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CapitalPress.com
Friday, August 21, 2020
College football uncertainty impacts
Idaho Potato Commission spending plan
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
The Idaho Potato Commission
will adjust its planned marketing
spending as a result of several col-
lege football conferences canceling
their fall seasons.
The commission is title spon-
sor of the Famous Idaho Potato
Bowl in Boise and has regular-sea-
son sponsorships tied to Boise State
University and University of Idaho
football.
The state is the top U.S. pro-
ducer of potatoes. The commis-
sion markets Idaho potatoes as a
national brand.
Fall-season
cancellations
were announced by the Big Sky
(UI), Mountain West (BSU) and
Mid-American conferences in light
of COVID-19 concerns. Teams
from the Mountain West and MAC
traditionally meet in the Famous
Idaho Potato Bowl, though the
game occasionally features a team
from outside these conferences. A
spring season was possible as of
Aug. 10.
“Obviously these decisions are
being made in the best interest of
the health and safety of student ath-
letes, and we support the decisions
that the administrators are making,”
Idaho Potato Commission Presi-
dent and CEO Frank Muir said in
Bureau of Reclamation
The “glory hole” at the Owyhee Reservoir funnels excess water
into the spillway and out into the river below the dam.
Work on Owyhee Reservoir
‘glory hole’ set this fall
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
Owyhee Reservoir’s unusual
spillway system is slated for
improvement, partly because this
year’s lower inflows made it more
accessible.
Exterior concrete improve-
ments to the structure that houses
the ring gate or “glory hole,”
which sits in the southeastern Ore-
gon reservoir just above Owyhee
Dam, are expected to start in late
September and conclude by early
November.
“It has been postponed about
two years because of high water
and carryover storage in the reser-
voir,” Owyhee Irrigation District
Project Manager Jay Chamberlin
said. “This year, we pulled the res-
ervoir down. We’re shooting for
good weather and for a window that
allows us to get in and get done.”
Lower spring inflows left the
reservoir holding less water. Vol-
ume was 419,598 acre-feet Aug.
10, down from 583,685 a year ear-
lier, he said. The 28% decrease left
the pool 15.2 feet lower.
“It’s in a difficult, hard-to-
get-to, spot,” Chamberlin said.
The district continues to develop
the scope of work for the approx-
imately $75,000 project, including
deciding equipment-access routes
and scaffolding placement.
an interview.
Any commission funds tied to
these events likely will be reallo-
cated to national television adver-
tising if the events do not occur as
planned, he said.
If football seasons and the bowl
game occur in the spring and early
summer, the spending remains pos-
sible as part of same fiscal year’s
budget, Sept. 1-Aug. 31 — essen-
tially the crop year.
“The commission is not going
to rush to spend that money,” Muir
said. “We will hold it in reserve
until there are further details as to
what a spring season will look like.
“We will have flexibility as we
get closer” to a go or no-go decision
on a spring season, he said.
Muir has talked to leaders of
with college football conferences
and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
as well as representatives who work
on BSU and UI sports marketing.
“It’s day-to-day,” Muir said
early Aug. 11. He expects final
plans for college football to be
known within two weeks.
The commission spends about
$450,000 to sponsor the bowl
game, owned and operated by
ESPN Events, and a combined
$130,000 on BSU and UI regu-
lar-season campaigns.
Muir said potential alternatives
include holding these funds until a
spring season is confirmed, or real-
locating them — such as by extend-
ing planned advertising on national
television by one or two weeks,
subject to commission approval.
Commissioners in July approved
a new fiscal-year budget that
retained football sponsorships but
allowed for a shift in those dollars
to other promotion opportunities as
conditions warrant. About 80% of
the $15.5 million budget is tabbed
for research and marketing.
“We have had to anticipate some
of these things likely happening,”
Muir said.
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl,
last held Jan. 3, generates nearly $1
million in direct economic impact
for the facilities and charities
involved, according to the event’s
website.
Anna Negron of ESPN Events
said the organization “continues
to evaluate the next steps for our
owned-and-operated bowls as con-
ferences make decisions on their
college football seasons.”
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For Brian and Laurel Field, FFA really is all in the family
Tack & Trailer Sales
PROUD SUPPORTER OF FFA
541-447-6890
wwwesternwear@gmail.com
By Abbey Nickel, National FFA
The Field family’s ties to FFA span multiple generations — a legacy that they say has
led them into becoming lifelong supporters of the organization.
In addition to supporting the Oregon FFA Foundation, Brian is the chair of the
National FFA Foundation’s President’s Advisory Council and sits on the National FFA
Board of Trustees. And if you ask the Field family why they continue to serve and
give year after year, the answer is simple: They want future generations to have the
same opportunities they’ve had.
“FFA has become the lifeblood of this family,” Brian says. “You can truly see the way
FFA works through somebody’s life if you look hard enough. If any family can testify
to that, we can.”
The FFA family tradition started when Brian’s father, Robert, became involved in the
1940s. Brian, his brother John, and sister Kelley (Field) Sanburg were all involved in
FFA and became state officers in Colorado.
FFA SUPPORTER
5013 Washburn Way
Klamath Falls, OR 97603
S200282-1
541-883-2003
www.frontier-trailersales.com
Proud Supporter of
Brian met his wife Laurel, also a former FFA member, in college. Their three daugh-
ters were in agriculture classes in high school; Bailey and Madison were very active in
Oregon FFA leadership programs. Bailey was state sentinel, earned her American FFA
Degree, is now teaching agriculture and is FFA advisor in Medford, Ore.
12333 Silver Falls Hwy SE
Aumsville, OR 97325
Phone: (503) 769-2205
S203222-1
After watching the impact the organization had on their children, Brian, president
of Harvest Capital Company, and Laurel started donating both time and finances to
the Oregon FFA Foundation to help more students across the state fulfill their po-
tential.
www.stutzman-environmental.com
Proud Supporter
of FFA
P.O. Box 307 • Canby, OR 97013
S203221-1
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720 NW Madras HWY,
Prineville, OR 97754
888-877-7665
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www.wwwesternwear.net
Feed Store
Quality
Farmgate
Prices
541-668-7658
By Fox Hollow Ranch
HighDesertHay.com
Proud Sponsor of FFA
“We wholeheartedly believe in the opportunities they pursue,” Brian says. “That’s
why we continue to do what we do. FFA is still having the same effect on young
people as it did when my dad was in FFA. That’s an amazing legacy.”
THE TRACTOR STORE
Brian and Laurel also help judge public speaking contests and mentoring state offi-
cers.
5450 W. 11 th , Eugene, OR
(541) 342-5464
S203226-1
“To see students transform into confident, well-rounded individuals during their
time in FFA makes every minute worthwhile to us,” Laurel says.
Proud
Supporter
of FFA
S179369-1
S203223-1
The Field family attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the CoBank Center for
Agricultural Education at Colorado State University. Pictured are, left to right, Brian
Field, 1980 Colorado FFA president; Laurel (Simpson) Field, former FFA member
from Golden, Colo.; Robert W. Field, 1948 Colorado FFA secretary; and Bailey (Field)
Corcoran, past Oregon FFA sentinel.
HARVESTING
Klopfenstein
Ag Service
DRYING
“We are preparing leaders
to change the world,” Brian
says. “The experiences these
kids get through FFA are
life-changing, and we want to
see that continue for as long
as we can.”
POLISHING
541-998-2383
155 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
541-995-6397
24957 Hwy. 126, Veneta
541-606-4616
Proud Supporter of FFA
Teri McKenzie
Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon
Cell:
503-302-9901
Email:
TeriMcKenzie@4msllc.com
Website:
TeriMckenzieRealEstate.com
S163299-1
Silverton, Oregon
615 Holly St., Junction City
503-932-0766
S203234-1
www.iokamarketing.com
Auto • Home • Farm
Commercial • Health
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503-873-6498
877-FOR-IOKA
S203229-1
The Fields have reminders just
about everywhere of how FFA
has shaped their family. A wall
in their home embellished
with FFA keepsakes they’ve
accrued over the years is one
of those reminders — along
with knowing that they are
continuing to invest in the
future of agriculture with their
contributions.