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10 CapitalPress.com Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters March 24, 2017 Idaho Idaho Wheat Commission will re-submit ‘grower information’ rule change in 2018 By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — The Idaho Wheat Commission will hold off until next year on a pro- posed rule that would provide the commission access to the names and contact informa- tion of all wheat producers in the state. The IWC originally pro- posed the rule in 2016 but withdrew it after some grain elevators objected to it. The commission had planned to re-submit it this year but de- cided to delay the proposal another year at the request of some grain elevators. The IWC does plan to re- submit the rule during the 2018 Idaho Legislature, exec- utive director Blaine Jacobson told lawmakers this week. Idaho statute gives the commission authority to have the names and contact infor- mation of wheat growers but the commission currently lacks the mechanism to col- lect it. The proposed rule would require first purchasers of Ida- ho wheat, such as elevators, to provide the names and ad- dresses of growers to the com- mission. About half of the elevators in the state currently provide the commission that informa- Sean Ellis/Capital Press A wheat field in southwestern Idaho is shown in this June 28, 2016, photo. The Idaho Wheat Commission will hold off until 2018 to re-sub- mit a proposed rule change that would give it the ability to collect the names and contact information of all wheat producers in the state. tion, Jacobson said, but Idaho is the only state with a wheat commission that doesn’t have the ability to gather the con- tact information of all wheat growers. That puts Idaho at a dis- advantage when it comes to building the state’s wheat in- dustry, he said. Jacobson said having that information would also en- able the commission to inform wheat producers of timely and important information, such as disease outbreaks or price premiums, as well as allow the commission to show growers how their wheat checkoff dol- lars are spent. “This is something we’re going to be asking your help with next year,” Jacobson told members of the House Agri- cultural Affairs Committee. “It’s something that needs to be fixed.” The IWC proposed the rule during the 2016 Idaho legislative session but after some elevators opposed it, the commission withdrew the rule and entered into negotiated rulemaking with the elevators. During the negotiated rulemaking meetings, some elevators, including Thresher Artisan Wheat, which owns grain elevators in Eastern Ida- ho, asked the commission to hold off on proposing the rule for a year to give them time to contact the producers they purchase wheat from to see if they are OK with the infor- mation being released to the commission. Thresher CEO Don Wille said the company is in the process of asking growers that question and a majority have responded. “A few have said ‘no’ but the majority are saying ‘yes,’” he said. Thresher believes the re- lease of grower information to the commission should be voluntary, Wille said. “I don’t think it needs to be mandatory,” he said. “We’ll do this voluntarily, but I need to protect the identity of my growers if they want me to.” IWC board member Bill Flory, a North Idaho wheat grower, said the names and contact information the com- mission receives from eleva- tors is guarded closely and only used to communicate with and educate growers. “That list is protected ju- diciously. It’s tightly con- trolled,” he said. Idaho quinoa buyer outgrowing processing facility By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — A local businessman who has established Eastern Idaho as the major U.S. production area for quinoa says recent contracts have maxed out his processing capacity, and he intends to build a much larger facility. Last October, Jeremi- ah Clark opened his current small plant, capable of pro- cessing up to 2 million pounds per season of the gluten-free grain. His next quinoa pro- cessing facility could be op- erational by the fall of 2018, with the capacity to clean and polish between 50 million and 100 million pounds per sea- son. Clark contracted with re- gional growers for about 600 acres of quinoa last year. His goal for this season is to work with up to 20 growers and increase production to about 2,000 acres. Clark said he’d need to contract for about 30,000 acres to supply 60 mil- lion pounds of quinoa. “We’re going to need to do an expansion if we’re going to grow more for 2018,” Clark said. “I figured this was our pilot system. We saved where we could and got used equip- ment, and I think it’s bared out to the point that, yes, this is going to be a good market, and it’s going to be worth do- ing it right.” Courtesy of Jeremiah Clark Quinoa is bagged and stacked, awaiting shipping, at Jeremiah Clark’s quinoa processing facility in Idaho Falls. John O’Connell/Capital Press Jeremiah Clark evaluates a quinoa crop in Shelley, Idaho, in Au- gust of 2016. Clark hopes to contract for 2,000 acres of quinoa this season, which would max out the capacity of his processing facility. Clark declined to quote a current contract price but said grower returns for a good qui- noa crop should top wheat or barley. Clark said he’s now con- vinced quinoa isn’t a fad, and demand should continue to grow as food companies seek healthy, gluten-free ingredi- ents. Bill Day, who is in charge of the grains division with Nampa-based HB Special- ty Foods, said his company recently signed a contract with Clark, impressed by the quality and color of his qui- noa. Day said his employer, which has been buying qui- noa from South America for making gluten-free flours and breading to supply to food manufacturers, tested Clark’s quinoa last year. Day has en- couraged Clark to develop black and red quinoa variet- ies, in addition to the white quinoa he currently markets. “I can tell you now, we can sell anything he can grow,” Day said. Growers spanning from American Falls through Ash- ton, who have thus far plant- ed mostly small, 5-acre plots of quinoa, will be asked to plant 40- to 50-acre fields this season. Some growers, including Wyatt Penfold of Driggs, intend to raise full pivots. Penfold, who raised 20 acres of quinoa last year and will plant at least 120 acres this year, said producing the crop on a larger scale should provide growers insight on management practices, such as controlling weeds without approved herbicides. “We’re trying to get the field management and all of those things figured out with just a few of us before a whole bunch of people jump into it,” Penfold said. “We don’t want to have a major train wreck with a whole bunch of people.” Clark’s growers have been raising a blend of white vari- eties he selected from Colora- do seed. Clark has further de- veloped a single variety from the Colorado seed, called Kai- ley, and intends to apply for variety protection. University of Idaho is now expanding Kailey seed in a greenhouse, and Penfold will further ex- pand Kailey seed supplies in the field this season. Courtesy of Jim Rice Idaho Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee Chairman Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, holds an Idaho license plate that was placed in a lake in another state infested with invasive aquatic mussels. Rice said the plate has helped him find support to increase state funding for boat check stations that keep mussels out of Idaho water. ISDA head concerned about invasive species bill By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press BOISE — The head of the Idaho State Department of Ag- riculture has mixed feelings about a group of bills aiming to help the state better respond to the spreading threat of invasive aquatic mussels. ISDA Director Celia Gould credited state appropriations leaders for “thoughtful” bills that would significantly step up funding for check stations that prevent out-of-state boats from bringing invasive mussels into the state. But Gould also voiced strong concerns about HB 274, which would create a new in- vasive species coordinator po- sition within the Governor’s Office and broaden the defini- tion of invasive species to also include noxious weeds. Gould believes the bill would usurp power from county weed super- intendents and create a needless new layer of bureaucracy that could come into conflict with her staff. She said ISDA already per- forms the functions of the pro- posed coordinator, who would be tasked with collaborating with surrounding states to stop the spread of invasive species. “I recognize everyone has the best of intentions, but I’m fearful the legislation as pre- sented has unintended conse- quences that would outweigh the good it would do,” Gould said, adding she also has con- cerns about related bills SB 1068 and HB 256. A check station on U.S. Highway 93 near Twin Falls detected the season’s first boat harboring live mussels on March 20. The boat, now being held for decontamination, had been in Lake Havasu, located on the California-Arizona bor- der, and was bound for Alberta, Canada. Two other boats har- boring dead mussels were also detected this season, according to ISDA. Last summer, 19 boats har- boring mussels, including one boat with viable mussels, were detected from 90,000 inspec- tions. Water bodies in Utah and Nevada are known to be infested with mussels — which are tough to eradicate and clog irrigation infrastructure — and infestations were recently dis- covered in Montana reservoirs. Prior to the 2016 season, the invasive species program oper- ated on a $1.4 million annual appropriation from state inva- sive species boating stickers. The Legislature appropriated $1 million to expand the pro- gram through last fall, and SB 1112 — which would award $1 million through the end of Fiscal Year 2017 to fund three new stations near the Montana border, expand hours of all 18 state check stations and staff them with police — awaits Gov. Butch Otter’s signature. The Legislature has appro- priated $4.3 million to continue offering the expanded program for the fiscal year beginning July 1 — with $3.1 million coming from the General Fund and $1.2 million coming from sticker revenue. Furthermore, HB 211 would generate about $100,000 in an- nual revenue through a $7 in- crease on non-resident boating stickers. Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee Chairman Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, said his committee members unanimously sup- ported increased funding for invasive species stations after hearing an ISDA presentation last year. “We were essentially play- ing roulette with boats coming in and not being inspected,” Rice said. “Stations were not open enough hours.” Clair Bosen, president of Twin Lakes Canal Co. in Franklin County, Idaho, is dis- mayed that there appears to be no plan to allocate dollars pro- tecting two of his company’s reservoirs — Twin Lakes and Glendale. “(Mussels) just make it so you can’t run anything through pipes or head gates. They just plug them up,” Bosen said, adding his company would likely have to drain its reser- voirs for two years if they were to become infested. “This year, without some funding, we are not going to be able to open those reservoirs (to boating.)” 12-7\#14
