties in an
Oregon greenhouse, transplant-
ing them with a specialized
machine into a 7-acre fi eld in
Blackfoot to increase his seed.
Next season, he hopes his grow-
ers will plant up to 6,000 acres
of his varieties.
American Falls farmer Kam-
ren Koompin will test 45 acres
of quinoa this season, planted
under four small pivots to test
the crop in sandy, sandy-silt and
silt-loam soils.
Koompin plans to treat
fi elds prior to planting with
the pre-emergence herbi-
cide Sonalan understanding
“there’s not a lot you can
spray on the crop during the
season for broadleaf weeds.
He’ll likely spray Select for
grasses. Koompin likes that
quinoa shouldn’t be a host
for nematodes, offers a good
price and has a deep tap root.
Like saffl ower and canola, qui-
noa could be a good option for
Koompin to avoid consecutive
years of grain in his rotation.
“If we get 1,000 pounds
per acre, it compares well with
corn, but with way less inputs,”
Koompin said. “I think it’s got
potential to catch on. It’s just fi g-
uring out how to grow it.”
Wanapum Dam repairs nearing completion
Reservoir refi lling
to normal levels
after a year
Area in
detail
28
Wash.
Wenatchee
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
BELLEVUE, Idaho —
Blaine County well irrigators
plan to form groundwater dis-
tricts to better respond to the
fi rst water delivery call ever
fi led against them by senior
surface water users.
The call was fi led in late
February by 63 surface users,
drawing from the lower Little
Wood River system and the
Big Wood River system be-
low Magic Reservoir.
The Idaho Department of
Water Resources anticipates
serving notice of the call to
450-500 potentially affected
groundwater users.
About 190 large agricul-
tural irrigators — farming
within the triangle bounded
by Bellevue, Picabo and the
intersection of U.S.-20 and
Idaho State Highway 75 —
plan a May election for one
groundwater district. Small-
er irrigators elsewhere in the
county, including large res-
idences, golf courses, small
ranches and Sun Valley Ski
Resort, will vote on a second
district in November.
The agricultural users,
who raise mostly alfalfa and
barley, draw about 500 cu-
bic feet per second of water,
about two-thirds more water
than users in the other planned
district, said Pat McMahon,
general manager of the Sun
Valley Water and Sewer Dis-
trict.
McMahon said ground-
water district fees will be
assessed to members based
on the volume of their water
rights, and those who elect
not to participate won’t be
covered under any mitigation
plan that may be approved to
resolve the call.
Idaho’s water laws grant
priority to irrigators with the
oldest water rights, and sur-
face rights involved in the call
predate the earliest wells.
“There’s defi nitely been
some effects on the natural
fl ows from a combination of
things,” said Lynn Harmon,
Big Wood Canal Co. general
manager. “Part is the weather
conditions, but a good portion
is also depletion of the aquifer
from pumping upstream.”
Kevin Lakey, watermaster
for Water District 37, which
includes both the groundwater
users and surface users, said
springs fl ows into the system
have dipped to record lows re-
cently, and many surface irri-
gators had to lease Snake Riv-
er water to fi nish their crops
last season.
“The most senior decrees
on the Little Wood system
usually run through Sep-
tember. Last summer, they
went off on July 19,” Lakey
said.
a
mbi
Col
u
Rock Island
Dam
users face water call
By DAN WHEAT
28
EPHRATA, Wash. —
Wanapum Dam reservoir
on the Columbia Riv-
er is returning to nor-
mal levels after being
lowered for more than a
year for $69 million in
repairs to a crack in the
dam.
The reservoir level
was raised 17 feet in late
November and early De-
The Gorge
Amphitheatre
River
Capital Press
281
283
90
Wanapum Dam
90
Capital Press fi le photo
Wanapum Dam hydroelectric project on the Columbia River south
of Vantage, Wash., opened in 1963 and is operated by Grant
County Public Utility District. The dam has a rated capacity of
1.038 million kilowatts.
cember. Raising the lev-
el another nine feet be-
gan March 16 and should
LEGAL
NOTICE OF OREGON BLUEBERRY COMMISSION
PUBLIC BUDGET HEARING
TO: ALL OREGON BLUEBERRY PRODUCERS
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held
pursuant to ORS 576.416 (5), on Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 12:00
noon at Chemeketa Events at Winema, Room 210, 4001 Winema
Place NE, Salem, Oregon, upon a proposed budget for operation
of the Oregon Blueberry Commission during the fiscal year July
1, 2015 through June 30, 2016. At this hearing any producer of
Oregon Blueberries has a right to be heard with respect to the
proposed budget, a copy of which is available for public
inspection, under reasonable circumstances, in the office of each
County Extension Agent in Oregon. For further information,
contact the Oregon Blueberry Commission business office, 4093
12th Street Cutoff SE, P.O. Box 3366, Salem, Oregon 97302,
telephone 503-364-2944. The meeting location is accessible to
persons with disabilities. Please make any requests for an
interpreter for the hearing impaired or for other
accommodation for persons with disabilities at least 48 hours
before the meeting by contacting the Commission office at 503-
364-2944.
12-1/#4
LEGAL
NOTICE OF OREGON MINT COMMISSION BUDGET HEARING
TO: ALL OREGON MINT GROWERS
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held
pursuant to ORS 576.416 (5), on Thursday, April 9, 2015 at 10:00
a.m., at the Hood River Hotel, 102 Oak Street, Hood River,
Oregon upon a proposed budget for operation of the Mint
Commission during the fiscal year July 1, 2015 through June 30,
2016. At this hearing any producer of Mint oil has a right to be
heard with respect to the proposed budget, a copy of which is
available for public inspection, under reasonable circumstances,
in the office of each County Extension Agent in Oregon. For
further information, contact the Oregon Mint Commission
business office, 4093 12th Street Cutoff SE, P.O. Box 3366, Salem,
Oregon 97302, telephone 503-364-2944. The meeting location is
accessible to persons with disabilities. Please make any requests
for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or for other
accommodation for persons with disabilities at least 48 hours
before the meeting by contacting the Commission office at 503-
364-2944.
be completed in seven to
14 days, said Chuck Al-
len, spokesman for Grant
County Public Utility Dis-
trict, which operates the
dam.
A 65-foot-long crack, 2
inches wide at its widest
point, was discovered at
the base of the dam Feb.
27, 2014. The PUD low-
ered reservoir levels 26 to
30 feet while investigating
and repairing the dam. The
PUD determined the con-
crete dam’s inability to
withstand five decades of
water pressure due to a de-
sign miscalculation, caus-
ing the crack.
The
1,092-mega-
watt hydroelectric dam
was opened in 1963 and
cost $93.3 million to
build.
The next reservoir up-
river, behind the Rock Is-
land Dam, also had to be
lowered and orchardists
had to extend irrigation in-
takes along both reservoirs
to obtain water.
Wanapum Dam was
stabilized by drilling 37
shafts 16 inches in diame-
ter from the top of the dam
down more than 185 feet
into bedrock below. Ten-
dons 200 to 250 feet long
and 12 inches in diameter
were fed into the shafts,
grouted into bedrock at
26
82
Yakima
Training
Center
821
N
243
Priest
Rapids
Dam
Yakima
Gordon King/Yakima Herald-Republic/Associated Press
24
Capital Press graphic
the bottom and stretched
taunt with 2.5 million
pounds of pressure, Allen
said. Each tendon is made
up of 61 steel cables. The
tendons are inside water-
tight sheaths, allowing
them to expand and con-
tract, and are capped at the
top.
Tendon installation was
finished in early March
and remaining work will
be finished in June, Al-
len said. Recreation sites
along the reservoir, closed
for a year, will reopen this
spring, he said.
At the peak, 120 peo-
ple worked on the project,
Allen said. Kuney-Goebel,
of Spokane, was the con-
tractor. Repairs, associat-
ed costs and partial loss of
power generation were ini-
tially estimated at $61 mil-
lion but now are estimated
at $69 million, Allen said.
Two-thirds of the cost
is borne by a new bond
issue, he said. A previ-
ously scheduled rate in-
crease averaging 2 per-
cent across all rate classes
went into effect Jan. 1 for
the PUD’s 45,000-plus
customers.
12-1/#4
We’re Looking for Growers
That Will Grow The Following:
• Oats • Peas • Barley
• Triticale • Wheat
• Turf & Forage Grasses
SAGE Fact #112
At the Tidewater Terminal in Boardman,
cranes annually move more than 21,000
containers between barges and trucks.
Before you plant, contact Bailey office
or one of our production managers today!
• Ed Senz 503-580-8950
• Terry Ross 503-278-2912
• Ken Pietrok 503-883-3259
• Frank Prantl 541-570-9579
OFFICE:
1-800-407-7713
EMAIL:
11-2/#7
Verboort@comcast.net
www.baileyseed.com
Supreme Court hears
arguments in Sakuma
rest break case
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Washington Supreme Court
justices Tuesday peppered law-
yers with questions about farm
practices and economic theory
in a closely watched case that
could dictate whether piece-rate
farmworkers in the state will be
paid separately for rest breaks.
An attorney for berry pickers
at Sakuma Brothers Farms ar-
gued that workers should have an
incentive to rest, knowing they
will be paid based on how much
they normally pick in 10 minutes.
Piece-rate workers are paid based
on how much fruit they pick.
Sakuma, a berry growing
and processing company in Bur-
lington, Wash., asserts piece-rate
pay compensates workers for
rest breaks.
A ruling would likely set a
precedent for other agricultural
employers. Farm groups, busi-
ness associations, labor organi-
zations and civil rights activists
have fi led briefs with the court
stating their positions.
The workers’ attorney,
Marc Cote, told justices that the
rules that ensure paid breaks
LEGAL
* Hyoctane Winter Triticale will be available late
summer, early fall. Please call for a dealer near you.
12-4/#6
Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Barbara Madsen,
center, questions an attorney March 17 at Heritage University in
Toppenish, Wash. Justices are being asked to require farmers to
pay farmworkers additional money for rest breaks. They focused
on how practical such an arrangement would be during a public
session in Central Washington.
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Oregon Soil and Water
Conservation
Commission
(SWCC) will hold its regular
quarterly
meeting
on
Tuesday, April 7, 2015, from
8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the
Oregon
Department
of
Agriculture,
635
Capitol
Street NE, Salem, OR 97301.
The meeting agenda covers
SWCC reports, advisor reports,
Soil and Water Conservation
District programs and fund-
ing,
Agriculture
Water
Quality Management Pro-
gram updates, and other
agenda items.
The Oregon Department of
Agriculture complies with the
Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA). If you need special
accommodations to partici-
pate in this meeting, please
contact Sandi Hiatt at (503)
986-4704, at least 72 hours
prior to the meeting.
12-1/#4
for non-agricultural employees
should apply to piece-rate farm-
workers. Farm laborers in partic-
ular should have an incentive to
rest because they do “grueling,
physical work in the elements for
hours at a time,” Cote said.
Sakuma’s lawyer, Adam
Belzberg, said the company
protects workers by summoning
them out of the fi elds for manda-
tory rest breaks.
Justice Charles Wiggins
asked whether workers are ever
asked to skip breaks to get in
rapidly ripening fruit.
“No, breaks are always tak-
en,” Belzberg said.
Cote said workers alleged
in a federal class-action lawsuit
that breaks weren’t made avail-
able. The case was settled out
of court before a trial. Sakuma
admitted to no labor violations.
Justices repeatedly turned to
whether piece-rate pay actually
covers 10-minute breaks every
four hours.
Belzberg said piece-rate
workers were “absolutely”
compensated for rest breaks. He
said paying workers separately
would amount to “extra pay.”
Cote said that even if paid
rest breaks were somehow cal-
culated into piece rates, workers
still need separate compensation
to ensure breaks are taken.
The dispute over whether the
company enforces rest breaks
and factors them in when cal-
culating pieces-rates highlights
that the case went to the Su-
preme Court without an estab-
lished body of facts determined
at a trial.
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder,
on 3/24/2015. The sale will be
held at 10:00 am by
VISUAL DIESEL
12142 SKY LANE, AURORA, OR
2002 Ford Excursion SUV
VIN=1FMSU41F3YEC33274
Amount due on lien
$17,245.25
Reputed owner(s)
Robert Tomlinson
Legal-11-2-4/#4