8 CapitalPress.com September 15, 2017 Idaho Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters IPC welcomes first female grower on board By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press EAGLE, Idaho — The first woman to ever repre- sent growers on the Idaho Potato Commission’s board of directors has grown ac- customed to breaking gender barriers in agriculture. IPC announced Mary Hasenoehrl, 60, as its newest commissioner during the re- cent Idaho Grower Shippers Association annual confer- ence in Sun Valley. She’s been appointed by Gov. Butch Otter as just the second woman to serve on the board, joining current board member Peggy Grover, an official with Rexburg-based BenchMark Potatoes who represents fresh shippers. “It’s important to have a diverse group of people because we all come from different backgrounds and John O’Connell/Capital Press Mary Hasenoehrl in Sun Valley, Idaho, where she became the first woman grower and second woman overall to join the Idaho Potato Commission’s board of directors. have a different approach to things,” Hasenoehrl said. Hasenoehrl’s IPC district stretches from Western Idaho to the Northern Panhandle. She splits time between liv- ing in Lewiston, where her sons lease her dryland native grass seed farm, and Wilder, where she helps her husband, Doug Gross, raise potatoes and other crops. Hasenoehrl was raised on a small farm in Midvale. When she first started high school, FFA didn’t allow girls to formally participate, so she served as a chapter “sweetheart.” The organi- zation opted to include girls before she graduated, and she was elected as a state officer in 1974. She went on to earn a cer- tificate in respiratory therapy, though she admits her dream was to become an agricultural teacher and an FFA adviser. “At the time that was just unheard of,” she said. In the mid-1980s, Hasen- oehrl participated in an orga- nization that lobbied on agri- cultural issues such as water availability and the Farm Bill, called Idaho Women for Ag- riculture. She eventually be- came its president. She also raised a family and took University of Ida- ho classes in marketing and communications before tak- ing a job as regional director for Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Ida- ho. In 2004, she became di- rector of advancement with the UI College of Agricultur- al and Life Sciences, where she worked for eight years, before agreeing to run the advancement office at Lewis and Clark State College. She retired from the college in 2013. Three months after she started that job, her first hus- band was killed in a farming accident. About a year after her husband’s death, Gross lost his wife. Hasenoerhl sent him a note letting him know that she understood what he was enduring and that he was in her prayers. They were married in 2014. “One of the things that attracted me to him was his love of agriculture,” she said. Hasenoehrl was also elect- ed in 2010 as the first female commissioner with the Port of Lewiston, where she contin- ues working toward restoring container shipments from the Port of Portland. IPC President and CEO Frank Muir believes Hasen- oehrl brings the commission “a wealth of experience in her background in terms of the boards she’s served on.” Muir also noted her perspective is important as women represent IPC’s target audience. Commissioners typically serve two, three-year terms. Other current board mem- bers are Grover, Lynn Wil- cox, Dan Nakamura, Tommy Brown, James Hoff, Ritchey Toevs, Randy Hardy and Nick Blanksma. Wilcox, with Wilcox Fresh in Rexburg, is the new chairman. Idaho leads West in per capita farm receipts By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — Idaho remained in the No. 3 spot among the 11 Western states for total farm gate receipts last year, behind California and Washington. But Idaho was unchal- lenged when it comes to farm cash receipts on a per capi- ta basis, generating far more farm income per person than any other Western state. “It shows how much our economy depends on agricul- ture vs. surrounding states,” said University of Idaho agri- cultural economist Ben Eborn, who compiles the rankings an- nually. Eborn said the rankings are a way to show elected officials and other state leaders just how important the farm sector is to Idaho’s economy. “Most people realize there is a lot of farming in Idaho but they probably don’t realize just how huge it is,” Eborn said. Some people think agri- culture is a dying industry, he said. “Well, it’s not dying in Ida- ho,” he said. “A big part of our overall economy in Idaho de- pends on agriculture. It’s pret- ty much the foundation of our economy.” Eborn also ranked all 50 states in terms of farm Gross Domestic Product as a per- centage of each state’s total GDP and Idaho ranked fourth, behind the big ag states of South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. UI Agricultural Economist Garth Taylor said it’s worth noting those GDP rankings only include farm gate receipts and don’t include the econom- ic activity generated by food processing and other agribusi- nesses, which play a major role in Idaho’s economy. Taylor said the GDP and per capita rankings show that “farming affects peoples lives in the state of Idaho.” The state rankings were based on USDA Economic Research Service numbers that became available for 2016 on Aug. 30. California remained No. 1 with $45 billion in farm cash receipts in 2016, followed by Washington with $9.9 billion and Idaho with $7.1 billion. On a per capita basis, Idaho generated $4,204 per person in farm cash receipts, while Cal- ifornia produced $1,154 per person and Washington $1,354 per person. Colorado ranked fourth last year in cash receipts with $6.3 billion and Oregon was fifth with $4.6 billion. Arizona was sixth ($4.1 billion) and was followed by Montana ($3.7 billion), New Mexico ($2.9 billion), Utah ($1.7 billion), Wyoming ($1.4 billion) and Nevada ($596 mil- lion). Courtesy of Travis Blacker Environmental Protection Agency staffers await an aerial application demonstration at Hoff Farms in Idaho Falls on Aug. 14, during a tour of Idaho potato country. EPA staffers tour Eastern Idaho potato production By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press visit Michigan next summer. NPC also organizes a day- long tour in the East Coast for a larger group of EPA officials once every three years. “We think it’s a big part of being partners with EPA and giving some opportunity for these folks who are making decisions on pesticides to see how chemicals are actually applied and handled,” Keeling said, adding that potato indus- try officials also learn what’s involved in EPA’s process of making “science-based deci- sions.” Keeling said EPA staff member Kyle Morford had been contacting NPC for information to guide a reg- istration review for sulfu- ric acid, used to kill potato vines before harvest. During the recent tour, Morford had the chance to ask his ques- tions of farmers who use the product. “The tour was enlighten- ing, giving us a better under- standing of the challenges of growing potatoes in a des- ert climate, the significant pests and strategies to com- bat them and when pesti- cides are needed,” Morford said in a press release. Keeling said potato in- dustry leaders also suggested that any new restrictions on the use of the vine desiccant Diquat limit only the total amount of product allowed for use, and not the number of applications, to give growers greater flexibility. Travis Blacker, of the Idaho Potato Commission, planned the tour’s stops, in- cluding visits to James Hoff’s farm, Raybould Brothers Farm, the Wilcox Fresh pack- ing plant, Sunrain Potato Seed Solutions, Idahoan Foods and Spudnik Equipment. Blacker said the visitors were impressed by the ad- vanced technology and preci- sion upon witnessing an aerial application demonstration at Hoff’s farm. Blacker believes another key moment came when an EPA staff member asked farmer Jeff Raybould if he always uses the maximum amount of chemicals allowed under product labels. “He said, ‘We never use the maximum amount. This stuff is expensive,’” Blacker said. “I think it really hit home with them.” • Grass crops prefer a mixture of both Nitrate and Ammonium forms of nitrogen. IDAHO FALLS — Some of the potato farmers who make an annual trip to lobby lawmakers and bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., know En- vironmental Protection Agen- cy staff members by name, and look forward to having coffee with them. Conversely, officials with EPA are quick to reach out to potato industry leaders when they have questions about “what’s really going on” in spud fields, said John Keel- ing, executive vice president and CEO of the National Po- tato Council. Keeling believes the pos- itive relationship between farmers and federal regulators is the result of his organiza- tion’s longstanding program to host potato-country tours for employees of EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs. Six EPA risk managers and rule writers attended this sum- mer’s trip to Eastern Idaho during the week of Aug. 14. Keeling explained the tour rotates among states, and the regulators are scheduled to • Grass seed set is determined in the Fall, so proper nitrogen and phosphorous nutrition are essential for maximum yield. Rewards offered in E. Idaho cattle shootings 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. By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press AVAILABLE THROUGH YOUR LOCAL AG RETAILER. For Questions and More Information, Contact Two Rivers Terminal 866-947-7776 info@tworiversterminal.com www.tworiversterminal.com 37-3/101 IDAHO FALLS — The Idaho Cattle Association is offering $1,000 rewards for information leading to arrests in two recent cattle shootings. Both incidents occurred about three weeks ago. ICA President Jerald Raymond, of Menan, said his organization is cooperating with the Bonne- ville County Sheriff’s Office on the investigation into the shoot- ing of eight cows and calves in the Upper Fall Creek area be- low Palisades Reservoir. Raymond said four of five members of the area’s grazing association lost cattle. “These people just shot these cows and left them to rot,” Raymond said. Raymond said some of the cows were pregnant. Some nursing calves lost their moth- ers and some cows lost their calves, he said. Bonneville County sheriff’s investigators couldn’t be reached for com- ment. The other shooting occurred on public land near Blackfoot Reservoir, about 25 miles east of Blackfoot. Bingham Coun- ty Sheriff Craig Rowland said his office has been cooperating in the Bonneville County case but hasn’t formally investigat- ed the shooting in his county because the property owners never filed a police report. “I got information about it from my secretary, whose mother runs cattle up that way,” Rowland said. Rowland heard three or four cows and calves were killed. Even though a formal report wasn’t filed, Rowland said his deputies have in- creased patrols of Bureau of Land Management grazing terrain in the Wolverine Can- yon area east of Blackfoot. Increased patrolling will con- tinue until snowy weather ar- rives, he said. Cattle shootings occur spo- radically and are tough cases to close, he said. “Last year and the year be- fore we didn’t have any, and then we get a rash of them,” Rowland said.