October 14, 2016
CapitalPress.com
9
Idaho
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Late grain planting in Idaho
could check barley disease
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Vineyard owner and bee scientist Ron Bitner stands in front of
his Caldwell, Idaho, vineyard on Aug. 19. Bitner has teamed up
with two people from the semiconductor industry to try to create
solutions for farmers.
‘Geeks meet dirt’
as company seeks
farm solutions
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
CALDWELL, Idaho — A
new company that matches
the Idaho’s farm and hi-tech
industries hopes to develop
solutions that will save farm-
ers money and boost produc-
tivity.
The company, Kairosys,
matches the agricultural
knowledge of vineyard owner
and bee scientist Ron Bitner
with the technological savvy
of two former employees of
Boise-based Micron Tech-
nology, a global leader in the
semiconductor industry.
Tony Brower has 20 years
of diverse experience in the
semiconductor industry, in-
cluding in business planning
and data base access, and Jai
Jaiprakash, an engineer, is an
expert in the use of sensors
and product development.
The company’s motto is,
“Geeks meet dirt,” and Bit-
ner believes it has the abili-
ty to solve many problems
farmers face by making sense
of the large amounts of infor-
mation being collected on the
farm and iguring out how it
can be used to beneit farm-
ers.
“People are collecting
thousands of points of data
but what does it mean?”
he said. “That’s what Jay’s
background is: taking all
of that historical data (and)
looking for trends.”
The company’s irst proj-
ect is developing an app that
uses sensors placed in leaf-
cutter bee incubators to pre-
dict when the bees will hatch
for the alfalfa seed industry.
“That way, a farmer can
predict pretty accurately
when his bees are going to
hatch and how long he can
hold them if the weather’s
cold or if he has to spray,”
said Bitner, who has four
decades of experience in the
alfalfa seed industry.
During the spring, alfal-
fa seed growers have about
$100,000 worth of bees in in-
cubators “and they just can’t
hardly sleep at night,” Bitner
said. “But if they have some-
thing tracking the bees for
them, it’s just insurance for
them. We’re trying to help
them time the release of their
bees and user fewer bees.”
He expects to have the app
developed by next spring.
“We have to work out
the details (but) farmers are
ready for it,” he said. “We
already have people asking
for it.”
The company is also
studying bloom times in al-
falfa seed and how it ties in
with the bees, as well as bug
counts in seed ields to deter-
mine how chemicals affect
them.
More projects will follow,
Bitner said.
Kairosys is also partner-
ing with USDA researchers
to see how its technology can
be used to help the nation’s
honeybee industry.
Matt Borud, chief busi-
ness development oficer
for the Idaho Department of
Commerce, said Kairosys is
exactly what former IDC Di-
rector Jeff Sayer had in mind
when he kicked off an effort
last year to bring the state’s
ag and tech sectors together
to create jobs and solve prob-
lems for farmers.
“I think it’s the poster
child example,” he said. “It’s
exactly the type of venture
Jeff had in mind and we think
there are still plenty more
opportunities like this out
there.”
He said current IDC Di-
rector Megan Ronk shares
Sayer’s vision of turning
Idaho into a Silicon Valley of
agricultural technology.
IDAHO FALLS — A late
start to planting fall grains in
Eastern Idaho and the Mag-
ic Valley should reduce the
risk of rampant barley yel-
low dwarf virus, according
to University of Idaho Exten-
sion cereal experts.
Further improving the
outlook for growers in East-
ern Idaho: Recent frosts in
the region have killed aphids,
which spread the disease,
said UI Extension cereal pa-
thologist Juliet Marshall.
Magic Valley, however,
still awaits a killing frost, and
aphid populations remain ex-
tremely high, said Jerome
County Extension educator
Steve Hines.
“I’ve seen aphid pressure
in this valley like I’ve never
seen it before,” Hines said.
“Growers have had aphids in
everything.”
Hines said many growers
in his region opted to cut hay
early to displace the aphids,
and area corn crops this fall
have been “loaded” with
aphids.
“It would not surprise me
to see some barley yellow
dwarf this spring if we get a
long, warm fall,” Hines said.
The good news, Hines
said, is that the valley’s
growers appear to be taking
precautions against the dis-
ease, planting fall grain as
late as possible to minimize
aphid exposure.
“I have not seen many
planters rolling yet, so I think
producers are taking to heart
late planting,” Hines said on
Oct. 10, adding he expect-
ed growers to start planting
within the week, before the
scheduled end of irrigation
deliveries.
Hines said his region ex-
perienced some barley yel-
low dwarf this season, though
plants were healthy enough
to outgrow the symptoms.
He said growers also had
some fusarium headblight
and more widespread stripe
rust, though he believes dis-
ease pressure was greater this
season in Eastern Idaho.
Marshall said barley yel-
low dwarf, which stunts the
development of plant roots,
was widespread throughout
Eastern Idaho early this sea-
son, but ideal growing con-
ditions helped crops recover
and avoid signiicant yield
losses.
She said recent rainfall in
Eastern Idaho has delayed
planting of fall grain, pro-
tecting growers from aphid
exposure.
“We’re probably better
off to be holding off here,
anyway,” said Aberdeen
farmer Ritchey Toevs, who
was delayed from planting
by at least a week but inds
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Fall grain is planted in southeast Idaho. Cereal experts say a late start to fall planting should help
reduce the risk of diseases such as barley yellow dwarf virus.
late-planted fall grain tends
to fare better.
Headblight, a fungal dis-
ease that led to signiicant
losses in both Idaho wheat
and barley last season, also
wasn’t much of a problem
this season, Marshall said.
She said headblight thrives
in hot and moist conditions,
and the summer brought little
moisture and moderate tem-
peratures.
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JD 9630, 1300 hours, 4WD, premium cab,
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JD 8530, 4500 hours, premium cab, ILS,
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JCB 8250, 1050 hours, premium cab,
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Case IH STX500, 2612 hours, 4WD,
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MF 8650, 1152 hours, susp. cab, susp.
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weights........$138,000 Madras C048047
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JD 6400L, 5722 hours, Low Profile
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Case IH 500Q, 1515 hours, luxury cab,
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fresh trade..$347,500 Colfax DF139168
TILLAGE
MF 8660, 3311 hours, susp. cab, susp.
axle, CVT, 4 remotes, 480-50 duals, front
weights........$123,000 Madras V193047
Case IH MX305, 3178 hours, cab, PS
trans., MFWD, dual PTO, 620-42 duals,
5 remotes, quick hitch.............................
................ $118,000 Hillsboro Z05380
MF 4610, 381 HOURS, CAB, 12x12 trans, Case IH MAX140, 4364 hours, cab, MFWD,
MFWD, DL260 loader, 540-1000 PTO, like PS trans. dual PTO, 4 remotes, 480-42
new..................$46,000 Salem DKJ12605 singles.............$68,750 Hillsboro ZBBL1889
TILLAGE
TILLAGE
IHC 800, 9-16” pull moldboard plow,,
pring reset bottoms, 2 like units to
chose from...$4,000 Moscow 0U001870
Wilrich V957, 14’ disk ripper, 9 shanks,
spring reset, rear tine harrow, like new.
.........................$25,000 Merrill 457580
Brent CPC, 5-shank disk ripoper,
cushion gangs, chisel points, 26”
blades.........$12,000 Tangent 17370143
Frontier TM5124, 24’ heavy tandem
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point depth control.................................
............$50,000 McMinnville D0000101
Riteway 8000, 55’ super harrow, tow
behind hitch........$17,000 Tekoa 97-80
COMBINES
COMBINES
COMBINES
JD 9770 3079 hours, small grain, 35%
Rahco leveler, 630R platform & cart......
....................$225,000 Colfax OS730470
JD S660, 157 hours, small grain, Vari-
Stream rotor, Powercast tailboard, 615 BPU
platform.........$345,900 Harrisburg 765334
MF 8780XP, 2470 hours, small grain,
28% Hillco Leveler, 25’ rigid cutting
platform, 480-42 duals............................
............$55,000 Walla Walla 0MJ87146
JD S680, 881 hours, small grain, 35%
Rahco Leveler, 635F platform and cart...
.................$429,900 Four Lakes 755668
JD 9650, 3112 hours, small grain,
914PU platform, small wire concave......
.............$49,000 McMinnville 0S685800
JD 9650STS, 3145 hours, sm grain,
18% Hillco leveler, grass seed combine,
914P BPU.....$120,000 Salem 0S700523
JD 2410, 32’ chisel plow, spring reset,
rear tine harrow, floating hitch..............
..................$50,000 Moscow D0755267
JD S690, 350 hours, small grain, 28%
Hillco leveler, 24,5-32 duals, 4WD,
Countour Master.....................................
................$530,000 Moscow D0765122
JD T670, 1917 hours, small grain,
conventional cylinder, straw walkers,
615P BPU platform...................................
.................$165,000 Tangent OA082615
LOCATIONS:
Albany, Oregon (MAIN OFFICE)
Ellensburg, Washington
3 Years @ 0%
ing as herbicide spray, yield-
ed just 20 bushels per acre.
Fortunately, Marshall said
dry weather following grain
harvest and prior to planting
killed volunteers and oth-
er weeds that could sustain
fungal spores as a “green
bridge.”
“I don’t think it will be a
good year for stripe rust to
overwinter her,” Marshall
said.
TRACTORS
JD S670, 1061 hours, small grain, Hilco
28% leveler, Prodrive, 24.5-32 tires.......
.................$350,000 Moscow C0755391
WE S P E CIA LIZE IN B U LK B AG S!
However, another fungal
disease, stripe rust, fared well
in the mild and dry weather,
and was especially devastat-
ing within susceptible vari-
eties.
Marshall said that in a
UI experiment conducted in
Aberdeen this season, a plot
planted to the susceptible va-
riety Brundage, and treated
with a single early fungicide
application at the same tim-
JD 9760, 2767 hours, Rahco 18%
sidehill
leveler,
duals,
4WD,
straw chopper, contour master...............
..................$167,000 Tekoa 0S715882
JD 9770, 3688 hours, small grain, level
land, 635F platform and cart..................
.................. $189,000 Colfax A0736737
JD S680, 1002 hours, small grain, 35% Case IH 9230, 536 hours, Hilco 27%
Rahco leveler, no platform $463,300 leveler, small grain, no platform.............
Colfax 755718
..................$430,000 Tekoa YEG224449
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Phone: 855-928-3856
Fax: 541-497-6262
info@westernpackaging.com
.......................................................
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www.westernpackaging.com
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