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CapitalPress.com
Friday, June 26, 2020
Hop, hemp testing lab opens in Ontario
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
Western
Laboratories
plans to test hop and hemp
samples this summer at its
new facility in Ontario, Ore.
Owner and soil scientist
John Taberna said the move
reflects continued growth of
the local hop industry and
the need for convenient,
accurate hemp testing in
southeastern Oregon.
Western’s main labora-
tory is in Parma, Idaho. He
said the satellite lab will
be well-positioned if Idaho
eventually legalizes hemp.
Many hop labs are
processor-owned,
and
hemp-testing facilities use
various techniques, Taberna
said.
Growers and buyers can
use the independent lab,
which aims to return results
in one to two days. Tests
are run twice; if one is not
nearly identical to the other,
the lab runs a free addi-
tional test.
One half of the sample
is placed in a specialized
oven to determine moisture
percentage. The other half,
kept at the original moisture
level, is broken down for
subsequent cell-level anal-
ysis by a high-performance
liquid
chromatography
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Rows of hemp plants grow in Oregon. A new laboratory will offer tests of hemp and
hops this summer.
machine for alpha and beta
acid levels in hops — which
influence harvest timing —
and cannabinoids in hemp.
Hops and hemp belong
to the Cannabaceae family
of flowering plants.
Idaho and Oregon last
year ranked second and
third, respectively, behind
Washington in hop produc-
tion, the USDA National
Agricultural Statistics Ser-
vice reported.
In hemp, high per-
centages of cannabidiol,
or CBD, and other com-
pounds can increase finan-
cial returns. It must be
destroyed if tetrahydrocan-
nabinol, or THC, content
exceeds the 0.3% federal
limit.
Western will pursue
hemp-testing accreditation.
Taberna said some of
Oregon’s 2019 hemp crop
exceeded THC limits, and
some growers didn’t use
ideal harvest methods. Mil-
dew reduced quality on
the west side, and an early
October freeze in much of
the state made many buds
unharvestable.
“Despite those prob-
lems, we had a record har-
vest,” said Jay Noller, direc-
tor of the Global Hemp
Innovation Center at Ore-
gon State University. “Tens
of millions of pounds of
biomass were successfully
harvested.”
Registered
outdoor
hemp acres in Oregon at the
end of May dropped 54%
from a year ago to 29,604,
including an 84% plunge
in Malheur County, from
2,832 to 455. Statewide
acreage was 29,772 includ-
ing greenhouse plantings.
Vale, Ore., hemp grower
Randy Fletcher planted 3
acres, down from 17 last
year. That partly reflects
last year’s market satura-
tion and corresponding price
plunge. Prices are expected
to rebound this year.
He
expects
bigger,
heavier plants and thus a
larger overall flower yield
in 2020 due to improved
soil and more management
of individual plants. He has
incorporated three cover
crops to suppress weeds.
“We built the soil organi-
cally in 2019,” Fletcher said.
“The benefit comes this
year.”
Receiving lab test results
last year from a provider
out of the area took about a
week, he said.
Western will offer weekly
monitoring of hops’ alpha
and beta acids and hemp
cannabinoid levels starting
in mid-July. The company
around June 1 started test-
ing hop foliage for fertilizer
needs, as it has for years, and
by July 1 will start analyz-
ing Oregon hemp for nutri-
ent needs.
Taberna said the lab,
at 201 SE Second St. in
Ontario, also is suited to uni-
versity trials.
NASS: Potato stocks, processor demand down as of June 1
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
Potato stocks as of June
1 in Idaho, Washington and
Oregon totaled 47.1 million
hundredweight combined,
down 6.7% from 50.5 mil-
lion a year ago, the USDA
National Agricultural Sta-
tistics Service reports.
Stocks included 26 mil-
lion cwt. in Idaho, 17.5 mil-
lion in Washington and 3.6
million in Oregon.
NASS a year earlier
reported stocks of 29 mil-
lion in Idaho, 17 million in
Washington and 4.5 million
in Oregon.
Idaho leads the U.S. in
potato production, followed
by Washington. Oregon is a
consistent top-10 producer.
Production in the past
year increased by 2% in
Washington, and fell in
Idaho and Oregon by 8%
and 7%, respectively.
NASS said the 13
major potato-production
states reported a 3% year-
to-year decline in disap-
pearance. Idaho, Wash-
ington and Oregon saw
reductions of 5.5%, 3.4%
and 8.9%, respectively.
Processors in the eight
major
potato-processing
states used 1% less volume,
including drops of 2% in
Idaho and Malheur County,
Ore., and 0.3% in Wash-
ington and other Oregon
counties.
The share of dehydrated
products in the eight-state
total fell by about 12%.
Potato Growers of Wash-
ington Executive Director
Dale Lathim said current
processing volume in the
Columbia Basin is down
more than NASS shows,
partly because figures don’t
reflect recent closures of
several Washington pro-
cessing plants as COVID-
19 reduced foodservice
demand. Reporting vari-
ables, like whether a month
has four or five weeks of
data, impact year-to-year
comparisons.
He said potatoes have
been moving recently,
including many to food
banks and for cattle feed.
“Just in the last week,
there seems to be an uptick
in the demand for pota-
toes for frozen processing,
which is the vast major-
ity of our market here
in the Columbia Basin,”
Lathim said. “So we are
more optimistic that we
will be able to utilize the
remaining storage crop
from 2019 in a somewhat
timely manner, and move
on and focus on the new-
crop harvest of 2020.”
He said 85% of the
basin’s frozen potato prod-
ucts go to the foodservice
segment, in which demand
was reduced greatly by
COVID-19 closures of
restaurants, bars and sport-
ing events.
Moreover, much of
the region’s exports go
to Pacific Rim countries
where restaurants did not
switch to take-out.
Demand for processed
potatoes “is starting to
come back,” Lathim said.
Idaho Potato Com-
mission Chairman Nick
Blanksma, who farms
near Hammett, said that
as states ease restrictions,
“foodservice business is
picking back up, although
it is nowhere near where it
was pre-COVID-19.”
Retail
potato
sales
remain strong, he said.
Idaho pest
management
tour to
include
COVID-19
adjustments
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
The annual University of
Idaho Snake River Pest Man-
agement Tour in Aberdeen
is slated for June 30 in an
in-person format modified to
help reduce
COVID-19
risk.
T h e
event, to fea-
ture potato
field
tri-
als in weed
Pamela
control and
Hutchinson
other pest
disciplines,
is scheduled from 9 a.m.
to noon at UI Aberdeen
Research and Extension
Center, 1693 S. 2700 W.,
Aberdeen. Registration is at
8:30 a.m. Three Idaho pesti-
cide applicator recertification
credits will be offered.
Pamela Hutchinson, UI
potato cropping systems
weed scientist based at Aber-
deen, said several weed-con-
trol trials in potatoes will
be featured. They include
evaluations of tank mix-
tures, planned versus rescue
post-emergence applications,
and simulation of excess
rainfall — and its impact on
crop safety and weed con-
trol. Other trials look at
potato variety herbicide tol-
erance and herbicide mecha-
nism-of-action plots.
“There has not been a new
active-ingredient herbicide
for about 30 years,” she said.
“So now more than ever, it’s
important to choose the right
tank-mix partners to control
the weeds in each field, and
make sure that we slow down
or prevent the development
of herbicide-resistant weed
populations.”
Attendees will have fore-
head temperature readings
taken at registration, and
drive to tour stops in their
own vehicles instead of rid-
ing together on trailers. UI
will require and provide
masks and hand sanitizer.
A virtual tour is planned for
those who cannot attend.
Ag is constantly
evolving.
So are we.
The businesses we finance – in farming, ranching,
forestry and fishing – are ever changing. We
embrace agriculture’s dynamic nature and operate
on the leading edge, interpreting trends, pitfalls and
opportunities. When it comes to managing change,
we’re right there with you.
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