8 CapitalPress.com Friday, August 13, 2021 Scoular plant, grower program target barley food, feed segments By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press Barley production for the food and feed segments could increase in Idaho with help from a soon-to-open pro- duction plant and a new program for farmers. The Scoular Co. by early October plans to open a 15,000-square-foot plant in Jerome to produce a barley protein concentrate for use in aquacul- ture and pet food. Separately, the Omaha, Neb.-based company announced a program to encourage farmers to plant more bar- ley as a rotation crop. Barley MVP pro- gram off erings include risk-manage- ment tools and seed varieties. Idaho led U.S. barley production in 2020. Planted acres totaled 530,000. Idaho Barley Commission Execu- tive Director Laura Wilder said 75-80% of the crop is grown for malting. “There is potential to grow those food barley and feed barley markets, and that is something Scoular is focus- ing on,” she said. Meanwhile, the fairly new protein-concentrate segment is growing. “The company’s expanded focus on barley and initiatives around their new barley protein concentrate facility, as well as feed barley and food barley, will increase total Idaho barley acres,” Wilder said. “That’s good news for the industry.” Andy Hohwieler, Scoular trade unit manager in Twin Falls, said local farmers this year converted more than NAWG National Association of Wheat Growers CEO Chan- dler Goule measures wheat in a North Dakota fi eld to estimate yield and assess drought stress. J.C. Olson/Scoular Construction of Scoular’s barley protein concentrate manufacturing plant progressed Aug. 3 in Jerome, Idaho. 12,000 acres to barley for these sectors. Most was south-central Idaho ground where wheat, corn or other crops grew previously. The new barley was grown for feed and food sectors. “The water situation we’re in this year created a lot of interest in barley because it is a lower water-input crop,” he said. Demand could exceed 50,000 acres of production in the next fi ve years, Hohwieler said. He said Scoular, through Bar- ley MVP, aims to connect growers to new markets and off er a wide range of price- and risk-management tools — such as a forward contract, a basis contract against corn futures, or a mini- mum-maximum price contract. “The more tools we can off er grow- ers when it comes to marketing, the more successful the producer could be,” Hohwieler said. Scoular’s presence in Idaho includes several grain handling facilities, a live- stock ingredient and custom blending plant in Jerome, and a trading offi ce in Twin Falls. The new Jerome building is on 4 acres south of the existing plant. It’s expected to initially create about 13 new jobs and process about 1.9 million bushels of barley annually for the com- pany’s Emerge protein concentrate. A liquid feed supplement for cattle feed- ers will be co-produced. “We see barley as a crop that has tre- mendous potential,” Hohwieler said. PETA calls for investigation of Idaho rodeo By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press People for the Ethi- cal Treatment of Animals is calling for an investiga- tion into the use of fi reworks during a July 24 event at the Pioneer Days Rodeo in Oak- ley, Idaho, a rural commu- nity southeast of Burley near the Utah border. A video of the wild cow riding event shows fi re- works, including what appear to be Roman candles, being fi red within the arena. Some appear to be hitting cows and participants in a chaotic scene of frightened animals and cowboys trying to control the cows. PETA said blasting Roman candles inside the arena caused terrifi ed cows to run frantically in circles as fl aming projectiles hit them. The organization sent a letter to Cassia County Prosecuting Attorney McCord Larsen and Sheriff George Warrell call- ing on them to investigate. “Horrifi c footage doc- uments that cows franti- cally fl ailed and ran in cir- cles as they desperately tried to evade countless fl am- ing projectiles, many of which appeared to be aimed directly at them. Some even bounced off their heads and bodies,” PETA said in the letter. The letter also said rodeo board member Cache Taylor stated in a media interview that the fi reworks have been a regular part of the show for years “with the intent to make the cows more wild.” In the interview with KTVB of Boise, Taylor said fi reworks have been used outside the arena in past years to highlight the show and make it more exciting. The fi reworks can make the cows harder to catch and harder to saddle, he said. But it was never to the Hazelnut Growers Bargaining Association Annual Meeting August 31 st , 2021 @ West Salem Roth’s RSVP by August 20 th •➢ 8:30 a.m. Coffee & Refreshments •➢ 9:00 a.m. Meeting Board member elections to be held extent of this year’s event, and those using the fi reworks were not a part of the group that puts on the rodeo, he said. Taylor did not immedi- ately return a request for comment from Capital Press Aug. 3. PETA said it wants crim- inal cruelty-to-animals charges fi led against those responsible and a ban on the rodeo’s use of pyrotechnics around the cows. “Rodeos are traumatic and dangerous enough for animals even without the use of fi reworks to whip the animals into a frenzy for the enjoyment of the crowd,” Stephanie Bell, PETA senior director of cruelty casework, said in a press release. When asked for comment, Cassia County Prosecut- ing Attorney Larsen said, “I don’t comment on any ongo- ing cases.” County Sheriff Warrell did not immediately return a request for comment on Aug. 3. NAWG CEO: Washington crop hit hardest by drought By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press Over the summer, National Association of Wheat Growers CEO Chandler Goule toured six wheat-producing states. He says Washington wheat farmers hold a dubious distinction. “I hate to tell you this, but Washington still wins,” he told the Capital Press by phone Aug. 4. “You all still have the shortest wheat that’s got the most heat stress on it of all the states I’ve been to, but every state is clearly showing signs of major drought and stress issues in the crops.” Goule toured Wash- ington, Oregon and Idaho in June, and visited North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota at the end of July. Goule anticipates help from the federal govern- ment, and welcomed con- gressional funding ear- marked for drought relief assistance. He is “very confi dent” Senate and House appro- priations bills will cross Biden’s desk, citing a bipar- tisan approach in both chambers. The crop insurance pro- gram will also provide relief. President Joe Biden’s administration is the fi rst, Democrat or Republican, in 21 years to not cut crop insurance in its budget, he said. “That gives us a little bit of comfort that the admin- istration realizes the impor- tance of that program, espe- cially coming out of such a bad year,” Goule said. Goule expects all grow- ers who qualify for crop insurance will be able to remit their full policy. He declined to give an estimate for total crop insurance pay- ments industry-wide. The industry will main- tain its “strong drum beat” about the importance of crop insurance, Goule said. “We’re going to have six states that are going to have major claims this year,” Goule said. Parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas are also aff ected. Goule doesn’t anticipate the usual fi ght over crop insurance funding from longtime opponents this year. “When you’re look- ing at political strategy and you’re trying to fi nd money, it’s always easy to attack a program when it’s not in use because we’re having plenty of rainfall,” he said. “If I was in oppo- sition to crop insurance, which I am not, this would not be the year I would try to attack it.” Crop insurance fund- ing is a permanent bill not included in the Farm Bill, but discussed at the same time as the Farm Bill. Goule expects Farm Bill discus- sions to begin in 2022. “I think we’re going to get a pass this year, but we defi nitely should not let our guard down,” he said. The industry will discuss a permanent disaster pro- gram in the Farm Bill. “We need to be very careful, but very pragmatic, about how we want to struc- ture (a program),” Goule said. “One year you may have a fl ood, one year you may have drought and one year you may have fi re. A lot of times, crop insurance and disaster assistance doesn’t cover things like fi re. If your crop goes up in smoke, lit- erally, you’re not covered. Just a lot of things we need to look at as we develop those programs.” Cover your assets with winter cover crops! Must be a member to attend. To join, see contact information below. 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