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BIG PUMPKINS, BIG BUSINESS: RECORD-SETTING MEGA-SQUASHES Page 2 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 VOLUME 89, NUMBER 43 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 THE NUT BOOM California’s cyclical almond, walnut and pistachio industries keep growing despite price lull By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press Courtesy of American Pistachio Growers Pistachios are harvested in an orchard in Fresno County, Calif. This year’s pistachio crop has bounced back after unfavorable weather during last year’s blossom led to an inordinate number of “blanks”, or empty shells, during the 2015 harvest. $5 $2.84: Down 29% from 2014 U.S. tree nut prices 4 (Dollars per pound) *Estimate Almonds Walnuts Pistachios 3 $2.48: Down 30.5% from 2013 2 $1.01 $0.97 1 Tim Hearden/Capital Press Howard walnuts are swept up during harvest in an orchard owned by Lindauer Farm Management near Los Molinos, Calif. A big walnut crop was expected this year as the industry continued efforts to boost domes- tic demand for the nuts. 0 $1.62: Down 56.2% from 2013 $0.62 2000 ’05 Source: USDA NASS ’10 2015* Alan Kenaga/Capital Press If there’s a ceiling on how many nuts California can produce and still maintain profi tability, growers remain convinced they haven’t yet reached it. L OS MOLINOS, Calif. — For nearly a de- cade, the sky has been the limit for Cali- fornia tree nut growers. As growing demand pushed prices up- ward, the number of acres devoted to al- monds, walnuts and pistachios rocketed, leading to record production and billions of dollars of profi ts for growers, processors and exporters. Until last year. A price slide in the midst of last season’s record walnut harvest marked the fi rst signs of vulnerability. Prices dropped from an av- erage of $1.85 a pound in 2013 to about 81 cents last year, according to the National Agri- cultural Statistics Service. Meanwhile, almond prices have fallen by 30 per- cent in the past year, from an average of $4 a pound in 2013 to $2.84 in 2015. At the same time, the initial prices quoted to pis- tachio growers are about half the average of $3.57 a pound they received in 2014. The sobering news accompanies record harvests for all three nut crops. But third-generation walnut grower Bruce Lindauer isn’t worried about his farm’s long-term vi- ability. He has seen plenty of ups and downs. “I’m in it for the long haul,” said the own- er of Lindauer Farm Management Inc. “If you’re a smart grower, when it’s over $2 a pound you sock some away, and when it’s like this you stop spending.” Turn to NUTS, Page 12 Presidential campaigns differ on government’s helpfulness Surrogates field farm questions By DON JENKINS A farm forum in Wash- ington, D.C., featuring surro- gates for presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Donald ELECTION 2016 Trump Wednesday highlight- ed the campaigns’ differing views on promoting a healthy agricultural economy. Trump’s campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis said federal agencies need to be restrained, particularly in the West. He said the new Waters of the U.S rule “may be the poster child of overreach.” Clinton supporter Kath- leen Merrigan, former dep- uty agriculture secretary in the Obama administration, said government needs to communicate better. She said concerns about WOTUS are overblown. “In most cases, these are worries that are bo- Owyhee Reservoir irrigators fi nally get full allotment By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press Courtesy of Zachary Moskow, wikipedia.org; www.donaldjtrump.com Clinton, left, at an event in Philadelphia on April 20. Trump at a rally in Pella, Iowa, on Jan. 23. geyman worries,” she said On the morning of the third and fi nal Clinton-Trump debate, the Farm Foundation hosted a two-hour session at the National Press Club fea- turing Clovis, an economics professor at Morningside Col- lege in Iowa, and Merrigan, director of sustainability at George Washington Univer- sity. Clovis repeatedly turned to regulations during his opening remarks and a ques- tion-and-answer session that followed. Turn to ELECTION, Page 12 “If you’re a smart grower, when it’s over $2 a pound you sock some away, and when it’s like this you stop spending.” ONTARIO, Ore. — A full water allotment for the fi st time in four years has made a huge difference for farmers in Oregon and Idaho who depend on the Owyhee Reservoir to irrigate their crops. They received only a third of their full 4 acre-foot allotment in 2014 and 2015 and as a result drastically al- tered their crop rotations and left a lot of ground fallow to save what water they did receive for their onions, the area’s main cash crop. The reservoir provides irrigation water for 1,800 farms and 118,000 acres of ground in Eastern Oregon and part of southwestern Idaho. “It meant a lot to have a full allotment this year,” said Owyhee Irrigation Dis- trict Manager Jay Cham- berlin. “It was good to see growers get back to more normal planting.” During the drought years, when water was sparse, a lot of farmers moved their on- ion acres to areas where they had access to well water or Turn to WATER, Page 12 EVER WONDERED WHAT TO DO WITH THAT OLD, WORN OUT COMMODITY TRAILER? Our Rebin Program can turn your old trailer into a new trailer! We will remove all working mechanical parts, and replace the bin with a new Stainless Steel STC Bin on your existing running gear. All parts deemed reusable are reinstalled on the new bin. All of this at the fraction of the cost of a new trailer! WWW.STCTRAILERS.COM 494 W. Hwy 39 Blackfoot, ID 83321 208-785-1364 43-2/#16 Capital Press Bruce Lindauer