February 19, 2016
9
CapitalPress.com
Idaho
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Bill would allow Idaho oficers to check for illegal dyed fuel use
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — A bill intro-
duced Feb. 11 in the Idaho
Legislature would allow law
enforcement oficers to inspect
motor vehicles for the illegal
use of dyed fuel.
Law enforcement oficers
in Idaho don’t currently have
the authority to inspect vehi-
cles to see if they are illegally
using dyed fuel, which is also
called dyed diesel and exempt
from state and federal fuel tax-
es because it’s only for use in
off-road, non-licensed vehi-
cles.
Senate Bill 1310 would
make any diesel-powered mo-
tor vehicle subject to inspec-
tion for dyed diesel “when the
operator is requested to sub-
mit to such inspection by any
peace oficer at a ixed or por-
table check station established
by the Idaho Transportation
Department....”
According to the bill, vehi-
cles would also be subject to
inspection for dyed fuel “when
requested by any peace oficer
as a secondary action when
the operator of the motor ve-
hicle has been detained for a
suspected violation of another
law.”
BOISE — A concurrent
resolution making its way
through the Idaho House of
Representatives recognizes
the role that “mighty pulse”
crops play in a healthy diet
and the state’s economy.
House Concurrent Resolu-
tion 32 gives an oficial state
shout-out to pulses — peas,
lentils, dry beans and chick-
peas — and the commissions
that promote them.
More than 200,000 acres
of pulse crops are grown in
the state and while North Ida-
ho residents are well aware
of their importance — Mos-
cow, Idaho, is known as the
Pea and Lentil Capital of the
World — people in Southern
Idaho could use a refresh-
er, said Rep. Caroline Troy,
R-Genesee, who introduced
the resolution. “It brings some
awareness about the beneit
of pulse crops to Boise,” she
said. We’re “well educated
on pulse crops up north but I
think we need to make sure
that the rest of the state knows
about them.”
North Idaho pulse farmer
Robert Blair applauded the
resolution and added that it’s
not an accident that the USA
Dry Pea and Lentil Council is
in Moscow.
“My hat’s off to Rep. Troy
for bringing this resolution
and the beneits of pulse crops
to the forefront of Idaho,” he
said. “Even though pulses are
Milk Producers of Idaho
Executive Director Brent Ol-
mstead said he hasn’t had a
chance to digest all of the im-
plications of SB 1310 yet, but
added, “We’ll watch it closely.”
Members of the Senate
Transportation
Committee
voted Feb. 11 to print the bill,
which is authored by the com-
‘A small step’
Brackett told the Capital
Press the bill doesn’t change
anything about the state’s dyed
fuel law, except to give law
enforcement oficers authority
to inspect vehicles if they have
probable cause.
“It does not create a dyed
diesel enforcement program,”
he said. “It’s just a small step
forward.”
Olmstead said there are
some basic philosophies Idaho
farm groups would want to see
included in any legislation that
amends the state’s dyed diesel
law.
That includes inspections
being based on probable cause
and any enforcement action
being taken only against the
vehicle that used the fuel il-
legally and not being traced
back to the bulk storage tank
where it originated.
Idaho agriculture would
also want the state to have
sole jurisdiction in any en-
forcement program and not
share that jurisdiction with
the Internal Revenue Service,
he said.
Capital Press
Submitted photo
a minor crop as far as USDA
is concerned, they’re a major
crop in Idaho and a big part of
the state’s economy.”
The resolution states that
pulse crops “are a vital source
of plant-based proteins and
amino acids” and should “be
eaten as part of a healthy diet
to address obesity, as well as
to prevent and help manage
chronic diseases such as di-
abetes, coronary conditions
and cancer.”
It points out that pulses are
nutrient-dense, rich in iber
and protein, and contribute
nitrogen to the soil “and have
a positive impact on the envi-
ronment.”
The memorial also recog-
nizes “the tireless work” the
Idaho Pea and Lentil Commis-
sion, Idaho Bean Commission
and the national council do
“in promoting these important
crops to the world.”
IBC Commissioner Don
Tolmie said pulse crops are
becoming a bigger part of
the national mindset when it
comes to their nutritional ben-
eits.
“There is some real mo-
mentum gaining for pulse
crops and any recognition
for these crops is good for
the growers, good for Idaho’s
economy and good for the na-
tion as a whole,” he said.
In conjunction with the
United Nations declaring
2016 as the International Year
of Pulses, “this is a great op-
portunity to tell the story of
the pulse crops,” Troy said.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho
— Potato virus Y infections in
Idaho seed lots have increased
slightly from last season, ac-
cording to results of Idaho’s
2016 winter grow-out in Ha-
waii.
However, testing has con-
irmed a more signiicant rise
in the percentage of infections
by PVY strains that cause tuber
damage.
Furthermore, new testing
protocols enacted in February
2014 by Idaho’s seed potato in-
dustry have identiied bacterial
ring rot in some tuber samples.
Alan Westra, southeast Idaho
area manager with Idaho Crop
Improvement Association, said
28 percent of seed lots that were
tested in the winter grow-out
had some level of PVY infec-
tion but were still eligible to be
replanted to produce more seed,
which was down 1 percent from
last season’s grow-out.
Another 27 percent of lots
were ineligible for replanting as
seed for having at least 2 percent
PVY infection, up 6 percent.
Forty-ive percent of seed lots
tested clean, down by 5 percent.
“I don’t really consider the
changes to be signiicant,” We-
stra said. “The amount of qual-
ity seed out there isn’t going to
change because of our winter
readings.”
In 2013, Westra said 55 per-
cent of Idaho seed lots tested
clean and just 18 percent were
ineligible to replant for seed. He
believes Idaho imported some
of its PVY in seed from Mon-
tana, where disease pressure
was high a couple of years ago.
Westra said plant growth
in this winter’s grow-out stand
was exceptional. His program
also conducted its irst trapping
of aphids, which spread PVY,
concluding the pressure was so
light there was virtually no risk
of PVY spreading throughout
the Hawaii plots and skewing
test results.
University of Idaho Exten-
sion virologist Alexander Kara-
sev, who conducted additional
testing to determine the strains
of PVY from grow-out samples,
said the percentage of infections
Idaho Wheat Commission to host no-till workshop
in no-till farming by Univer-
sity of Idaho Extension weed
specialist Don Morishita, dis-
ease control in no-till farming
by UI Extension cereals pathol-
ogist Juliet Marshall, water in
no-till farming by UI Exten-
sion irrigation specialist How-
ard Neibling and crop rotation
in no-till systems by Marlon
Winger, with USDA’s Natural
Resources Conservation Ser-
vice.
A $10 fee will be charged to
cover the cost of lunch. RSVP
at ts@idahowheat.org or by
calling 208-334-2353.
The commission expects to
draw growers from as far away
as Montana and Northern Utah.
Courtesy of Idaho Crop Improvement
A good stand of Idaho seed potatoes grows in Idaho’s 2016 winter grow-out in Hawaii. The results
showed relatively lat rates of potato virus Y in seed potato lots.
caused PVY NTN, a recombi-
nant strain known to cause tu-
ber damage, rose to 20 percent,
after dropping to just 10 percent
during the prior season.
“We would like to keep this
NTN strain down as much as
possible,” Karasev said.
He said last year’s most
common type, a recombinant
strain that doesn’t typically
cause tuber damage called PVY
N Wilga, continued a growth
trend, reaching 66 percent of all
positives. Karasev said no pota-
to varieties with resistance to N
Wilga have been developed yet,
and that should be a priority for
the industry.
He said the strain that caused
the majority of infections just
ive years ago, PVY O, which
also causes no tuber defects, is
now virtually extinct, represent-
ing just 3 percent of infections in
the recent testing.
Westra said in 2014, the
irst year of mandatory ring rot
testing for seed certiication, no
samples of the 576,000 tubers
tested were positive for the dev-
astating crop disease. This year,
ield inspections conirmed
three seed lots contained ring
rot. Under the new program,
additional traceback testing of
lots originating from a common
seed source, or in which equip-
ment or facilities were shared
in common with infected lots,
conirmed more ring rot. In all,
Westra said about 2,400 tuber
samples were positive for ring
rot, and 500 to 600 acres of seed
production were rejected.
“The silver lining of this
cloud, if there is one, is our test-
ing program now appears to be
working, and we’re keeping
ring rot as best as we can from
getting into the commercial in-
dustry,” Westra said, adding in-
fections weren’t the fault of the
growers.
Take a new look at an old friend.
Lori Pavlicek, Oregon Aglink
President
Lori is a 4th generation farm girl and
co-owns 4 B Farms, Inc. with her
parents, Jim and Donna Butsch, and
brother Jeff. The farm grows garlic,
hops, hazelnuts, grass seed, and a
variety of row crops on 2600 acres
around the Mt. Angel, Gervais, and Hubbard areas.
Lori is a member of NORPAC and the Nut Growers
Society of Oregon, in addition to being a past Marion
County FSA Board member. After an 18 year run on
the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest board she continues her
community work by being the President of the Mt.
Angel Community Foundation Board and Secretary of
the Providence Benedictine Nursing Center.
Lori and her farm became members of Oregon Aglink
because “We believe the ‘Link’ between rural and urban
consumers is the education and use of our natural
resources. Oregon Aglink is the voice of the Natural
Resource community, and we need to spread the word.”
Become a member today!
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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho —
The Idaho Wheat Commission
has scheduled a workshop to
focus on direct seeding for 9
a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at the
Shiloh Inn Conference Center,
780 Lindsay Blvd.
Advocates for direct seed-
ing, also known as no-till
farming, say the lack of tillage
prevents erosion, improves
moisture penetration, builds
organic matter and maintains
the natural processes that oc-
cur within healthy soil.
Swan Valley farmer Gor-
don Gallup, who organized
the workshop, said in a press
release no-till cropping sys-
tems are catching on in East-
ern Idaho as growers seek to
limit their input costs and re-
duce the number of trips their
equipment must make through
ields.
According to the commis-
sion, the workshop will offer
the latest information on vari-
eties, fertility management and
equipment, as well as the ex-
periences of growers who have
utilized direct seeding.
Presentations will include
a grower panel, cropping sys-
tems strategy by Aaron Esser
of Washington State Univer-
sity Extension, resistant weeds
of dyed diesel, which is used
heavily in the agricultural,
mining, timber and construc-
tion industries.
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Resolution cites pulse crops’
health, economic beneits
Capital Press
‘We’ll watch it’
mittee’s chairman, Sen. Bert
Brackett, a Republican rancher
from Rogerson.
The bill comes on the heels
of a 61-page report that offers
nine options for increasing
dyed diesel enforcement in
Idaho.
The report by the Idaho
State Tax Commission and
Idaho State Police was a result
of language in a bill passed last
year that directed the agencies
to develop recommendations
for greater dyed fuel enforce-
ment.
The report estimates Ida-
ho could be losing about $11
million a year from the misuse
Seed testing inds rise in PVY, ring rot
Green peas are harvested in a ield near Kendrick, Idaho, in this
2014 ile photo. A resolution introduced in the Idaho Legislature
recognizes pulse crops such as peas for their health beneits and
contribution to Idaho’s economy.
By SEAN ELLIS
Idaho farm groups have
told lawmakers they would not
oppose any efforts to increase
enforcement of the state’s dyed
diesel law as long as they ar-
en’t burdensome and don’t un-
fairly target agriculture.
Portland, OR 97223 • 503-595-9121
www.aglink.org
8-4/#13