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16 CapitalPress.com October 6, 2017 Researchers encouraged by spore sampling results ing several crops. Results will then be emailed to industry sources — and eventually posted on a web page that will be developed for the project. In the “dry run” conduct- ed during the second week of September, Woodhall said testing confi rmed the pres- ence of white mold and “it looked like spore levels were increasing as we got to the end of the week.” “It’s quite good for us to practice with a small number of spore samplers, doing this in real time,” Woodhall said. In Parma, Woodhall said his sampler detected powdery mildew two to three weeks before the arrival of disease symptoms in sugar beets. Woodhall also demonstrated samplers can detect pota- to early blight, but he’s still refi ning the diagnostic test. Woodhall is also develop- ing a test to detect fusarium in onions. He has received a $120,000 USDA specialty crop block grant through the By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press PARMA, Idaho — Re- searchers have confi rmed they can use machines that capture airborne spores to detect some of Idaho’s most devastating crop diseases before symp- toms surface in fi elds. They also demonstrat- ed they can analyze samples in Parma and relay results to growers within 24 hours of re- ceiving them. University of Idaho plant pathologist James Woodhall is leading the effort to set up an extensive network of spore samplers throughout Idaho to give growers advance warning of the arrival of harmful patho- gens. Woodhall and a team of UI researchers conducted their initial trials with the spore sam- plers this growing season, oper- ating three machines stationed at the university’s research and extension centers in Parma, Kimberly and Aberdeen. John O’Connell/Capital Press File From left to right, University of Idaho researchers Kasia Duellman, James Woodhall and Juliet Marshall with a spore sampler at UI’s Aberdeen Research and Extension Center on April 18. Woodhall is leading the effort to set up an extensive network of spore samplers throughout Idaho to give growers advance warning of the arrival of harmful pathogens. Woodhall said the sam- plers suck spores into a differ- ent vial each day, with a ca- pacity to collect samples for eight days before vials must be changed. The samples will be sent by overnight mail to Parma, where Woodhall will use a diagnostic approach known as real-time poly- merase chain reaction to test for up to 12 pathogens affect- onion industry to purchase a fourth sampler for onion re- search. The Northwest Potato Research Consortium con- tributed $16,000 to cover research and develop pota- to-specific primers. Andy Jensen, with the consortium, said potato growers are espe- cially interested in research to verify whether the lack of spore detection by the sam- plers means it’s safe to skip spraying protectants. Jensen noted Woodhall will use untreated “sentinel” potato plots to determine if diseases may surface near a sampler, even when no spores have been captured. Processors and fresh packing sheds within the potato industry have con- tributed funding toward nine additional spore samplers, which will be strategically placed in commercial fields to monitor for potato diseas- es next season. The Idaho Bean Commission has also financed a spore sampler to bolster the network, and UI has two more samplers on or- der. Next season, Woodhall hopes to begin learning how many samplers are needed to adequately detect diseases, and how they should be dis- tributed. UI potato pathologist Phil Wharton was recently award- ed a $200,000 specialty crop block grant to assess the re- lationship between spore levels, weather and potential disease severity. UI Exten- sion seed potato specialist Kasia Duellman will help Wharton develop a website with a map of spore sampler locations, and ultimately “de- cision aids to help growers identify different risk levels.” “I envision we will have something up and running by next summer that is bare bones, giving the basic in- formation, and over time it will be refined,” Duellman said. Negotiations expected to resume on Columbia River treaty 97 mb Colu ia Chelan 12 Seattle 90 10 Coulee Dam 11 Spokane Matthew Weaver/Capital Press File WASHINGTON Wenatchee 90 Olympia 6 5 r Snake R i ve Yakima Astoria Richland 82 Longview Pacific Ocean Vancouver Portland 5 Kennewick lumbia Riv e r Co The 1 Dalles 2 3 101 Umatilla 84 4 OREGON 5 7 Pasco 8 IDAHO 9 Lewiston Walla Walla Pendleton . BOISE — The Trump administration has vowed to pressure Canada to renegoti- ate a fl ood-control treaty with potentially drastic ramifi ca- tions for Upper Snake River water users, according to an attorney representing Idaho’s Committee of Nine. Jerry Rigby, legal counsel for the committee, which rep- resents storage holders in Ida- ho’s Upper Snake reservoirs, explained the U.S. and Cana- da implemented the Columbia River Treaty in 1964 to con- trol fl ooding in Portland and Vancouver. The U.S. agreed to pay Canada to build an Upper Co- lumbia reservoir system for added fl ood capacity, to be used in conjunction with eight U.S. reservoirs — including Brownlee, Dworshak, Libby, Hungry Horse, Grand Coulee and other federal projects in the Columbia River Basin. In 2024, the Canadian fl ood-control rights the U.S. received for its investment will expire, and Canada will be en- titled to payment on a case-by- case basis for providing fl ood control “as called upon.” The Canadians have argued the U.S. should be required to exhaust all options to free its own space for fl ood control — possibly including Upper Snake reservoirs — before seeking their help. U.S. offi - cials maintain the “as called upon” language refers only to the eight reservoirs specifi cal- ly mentioned in the treaty. Rigby noted the Upper Snake reservoirs, which aren’t named under the treaty, hold water for a single irrigation season. “If we had to reduce those (Upper Snake reservoir levels) and water didn’t come, and we Columbia and Snake river dams S na ke R Capital Press R i ver By JOHN O’CONNELL 84 Columbia River Basin dams in the U.S. N 20 miles 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Bonneville The Dalles John Day McNary Ice Harbor 6. Lower Monumental 7. Little Goose 8. Lower Granite 9. Dworshak 10. Albeni Falls 11. Grand Coulee 12. Chief Joseph 13. Libby (Mont.)* 14. Hungry Horse (Mont.)* *Not shown Sources: U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers had to go a year with those res- ervoirs almost empty, it would be devastating to Idaho,” Rig- by said. In mid-September, Rigby and several other offi cials rep- resenting Idaho water users met with Trump administra- tion leaders in Washington, D.C. Treaty negotiations have been stalled since 2013, but Rigby said the Trump admin- istration has chosen a wom- an who will soon be publicly named as the chief negotiator for the talks. Trump offi cials told Rigby they plan to use other treaties the Canadians would like to revisit as lever- age to get them to the table. Jim Yost, one of two Ida- ho members on the North- west Power and Conservation Council — formed in 1980 to aid in providing economical power while protecting fi sh and wildlife — hopes the new negotiator will quickly sched- ule a visit to meet with Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and make Alan Kenaga/Capital Press her positions formally known. Since the treaty was enact- ed, Yost said, there have only been a couple of times when U.S. infrastructure would have been insuffi cient to accom- modate fl ood control, and a few more years “on the bub- ble.” Yost, who served on a committee that recommended treaty renegotiation goals to the U.S. Department of State in 2013, believes it would take far too long for water in Up- per Snake reservoirs to reach the Portland area to provide any practical fl ood-control management. Yost considers talk of Upper Snake fl ood-control requirements to merely be a “negotiating ploy by Cana- da to threaten the U.S.” into paying more money under the renegotiated treaty. Rigby said Idaho irrigators support reworking a power agreement under the treaty that the U.S. believes over- charges Bonneville Power rates payers by up to $3 mil- lion per year. The original treaty awarded Canada com- pensation for extra revenue BPA enjoys when releases from Canadian reservoirs en- hance fl ows through down- stream BPA turbines during the peak power season. The U.S. asserts payment rates were based on growth pro- jections that never came to fruition. Administration offi cials are also sympathetic with Ida- ho’s position on the proposed inclusion of “ecosystem” considerations in the treaty, regarding minimum fl ows for endangered fi sh, Rigby said. The Obama administration, certain Oregon and Wash- ington lawmakers and tribal offi cials supported adding ecosystem language. Idaho leaders argue the Nez Perce Agreement, the Clean Water Act and other unrelated safe- guards already adequately cover wildlife and habitat. R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. R-CALF contends a USDA report purporting a industry consensus for expanding its animal identifi cation program is tilted to favor private companies, pri- marily ear-tag companies, that stand to reap fi nancial gains. R-CALF: APHIS claim of consensus on animal ID a sham By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press R-CALF USA has fi led a complaint with USDA ac- cusing its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of falsifying the outcome of meetings and public com- ments on expanding man- datory animal identifi cation under the disease traceability program. At issue is APHIS’ report on feedback from the cat- tle industry on its strategy to require the exclusive use of electronic devices for individ- ual animal identifi cation and to expand those requirements to cattle under 18 months. In the report, APHIS claims there was consensus in the industry to move ahead with both, although “no- thing could be further from the truth,” said Bill Bullard, R-CALF CEO. He said there was adamant opposition at the meetings and in public comment. APHIS’ report is a falsifi cation of the genuine concerns that many producers expressed, he said. “The report really consti- tutes government propagan- da,” he said. He maintained that it’s a “cheerleading piece” to say there’s consensus in the in- dustry when there’s nothing of the sort. That feedback document is critical because USDA said it would be used as a basis for next-step recommendations on whether the government should proceed with expand- ing mandatory animal ID re- quirements, he said. In the complaint, R-CALF contends the report is tilted to favor private companies, primarily ear-tag companies, that stand to reap fi nancial gains if APHIS expands its animal ID program. The current animal disease traceability rule requires cattle over the age of 18 months to be identifi ed with some type of offi cial ear tag if the animal enters interstate commerce. APHIS was seeking com- ment on expanding that to animals under 18 months and requiring the exclusive use of electronic devises. There are problems with those strategies, he said. One is that current pre- miums for providing val- ue-added information on younger cattle will evapo- rate if animal ID is required in the entire system. “It would be a free gift to the packers at the expense of producers who will incur all the cost of the devices and recordkeeping necessary to achieve traceability from birth to packer” through a na- tional data base, he said. Raw milk dairy’s defi ance prompts WSDA health alert By DON JENKINS Capital Press The Washington State Department of Agriculture has issued a rare health alert, advising consumers to not drink raw milk from a dairy that refused to halt produc- tion pending an investigation into why its milk tested positive for salmonella. Pride & Joy Dairy of Toppenish main- tains that its milk is safe, though the own- er said Tuesday that most retailers have stopped selling it. “The impact is horrible,” said Cheryl Voortman, who owns the dairy with her husband, Allen. “It’s killing us, inch by inch.” WSDA reported detecting salmonella Sept. 27 during a routine monthly sam- pling of raw milk from Pride & Joy. The next day, the dairy declined WSDA’s re- quest to suspend production. The dairy stated in a Facebook post that it was be- ing “targeted again.” Pride & Joy distributes milk to more than two dozen retailers in Western and Eastern Washington, as well as 19 drop- off points, according to its website. Voortman said the dairy has about 100 milking cows and has been producing raw milk for nine years. Courtesy Pride & Joy Dairy A worker fi lls con- tainers for Pride & Joy Dairy in Wash- ington. The dairy says it declined the state Department of Agriculture’s request to suspend production. Pulse crop yields in Idaho way down this year; chickpea acreage was up By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press MOSCOW, Idaho — Pro- duction of pulse crops — len- tils, dry peas and chickpeas — in Idaho was a mixed bag this year. Production of lentils, Aus- trian winter peas and dry edi- ble peas plummeted in 2017, the result of fewer acres and much lower yields. Chickpea acreage, howev- er, continued to soar this year, although yields are also ex- pected to be lower. An extremely wet spring plagued the state’s main pulse-growing region in North Idaho this year, and that was followed by a string of 80 straight days with no rainfall and unusually high tempera- tures, farmers and industry leaders said. The lengthy dry spell “defi nitely affected yields, but overall quality this year remained pretty good,” said Dirk Hammond, adminis- trative services manager for George F. Brocke and Sons, a processor of pulse crops in Kendrick. Idaho pulse crops enjoyed yield records last year, “but this year is quite a bit different story,” said Tim McGreevy, executive director of the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council, which is headquartered in Moscow. “The pulses got hit hard with lower yields than last year.” According to USDA Na- tional Agricultural Statistics Service, lentil yields averaged 900 pounds an acre in Idaho this year, down from 1,550 last year, dry edible pea yields averaged 1,700 pounds an acre, down from 2,500 last year, and Austrian winter pea yields averaged 900 pounds, down from 1,800. Chickpea yields for 2017 have not been released yet but they are also expected to be down. Troy farmer Pat Smith planted chickpeas and lentils this year and “both of those crops were down on yields, he said. “We had too much rain at the beginning of the season and after that, we didn’t get any rain. The crop defi nitely felt the toll of Mother Na- ture.” Smith said his chickpeas yielded between 900 and 1,000 pounds an acre this year, down from 1,800-1,900 last year. Robert Blair, who farms near Kendrick, said he couldn’t get any pulse acres planted this year because of heavy spring rains. “It was too wet,” he said. “We just couldn’t get in the fi eld.” Acreage for lentils, Aus- trian winter peas and dry edible peas in Idaho were all down this year, accord- ing to NASS, but chickpea acres continued their steep climb.
