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10 CapitalPress.com April 22, 2016 Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Idaho Idaho drafts water sustainability plan By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press ST. ANTHONY, Idaho — A subcommittee of the Idaho Water Resource Board has completed a draft sustain- ability plan, offering guid- ance to preserve the state’s water supply. Pending approval by the full board in May, a public comment period encom- passing seven statewide meetings on the plan will run through the third week of September. The board will then con- template revisions, based on the public’s input, and the plan will be submitted for the state Legislature’s ap- proval in January 2017. The draft is three pages long and will be added to the state water plan, estab- lishing broad principles for leaders to consider in their water management policies and decisions. “It sets an overall state- wide vision for achieving sustainability of our water resources so we have ade- John O’Connell/Capital Press Jeff Raybould, a St. Anthony, Idaho, farmer who chairs the Idaho Water Resource Board subcommittee that created a draft sustain- ability plan to govern Idaho’s water management, leads an April 12 tour of a canal passing through his farm dug specifically to facilitate managed aquifer recharge. quate water supplies to meet existing and future water needs,” said Water Board member Vince Alberdi. In 2012 Idaho Gov. Butch Otter directed the board to create a sustain- able water policy and high- lighted the project during his most recent State of the State address. Idaho Department of Wa- ter Resources senior water resource planner Neeley Miller drafted the plan with the board’s input. Miller said the board also got ideas for the draft by meeting with companies and entities that have water sustainabil- ity plans, including the cit- ies of Meridian and Hailey, Idaho Power, Clear Springs Foods and J.R. Simplot Co. The plan outlines imple- mentation strategies such as inventorying Idaho’s cur- rent and future water needs, studying water trends, iden- tifying projects and man- agement options that opti- mize water supplies without impairing quality, working to enhance surface water storage, maintaining fund- ing for aquifer stabilization strategies and identifying water conservation mea- sures for users. The docu- ment also identifies water milestones for the state to meet. “It’s a big step in the right direction for the State of Idaho to take to high- light sustainability practic- es that are in place and to set benchmarks to create a more sustainable, long-last- ing water supply for current and future uses,” said Jeff Raybould, a St. Anthony farmer who chairs the sub- committee assigned to draft the plan. The policy will also help guide how Idaho invests water sustainability fund- ing approved during the recent legislative session, including $5 million in an- nual cigarette tax dollars continuing through 2019, another $5 million in annual general fund dollars starting in the next fiscal year and a $2.5-million one-time pay- ment. IDWR Planning Divi- sion Chief Brian Patton said states throughout the West have been enacting sus- tainable water plans. Pat- ton said the development of Idaho’s plan was furthered by the recent water call set- tlement agreement between Eastern Snake Plain Aqui- fer groundwater users and senior irrigators with the Surface Water Coalition. The parties have agreed to take steps toward revers- ing the aquifer’s declining levels. “I do think we are a little unique in (Idaho) in that we are really on the verge of re- solving some of these prob- lems,” Patton said. S. Idaho Livestock Hall of Fame honors inductees By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The Southern Idaho Livestock Hall of Fame celebrated its newest inductees at the orga- nization’s 57th annual ban- quet on Tuesday evening. The honored inductees were cow-calf operators Jim and Nedra Korte of Buhl, cattle buyer and feeder Phil Munsee of Twin Falls, cat- tle producers and saleyard owners Bruce and Christine Billington of Twin Falls and ranchers Ted and Betty Ann Higley of Malta. The Kortes raise 270 cow-calf pairs on about 580 acres in a rotational grazing operation that utilizes five pastures, with two addition- al pastures for replacement heifers. Converting their cropland to pastures about 20 years ago and introduc- ing sprinkler irrigation, they run a sustainable operation that utilizes the herd to both fertilize and harvest the for- age. Their forage production and grazing management, which minimize soil erosion and protects water quali- ty, earned them the 2015 Grassman of the Year award by the Idaho Association of Conservation Districts. Munsee parlayed his ear- ly start in the packing indus- try into a career in the cattle business and his own pack- ing house and feedlots. His expertise in cattle slaugh- tering and eye for quality animals earned him a rep- utation as a knowledgeable buyer and established him Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press Cattlemen and women pose for a photo following their induction into the Southern Idaho Livestock Hall of Fame Tuesday evening at the Turf Club in Twin Falls. From left are Ted and Betty Ann Higley, Phil and Pat Munsee, Jim and Nedra Korte and Bruce and Christine Billington. as a valuable asset in South- ern Idaho’s packing and feeder industries. His cattle-buying savvy continues to play an inte- gral role in the 6,000 head feedlot he operates with his sons. In addition to running their own cattle, the Bill- ingtons have owned and op- erated the Twin Falls Live- stock Commission Co. since the 1980s. They have built the business, with the help of knowledgeable and loyal employees, on honesty and customer service. The saleyard is one of the largest of its kind in the region, drawing about 175 buyers and consigners from much of Idaho, northern Nevada and northern Utah. Weekly sales handle up to 3,000 head of cattle in the busy season. The Billingtons also ac- commodate the region with sheep, goat, swine and horse sales and have been long-time supporters of FFA and 4-H. The Higleys have been ranching in Southern Idaho since the early 1970s, and were one of the first opera- tions in the area to raise An- gus cattle. They grew their family operation over the years to include more farm ground, a backgrounding operation, a small feedlot and a custom hay business. The Higleys were also part owners of the Burley Livestock Auction for five years, and Ted has served as president of the Elba Cattle Association and the Farm Service Agency coun- ty committee and served on the Cassia County Fair Board for 18 years. The Hall of Fame ban- quet was held at the Turf Club with about 170 people in attendance and included a special tribute to early in- ductees. Slow sales for re-introduced dry bean herbicide By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press HOMEDALE, Idaho — First-year sales of Eptam 20G, an herbicide that was re- turned to the market last year at the urging of Idaho’s dry bean industry, were slower than anticipated. Gowan Co. stopped manu- facturing the product in 2008 for a variety of reasons, in- cluding reduced demand, but Idaho’s dry bean industry per- suaded the company to re-in- troduce it last year. Gowan produced 400,000 pounds of the product, which company officials estimated to be about a two-year supply, and the company’s distribu- tors began selling it again last spring. Gowan officials have said the market’s response to the product will determine wheth- er the company continues pro- ducing it. While the company still has high hopes for Eptam 20G, “Our distributors ... are sitting on a lot of inventory and they are not particularly pleased with how the program turned out last year,” said Ken Reh, Gowan’s product man- ager for Eptam. Some Idaho dry bean farmers say that Eptam 20G, which is the granular version of the herbicide, works bet- ter in controlling the hairy nightshade weed than Eptam 7E, the liquid version of the product. Nightshade is the Idaho dry bean industry’s top weed challenge and costs the in- dustry about $8 million a year, according to Idaho Bean Commission estimates based on grower surveys. IBC board member Don Tolmie said Eptam 20G’s re- sidual effect is much longer and suppresses the weed later in the season than other prod- ucts. Eptam 7E has to be re-ap- plied during the season, while Eptam 20G is applied once at planting, which reduces the need for an additional tractor trip through the field, said Tol- mie, production manager of Treasure Valley Seed Co. He estimates that Eptam 20G saves growers in areas with high nightshade pres- sure between $60 and $90 an acre, most of that in the re- duced need for manual weed control. Hairy nightshade is a pro- lific seed producer that emerg- es throughout the season. As little as two nightshade plants per meter of row can reduce bean yields by 13 percent, said University of Idaho re- searcher Mike Thornton. ISDA plans meeting on food safety rules By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press ONTARIO, Ore. — Ida- ho State Department of Ag- riculture officials will pro- vide an overview of the new Food Safety Modernization Act rules and how they will 17-2/#5 impact agriculture during an April 26 meeting. FSMA “is widely con- sidered the most sweeping change to food safety regula- tion since the 1940s and will have a direct impact on many Idaho growers, processors and shippers,” according to an 17-4/#7 ISDA press release, The meeting will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the Clari- on Inn in Ontario, Ore. The southwestern Idaho and East- ern Oregon farm industry is closely linked and many pro- ducers in this area farm in both states. The meeting will focus on FSMA’s produce rule and its preventive controls for human food rule. The produce rule requires irrigation water to meet min- imum standards for bacteria, a provision that is a big con- cern to onion farmers in this area. The produce rule covers on-farm activities related to the growing of agricultural commodities that are con- sumed raw. The preventive controls for human food rule covers food manufacturing. According to the ISDA news release, the meeting is targeted toward small and mid-sized farms and facilities. For more information about the meeting, contact Candi Fitch, executive direc- tor of the Idaho Fruit and Veg- etable Association, at (208) 722-5111.