December 9, 2016 CapitalPress.com 17 Apples fit millennials’ values, Wal-Mart rep says By DAN WHEAT Capital Press WENATCHEE, Wash. — Millennials are the largest part of the workforce now, so if stores want to sell fruit — or anything else — that segment needs to be considered, says Mike Hulett, senior merchant over orchard items for Wal- Mart stores. Speaking at the Washing- ton Tree Fruit Association annual meeting in Wenatchee on Dec. 5., Hulett showed a millennial song parody on consumers more aware YouTube to help the of how food is made audience understand and it all adds up to their carefree attitude. trust,” Hulett said. Millennials are Amer- Millennials are for icans born between savvy spending but 1981 and 2000. they value experience It drew laughs and Mike Hulett in their purchasing, he while Hulett called it “hilarious,” he said millenni- said. They see a responsibility als drive consumer trends, are in making a positive impact into experience, are fair-mind- on their community reflected ed and have their own con- through the food they buy, he said. sumer values that apples fit. “Global issues matter less “When the recession hit, it impacted consumer trust. and local issues matter more It changed the way people in their minds,” he said. In the foodie culture where spend their money. It made food is an experience, new apples should do well because millennials show their status by what they do, Hulett said. They like to try new things and share it on social media, so if your apple has consistent crisp quality they will share that, and if it doesn’t they will “tell it in even a more prolific way,” he said. Some 70 percent of the ap- ples Wal-Mart stores buy are Red Delicious followed by Granny Smith, Fuji and Gala, Hulett said. “We are the largest buyer of Reds, but we are purpose- ly taking that down,” he said. “Reds are doing better from SmartFresh (natural storage enhancer) but still not meet- ing the taste experience.” Honeycrisp meets the taste test, Gala is falling off and club varieties such as Opal, Envy, Ambrosia are where consumers are headed, he said. Washington’s new Cosmic Crisp apple should do well, he said. Millennials also factor time, health and nutrition, food safety and authenticity in purchasing, he said. Labeling and packaging are a great way of communi- cating, he said. Information about fruit can be shared on the outside of stand-up bags that doesn’t get transmitted in bulk bin displays, he said. “Fresh food is the bull’s- eye,” Hulett said. “Nothing relates more than fresh and organic and local.” Wal-Mart stores aim to keep meat, produce and deli items fresh because fresh is what 87 percent of customers are looking for, he said. Washington dilutes fine for spilling vinegar into river Capital Press File photo Two marbled murrelets are seen. Environmentalist groups want an injunction to stop logging on roughly 50 acres of private property that was once part of Oregon’s Elliott State Forest that they say threaten the endangered bird. Fleischmann’s Vinegar Co. slashed its fine for spill- ing concentrated vinegar into a Washington river by installing more energy-ef- ficient lights at its Sumner plant, the state Department of Ecology announced Tues- day. Ecology reduced to $2,000 from $10,000 the pen- alty for releasing 10,000 gal- lons March 4 into the White River in Pierce County. Fleischmann’s spent at least $8,000 on energy-sav- ing measures and will cut its annual electricity con- sumption by 10,525 kilo- watt-hours per year, accord- ing to Ecology. The spill was caused by a faulty valve. The river was high at the time of the spill, minimizing damage, accord- ing to Ecology. Fleischmann’s was fined $24,000 in 2014 by Ecolo- gy. The company was fined $4,000 for spilling con- centrated vinegar into the ground and $19,000 for vi- olations found in follow-up inspections. Groups seek order to stop logging on former Oregon state forestland By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Environmentalist groups want an injunction to stop logging on roughly 50 acres of private property that was once part of Oregon’s Elliott State Forest. Three nonprofits — Cas- cadia Wildlands, Center for Biological Diversity and Audubon Society of Portland — have asked U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken to prohibit tree harvest on the parcel due to hazards to the threatened marbled murrelet. Logging plans were pre- viously abandoned in the area because Oregon realized it would cause Endangered Species Act violations, but a 355-acre parcel was bought in 2014 by Roseburg Forest Products Co. and its Scott Timber subsidiary for nearly $800,000, according to plain- tiffs. The environmentalists claim that harvesting a 50- acre site, known as the Ben- son Snake Unit, within that parcel will unlawfully de- stroy the habitat of marbled murrelets, which occupy old growth trees in the tract. “The defendants are pro- posing to do exactly what the state thought it couldn’t,” said Dan Kruse, attorney for the environmentalists, during oral arguments on Nov. 22 in Eugene, Ore. An injunction is warrant- ed because the plaintiffs are likely to prevail in the law- suit and logging would irrep- arably harm the species, he said. In contrast, there’s noth- ing to show that the trees would be any less valuable if harvesting is delayed by a year or two, Kruse said. Roseburg Forest Products counters that an internation- ally recognized environmen- tal consulting firm chose a site that’s not occupied by the threatened bird. “They hired independent experts to determine where the birds might be in the stand and how they’re using the stand,” said Dominic Carollo, attorney for the timber com- pany. The company will also conduct logging during the autumn and winter, when marbled murrelets are out at sea, in an area that’s not con- sidered critical habitat for the species, the defendants claim. The case laid out by the plaintiffs doesn’t demonstrate that logging will cause actual “take” of marbled murrelets under ESA, Carollo said. “At best they’ve proven it’s hypothetical or possible ... which isn’t sufficient,” he said. “They don’t have the facts or the evidence to show there will be death or injury to the marbled murrelet. Kruse argued that “take” isn’t limited to destruction of nesting areas used by the spe- cies. Under ESA, “take” also occurs when logging disrupts other behaviors necessary to the bird’s life cycle, such as courtship, he said. Similarly, it can harm peo- ple if you bulldoze their living or kitchen while sparing the bed in which they sleep, he said. Science has shown mar- bled murrelets need large blocks of habitat to survive, Kruse said. “Fragmentation has sig- nificant impacts on marbled murrelets,” he said. Biggest fertilizer distribution plant opening planned By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press POCATELLO, Idaho — Officials at Valley Agronom- ics expect to open what will be the state’s largest fertilizer distribution plant before the month’s end. Sid Jensen, the project manager, said construction of the estimated $10 million facility is on schedule and on budget. It’s on 12 reclaimed acres within a federal Super- fund site where FMC Corp. ran the world’s largest elemen- tal phosphate plant until 2001. Jensen hopes to start mov- ing dry fertilizer into the fa- cility during the third week of December, and to spend the next three months filling the plant to capacity. Valley Agronomics is a partnership between Valley Wide Co-op — a regional agronomy cooperative based in Rupert, Idaho — and WinField Solutions, a Land O’Lakes company. Jensen said the company has been pleased by customer interest in the new facility, as well as the many new cooperative members it’s already attracted. “We’ve got brisk demand, and we have several million in prepaid business on the books,” Jensen said. The dry storage building has space for 26,000 tons of dry fertilizer, and the tank farm, scheduled to open in John O’Connell/Capital Press A ramp is excavated accessing the new Valley Agronomics facility near Pocatello, Idaho. The plant is scheduled to open this month. March, has capacity for 2 mil- lion gallons of liquid fertilizer. Jensen said the company chose the site largely because it can accommodate unit trains — entire trains of cars hauling a single commodity, sent from a common origin to the same destination without being reassembled en route. Jensen said the freight sav- ings — $25 to $30 per ton on a large unit train — will be passed on to customers. The greatest advantage, he said, is that the plant should maintain an adequate supply of fertil- izer, avoiding potential short- ages when rail cars are also needed to ship grain. A shop and an office-ware- house will be constructed in the second phase, which Jen- sen said could start in 2017. Jensen said fertilizer will be shipped directly from the plant to farms. He said orders in the American Falls and Po- catello areas have been filled out of Idaho Falls and Han- sen. Pocatello will now sup- ply Valley’s Preston and Idaho Falls facilities, which lack rail access. Fertilizer prices are tied to petroleum and have been down lately, Jensen said. The company, which also runs convenience stores and has petroleum and feed divi- sions, is within the top 20 of the CropLife 100 rankings of agricultural retailers. “We started 12 years ago with barely making a profit to $300 million in sales now,” Jensen said. FMC consultant Paul Yo- chum said FMC is nearing the end of the second year of a three-year cleanup at the site, which will require a total $60 million investment. In the first year, FMC graded the prop- erty and built ponds to catch surface runoff. FMC is now finishing 36- inch caps over the former pro- duction area, and 14-inch caps over shale. The third phase will entail pumping ground- water from the shallow aqui- fer and removing arsenic. Kent Rudeen, chairman of Power County Development Authority, said remediation was recently completed for a 73-acre parcel at the site, which is now available for industrial redevelopment. Rudeen said marketing of the rest of the grounds has moved slowly. “FMC is looking at hiring a Realtor to seek out interest in the property,” Rudeen said. Courtesy of University of Idaho Brent Olmstead speaks at the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Ag Days Dinner awards ceremony in 2014. Olmstead named Idaho ag college assistant dean By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — Milk Produc- ers of Idaho Executive Di- rector Brent Olmstead will join the leadership team at the University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Olmstead was named the college’s assistant dean for government and external re- lations and will replace Rich Garber, who retired from CALS this year. He will work closely with the agricultural indus- try and will continue to work out of his current office in Boise, which is in the same building that houses leaders of several of Idaho’s farm commodity groups, includ- ing wheat, barley, beans, wine and milk. Olmstead, who was born and raised on a cattle ranch near Twin Falls, is also a member of Food Producers of Idaho and the state coor- dinator for the Idaho Busi- ness Coalition for Immigra- tion Reform. News of his selection was welcomed by the state’s farm industry. He has been responsible for starting several organi- zations and efforts to bet- ter agriculture and natural resource groups in Idaho, said Rick Waitley, executive director of Association Man- agement Group, which rep- resents 40 ag organizations. He said Olmstead, who has 25 years of experience in public and governmental relations, “has been respect- ed as a lobbyist over the years and has a strong work- ing knowledge of the public policy process.” Olmstead served eight years as vice president of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry and handled that group’s agricul- tural, natural resources and environmental issues. “Brent Olmstead brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position with CALS,” Waitley said in an email. “Brent has the full support of industry stake- holders and we are all look- ing forward to working with him in his new role....” When Olmstead begins his new job later this month, he will work with farm in- dustry leaders as well as the state’s agribusiness commu- nity and other stakeholders. “It’s an exciting time to be involved in agriculture and with the College of Agricultural and Life Sci- ences,” he said in a news re- lease. “The future for CALS is unlimited and I am look- ing forward to working with all segments of Idaho’s agri- cultural community.” With ther addition of Ol- mstead, the college is close to completing its administra- tive leadership team. CALS Dean Michael Parrella began in February, Barbary Petty was named UI’s Extension director in May and Mark McGuire in November took over as director of the Idaho Ag- ricultural Experiment Sta- tion, which oversees UI’s research efforts. The associate dean of ac- ademic programs at CALS is retiring in June and the person named to fill that po- sition will complete the col- lege’s academic leadership team. Parrella said he was thrilled with Olmstead’s se- lection. “CALS is moving for- ward aggressively with many programs and projects that will enhance our state- wide teaching, research and extension mission,” he said in a news release. “Brent is an ideal person to front these initiatives to the legislature, commissions, allied indus- tries and stakeholders in Idaho.”