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8 CapitalPress.com Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters April 7, 2017 Idaho Idaho ag department gets 11 percent budget hike By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — The Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s total budget of $44.9 million for fiscal year 2018 will be an increase of 11 percent, or $4.9 million, over the current fiscal year. But the revenue the depart- ment receives from dedicated funds, which are fees people pay for services, will actually decrease 1.4 percent to $25.7 million. That means farmers and ranchers and others in the ag industry who utilize ISDA services face no significant fee increases in the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. Most of the increase to the overall budget — $4.1 million — will go to the department’s invasive species program to buttress efforts to prevent Sean Ellis/Capital Press File Dry beans are harvested in a field near Nampa, Idaho, last Sep- tember. Idaho lawmakers have agreed to increase the Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s fiscal year 2018 budget 11 percent to $44.9 million. quagga mussels from invad- ing Idaho waterways. The budget includes an additional $3.1 million in general fund revenue and $1 million in expected federal funding to open three new watercraft inspection stations and run a night-time inspec- tion operation. Lawmakers have made it a priority to keep quagga mus- sels, a freshwater invasive species that can wreak havoc in water ecosystems, from reaching Idaho. The ISDA got everything it asked for in its 2018 budget request. “This budget, with its ap- proved enhancement requests, shows confidence in the ISDA continuing to fulfill our mis- sion to serve agriculture and all of Idaho,” ISDA Director Celia Gould told Capital Press in an email. Lawmakers also approved: • $80,000 for an additional organic inspection position to handle rapid growth in ISDA’s organic certification program. • Spending authority for a $447,000 federal Food Safe- ty Modernization Act grant to help determine the scope of produce grown in Idaho that will be covered by the act’s produce safety rule, as well as provide outreach, education and technical assistance to af- fected producers. • An additional $160,000 to cover costs of the department’s ongoing methyl bromide miti- gation efforts relating to fields in Eastern Idaho treated with the powerful fumigant under a federal pale cyst nematode eradication program. • $99,000 for an additional rangeland management spe- cialist. • $87,700 for a full-time in- formation technology network security analyst to help ensure the information the department has on thousands of farmers and ranchers is secure. “We hold a lot of sensitive information here and we need to protect it,” said ISDA Chief of Operations Chanel Tewalt. Largely as a result of the increased money for the inva- sive species program, ISDA’s general fund revenue in fiscal 2018 will increase 40 percent to $11.9 million. Revenue from federal fund- ing will increase 24.6 percent to $7.4 million, also largely from the expected $1 million federal quagga mussels grant. ISDA’s total $44.9 million fiscal 2018 budget is still be- low the department’s pre-re- cession 2008 budget of $46 million. Gould pointed out to law- makers that most of the depart- ment’s revenue comes from dedicated funds. “The majority of ISDA’s services are paid for by those using them and I think that’s a great reflection of the finan- cial health of the agency,” she said. UI Extension experts see gains in local forage market By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press BLACKFOOT, Idaho — A severe winter has strengthened regional demand for alfalfa, but grower returns are still hover- ing around the cost of produc- tion, according to University of Idaho Extension experts. Extension educator Reed Findlay, who oversees forage and horticulture in Bannock and Bingham counties, said the average Idaho price for a ton of alfalfa in 2016 was $114. Find- lay predicts 2017 Idaho alfalfa prices will average $144 per ton. “We’re seeing a lot bet- ter prices than we saw around Christmas time,” Findlay told hay growers March 16 during a UI forage school in Blackfoot. “There is movement in the hay markets, and they are better than we thought they’d be.” However, Findlay said large hay inventories remain, and a strong dollar has constrained alfalfa exports. Findlay be- lieves recent flooding through- out Southern and Eastern Ida- ho will cut into hay yields and improve the local supply out- look. He anticipates the cool, moist conditions will also lead to problems with phytophthora root rot. “This may be a lower pro- duction year because of those two factors,” Findlay said. “In John O’Connell/Capital Press University of Idaho Extension economist Ben Eborn presents his report on the cost of pro- ducing alfalfa in Idaho during a forage school March 16 in Blackfoot. the next few weeks, we’ll find out more of what’s going on in the alfalfa fields.” Blackfoot grower Dave Bingham said muddy field con- ditions have made it tough to access stacks and deliver hay, further boosting local demand. Lately, Bingham said local straw demand has been on the rise, as muddy conditions have increased the need for bedding during calving season. Also during the forage school, UI Extension econ- omist Ben Eborn publicized results of his Idaho alfalfa pro- duction cost study. Eborn es- timated the average southeast Idaho grower spent $135 per ton to raise hay in 2016, down $2 from the previous year. Al- falfa growers in Magic Valley invested $146 per ton, down by a dollar. His model farm in south- east Idaho had 1,250 acres of land and yielded 6 tons of al- falfa per acre. His Magic Val- ley model farm included 2,200 acres, producing 7 tons of al- falfa per acre. Eborn attributes the slight decline in production costs largely to a 15 to 30 percent drop in fertilizer prices, a 10 to 20 percent drop in chemical prices and an 8 to 9 percent drop in fuel and repairs for machinery. Eborn said fuel prices should remain fairly steady throughout 2017, and fertilizer market experts anticipate fur- ther price declines of 10 to 15 percent. Labor and irrigation costs should continue to rise, however. He said his report is avail- able at www.uidaho.edu/cals/ idaho-agbiz as a tool for grow- ers to assess their own prog- ress. “If you don’t know what your actual costs of production are then how do you know if you’re heading in the right direction with your cost struc- ture?” Eborn said. Eborn advises growers who must make cuts to start with their largest expenditures first, such as fertilizer and equip- ment. Growers who don’t shop around for fertilizer often miss out on the best prices, he said. Otter appeals dismissal of sage grouse lawsuit By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press BOISE — Idaho Gov. Butch Otter is appealing the dismissal of his sage grouse lawsuit against the federal government. Otter late last week filed the notice appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Otter sued in September 2015 after federal officials opted not to list sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act but announced federal land-use restrictions. U.S. District Judge Em- met G. Sullivan dismissed the lawsuit in January. Sulli- van didn’t rule on the merits of the claims but said Otter lacked standing because the state didn’t prove it had been injured. Otter has long complained that Idaho worked with feder- al agencies to come up with a sage grouse plan only to have Idaho’s plan ignored. The sage grouse is found in 11 Western states. Courtesy of James Hoff A farmer responds to the Henry’s Creek Fire in Bonneville County, Idaho, late last summer. The farm- ers and ranchers have formed a new rural fire protection association to better coordinate their efforts with those of professional firefighters. Bonneville County farmers, ranchers form fire association By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press IDAHO FALLS — For as long as Bob Hoff has farmed, the 75-year-old has fought wildfires in the foothills of Bonneville County. This summer, however, he and more than 30 other area farmers and ranchers will do it as part of the state’s ninth rural fire protective association. They will receive training, protective gear and radios to coordinate their efforts with professional firefighters. The program has been of- fered through the Idaho De- partment of Public Lands since 2012, providing training and resources to rural residents who are often the first to respond when wildfires are sparked. “The range fires we feel are best fought with a tractor and a disc,” Hoff said. “We’ve felt frustrated because we’ve had no communication with other fire- fighters up there over the years.” The new association had its first training, conducted by Bureau of Land Management officials, on Feb. 25. The farm- er-firefighters say the training has opened their eyes to the im- portance of first evaluating a fire for safety considerations, rather than jumping in immediately. They’re awaiting approval of nonprofit status. Hoff said fires surface al- most every year in his rural area. Last summer, however, Bonneville County experi- enced an especially devastating arson-caused blaze. The Hen- ry’s Creek Fire scorched nearly 60,000 acres, fueled by strong winds and dry vegetation, and local farmers were credited with digging fire breaks that kept the flames away from new development. Hoff’s son, Idaho Potato Commissioner James Hoff, said some sheriff’s deputies, based on safety concerns, were hesitant to allow farmers ac- cess to the Henry’s Creek Fire. Heading forward, police dis- patchers will notify the farmers when fires are reported and so- licit their help. “North and east of my place, the foothills are loaded with homes,” James Hoff said. “I’ve been around those homes with my tractor and disc to keep fire from getting into them.” 14-1\#6 James Hoff said firefighting is hard on his personal equip- ment — he incurred $12,000 in damage to a tractor fighting one fire — and the association will be eligible for grants to acquire equipment specifically for fire containment. Hoff said the association will cover the eastern two-thirds of rural Bonneville County, as well as a portion of the western area, and possibly the northern tip of Bingham County. Bon- neville County Commissioner Dave Radford, who farmers say has been instrumental in setting up the association, said it should relieve some of the burden on the sheriff, who is tasked with heading rural fire responses. “The communication gap we’ve had in the past can be bridged with this effort,” Rad- ford said. Association members will pay dues to cover their liability insurance, but IDL will supply them with training materials, protective uniforms, hardhats, radios and portable fire shelters from a state fund, said Rick Finis, with IDL’s Fire Manage- ment Bureau.
