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CapitalPress.com
Friday, March 25, 2022
People & Places
Couple finds success with cover crops
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Established 1928
RUPERT, Idaho — The
primary thing that drives
decisions on Luke and Sara
Adams’ farm is sugar beets.
The couple owns shares in
the grower-owned Amal-
gamated Sugar Co., which
allows them to grow a cer-
tain number of acres of the
tuber crop for processing.
“A lot of our decisions
are motivated by sugar beets
and sugar beet production,”
Luke said.
That led to the couple’s
decisions to grow cover
crops, first to boost nema-
tode management and later
to improve soil health and
reap the benefits in the fol-
lowing cash crop.
Luke and Sara first started
using cover crops when
they returned to the fam-
ily farm in 2012 after living
in Colorado, where he was
employed by the U.S. Air
Force and she taught school.
They were hoping cover
crops would help with pest
management in their sugar
beets.
“That was kind of the
gateway for using cover
crops,” Sara said.
The first two years of
cover crops were grown in
a research project with the
University of Idaho. The
university researchers were
interested in organic matter
and helped design the cover
crop mixes.
“Based on that success,
we started to branch out on
our own and do our own
mixes,” Luke said.
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Innovator
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LUKE AND SARA
ADAMS
Entire contents copyright © 2022
Location: Rupert, Idaho
dba Capital Press
Co-owners: Timm and
Barbara Adams
Acreage: About 5,000,
half of it leased
Primary crops: sugar
beets, malt barley, pota-
toes, corn, wheat, alfalfa
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2870 Broadway NE, Salem OR 97303.
Business: AgriTerre Seed
Children: Joey, 8, Ade-
lynn, 6
Luke and Sara Adams
Luke and Sara Adams with their children, Joey and Adelynn, on their farm during the
2020 sugar beet harvest.
Luke’s father, Timm, had
experimented with oilseed
radish in 2010 to control
pests in sugar beets.
“He knew it was some-
thing important, and we
needed to incorporate it,”
Luke said.
In addition to the desire
to reduce the sugar beet
cyst nematode population
on the farm, Luke and Sara
believed the organic mat-
ter produced by cover crops
would improve patches of
high-calcium, poor soil in
their field.
In addition to helping
with those issues, cover
crops have reduced soil
compaction, improved water
infiltration and protected the
soil against wind erosion.
“Noticeably, in this
drought year, it was a snow
catch,” Luke said. The cover
crops caught and held snow,
and as a result the Adamses
will go into planting season
with more soil moisture.
They plant cover crops
after they harvest their grain,
malt barley and wheat crops.
They graze the cover crops
with their neighbors’ sheep
and direct seed sugar beets
into the stubble in the spring.
Direct seeding also reduces
erosion.
They plant cover crops
on about 500 acres.
“Essentially, we do as
much as we possibly can
with the water we have,”
Luke said.
They’d like to be able to
plant cover crops on all of
their 2,000 grain acres, but
water is a limiting factor. As
they get better at choosing
drought-tolerant cover crops
and experimenting with
water needs, those acres will
increase, Luke said.
The farm wouldn’t be
as successful without cover
crops, he said.
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The couple’s success with
cover crops led them to start
another business, AgriTerre
Seed, in 2015. That business
has grown year after year
and now offers a full line of
seeds for cover crops, forage
crops and corn. They also
became a Pioneer dealer in
2019.
“The yield justifies the
expense, as well as not using
chemicals to handle nema-
todes,” he said.
Cover
crops
have
“become integrated into
our cropping system. It’s
really just a matter of
which fields and which will
wait for next year,” he said.
“We target our least pro-
ductive fields.”
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97308-2048.
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Oregon
Aquaculture innovator appointed to NWAA board
Capital Press
The Northwest Aquaculture Alli-
ance has appointed Langley Gace,
Innovasea Systems senior vice
president, to its board of directors.
Gace, a Bainbridge Island,
Wash., resident, was formerly the
president of Washington-based
OceanSpar LLC, a pioneer in the
development of submersible net
pens for open ocean aquaculture.
In 2015, OceanSpar merged with
Open Farm Technologies to form
Innovasea Systems, a new com-
pany committed to developing the
next wave of inno-
vative, open-ocean
products to sup-
port the growing
marine aquaculture
industry.
Gace said he
Langley
looks forward to
Gace
serving on the lead-
ership team of
NWAA to promote the advance-
ment of fish farming and shellfish
production in the West Coast and
Pacific regions.
“We need aquaculture to feed
the world today and into the
future,” he said.
The alliance “plays an important
role in promoting the many benefits
of responsible aquaculture while
providing a platform for network-
ing opportunities in the aquaculture
sector,” he said.
The current global political sit-
uation should serve as a call to
action for policymakers and regu-
lators to make aquaculture produc-
tion a matter of national food secu-
rity, he said.
“Today, the United States ranks
17th in the world in terms of aqua-
culture production currently import-
ing 80% of the seafood that we con-
sume,” he said.
Jim Parsons, NWAA board presi-
dent, said the addition of Innovasea
to NWAA and Gace to the NWAA
Board is a key strategic step in help-
ing amplify the voice of the people
and the companies that are engaged
in the responsible production of
aquatic foods.
“Langley Gace is an interna-
tionally respected innovator who
clearly understands the importance
of aquaculture in feeding the world.
We are honored to have him join the
alliance,” he said.
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Video promotes canola oil processing, counters misinformation
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
A new video from the
Pacific Northwest Canola
Association follows the crop
as it goes from farm to table.
The target audience is
consumers, farmers and
industry members, said
Karen Sowers, association
executive director.
“There’s a lot of misinfor-
mation out there in the media
world about how canola oil
is processed, or that it’s bad
for you,” she said. “Our goal
was to put to rest some of the
misinformation and just tell
it like it is, from when the
seed gets put in the ground
to when it
comes out
of the pro-
duction
process.”
T h e
v i d e o
Karen
focuses
Sowers
on canola
delivered to
the Viterra Oilseed Process-
ing plant in Warden, Wash.
The association received
funding from Viterra and a
grant from the U.S. Canola
Association’s
Promote
Canola Acres program,
Sowers said.
A previous video focused
on canola’s role in soil health
improvement.
PACIFIC
NORTHWEST
CANOLA
ASSOCIATION
https://pnwcanola.org/
Pacific Northwest farm-
ers grew roughly 371,000
acres of the crop in 2021.
Sowers expects acreage to
increase.
“Seed supply is tight,”
she said. “Growers are being
made aware — don’t seed
too early.”
Several years ago, a late
freeze forced farmers to
replant.
“That may not be an
option this year, as far as
seed supplies,” she said.
Southern
Idaho
is
expected to be an area of new
growth, with both spring
and winter canola acres, she
said. Sowers estimates there
are 4,000 to 5,000 acres in
six counties.
She’s been hearing from
Idaho and Washington win-
ter canola farmers that “it
looks pretty good, but boy
the moisture needs to con-
tinue, for sure.”
Last year’s winter canola
acres weren’t affected too
badly, but spring acres were
impacted by drought last
year.
“The snow has helped,
the rain has helped, but
we’re also a year behind
on moisture from not hav-
ing it last year,” Sowers
said.
Spring canola plant-
ing will likely begin in the
next month, Sowers added.
Montana’s acreage is
90% spring canola. Idaho
and Washington farmers
plant roughly 70% spring
canola. Oregon plants 80%
winter canola.
The association may
release shorter videos
directed to a grower audi-
ence, including drill cal-
ibration and scouting for
insect pests, Sowers said.
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CALENDAR
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THROUGH
SATURDAY
MARCH 26
High Desert Stampede:
Deschutes County Fair and Expo
Center, 3800 SW Airport Way, Red-
mond, Ore. This annual ProRodeo
Tour stop is going forward the last
weekend in March as one of the top
60 rodeos in the country. We are
expanding to three nights to give
contestants and fans additional
opportunities to participate. Let’s
rodeo! For the full schedule, go to
the website: https://bit.ly/33tT2hE
Contact: 844-414-2242, info@high-
desertstampede.com
THROUGH SUNDAY
MARCH 25-27
Northwest Horse Fair and
Expo: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday,
and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and
9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Linn County
Fair and Expo Center, 3700 Knox
Butte Road E, Albany, Ore. The
Northwest Horse Fair and Expo is a
huge horse expo packed with fam-
ily-friendly fun, exciting equine
entertainment and education. It
features daily clinics with top-notch
trainers and riders; Colt Starting
Challenge USA; stunning stallions
and beautiful breeds performing
daily; giant trade show; and much
more. More information: https://bit.
ly/3rvKaA9 or 765-720-2098.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
MARCH 26-27
Central Oregon Agricultural
Show: 9 a.m. Deschutes County Fair
and Expo Center, 3800 SW Airport
Way, Redmond, Ore. Welcome to
the first-ever Central Oregon Agri-
cultural Show, featuring exhibi-
tors, presentations, seminars and
more. See you in Redmond! Web-
site: https://northwestagshow.com/
Phone: 800-882-6789
SATURDAY-TUESDAY
MARCH 26-29
California FFA State Leadership
Conference: Golden 1 Center, 500
David Stern Walk, Sacramento, Calif.
More than 7,000 FFA members will
gather for this year’s convention in Sac-
ramento. Website: https://bit.ly/3sgmiRr
TUESDAY
MARCH 29
National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association Legislative Confer-
ence: 5:30-8:30 p.m. J.W. Marriott
Hotel, Washington, D.C. The con-
ference will focus on federal policy.
Website: www.ncba.org
SATURDAY
APRIL 2
Free Waste Pesticide Collec-
tion Event in Pendleton: Pendle-
ton Convention Center, 1601 West-
gate, Pendleton, Ore. The Oregon
Department of Agriculture through
the Pesticide Stewardship Partner-
ship is sponsoring a Free Waste Pes-
ticide Collection Event. This event
is an opportunity for landowners,
farmers and other commercial pes-
ticide users to rid storage facilities
of unwanted or unused pesticide
products. Registration for this event
is required by March 23. Contact:
Kathryn Rifenburg, 971-600-5073,
kathryn.rifenburg@oda.oregon.gov
Website: https://oda.direct/PSP
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
APRIL 2-3
Spring Farming Days at Pome-
roy: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Garfield County
Fairgrounds, 99 Fairgrounds Road,
Pomeroy, Wash. Horse farming and
antique equipment displays. No
entry fee. Fun for the whole family.
Contact: 509-566-7027
WEDNESDAY-
SATURDAY
APRIL 6-9
2022 Idaho FFA State Conven-
tion: College of Southern Idaho,
315 Falls Ave., Twin Falls, Idaho.
More than 1,400 FFA members from
around Idaho will gather for this
year’s convention. Website: https://
bit.ly/3J2JAB1
TUESDAY
APRIL 12
Southern Idaho Livestock
Hall of Fame Induction: 6:30 p.m.
Turf Club, 734 Falls Ave. Twin Falls,
Idaho. The Southern Idaho Live-
stock Hall of Fame will honor its
newest inductees on April 12 at the
Turf Club during the organization’s
61st annual banquet. Those induct-
ees to be honored this year are: cat-
tle producers Guy and Sherry Colyer
of Bruneau, sheep producers Don
and Patricia Pickett of Oakley, for-
mer Idaho State Brand Inspector
Larry Hayhurst of Nampa and dairy-
man John Reitsma (posthumously)
of Jerome. The banquet will open
with social time at 6:30 p.m. fol-
lowed by dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets
for the prime rib dinner are $30 and
can be reserved by calling Eric Ben-
nett at (208) 320-5769.
THURSDAY-SATURDAY
APRIL 14-16
Spring Fair: Washington State
Fairgrounds, 110 9th Ave. SW, Puy-
allup,Wash. Celebrate spring at the
fair and all things agriculture. Web-
site: https://www.thefair.com
Capital Press ag media
CapitalPress.com
FarmSeller.com
MarketPlace.capitalpress.com
facebook.com/CapitalPress
SATURDAY
APRIL 16
facebook.com/FarmSeller
Free Waste Pesticide Collection
Event in Roseburg: Douglas County
Fairgrounds, 2110 Frear St., Roseburg,
Ore. The Oregon Department of Agri-
culture through the Pesticide Stew-
ardship Partnership is sponsoring a
Free Waste Pesticide Collection Event.
This event is an opportunity for land-
owners, farmers and other commer-
cial pesticide users to rid storage facil-
ities of unwanted or unused pesticide
products. Registration for this event is
required by April 1. Contact: Kathryn
Rifenburg, 971-600-5073, kathryn.
rifenburg@oda.oregon.gov Website:
https://bit.ly/3AdxFgp
youtube.com/CapitalPressvideo
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
APRIL 21-24
Spring Fair: Washington State
Fairgrounds, 110 9th Ave. SW, Puy-
allup,Wash. Celebrate spring at the
fair and all things agriculture. Web-
site: https://www.thefair.com
twitter.com/CapitalPress
Index
Dairy .......................................................8
Markets .................................................12
Opinion ...................................................6
Correction policy
Accuracy is important to Capital Press
staff and to our readers.
If you see a misstatement, omission or
factual error in a headline, story or photo
caption, please call the Capital Press news
department at 503-364-4431, or send
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We want to publish corrections
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