12 CapitalPress.com
October 13, 2017
Harvest festival will take place a second time on Oct. 21
HARVEST from Page 1
two-week potato harvest
break, which also provides vi-
tal income for the families of
many students who work for
the growers.
“Potato harvest is import-
ant because it’s so timely,
and if you don’t get it done
within that time period, you
could have a hard frost and
you can’t store them,” Kress
said. “It’s a whole communi-
ty effort because there are so
many jobs that aren’t highly
technical that people can do
that aren’t well trained.”
At Kress’ food truck, crop
consultants and neighbors
often drop by for a meal and
friendly conversation, and
workers constantly stop by to
thank the couple in person.
“We’ve got a dedicated
staff, and it’s sort of a thank-
you everyday,” Kress said
as he stirred spaghetti sauce.
“I’ve never been a believer
that you’re above any job.”
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Potatoes are harvested at Kress Farms in American Falls, Idaho.
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Miss Russet, Katelyn Elizondo, hands out baked potatoes during Idaho Spud Day in Shelley.
Spud hunt
Idaho farmers planted
325,000 of the 1.037 million
U.S. potato acres raised in
2016, and the state’s growers
harvested nearly 14 billion
pounds of tubers, according to
recent USDA estimates.
To put the numbers in per-
spective, Idaho Potato Com-
mission President and CEO
Frank Muir explained the
state’s collective pile would
cover a football fi eld nearly
a mile high with spuds. Muir
said he wasn’t surprised when
a fi rm conducting a survey
for the Idaho Department of
Tourism found Americans
overwhelmingly associated
the word “potatoes” with Ida-
ho.
“Idaho is known for pota-
toes more than any other state
is known for anything else,”
Muir said.
To celebrate the comple-
tion of the state’s monumental
potato harvest, Boyd Foster,
of Ririe, and other growers
organized a community cele-
bration last fall in Idaho Falls.
The public came for food and
entertainment, and farmwork-
ers and their families got free
admission. The festival will
take place a second time on
Oct. 21.
Foster also hosts a popular
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Garth Van Orden helps students from the Pocatello Community
Charter School glean potatoes from his fi elds in Fort Hall, Idaho.
The students donated the spuds to the local food bank.
community harvest tradition
on his farm. Each fall, he digs
6 acres of Russet Burbanks
from the center of a fi eld, leav-
ing potatoes on the surface. At
10 a.m. he gives the signal for
a crowd that averages more
than 400 to begin gleaning
spuds. Some fi ll pickup trucks
with potato boxes, which they
deliver to friends in need. The
event resembles a big Easter
egg hunt.
“There’s nothing left in the
fi eld,” Foster said. “They do
an excellent job of cleaning
up.”
In return, many of his
guests bring homemade good-
ies, such as bread, rolls and
jam.
For two years, Foster
sought to thank his communi-
ty for its support by parking a
truck fi lled with potatoes at a
school or business parking lot
with a “free potatoes” sign.
He had few takers until nine
years ago, when he invited the
public to come to his fi elds
and pick out their own spuds.
Foster believes people are
more comfortable working
for their food. Many elderly
residents come with old-fash-
ioned potato baskets, sharing
stories with their grandchil-
dren about helping farmers
harvest potatoes by hand be-
fore the advent of modern
equipment.
“It’s in our DNA to har-
vest,” Foster said. “I think
that’s why it’s enjoyed.”
School tradition
At the Pocatello Commu-
nity School, fi rst- and sec-
ond-graders spend an entire
year studying every subject
with a potato-centric focus.
For example, they learn the
life cycle of a potato plant in
biology class and how pota-
Known Oregon wolf packs
Confirmed pack/individual range
Estimated pack/individual range
NOTE: Polygons represent estimated
ranges for known wolf packs with
radio-collared animals.
82
Portland
Pendleton
197
Unnamed
Heppner
5
26
OR30
Desolation
22
Mt.
Emily
Catherine
26
84
Harl
Butte
OR29/36
OR37
20
26
126
Bend
Eugene
97
OREGON
20
58
Silver
Lake
OR25
5
101
Rogue
N
Keno (status unknown)
25 miles
199
Medford
5
*At least one breeding pair
395
Ontario
Wolf pack population
Pack/area
Total
Wenaha*
Walla Walla*
Snake River*
Minam*
12
11
9
11
Mt. Emily
Meacham*
Rogue
8
7
6
Desolation
Shamrock
Catherine*
1
4
5
Source: Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
(cont.)
Keno
Heppner
Silver Lake
OR30 pair
Chesnimnus*
Harl Butte*
N. Emily
OR29/36
Lone/misc.
Minimum total
Total
1
3
1
2
9
10
3
2
7
112
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
Harl Butte Pack is thought to
consist of six adults and three
wolves born this past spring
WOLVES from Page 1
by the pack since July 2016.
At the time, ODFW said it
hoped its “incremental” re-
sponse would work – and for
six weeks there were no con-
fi rmed attacks, called depre-
dations.
But ODFW confirmed at-
tacks on private land Sept.
29 and Oct. 1 in which one
calf was mostly consumed
and another was badly bit-
ten. Non-lethal deterrence
methods haven’t worked,
said Roblyn Brown, acting
wolf program coordinator
for ODFW.
“Grazing season is not
over and these cattle will be
on public land until Oct. 31
and private land even later
depending on the weather,”
Brown said in a prepared
statement.
“As wildlife managers, we
are responsible for balancing
the conservation of wolves on
the landscape with our obliga-
tion to manage wolves so that
damage to livestock is lim-
ited. We need to take further
action with this pack,” Brown
said.
The Harl Butte Pack is
thought to consist of six
Crowing a queen
When she was a little girl,
Katelyn Elizondo used to host
make-believe Miss Russet
pageants with her Barbie dolls.
This fall, Elizondo got to
live her childhood fantasy,
when she won the coveted
Miss Russet crown. The pag-
eant is a tradition dating back
generations at Shelley High
School, where the mascot is
also a Russet potato.
Elizondo played the piano
as her talent for the pageant,
and her service project will
involve organizing visits to the
local assisted living center.
“This is something I’ve
dreamed of my whole life,”
Elizondo said.
Miss Russet is a perennial
guest of honor at Idaho Spud
Day, a “gala celebration of the
Idaho potato” hosted on Sept.
16 by the small town.
Ramaswamy: ‘Existential
threat’ of nutritional
insecurity is occurring today
NIFA from Page 1
Minam
Meacham
97
101
Chesnimnus
Wenaha Shamrock
Snake
Walla Walla
River
N. Emily
395
84
Salem
(As of Dec. 31, 2016)
toes impact Idaho’s economy
in their local civics class.
The school’s curriculum
also includes a communi-
ty-service component. Teacher
Whitney Griggs explained her
classes glean potatoes from a
different farm fi eld each fall
and donate the bags they fi ll to
the local food bank. Finding a
willing farmer has never been
a problem.
“We try to mix it up be-
cause a lot of different farmers
are willing to give and partic-
ipate in our service project,”
Griggs said.
This fall, grower Garth Van
Orden invited the classes to
glean one of his spud fi elds on
the Fort Hall Indian Reserva-
tion. Van Orden’s staff left a
row of potatoes in the fi eld to
expedite gleaning, an activity
that’s gotten tougher as har-
vesting equipment has become
more effi cient.
“If we’re doing our job
right, it’s slim pickings,” Van
Orden said.
Van Orden also gave each
child a Spuddy Buddy doll
featuring the IPC’s mascot.
“They take a pretty minus-
cule amount of potatoes,” Van
Orden said. “What isn’t mi-
nuscule is how wonderful it is
to see all of these kids out here
and the energy and excitement
that they bring.”
For other Eastern Idaho
growers, such as Merill Haney
in Shelley, local high school
students fi ll a critical need
during potato harvest. Some
of the smaller school districts
in the region schedule a two-
week potato harvest break,
providing an opportunity for
students to work harvest.
“We would have a very dif-
fi cult time harvesting this crop
without this assistance,” said
Haney, who hires about six
high school students each fall.
“It’s hard to fi nd enough labor
supply in the area.”
When the harvest break
ends, Haney said most stu-
dents still come after school
to help. He’s employed sev-
eral low-income students who
have used their earnings stay
afl oat fi nancially, or gone on to
college.
“I think (harvest) is a time
to pay back both directions
and help these farms help the
schools with their tax dollars,”
Haney said.
Haney’s grown children
also return home from as far
away as Puerto Rico to help
with harvest.
adults and three wolves born
this past spring. The younger
wolves are estimated to be 50
to 60 pounds by now; adult
wolves range between 70 to
115 pounds.
In a related development,
ODFW said the lethal take
authorization against the
Meacham Pack, in neighbor-
ing Umatilla County, has ex-
pired. One wolf was shot after
ODFW authorized killing two
wolves. The department ini-
tially said the wolf killed was
a non-breeding female, but
examination showed it had
bred this year.
Perdue and even the White House, they’re putting their
money where their mouth is when it comes to farmers
and livestock producers.”
For example, the USDA budget was protected, Ra-
maswamy said.
NIFA’s request for the 2017 fiscal year budget
called for doubling funding for the Agriculture and
Food Research Initiative competitive grants for food
and agriculture, from $350 million to $700 million, he
said.
The Support of Agricultural Research group
(SOAR) is pushing for a doubling of funding for ex-
periment stations, extension, forestry programs and for
the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Ramaswamy
said.
Ramaswamy spoke on innovations for food systems
in the 21st Century.
He emphasized to researchers in the audience the
need to ensure farmers are profitable, which he said is
a priority for NIFA.
“All the greatest inventions and discoveries (re-
searchers) are making that we support means nothing
at all if that knowledge is not being put to practical ef-
fort by our farmers and livestock producers,” he said.
“Those producers are trying to make sure you and I
can enjoy the fruit of their labor.”
NIFA aims to reduce the ecological footprint of
food and agriculture, Ramaswamy said, including
$120 billion and 1 quadrillion — a 1 followed by 15
zeroes — liters of water lost each year due to food
waste and loss. NIFA hopes to find ways to reduce
those losses by half.
A third to half of all food is lost to insects and
pathogens before reaching the dinner table in develop-
ing countries, and at the dinner table in the developed
world, he said. He showedb pictures of half-finished
meals from a recent breakfast with colleagues.
Some “very simple fixes” include a “best by” expi-
ration date instead of a “sell by” date, or shrink wrap
that indicates when food has spoiled, Ramaswamy
said.
While many often speak of finding a solution by
2050, Ramaswamy said the “existential threat” of nu-
tritional insecurity is occurring today, and must be
considered by researchers.
“Tonight, across the globe, just about 800 million
people will go to bed hungry,” he said. “As a conse-
quence of that hunger, we’ll have about 29,000 peo-
ple globally drop dead for lack of food. In the United
States, we can feed the entire world, but yet the USDA
Economic Research Service says we’ve got almost 16
million households in America that are food insecure.
Almost 4 million households are seriously food inse-
cure.”
Basic American Foods do-
nated thousands of baked po-
tatoes that were given away to
the crowd. Families competed
in a tug-of-war, with a pit of
mashed potatoes at the center.
Les Brinkley, a former potato
warehouse worker who is now
a school counselor, served
as the announcer during the
world championship potato
picking contest — a Shelley
tradition that dates back to the
early 1900s, with cash prizes
of up to $100 awarded to vic-
tors.
“It’s the only spud picking
contest that I know of, so that
makes it a world champion-
ship,” Brinkley explained.
During the Spud Day Pa-
rade, Kevin Searle, with the
local fresh potato shipping fa-
cility GPOD of Idaho, threw
potato peelers from a pota-
to truck to crowds gathered
along the route. Searle said
GPOD often supports local
school teams and clubs by
furnishing them with potatoes
to sell as fundraisers.
“There are many fam-
ily farms in this area, and
they have grandfathers and
great-grandfathers that were
in the potato business,” Searle
said.
Watching the parade with
her children from the tail-
gate of her car, rural Shelley
resident Rebecca Fielding
explained most people in the
community have some con-
nection to the potato industry
or potato harvest.
“We have a feed lot where
we do corn and wheat and hay,
but then we also go and help
the uncles with their harvest
of potatoes,” she said. “All
of the Fielding grandkids and
cousins help, and they even
fl y some in from Missouri
to help with harvest, and it’s
the same way with the com-
munity. Everybody just fl ocks
to their farms and everybody
helps get the harvest done.”
What’s next for
Ramaswamy?
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
MOSCOW, Idaho – Son-
ny Ramaswamy was ap-
pointed by President Barack
Obama to a six-year term as
director of the National Insti-
tute of Food and Agriculture
in 2012.
His term is up next year.
An additional term is possi-
ble, according to NIFA.
What’s next for him?
“I don’t know,” he told the
Capital Press after his presen-
tation on innovations in food
systems Oct. 6 at the Uni-
versity of Idaho in Moscow.
“My heart lies in academia.
I’d hope I’d be able to maybe
go into academia or maybe a
nongovernmental organiza-
tion. But I don’t know yet.”
Ramaswamy was dean of
the College of Agricultur-
al Sciences at Oregon State
University when Obama ap-
pointed him. That position
is reopening when current
Dean Dan Arp retires next
June.
Ramaswamy ruled out a
return to OSU.
“Been there, done that,
how’s that?” he said with a
laugh.
Asked about possible re-
placements in his position at
NIFA, he said it’s by presi-
dential appointment and not
his call.
“But if somebody were to
ask me, I could point them
in the direction of people to
call,” he said.
He could be reappointed,
he said, noting it’s President
Donald Trump’s and U.S.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny
Perdue’s prerogative to make
that decision.
Would he be interested if
they ask?
Ramaswamy declined to
comment.