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April 8, 2016 CapitalPress.com 15 UI economists question buy-local movement By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press MOSCOW, Idaho — Two University of Idaho econo- mists say they’ve developed a mathematical model con- cluding efforts to encourage consumers to buy local food may be counterproductive, both economically and envi- ronmentally. Philip Watson and Jason Winfree, authors of “The Welfare Economics of Buy Local,” explained they mod- eled a hypothetical market scenario to demonstrate the most efficient production system still entails allowing each region to specialize in raising a commodity it ex- cels at producing and then trading with other regions to broaden diversity. “If we’re going to try to encourage local foods ... you’re introducing ineffi- ciency,” Watson said. “It flies in the face of hundreds of years of economic devel- doesn’t make sense.” The paper is now under review for publication in the American Journal of Agri- cultural Economics. It’s al- ready undergone a round of peer reviewing, and the au- thors are pursuing funding to make good on a peer’s sug- gestion that they run their model using real commod- ities and actual numbers. They believe such data could lead government officials to question investing in farm- to-school programs and John O’Connell/Capital Press marketing grants for local foods. Karen Martin, assistant manager of the Pocatello Foods Co-op, For the time being, Win- holds an organic microwavable dinner made locally by Amy’s Kitch- en. She stands near an assortment of local products and produce, free said, the model merely provides a good framework including organic potatoes supplied by Buhl, Idaho, grower Mike for analyzing the local foods Heath. Martin believes her customers are justified in their beliefs movement. that buying local benefits the economy and the environment, con- Their model considered trary to findings of University of Idaho economic research conclud- two production regions pur- ing that it introduces market inefficiencies. chasing two hypothetical opment of producing what to take on the project be- commodities, each region ca- you’re good at and trading cause he was getting “sick pable of raising one commod- of people telling me why ity slightly more efficiently. with your neighbors.” Actual numbers are in- Winfree said he wanted I should buy local when it significant given that the data is hypothetical, but the economists say the model demonstrates the advantage of buying from the most ef- ficient producer, even if that producer is far away from a market, and the folly of buy- ing local, which would mere- ly serve to reward inefficiency if it were adopted on a wide scale and served as a trade barrier to the producers who get the most yield from their inputs. Watson said common rea- sons expressed for buying lo- cal include helping local pro- ducers and the local economy, supporting farmers’ markets that provide community “festivals,” avoiding the en- vironmental impacts of food transportation, the perception of improved food security that comes from buying from well-known operations and food quality benefits. The economists believe the environmental benefits of buying from producers who get the most yield from their inputs outweighs any trans- portation advantage of buying local. Supporters of buying local are skeptical of the econo- mists’ hypothetical modeling. Karen Martin, assistant man- ager of the Pocatello Food Co-op, specializes in local and organic dairy, meat and produce, believing “support- ing local is keeping the money here in Pocatello.” In addition to quality considerations, she said reducing food transporta- tion is a major reason why her customers chose the co-op. Megan French, assistant director of Central Oregon Lo- cavore in Bend, agrees small, local producers aren’t as effi- cient as their larger counter- parts, but her customers see value in a community capable of being self-sufficient in the event of a catastrophe. “It all comes down to food security,” she said. Early spring pushes crops By DAN WHEAT Capital Press Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gray wolves have a robust and sustainable population in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and are rapidly increasing in Washington and Oregon, according to an annual report released April 1 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Growth in gray wolf population shifts to Northwest USFWS releases annual report on recovery By DON JENKINS Capital Press Gray wolf populations in the Rocky Mountains have stabilized at a “robust” lev- el, while their numbers are rapidly increasing in the Northwest, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice’s annual report on wolf recovery. The report released April 1 shows that wolf numbers in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana have largely lev- eled off, but are picking up momentum in Oregon and Washington. Wolves were re-intro- duced into Yellowstone Na- tional Park and Central Ida- ho in 1994, joining a small number in Montana. Since then, wolves have expanded westward into Oregon and Washington. Wildlife officials count- ed 1,904 wolves at the end of 2015, up from 1,802 wolves the year before. Most of the population growth occurred in Ore- gon and Washington, even though those states have far fewer wolves than the other three. Oregon’s wolf popula- tion increased to 110 from 77, a 43 percent increase. In Washington, the population grew to 90 from 68, a 32 percent increase. The Rocky Mountain population grew by 2 per- cent. Idaho had the most wolves, 786, followed by Montana with 536 and Wy- oming with 382. Minimum population targets are 150 wolves in each state, ac- cording to USFWS. Here’s a closer look by state: • Oregon: The state Fish and Wildlife Commission in November took wolves off the state’s protected spe- cies list. Wolves remain a federally protected species in Western Oregon. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife reported that wolves killed three cattle, 10 sheep and one dog. Sev- en wolves were known to have died, including three that were illegally shot. • Washington: Breed- ing pairs increased to eight from five. Under current policy, wolves will remain a state-protected species un- til the state has at least 15 breeding pairs, including four in each of three recov- ery zones. So far, wolves are mostly in the northeastern corner of the state and have yet to move in sufficient num- bers toward the Cascades to come close to state recovery goals. The Washington De- partment of Fish and Wild- life confirmed seven cattle were killed and one sheep dog injured by wolves in 2015. Seven wolves were known to have died, includ- ing three that were legally harvested on the Spokane Indian Reservation by tribal members. • Idaho: Wildlife offi- cials recorded 358 wolf mortalities, including 256 that were legally shot by hunters. Wolves claimed 35 cattle, 125 sheep, three dogs and one horse. Wolves were taken off the federally pro- tected species list in 2011 in Idaho, as well as Montana. Montana: Wildlife of- ficials recorded 276 wolf deaths, including 205 legal- ly killed by hunters. Another eight wolves were killed il- legally. Officials confirmed that wolves killed 41 cattle, 21 sheep and two horses. • Wyoming: By a federal court order, wolves remain a federally protected spe- cies in Wyoming. The pop- ulation grew by less than 2 percent. No hunting was al- lowed, but 54 wolves were lethally removed. Wolves killed 72 cattle and 62 sheep. WENATCHEE, Wash. — Another early, warm spring is unfolding throughout Central Washington, hastening cherry bloom to the point that there’s concern about bees having enough time to pollinate blos- soms. Spring isn’t quite as ear- ly as last year but it’s still ahead of normal, said Nich- olas Loyd, meteorologist at Washington State University AgWeatherNet in Prosser. February was 6.1 degrees warmer than normal state- wide, the fifth warmest on record, while February 2015 was 7.7 degrees above nor- mal, the warmest in 120 years of records, Loyd said. March of 2015 also was the warmest on record, as was last June, which produced ex- cessive heat. This year’s warmup was interrupted by two days of cooling, April 4 and 5, but forecasts called for 80 degrees by April 7. “Models and indicators continue to show warm temps for the next several months,” Loyd said. “Coming off a strong El Nino makes a hot summer more likely.” The warmth brings crops on earlier and lessens frost danger but severe frost, exces- Dan Wheat/Capital Press Apricot trees are in full bloom at the Nash Orchard in East Wenatchee, Wash., on March 29. Mission Ridge snowpack, background, is better than it was last year. sive heat and too rapid moun- tain snow melt could all still happen, he said. Tianna DuPont, WSU Ex- tension tree fruit specialist in Wenatchee, said Red De- licious apples probably will reach full bloom in Wenatchee on April 14, the fourth or fifth earliest since 1922. Last year’s bloom on April 9 was a record. Earliness is more pro- nounced in the southern part of the state and cherry bloom has greater spread, 10 days, than the last two years, which will be good for harvest tim- ing, DuPont said. But Andy Gale, who man- ages more than 8,000 acres of Central Washington or- chards for Stemilt AgSer- vices, Wenatchee, said he’s concerned bees won’t be able to pollinate enough cherry blossoms because bloom is occurring so fast throughout the region. “Sometimes bloom is just too fast and bees can’t get around to them all and it’s hard to get good fruit set,” Gale said. Cherry bloom is one to two days later than last year, but still early, he said. Bing cher- ry trees were in full bloom April 3 in Mattawa and would be April 6 in Rock Island just south of Wenatchee, he said. Pears and apples, which bloom later than cherries, probably will have more spread in bloom time. Com- pression is a greater concern in cherries because they are more perishable, Gale said. Washington governor signs bee bill By DAN WHEAT Capital Press OLYMPIA — A bill aimed at helping Washington state beekeepers has been signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee. EHB 2478 directs the state Noxious Weed Board to con- duct a four-year pilot project to investigate best methods of recovering honeybee forage when noxious weeds are elim- inated. “Many plants listed as noxious weeds are also great pollen and honey plants,” said Tim Hiatt, co-owner of Hi- att Honey Co. in Ephrata and chairman of the Washington State Beekeepers Associa- tion’s legislative committee. The project anticipates participants from all areas of the state will compile a list of recommendations based on geographical area and us- ing a variety of techniques and materials. The goal is to give guidance to interested landowners and managers on providing honeybee and other pollinator forage when con- trolling noxious weeds. “We’re excited to make this information generally avail- able and increase the forage in Washington for honeybees and other pollinators,” Hiatt said. The bill passed the House 96-1 and the Senate unani- mously this session after a similar measured failed last year. There were concerns then that plants used to replace nox- ious weeds might themselves be noxious like kochia was in cattle feed, Hiatt said. The bill was reworked to avoid that, he said. The state’s supplemental budget includes funding for a new bee research position at Washington State University, Hiatt said. The position is funded for one year and a top association priority in 2017 will be to get it permanently funded, he said. Washington is the No. 2 state in the nation in agricul- tural acres pollinated but has only one bee researcher at WSU. More research on hon- eybee health issues such as parasitic mites is needed for stronger hives, he said. Affidavit details how fake organic seed was discovered By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Jason Laney noticed it first. On March 26, 2015, the Idaho State Department of Ag- riculture organic inspector was making a routine stop at organic handler Summit Seed Coatings in Caldwell, Idaho, and saw sev- eral loads of alfalfa seed. Summit manager Martin Lu- trell said the seed was from Ber- nard Saul, an organic farmer in Bliss, Idaho. Laney determined Saul Farms had delivered more than 300,000 pounds of alfal- fa seed to Summit for organic coating between June 2014 and February 2015. But it didn’t add up. By Laney’s reckoning, Saul’s 48 acres devoted to organic alfalfa seed was capable of growing 38,400 to 43,200 pounds of al- falfa seed a year. “Saul Farms had nothing in their organic system plan that indicated they were buying organic seed from any other producers,” FBI Special Agent Drew McCandless said in his court affidavit, which laid out how Saul and his wife, Roza, bought hundreds of thousands of pounds of conventional alfal- fa seed for an average of $2.50 a pound and sold it to custom- ers for an average of $3.75 over six years, netting the Sauls more than $1.9 million in fraudulent gain. All details in this story are from the affidavit. The ISDA’s Laney had in- spected the Sauls’ farm in 2014. At that time, they told him the ledgers represented the entire- ty of their organic alfalfa seed sales. The ledgers, which Laney photographed, showed no re- cord of sales to four companies specializing in organic seed — whose checks were deposited in business and personal accounts at Columbia Bank in November and December of 2013. “Therefore the sales … are considered to be fraudulent sales of conventional alfalfa seed rep- resented as organic seed with Saul Farms’ USDA organic cer- tificate,” McCandless stated in the affidavit. On April 15, July 7 and Aug. 20, ISDA collected samples of Saul Farms’ alfalfa seed from Summit and shipped it to Pacific Agricultural Laboratory in Port- land, where it tested positive for pesticides and fungicides. In September, David Pol- lemus, majority owner of An- drews Seed Co. in Ontario, Ore., and Terry Perryman, owner of United Seed Service, Inc. in Caldwell, Idaho, confirmed they had sold 70,000 to 100,000 pounds of conventional alfalfa seed annually to Saul for ap- proximately five years. Neither company handles organic seed and both told investigators Saul had never requested organic seed, according to the affidavit. McCandless’ next stop was at the Sauls’ bank, where he found numerous deposits of checks from organic seed wholesalers. A search warrant of the Sauls’ residence on Sept. 30, 2015, turned up deposit slips from three other banks, where more checks had been deposited from organic seed buyers. As part of a plea agreement, Bernard Saul pleaded guilty last week and faces up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release for wire fraud and up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release for money laundering. His sentencing is set for June 7.
