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10 CapitalPress.com Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters December 25, 2015 Idaho New high-level UI position to focus on agricultural issues Meetings highlight sage grouse mining reforms By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press IDAHO FALLS — Mem- bers of Idaho’s mining industry are concerned that proposed MOSCOW, Idaho — The federal land-use restrictions current interim dean of Uni- to protect sage grouse in des- versity of Idaho’s College of ignated habitat go too far and Agricultural and Life Scienc- were developed with too little es will become a special assis- public input. tant to the UI president for ag Bureau of Land Manage- initiatives. PHQW RI¿FLDOV VD\ WKH PLQLQJ John Foltz, who has been restrictions were key in the interim dean for two years, U.S. Fish and Service’s recent will begin that newly created decision against listing sage job when the new dean, Mi- grouse as an endangered spe- chael Parrella, begins work cies. If such habitat protections Feb. 1. DUHQ¶W LPSOHPHQWHG RI¿FLDOV Having a person who works say a listing could still result, on special initiatives important extending new burdens to pro- to the farming industry and re- tect the bird to private land and ports directly to UI President impacting a broad range of ac- Sean Ellis/Capital Press Chuck Staben — the dean tivities, such as ranching. reports to the provost — is a John Foltz, interim dean of the University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, meets The BLM and U.S. Forest major development, Foltz and people during an informal “coffee with the dean” event in April. Foltz will become a special assistant to Service held public scoping the UI president for ag initiatives. industry representatives said. meetings on Dec. 15 in Boi- “In my opinion, that raises se and Dec. 16 in Idaho Falls the stature of agriculture in the VXHV´*DUEHUVDLG SURGXFWLRQ HI¿FLHQF\ ZDVWH stock center is an exciting de- on a proposal to stop all new state,” Foltz said. Foltz said he will likely management, animal health velopment. mining claims within 10 mil- Foltz said he would be initially focus on the livestock and welfare and a host of other ³,WZLOOEHWKH¿UVWWLPHZH lion acres of focal sage brush careful not to step into the research center the university issues and a lot of focus will be have an individual who will be habitat in the West, including new dean’s space, “but I think and industry have talked about put on environmental issues, singularly focused on this,” he 3.6 million acres in Idaho. The there are some opportunities to creating for more than a de- “which are really some of the said. “That is going to be his withdrawal affects so-called focus on some things that are cade. major challenges the livestock main job and responsibility locatable minerals — which important to our state.” Momentum on the LQGXVWU\IDFHV´*DUEHUVDLG and we’re looking forward to include metals such as gold, Foltz has a lot of knowl- multi-faceted facility, which is “I think the research center seeing ... how we can help the silver, copper and molybde- edge on issues important to estimated to cost around $30 that we’ve been talking about college and university in their num. The action requires a full Idaho’s farming industry and million and will focus on dairy IRU \HDUV ZLOO UHDOO\ EHQH¿W endeavor.” environmental impact state- having him focus 100 percent and beef cattle research, halted and we will really have the Other areas that Foltz might PHQWJLYHQWKDW¿OLQJFODLPVLV of his efforts on major ag is- during the recession. potential to move this thing focus on in the future include authorized by Congress. Valid sues could result in big bene- “The need for this center forward, if we have somebody the use of drones and precision claims made prior to Sept. 24, ¿WV VDLG 5LFK *DUEHU &$/6¶ has not gone away but in fact available to ... focus their full- agriculture to help farmers be- when the proposal was printed director of industry and gov- ... it’s really increased in terms WLPH HQHUJ\ RQ LW´ *DUEHU FRPHPRUHHI¿FLHQWDVZHOODV LQWKH)HGHUDO5HJLVWHUZLOOEH ernmental affairs. of nutrient management, waste said. the Dubois sheep experiment grandfathered in. “There are a lot of exciting management, labor and all Idaho Dairymen’s Associ- station, which is jointly oper- Public comments may be things out there that could hap- the issues the industry faces,” ation Executive Director Bob ated by USDA and UI and has submitted by Jan. 15 at sage- pen if we had somebody with Foltz said. Naerebout said having Foltz in the past been targeted for brush_withdrawals@blm.gov. the time to focus on these is- The center would focus on dedicated solely on the live- closure. Input will help shape a draft By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press EIS, planned for release by next winter, triggering additional public meetings. The prohibi- tion on new claims would be up for renewal in 20 years. The BLM and Forest Ser- vice implemented changes affecting mining, grazing and other activities within focal areas when they updated 98 Western land-use plans, ad- dressing the Fish and Wildlife Service’s prior concerns that the government lacked ade- quate regulatory mechanisms to protect sage grouse. The bird’s status will be reviewed HYHU\¿YH\HDUV BLM special projects man- DJHU %UHQW 5DOVWRQ H[SODLQHG grazing permits within focal areas will be prioritized for re- view, and permit changes may be necessary where bird popu- lations are declining. Ethan Lane, who advocates for the cattle industry as ex- ecutive director of the Public Lands Council, argued that in some cases the land-use plan changes are more restric- tive than a listing would have been. Furthermore, he said sage grouse numbers have in- creased 63 percent during the past two years. “A not-warranted decision isn’t truly not warranted if the conservation ledger is being balanced on the backs of public lands permittees,” Lane said. 5DOVWRQ H[SODLQHG SURKLEL- tions on new sand and grav- el leases are already in place within focal areas, and new oil and gas leases in focal ar- eas won’t allow surface alter- ations, requiring drilling to originate from private land. Idaho growers plan precautionary late blight programs to limit expenses By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press 583(57,GDKR²)DUP- er Tim Eames will take no chances with late blight this season. Following a widespread late blight outbreak in Ida- ho potato country in 2015, Eames plans to apply foli- DU IXQJLFLGHV ZLWK HI¿FDF\ against late blight every two weeks. When rain is in the forecast, he’ll spray every ZHHN²HYHQEHIRUHWKH¿UVW report of late blight surfaces in his area. He’s among a group of Idaho growers hoping to lim- it late blight expenses by be- ing proactive. “You start with the cheap sprays,” Eames said. “If you get behind, it’s a big prob- lem. Nobody wants to spend the money, but I’d rather spend the money than have a catastrophe.” $EHUGHHQ IDUPHU 5LWFKH\ Toevs also plans to switch to spraying a low-cost fungicide RQDZHHNO\EDVLVDWWKH¿UVW sign of wet weather. “In Idaho, we just wait for someone to get burnt,” Toevs said. “With the presence of seed-borne (late blight) and the chances for overwinter- ing and volunteer issues next year, it’s best we do a full preventative program.” Toevs said “playing catch- up” requires growers to use premium products, though a preventive program involv- ing cheaper products is more effective. “If we have the weather there, it’s going to be a tight program,” Toevs said. Jeff Miller, who studies ODWHEOLJKWZLWK5XSHUWEDVHG 0LOOHU 5HVHDUFK QRZ VXV- pects late blight cases in Min- nidoka County originated from tainted seed, due to the clustered distribution and the common seed source of the LQIHFWHG ¿HOGV +H DGYLVHV growers who are concerned about their seed source to treat seed with products such as Mancozeb or Curzate. In Power and Bingham counties, he still believes spores overwintered on vol- unteer potatoes or cull piles. He advises growers to manage cull piles and volun- WHHUV VFRXW WKHLU ¿HOGV DQG watch the weather. “We’ll have to wait until March to see what the over- wintering does,” Miller said. +HVDLG¿HOGVWUHDWHGZLWK fungicides before storms arrived fared much better WKDQ ¿HOGV WUHDWHG IROORZLQJ storms, regardless of the pro- grams. Miller believes grow- ers in the Magic Valley and Treasure Valley may be OK spraying every two weeks next season, and waiting until late blight is reported in their areas before stepping up their programs. In Bingham Coun- ty, he agrees a weekly spray program may be advisable, especially if overwintering poses a threat. “You’re looking at (pota- to) psyllid management on top of this, too,” Miller said. “It’s getting very, very ex- pensive.” Idaho’s 2015 late blight strain was U.S.-23, which can be treated effectively with 5LGRPLOXQOLNHRWKHUVWUDLQV Miller said growers who used 5LGRPLO WR WUHDW SLQN URW DW row closure delayed the on- set of late blight by roughly a month compared with other ¿HOGV GHPRQVWUDWLQJ WKH OR- cal strain is especially sensi- tive to the chemical. +LV ¿HOG WULDOV DOVR FRQ- ¿UPHG -5 6LPSORW¶V ,QQDWH line of biotech potatoes was highly resistant to late blight. WATER The # # 1 Issue in the West! Capital Press Ag Weekly will focus on this most crucial resource in an award-winning special section. Publishes Feb. 5, 2016 This section will provide valuable background and an insightful look at the current water situation with a forecast of what may happen in the future. 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