Friday, January 14, 2022
CapitalPress.com 5
Idaho farm cash receipts
reach record high $8.9B
Research examines
carbon storage potential
of grass seed crops
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
FOREST
GROVE,
Ore. — New USDA
research is digging into the
carbon storage capacity of
grass seed crops grown in
the Willamette Valley that
could benefi t farms by pro-
viding healthier soils and
potential revenue from
emissions trading programs
such as cap and trade.
Kristin Trippe, a micro-
biologist at the Agricultural
Research Service in Cor-
vallis, shared the results of
a study examining carbon
stocks in 24 fi elds growing
tall fescue.
While carbon measure-
ments between fi elds did
vary, the average total was
76 tons per acre going to a
depth of 40 inches, Trippe
told grass seed producers at
Oregon State University’s
winter seed and cereal crop
production meeting Jan. 6
in Forest Grove.
That was higher com-
pared to soil samples col-
lected from fi elds growing
annually tilled crops.
Whether grass straw
was baled or left in the fi eld
made little diff erence in the
overall amount of soil car-
bon, Trippe said.
“Even though it’s thou-
sands of pounds per acre,
it’s not enough to compete
with this incredible pool
of deeper soil carbon,” she
said.
Interest in gauging soil
carbon has been on the rise
in recent years as a means
to combat climate change
and trap harmful green-
house gases.
Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown signed an execu-
tive order in 2020 requir-
ing state agencies to adopt
policies that will cut green-
house gas emissions at
least 80% below 1990 lev-
els by 2050.
In response, the Ore-
gon Global Warming Com-
mission developed a state-
wide natural and working
lands proposal last year that
calls for increasing carbon
sequestration by 5 million
metric tons of carbon diox-
ide per year by 2030, and 9
million metric tons per year
by 2050, in order to meet
those climate objectives.
Planting grass is one of
the fastest proven ways to
increase soil carbon, Trippe
said, since it provides con-
tinuous soil cover, allows
farmers to till their fi elds
less and returns carbon-rich
residue to the ground.
“It makes sense that
planting grasses increases
carbon,” Trippe said.
Oregon ranks No. 1
in the country in pro-
duction of several grass
seed varieties, includ-
ing orchardgrass, fes-
cue, ryegrass and red and
white clover.
For her project analyz-
ing carbon stocks in grass
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
Capital Press File
USDA researchers are
digging into the carbon
budget of grass seed
crops grown in the Willa-
mette Valley, with farms
standing to benefi t from
healthier soils and poten-
tial revenue from emis-
sions trading.
seed systems, Trippe
said she received fund-
ing from the Oregon Seed
Council. Researchers col-
lected 216 soil samples
during the spring, rang-
ing in depth from zero to
40 inches.
Trippe said they chose
tall fescue because it rep-
resents a large percentage
of production in the Wil-
lamette Valley — roughly
154,000 acres — with root
systems reaching 16 inches
deep and stands typically
kept for 4-7 years.
Earlier studies had
produced mixed results
whether baling straw made
an impact on the amount of
soil organic matter in grass
seed fi elds. Organic matter
makes up about 3% of soil,
and carbon makes up about
58%.
The project’s fi ndings
found that carbon stocks
were marginally higher
in fi elds where straw was
left on the ground, versus
baled.
In older, more estab-
lished fescue fi elds, the
total was 84.5 tons of car-
bon when straw was left
on the ground, and 72.6
tons per acre when baled.
In younger fi elds, the totals
were 70.5 tons of carbon
per acre when straw was
left on the ground, and
69.8 tons per acre when
baled.
“I would caution the
numbers are incredibly
variable,” Trippe said. “It’s
very diffi cult to aggre-
gate the data, and it’s very
diffi cult to know what’s
happening.”
Trippe said their work is
far from done. In the future,
she hopes to receive fund-
ing for more long-term
studies at several loca-
tions, and work with grow-
ers to better understand
which management prac-
tices result in the most car-
bon stored.
Those numbers are nec-
essary for grass seed grow-
ers to participate in carbon
markets and inform regu-
latory policies, Trippe said.
“You’re working toward
that (carbon) potential,”
she said. “I think we can
do a little better.”
BOISE — Idaho’s esti-
mated farm cash receipts
for 2021 were up 9% to a
record-high $8.9 billion.
Higher prices for live-
stock and many crops drove
the increases. The previous
record was $8.8 billion in
2014.
“In Idaho, ag is a growth
industry,” University of
Idaho agricultural economist
Garth Taylor told the state
Legislature’s
Economic
Outlook Committee Jan. 6.
A pro-agriculture Legis-
lature enables the sector to
grow faster in Idaho than
many states, he said.
Taylor said a big livestock
sector and diverse com-
modity mix that includes
high-volume and high-value
crops help agriculture grow
in Idaho. The state ranks fi fth
in percent-
age of gross
domes-
tic
prod-
uct derived
from ag. It
is also third
Garth
nation-
Taylor
ally in milk
production.
Net farm income adjusted
for infl ation grew by 150%
in Idaho and 20% nationally
between 1997 and 2020, he
said.
Farm gross domes-
tic product grew 200% in
Idaho and 60% nationally.
Both are helped by the dairy
industry’s consistent expan-
sion and increased effi ciency.
Idaho’s dairy herd and
milk output continue to grow
to the extent that “we need
a new Chobani every two
to three years” in equivalent
processing capacity, Taylor
said. Chobani operates a big
Greek yogurt plant in Twin
Falls.
Idaho livestock reve-
nue is 6% higher than 2020
and 9% above the 10-year
average, according to UI’s
annual Financial Condition
of Idaho Agriculture report,
which he presented to the
committee.
Cash receipts were up
13% from the previous year
for cattle and calves to about
$1.8 billion and up 3% for
milk to $3.06 billion.
However, the estimated
net farm income in the state
dropped 8% from 2020
to 2021 because of higher
expenses for fertilizer and
other inputs.
Crop revenues, at an
expected $3.8 billion in
2021, are up 14% from 2020
and 17% above the 10-year
average, the report said.
Year-to-year
gains
included 21% for hay, 19%
for sugar beets and 8% for
potatoes. Barley and wheat
receipts rose 3%.
Federal government pay-
ments to Idaho producers in
fi scal 2021 were estimated at
$488 million, down 41%.
However, they were 107%
above the 10-year average.
Idaho is estimated to have
received 0.7% of total 2021
payments to U.S. agriculture.
Coronavirus Food Assis-
tance Program payments
were an estimated $337 mil-
lion in Idaho in 2021, 69%
of total federal payments.
Disaster program payments
were $26 million, the highest
in a decade.
Taylor said that while
agriculture is more volatile
than the overall economy, it’s
a steadier employer as pro-
duction and processing con-
tinue regardless of a com-
modity’s price on a given
day.
Washington lawmaker fi les
‘seasonal’ farmworker pay bill
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA
—
The
top-ranking Republican on
the House Labor and Work-
place Standards Committee
has introduced a bill to add a
seasonal clause to Washing-
ton’s new overtime law for
farmworkers.
House Bill 1750 would
allow farms to choose 12
weeks a year during which
the threshold for time-and-
a-half would be 50 hours a
week rather than 40 hours.
The bill would amend
legislation passed in 2021.
Democrats, who control the
House, last year rejected
raising the overtime thresh-
old during peak harvests.
Rep. Larry Hoff of Van-
couver has attracted nine
co-sponsors, including two
Democrats.
“It certainly helps,” Hoff
said. “I’m excited these
Democrats see it’s the right
thing to do.”
The Washington Supreme
Court thrust the issue onto
lawmakers by a 5-4 ruling in
2020 that granted time-and-
a-half pay after 40 hours in a
week to dairy workers.
In response, legislators
voted to gradually extend
the same overtime pay to all
farmworkers.
Beginning this year, the
threshold will be 55 hours.
In 2023, the threshold will
be 48 hours. In 2024, the
threshold will be 40 hours.
Farm
groups
were
pleased that majority Dem-
ocrats phased in overtime.
Lawmakers also voted to
shield dairies from back-pay
lawsuits.
Hoff said adding a sea-
sonal clause to the bill last
year “was too big of a bite.”
Under his bill, farms
would be asked to make a
“good-faith estimate” of
which 12 weeks the thresh-
old would be raised to 50
hours a week at least 30 days
in advance.
Farm and labor groups
clashed over a seasonality
exemption last year. Labor
groups said overtime pay
will prevent workers from
being exploited.
Overtime pay is meant
to promote worker health
and spread out work to more
employees, according to the
Washington Minimum Wage
and Hour Act.
Washington House Republicans
Washington state Rep. Larry Hoff , R-Vancouver, has pro-
posed a seasonal exemption to the state’s agricultural
overtime law.
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