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January 13, 2017 CapitalPress.com 3 Calif. storms help fi ll reservoirs but slow ag work By TIM HEARDEN California snow water equivalents Capital Press SACRAMENTO — Big rains in California have dumped more than a million acre-feet of water into the state’s reservoirs since Jan. 1 but this week stalled the Central Valley’s na- vel and mandarin orange harvests, state and industry offi cials say. The storms had added 1.1 million acre-feet of water to California’s reservoirs by Jan. 9 with more to come, according to state offi cials, while prompting the opening of the Sacramento Weir — a fl ood-control bypass around the city — for the fi rst time since 2006. Shasta Lake, the Central Val- ley Project’s main reservoir, was at 81 percent of capacity as of Jan. 11 while Lake Oroville, the chief reser- voir for the State Water Project, was at 74 percent of capacity, according to the Department of Water Resourc- es. As of Jan. 11, California’s snow-water content had vaulted to 158 percent of normal statewide af- ter being just 70 percent of normal a week earlier. The southern Sierra Nevada’s snowpack was at 187 per- cent of normal for this time of year, according to the DWR’s California Data Exchange Center. This week saw a one-two punch of “atmospheric river” mega-storms aimed at California, with the fi rst on Jan. 7-8 bringing rain, heavy winds and local fl ooding and the second on Jan. 10-11 expected to pile as much as 6 feet of snow on the mountains, according to the National Weather Service. But the rain wasn’t all good news for farmers. More than 2 inches of rain in the Central Valley’s prime citrus grow- Percent of the historic average snow water equivalent for Jan. 11, measured in inches. Northern Sierra/Trinity: 131% of normal Redding Central Sierra: 156% of normal 5 Sacramento 80 Southern Sierra: 187% of normal San Francisco Fresno N 50 miles 5 Statewide average: 158% Eric Risberg/Associated Press Vineyards remain fl ooded in the Russian River Valley Monday in Forestville, Calif. A massive storm system stretching from California into Nevada lifted rivers beyond their banks, fl ooded vineyards and forced people to evacuate the area. ing region has made the ground too wet to move equipment and in- creased the risk that wet fruit could be blemished, said Joel Nelsen, pres- ident of the Exeter, Calif.-based Cal- ifornia Citrus Mutual. While the rain is welcome after four years of drought, the timing has been a little frustrating for growers, Nelsen acknowledged. “We’re in the middle of a good harvest,” he said. “This is when we start our exports to Korea and Japan, and the international scene is quite attractive right now. It (the weather) affects volume.” Another concern for citrus grow- ers is if temperatures suddenly drop after the rains clear out and water still on the fruit freezes, causing sur- face blemishes that force growers to destroy the fruit, Nelsen said. But that wasn’t in the forecast as of Jan. 10, he said. Most of California has been soggy since New Year’s Day, with some valley areas getting as much as 5 inches of rain in the fi rst week of 2017 and as much as 14 inches of rain falling in some mountain com- munities, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. On farms, the rain has helped the growth of planted grains and fi eld crops continue at an excellent rate, NASS reports, but it has brought fi eld work to a standstill. At Shasta College in Redding, 15 Bakersfield 40 Los Angeles 10 Source: California Dept. of Water Resources 8 Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Calif., frequent storms have prevent- ed the farm from planting some of its grain fi elds, farm manager B.J. Mac- farlane said. The farm grows all of its hay and grains to avoid having to purchase feed for its livestock. “We’re not complaining, but it’s messed up our farming, the water coming like it has,” Macfarlane said. “But I’ve planted grain in January and February and been just fi ne.” Fruit and nut growers have been pruning orchards and shredding the brush as the weather has allowed, but vineyard operations had to stop most post-harvest fi eld activities be- cause of the rain, NASS reported. But no major damage to fruit and nut orchards because of high winds or fl ooding had been reported, local Farm Bureau and University of Cal- ifornia Cooperative Extension offi - cials said. “The water, so far, is a good thing here,” Fresno County Farm Bureau executive director Ryan Jacobsen said in an email. Many orchardists took steps ahead of time to prevent large-scale orchard damage from wind and fl ooding, including applying zinc in the fall to help drop the leaves and making sure they have good drain- age, said Dani Lightle, a UCCE farm adviser in Orland, Calif. The biggest worry for nut grow- ers is developing root rot from stand- ing water, she said. Bird fl u detected in Judge rules in million-dollar disputes Montana mallard duck By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Virus similar to 2014-15 outbreak By DON JENKINS Capital Press A mallard duck harvested in Montana in late Decem- ber tested positive for high- ly pathogenic bird fl u, the World Organization for An- imal Health and the USDA announced Wednesday. The duck was infected with a mix of Eurasian and North American bird fl u vi- ruses that created a strain similar to the one fi rst found in the U.S. in a northern pin- tail duck in Whatcom County in northwestern Washington in December 2014. In the following six months, bird fl u spread to 15 states, claiming 50.4 million chickens and turkeys, “This appears to be one of the strains we saw during the outbreak in 2014 and 2015,” USDA Chief Veter- inarian Jack Shere said in a written statement. “This fi nding serves as a powerful reminder that there is still avian infl uenza circulating in wild birds, and producers and industry need to continue to be vigilant about biosecurity to protect domestic poultry.” Migratory waterfowl car- ry the disease, but are im- mune from its ill effects. To detect the circula- tion of the virus, the USDA and other federal and state agencies have tested near- ly 30,000 wild birds in the past six months. The duck sampled Dec. 27 in Fergus County, Mont., was the sec- ond confi rmed case of highly pathogenic bird fl u since July. A mallard duck at a wildlife refuge in Alaska tested posi- tive in August. Two million-dollar-plus disputes be- tween agricultural interests have been de- cided. In one, an Idaho packing company owes $1.3 million for potatoes that a farmer de- livered to an intermediary but wasn’t paid for, a federal judge ruled. The ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill concludes about three years of litigation between farmer Kirk Jacobs, Taylor Produce and the Idaho Potato Pack- ers Corp. Previous court decisions held that Taylor Produce failed to pay Jacobs for more than $1.3 million worth of potatoes in violation of the Perish- able Agricultural Commodities Act, or PACA, which requires proceeds from crops to be held in trust for growers. While Taylor Produce packaged and shipped the potatoes, the sales were han- dled by the Idaho Potato Packers Corp., or IPPC. Jacobs claimed that IPPC improperly deducted $1.3 million in expenses for mar- keting, freight, packaging materials and commissions from potato proceeds that were to be turned over to Taylor Produce. The judge has now agreed that the pro- ceeds from IPPC’s potato sales were PACA trust assets belonging to Jacobs that the packing company wrongly converted by deducting those expenses. Winmill said that “IPPC has not estab- lished that the various expenses it seeks to recoup can be traced to Jacob’s potatoes” or that the deductions were even authorized under its marketing agreement with Taylor Produce. For that reason, IPPC and its subsidiar- ies are liable to Jacobs for the $1.3 million in potato proceeds, the judge said. In the other dispute, Winmill recently resolved a lingering fi nancial dispute be- tween the H.J. Heinz Co. and a former sup- plier, the Bright Harvest Sweet Potato Co. Bright Harvest fi led a complaint against Heinz three years ago, alleging the food company had reneged on a contract to buy sweet potato fries after building its own processing facility in Ontario, Ore. A jury found that Heinz hadn’t breached the contract in 2015, but Winmill over- turned that fi nding, ruling that the jury’s conclusion wasn’t supported by the evi- dence at trial. After a second trial, a jury awarded Bright Harvest more than $1.2 million in damages, which was challenged by Heinz. Over 40 Years Experience Grass Expertise. LET’S TALK! Alan Greenway, Seedsman H ANNU T 8 L A 4 Caldwell, Idaho • Alan Greenway, Seedsman Cell: 298-259-9159 • MSG: 298-454-8342 2-1/#17 GREENWAY SEEDS ROP-40-42-4/#17 COMPONENTS TO COVER CROPS NEED TO BE TALKED ABOUT. DON’T BUY A PRE-MIX!! 2-1/#17 JANUARY 24 · 25 · 26 • PORTLAND, OR The Northwest’s Largest Ag Show! OVER 200 EXHIBITORS FROM THE NORTHWEST, ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND AROUND THE WORLD! EVERYTHING FOR EVERY FARMER! Twelve and Under Free! Single Day -$17 Adult/$8 Senior Multi-Day - $18 Adult/$14 Senior FREE PARKING ALL THREE DAYS! Free Parking Courtesy of Kubota Tractor Corp. 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