January 5, 2018
CapitalPress.com
7
Idaho ranks No. 2 in total
irrigation withdrawals
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
Tim Hearden/For the Capital Press
Allan Fulton, a University of California Cooperative Extension irrigation and water resources adviser based in Red Bluff, checks a
water pump in an orchard near Corning, Calif., on Dec. 15. He said some growers have begun to run irrigation because of a lack of
rainfall in December.
Dry December turns on Calif. irrigation
By TIM HEARDEN
For the Capital Press
RED BLUFF, Calif. —
The dry spell in California
this December has prompt-
ed some growers to begin
irrigating again, but no one
appears to fear a return to
drought conditions, agricul-
tural insiders say.
Mild afternoons and
chilly nights have growers
watering “in moderation” to
aid new root activity in or-
chards or to protect against
frost, said Allan Fulton, a
University of California
Cooperative Extension irri-
gation and water resources
adviser.
“In almonds, it’s only
60 days before the likeli-
hood that bloom will start
to emerge,” said Fulton,
who is based in Red Bluff.
“With each passing day that
the rains don’t come, there’s
growing concern.”
Lindauer River Ranch,
which grows walnuts and
plums for prunes, is irrigat-
ing its younger orchards,
manager Michael Vasey
said.
“They’re not using very
much water,” he said, add-
ing that the measure is more
for frost protection. “When
it’s dry, there’s more dam-
age.”
Butte County Farm Bu-
reau executive director Col-
leen Cecil’s family’s small
walnut operation recently
started irrigating, she said.
“We don’t look forward
to those winter PG&E bills,”
Cecil said. “(Growers) are
making decisions based on
how much moisture is in
the soil and the age of the
trees. ... The orchard guys
are talking about how much
longer they’re going to go
before having to turn the
water on.”
However, Cecil doesn’t
notice a sense of foreboding
among farmers.
“I personally am looking
at it,” she said. “I know how
important that snow is up in
the mountains, too.”
One silver lining in the
lack of clouds is that grow-
ers have had ample opportu-
nity to complete postharvest
chores, Fulton said. Farms in
recent weeks have finished
harvesting corn silage and
planting barley, cleared al-
mond orchards of mummies,
pushed out older orchards
and prepped the ground for
pre-plant fumigations, re-
ported the National Agri-
cultural Statistics Service in
Sacramento.
But this month has be-
gun to bear an unnerving
resemblance to December
2013, which ended the dri-
est calendar year in history
in many areas and prompted
Gov. Jerry Brown to declare
a drought emergency the
following month.
The nearly nonexistent
precipitation during the last
few weeks has put many ar-
eas well below their season-
al averages.
For instance, as of Dec.
26 Sacramento had only re-
corded 2.42 inches of rain
for the water year that start-
ed Oct. 1, well below its
normal 5.61 inches, accord-
ing to the National Weather
Service.
However, most reservoirs
are still above their average
levels so far this winter.
Shasta Lake, the centerpiece
of the federal Central Valley
Project, was holding 114
percent of its normal water
supply for this time of year
as of Dec. 26, the state De-
partment of Water Resourc-
es reported.
The only exception is
Lake Oroville, which has
been drawn down intention-
ally to accommodate dam
repairs. The lake was at 35
percent of capacity and 58
percent of normal for Dec.
26, according to the DWR’s
California Data Exchange
Center.
The dry spell comes amid
signs of a weak La Nina at-
mospheric
phenomenon,
which favors chilly storms
in the Pacific Northwest but
can leave much of Califor-
nia dry. In the past 65 years,
60 percent of weak La Nina
winters have been drier than
normal in California, said
Michelle Mead, a National
Weather Service warning
coordinator in Sacramento.
BOISE — Idaho, which
ranks 39th nationally in popu-
lation, ranks No. 2 in total irri-
gation withdrawals.
Six Idaho counties rank in
the top 20 nationally for total
irrigation use.
“We have an agricultural
economy that is built on wa-
ter,” said University of Idaho
Agricultural Economist Garth
Taylor, who compiled that data
to show how important water is
to Idaho farmers.
Agriculture is the top sector
in the state’s economy, accord-
ing to UI studies.
“Idaho is big in irrigation
and agriculture is big in Idaho,”
Taylor said.
The state ranks No. 5 in ir-
rigated acres but rises to No.
2, behind California, when it
comes to total irrigation with-
drawals.
That’s because Southern
Idaho, where most of the state’s
2.8 million irrigated acres are,
is a desert and farmers there are
heavily dependent on the state’s
reservoir systems to grow their
crops, said Lynn Tominaga,
who is executive director of
Idaho Ground Water Appropri-
ators.
“Keep in mind those oth-
er states (with more irrigated
acres) use irrigation as supple-
mental water because they get
(more) rain,” he said. “They
have more irrigated acres but
they only use it when it doesn’t
rain. We use it 24/7.”
Taylor said he compiled the
data to show how important
water is to the main driver of
Idaho’s economy — agricul-
ture — and no apologies should
be made for the states’ farmers
using so much water.
“That’s our competitive ad-
vantage; we have water here in
the state,” he said. “Why not
use it to produce food in Idaho?
We’re using our water to create
wealth and feed the world.”
Idaho Water Users Associ-
ation Executive Director Paul
Arrington incorporated some of
Taylor’s water data into a posi-
tion paper his organization put
together to show how import-
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
A farm field near Nampa, Idaho,
is irrigated in August. Data
compiled by a University of
Idaho agricultural economist
shows that Idaho ranks No.
2 nationally in total irrigation
withdrawals.
ant water is to the state.
It will be given to the U.S.
State Department to use in the
upcoming Columbia River
Treaty modernization negotia-
tions.
Using Taylor’s data as well
as information provided by the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,
the position paper points out
how important water is to four
projects in the Snake River Ba-
sin: Boise, Palisades, Minidoka
and Owyhee.
It shows that, combined,
the projects provide irrigation
water that is used to produce
$3.5 billion worth of crops and
livestock.
“Water provides a signifi-
cant economic impact in south-
ern Idaho,” Arrington said, and
if the treaty is altered in a way
that requires changes in the op-
eration of the Snake River sys-
tem, “there could be significant
consequences.”
Taylor found that 97 percent
of water withdrawn in Idaho is
used for agriculture, compared
with 77 percent in California,
88 percent in Oregon and 68
percent in Washington.
He also found that total wa-
ter withdrawals in Idaho, and
around the West, have declined
since the 1970s, as farmers
have become more efficient in
using it to grow their crops.
“There’s this big myth that
we’re using more water. We ar-
en’t,” he said.
Lentil industry honors Newbry family
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Pacific Northwest Farmers
Cooperative chief executive
officer, president and treasur-
er Bill Newbry and his family
are the 2018 Lentil Family of
the Year.
The family represents the
National Lentil Festival for
the entire year, said director
Britnee Packwood.
The award honors people
within the industry who are
elevating their profession,
pushing for new innovations
and leading the way for oth-
ers, Packwood said. The
Newbry family will join the
festival and participate in its
grand parade.
“I was very surprised and
I am joining a great group of
past honorees that includes
both growers and processors,”
Newbry told the Capital Press
in an email. “A really great
honor that I can share with my
growers and staff and, without
those people, this would not
have happened.”
Newbry has been with the
co-op since 1984, serving as
CEO since 1996. He started
the processing division for the
co-op in 1986, and it grew to
become one of the largest do-
Courtesy of USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council
Bill Newbry, chief executive officer of the Pacific Northwest Farm-
ers Cooperative, receives the 2018 Lentil Family of the Year award
from Dan McKinley, a Dayton, Wash., farmer and co-chairman of
the Western Pulse Growers Association. Newbury was honored for
his marketing skill and love for the industry, said Todd Scholz, vice
president of research and member services for the USA Dry Pea
and Lentil Council.
mestic and international sup-
pliers of pulses, he said.
The co-op has 1,400 mem-
bers, more than 50 facilities,
three river barge terminals, a
train-unit loading facility and
numerous pulse processing
plants and seed plants. The
co-op is the result of a merg-
er between Genesee Union
Warehouse and Whitman
County Grain Growers in
2008, and merged with Co-Ag
in June 2017.
“The industry is kind of in
a boom, and Bill had a big part
of that,” said Todd Scholz,
vice president of research and
member services for the USA
Dry Pea and Lentil Council.
“His marketing skill and love
for the industry is really what
we’re recognizing.”
He credited Newbry with
helping to create the co-op,
and noted a particular chick-
pea variety, the Billy Bean, is
named after Newbry.
Wong Potatoes files for bankruptcy protection
Company founded
in 1930, grows
potatoes on nearly
5,000 acres
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
A company that grows,
packs and ships potatoes in
Oregon’s Klamath Basin has
filed for Chapter 11 bank-
ruptcy, which protects busi-
nesses from creditors seizing
collateral while the firm re-
structures debt.
In its bankruptcy filing,
Wong Potatoes of Klamath
Falls reports owing between
$1 million and $10 million
to fewer than 100 creditors.
It reported assets between $1
million and $10 million.
Dan Chin, the company’s
president, has also filed for
bankruptcy with his wife
but was out of the office and
wasn’t available for com-
ment.
The company, which was
founded in 1930, produces 16
varieties of organic potatoes
as well as several cultivars
of conventional potatoes on
nearly 5,000 acres. It em-
ploys between 50 and 100
workers, depending on the
season.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Judge Thomas Renn has ap-
proved a motion for Wong
Potatoes to use cash collater-
al, and a meeting of creditors
has been scheduled for Jan.
10 in Eugene, Ore.
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