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CapitalPress.com
September 15, 2017
East Idaho spud growers wary
of bruising at harvest’s start
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
Eastern Idaho potato farm-
ers say bruising could be espe-
cially problematic as they start
their harvest.
Farmers have begun dig-
ging before sunrise and close-
ly monitoring the internal tem-
peratures of their tubers during
the heat of day, due to unsea-
sonably warm weather.
Most of the region’s grow-
ers have been shutting down
their harvests once their po-
tato pulp temperatures have
reached about 65 degrees, as
dehydrated spuds are more
susceptible to bruising.
“The threat of tuber dehy-
dration is highest when warm
conditions result in high evapo-
rative loss from the soil surface,
which is exactly the forecast
we are facing for the next few
weeks,” University of Idaho
Extension potato researchers
Nora Olsen and Mike Thornton
recently wrote in harvest rec-
ommendations to growers.
The researchers also advise
the current crop has extreme
variability in maturity — with
some vines extremely green
due to late plantings this spring
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Ranger Russet potatoes are harvested Sept. 11 on Kress Farms in
American Falls, Idaho. The growers say they’ve had to cut off digging
early at the start of harvest in East Idaho because of hot weather.
and vines in other fi elds dying
prematurely due to extreme
heat. Under dead vines, tubers
can become too mature and
may bruise easily. They may
also sustain skin damage and
bruising if the vines are too
green and are diffi cult to kill
before harvest.
Eastern Idaho growers are
generally reporting good tu-
ber quality and yields in line
with the fi ve-year average,
but down from a large crop
last season. Industry leaders
are optimistic that reduced
potato acreage and yields this
season should lead to better
fresh-market prices.
Kevin Stanger, an offi cial
with the Pingree-based fresh
potato packing operation
Wada Farms, said on Sept.
11 his company’s crews have
started digging Russet Norko-
tahs at 3 a.m. and have been
quitting for the day by noon,
to make certain their potatoes
store well.
“Sizing looks to be a mixed
bag — a hodge-podge,” Stan-
ger said. “We’ve had fi elds that
are almost too big of a size and
a fi eld or two of small sizes.”
Jason Kress, of American
Falls, and his workers started
digging Ranger Russets at 6
a.m., and he anticipated they’d
have to stop for the day by 2 or
3 p.m. Kress said his farm has
made sure to pre-water spuds
to hydrate them before harvest.
He’s shipped his early dig spuds
directly to Lamb Weston for
processing, and they shouldn’t
need to be stored long. Kress
said yields appear to be about
average.
Nate Schroeder, of the Po-
catello area, planned to start
harvesting his chipping pota-
toes on Sept. 12. Schroeder
said his vines are still green and
he likely could have boosted
his yields by waiting a week,
but he was forced to start har-
vesting to meet the schedule
of a buyer’s audit. He expects
average yields overall, with
“huge” Yukon golds and a large
set of tubers per plant yielding
slightly smaller Ranger Rus-
sets. He’s heard reports of pro-
cessors buying a small volume
of additional potatoes to bolster
their inventories.
Study outlines economic impact of H-2A workers
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
OLYMPIA
—
For-
eign guestworkers hired by
the farm labor association
WAFLA harvested about
one-seventh of the total pro-
duction value of Washington
apples, pears and cherries in
2015.
A total of 7,779 H-2A-visa
foreign guestworkers hired by
WAFLA for growers harvest-
ed 490,000 tons of fruit val-
ued at $424.3 million in 2015,
according to ECONorthwest,
a Portland business consulting
fi rm, hired by WAFLA.
The report, released Aug.
23, is based on the 7,779
WAFLA H-2A workers, not
the total 11,844 H-2A work-
ers hired in the state that year.
The rest were hired directly
by several large growers.
The total economic impact
of the WAFLA H-2A workers
is $619 million when indirect
supply chain and induced
payroll effects from local pro-
duction of the fruit are added
in, the report says.
The total production value
of Washington apples, pears
and sweet and tart cherries was
Dan Wheat/Capital Press File
Francisco Trinidad, H-2A-visa foreign guestworker, thins Gala apples at CRO Orchard near Rock
Island, Wash., in 2016. Roughly 15,000 H-2A workers are part of some 50,000 seasonal farmworkers
employed in Washington state this year.
$3 billion in 2015, according
to the USDA’s National Agri-
cultural Statistics Service.
“Decision makers in Wash-
ington, D.C., are asking us to
make the business case for the
legal worker program and our
study does just that,” said Dan
Fazio, WAFLA director.
The study demonstrates
the economic importance of
H-2A workers to the Wash-
ington economy in light of
labor shortages, he said.
The number of domestic
seasonal farmworkers in the
state has been fl at to declin-
ing at about 50,000 annually
while statewide H-2A use has
increased, he said. Statewide
H-2A reached 13,641 in 2016
and is expected to exceed
15,000 this year.
Domestic tree fruit em-
ployment has declined 7 per-
cent since 2010, the report
says.
The
7,779
WAFLA
H-2A workers in 2015 com-
pares with 5,955 in 2014 for
460,000 tons and $270.5 mil-
lion in production value, the
report shows.
“This is a solid report
based on reliable sources
and using accepted method-
ology. It shows the economic
impact of H-2A workers on
the Washington fruit indus-
try and Washington econo-
my,” said Desmond O’Ro-
urke, a world apple analyst
and retired Washington State
University agricultural econ-
omist.
Study fi nds organic farming better at sequestering carbon
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
A new study shows organ-
ic farms store more carbon in
the soil and keep it out of the
atmosphere longer than con-
ventional farms.
The fi ndings of the study
by Northeastern University’s
National Soil Project and
The Organic Center suggest
organic farming could help
reduce one of the causes of
climate change.
Eighty percent of the
Earth’s terrestrial carbon is
stored in soils, and human
management practices can
deplete the soil’s carbon
stores by releasing it into
the atmosphere. Agriculture
in particular has been linked
to large losses of soil carbon
worldwide, the researchers
said.
While other studies have
found that soils from organic
farms have more soil organ-
ic carbon, little research has
been done on the amount
of total soil organic carbon
found in the form of stable
humic substances, the re-
searchers said.
“This study is truly
groundbreaking,” said Jessi-
ca Shade, director of science
programs at The Organic
Center.
“We don’t just look at to-
tal soil carbon but also com-
ponents of soil that have sta-
ble pools of carbon — humic
substances — which gives us
a much more accurate and
precise view of the stable,
long-term storage of carbon
in the soil,” she said.
Total soil organic matter
is not necessarily an accu-
rate proxy for understanding
long-term,
carbon-storage
ability in the soil. The study
is important because it quan-
tifi es the molecules important
for long-term carbon stor-
age in soils, the researchers
said.
Lee Juillerat/For the Capital Press
Ron Barnes, left, and Tracey Liskey check out geothermally heated
ponds used for raising tilapia.
Hot water holds
many opportunities
for S. Oregon farms
By LEE JUILLERAT
For the Capital Press
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.
— No matter the season, the
fi sh are always jumping.
That’s because Ron Barnes
and Tracey Liskey are toss-
ing handfuls of fi sh food into
one of their several fi sh ponds
where they’re raising 2-pound
tilapia that are live-trucked to
fi sh markets in Seattle and San
Francisco. Some remains local,
often sold to Klamath Basin
residents who especially enjoy
the tasty, white fi sh.
For the past six-plus years
Barnes, with Liskey’s help, has
been experimenting with the
best ways of speedily raising
tilapias from tiny hatchlings
until they’re large enough to
be fresh-shipped to commercial
markets. Before the year is out,
Barnes said he expects his busi-
ness, Gone Fishing, will ship
about 50,000 pounds.
“We’re starting small, but
deliberately so,” Barnes said,
noting a commercial tilapia
farm in Northern California’s
Modoc County ships up to
20,000 pounds a week. His
goal is raising 2-pound tilapias,
admitting, “It was diffi cult to
raise them to that size. We’ve
overcome that.”
“We work together and get
things done,” said Liskey. “I
can fi x things. I’m the mechan-
ic, the engineer.”
He and Barnes believe the
years of experimenting with
feed, water temperatures and
other variables have paid off.
Barnes said his 80-acre oper-
ation south of Klamath Falls
and adjacent to Liskey Farms,
is “extremely effi cient. My wa-
ter use is a tiny, tiny fraction of
what most fi sh farmers use,”
noting the tilapias reach market
size in about 90 days.
“There was a learning curve
learning how to grow them to
size,” agrees Liskey. “It’s kind
of like raising a beef cow to a
size in the shortest amount of
time.”
Liskey makes the cattle
reference because he manages
the family’s 1,500-acre ranch,
which is 99 percent leased to
others. At age 63, he calls him-
self semi-retired — “But I hav-
en’t seen the ‘retired’ part yet”
— because he remains active in
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GRANT COUNTY NATURAL RESOURCES POLICY ADVISOR
Grant County is seeking a consultant to monitor natural resource
issues of importance to the County and to keep the County Court
advised of the issues, their context and assist the County in
developing appropriate policy positions. The duties of the
County’s Natural Resources Policy Advisor will include, but not
necessarily be limited to:
1. Coordinating with citizens and public and private agencies
on natural resource policy matters;
2. Providing technical and policy support on natural resource
policy matters;
3. Preparing policy documents and drafting recommended
response alternatives for Court analysis;
4. Reviewing and advising the Court on proposed federal and
state legislative and administrative actions that may affect
County policies on natural resources;
5. Preparing and recommending policy and technical
responses;
6. Develop and present briefing papers;
7. Act as a liaison to federal and state agencies regarding
policy development opportunities and assist Court
members as they serve in the primary role of policy-
implementation with federal and state agencies.
2018 NW AG SHOW
PORTLAND EXPO CENTER
JANUARY 3 0 - FEBRUARY 1
Sign up before Oct. 31, 2017 and Save 20% off
your advertising in the 2018 NW Ag Show Guide,
the Official Program for the show.
*20% discount will be taken off your total buy in the 2018 NW Ag Show Guide. Discount
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the show. Offer expires 10/31/17.
ROP-36-8-4/HOU
To take advantage of this offer, contact your
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All inquiries should be in written form and directed to Grant
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Legal-36-2-2/102
many of the ranch’s day-to-day
operations.
He said ranch operations are
equally divided among cattle,
hay and grain. A smaller area
includes
geothermal-reliant
businesses that which have
drawn his interest. Because of
plentiful supplies of geother-
mal water — tests indicate
fl ows of 5,000 gallons of 195-
to 199-degree water a minute
— he sees fi sh farming as one
arm of a potentially broader op-
eration.
“My main goal here is try-
ing to develop a geothermal
park ... to get something in here
to make agriculture more pro-
ductive,” Liskey said.
He envisions “cascading
uses,” fi rst using the extremely
hot water to generate power.
While that hasn’t yet happened,
Liskey said he continues to
work with power companies.
Less hot, re-circulated geother-
mal water is already being used
for three commercial green-
houses while the third tier of
cooler, 84-degree “tail water”
is used for raising tilapia, which
require warm water.
Barnes breeds his own ti-
lapia because, “When you do
your own breeding you don’t
inherit somebody else’s prob-
lems,” such as various diseas-
es. While some believe com-
mercially raised fi sh aren’t as
healthy as wild fi sh, Barnes
said the geothermal water ne-
gates the need for chemicals,
insisting, “If it’s done correctly
it’s better,” noting wild fi sh are
often subject to fouled waters.
While tilapia is their current
endeavor, Liskey and Barnes
believe the Gone Fishing ponds
could be expanded to raise oth-
er fi sh, including shrimp, cat-
fi sh and sturgeon.
“Oregon has a lot of pos-
sibilities in the aqua industry
and it’s just being done,” insists
Barnes.
While Barnes focuses on
tilapia, Liskey also monitors
other geothermally related
operations, including a trio of
200-foot greenhouses operated
the last several years by Rick
Walsh of Fresh Green. Certi-
fi ed organic produce — mi-
cro-greens, tomatoes, squash
and more — grown in the
greenhouses is sold regional-
ly, with some going to Whole
Foods.
Another adjacent geother-
mally heated section is used to
grow medical marijuana. Med-
ical and recreational marijuana
is legal to grow and sell in Ore-
gon, but recreational marijuana
is not legal in some counties,
including Klamath County.
Although Liskey voted
against legalizing recreation-
al marijuana, he believes the
county should rescind the ban
because, “We’re letting every-
body else grow it and saturate
the market. Let us grow it,
too.”
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the following
vehicle will be sold, for cash to the
highest bidder, on 9/1/2017. The sale will
be held at 10:00am by
Copart of Washington Inc.
2885 National Way Woodburn, OR
2015 Ford F 450 PU
VIN = 1FD0W4HT2FEC93475
Amount due on lien $1755.00
Reputed owner(s)
Integrity Machinery/
Jeff Mongan 37-1/102