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8 CapitalPress.com May 5, 2017 Idaho Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Peas take hold in East Idaho rotations By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press RIRIE, Idaho — Growers near this small Eastern Ida- ho city have started planting green peas to diversify their limited crop rotations. The buyer, George F. Brocke & Sons Inc. of Ken- drick, Idaho, sees a couple of major advantages to adding Ririe to its production base, despite the added cost of hauling the peas to Northern Idaho. Dirk Hammond, the com- pany’s administrative ser- vices manager, explained growers near Ririe face no problems with weevils — which are a major pea pest John O’Connell/Capital Press File elsewhere — due to the Clark Hamilton, front, and his son, Logan, check a field of peas in Ririe, Idaho. Hamilton’s experiment with high elevation. Furthermore, commercial pea production has resulted in an increasingly popular rotation crop for growers in his area. adding a new growing area Ririe grower Clark Ham- his trial year in 2014 and has spreads risk. The compa- consistent quality and yields. “It’s a relationship I think ilton made the initial pitch increased his pea crop this ny’s Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho and Montana we both want to continue to to Brocke & Sons. He was in spring to 270 acres. Hamilton growers raise peas without ir- pursue and expand,” Ham- need of a crop to break up his said there’s been some limited rigation, and their results can mond said. “We’re both learn- grain rotation in some of his production of peas for seed in vary based on precipitation. ing what works well for each fields that are too rocky for his area in the past, but rais- The Eastern Idaho growers, other, and it’s an educational raising spuds. He planted 120 ing commercial peas is a new acres for the company during trend. who use irrigation, provide process.” Clark has also hosted grower meetings to make his neighbors aware of the op- tion. This spring, 10 Eastern Idaho growers will raise about 1,000 acres of peas. Growers are paid 10.5 cents per pound, and can produce from 3,000 to 5,500 pounds per acre under irri- gation. Area growers say the return is slightly less than soft white spring wheat, but peas require fewer inputs and they fix a bit of nitrogen. Hamilton said he has produced some of his best grain crops following peas. “Every crop we’ve had so far behind the peas shows a definite health advantage,” Hamilton said. “We’re not getting wealthy, but we feel over time we’ll have a health- ier rotation.” Ririe grower Brigham Cook raised 80 acres of peas in his first crop last season, but he has about 600 acres that are poor for spuds and could benefit from adding peas to the rotation. Cook be- lieves low wheat and barley prices have made peas more attractive. “It’s a crop that apparently fits the area well,” Cook said. “Marketing appears to be the issue.” Eastern Idaho growers raise Banner, a pea variety that Hammond said is popular with customers and stands up- right, producing peas on the upper half of the plant. This enables growers to harvest their peas with wheat headers. Hammond said Brocke & Sons exports about 70 percent of its peas. He anticipates pea prices will increase slightly before harvest, as challenging conditions limited last sea- son’s production, and spring planting appears to be down this year. According to USDA’s Na- tional Agricultural Statistics Service, 1.382 million acres of dry, edible spring peas were produced in 2016 in the U.S., including 29,000 acres in Idaho. Washington growers raised 90,000 acres, and the top pea state, Montana, pro- duced 610,000 acres. NRCS issues more local disaster declarations as Idaho flooding spreads By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press POCATELLO, Idaho — With rivers already spilling beyond their banks and heavy snowpack remaining in the mountains, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Ser- vice has issued local disaster declarations making 33 more Idaho counties eligible for flood-recovery aid. Curtis Elke, NRCS state conservationist, said his April 25 declaration applied to all of the counties that weren’t cov- ered under recent emergency declarations issued by Pres- ident Donald Trump. Coun- ties covered by the presiden- tial declaration — Bingham, Cassia, Elmore, Franklin, Gooding, Jefferson, Lincoln, Minidoka, Twin Falls and Washington — still have the best odds of obtaining as- sistance, through the Feder- al Emergency Management Agency, Elke said. “I have personally wit- nessed other areas in the state that are also needing some John O’Connell/Capital Press The Portneuf River overflows its banks April 26 in Sacajawea Park in Pocatello, Idaho. type of assistance — technical assistance or financial — for flood relief,” Elke said. Elke said he’s witnessed flood damage, or signs that damage may be imminent, in Bonner and Boundary coun- ties, along the Boise River and in the Weiser area. “I really don’t think we’ve seen the worst yet,” Elke said, adding he’s pulling NRCS staff off other projects to fo- cus on flooding assistance. According to the National Weather Service, flood warn- ings were in effect April 27 for the Portneuf River from Pocatello to Inkom, the Hum- boldt River at Battle Mountain and the Boise River through Ada and Canyon counties. A flood advisory was in effect in the Pegram and Dingle areas of Bear Lake County, due to flooded low-lying farm fields. The Portneuf was listed at 1.3 feet above flood stage. Jim Guthrie, of Inkom, said about 125 acres of his family’s farm land has been covered by up to 3 feet of flood water. “I think it will be June be- fore we can ever get on the ground,” said Guthrie, who still hopes to plant forage on the flooded ground and sal- vage a bit of feed production. NRCS water supply spe- cialist Ron Abramovich said most of Idaho had already received its usual April pre- cipitation as of April 26, with snowpacks still well above normal in many basins — 209 percent in the Little Wood, 205 percent in the Big Wood, 194 percent in the Big Lost and 159 percent in both the Boise and the Upper Snake basins above Palisades Res- ervoir. “The runoff from April through July is going to be well above average,” Abramovich said. Elke said counties includ- ed in his declaration are eli- gible for assistance through the Emergency Watershed Protection Program, aimed at protecting water quality. The program, which requires a third-party sponsor and that a natural disaster poses an im- minent threat to life or proper- ty, covers up to 75 percent of funding toward certain con- servation practices. Eastern Idaho dryland farms off to slow start Capital Press ARBON VALLEY, Idaho — Eastern Idaho farmers with irrigation have reported tall and thick winter grain stands, but most of the region’s dry- land growers say their fall crops are well behind normal. The start of last fall was dry, which posed no problem for growers with irrigation but delayed planting for the re- gion’s dryland farmers. Major storms ultimately arrived to support germination, but cold weather came early, and dry- The Ag Education Special Section. 18-4/#13 land fall crops entered winter after a short growth window. On April 28, Arbon Val- ley dryland grower Twain Hayden walked along a field of short, soft white winter wheat plants dusted by early morning snow flurries, ex- plaining his fall grain had yet to break dormancy, due to the cold spring. Wet weather had also pre- vented Hayden from planting any spring grain, aside from a few patches of winter kill he over-seeded in fall grain fields. “Our average time for starting to plant over the last 30 years is April 19, and our average finishing time is May 11,” Hayden said. University of Idaho report- ed the discovery of stripe rust on volunteer wheat in Parma on April 24, and Hayden said moist conditions can lead to trouble with fungal diseases. Hayden also noted moist soils can lead to vigorous plant growth, but insufficient root systems for when the weath- er turns hot and dry, and late planting can cause grain to head at the hottest time of year. But Hayden said he’s hap- py to endure any challenges associated with an abundance of soil moisture, having expe- rienced too many extremely dry seasons in recent years. “We had a combination of a wet (late) fall, a wet winter and a wet spring, and usually all three of them don’t go to- gether,” Hayden said. “Dry- land farmers just have a really hard time complaining about moisture.” Hayden believes the key to a successful season will still be avoiding prolonged spells of 100-degree weather in June. On his dryland acres in Lava Hot Springs, grower Kevin Koester said alfalfa that should be a foot tall by now is about 3 inches tall. Koester added, “This fall wheat is really struggling. It needs some sunshine, but we’ve had an incredible amount of moisture.” Koester said he’ll have to “force the issue” in planting spring grain into cold, wet soil, which could hurt germi- nation. But he also won’t wor- ry about an important variable — moisture — this season. NEW ITEMS! 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The judge has now com- bined sentencing with the res- titution hearing, with both set for June 5. “I am focusing on the de- fendant’s ability to pay resti- tution,” he said, adding that he wants assurance that resti- tution is going to be paid and directing the parties to set up a schedule of payments. Anderson’s attorney, Doug Nelson, said the restitution hearing was going to be com- plicated because the victim owes his client money and he would need at least a three- hour slot for that hearing. There is “money this guy owes Jason,” he said. “It real- ly is not simple.” The victim said he was not surprised by Anderson’s alle- gations. “He probably figures af- ter all this is done, I owe him money,” Gary Marchi said in a phone interview from his California home. By Marchi’s calcula- tions, Anderson owes him more than $450,000, and that doesn’t take into account what the cattle were worth at the time Anderson sold them or the cattle he sold for which there is no record, he said. In his plea deal, Anderson agreed to pay restitution to Marchi at a value to be deter- mined for 43 cows, 17 calves and one bull he sold in 2012 and the sale of 18 calves born in 2012 and 20 calves born in 2013. Anderson — a Jerome rancher and owner of Snake River Bull Test LLC and Rocky Mountain Ultrasound & Genetics LLC — was initially charged with eight counts of grand theft, six counts of obtaining a brand certificate with false informa- tion and one count of unlaw- ful branding by the Jerome County prosecuting attorney in July 2016, according to court documents. The activity took place between the fall of 2011 and January 2015 and involved Marchi’s shorthorn cattle. Marchi, who raises pas- tured cattle for beef, said he sent the majority of his cat- tle to Anderson in Idaho in June 2011 because he lost all his rental pasture in Califor- nia when the land was sold. He had never met Anderson but made his acquaintance through another cattleman. Anderson’s failure to ship steers to California after sev- eral requests by Marchi and his eventual contention that Marchi’s cattle had been con- fiscated by a deputy sheriff due to a lien against the cattle resulted in an investigation, launched by the Idaho State Police in November 2014, ac- cording to court documents. Marchi said Anderson nev- er sent him a bill but he paid him regularly, about $37,000 in total. Marchi’s registered herd was the result of a long-term breeding program, which earned recognition for quality and consistency, he said. “All my life, I worked for this. And in one swift mo- ment, he (Anderson) tears the whole thing apart. It’s hard to believe this is even happen- ing,” he said. In a letter to the court, Marchi said he had been de- veloping his beef-produc- ing shorthorn herd since the 1970s and loss of that line has caused him financial and emo- tional stress, sending him into depression and causing him sleepless nights and stomach issues. “Anderson didn’t just steal, rebrand and sell some cows. He stole my life’s work,” he said.
