December 25, 2015
CapitalPress.com
17
Research shows fungicide appears to boost spud yields
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
RUPERT, Idaho — Crop
scientists at Miller Research
say they’ve seen a signifi-
cant yield boost in potatoes
treated with Valent’s Quash
fungicide.
Jeff Miller, the research
company’s president and
CEO, said the boost has been
observed in all 14 research
trials involving Quash that
he’s conducted during the
past four growing seasons.
Miller believes it is
caused by a physiological
change in potato plants,
which tend to be shorter and
greener when treated with
Quash, rather than due to
improved disease control.
The product is a broad-spec-
trum triazole fungicide con-
taining metconazole.
“It varies from year to
year, but you could prob-
ably get 30 to 40 sacks (of
potatoes) more,” Miller said,
adding Quash had no impact
on tuber size or quality.
He said a boost of just a
few sacks would more than
cover the added expense of
using Quash. Miller said a
few of his trials were funded
by Valent, initially to test the
product’s efficacy for dis-
eases it’s labeled to control
in potatoes, including white
mold and early blight.
Valent’s
competitor,
BASF, funded additional
Quash trials, hoping to find
good products to mix with
its flagship fungicide, Endu-
ra. The Idaho Potato Com-
mission also funded some of
the Quash trials.
Miller said a single treat-
ment with Quash near the
row-closure stage seems to
be sufficient to produce the
yield boost. Though Miller
advises against using Quash
as a stand-alone treatment
for white mold and ear-
ly blight — noting testing
shows it’s less effective than
top-line products such as
Endura and Luna Tranquil-
ity, by Bayer Crop Science
— he sees great potential to
mix Quash with other fun-
gicides to delay the onset of
resistance. Miller said it’s
been a hard sell to get grow-
ers to use “multiple modes
of action,” due to the added
expense.
“If anything, the disease
control wasn’t quite as good
with Quash, yet yield-wise
it’s performing better,” Mill-
er said.
Though Quash is la-
beled for potato use in the
U.S., Northwest growers are
avoiding it until maximum
residue limits for the product
are set in foreign markets,
removing the threat of ex-
port challenges, Miller said.
“The thinking is it could
come at any time, or we
could go a whole season
without using it under the
worst-case scenario,” Miller
said.
Miller said some chem-
ical companies have made
claims that strobilurin fun-
gicides produce a similar
physiological yield boost in
spuds by affecting enzymes
responsible for producing
ethylene, a chemical that
causes plant senenscence.
Miller said he’s nev-
er noticed any yield bump
from strobilurin on par with
Quash. Once MRL issues
are addressed, he plans to
encourage growers to plant
their test strips to see if they
experience the same results.
Idaho’s New Year’s Eve potato
drop has gained national attention
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife file photo shows a member of the Teanaway wolf pack.
A federal judge has ruled that the USDA Wildlife Services must prepare an impact statement before
killing wolves in Washington state. The state has relied on the agency for advice and help in controlling
the growing wolf population.
Judge: Feds too quick to help
Washington with wolf control
WDFW warns
about damaging
wolf recovery
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
A judge has ordered the
U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture’s Wildlife Services to
stop shooting wolves at the
behest of Washington state
wildlife managers.
The federal agency must
take a “hard look” at the en-
vironmental consequences of
killing wolves before it can
resume providing lethal ser-
vices to the state Department
of Fish and Wildlife, accord-
ing to Judge Robert Bryan
in the U.S. District Court for
Western Washington.
Conservation groups that
sued Wildlife Services last
spring hailed the ruling as a
victory over an agency that
they claim is too quick to con-
trol animals by killing them.
Tim Coleman, executive
director of the Kettle Range
Conservation Group, said he
hopes the decision will keep
Wildlife Services from having
a role in the state’s manage-
ment of wolves.
“I just don’t like any agen-
cy that by its very nature is
wildlife assassins,” he said.
WDFW manages wolves
in the eastern one-third of
Washington, where wolves
are not federally protected but
remain a state-protected spe-
cies. Wildlife Services has an
agreement to advise and assist
WDFW.
WDFW wolf policy co-
ordinator Donny Martorello
said Dec. 21 that Wildlife Ser-
vices will continue to help the
state trap and collar wolves,
investigate depredations and
use non-lethal means to deter
attacks on livestock.
If it comes down to shoot-
ing wolves to stop depreda-
tions, WDFW will do it, he
said. The ruling won’t change
WDFW’s policy about when
it will lethally remove wolves,
he said.
“The Department of Fish
and Wildlife has both the
authority and abilities to do
lethal removals,” Martorello
said.
At the request of WDFW,
Wildlife Services shot one
wolf last year in northeast
Washington to deter a pack
that was preying on sheep.
It is the only time WDFW
has enlisted Wildlife Services
for lethal removal. Wildlife
Services also advised WDFW
in 2012 when the department
shot seven wolves from an-
other northeast Washington
wolf pack.
Bryan ruled Wildlife Ser-
vices shirked federal laws by
not writing an environmen-
tal impact statement before
agreeing to help WDFW with
lethal removal.
“Wildlife Services mis-
judged the scope of its re-
sponsibility by deferring to
WDFW,” Bryan wrote in the
ruling issued Dec. 17. “Wild-
life Services erred by not tak-
ing a hard look at the ecologi-
cal effects of lethal removal.”
The USDA has not indicat-
ed whether it will write an en-
vironmental impact statement
on lethally removing wolves.
The USDA referred questions
to the U.S. Justice Depart-
ment. A Justice Department
spokesman said the depart-
ment had no comment.
In a court filing, the
WDFW said that if Wildlife
Services couldn’t assist it,
the state “would continue to
implement the program using
the same tools and methods.”
WDFW warned, however,
about “a short-term negative
impact on wolf recovery.”
Managing conflicts with-
out Wildlife Services’ as-
sistance would be “initially
difficult,” and livestock own-
ers may suffer greater losses
and social tolerance for wolf
recovery could go down, ac-
cording to WDFW’s brief.
Washington Cattlemen’s
Association Executive Vice
President Jack Field said the
ruling was a setback for re-
solving conflicts over wolf
management through WD-
FW-organized talks between
ranchers, environmentalists
and hunters.
“I’m very disappointed. I
think the decision represents
a step backwards,” Field said.
He said the ruling also
could slow responses to live-
stock depredations, he said.
“By removing Wildlife Ser-
vices from the picture, it’s
putting a bigger burden on the
state.”
Coleman of the Kettle
Range Conservation Group
said that without Wildlife Ser-
vices to rely on, WDFW will
have to accept more respon-
sibility for lethal removal of
wolves.
“I think they would be far
more responsive as a state
agency, than a federal agen-
cy,” he said. “They are much
more closely connected to
people on the ground.”
The other conservation
groups that filed suit are Cas-
cadia Wildlands, WildEarth
Guardians, The Lands Coun-
cil and Predator Defense.
The Western Environmental
Law Center represented the
groups.
Wallowa FFA brings home top honors
WALLOWA, Ore. — Af-
ter bringing home a first
place at the District State
Ag Sales Competition, the
Wallowa FFA Advanced Ag
team has gone on to win at
state.
The Ag Sales Compe-
tition events test students’
skills in areas of sales and
selling, dealing with cus-
tomer concerns, prospecting
for new customers, under-
standing advertising and
telephone ordering.
The top placers on the ad-
vanced team at district were:
Emily George, who took
first in customer relations
and second in sales presen-
tation; Jordan Ferre, who
took second in order-taking;
Caitlin Robb, who took sec-
ond in advertising; and Rob-
ert Delancy, who took third in
prospecting.
Courtesy photo
The 2015 Wallowa FFA State Ag Sales Team is shown in Ontar-
io. From left to right are Robert Delancey, Ashley Starner, Emily
George, and Jordan Ferre. Emily George placed first in customer
relations.
Other members of the team
were: Teagan Miller, Bryce
Melville, Ashley Starner,
Megan Jones, Oriana Wand-
schneider and Maddi Tracy.
The Wallowa FFA Green-
hands also brought home a
fourth at district. Team mem-
bers were: Riley Ferre, Rylee
Goller, C.J. Horn, Michael
Diggins, Katelynn Diggins,
Ashley Wilson and Zane Her-
mens.
George, along with Robert
Delancey, Ashley Starner and
Jordan Ferre went on to state,
where Emily George took first
place in customer relations.
BOISE — A little seed
money from the Idaho Potato
Commission has helped Boi-
se’s New Year’s Eve potato
drop draw extensive national
and international attention.
The event, in its third year,
is similar to New York City’s
New Year’s Eve ball drop,
except for the substitution of
a giant potato, which is low-
ered slowly from a crane as
the new year is counted down.
During its first two years,
Idaho Potato Drop Founder
Dylan Cline conservatively
estimates the event generated
200 million media impres-
sions worldwide.
“They have gotten so
much coverage, international
as well as national,” said Sue
Kennedy, director of public
relations for Evans, Hardy &
Young, which handles the po-
tato commission’s PR efforts.
Each year, major networks
do a highlight reel of the most
iconic New Year’s Eve drops.
“That first year, they were
showing Sydney, Dubai, New
York, New Orleans and then
they showed Boise, and right
after that they showed the
Pope celebrating in the Vati-
can,” said Idaho Potato Com-
mission President and CEO
Frank Muir.
The IPC provided $5,000
to the event the first year and
after seeing how successful it
was, became the title sponsor
and now provides $25,000.
Muir said the commission
is always thinking of ways
it can best leverage small
amounts of money “and make
them look bigger.” He consid-
ers the potato drop sponsor-
ship as money well spent.
“The things I do in Idaho,
I want to do it in a way that
I leverage it to get national
exposure from it,” he said.
“That coverage was some-
thing that was shown not only
around the U.S. on national
Submitted photo
A giant potato is dropped from a crane in downtown Boise on
Dec. 31 last year to ring in the new year. The annual event has
drawn extensive national and international coverage, according to
organizers.
television but it was sent out
syndicated across the world,
too.”
Cline said he organized the
potato drop as a way to bring
the community together on
New Year’s Eve in a social
event that didn’t involve go-
ing to a bar.
He also wanted it to cele-
brate the state’s famous pota-
to.
“I love my state and ... I
recognize that agriculture is
one of the things that made
our state what it is today and
I’m proud of that,” he said.
The initial event drew an
estimated 40,000 spectators
and last year’s event, which
was impacted by temperatures
that dropped to 5 degrees,
drew about 30,000. Those
events were held in the city’s
downtown.
This year’s event will
be held in front of the Idaho
Statehouse, which will pro-
vide a much larger space for
people to gather, and will in-
clude a major fireworks dis-
play and the Big Idaho Potato
Truck, Cline said.
“This year is going to be
even more iconic and I’m ab-
solutely confident we can get
more TV pickup this year,”
Muir said.
Chipotle tweaks its kitchen practices after E. coli scare
By CANDICE CHOI
AP Food Industry Writer
NEW YORK — After an
E. coli outbreak that sickened
more than 50 people, Chipotle
is tweaking its cooking meth-
ods.
Onions will be dipped in
boiling water to kill germs
before they’re chopped. Raw
chicken will be marinated in
re-sealable plastic bags, rather
than in bowls. Cilantro will be
added to freshly cooked rice so
the heat gets rid of microbes in
the garnish.
“When you’re given a proj-
ect like this, you look at the
universe of hazards,” said Man-
sour Samadpour, CEO of IEH
Laboratories, which was hired
by Chipotle to tighten its pro-
cedures.
The changes mark a dramat-
ic turn in fortunes for Chipotle,
which has surged in popularity
by touting its “Food With Integ-
rity” slogan. As it expanded to
more than 1,900 locations, the
company also sought to draw
a distinction between itself
and other fast-food chains that
executives said use “chemical
additives” and “cheap artificial
ingredients.”
Now, Chipotle Mexican
Grill Inc. may be suffering
from traits that helped define
it. In its annual report in Febru-
ary, the Denver company noted
it may be at a higher risk for
foodborne illnesses because of
its use of “fresh produce and
Stephen Brashear/Associated Press
A Chipotle Mexican Grill employee prepares food Dec. 15 in Se-
attle. After an E. coli outbreak that sickened more than 50 people,
Chipotle is changing its cooking methods to prevent the situation
from happening again.
meats rather than frozen,” and
its traditional cooking meth-
ods,” rather than “automation.”
The warning began coming
to life this summer when the
chain was tied to foodborne
illnesses in California and Min-
nesota, although those cases
didn’t get as much attention.
Then, at the end of Octo-
ber, E. coli cases were report-
ed in Oregon and Washington,
prompting the company to
shut down 43 restaurants in
those states. YouGov Brand
Index said customer percep-
tions about Chipotle sank to
their lowest level since it began
tracking the company in 2007.
That was before additional cas-
es popped up in seven more
states.
In November, sales crashed
16 percent. Then, an unrelated
norovirus outbreak sickened
dozens of students at Boston
College. And this week, the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention reported five
more cases of E. coli in later
November linked to Chipotle,
which it said might be part of a
different outbreak.
In an editorial Wednesday,
The Wall Street Journal said
Chipotle’s fast-food competi-
tors could be forgiven if they
indulge “in a little Schaden-
freude” about the chain’s recent
troubles.