April 14, 2017
CapitalPress.com
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Idaho
Legislators applaud commission’s potato marketing efforts
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — During the re-
cently concluded Idaho leg-
islative session, many law-
makers gave an unofficial
thumbs-up to the Idaho Potato
Commission’s marketing and
promotion efforts.
“Obviously you are do-
ing an incredibly great job
of promoting the Idaho pota-
to,” Rep. Randy Armstrong,
R-Inkom, told IPC President
and CEO Frank Muir.
His remark was represen-
tative of the feedback Muir re-
ceived during his annual pre-
sentations to the state House
and Senate ag committees.
Armstrong then asked
Muir how much the commis-
sion spends on advertising.
Muir used the opportuni-
ty to present a breakdown of
the commission’s marketing
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Potatoes are harvested in Eastern Idaho last fall. Idaho legisla-
tors last week lauded the marketing efforts of the Idaho Potato
Commission.
and promotion efforts and
explain the reasoning behind
them.
More than 80 percent of
the commission’s $15 million
budget goes toward market-
ing and promotion, including
$5.3 million spent on adver-
tising.
The promotion efforts in-
clude big-ticket programs
such as the Big Idaho Potato
Truck and the commission’s
sponsorship of the Famous
Idaho Potato Bowl Game.
Keeping Idaho potatoes
in front of consumers in a fa-
vorable light is the main goal,
Muir told Capital Press.
“If you stop promoting
your brand for one gener-
ation, you’re going to lose
your brand equity,” he said.
“Idaho is known more for
potatoes than any other state
is known for anything else.
That’s how strong we’ve
built this brand.”
Muir told lawmakers the
IPC also chooses to put as
much money as possible into
what he terms “working dol-
lars,” money that is directly
spent trying to build demand
and expand markets.
As an example, the com-
mission collected $130,000
more than it budgeted for
potato assessment revenue
during fiscal year 2016 be-
cause of higher than expected
yields, and obtained an unex-
pected $147,000 federal grant
to support its export efforts.
The commission also
spent $728,000 less than
was budgeted for “targeted
programs,” which are pro-
grams that are implemented
if the commission’s mar-
keting committee, which
represents shippers, opts to
launch them.
The total amount of that
additional and unspent mon-
ey, $1.05 million, was put
right back into the commis-
sion’s fiscal 2017 budget.
“Instead of building up a
reserve, I want to put grower
dollars right back (to work),”
Muir said.
IPC board members told
Capital Press they support
Muir’s promotion and mar-
keting game plan.
“I think we get an amazing
return for what we invest in
the value of the Idaho potato
brand,” said Aberdeen farmer
Ritchey Toevs, an IPC board
member.
“We don’t have a big pool
of money so we try to get the
most leverage out of our pro-
motions as we can,” said IPC
board member Randy Hardy,
an Oakley farmer. “We think
Frank does an excellent job
getting the most bang out of
our buck.”
Hardy and Toevs said
board members field ques-
tions from some growers
who want to know how their
potato assessment dollars are
spent and why potato prices
aren’t higher.
“The brand alone doesn’t
return anything to the grower
but the brand itself has great
value,” Toevs said. “The
growers have to manage the
return separate from what the
commission does.”
Ag fares well during 2017 legislative session
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
Idaho FFA members engage
youngsters to boost ag literacy
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
TWIN FALLS, Idaho —
Photosynthesis, pollination,
seed dispersal. They might
seem like pretty heady topics
for kindergarten and first-
grade students, but it’s nev-
er too early to start learning
about the workings and im-
portance of agriculture.
In fact, the earlier the bet-
ter, according to Idaho FFA
members involved in an ag
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press
literacy event at the Boys & Members of the Salmon FFA chapter help youngsters at the Boys
Girls Club on Friday.
& Girls Club in Twin Falls make eggs.
The Idaho FFA State Lead-
The Bonners Ferry mem-
ership Conference was wind- op and manage that, she said.
Having knowledge about bers gave about 90 young-
ing its way to Saturday’s cli-
max when hundreds of FFA agriculture and where their sters an agronomy lesson
members swapped their for- food comes from will hope- — compliments of Dr. Seuss
mal attire for blue T-shirts and fully foster support for agri- Books and the Cat in the Hat
jeans and spread out across culture, said fellow chapter — explaining everything in-
volved in growing food from
Twin Falls for some 30 ser- member Mary Fioravanti.
“Maybe one day when seed, answering questions
vice events to thank the com-
munity for hosting the confer- their older, they’ll want to be and helping the children
a part of that, too,” said Bailey plant seeds in cups bound
ence.
for their own windowsills or
A few chapters chose to ed- Myers.
But they don’t necessarily gardens.
ucate children on agronomy,
In another room, FFA
forestry, livestock production have to be a farmer to sup-
and career opportunities in port agriculture and future members from Salmon were
agriculture, and the Boys & food production, said Brittany helping youngsters make eggs
from Play-Doh, explaining
Girls Club was a perfect, if Spangler.
“I think it’s really import- each part of the egg and its
noisy, venue.
Ag literacy and knowing ant to do these fun activities function and how eggs are
where food comes from is re- to spark an interest so they produced.
Katie Cooper, ag education
ally important, said Shawna remember it,” she said.
Teaching the future gen- instructor and Salmon FFA
Siver, an FFA member from
eration so youngsters have a adviser, said hands-on activ-
Bonners Ferry.
There’s only so much general understanding that ag ities are a good learning tool
space in the world to grow is an aspect of every part of for young students and eggs
food, and people need to their life is critical to keeping are a food they’re familiar
with.
know it’s important to devel- ag viable, she said.
because it’s only for off-road
use.
“That was a ridiculous idea
to begin with,” Idaho Farm
Bureau Federation Director
of Governmental Affairs Russ
Hendricks said about the pro-
posed bill to end the program.
“We were very glad that bill
was withdrawn.”
Idaho lawmakers ap-
proved an additional $1.85
million for University of Ida-
ho’s College of Agricultural
and Life Sciences. The mon-
ey will be used to fund ma-
jor lab renovations and new
graduate student housing at
some of the college’s ag re-
search stations.
“These upgrades — plus
the addition of housing for
graduate students — are des-
perately needed at many of
our research and extension
centers throughout Idaho,”
said FPI Executive Director
Rick Waitley.
CALS also got $10 mil-
lion for its proposed $45
million livestock and agricul-
tural research facility in the
Magic Valley area.
Legislators approved an
11 percent increase in the
Idaho State Department of
Agriculture’s overall budget,
with most of the additional
money going to buttress ef-
forts to prevent quagga mus-
sels from invading Idaho wa-
terways.
The legislature also ap-
proved $750,000 that will be
used by the ISDA and Ida-
ho Brand Board to develop
animal tracking software to
electronically manage animal
identification numbers and
livestock movement data.
LEGAL
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Oregon Soil and Water
Conservation Commission (SWCC)
will hold its regular quarterly
meeting on Monday, May 1,
2017, from 12:30 p.m. to 5:00
p.m. The meeting will be held
at the Red Lion Hotel, 304 SE
Nye Avenue, Pendleton, OR
97801.The meeting agenda
covers SWCC reports, advisor
reports, Soil and Water
Conservation District programs
and funding, Agriculture Water
Quality Management Program
updates, and other agenda
items.
The Oregon Department of
Agriculture complies with the
Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA). If you need special
accommodations to participate
in this meeting, please contact
Sandi Hiatt at (503) 986-4704, at
least 72 hours prior to the
meeting.
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Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press
Brianna Clizer of the Bonners Ferry FFA chapter reads to kindergartners at the Boys & Girls Club in Twin
Falls for an ag literacy lesson during the FFA State Leadership Conference’s day of service on April 7.
BOISE — Idaho’s farm-
ing industry fared well during
the state’s recently concluded
2017 legislative session.
The Idaho Legislature’s
105 members sided with agri-
culture on many issues, from
water to field burning, dyed
fuel, immigration and addi-
tional funding for research.
“We didn’t have any
big-ticket items ... but we did
have a lot of different issues”
that legislators supported ag
on, said Roger Batt, who rep-
resents several farm groups at
the legislature.
Additional funding to
strengthen Idaho’s transporta-
tion infrastructure was hailed
by ag industry leaders as one
of the session’s main achieve-
ments.
Food Producers of Ida-
ho, which represents 40 ag
groups, sent a letter to law-
makers pointing out how im-
portant transportation is to the
state’s farmers and ranchers.
“Idaho’s agriculture indus-
try depends upon local, state
and federal highways to move
product from farm to market
and from market to consum-
ers,” the letter stated. “We
cannot maintain a viable and
aggressive agriculture sector
without an adequate transpor-
tation infrastructure.”
Legislators approved a bill
that will provide $300 million
to upgrade important trans-
portation arteries, including
widening a bottleneck stretch
of Interstate 84 near Nampa
that is an important thorough-
fare for a lot of Idaho farm
commodities, including grain,
potatoes, cattle and sugar
beets.
“There are a lot of ag com-
modities that travel that free-
way,” said Sen. Mark Harris,
a Republican rancher from
Soda Springs. “I think the
transportation bill was a big
plus for agriculture.”
Another big win for the in-
dustry was a bill that codifies
into state law a 2007 Idaho
Supreme Court ruling on who
owns stock watering rights on
federally administered land.
Siding with two Owyhee
County ranchers, the court
ruled that the U.S. Bureau of
Land Management can’t own
the rangeland water rights
because it doesn’t own cattle
and therefore can’t put the
water to beneficial use.
Senate Bill 1111 opens the
door for potentially thousands
of Idaho ranchers to file de-
ferred claims to those rights.
Companion legislation lays
out the process for filing a
claim.
A large chunk of Idaho is
federally owned and water
is the key to using that land,
Harris said. “Those bills pro-
tect those water rights that
people depend on.”
A bill that would have
done away with Idaho’s dyed
fuel program and required
people who use the diesel
fuel, such as farmers and
ranchers, to pay the taxes on
it up front and apply for a tax
refund never made it out of
committee.
Dyed fuel is used heavily
in agriculture and is exempt
from state and federal taxes
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