April 1, 2016
CapitalPress.com
7
SW Idaho water supply normal for 2016
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
Courtesy of J.R. Simplot Co.
Green rows of second-generation Simplot Plant Science’s Innate
spuds show strong resistance to late blight, next to infected control
plants, in field trials in Michigan. Canadian officials have deregulat-
ed the first generation Innate line seeds, making them available to
sell or plant there.
Canada deregulates Innate
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
BOISE — Canadian offi-
cials have deregulated the first
generation of Simplot Plant
Science’s Innate line of ge-
netically engineered potatoes,
making them available to sell
or plant in their country.
On March 21, the Cana-
dian Food Inspection Agency
ruled Innate is safe for use in
animal feed and isn’t harmful
to the environment. Health
Canada also ruled the pota-
toes are safe for human con-
sumption.
Simplot spokesman Doug
Cole said 20 million pounds
of Innate spuds have been
sold in the U.S. since the line
was introduced last May.
“That number is expected
to significantly grow over the
next couple of years,” Cole
said. “There’s more signifi-
cant interest than anticipated.”
Cole said 4,000 acres of
first-generation Innate seed
will be planted this spring in
the U.S.
The first Innate line in-
troduced DNA from other
potatoes, including wild va-
rieties, into Ranger Russets,
Russet Burbanks and Atlan-
tics, giving them resistance
to black-spot bruising, low
sugars and low levels of a
potentially harmful chemical,
acrylamide. The spuds also
won’t turn brown after they’re
cut, which has proven to be
enticing to food service pro-
fessionals who can now save
time with pre-cut spuds that
don’t require chemicals to
stay white. Cole said whole,
fresh Innate potatoes have
also been popular because
black-spot bruising is a com-
mon defect food service busi-
nesses seek to avoid.
Cole said limited acres will
be planted of the second gen-
eration of Innate, engineered
with the original traits plus
no sugar ends and late blight
resistance, in anticipation of
EPA approval in December.
“We haven’t submitted
(generation two) to Canada
yet, but we’re going to short-
ly,” Cole said.
BOISE — With snowpack
levels well above normal and
reservoirs filling fast, irriga-
tors in southwestern Idaho
can look forward to a normal
water year in 2016.
“Right now we have
above-average snowpack and
the reservoirs are climbing
1 or 2 percent a day. We’re
looking pretty good right
now,” said Pioneer Irriga-
tion District Manager Mark
Zirschky.
He said that unless things
change drastically, the dis-
tricts’ 5,800 patrons can ex-
pect a normal water supply in
2016.
“As of right now, it looks
like we’re going to be in pret-
ty good shape,” said Alan
Newbill, a farmer and mem-
ber of Pioneer’s board of di-
rectors.
Reservoirs in the region
ended the 2015 season with
little or no carryover water
and irrigators were dependent
on a good snowpack year.
They got it.
Snowpack levels in the
Boise River basin were at 115
percent of normal March 24
and they were at 112 percent
of normal in the Payette River
basin and 110 percent of nor-
mal in the Weiser River basin.
The Weiser River system
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Water flows through a canal near Nampa in southwestern Idaho March 24. Irrigators in the region can
expect a normal water supply this year.
stopped delivering water at
the end of August last year,
well ahead of the system’s
normal mid-October shutoff
date. The system also had no
carryover water at the end of
the 2015 water season.
But this year is another sto-
ry, said Weiser River system
watermaster Brandi Horton.
“It’s significantly better
than it was last year,” she said.
“Everywhere you look, the
mountains are buried in snow.
I’m feeling really good about
this year.”
This time last year, the
Boise Basin snowpack level
was at 62 percent of normal,
said Tim Page, manager of
the Boise Project Board of
Control, which provides irri-
gation water to 167,000 acres
and five irrigation districts in
southwestern Idaho.
The basin’s snowpack lev-
el is at 115 percent of normal.
“That’s quite a bit better
than where we were last year
at this time,” Page said. “My
anticipation is that we will
have a normal irrigation sea-
son. Things are looking prom-
ising.”
The Boise project will be-
gin filling its canals and later-
als in early April but started
sending water downstream
to Lake Lowell on Feb. 22.
There are about 47,000 irri-
gated acres below that man-
made reservoir.
The lake had 135,000 acre-
feet of usable storage water as
of March 24, 24,000 acre-feet
shy of its capacity, which is
not reached most years. The
lake had 145,000 acre-feet of
storage water last year at its
peak.
Page believes water man-
agers might be able to fill
Lake Lowell to capacity this
year.
“I think we’re going to get
pretty close,” he said.
Natural flow levels in the
Boise River have picked up
recently and “I’m very op-
timistic we should have a
full water season,” said Greg
Curtis, superintendent of the
Nampa & Meridian Irrigation
District, which supplies irri-
gation water to 69,000 acres.
“All of that snow sitting up
there on the (mountains) sure
makes me feel better than I
did last year.”
Washington
farmer leads
national
potato
organization
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Mike Pink, the Mesa,
Wash., potato farmer who was
recently elected to a one-year
term as chairman of Potatoes
USA, believes his industry is
dealing with too much of a
good thing.
“The biggest concern is al-
ways that there are too many
potatoes,” Pink said with a
laugh, referring to the indus-
try’s concerns about balanc-
ing acreage and production
with demand.
To boost the demand side
of the equation, the industry
needs to continue its promo-
tion of potatoes as healthful,
Pink said.
“Everybody wants to pick
on us,” he said. “Potatoes are
the number one vegetable in
the world, and we want to
keep it there.”
Pink also hopes to con-
tinue implementing the orga-
nization’s newest programs,
including efforts to put more
salad bars in schools and pro-
mote potatoes through Spud
Nation food trucks.
Pink also hopes to increase
demand for U.S. potatoes
among overseas customers
and domestically as well, in
the face of a strong U.S. dol-
lar, which makes it difficult
to compete with lower-priced
potatoes from other countries.
“I will do my best to help
lead this organization,” he
said. “I’m going to be Pota-
toes USA’s biggest fan.”
Pink raises processing po-
tatoes on 1,200 of his 2,700
acres. He has been farming
potatoes since 1987.
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