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June 12, 2015 CapitalPress.com 15 Irrigators fight plan to count flood releases against water rights By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — Treasure Valley irrigators are prepared to go to court to stop the state’s plan to count flood control releas- es on the Boise River system against stored water rights. Idaho Department of Wa- ter Resources officials say the plan would bring the Boi- se system into compliance with state water accounting law. Not doing that, they say, would adversely affect some irrigators’ stored water sup- plies and could result in the state surrendering legal con- trol over the water to the fed- eral government. But Treasure Valley irriga- tors say the plan goes against established Idaho water law and violates a 62-year-old agreement governing flood control releases they have with the Army Corps of En- gineers. When the three reservoirs on the Boise River system reach a certain level in the winter, water is released to prevent flooding of Idaho’s largest urban area. As snow melts, the reservoirs fill again. But some years, such as during a drought, the reser- voirs don’t completely refill. The IDWR’s plan “is con- voluted, it’s confusing and it’s contrary to established Idaho water law,” said Daren Coon, secretary-treasurer of Nampa & Meridian Irrigation District. He said the department’s plan could result in senior water right holders not hav- ing enough water later in the growing season, when they need it most. NMID and other water de- livery entities in the valley are fighting the proposal through the IDWR’s administrative process. “If we’re unsuccessful there, then we’ll definitely go to court,” Coon said. Growers with senior stor- age rights would be impact- ed the most by IDWR’s plan, Coon said, because their stor- age rights are satisfied first as reservoirs fill in the spring and those flood control releas- es would count against their rights. The Boise system’s ar- rangement with the Army Corps regarding flood con- trol releases was challenged during Idaho’s Snake River Basin Adjudication, a le- gal process that sorted out more than 150,000 water rights. The courts have ruled that the IDWR director has dis- cretion to determine what constitutes the filling of a storage water right and the de- partment believes that under Idaho water law, water right holders are required to take the water when it’s available to them, said IDWR Deputy Director Mathew Weaver. “If they let that go, it’s lost to them,” he said. “The water is then available to the next person in line who will put it to beneficial use.” The department believes flood control releases should count against stored water rights, Weaver said. “Should (senior water right holders) be able to get a second fill ahead of junior water right holders getting a first fill?” Roger Batt, who is repre- senting several farm organi- zations and irrigators in the Treasure Valley on this issue, said that because the water is released during the winter, the irrigators with the rights to that water never got a chance to use it. Flood control is not con- sidered a beneficial use, “So why would the department be counting it as water that has been put to beneficial use?” he said. Lyle Swank, watermaster of the upper Snake River sys- tem, Idaho’s largest water dis- trict, agrees with the IDWR and said the Boise system’s stance could result in the fed- eral government, the largest water right holder in the sys- tem, determining how the wa- ter is used. But Pioneer Irrigation Dis- trict Manager Mark Zirschky said the IDWR’s plan violates the state’s “first in time, first in right” water law and irriga- tors are prepared to fight it in court, if necessary. “The water in those reser- voirs up there is our bread and butter. We will protect it at all costs,” he said. Mobile farmers’ market caters to neighborhoods By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press Tim Hearden/Capital Press Manton, Calif. 4-H member Caleb Ramos, 11, walks his steer, Percy, away from a washing area at the 2014 Tehama District Fair in Red Bluff, Calif. The fair is changing its dates from early fall back to summer beginning in 2017. Youth groups applaud Tehama fair’s return to summer in 2017 By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press RED BLUFF, Calif. — Agricultural youth groups are applauding the local fair board’s decision to move the Tehama District Fair’s dates from late September to July beginning in 2017. Tehama County 4-H di- rector Lynn Strom and oth- ers requested the move to attract more participants in livestock activities and to prevent youngsters from having to raise their animals through the hot summer months. “A summer fair means that members and their fam- ilies who raise animals for fair are free to take vacation and have a break in respon- sibilities once the animals are sold in July,” Strom said in an email. “It also means that dedicated 4-H volunteer leaders can enjoy some down time before 4-H ramps back up again in the fall.” Strom said the move will enable 4-H and FFA mem- bers to play fall sports, in- cluding football, volleyball and soccer, and concentrate on other school activities. The fair board approved the move after sending emails earlier this year to vendors and other partici- pants to gauge interest and offering an online survey asking fairgoers if they’d rather return to July. The festival was held in July or early August for many years until 1999, when the board moved it to September to avoid the triple-digit heat that often accompanies summer in the Sacramento Valley. Howev- er, afternoon highs in Red Bluff still sometimes reach triple digits in late Septem- ber. Since moving to the fall, the Tehama fair has tried several measures to bolster attendance. It hosts a field trip with some 900 school- children with lessons cen- tered around what they see and do at the fair, and in 2007 it began offering free admission on the first day to bring in more families — and more business for ven- dors. The Tehama fair is one of many in California that have changed their dates in recent years for various reasons. The most notable of those was the California State Fair, which moved from the two weeks leading up to Labor Day to July in 2010 to attract families be- fore children have to return to school. Fair season in California is almost year-round, having started Feb. 13 with a pair of small festivals in South- ern California and ending with a Ridgecrest fair that closes on Oct. 26. However, changing school schedules have prompted some fairs to adjust their dates, Western Fairs Association executive director Stephen Chambers has said. BOISE — The Boise Farm- ers Market is teaming up with the city of Boise on a program that will make fresh produce more affordable and available to people in low-income neigh- borhoods. A mobile farmers’ market will take produce grown in the Treasure Valley directly to six neighborhoods in Boise where many people don’t have ready access to fresh fruits and vege- tables. Boise City Council mem- bers unanimously voted June 2 to match the first $10 of Sup- plemental Nutrition Assistance Program purchases made by buyers at the mobile market, which debuts June 8. That means a person who swipes their SNAP card for $20 at the mobile market will be able to purchase $30 worth of pro- duce. “Those that struggle the most economically have the most dif- ficult time affording fresh fruits and vegetables and getting them in their diet,” said City Coun- cilman T.J. Thompson, who proposed the financial match. “By (increasing) their buying power, this will allow them to put their money toward purchas- ing healthier foods. Plus, it also helps our local farmers.” People in those low-income neighborhoods are often the Submitted photo A re-purposed refrigerated trailer is shown at the Boise Farmers Market May 23. The BFM is teaming up with the city of Boise to bring this mobile market to six low-income neighborhoods throughout the week. The city will match the first $10 of food stamp purchases made by low-income buyers at the mobile market. least able to afford fresh fruits and vegetables, said BFM Di- rector Karen Ellis. “Hopefully, we’re going to be reaching a lot of people that are not able to get to the mar- ket,” she said. “It will be a great opportunity for the customers and it’s another income stream source for our vendors at the market.” The mobile market, which is a re-purposed refrigerated trailer, will follow a Parks and Recreation Department mobile recreation van into the neighbor- hoods Monday through Thurs- day and set up nearby. “We’ll set up a mini farm- ers’ market at those locations for ... two-hour increments,” said BFM vendor Janie Burns, who helped organize the pro- gram. While the parks and rec van is providing kids free activities, “We’ll be conveniently nearby, selling produce,” she added. Besides partnering with the city of Boise, the BFM is also joining forces with the Univer- sity of Idaho’s SNAP education program, which teaches people how to use fresh produce. Two graduate students will study the impact of the program. “We’re looking at this as a new wholesale market for our farmers,” Burns said. “This is like a triple-quadruple win. We’re really excited about it.” The BFM will purchase produce from its farmers at wholesale prices and sell it at retail prices through the mo- bile van. “Farmers can sell stuff without having to be there,” said Purple Sage Farms Production Manager Mike Sommer, who will provide produce for the mo- bile market. “This is something that could be and should be done by other markets, too.” Scaled-back GMO mediation bill advances Oregon legislation altered significantly from original version By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press SALEM — A bill aimed at encouraging mediation over biotech crop disputes is poised to become law in Ore- gon, but the original idea has been scaled back substantial- ly. An amended version of House Bill 2509 is headed for a vote on the Senate floor after earlier passing the House de- spite some unexpected push- back from critics of genetical- ly modified organisms. Under the initial version of the bill, a farmer who re- fuses to engage in mediation but then loses a lawsuit over a biotech crop dispute would have to pay the opposing par- ty’s legal bills. Although HB 2509 qui- etly passed the House with- out attracting controversy, it met with resistance in the Senate, where GMO critics pounced on it as being unfair to non-biotech growers. Friends of Family Farm- ers, Our Family Farms Coali- tion and the Center for Food Safety argued that growers shouldn’t be forced into medi- ation that could prevent them from obtaining timely legal relief if they’re threatened with cross-pollination from GMOs. Critics also objected to the lack of time and cost limits on mediation, claiming it could become prohibitively ex- pensive and thus discourage growers from approaching neighbors with concerns. The Oregon Department of Agriculture’s oversight of the mediation program was also called into question, since some GMO critics claim the agency is biased in favor of genetic engineering. An amendment to HB 2509, recently adopted by the Senate Committee on Envi- ronment and Natural Resourc- es, gives farmers the option of seeking mediation through ODA or the USDA. The time and cost of medi- ation is capped at four hours and $2,500, and the threat of liability for the opposing par- ty’s legal expenses is removed from the new version. Instead, if a lawsuit is filed, a judge “may impose sanc- tions” against a farmer who refuses mediation and “may consider that unwillingness when determining whether to grant or deny a preliminary injunction.” These changes have con- vinced Friends of Family Farmers, which is closely in- volved in legislative negotia- tions over GMOs, to drop its opposition to HB 2509. The group was nervous about the attorney fee pro- vision because biotech com- panies like Monsanto and Syngenta have tremendous legal resources they could deploy to aid biotech grow- ers, said Ivan Maluski, its policy director. “I don’t think you need to encourage people toward me- diation with stiff penalties,” he said. While Maluski acqui- esced to HB 2509, he said it’s “laughable” to consider the bill an important step in state oversight of GMOs. He would prefer the leg- islature adopt a proposal that would create control areas where biotech crops are sub- ject to restrictions, such as isolation distances. “The legislature has really accomplished nothing signifi- cant on this issue so far,” Ma- luski said. The Oregon Farm Bureau, which opposes stricter GMO regulations, is still supportive of HB 2509 even though it’s been toned down, said Katie Fast, vice president of public policy for the group. “It doesn’t have as many teeth to push people into me- diation” but the bill will still hopefully help them to find ways to coexist, she said. Experts warn of ‘buggy’ year in Northwest By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press It’s already clear to Mountain Home, Idaho, farmer Jeff Harper that skimping on insecticides won’t be an option this sea- son. Following a mild winter, entomologists and crop ad- visors say an array of pests arrived much earlier — and often in greater numbers — in Northwestern farm fields this spring. Last season, for exam- ple, Harper limited spraying for potato psyllids, which spread zebra chip disease in spuds, to a single com- mon trouble spot. This sea- son, he’s poised to spray far more potato acres, fol- lowing the recent discov- eries of the small, winged insects in Twin Falls Coun- ty, including three captured on traps by a host plant in- fected with the Liberibacter bacterium that causes zebra chip. Harper has also seen more aphids than he’s ever encountered so early in the season. “The bugs are going to be a bigger issue than they were for sure last year, and we’re stepping up our spray programs in areas where we’ve had problems,” Harp- er said. “I raise alfalfa, and I had to spray way early for bugs, and I’ve never, ever had to do that.” J.R. Simplot Co. crop advisor Aaron Wolleson has seen both aphids and wire worms in fields unusually early. “It has been a buggier year so far, and that soft winter didn’t help us,” Wolleson said. Andy Jensen, an ento- mologist who manages the Northwest Potato Research Consortium, believes warm- er soil temperatures led ar- myworms and cutworms to emerge early. In the Columbia Basin, Jensen suspects a pale- green caterpillar called cab- bage looper has blown in early on winds originating from the south and could be “a big deal” this year for spud growers. He believes resident psyl- lid populations got an early start due to early leaf growth on host plants during a mild winter. Jensen recorded the first leaves on bittersweet nightshade — a favorite of psyllids — during the first week of March this sea- son, compared with the first week of April in 2012. Jen- sen said aphid populations in the Boise area have also “exploded,” likely overwin- tering on roses, peach trees, garden plants and weeds. High aphid numbers are especially concerning given that they spread potato virus Y, which has been found in abundance in Oregon com- mercial spud fields this year. “I have never seen this much PVY in commercial fields,” Oregon State Uni- versity Extension entomol- ogist Silvia Rondon said, adding cases are likely orig- inating from tainted seed. Jensen noted aphid pred- ators also got an early start, and aphid populations will likely crash. Nationally, University of Maryland researchers Bill Lamp and Dilip Venu- gopal and Queens College researcher Mitch Baker have concluded a changing climate has led potato leaf- hopper — a damaging pest of spuds in the Eastern U.S. — to arrive 10 days early in fields compared with 62 years ago. Though Idaho has no potato leafhoppers, Venu- gopal warned, “We think this might be similar across many migratory pests, and our agricultural systems need to be prepared for that.” The researchers had to contact individual state ex- tension offices for the his- torical insect arrival data. Venugopal has asked USDA to consider compiling such insect data in a common database to facilitate future research.