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8 CapitalPress.com Idaho Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Rental rates for Idaho farmland down By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — The average rents paid for Idaho farmland are down this year. USDA’s National Agri- cultural Statistics Service es- timates that cash rent for all cropland in Idaho will average $160 an acre in 2017, which is down $8, or 5 percent, from 2016. That didn’t come as a sur- prise to state Sen. Jim Patrick, a Twin Falls farmer. “It should be down be- cause commodity prices are all down,” he said. The average cash rent for all Idaho cropland increased 6 percent to $168 last year, which at the time surprised Patrick, other farmers, ag economists and ag land ap- praisers. This year’s average rent “is a little closer to what you Sean Ellis/Capital Press A wheat field is harvested Aug. 3 in Nampa, Idaho. Cash rent for all cropland in Idaho is estimated to be $160 in 2017, down $8 an acre from 2016. Irrigated cropland is estimated at $215 an acre, down $10 from last year. would expect it to be,” Patrick said. According to NASS, cash rent for irrigated cropland in Idaho is estimated at $215 an acre this year, down $10 from last year, and rent for non-irri- gated cropland is $58 an acre, $3 an acre less than 2016. Before falling this year, cash rents for cropland in Ida- ho had risen steadily, from $139 an acre in 2013 to $151 in 2014, $158 in 2015 and $168 in 2016. Doug Robison, Northwest Farm Credit Service senior vice president of agriculture for Western Idaho, told Cap- ital Press that his company has “seen some very limited decreases in multi-year land rents for row crop ground this past year, typically in the $25 to $50 per acre range, as contracts have come up for renewal.” “Despite the difficult envi- ronment for commodities, de- mand for farm acreage remains strong with multiple bids avail- able for high-quality ground,” Robison said in an email. Bob Morrison, an indepen- dent ag land appraiser in Idaho Falls, said the rents for irrigated farmland he has looked at this year are down by about $25 an acre. He believes rents for crop- land in his region will stabi- lize heading into 2018 because there is little land for lease or sale. “Many farmers are needing that land because of economies of scale,” he said. “They don’t want to lose those acres; they don’t want to lose those leases.” Robison said the outlook for cropland rents is mixed. “With the recent uptick in commodity prices, there may be some increased appetite for new acreage with a few pro- ducers this fall, while other farmers may choose to remain on the sidelines as profitability concerns persist,” he said. Hay export facility opens at Pocatello airport Dairies in China create growing demand for forage By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press POCATELLO, Idaho — A new facility at the Pocatel- lo Regional Airport’s business park has opened opportunities for southeast Idaho hay farmers to export their crops overseas. Driscoll TopHay LLC — a partnership of American Falls- based Driscoll Brothers Farms and TopHay, a British Colum- bia-based company owned by three Chinese businessmen — plans to export 100,000 tons of locally grown hay this year, eventually ramping up to ex- porting 150,000 tons. The new operation moved into a vacant warehouse owned John O’Connell/Capital Press Jason Hawkins, general manager of Driscoll TopHay LLC, stands by a press used to reshape and compact hay bales for export. The facility is at the Pocatello Regional Airport business park. by the City of Pocatello that was ideally configured for hay storage, said Jason Hawkins, the operation’s general manag- er. Hawkins said the partners invested $2 million in a hay August 18, 2017 press, which will allow the space in containers to be max- imized. The press should enable Hawkins and his staff to fill each container with 25 to 27 tons of hay, rather than 15 to 17 tons without compaction. The alfalfa will be shipped to China, Japan and South Ko- rea. He said exporting to the Middle East is also a possibil- ity. Driscoll’s trucking business will haul full containers to Salt Lake City, where they’ll be loaded onto trains bound for ports in Long Beach and Oak- land, Calif. Hawkins said his staff started testing the press on Friday. The facility has 15 workers, and the trucking busi- ness added a dozen new em- ployees to haul hay. University of Idaho Exten- sion forage specialist Glenn Shewmaker said southeast Ida- ho growers have historically had a freight disadvantage in exporting hay. Shewmaker said Larsen Farms has a hay press in North- east Idaho, and Standlee Hay runs one in the Magic Valley, but the new operation in Po- catello should “fill in a gap for the counties a little closer.” Blackfoot hay grower Jerry Elliott exports through Standlee Hay but believes he’ll still ben- efit from the increased competi- tion for forage. “You take 100,000 tons of hay out of the area and it’s bound to help,” Elliott said. Hawkins said the partners have relationships with about 300 dairies, mostly in China, where he anticipates growing demand for forage should con- tinue well into the future. “We’re excited to bring that money from China into Idaho’s economy,” Hawkins said. He said the Driscolls now farm 26,000 acres, including 4,000 acres of alfalfa to support a cattle ranch. They were looking for a bet- ter alternative to raising wheat and plan to significantly in- crease their alfalfa produc- tion to support their export business. But they’ve also been in contact with about 100 area alfalfa growers and will have to buy a lot of supplemental hay, Hawkins said. BLM expects large rangeland seed buy By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press DID YOU KNOW? FACT: • There is new stabilized dry granular NITRATE form of fertilizer available. • NITRATE nitrogen is the fastest acting nitrogen source. • SAN 30-6 has 30% nitrogen and 6% Phosphate. • A unique combination of ammonium phosphate and ammonium nitrate in a homogenous granule. • SAN 30-6 gets nitrogen to the plant when it needs it. Use for early, mid and late season applications. • SAN 30-6 is less volatile than other dry forms of Nitrogen. No need to add a nitrogen stabilizer. • Grass crops prefer a mixture of both Nitrate and Ammonium forms of nitrogen. • Grass seed set is determined in the Fall, so proper nitrogen and phosphorous nutrition are essential for maximum yield. AVAILABLE THROUGH YOUR LOCAL AG RETAILER. For Questions and More Information, Contact Two Rivers Terminal 866-947-7776 info@tworiversterminal.com www.tworiversterminal.com 33-3/#6 AMERICAN FALLS, Idaho — Ken Koompin has found raising grass seed for dryland range is risky and challenging, and the market for the niche crop is exceed- ingly volatile. But officials with the Bu- reau of Land Management — a major buyer that uses large quantities of locally adapted seed varieties for its reclama- tion efforts — say their seed inventories are running low amid a bad wildfire season. That’s good news for Koompin and a small group of regional farmers who go through the hassle of raising rangeland grass seed. BLM officials were tohu solicit bids from seed suppliers on Aug. 14 to replenish inven- tories at their two major seed warehouses, located in Boise and Ely, Nev. Vendors will have 10 days to respond. “It’s supply driven proba- bly more than any ag market we deal with,” Koompin said. “If you’ve got 20 acres more than you need, the price can drop in half.” BLM National Seed Co- ordinator Patricia Roller said she’s already fielded 160 seed requests and delivered 1.5 million pounds of seed, though her busy season spans from August through Decem- ber. She expects to exceed the 2 million to 3 million pounds she delivers in a normal year. Roller said BLM stocks 213 seed varieties and has a 2.6 million-pound storage capac- ity. “We’re sitting at 600,000 pounds now,” Roller said. “Basically, we’re empty.” In late July, Koompin fin- ished harvesting about 10 native and dryland grass seed species, raised under irriga- tion on about 180 acres in the Rockland Valley. He first experimented in grass seed about 25 years ago and de- cided to resume grass-seed production four years ago. He plants perennial grasses, harvesting a single planting of some of the bromes for just two seasons and other vari- eties for up to four seasons before weed pressure — es- pecially from cheat grass — forces him to replant. Grasses require little wa- ter and fertilizer, but they’re labor-intensive to grow, in- volving cultivation between rows and frequent hand weed- ing. Koompin can’t insure his grasses and there’s a narrow harvest window to avoid poor germination or seed shatter- ing. Koompin produces cer- tified seed, requiring field inspections and testing for pu- rity and germination by Idaho Crop Improvement Associa- tion. USDA’s Aberdeen Plant Materials Center provides seed to companies for com- mercial production on behalf of the University of Idaho and Utah Crop Improvement Association foundation seed programs. Idaho Grimm Growers Warehouse Corp., based in Blackfoot, buys Koompin’s seed. They planned to bid on BLM’s seed buy, and they also supply livestock produc- ers and participants in habitat programs, such as the Conser- vation Reserve Program. Seed prices range from $4 to $15 per pound, said Chelsy Harten, president of the cor- poration. “It is a specialized market — definitely not for the weak of heart,” Harten said. “I do see a trend that more (farm- ers) want to grow (rangeland grass seed) with grain prices down, but it really is a special- ized crop to grow.” Planting dates delayed for fall Grain growers in three counties seek to limit exposure to some diseases By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press POCATELLO, Idaho — USDA’s Risk Management Agency has moved back the final planting dates for farm- ers raising fall grain in three Eastern Idaho counties, pro- tecting insurance eligibility for growers who delay plant- ing to avoid exposure to some diseases. Final planting dates for RMA’s winter coverage en- dorsement for the 2018 crop year have been moved back to Oct. 31 in Bannock, Bingham and Bonneville counties. The final planting dates had been Oct. 15 in Bannock and Bingham counties and Sept. 30 in Bonneville Coun- ty. Ben Thiel, director of RMA’s Spokane Regional Of- fice, said his office reviewed the request and determined that the growing season is continuing later into the fall, and the change is actuarially sound to help avoid losses to certain crop diseases. “The Risk Management Agency continuously works with and listens to stakehold- ers to ensure its policies are meeting the needs of produc- ers,” Thiel said in a press re- lease. University of Idaho Exten- sion cereals pathologist Juliet Marshall explained delaying planting by a week or two helps growers avoid exposing fall grain to aphids that pass through in the early fall and transmit barley yellow dwarf virus. The disease can reduce grain yields by 15 to 30 per- cent, and greater than 50 per- cent in extreme cases, Mar- shall said. Marshall said Idaho grain farmers who delayed plant- ing last fall had few problems with barley yellow dwarf this season. However, she said a few growers south of Burley planted in their normal win- dow and had upward of 95 percent of their grain infected with barley yellow dwarf. Marshall said delaying fall planting can also help growers reduce foot rot, stripe rust and wheat streak mosaic virus. Stacey Satterlee, execu- tive director with Idaho Grain Producers Association, said the insurance endorsement covers growers for winter kill and crop problems associated with heavy snow and winter weather. Satterlee said she’s heard several inquiries from grow- ers about the revised planting dates. Satterlee said growers in Bonneville County have been especially concerned about the Risk Management Agency’s early final plant- ing dates, and many of them avoided planting winter wheat last fall rather than follow the RMA dates. “I’m wondering if we won’t see a little more winter wheat,” Satterlee said. Brett Wilken, with Thresh- er Artisan Wheat, who recom- mended the change to industry leaders, said the timing of the fall’s first freeze is occurring later than before, with the first freeze of last fall occurring in November. Wilken believes the change in planting dates is especial- ly timely given the roughly 70-cent-per-bushel premium hard red winter wheat brings over soft white wheat. Wilken explained growers often like to follow potatoes with fall wheat to take advan- tage of the residual nitrogen to boost protein levels, and the revised planting dates should “give growers more opportunities to plant behind potatoes.”
