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July 14, 2017 CapitalPress.com 5 Governor’s office nixes proposed ban on soybean production By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — A proposal to ban the planting of soybeans in parts of Idaho where dry beans are grown has been nixed by the governor’s of- fice. The Idaho-Eastern Ore- gon Seed Association and Idaho Bean Commission proposed a rule that would prohibit soybeans from being grown in southcentral and southwestern Idaho, where the state’s dry bean industry is centered. Those groups say soy- beans have the potential to bring in diseases that could significantly harm the state’s $70 million dry bean indus- try. Soybean acres in Idaho have fluctuated between a few dozen and a couple hun- dred over the past decade, but some people believe it’s only a matter of time before they’re planted in large numbers be- cause of the state’s large and growing dairy industry. The groups had asked the Idaho State Department of Agriculture to initiate rule-making that would have led to the prohibition but the ISDA recently sent them a letter saying the idea was not approved by the governor’s office. The letter from ISDA Dep- uty Director Brian Oakey states that the reasons given included, “current rules are in place to sufficiently pre- Associated Press File A farmer holds soybean seeds. Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has rejected a plan to ban the cultivation of soybeans in parts of the state. vent disease and that banning a crop is not an appropriate role for an ISDA rule.” Jon Hanian, spokesman for Republican Gov. Butch Otter, a rancher and farmer, told Capital Press that the governor needs a lot more in- formation about the rationale for the proposed ban. “Something that serious needs to be reviewed thor- oughly,” Hanian said. “We need a lot more information before we start talking about bans.” The seed association and IBC members will discuss their options during an Au- gust conference call. During the IBC’s quar- terly meeting June 29, com- missioners discussed the pos- sibility of taking soybeans under the purview of the commission. Idaho is the nation’s lead- er in dry bean seed produc- tion because of strict testing guidelines that require bean seed to undergo serology testing and be certified as disease-free. Having soybeans fall un- der the IBC would ensure the crop follows the same testing rules and regulations that dry beans do. Some IBC commissioners embraced that idea. “I think we should jump on it ... because soybeans are coming to Idaho,” said IBC Commissioner Monty Ham- ilton. But others still support a ban on soybean production in bean-producing regions of Idaho. “We’re talking about an industry that might come in versus an industry that has been here for 100 years,” IBC Commissioner Don Tol- mie told the Capital Press. “I have to side with the indus- try that has been here for 100 years. I think it’s short-sight- ed ... to deny this at first glance.” Roger Batt, executive di- rector of the seed association, said the groups’ two main op- tions appear to be legislation that protects the bean indus- try or placing soybeans under the IBC umbrella. ”The bean industry is a $70 million industry in Ida- ho,” he said. “The last thing we need is to have (a soybean disease) impacting our bean industry. This is something we definitely need to get ahead of.” Trials investigate potential quinoa herbicides By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press Don Jenkins/Capital Press Workers harvest blackberries July 6 in Ridgefield, Wash. With the harvest underway, growers report a cold winter and heat wave in June have sharply reduced the crop. SW Wash. blackberry crop falls short of low expectations Slim pickings start after Fourth of July By DON JENKINS Capital Press RIDGEFIELD, Wash. — Southwest Washington’s blackberry crop may be even smaller than expected, ac- cording to growers. Several weeks ago, berry farmers predicted low yields from freeze-damaged plants. But hopes that the bushes would at least yield half the average amount of berries now look too optimistic, said grower Jerry Dobbins, a re- ceiver of fruit from several farms. “Everyone who delivers fruit here is of the same opin- ion,” he said July 6. “Pretty much everybody is in the same predicament.” In May, growers and crop consultants in Washington and Oregon reported seeing widespread freeze damage in blackberry plants. The dam- age reportedly varied from field to field and may have been particularly severe in southwest Washington, the northern end of the U.S. com- mercial blackberry region. Dobbins said plants there were further harmed by a three-day hot spell in late June. High temperatures around Clark County’s berry fields were about 25 degrees above average, according to the AccuWeather website. “The heat didn’t hurt the berries, but it just made a weak plant fall apart,” Dob- bins said. Other types of berries have apparently weathered the cold and heat better. The USDA crop report issued July 5 re- ported that Oregon’s raspber- ry harvest was in full swing and blueberry fields were pro- ducing average yields. Dob- bins said that in southwest Washington strawberries ap- peared to be least affected by the weather. Woodland, Wash., farmer George Thoeny started har- vesting blackberries July 5. “The quality of the fruit is fine — just no tonnage,” he said. “It’s worse than I thought.” U.S. blackberry produc- tion, dominated by Oregon, was 58.4 million pounds last year, a 14 percent increase over the year before, accord- ing to the USDA. The average price, how- ever, fell to 45 cents a pound from 74 cents in 2015. As a the result, the value of 2016’s robust crop was $26.3 mil- lion, compared to $38 million for 2015’s smaller harvest. Thoeny said he expects blackberry prices to rise, but not enough to offset low yields. “We’re just trying to man- age our losses,” he said. Dobbins also started har- vesting blackberries July 5. A five-worker crew ma- chine-harvested about 2,000 pounds, but in a normal year they would have picked 10,000 to 12,000 pounds, he said. The next day, Dobbins re- duced the crew to three be- cause the volume didn’t jus- tify having two more workers to cull green berries shaken from the canes. Dobbins said he may change plans and resort to more-expensive hand-picking to get every berry possible. “Whatever is the best way to salvage some of that crop,” he said. Last year, his fields yield- ed about 5 tons an acre. This year, he said, they might yield 2 tons an acre. Dobbins said he has been growing Black Diamond blackberries for 12 years and has never had the crop fail. “I think, when everything is said and done, this will be a failure.” ABERDEEN, Idaho — A weed scientist has found a few promising leads in her field tri- als to identify herbicides that can be used in quinoa produc- tion. University of Idaho Ex- tension weed specialist Pam Hutchinson explained U.S. growers currently have no her- bicides labeled for weed con- trol in the high-protein, glu- ten-free specialty grain. Production of quinoa — which contains every amino acid and is regarded as a health food — is on the rise in Eastern Idaho, where it’s proven to be a good fit in potato rotations. The buyer who has contracted for all of the region’s quinoa acreage, Jeremiah Clark, has opened a quinoa processing facility in Idaho Falls and is already considering plans for expansion. Hutchinson, who is in the second year of her quinoa rep- licated herbicide trials at UI’s Aberdeen Research and Ex- tension Center, has expanded the number of herbicides she’s testing this season. Hutchinson said a challenge with finding an effective quinoa herbicide is that the crop is a close rel- ative of the common weed lambsquarters. Products that control lambsquarters are also likely to kill quinoa. Hutchinson has found sev- eral products that kill quinoa to help growers clean their fields and prevent the crop from escaping and becoming a weed. She’s also evaluated herbicides that are known to effectively control lambsquar- ters and some that offer only moderate control. Hutchinson said she’s found three products that are safe for quinoa and may con- trol a host of weeds, while at least offering some degree of lambsquarters control. Hutchinson said Syngen- ta’s Dual Magnum can be used both pre-emergence and post-emergence without harm- ing quinoa. Hutchinson has also had success with two older herbi- cides that were used in sugar beets before the release of ge- netically modified beets that re- sist glyphosate herbicide, ren- dering other products obsolete. Hutchinson said the beet prod- ucts that tested well in quinoa, Ro-Neet and Norton, could be tough to find. Clark, who supplied seed of his own proprietary quinoa va- rieties for Hutchinson’s trials, said his growers under contract planted 1,600 acres this season, and will likely plant more next season. He’s optimistic that Hutchinson’s efforts will lead to special-needs or permanent labels for quinoa herbicides. The absence of labeled herbi- cides has been a “big stumbling block” for growers, Clark said. “A lot of farmers stay on top of their weeds, and if they go one year without controlling their weeds, they’ve got weed seed in the ground for several years,” Clark said. Clark said many of his growers have kept weeds in check by increasing quinoa seeding density. Hutchinson said a federally funded program that seeks to modify product labels to ben- efit minor crops, called Inter- regional Research Project No. 4, has also expressed interest in her trial results. UI agronomist Xi Liang, is in the third year of trials in both Aberdeen and Tetonia investi- gating quinoa agronomic prac- tices, including planting date and row spacing. 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