10 CapitalPress.com
May 19, 2017
Washington
Snow mold damage
minimal, researchers say
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Eastern
Washington
farmers who had snow mold
on their wheat earlier this
year had to wait to see if the
crop would recover, and now
it looks like the damage will
be minimal, researchers say.
“Which was a little bit
surprising,” said Ryan Hig-
ginbotham, director of
Washington State Univer-
sity’s cereal variety testing
program. “Given the level
of snow cover we had, I ex-
pected to see more long-term
damage. But the resistant
varieties bounce back very
well.”
Higginbotham expected
some areas where the snow
cover lasted longest to have
more damage.
“If it didn’t recover, it’s
not going to,” he said.
WSU Extension plant pa-
thologist Tim Murray also
expected worse damage.
Snow covered most of East-
ern Washington for 60 days,
and up to 110 days in the
Waterville Plateau, an area
that often has snow mold.
Farmers there tend to plant
varieties with good snow
mold resistance, he said,
“In a way, it’s not surpris-
ing that the damage wasn’t
really all that severe,” he
said. “Nobody’s growing
something up there that is
fully susceptible.”
Twenty
farmers
in
Prescott, Wash., got a rare
instance of snow mold due
to different varieties and ear-
lier planting dates.
Actual damage varied in
the Prescott area of south-
eastern Washington, Murray
said.
“This is one of the dis-
eases that is just very weath-
WSU dryland research station
reports record snow cover
May, June rains
would boost
wheat yields
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Tim Murray/Washington State University
Washington State University
researchers say much of the
wheat impacted by snow mold
has rebounded nicely.
er-dependent,” he said,
pointing to frozen soil and
length of snow cover as key
factors.
During a 20-year period,
snow mold occurs about half
the time, he said.
“It’s not like you can
predict which half of those
years it’s going to be,” Mur-
ray said. “You might have it
three or four years in a row,
and then not have it at all for
three or four years.”
Wheat breeders now have
good information on the next
wheat variety lines in devel-
opment and can discard sus-
ceptible lines, Higginbotham
said. His field trials didn’t
produce any big surprises.
“The ones we have known
possessed snow mold resis-
tance still showed to be re-
sistant,” Higginbotham said.
Higginbotham recently
released snow mold ratings
for wheat varieties. Grow-
ers who worry about snow
mold each year should select
the highest-rated variety for
their production needs, he
said.
“If you only see snow
mold once every 20 or 30
years, then I wouldn’t sacri-
fice yield potential for snow
mold resistance,” he said.
Capital Press
Precipitation is near an all-
time high at Washington State
University’s dryland research
station in Lind, Wash., after
a record number of days with
continuous snow cover.
The 76 days of snow cover
beat the previous record of 70
days in 1985, said Bill Schil-
linger, station director.
The station has had 14.13
inches of precipitation for the
crop year, which runs Sept. 1
through Aug. 31. That puts the
year at fourth-place in the sta-
tion’s recorded history, dating
back 97 years.
The station received the
most precipitation in 1948,
with 22.71 inches. The aver-
Courtesy Washington State University
WSU’s dryland research station in Lind, Wash., reported a record 76 days of continuous snow cover.
Online
http://lindstation.wsu.edu/
age is 9.56 inches.
“It’s so wet this year, it’s
already moved our 97-year
average,” Schillinger said.
“Even if we don’t get another
drop of rain, we’ve gone from
9.56 inches of annual pre-
cip average long-term up to
9.60 inches. We gained four
one-hundredths.”
The station hasn’t had this
much precipitation to this
point in mid-May in 97 years
of accurate records, Schil-
linger said.
Researchers combine the
amount of moisture stored
during the winter and rain
that falls during the grow-
ing season, April through
June. Rain in May and June
boosts yields, Schillinger
said.
Winter wheat yields at
the Lind station average 38
bushels per acre. Schillinger
expects
“substantially”
higher yields this year, but
says anything can happen
between now and harvest.
In 1997, when the sta-
tion received 15.01 inches
of precipitation, yields av-
eraged 77 bushels per acre.
“These farmers are about
ready to get a break here,”
Schillinger said. “They’ve
gone through some drought
years and wheat prices went
low.”
Farm Bureau, allies drop suit against minimum wage
Coalition won’t
appeal ruling
of lower court
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
The Washington Farm
Bureau and other business
groups have dropped their
effort to overturn the vot-
er-approved initiative that
raised the minimum wage and
mandated paid sick leave for
workers.
The business coalition
announced Friday it won’t
appeal a judge’s ruling that
upheld the constitutionality of
Initiative 1433.
The coalition had argued
I-1433 violated the state con-
stitution by having two sub-
jects. Kittitas County Superi-
or Court Judge Scott Sparks
ruled I-1433 had just one sub-
ject, labor standards.
National Federation of In-
dependent Business state di-
rector Patrick Connor issued
a parting criticism of the de-
cision.
“What this ruling tells fu-
ture initiative drafters is that
they can overlook the Wash-
ington Constitution’s crystal
clear instruction that the titles
of ballot initiatives be a sin-
gle subject,” Connor said in a
written statement.
I-1433 passed in Novem-
ber and raised the minimum
wage to $11 an hour on Jan.
1, tying Washington with
New York and Massachusetts
for the state with the highest
pay floor. Yearly increases
are scheduled until the wage
reaches $13.50 in 2020, with
annual increases for inflation
after that. Employers will be
required to provide paid sick
leave beginning next year.
In a written ruling, Sparks
said he set a high bar for over-
turning a voter-passed law.
He said the challengers failed
to show beyond a reasonable
doubt that I-1433 was uncon-
stitutional.
For precedent, he cited a
2015 state Supreme Court
ruling, Filo Foods v. City of
SeaTac. The court upheld a
city ballot measure that raised
the minimum wage for some
workers in the city and includ-
ed other labor provisions. The
court held the measure’s only
subject was labor standards.
Washington FFA chooses new state officers
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
PULLMAN, Wash. —
Washington FFA installed a
new slate of officers to cap
its annual gathering, which
attracted 3,318 members and
advisers.
The new officers will
demonstrate the power of let-
ting the student leadership or-
ganization truly be guided by
students, the organization’s
officials say.
New officers elected
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
during the 87th Washington A joyous Seth Smith of Tonasket, the incoming president of the
FFA Convention and Expo Washington State FFA, hugs a friend at the end of the FFA conven-
in Pullman, Wash., are presi- tion May 13 in Pullman, Wash.
dent Seth Smith of Tonasket,
Smith hopes to attend law
Smith said he doesn’t have
vice president Mollee Gray
of Medical Lake, secretary an agriculture background, school and ultimately work in
Taylor Enns of White River, but became involved in FFA natural resources law or water
treasurer Sydney Klaveano through a novice parliamen- rights law.
Outgoing president Alyssa
of Pullman, reporter Kelci tary procedure leadership de-
McGee in her retiring address
Scharff of Cheney and senti- velopment event.
“It opened up all these urged members not to get so
nel Matt Rounsley of Tenino.
Smith said he hopes to doors and this new journey distracted by their goals that
talk about FFA’s possibilities I’m on ... learning about this they miss the beauty of living
for all students in the coming industry,” he said. “I realized in the moment.
“Over the next few years,
how passionate I was about
year.
“It’s really open for every- it and how effective it was in that (FFA) jacket will serve as
a collection of both great mo-
our world.”
body,” he said.
ments as well as moments of
struggle,” she said. “Hold on
tightly to both.”
“I’m excited to hear from
them what they envision
Washington FFA to be in the
next year,” Rebecca Wal-
lace, Washington FFA state
adviser, said of the new of-
ficers.
“I can’t wait to see what
kind of expectations they set
for themselves this year, and
then surpass,” said Abbie De-
Meerleer, Washington FFA
Association executive direc-
tor. “This is a dynamic new
group of individuals, and I
think they’re going to have
some pretty innovative and
exciting ideas for the associ-
ation.”
DeMeerleer hopes the in-
dustry greets the new officers
with open arms, to help them
better understand the “ins and
outs” of the industry and its
trading partners “so that these
six students, in all of their
travels throughout the year,
can best represent not only
FFA, but Washington agricul-
ture as a whole.”.
Washington FFA Association
From left, new Washington FFA state president Seth Smith of
Tonasket, treasurer Sydney Klaveano of Pullman; reporter Kelci
Scharff of Cheney; vice president Mollee Gray of Medical Lake;
secretary Taylor Enns of White River and sentinel Matthew Roun-
sley of Tenino.
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Outgoing Washington State FFA president Alyssa McGee of
Sumner delivers her retiring address during the convention May 13
in Pullman.
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