August 7, 2015
CapitalPress.com
5
Canal expansion progresses in Odessa Subarea
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Courtesy of Amanda Brack, Columbia Basin Development League
Members of the media take a tour July 29 to get a closer look at construction of the Lind Coulee
Siphon Project near Warden, Wash.
Water deliveries from the
Columbia River are already
being made to some farmers in
the Odessa Subarea.
The East Columbia Basin
Irrigation District has begun
writing water service contracts
with farmers in that area for
irrigation water, said develop-
ment coordinator Levi Johnson.
Deep-well irrigation on
2,000 acres in the subarea is
being replaced using surface
water, Johnson said.
The deliveries are the latest
in a series of efforts to bring
water from the Columbia Riv-
er to farmers affected by rap-
idly declining aquifers. Farm-
ers have been forced them to
drill deeper irrigation wells or
watch them run dry.
Overall, 87,000 acres of ir-
rigated farm land are eligible
to receive water from the fed-
eral Columbia Basin Project.
The irrigation district is de-
signing a 47.5-mile delivery
system on the East Low Canal.
It would deliver river water to
10,000 acres of farmland. En-
vironmental reviews are un-
derway, Johnson said.
Six pipeline systems to de-
liver water from the canal to
individual farms are also in
the works.
“The critical point is to
secure tax-exempt revenue
bonds to get the capital nec-
essary to build that system,”
Johnson said. The district
hopes to begin construction on
it in the winter.
The project also includes
an expansion of the canal, said
Mike Schwisow, director of
government relations for the
Columbia Basin Development
League.
A $26 million state grant
to the irrigation district covers
more than 50 percent of the cost
of the canal expansion, includ-
ing new county road bridges,
Schwisow said. How much gets
done depends on the contractor
bids for the various aspects of
the project, Schwisow said.
Once the state grant is used,
the league hopes to get federal
funding for the canal expan-
sion portion, Schwisow said.
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phons came in below engi-
neering estimates, less than
$15 million compared to more
than $20 million that was pro-
jected, Schwisow said.
The irrigation district did
the excavation work in-house,
Schwisow said.
“We feel like we can per-
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and at a lower cost than a tra-
ditional, federally run construc-
tion project,” Johnson said.
Landowners will pay for
the distribution portion of the
project, Schwisow said.
The original estimated cost
of the project was more than
$700 million for the distribu-
tion system and $75 million
for the canal expansion.
“The district’s experience and
all the work they have done now,
taking a hypothetical from sever-
al years ago to reality, is much,
much lower,” Schwisow said.
Sweet corn big business in Columbia Basin
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
GEORGE, Wash. — The air
conditioning in the cab of Kyle
Bushman’s corn combine got
its workout that day. Tempera-
tures exceeded 100 degrees all
afternoon on July 31.
It was just another long, hot
day near the front end of Wash-
ington’s 2 1/2-month harvest of
sweet corn.
Bushman, 36, of Quincy,
Wash., is in his eighth year on a
harvest crew for Quincy Foods
LLC, a subsidiary of Norpac
Foods of Stayton, Ore.
It took him only 10 minutes
or so to cut and collect another
eight tons of corn in the hopper
of the Oxbo Legacy combine
and head to the truck to dump it.
He saddled the big machine
ever so close up to the side of the
truck so no ears of corn would
spill to the ground.
“I try to get within 3 inches.
Usually, once a season a truck
tire gets punctured (from a cone
of the combine cutter),” Bush-
man said.
Sweet corn is big business in
Washington — perhaps bigger
than most people realize. The
state usually ranks second in
processed sweet corn to Minne-
sota. Processed corn is canned
or frozen.
In 2014, Washington har-
vested 692,000 tons of pro-
cessed sweet corn from 69,400
acres, valued at $74.7 million,
according to USDA National
Agricultural Statistics Service.
Minnesota
harvested
749,440 tons from 109,400
acres, valued at $84.8 mil-
lion. Wisconsin was third at
542,160 tons on 65,800 acres
and valued at $52.2 million.
Oregon rounded out the
top states at 220,480 tons from
23,200 acres, valued at $27.8
million. A lot is grown in the Or-
egon’s Willamette Valley.
U.S. totals were 2.6 million
tons, 312,280 acres and $289.6
million in value.
Washington’s sweet corn is
mostly grown in the upper and
lower Columbia Basin, plus
some in the Yakima Valley and
on the west side of the state
near Chehalis.
Upper Columbia Basin
processors are National Fro-
zen Foods in Moses Lake and
Quincy Foods in Quincy. Har-
vest usually begins Aug. 1. But
as with so many crops this year,
a mild winter and warm spring
moved things along early.
“We started July 15. That’s
our earliest ever,” said Brian
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ager of Quincy Foods.
“Normally, we go to the mid-
dle of October. This year, we
could be done a little sooner,”
he said.
The company is contracted
to harvest sweet corn on 6,000
acres. Yield will average 11 tons
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
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Wash., on July 31, for hauling to Quincy Foods for freezing. Wash-
ington is typically second to Minnesota in processed sweet corn.
to the acre. Quincy Foods pays
growers an average of $95 per
ton. Harvest area runs from Mo-
ses Lake to Quincy and south to
Royal Slope.
“National probably does
twice as many acres and at least
double the volume in the same
geographic area,” O’Shea said.
Quincy Foods harvests
around the clock, seven days
a week. Crews work 12-hour
shifts. Each crew has three com-
bine operators, a mechanic, an as-
sistant mechanic and a foreman.
Trucking is contracted out. The
corn is hauled, 28 tons per truck,
to the plant in Quincy, where it is
cut off the cob and frozen or fro-
zen on natural-length cobs, 5.5-
inch cobs or 3-inch cobbets. It is
packed and shipped throughout
the year, domestic and export.
“This year, we’re maturing
corn faster than we ever have,”
O’Shea said. “It’s the warm
nights.”
The nearby Washington
State University AgWeatherNet
station at Frenchman Hills mea-
sured 1,781 heat units season-to-
date on July 28. That compares
with 1,376 a year earlier and
about 1,250 on a 20-year aver-
age, he said.
“The Midwest has more
acres and volume, but our yield
per acre is some of the best in
the nation,” O’Shea said. “Last
year, we were 11 tons per acre or
close to it. The Midwest averag-
es about 7.”
Apple, pear harvests off to early start
ternational Apple Co. of Tieton.
Pear harvest usually wraps up
in early October and apple har-
SELAH, Wash. — Wash- vest ends in early November.
ington’s 2015 apple and pear
“The last couple of years,
harvests are starting about 10 Indian summers through Oc-
days earlier than usual, and the tober have allowed us to get
big questions that lie ahead are fruit off. The concern is getting
the impacts of excessive heat, it off before a freeze. There’s
drought and not enough labor.
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Fruit is expected to be out there. Even in cherries,
smaller because of the heat and some warehouses were short,”
drought. Smaller fruit means Alegria said.
smaller crops. Sunburn damag-
Many crops have been early
es fruit, increasing cullage, and this year because of a light win-
¿QGLQJDQDGHTXDWHQXPEHURI ter and warm spring. But too
pickers is always a concern.
much summer heat can slow
Matson Fruit Co. of Selah things down.
began picking Ginger Gold
July 2014 was the hottest
apples in Mattawa on July 25. July on record in Central Wash-
That compares with July 27 ington and this year’s June was
two years ago and Aug. 12 in the hottest June, said Nicholas
2011, said Erin Smith, Rainier Loyd, meteorologist for WSU
Fruit Co. spokeswoman. Rain- AgWeatherNet in Prosser.
ier sells fruit for Matson.
AgWeatherNet’s station on
Bartlett pear harvest starts Whitcomb Island in the Co-
soon in the Yakima Valley, and lumbia River south of Pasco
the Gala apple harvest is expect- recorded 100 degrees or above
ed to start Aug. 5 in Mattawa.
for 14 days, June 26 through
Harvests will accelerate July 9.
rapidly because of the heat,
“That’s a pretty impressive
said Tim Smith, Washington streak,” Loyd said.
State University Extension
Highs were more nor-
tree fruit specialist emeritus in mal, around 90, from July
Wenatchee. Fruit at higher ele- 10 through 24. Temperatures
vations will fare better because cooled July 25 through 28 and
of lower temperatures, he said. then returned to triple digits.
Harvest timing will be more The summer could still be a
compressed, increasing the record for heat, depending on
demand for pickers, said Jon August, Loyd said.
Alegria, president of CPC In-
“With all that heat, I was
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
afraid fruit would ripen with no
color. But the cool-down brought
on some color,” said Charles Ly-
all, a Mattawa grower.
Apples quit growing in tri-
ple-digit heat and color doesn’t
develop, Lyall said. Cullage
also increases, with apples
scabbing from sunburn, he said.
“Overhead cooling (wa-
tering) helps keep sunburn at
acceptable rates but when it
gets that hot you’re just kind of
hanging on,” Lyall said.
“The concern is a lot of
smaller, lower-color Gala com-
ing onto the market this year,”
said his brother, Frank Lyall.
Growers are using sunburn
protection products, including
Surround, Raynox and Diffu-
sion, on the more sun exposed
portions of orchards. A kaolin
clay and oil, Surround is used
in early spring for pest control
on pears.
“There will be sunburn out
there, but in all honesty it hasn’t
been that bad. Some areas are
worse than others, depending on
tools to handle it,” Alegria said.
“We had heat when fruit
was smaller, so hopefully
that’s not as bad. We’re having
great nighttime temperatures
so things are looking OK out
there. I think we’ll have bet-
ter color than last year. The
million-dollar question is the
weather of the next 30 to 60
days,” he said.
Water panel praised for informational
workshops and input on bond funds
By TIM HEARDEN
workshop is slated for 6 p.m.
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nior Center, 530 Fourth St.
WILLOWS, Calif. — The
Jim Watson, general manager
newly hired leader of an agen- of the Sites Project Joint Powers
cy trying to build a new reser- Authority, said he attended the
voir in Northern California is Napa and Davis meetings and
praising the state for involving was impressed by the lengths to
the public as it plans to distrib- which the commission is going
ute bond funds.
to gather public input.
The California Water Com-
“Both meetings I thought
mission, which is tasked with went really well,” Watson said.
choosing $2.7 billion in stor- “There were some very good
age projects amid the $7.5 bil- questions being asked by the
lion water bond approved by public that I think will inform
voters in November, recently the staff’s development of the
held informational workshops regulations.
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Capital Press
tion of the thought process for
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the water commission will seek
in proposals, he said.
The workshops July 27
in Napa and July 30 in Davis
sought to educate participants
and gather suggestions on the
timeline for selecting projects
and the California Department
of Fish and Wildlife’s and
State Water Resources Control
Board’s ecosystem and wa-
ter-quality priorities, the com-
mission’s website explained.
The commission expects to
have draft guidelines for review
and comment later this summer.
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