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Friday, April 22, 2022 Boise Project reduces irrigation allotment By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press The Boise Project Board of Control has set its irrigation allotment at 1.2 acre-feet, down 25% from last year. 2൶ FLDOVFLWHGDVHFRQGFRQVHFXWLYH\HDU of drought and below-normal reservoir vol- ume. Snowpack in the Boise River Basin was 70% of the 30-year median as of April 13, the Natural Resources Conservation Ser- vice reported. Water delivery is set to start no earlier than April 22. Recent mountain snow helps, <but we need a lot more to have a bigger impact on what we have in our account,= manager Bob Carter said April 13. From January through March, basin precipitation was its third-low- est ever. <We9re expecting it right now to be a shorter season,= he said. &DUWHUVDLGWKHVKXWR൵GDWHZLOOGHSHQGRQ usage, temperature and other variables. Shut- R൵ ODVW \HDU ZDV LQ PLG6HSWHPEHU DERXW three weeks early. He said this year9s conditions are similar WRWKRVHRIZKHQVKXWR൵ZDVLQHDUO\ August. <We9ve made it through before, and hope- fully Mother Nature treats us better this year= in fall-winter snow accumulation, Carter said. The current allotment is <all we have in KDQG´ DQG FRXOG LQFUHDVH LI UXQR൵ H[FHHGV expectations, he said. 7KH%RLVH3URMHFWIXUQLVKHVZDWHUWR¿YH irrigation districts and 167,000 acres com- bined in southwest Idaho and southeast Ore- JRQ,WVIDFLOLWLHVLQFOXGH¿YHVWRUDJHGDPV and the New York and Mora canals among 1,500 miles of canals and drains. Last year9s allotment was 1.6 acre-feet. Dave Reynolds, a Kuna farmer who chairs the Boise Project governing board, said irrigators will start using stored, allo- cated water <right out of the gate.= /DVW \HDU VWUHDPÀRZ FRYHUHG GHPDQG until a June 10 switch to allocated water. Reynolds said Boise Project irrigators in 2020 used only river water until June 25 before tapping an allotment of 2.75 acre- feet. In 2019, they irrigated from the river until July 3 before using an allotment of 2.7 acre-feet. As for 2022, <it9s ugly,= he said. <There is quite a lot of grain this year because guys are scared of the unknown and the price is pretty good,= Reynolds said. <You also have urbanization that increases rapidly all the time.= Reynolds said that at his family9s 2,000- acre farm, 120 acres were planted in a cover crop <that maybe we irrigate once.= Some 250 acres were prepped, bedded and fertil- ized last fall only to go unplanted. Changes on the rest of the farm aim to make best use of available water. Already for farmers, <it9s been a very stressful year,= said Reynolds, who is expe- riencing his eighth drought in more than 30 years. <You don9t know what to do, and com- panies are depending on you to grow their VWX൵´KHVDLG Ryan Hedrick, U.S. Bureau of Reclama- tion hydrologist and Middle Snake Field 2൶ FH ZDWHU RSHUDWLRQV OHDG VDLG cubic feet per second of water was slated April 15 to move through the previously dry New York Canal for charge-up and inspec- tion purposes. That occurred last year March 22. Urbanization9s impacts on water supply can include high demand throughout irriga- tion season. Nampa & Meridian Irrigation District Superintendent Greg Curtis said conserva- tion can save supply and extend the season, in contrast to a common misconception that unused water is lost. CapitalPress.com 7 New NWREC director pioneers 21st century pest management By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press AURORA, Ore. 4 Surendra Dara didn9t envision a career in agriculture when he started col- lege in his native India. <Most people (there) go into agriculture because they couldn9t get into medical school. I was no GL൵HUHQW´'DUDVDLG Following in the footsteps of his brother, who became a plant physiologist, Dara sought to FDUYHKLVRZQQLFKHLQWKH¿HOG He took an interest in how micro- organisms can be used to control agricultural pests, as opposed to chemical products. Dara was hired in January by Oregon State University as sta- tion director of the North Willa- mette Research and Extension Center, where scientists are con- stantly experimenting with new ways to grow the region9s crops 4 everything from hazelnuts to blueberries to Christmas trees. <I9m very excited because of the kind of impact this station has, and how I can be a part of it,= he said. NWREC is a 160-acre research farm 20 miles south of Portland. The station9s research- ers work with farmers who bring in 40% of the state9s $5.7 billion in agricultural sales. Before coming to Oregon, Dara spent 13 years as an ento- mologist with the University of California Cooperative Extension George Plaven/Capital Press Surendra Dara was hired by Oregon State University in Janu- ary as station director for the North Willamette Research and Extension Center. in San Luis Obispo, specializing in strawberries and other small fruits and vegetables. Dara came to the U.S. for the ¿UVWWLPHLQHDUQLQJKLVGRF torate in entomology from Vir- ginia Tech. From there, he left to work for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Benin, a small country in West Africa. ,WZDVWKHUH'DUDKDGKLV¿UVW breakthrough with microbes. His team introduced fungal isolates from Brazil to control an invasive mite that was damaging cassava, a staple food commonly used to make tapioca. The project proved success- ful, Dara said, and the pathogen is now established from Nigeria to the Ivory Coast, helping farmers to control the pernicious pest. Dara returned to the U.S. in 2003, working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Houston and, later, UC Coopera- tive Extension. At NWREC, he will guide a team of 12 research and extension faculty, providing critical data for farms to improve their production DQGH൶ FLHQF\ But operating an agricultural research station is about more than just communicating with growers, Dara said. It is also about public outreach, and explaining to consumers why they should care how their food is produced. <If you ask an average citizen anywhere, very few people know what an agricultural research sta- tion does,= Dara explained. <We play a major role in providing solutions that help improve the TXDOLW\ RI IRRG WKH D൵RUGDELO Race to robotic apple harvest in 8pivotal year9 Advanced Farm Technol- ogies recently developed a robotic strawberry harvester and is moving into apples. In Central Washington this Fall 2021, the company9s fall, robots will pick apples in developers visited Washington limited-scale trials in the ongo- to see growers9 needs and test ing race to commercialize a equipment. robotic apple harvester. <These guys are very smart U.S. apple growers have been and they9re approaching it pining for robotic harvesters for TXLWH ZHOO´ VDLG -H൵ &OHYHU years as the industry faces a inga, who is on the research shrinking supply of pickers and commission and in charge rising labor costs. Experts esti- of research and development mate labor represents 60% of an at Starr Ranch Growers, a apple9s cost, and two-thirds of Tevel Aerobotics Technologies grower-packer-shipper. that comes from harvest. Peter Ferguson, Advanced A few major companies A drone created by Tevel Aerobotics Technologies picks an apple. Farm Technologies9 director of are in the robotic arms race. Big names include Fresh Fruit years, will run a limited-scale LWVR൵HULQJWRWKHPDUNHWLQ business development, said the Robotics, Tevel Aerobotics commercial harvest at a grow- DQGPD\ODWHUR൵HUWKHURERWDV new robot will look similar to Technologies, Advanced Farm er-packer operation this August. a four-season machine that can the strawberry harvester but tai- lored to apples. Washington tri- Technologies and Abundant The FFRobotics machine has also thin and prune branches. Robots. 12 arms, six per side, which can Another company, also based als will begin Aug. 1. 7KH ¿QDO FRPSDQ\ LV$EXQ Industry leaders predict adjust to row widths. Prongs on in Israel, is called Tevel Aero- dant Robotics, founded in 2016 widescale commercialization the end of each arm pick apples, botics Technologies. LVVWLOOWKUHHWR¿YH\HDUVDZD\ which are gently released onto 7HYHO HPSOR\V À\LQJ DXWRQ in Hayward, Calif. Pre-COVID, Abundant but they say the technology is conveyors that deposit them omous robots, or drones, which improving. into a bin. use vision algorithms to detect appeared to be leading the race <This could be a pivotal year, An earlier-iteration robot ripe fruit that grippers then pick. to commercialization and had quite frankly. If indeed some plucked too many fruiting <The drones pick fruits ¿QDQFLDO EDFNLQJ IURP PDMRU of these companies can make spurs along with apples, but individually, like a bird,= said funders including Google Ventures. strides 4 and I have no doubt Avi Kahani, CEO and president Hanrahan. In 2021, however, Abundant they will 4 then we will be in of FFRobotics, said the com- Writing to the Capital Press D YHU\ GL൵HUHQW VLWXDWLRQ JRLQJ pany has improved the picking from Berlin, Tevel9s founder Robotics shut down. A memo into next year,= said Ines Han- technique. and CEO, Yaniv Maor, said said the company <was unable rahan, executive director of <In my opinion, (FFRobot- he is currently demonstrating to develop the market traction Washington Tree Fruit Research ics) basically solved that prob- his system to European grow- necessary to support its business Commission, which is support- lem,= said Hanrahan, of the ers. This fall, Tevel will expand during the pandemic.= ,Q 2FWREHU WKH ¿UP :DYH ing the trials. commission. into the U.S., trialing drones in maker Labs purchased Abun- All four companies plan to FFRobotics still needs to Washington orchards. R൵HUURERWVYLDVHUYLFHRUOHDVH improve the robot9s software Hanrahan said Tevel appears dant9s IP and relaunched the models 4 charging per bin and hardware, but the CEO is to be <on the fast track= to brand under the new name Abundant Robots. picked or per month leased 4 optimistic. commercialization. Buck Jordan, Wavemak- rather than selling robots. <I don9t see any major issues A third player is Califor- One player is Israel-based at this point in time,= Kahani nia-based Advanced Farm er9s CEO, leads the newly res- Fresh Fruit Robotics, or said. <I think the machine is Technologies, run by young urrected Abundant Robots. The FFRobotics. The company, ready for commercial use.= tech entrepreneurs and backed ¿UPLVSODQQLQJDFURZGIXQGLQJ which has been working with If trials go well, Kahani pre- ¿QDQFLDOO\ E\ .XERWD<DPDKD seed campaign and is re-design- ing the robots. Washington growers for several dicts the company will expand Motors and other investors. By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press Snow prompts pollination worries among Washington tree fruit growers low temperatures. ³7KHEHHVMXVWDUHQ¶WÀ\ ing,= said Whiting. Tree fruit growers in Todd Fryhover, pres- Central Washington say ident of the Washington they9re worried that the Apple Commission, sim- April snow storm pelting the ilarly expressed concern region could limit or slow DERXW WKH FROG IURQW D൵HFW pollination. ing pollination. Pollination is critical in ³6SHFL¿FDOO\ IRU DSSOHV the tree fruit industry. Cher- we9re being told most trees ries, pears and apples all rely remain 8pre-bloom9 and on bees to help with polli- the snow should have little nation, according to Mat- impact. However, the big- thew Whiting, professor and ger picture is about the dif- plant physiologist at Wash- ¿FXOWLHVZLWKSROOLQDWLRQDQG ington State University, but cold weather 4 bees don9t EHHVUDUHO\À\LQKLJKZLQGV work in the cold. So, the or weather below 55 degrees weather the next couple of Fahrenheit. weeks is when we9ll know Last week, high winds more,= said Fryhover. whipped the region, and Tim Kovis, spokesman since this weekend, the for Washington State Tree area has been caught in Fruit Association, agreed a storm accompanied by that <pollination has more By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press ity of food and protecting the environment.= ,Q DGGLWLRQ WR KRVWLQJ ¿HOG days for growers, Dara said 1:5(& SODQV WR KRVW LWV ¿UVW Ag Innovations Conference Sept. 22-23, coinciding with the sta- tion9s annual harvest dinner. Dara said he organized simi- lar conferences in California that were well received by the public. <This year9s theme is sustain- able agriculture,= he said. <We have limited natural resources, but the population is growing everyday and there is a need for more food.= For Dara, the focus on sus- tainability has led him to pio- neer a new approach to integrated pest management. In the past, he said IPM models have prioritized ecology over economics, while farmers have prioritized econom- ics over ecology. Dara9s model, which he pub- lished in 2019, calls for a greater recognition of agriculture as a business. Not only do farmers need to make money, but the food WKH\SURGXFHPXVWEHD൵RUGDEOH to feed the growing population, he said. <The public wants safe food. There is no question we have to ensure that,= Dara said. <The old model was meant to ensure that, but it doesn9t. With the new model, farmers like it because someone is talking about them. We are also talking about social equity.= people concerned= than snow damage. 7KH VSHFL¿F LPSDFWV of the storms vary by micro-region. In the south-central por- tion of the state, closer to the Tri-Cities, Kovis said blos- soms are more mature 4 and therefore more vulner- able. According to Whiting, of WSU, snow can poten- WLDOO\ VDWXUDWH RSHQ ÀRZ ers with too much mois- ture, rendering their pollen useless. Farther north, or in high- er-elevation foothills, trees are not as budded out. Impacts also vary by crop. Cherry blossoms gen- erally emerge earlier than pears, followed by apples, so growers say their cherry trees are at the highest risk. Jason Matson, who grows cherries, pears and apples near Selah, in the south-cen- tral region, said he doesn9t feel consternation about low night temperatures. <It9s the cold daytime temperatures 3 that is what causes me to scratch my head,= he said. Matson is using tradi- tional industry techniques including wind machines and water to protect his blos- soms at night. He will use heaters if the need arises. <I9m cautiously optimis- tic that we9ll be OK,= he said. <It really depends on when this (cold spell) breaks VRWKHEHHVFDQÀ\DJDLQ´ Farther north, in the Manson area, grower Jared England said it9s been unusual to see snow like this so late in the spring. 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