- Idaho Farm Bureau

Transcription

- Idaho Farm Bureau

Summer 2007 Volume 7, Issue 3
Top 10 Idaho
Sports Feats
Water Supply
Woes Heat Up
Book Review,
Puzzle And
More
The Ag Agenda
TPA: It’s Time
to Stop Playing
Politics and
Play Ball
By Bob Stallman
President American Farm
Bureau Federation
An important date just
came and went that will affect our nation’s economy,
as well as the way the U.S.
will be viewed in the world
marketplace. Unfortunately, most people outside
of Washington didn’t have
a clue, even though it concerns their livelihoods.
On July 1, Congress allowed Trade Promotion Authority to expire, leaving in its wake a
national trade agenda in flux and many
people asking, “What now?” Because of
politics as usual, the U.S. just lost one
of our best trade tools for opening world
markets and keeping pace with our international competitors.
‘You’re Out!’
Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA, is
a mechanism that allows the U.S. president to negotiate trade agreements with
other countries, to which Congress can
then give an up or down vote. With TPA
expired, other countries understandably
will be far less likely to enter into serious
negotiations with the U.S. because it’s not
that easy negotiating with Congress.
See STALLMAN, page 12
The President’s Desk
Higher Corn
Prices Have
Little Effect on
Cost of Food
By Frank Priestley
President Idaho Farm
Bureau Federation
A recently released study by
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) economists
shows increased demand for
corn driven by ethanol production has little to do with
a recent rise in food prices.
The study shows that nearly
all the evidence points to
factors other than ethanol
demand, including crop
failures, low world supplies
of wheat, milk production cutbacks and
the rising cost of energy.
The AFBF quarterly marketbasket
survey shows prices for 16 basic grocery items, including chicken, bread,
apples, eggs, cheese, flour, vegetable oil,
mayonnaise, oat cereal, corn oil, milk
and others, increased 4 percent during
the first quarter of this year. Although
American consumers spend less disposable income on food than consumers in
any other country (10.4 percent in 2006),
rising food costs are putting a strain on
families.
See PRIESTLEY, page 12
Inside Farm Bureau
Keep the
Columbia and
Snake River
Waterways
Flowing
By Rick Keller
CEO Idaho Farm
Bureau Federation
2
The Idaho Farm Bureau
supports keeping the Columbia and Snake River
waterways flowing. The
dams along the Columbia
and Snake River system
provide significant economic and environmental
benefits to the Pacific
Northwest.
Idaho Congressman Bill
Sali has introduced House
Concurrent Resolution 184, which iden-
IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY / SUMMER 2007
tifies the benefits of the Columbia and
Snake River system. The benefits are:
• The system provides renewable pollution-free power that does not contribute
“greenhouse” gases to the environment
as replacement power sources would.
Replacing the power generated by the
dams on the system would result in an
additional $400-550 million in costs to
consumers in the Pacific Northwest per
year.
See KELLER, page 9
Urban
Agriculture
Growing in
Idaho
Story and Photos
By Jake Putnam
Farm Bureau Writer
BOISE — City dwellers John
and Susan Medlin fret aphids
by day and round up chickens by night. They’re farmers
— new urban farmers — and
proud of it.
The Medlins live off Hill Road
in Boise’s north end where
hens roam the lush yard and
farming has become a lifestyle.
They got into urban agriculture
because they wanted to know
where their food came from
and who grew it.
“When the food comes from
far away and there’s no relation
to it or no idea where it came
from, who grew it, how it was
grown, how it was processed, it
creates a situation where we’re
at risk,” said Susan Medlin.
The Medlins lived in a downtown condominium for years,
but the lure of green fields and
the chance to grow their own
food drew them to Boise’s north
end. The produce they don’t eat
is sold downtown at Boise’s
farmers market or traded to
other urban farmers. Their passion for agriculture, along with
thousands just like them, is the
next big thing in agriculture.
In 1994, 45 percent of the
world’s population lived in cities. It’s now pushing 50 per-
cent. According
to the USDA, by
2025 more than
65 percent of all
people will live in
urban spaces. But
urban agriculture
is growing with
the urban population.
“All agriculture
used to be urban because you
planted the food
where the people
were,” said Susan
Medlin.
The
Medlins
and others know Susan Medlin feeds chickens on her urban farm in Boise.
they are urban
pioneers of sorts.
lin. “They’re looking at smaller there’s not enough gas to move
“I hope it’s the beginning of scale, they’re looking at relative the food, so it’s important to get
something bigger,” said Susan use or little use of pesticides and ahead of the curve and grow loMedlin. “We have people real- chemicals and that’s appealing cal and eat local.”
izing that we’re losing our land to a new generation of eaters.”
Susan Medlin says vegetables
and we are losing our farmers
The Medlins are also con- are easy to grow and can be
so quickly, and there is nobody
cerned about food security. The grown in a five-gallon bucket
picking up the pieces.”
strength of buying local is that on a patio or in a flower bed.
Seed growers in Idaho are on it eliminates foreign markets Homeowners don’t need a
top of seed demand and are and the middlemen for their lot of space to get into urban
starting to specialize in com- produce. They buy and sell farming. A garden can also be
pact varieties that can be grown from their neighbors and they very decorative and they have
in buckets on patios or small fret about food imported from sprung up on rooftops, empty
gardens. Vegetable seed sales third world countries.
lots and even street medians.
are hotter than the July heat
“Where did it come from, what The greening of these urban
wave, outpacing flowers for the
did they put on it?” said John spaces also cools the environfirst time since the 1950s.
Medlin. “In terms of produc- ment, cleans the air and brings
“The younger people in urban tion agriculture, if it’s econom- people back to the land, acfarming are taking a very differ- ically viable today, it may not
See URBAN, page 10
ent approach,” said Susan Med- be in the future. It may be that
Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / Summer 2007
3
Contents
Volume 7, Issue 3
IFBF OFFICERS
President . ................................. Frank Priestley, Franklin
Vice President .........................Carl Montgomery, Eden
Executive Vice President .............................. Rick Keller
Features
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mark Harris ................................................ Soda Springs
Albert Johnson ............................................Georgetown
Bryan Searle ............................................................Shelley
Dean Schwendiman ........................................... Newdale
Danny Ferguson ........................................................Rigby
Mark Trupp ............................................................. Driggs
Rick Pearson ................................................... Hagerman
Mike Garner.............................................................. Declo
Carol Guthrie ......................................................... Inkom
Gerald Marchant .................................................. Oakley
Scott Bird .......................................................... Pocatello
Terry Jones ........................................................... Emmett
Mike McEvoy..................................................... Middleton
Louis Kins ........................................................... Kootenai
Marjorie French .............................................. Princeton
Bob Callihan . ...................................................... Potlatch
Curt Krantz ............................................................ Parma
STAFF
Dir. of Admin. Services ....................... Nancy Shiozawa
Dir. of Member Services ................................... Ray Poe
Dir. of Commodities ............................ Gary Fuhriman
Commodity Assistant ................................. Peggy Pratt
Membership Assistant .............................. Peggy Moore
Market Information Assistant ................ Dixie Ashton
Dist. I Regional Manager ........................ Kendall Keller
Dist. II Regional Manager .................... Dennis Brower
Dist. III Regional Manager .................. Charles Garner
Dist. IV Regional Manager ................... Russ Hendricks
Dist.V Regional Manager ........................ Paul Kimmell
Asst. Dir. of Public Affairs ................... Dennis Tanikuni
Range/Livestock Specialist.......................... Wally Butler
Director of Information ..................... John Thompson
Video Services Manager ............................ Steve Ritter
Broadcast Services Manager .................... Jake Putnam
Office Manager, Boise ............................ Shawna Yasuda
Member Services Manager ........................ Joel Benson
Publications Editor .......................................... Sean Ellis
Director of Public Affairs ............................ Kent Lauer
Printed by: Owyhee Publishing, Homedale, ID
urban agriculture Water blooper?
3
Camelina Dreamin’
6
8
14
19
‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.’
Water supply
20
IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY
P.O. Box 4848, Pocatello, ID 83205-4848.
Periodicals postage paid at Pocatello, ID
and additional mailing offices.
Subscription: $4 a year included in Farm Bureau dues.
ADVERTISING CONTACT:
Idaho Farm Bureau Federation
PHONE (208) 239-4279 • FAX (208) 232-3616
E-MAIL: [email protected]
Cover: The bull (pollinating) row in a sweet corn seed
field at Sarceda Farms in Wilder.
4
Listing the top 10 sports
achievements in Idaho history.
Book Review
POSTMASTER send changes of address to:
Question-and-answer exchange with
state ag director Celia Gould.
Top 10 Sports Feats
USPS #022-899, is published quarterly by the
IDAHO FARM BUREAU FEDERATION,
275 Tierra Vista Drive, Pocatello, ID 83201.
Some people see camelina as a new
wonder crop. Some don’t.
10 Questions
IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY
City dwellers becoming urban
farmers.
Photo by Steve Ritter
Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / summer 2007
Water supply outlook dwindles.
Bureau of Reclamation’s early
21
release of water called into
question.
Action report
23
What Farm Bureau is doing to
make a difference in Idaho.
sheep trails
25
11th Annual Trailing of the Sheep
Festival.
gardening column
32
Huckleberry Tent & Breakfast.
Idaho on fire
38
the West.
Fire season is particularly nasty
this year in Idaho and all over
DEPARTMENTS
The Ag Agenda: Bob Stallman............................................................. 2
The President’s Desk: Frank Priestley.............................................. 2
Inside Farm Bureau: Rick Keller......................................................... 2
Puzzle..................................................................................................... 27
County Happenings............................................................................ 28
Marketbasket Survey.......................................................................... 29
Idaho’s Private Forest...................................................................30-31
Classifieds ............................................................................................ 42
Top Farm Bureau Agents
Rookie of the Month:
Agent of the Month:
Farm Bureau
Members Pay Less
To See Clearly
Agency Manager of
the Month:
John Nelson
Boise Office
Darin Pfost
Middleton Office
Don Pfost
Caldwell Office
Farm Bureau members pay 10%
less off of “Best Available Rate” .
Call Toll-Free: 877-670-7088
For Super 8 call 800-889-9706
Farm Bureau Discount ID# 61810
For information go
to www.idahofb.org
and click on member
benefits or call Joel
at (208) 239-4289.
5
Could
Camelina
be the New
Wonder Crop?
By Sean Ellis
Farm Bureau Writer
POCATELLO – Researchers
in the Pacific Northwest are
taking a new look at an ancient
crop that somehow fell along
the wayside over the millennia.
Popular in antiquity but virtually unknown outside research
circles until very recently, camelina is making a comeback because it requires fewer inputs,
is drought-tolerant and rich in
omega-3 fatty acids.
The oilseed crop, which has
been around for thousands of
years, is being touted as a new
wonder crop for the Pacific
Northwest. It could be particularly well-suited for biodiesel
production. Interest is particularly high in Montana and is
growing in Idaho.
Camelina, which was widely grown in Europe during
the Bronze and Iron ages, is
quickly gaining the confidence
of Montana farmers, who will
grow about 50,000 acres of it
this year despite the fact that
virtually no one in the region
outside a handful of researchers had even heard about it until a short time ago.
“It’s a crop we can grow in
Montana,” says Joel Clairmont,
acting director for Montana’s
department of agriculture. “It’s
6
a great rotation
crop to wheat and it
doesn’t use a lot of
moisture.”
By some estimates,
camelina could add
about 4 million
acres of production
to Montana agriculture.
Camelina can be
used to produce
biodiesel or as
a food oil and is
particularly high
in omega-3 fatty
acids, which are
believed to reduce
heart disease and
lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
After the plant’s
seeds are crushed,
the leftover prodPhoto by Paul Kimmell
uct can be used as
Camelina in a University of Idaho test plot near Moscow.
an animal feed.
Clairmont says camelina can camelina grown in this state by
Recent interest in camelina
be processed rather easily into University of Idaho researchstems from the fact it requires
biodiesel and Montana Gov. ers, but the jury’s still out on
fewer inputs, is drought-resisBrian Schweitzer has been whether the summer annual
tant and can be grown on marinstrumental in bringing in oilseed plant is a good fit for
ginal land.
companies that have contracted the Gem State.
Montana’s plans for the crop acres with that state’s farmers.
“It seems to do well in Moncenter on biodiesel production
“Our governor is really into en- tana. But what is the yield like
and are being pushed by that
ergy development,” Clairmont in Idaho soils and climate?”
state’s governor, an agronomist
says of Schweitzer. “He’s a says Paul Mann, a biodiesel
and farmer who has been invery progressive farmer.”
and ethanol consultant in Idaho.
volved with several successful
“They just haven’t done enough
agricultural business projects.
There have been test plots of
research to see if it does well in
this type of climate.”
Still, there’s growing discussion about the crop in Idaho
and it could have a future here,
especially with water becoming scarcer every year.
Camelina grows well in semiarid regions and researchers
from Montana State University
have proven it can be grown at
a variety of elevations and in
varying climates.
“In crop rotations, it could have
a big advantage … if water gets
as scarce as some people say it’s
going to get,” Mann says about
the crop’s prospects in Idaho.
MSU research shows camelina
averages 1,800 to 2,200 pounds
per acre under 16-18-inch rainfall, with yields decreasing
with less rainfall and increasing with irrigation.
Camelina sativa, a member of
the mustard family, is a summer
annual oilseed plant. It grows
to 1-3 feet and has pale yellow
to green flowers. The plant’s
seeds are very small at about
350,000 seeds per pound.
Common names for the plant
include false flax, leindotter
and gold of pleasure.
A Seattle biotech firm is studying ways to dramatically increase camelina yields and
hopes to produce enough seed
to plant 1 million acres by
2009.
But not everyone is high on
camelina.
If it is a wonder crop, some
people ask, then why is it not
widely grown despite the fact
it’s been around for thousands
of years.
Camelina was grown in Europe
during the Bronze Age and was
commonly cultivated during
the Iron Age as an oil-supply-
Photo by Paul Kimmell
Camelina’s seeds are very small at about 350,000 seeds per pound.
ing plant. The oil was used primarily as lamp fuel and as an
ointment. It’s uncertain why
it gradually fell out of favor
after the Middle Ages. It was
still widely grown in Eastern
Europe and Russia until the
1940s, but was bumped out by
canola and rapeseed.
Besides Montana, today it is
grown in Slovenia, Ukraine,
China, Finland, Germany and
Austria.
Some people speculate that because of its high content of unsaturated fatty acids, it is more
difficult and expensive to hydrogenate than canola, which
contributed to its decline.
Among the knocks against the
crop is that production-wise, it
doesn’t have the oil content of
rapeseed and canola.
“It may be a wonder crop for
Montana. It’s really not a wonder crop for Idaho,” says John
Crockett, bioenergy manager
for the Idaho Energy Division.
“We can do a lot better than
camelina in Idaho.”
While there are people in Idaho
who are excited about camelina’s prospects, “there are some
people who don’t have a lot of
good to say about it,” says Paul
Kimmell, a regional manager
in north Idaho for Idaho Farm
Bureau Federation.
There is definitely growing interest in Idaho over camelina,
Kimmell adds, but the jury’s
still out on whether it would be
a good fit for this state.
“There are a lot of people discussing it; a lot of interest by
bluegrass growers,” says Rick
Waitley, administrator of the
Idaho Canola/Rapeseed Commission. “I know some people
who are pretty happy with it.”
One thing that could pave the
way for more camelina to be
grown in this region is if Montana’s congressional delegation is successful in its efforts
to have it included in the new
farm bill.
ing to get camelina included in
the federal crop insurance program and allow loan deficiency
payments to camelina growers.
“If you’re going to look at
growing alternative crops, you
have to have some way to manage risk,” Clairmont says. “We
could grow a lot more acres of
it, but you have to be able to
manage your risk.”
‘It seems to do well
in Montana. But
what is the yield
like in Idaho soils
and climate? They
just haven’t done
enough research to
see if it does well in
this type of climate.’
— Paul Mann,
Biodiesel consultant
Montana congressmen are tryIdaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / Summer 2007
7
10 Questions With Ag Director Celia Gould
The following is a question-and-answer
exchange with Celia Gould, who took
over this year as the director of the Idaho
State Department of Agriculture.
activities take time to develop into sales.
There have been and still are ongoing negotiations for Idaho products that we hope
will convert to sales. Currently, we’re in the
process of obtaining visas for two Cuban
seed potato officials to visit Idaho in September. Hopefully, the U.S. State Department will approve their visit. We see real
opportunity for seed potatoes if the Cubans
can get approved by the U.S. government
to conduct a site visit to Idaho. Additionally, Cuban officials have expressed interest
in skim milk powder, whole milk powder,
peas, pork, drink mixes and barley malt.
Communications continue.
Q: How have your first several months
as director gone?
A: The first several months have been
gratifying and challenging. I have been
extremely impressed by the commitment
of the hard working employees at the Department of Agriculture and their desire to
do what is right for agriculture. I am also
proud to work for a governor that is actively engaged in agricultural issues and is
a strong supporter of our agricultural economy. I am also pleased with the agricultural
industries, of which I am not as familiar
with, who have shown a willingness to help
educate me as to the challenges and opportunities which face them as producers.
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing
Idaho agriculture?
A: I don’t know that you can narrow the
greatest challenge facing agriculture
down to one. I would say growth, water
shortages, and unreasonable environmental concerns all threaten Idaho agriculture.
Q: What is Idaho agriculture’s biggest
asset?
A: Idaho agriculture’s biggest asset is the
people out on the farms and ranches making their livings on the land.
Q: How is the potato cyst nematode
program progressing?
A: On May 9, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture and USDA, based
on recommendations from an international scientific panel, initiated an
eradication program on the Idaho fields
which tested positive for PCN. The program includes pre-treatment sampling,
fumigation, and post harvest sampling
for up to two crop cycles per year. The
first fumigation process was completed
on May 24 and a bio-fumigant oil radish
was planted on the fields to add an additional measure of control and prevent
8
Celia Gould
soil erosion. An additional fumigation
will be applied in the fall.
Can we actually eradicate this pest?
A: U.S. and international scientists have
been consulted regarding control of the
Idaho PCN infestation and have determined eradication of PCN in Idaho is
possible.
Q: What can or should be done about
the state’s water situation?
A: To resolve the current problems it will
require a lot of give and take from the
affected parties. I do believe the governor has a vision for long-term solutions
through enhanced storage capacity.
Q: Is there any hope on the horizon regarding agricultural field burning?
A: Most recently ISDA, Department of
Environmental Quality, the growers and
SAFE (Safe Air For Everyone) have been
involved in discussions hoping to find
some common ground in the area of a
new state implementation plan which is
required before burning can resume pursuant to the court order.
Q: Have there been any positive developments as a result of the Cuba trade
mission?
A: The Cuba mission, as is common with
most international efforts, is an investment
in building a long-term relationship. These
Q: Can you provide us a little background on your agriculture experience?
A: I have been involved in agriculture all
my life. I am an owner/operator of GlennDale Ranches — along with my brothers
and mother — which is a third generation
agricultural business. We are hoping to
become a Century Farm next year. I am
also a partner with husband, Bruce Newcomb, in Newcomb Ranches. Both operations raise cattle, wheat, corn and hay.
Q: If you could create your dream farm
or ranch, what would it look like?
A: It would look like any farm or ranch
in Idaho but with no e-mail or cell phone
access.
‘The Cuba mission, as is
common with most international efforts, is an investment in building a long-term
relationship. These activities
take time to develop into
sales. There have been and
still are ongoing negotiations
for Idaho products that we
hope will convert to sales.’
Idaho Regains Brucellosis-Free Status
BOISE – Gov. C.L. “Butch”
Otter announced July 24 that
Idaho’s brucellosis status has
been upgraded from Class A to
Class Free by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The decision was made official
with publication of an interim
rule in the Federal Register.
Idaho’s brucellosis status was
downgraded to Class A in
early 2006 after an infected
cattle herd was discovered in
Swan Valley. The downgrade
prompted an increase in testing
and surveillance for brucellosis
across the state. Idaho cattle
producers bore the brunt of the
cost for the increased surveillance and testing necessary to
regain Class Free status.
A return to Class Free status
opens the door for removing
the testing requirements for intact male and female cattle exported from the state of Idaho.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the
Photo by Sean Ellis
way cattle producers, animal
health officials and wildlife
managers have pulled together
to address this important disease issue,” Otter stated in a
news release. “Today’s announcement is a product of outstanding communication and
cooperation between Idaho’s
cattle industry, the governor’s
brucellosis taskforce, the Idaho
State Department of Agricul-
ture and the Idaho Department
of Fish and Game.”
“This announcement is great
news for Idaho cattle producers,” said Jeff Faulkner, a fourth
generation rancher from Gooding and 2007 president of the
Idaho Cattle Association. “Idaho’s cattle industry has worked
awful hard to regain Class
Free status but we’re not done
yet. Keeping the upgraded sta-
tus will require our continued
vigilance to prevent the spread
of brucellosis from wildlife to
our cattle herds.”
Brucellosis is a bacterial disease
that causes cattle and wildlife
to abort fetuses. Idaho’s most
recent cases of brucellosis in
cattle are believed to have been
the result of interaction with infected wild elk. keller
Continued from page 2
• The inland water system transports $2
billion of agricultural goods annually for
export overseas. The total system barges
$15 billion annually in international trade.
Breaching the dams would eliminate the
ability to barge goods and would seriously
affect the region’s economy. By shipping
products on the Columbia and Snake
River system, producers save $38 million
per year by avoiding more expensive land
based transportation, a savings which
keeps United States exports competitive in
world markets. The system replaces transportation capacity that would require the
use of 120,000 rail cars or 700,000 trucks.
• The water collected in the Columbia and
Snake River system irrigates half the productive farmland in Oregon, Washington,
and Idaho.
• Improved fish hatchery processes have
resulted in the first successful run of coho
salmon on the Yakima River in three
decades. Survival of adult salmon and
steelhead at and between hydroelectric
dams is averaging 98 percent per dam and
reservoir and 91-98 percent for juvenile
fish passage. Salmon runs between 2001
and 2004 were some of the highest in history, with the dams in place.
Without the flood control provided by the
dams, conditions like those seen in 1996
and 1997 would have resulted in an estimated $4.6 billion in flood damages. In
addition, breaching the four lower Snake
River dams would allow an annual sediment load of 3-4 million cubic yards to
be carried downstream to Lake Wallula,
where the majority of incoming sediment
would likely be deposited, and result in a
total release of 75 million cubic yards of
silt, exposing fish to increased toxins and
higher turbidity levels.
Since 1992, under two different presidential administrations from two different
political parties and at a cost of over $50
million to American taxpayers, there have
been at least five studies that have investigated dam removal and reservoir drawdown on the lower Snake River. Not one
recommended the implementation of dam
breaching or reservoir draw-downs.
We agree with Congressman Sali. Isn’t it
about time we support science and common sense, close this expensive chapter,
and move on?
9
urban
cording to Jennifer Miller, sustainable ag coordinator for the
Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides.
“As people start to learn more
about their food and how
wonderful it tastes, they realize that they might be able to
do this their self on a smaller
scale,” said Miller. “So they
start slowly and learn that
they can enjoy those fresh
tastes right with their meal;
maybe go out and grab a few
cherry tomatoes and put them
in a salad.”
Farmland is disappearing at an
alarming rate and it’s not being
replaced. Around urban centers, fruit and vegetables are
shipped from long distances. In
some areas urban farmers markets have found their niche and
some day could ease transportation dependence.
“The secondary issue is food
miles -- how many miles the
food has to travel,” said Susan Medlin. “Why do we raise
cows in Idaho, ship them to
the Midwest to be slaughtered,
then ship them back to Idaho?
That’s a lot of food miles. As
we become more and more
concerned about fuel prices
and fuel availability, I think
that’s going to become a bigger
issue.”
The USDA reports that roughly
1.2 million acres of farmland
is lost to land developers each
year. In fact, developed land increased by 24 percent between
1992 and 2002. That means
food is shipped greater distances and fresh produce is not
as fresh as it was just a decade
ago.
10
John and Susan Medlin work on their urban garden.
“People have come to understand and love the taste of food
that’s just harvested,” said
Miller. “It’s amazing — once
you eat a tomato that’s been
picked from the vine a few
hours ago, you can’t go back to
the grocery store.”
Farmers markets are springing
up everywhere and consumers
have followed the produce.
Farmers markets are growing across the United States.
They’re up more than 18 percent, from 3,706 in 2004 to
4,385 now. And it’s not just the
urban gardener that’s profiting. According to the USDA,
19,000 farmers reported selling
their produce only at farmers
markets. Eighty-two percent
of markets are self-sustaining;
market income is sufficient to
pay fuel, fertilizer and transportation costs associated with
the operation of the farmers
market. Better yet, thanks to
direct marketing profits are
greater because the middleman
is eliminated.
Back at the Medlins’ urban
farm, they have a garden plot
just east of their home. Instead
of the traditional garden with
long furrowed rows, this garden is laid out in squares with
paving stone paths to cut down
on weeds.
“It’s laid out in square feet, an
idea that’s been around for a
long time,” said Medlin.
The garden is designed for easy
access and minimum weeds
and water, with produce being
harvested and new things constantly planted as long as the
weather holds.
“When something is done, you
can plant one square,” added
Susan Medlin.
The Medlins have three hens
in their yard, the maximum
amount of poultry allowed by
the City of Boise. They eliminated the traditional chicken
coop for a high-tech one they
designed themselves.
The trays underneath the coop
catch the manure and straw.
The compost is removed every
day and used in the garden or
the flower beds.
The Medlins and urban farmers across the nation are building new urban markets for food
and carving a new niche in
American agriculture.
11
STALLMAN
agricultural products.
Our current situation pretty much puts the
U.S. in the bleacher seats. Because even
though our ability to expand into foreign
markets has basically come to a halt,
our competitors are still going strong.
We have ejected our own team from the
game.
Farmers, ranchers and many other businesses are holding the short end of the
stick. Without the ability to sell our
products overseas, we are losing opportunities to export billions of dollars in
Back to the Mound
Now that World Trade Organization talks
have stalled, the U.S. especially needs
TPA so that we can continue with bilateral
and regional trade agreements.
Agriculture gained roughly $4.5 billion
from recent trade deals negotiated under
TPA. While we also need a solid WTO
agreement, recent proposals don’t even
come close in market access to the gains
agriculture has received under TPA-negotiated free trade agreements. priestley
Data uncovered by AFBF shows corn is usually a tiny fraction of a product’s price. For instance, the value of the corn
that goes into a box of Corn Flakes is estimated at 2.2 cents.
Even if the cost of corn doubled from today’s price, it’s difficult to understand how it relates to an increase of 10 to 20
times that much in the price of a box of cereal.
Food and beverage prices rose about 4 percent in May, compared to last year, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s
Consumer Price Index. At the same time, ethanol production, mostly from grain corn, has more than doubled since
2002. Tax incentives and a federal renewable fuel standard
continue to increase ethanol production. In result, the price
Good trade deals don’t just happen. There
is a lot of strategy, negotiation, time and
effort that goes into coming to an agreement that will remove trade barriers and
open markets to allow U.S. exports. Trade
is not easy, but with the right tools, such
as TPA, it is doable.
The American Farm Bureau will continue
to push for another TPA. There’s never
been a better time in history to continue
expanding our markets worldwide. It’s
time we got back in the game.
of a bushel of corn has nearly doubled to $4 since 2005. But
blaming ethanol production for the increase in food prices is
not looking at the full picture. The price of corn is going up
because of ethanol, but food prices are not going up because
of corn.
Rising energy prices are the biggest culprit in relation to the
increasing cost of food, according to the AFBF economic
data. The negative attention in this “food versus fuel” debate
is unfortunate for ethanol. The growing use of renewable
fuels is a good thing for our country. Ethanol and biodiesel
production reduces our dependency on foreign oil, creates
jobs, is better for the environment and helps support our rural economy.
CWA Bill Could Hinder Food Production
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Current Clean Water Act legislation in Congress has the potential of interfering with private
land and impeding producers’
ability to produce food, fiber and fuel, according to the
American Farm Bureau Federation. In written testimony sent
this week to the House Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, AFBF argued
that H.R. 2421 would not only
expand CWA jurisdiction, but
needlessly sweep many agricultural and forestry activities
into the scope of CWA.
12
According to AFBF, H.R. 2421
goes much further than simple
redefinition of the CWA; it does
not limit the type of waters
that would be regulated in any
way. “Truly navigable waterways, tributaries, streams and
wetlands adjacent to such waterways are already subject to
CWA regulation under current
law,” said the group. “The language being proposed in H.R.
2421 could reach a backyard
mosquito fogger if a breeze
happens to blow into ‘waters of
the United States.’”
As it stands, said AFBF, the
CWA is one of the nation’s
most successful and comprehensive environmental laws. It
regulates pollution at its source
and involves a comprehensive
federal and state regulatory
system for issuance of permits
and water quality standards.
Changing it would be detrimental to producers and other
landowners.
“Farmers and ranchers understand the role that the CWA has
played in improving and maintaining the health and safety of
the nations’ water resources,”
said AFBF. “Agricultural pro-
ducers are very sensitive to the
environment because they own
and manage two-thirds of the
nation’s land. They are doing
their part to promote the principles of environmental stewardship by being good stewards of
the nation’s soil, air and water
resources.”
AFBF went further to say,
“H.R. 2421 applies the broadest possible interpretation of
the CWA, subject only to constitutional limits and removes
any argument that Congress
intended any limit on the regulatory reach of the act.”
13
By Sean Ellis & Jake Putnam
Farm Bureau Writers
T
he “top 10 sports feats
in Idaho history” is a
list that’s sure to be applauded by some and criticized by others.
No doubt it will be closely
scrutinized by many people.
Deciding to pick the top 10
sports achievements in the
state’s history is a risky venture. Of course, fans of the
teams and athletes who make
the list are going to be happy
and agree with the choices.
Fans of those who are left off
may justifiably feel shafted.
We expect to hear from them
and welcome their input. In
fact, we plan to write a followup story detailing our readers’
top 10 list.
If you agree or disagree with
any of these picks, please contact us and sound off. If you
believe an athlete or team
was wrongly left off, tell us
why and please provide a little
background on the achievement.
In compiling this list, we
tapped the brains of many Idaho sports experts and many of
the achievements were mentioned over and over.
To make the list, in general a
team or athlete had to have
both accomplished something
extremely impressive and the
feat has to be well-known to
serious Idaho sports fans.
In the case of a few of the
picks, the accomplishments
aren’t as well known, but
the feat itself was so impressive it had to be on the
list. For example, there’s Ed
Sanders (No. 4), who won
an Olympic gold medal and
thoroughly embarrassed a
future heavyweight boxing
champion in the process.
The hardest part of compiling this list was deciding
who and what teams to
leave off. Leaving athletes
or teams off the list was no
fun task and we fully expect
to get an earful from people
who disagree with the picks.
To weigh in on this list, contact
Sean Ellis at (208) 239-4347 or
[email protected], or Jake
Putnam at (208) 333-7090 or
[email protected].
No. 1: Boise State beats
Oklahoma in Fiesta Bowl – 2007
The fact that alumni of both
Idaho State University and the
University of Idaho agreed that
this was the top pick makes it a
no-brainer. When supporters
of those rival schools concede
the top spot, it makes it easier.
Throw in the fact that Boise
State University’s win over
Oklahoma in this year’s Fiesta Bowl stunned the nation
and one would be very hardpressed to argue logically
against this pick.
It wasn’t just that they won the
14
BSU Photo
game; it’s the way they won it.
thrilling.
There are football games and
then there are events in time.
The BSU-Oklahoma game
ranks as an event in time.
After Oklahoma returned an
interception by BSU quarterback Jared Zabransky 33 yards
for a touchdown, the Sooners
led 35-28 with 62 seconds remaining. But as stunned viewers quickly learned, the game
was far from over.
It was the audacity of the way
Boise State won the game that
will forever etch it in people’s
minds. Most Idahoans will
remember where they were
when they saw the “hook and
ladder.”
It took daring combined with
nerves of steel on the coaches’
part to actually call the trick
plays that enabled the Broncos
to defeat the Sooners, 43-42, in
one of the greatest finishes to
a college football game ever.
The two teams combined for
22 points in the final 86 seconds of regulation and the
overtime period was no less
What followed must have
left some people wondering
whether they were hallucinating.
On fourth and 18 from midfield, Zabransky hit Drisan
James at the Oklahoma 35.
Then the unthinkable happened: Drisan pitched the ball
to Jerard Rabb, who raced to
the end zone with 7 seconds
remaining. The “hook and ladder” play left Sooner fans shaking their heads in disbelief.
“Who does that?” wondered
everyone watching the game,
including BSU players themselves. “That was the most
gangster thing ever,” Bronco
linebacker Josh Bean was
quoted as saying by CBS SportsLine.com.
Boise State reached into its
bag of tricks twice more to win
the game in overtime.
On the opening play of overtime, Oklahoma running back
Adrian Peterson scored on a
25-yard touchdown run.
The Broncos answered when
halfback Vinny Perretta took
the snap on fourth down after
Zabransky took a few steps to
the side to throw the defense
off. Perretta, a former walk-on
receiver, threw a touchdown
pass to tight end Derek Schouman.
With the Broncos down by a
point, coach Chris Petersen
decided to go for the win. After his team broke from the
huddle, Zabransky sent three
wide receivers to the right on
what appeared to be a pass
play. However, Zabransky, a
right-hander, executed a variation of the Statue of Liberty
play, sneaking the ball behind
his back with his left hand
to tailback Ian Johnson, who
trotted into the end zone untouched to seal the victory.
Zabransky sold the play perfectly and, as one columnist
cleverly noted, there are probably still Sooners wondering
who has the ball.
After scoring, Johnson fell to
one knee and proposed to his
cheerleader girlfriend, who accepted. Hollywood could not
have scripted a better ending
to a football game.
The win capped a perfect 130 season for the Broncos, who
didn’t join 1-A football until
1996.
Anyone who argues against
this as the top pick needs to
take a deep breath and … get
real.
No. 2: Idaho State basketball
shocks UCLA – 1977
It wasn’t quite David beating
Goliath, but it brought back
memories.
In an era when UCLA was regarded as practically invincible – 10 titles in 12 years will do
that for a team – Idaho State
University’s men’s basketball
team shocked everyone but
themselves by knocking off
the Bruins 76-75 in the West
regional semifinal of the NCAA
tournament.
UCLA had won eight of the
previous nine NCAA basketball titles and was favored to
do it again. That 1977 Bruin
team included UCLA legend
Marques Johnson and Denver
Nuggets great Kiki Vanderweghe.
“It was a stunning upset,” says
Glenn Alford, ISU’s sports information director at the time.
“Anybody knocking off UCLA
would have been stunning in
view of the success that they
had. But Idaho State?”
Alford remembers that before
the game, a Sports Illustrated
writer was very condescending toward the Bengals. He
questioned whether Idaho
State offered basketball scholarships and if it did, why anybody would accept one. He
soon got his answer.
Following the upset, the headline in the Los Angeles Times
was, “Big Sky falls in on Bruins.”
As shocking as the win was
for everyone else, Alford says,
ISU
Photo
ISU coach Jim Killingsworth
figured his team had the best
shot of anyone in the tournament of knocking off the
mighty Bruins. He told Alford
and a few other people that
privately before the game. The
reason was that UCLA had no
one who could deal with ISU
center Steve Hayes, a 7-footer
who scored 27 points in that
March 17 game.
“He thought our chances of
beating UCLA were pretty
good,” says Alford, who has
tried diligently but unsuccessfully to obtain a copy of
the game tape from NBC and
UCLA. It appears no one in Los
Angeles wants to relive the
moment that Idahoans will
never forget.
ISU lost to Reggie Theus’ UNLV
Runnin’ Rebels in the West finals and finished the season
25-5.
Virtually everyone contacted
for this story agreed on the
top two picks.
“Those two seem to stand out
far and above the others,” says
Ron Stephensen, who was
commissioner of the Big Sky
Conference from 1981-1995
and is an alumnus of all three
Idaho universities.
No. 3: Dan O’Brien wins Olympic
gold – 1996
The name Dan O’Brien may
not be familiar to many Idahoans, but
it should be
to anyone
who calls
himself a serious sports
fan. If you’re
an Idahoan,
USATF Photo
consider yourself a sports nut but don’t recognize the name, you need to
Google him. If you don’t have
the Internet, borrow a computer.
O’Brien, who was born in Portland, Ore., and attended the
University of Idaho, won the
Olympic gold medal in the decathlon at the 1996 Olympics
in Atlanta. He trained at UI in
Moscow during his stellar ca-
15
reer.
Since the Olympic decathlon
champion has historically been
called the world’s greatest athlete, it can be said that at one
time the greatest athlete in the
world was an Idahoan.
ISU and BSU may have the top
two spots on this list, but UI can
lay claim to one of the greatest
athletes ever. O’Brien’s name
can be mentioned with Jim
Thorpe, Pele, Michael Jordan
and Bruce Jenner when the
topic turns to who the greatest athlete ever was.
Besides winning an Olympic
gold medal, O’Brien also at
one time held the world record
for the event and he won gold
medals at the 1991, 1993 and
1995 world championships of
track and field.
His personal records in the 10
events that make up the decathlon are incredibly impressive and give an indication of
just what kind of all-around
athlete a top decathlete is.
His top 100-meter time is a
blinding 10.23, he has run
the 110-meter high hurdles in
13.47, long-jumped 26 feet, 6
¾ inches and pole vaulted 17
feet ¾ inches.
When he set his decathlon
world record in 1992, he ran
the 400 meters in 48.51, high
jumped 6-9 ¼, threw the shot
put 54-9 ¼, the discus 159-4
and the javelin 205 feet 4 inches. In his weakest event, the
1500 meters, he still managed
to run 4:42.
O’Brien, who stood 6-2 and
was a sculpted 185 pounds,
had an unimaginable 3 percent body fat, a level usually
found only in long distance
athletes.
O’Brien competed in track in
16
field while at the University
of Idaho and his name is attached to the university’s outdoor track and field venue. He
trained for his championships
under the aid of UI’s track
coach, Michael Keller.
Casual sports fans may remember O’Brien for his role
in Reebok’s once-famous
“Dan and Dave” commercials,
where he appeared with U.S.
rival Dave Johnson. The commercials, which featured Dan
and Dave both claiming to be
the world’s greatest athlete,
were meant to build interest in
Reebok and a looming showdown at the 1992 Barcelona
Olympics.
Before he set the world record
in 1992, he shockingly failed to
qualify for the Barcelona Olympics that year when he failed
to clear a height in the pole
vault during the U.S. Olympic
trials. He made up for it four
years later in Atlanta when he
captured gold.
No. 4: Boxer Ed Sanders wins
Olympic gold – 1952
Idaho State University boxer
Ed Sanders not only won the
gold medal in boxing at the
1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, he terrorized the heavyweight division in the process.
Sanders bludgeoned opponents en route to the gold
medal round, knocking out
one opponent, breaking another’s jaw and still another’s
ribs.
In the final, future world
heavyweight champion Ingemar Johansson simply refused
to fight. Clearly outmatched
by the much stronger Sanders,
Johansson spent three rounds
running around the ring in
an attempt to stay away from
Sanders’ sledgehammer right
Photo
Courtesy of Russell
Sanders
hand.
Watching a tape of the fight,
one thing is apparent: Johansson wanted no piece of Ed
Sanders.
“He ducked, bobbed and
weaved and at one time was
running,” Sanders’ son, Russell
Sanders, says of Johansson.
“This guy realized what he was
in the ring with and … he took
off.”
The referee stopped the fight
in disgust in the third round
and disqualified the Swede for
refusing to fight. Johansson
was refused the silver medal
and would not receive it for
another 30 years.
Johansson, who later defeated Floyd Patterson to claim
the world heavyweight title,
claimed he was trying to tire
Sanders out, but a tape of the
fight clearly shows he wanted
no part of the American.
Russell Sanders, who lives in
Pocatello, has a tape of the
fight. In the video, Johansson
can be seen jumping around
and zig-zagging from side to
side in an attempt to stay away from Sanders. “The only person that was
going to get tired in that one
was Johansson,” he says.
Standing 6 feet 4 inches and
weighing 220 pounds, Sanders
was an imposing figure in the
ring at that time and it was not
a stretch to say he could have
been heavyweight champion
of the world if he hadn’t died
tragically in the ring during
a bout in Boston on Dec. 12,
1954, at the age of 24.
Sanders, who had complained
previously of headaches and
shoulder cramping, fought
an uncharacteristically listless fight and dropped to the
canvas in the 11th round. He
was carried out of the ring on
a stretcher and never regained
consciousness, dying after a
long surgery to try to relieve
bleeding in the brain.
Russell Sanders believes his
father likely had a previous
medical condition that was
aggravated in his last fight.
He says people expected him
to become the heavyweight
champion of the world.
No. 6: Boise State wins I-AA
football title – 1980
Boise State won the I-AA
football title a year before ISU
accomplished the feat, also
defeating Eastern Kentucky,
31-29, in Sacramento.
ISU Photo
Sanders was laid to rest in Santa Monica, Calif., his birthplace,
after a 21-gun military salute.
No. 5: Idaho State wins I-AA
football title – 1981
If you feel the need to argue
against this pick, you’ll need to
take it up with the thousands
of Pocatellans who swamped
the local airport after ISU returned from winning its first
and only Div. I-AA football
championship in 1981.
What made this victory so
spectacular is that ISU literally went from worst to first
in two years. The only reason
ISU’s football title ranks ahead
of Boise State’s I-AA title the
previous year is that the Bengals were a rags to riches story,
whereas BSU’s victory was expected.
Before its championship, the
Bengals had suffered through
what Alford calls “three years
of misery.” Two years earlier,
the Bengals had the nation’s
longest losing streak.
“It’s not just that we won the
national championship,” he
says. “It’s that we went from
a laughingstock to a national
championship in two years.
Boise State had been good for
years. Their winning the national championship was not
surprising.”
The Big Sky Conference was
exceptionally competitive that
year and ISU’s trip to the playoffs wasn’t even assured until
the final game of the regular
season, when they knocked
off Weber State in triple overtime.
Going into that game, Idaho
State had one loss (to Montana), Boise State had one loss
(to ISU) and Weber State had
one loss. The loser of the ISUWeber State game was out of
the playoffs.
After ISU, coached by Dave
Kragthorpe, beat Eastern Kentucky 34-23 in the national
championship game in Wichita Falls, Texas, Pocatello went
crazy and the team was met at
the airport by a few thousand
fans.
“We had been bad so long and
all of a sudden we were good,”
Alford says.
By the time the players had
jammed into the overcrowded
airport, the coaches and staff
couldn’t even get in the door,
Alford remembers. “There was
just no room in the airport for
another person. We couldn’t
go anywhere else so we just
unloaded the bags.”
While ISU’s win was a huge
turnaround for that program,
BSU had been very good for a
while and their victory was no
shocker. The Broncos, coached
by Jim Criner, were of the best
teams in I-AA football from
1978-1980.
But while their victory was no
shocker, the game itself included an impossible fourth
down and a shocking ending.
BSU led most of the way but
the Colonels connected on
a bomb with 55 seconds remaining to take the lead. Trailing by five with 80 yards to go,
Joe Aliotti led the Broncos on
the winning drive. He hit Kipp
Bedard three times on the
drive and then, on fourth-and10, Aliotti scrambled until he
found tight end Duane Dlouhy
in the corner of the endzone
with 12 seconds left.
The 1979 team was placed on
probation for a scouting incident and this team vowed to
win the national championship even with an offensive
line decimated by injuries.
“They gutted it out because
they had to do it, and they
got it done,” says Tom Scott
of KTVB’s Sports Extra. “Now,
25 years later, the Broncos are
regularly measuring up to the
1980 measuring stick.”
Scott says what’s remarkable
about the 1980 roster is the
various futures it held. For
example, Rick Woods, Cedric Minter and David Hughes
went on to productive NFL careers. Randy Trautman wound
up in the College Football Hall
of Fame.
The leadership that team had
is magnified by the coaches it
produced: Mike Bradeson, currently handling the secondary
at UNLV; Art Valero, tight ends
coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Dan Brown, defensive
coordinator at Fresno State;
and Idaho State University
head coach Larry Lewis.
No. 7: Stacy Dragila, Olympic
pole vault gold medalist
She may have been born and
raised near Sacramento, but
Pocatello claims Stacy Dragila,
who won the first Olympic
gold medal in the women’s
pole vault in 2000 and has so
many world records her own
coach can’t remember the exact total.
After her Olympic gold, Dragila ended up on the cover of a
Wheaties box and was one of
the most recognized U.S. track
and field athletes for years.
After moving temporarily to
Phoenix to train under a differ-
ISU Photo
17
ent coach, Dragila has moved
back to the Gate City, which
loves her so much it named
a street after her. She is back
under the tutelage of ISU head
track and field coach Dave
Nielsen, who coached her to
her gold medal and scores of
world records.
Besides winning the gold
medal at the Sydney Olympics, Dragila set numerous
world records and virtually
owned the event for several
years, topping out at 15 feet
10 inches in 2004.
Dragila raised the bar in the
women’s indoor and outdoor
pole vault so often, Nielsen
couldn’t keep track of her
world records. He says simply,
“It’s more than 10.”
He’s being modest.
In 2001 alone, she set eight
world records.
In a sense, Dragila, who competed for ISU in track and field,
was in the right place at the
right time. Nielsen was one of
the pioneers of the event for
women and helped make it an
Olympic event.
“Stacy’s series of accomplishments are truly unique and
notable,” Nielsen says. “Very
seldom does one have the
chance to be the first at something. Stacy was in the right
place at the right time and not
only had the opportunity, but
she capitalized on it.”
Though several other jumpers have since surpassed her
best height, Dragila, 36, is not
through. Despite a series of injuries that have hampered her
performance recently, Dragila
is hoping to regain the form
that made her the world’s
most feared women’s pole
vaulter for many years.
18
No. 8: Snake River football’s
54-game win streak
Write this down: Snake River
High School football team’s
54-game winning streak will
never be matched again by an
Idaho team.
If you disagree with this pick,
you’ll have to take it up with
folks down in the PingreeThomas area. But a word of
warning: Like their Russets,
they grow them big out there.
Snake River used its version
of smash-mouth football to
chalk up 54 straight victories
from 1998-2002. The Panthers
at one time had the longest
winning streak in the nation
among public schools. Snake
River was so dominant during those years that when the
team bus rolled into town, the
other school could bank on
not only a loss, but a beating.
Coach Tom Harrison built a
powerhouse football team
that simply overwhelmed other teams with physical power
and fundamentals. No other
3A team in Idaho could match
them. It was that simple.
Tom
Harrison
Photo
bination of things. Some luck
maybe.”
He’s being way too modest.
Snake River’s success was no
accident. It was no coincidence that the youth football
programs in that area were on
the same page, literally. They
used the same playbook as
the high school did.
By the time football players in
that area reached high school,
they knew the system inside
and out. “That made a big difference,” Harrison says. “We
had great support from our
youth programs. Once you
start winning, it snowballs.”
When kids reached high
The Panthers’ system wasn’t
fancy but it was deathly effective — the offense was run-oriented and passed when it had
to; the defense was extremely
physical and simply stronger
than its opponents.
Harrison says the community
also is very family oriented and
has mostly two-parent homes,
which eliminated discipline
problems and other issues.
The community was solidly
behind the program, Harrison
says, which made his job easier. “They still have some pretty
good kids out there,” he adds.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see
them do it again some time.”
No. 9: Hall-of-fame baseball
player Harmon Killebrew
Born and raised in a farming
community in Payette, Harmon Killebrew slammed 573
home runs in his 22-year Major
League Baseball career.
He was one of the league’s
most feared power hitters in
the 1960s and once launched
a 520-foot monster shot. While
playing for the Twins, he hit 48
home runs in 1962, 45 in 1963
and 49 in 1964.
“We liked to say we played
pretty physical,” Harrison says.
“But we also did other things.
We did what we had to do to
win.”
Harrison, who now coaches
Pocatello High School, says
the win streak was a product
of many things, including a
good coaching staff and players. “I don’t know if there was
any one secret. It was a com-
Snake River expected out of
them, Harrison adds. “We had
good players, no question. We
just had to plug them in.”
Minnesota Twins Photo
school, they were already
good and knew exactly what
Not only did “Killer” tie or lead
the league in home runs six
times, he smacked 40 or more
homers eight times and had
100 or more RBIs nine times.
He was named American
League MVP in 1969 after he
led the league in homers (49),
RBIs (140), walks and on-base
percentage.
Despite the “Killer” nickname
and his powerful swing, Killebrew was actually known as a
quiet, humble fellow. After he
was asked once what he did
for fun, he replied, “Well, I like
to wash dishes, I guess.”
He was elected to the Baseball
Hall of Fame in 1984, receiving
335 votes on 403 ballots.
Reggie Jackson has been
quoted as saying, “If Harmon
Killebrew isn’t the league’s
best player, I’ve never seen
one. He’s one of the greatest
of all time.”
plished. He also won eight
world championships in calf
No. 10: Dean Oliver – threetime world all-around cowboy
champion
After attending the Snake River Stampede in Nampa at 18,
Oliver figured he could do as
well or better than anyone entered. He figured right, leaving Canyon County for the
big-time rodeo.
There are rodeo stars and
there are rodeo legends. Dean
Oliver belongs in the latter
category. Oliver, of Nampa,
won three world titles as
champion all-around cowboy
from 1963-65.
That in itself is enough to
earn him a spot on this list.
But that’s not all he accom-
roping in 1955, 1958, 1960-64
and 1969.
Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame Photo
He said his desire to compete
in rodeo came from the “incredible sight of a man” winning $300 in a few seconds of
tie-down roping at the Stampede.
Book Review
Animal,Vegetable, Miracle
A Year of Food Life
This book has received a lot of recent praise
in the mass media, but turned out a little light
on substance and long on fluff from my perspective. The premise, for a family to learn
to live on what they can grow, is noble, but
hard information on how to really get that
done is missing from this book.
The local food movement is a hot topic
right now and is receiving a lot of national
attention. Since Michael Pollan wrote “The
Omnivore’s Dilemma,” it’s hard to pick up
a newspaper or magazine that doesn’t expound on the virtues of eating locally. In
“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” Kingsolver
and her family agree to eat only what they
can grow, or trade with neighbors for.
They sell their home in Arizona, move to
Virginia, meet lots of interesting and likeminded people, grow great gardens and
share what appear to be some pretty good
recipes. They travel around Appalachia and
take in all sorts of different philosophy on
how to get back to living off the land.
There are some interesting anecdotes about
how folks are getting back to many of the
ways most Americans lived up until the
1940s, and there are other good stories about
how some entrepreneurs are making money
selling locally-produced, often organic meat,
By Barbara Kingsolver
fruits and vegetables. I have a personal interest in getting better at
producing a larger portion of the
meat and vegetables I eat and I
had hoped this book would be a
little more informative regarding
specifics of for instance, how to
double crop vegetables, extend
the gardening season in cold climates, or convert an old washing
machine into a chicken plucker.
It does contain a lot of useful information on how to eat seasonally without waste, and how to
preserve fruits and vegetables.
The author takes some potshots
at conventional agriculture of
today and the amount of energy it consumes while giving zero credit
to American agriculture’s amazing ability
to feed 300 million plus people on an evershrinking land base.
Sure, there is room for improvement and it
seems inevitable that as energy costs continue to rise, agriculture will have to continue to find ways to adapt. But such is life
on an American farm or ranch. Let’s don’t
lose sight of the simple fact that over 98
percent of this country’s population is now
approaching three generations removed
from the farm. Forced to produce
even a small percentage of their own food,
most of today’s families would have a difficult time to say the least.
— John Thompson
All of the books reviewed for Idaho Farm Bureau
Quarterly are purchased at Barnes and Noble
Booksellers. Most are taken from the current best
sellers list. For more information contact John
Thompson at [email protected].
19
Water Outlook Goes from Bad to Worse
By Sean Ellis
Farm Bureau Writer
POCATELLO – This year’s
water supply outlook for irrigators is not pretty, it keeps getting worse and there is no relief in sight. There will be just
enough water for most irrigators, others will make it by the
skin of their teeth, and it will be
downright ugly for some.
“It definitely feels like a drought
year,” said Lyle Swank, Snake
River watermaster for Water
District 1, the state’s largest
water district, which runs from
the top of the Snake River down
to Milner Dam. “It’s a hot, dry,
tough year.”
Most irrigators will make it
through this year, albeit barely.
Others have already had their
water allocation shut off and
are in a tough spot.
Many irrigators with water
storage rights in Palisades Reservoir already had their water
cut off in July and are fuming
about the Bureau of Reclamation’s decision this winter to
send about 500,000 acre-feet
of water downstream for power
generation and flood control.
See page 21 for that story.
While the winter started off
promising, things took a turn for
the worse in early January and
it’s been very dry and very hot
since then. The March through
June timeframe was particularly
wretched. According to Natural
Resources Conservation Service
SNOTEL data, the March-June
dryness was an event that happens once every 200 years.
“It’s been a pretty remarkable
sequence of months since the
first of the year,” said Mike
20
Photo by Sean Ellis
The Great Feeder Canal near Rigby.
Beus, water operations manager
for the Bureau of Reclamation’s
Burley office. “We didn’t expect to be in this rare territory.
It’s been a worst-case scenario
since mid-March: low water
supply and high demand.”
Besides a snowpack that was
substantially below average,
spring runoff was not as great
as forecasters expected. Adding injury to injury, temperatures have been well above
normal and spring and summer
rains have been few and very
far between.
The situation has many farmers grateful for the region’s
reservoir system, which was
designed to get them through
years like this. Most Idaho reservoirs entered the water year
with plentiful carryover water
from last season.
“One of the bright spots in the
picture is that we had a lot of
reservoir storage from last
year,” Beus said.
“Having storage in those reservoirs can be a huge insurance
policy in case of a bad water
year,” Swank said.
Even with that carryover pad,
however, reservoirs “are going
down pretty rapidly for this
time of year,” Swank said July
16. “And we still have quite a
bit of summer to go.”
Swank said irrigators have traditionally been able to make
it toward the end of the year
in hot, dry years such as this.
However, “it’s a different level
of concern when some of the
major canal companies with
water rights 100 years old or
older are being shut off.”
The canal companies are doing
everything they can to stretch
supplies, he added, “but there
is just a lot more demand right
now than there is supply.”
Because of the high temperatures, some canal companies
are diverting record amounts
of water.
In areas with storage water,
most irrigators will generally
be OK this year, said Hal Anderson, administrator of planning and technical services for
the Idaho Department of Water
Resources.
But there will be early cutoffs
in some areas that don’t have
much storage. What the impact
will be depends on several factors, including a person’s water
right priority date and where
they are in the system.
“There are going to be some
people impacted more than
others,” Anderson said.
Under current conditions, there
is not likely to be much carryover
heading into next water year. If
that’s the case and there is another low snowpack year, that could
spell disaster for some.
“Where we will really be in
trouble is if we have another
dry winter without the carryover that got us through this
year,” Beus said.
Bureau’s Water Release Called into Question
By Sean Ellis
Farm Bureau Writer
POCATELLO – Hindsight
may normally be 20/20, but in
this case it’s 21.2. That’s the
percentage of allocated water
Palisades Reservoir water users are short this year.
A decision by the Bureau of
Reclamation to release more
than 500,000 acre-feet of water
from the upper Snake River reservoir system late last year has
come under close scrutiny from
Palisades water users who now
don’t have enough H2O to get
through the growing season.
Instead of receiving 100 percent of their water allocation,
they will only get 78.8 percent
this year.
Palisades Reservoir is about
300,000 acre-feet short of meeting all storage rights and had
the Bureau not released that
500,000 acre-feet of water past
Milner Dam earlier this winter,
there would be enough water in
the system for everyone. Because of that fact, the release is
looking pretty suspect to water
users who are facing a loss of
crops and money.
“We had a full glass. How
come somebody dumped some
of it out?” asks Rigby farmer
Danny Ferguson.
The Harrison Canal was already dry by early July and
Ferguson figures he’s going to
lose about $100,000 because
of the water shortage. He’s not
alone.
“We are going to see a severe
economic impact on canals and
individual water users because
of … how it all took place,” he
adds.
Bureau of Reclamation Photo
A power generation station at Palisades Reservoir.
The Bureau of Reclamation
constructed and operates hundreds of dams and reservoirs
in Western states that provide
about 140,000 farmers with
irrigation water for 10 million
acres of farmland. The Bureau
is also the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in
the Western United States.
Bureau officials claim the release, which took place mainly
in November and December,
was for flood control and power
generation. Flood control is one
of Palisades’ primary purposes
and the Bureau must follow
certain “flood control curves”
established by the Corps of Engineers. Simply put, if snowpack reaches a certain level
and spring runoff is forecast at
a certain level, the Bureau can
release more water to prevent
flooding later in the year.
The Bureau began releasing
1,800 cubic feet per second
(cfs) of water from Palisades in
November because Palisades
was within 100,000 acre-feet
of filling, which is “risky business from a flood control standpoint,” said Bureau spokesman
Mike Beus.
The Bureau also has an obligation to produce 15 megawatts of
power from Palisades and that
wasn’t being met at 1,200 cfs. It
was being met at 1,800 cfs.
The water year for the upper
Snake River reservoir system
looked fine until early January,
when snowpack started slowing down. The March through
June period was particularly
parched and Natural Resources
Conservation Service SNOTEL
data show that type of dryness
happens only about once every
200 years.
In all but the highest elevations, the upper Snake system
lost snowpack in March, which
is normally one of the highest
snow accumulation months.
Because Palisades is a flood
control reservoir and American
Falls and Jackson are storage
reservoirs, the total amount
of lost water that was released
past Milner was charged to Palisades. Consequently, its users
received only 78.8 percent of
their full water allocation this
year, while users with rights
in the other reservoirs received
virtually their full allotment.
To make matters worse, many
of the Palisades users had carryover water from last year but
ended up with less than what
they had stored.
Ferguson figures the lost water
See BUREAU, page 22
21
bureau
found for this season. But he
did say that would be tough and
made no promises. At this point,
“It would be very difficult to reverse allocation,” he said.
is going to cost a lot of Palisades
water users about six weeks of
irrigation.
In hindsight, the Bureau now
knows it didn’t have that much
water to release, Beus said.
“In retrospect, we had a pretty
good balance” early in the winter, he said. “We just couldn’t
anticipate such a dry spring.”
While not defending or blaming the Bureau, Idaho Department of Water Resources officials did say had things been
done differently, Palisades
would have had a full allocation of water.
The Bureau was one good
snowstorm away from filling
the reservoir system, noted
Lyle Swank, Snake River watermaster for Water District 1,
the state’s largest water district,
which runs from the top of the
Snake River down to Milner
Dam.
“That’s as close as I will get to
defending the Bureau,” Swank
added during a July 19 meeting of water users and experts
in Idaho Falls to discuss the
early release. “There are things
I think that could have been
done differently.”
Had that water not been released past Milner, “we could
have filled the system and everybody would have had 100
percent allocation,” Ron Carlson, ex-watermaster of Water
District 1, said during the meeting.
The hot temperatures and continued dryness this summer
haven’t helped and some canal
companies are reporting record
demand. The result is rapidly
declining reservoirs and unhappy farmers who question
22
Tuthill said he’s not sure if
there is something that could
or should be done this year, but
he would direct his staff to immediately begin looking at options.
Palisades Reservoir
the Bureau’s earlier release of
water.
“How in the world could you
have flood control release in
December when the watershed
was at 60 percent?” water user
Stan Hawkins wondered during the meeting.
Hawkins questioned why the
Bureau first said the release
was for power generation and
then later said it was for flood
control. “We ought to have attorneys work on those kinds of
things,” he added.
The Committee of Nine, the
official advisory committee for
Water District 1, sent a letter
to the Bureau in December encouraging it not to release the
water, warning that it could be
needed later.
As fate would have it, the letter arrived during a snowstorm,
Beus said. But after several
weeks of dry weather quickly
followed, he added, the Bureau
heeded that advice and reduced
water flow from Palisades to
1,200 cfs.
At that time, experts predicted
there was only an 8 percent
chance the reservoirs wouldn’t
fill.
“We landed in that 8 percent,”
Bureau of Reclamation Photo
said IDWR Director Dave
Tuthill, who asked the Bureau
for an explanation for the flows
going over Milner in January and asked for an update in
March. “At that point, it really
did look as if it would fill. What
people didn’t expect was a May
when it was virtually dry.”
Tuthill said the discussion that
took place during the July 19
meeting in Idaho Falls was very
informative and he pledged to
immediately commit his staff
to see if there is a solution that
could provide Palisades water
users with relief this year. If
there isn’t, he added, they could
at least work to ensure it never
happens again.
The information and explanations offered during the meeting were fine, “But I have a
canal with rocks in it with no
water,” Ferguson said.
A lot of farmers went ahead and
planted in the spring because
the water situation looked fine
then, he added. “It looked great
in April and now they don’t
have any water? Is there anything we can do to assist with
that?”
Tuthill vowed to hold another
meeting the following week
to see if any solution could be
Ferguson suggested tapping
into what’s known as “power
head” water in Palisades. The
200,000 acre-feet of power
head water was originally intended to ensure minimum
turbine efficiency, but the Nez
Perce Water Agreement made
it available for fish flush.
The water never really existed
before except on paper but it
is suddenly being released for
fish flush this year. However,
that water isn’t coming from
the power head, which doesn’t
physically exist, but instead out
of water users’ accounts.
Ferguson suggested docking
the power head account the
same amount that all other
Palisades users were docked
this year (21.2 percent) and distributing that water proportionately to users to ease their pain
this season.
“That would be a really tough
thing to do … if it could be
done,” said Tony Olenichak,
program manager for Water
District 1.
Swank cautioned against plowing ahead with that plan without studying the ramifications
for following years. Tuthill said
that was an option that could
be looked at but he also said
the ramifications could be farreaching and need to be looked
at first.
Action Report
How the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation is Making a Difference
Editor’s note: Action Report provides Farm
Bureau members with monthly updates on
what Idaho Farm Bureau Federation officials are doing to make a difference in
Idaho.
Summer 2007
Idaho Farm Bureau Federation President
Frank Priestley traveled around the state
in late May and early June meeting with
county presidents and other Farm Bureau
leaders. Meetings were held in Idaho Falls,
Pocatello, Twin Falls, Nampa, Lewiston
and Coeur d’Alene. Priestley’s main goals
for the meetings were to thank Farm Bureau county presidents and others for their
volunteerism and commitment to the organization. In addition, IFBF Public Affairs
Director Kent Lauer gave legislative reports on recent developments and developing policy issues.
County leaders were also encouraged to
discuss local matters and several issues
surfaced. With the recent decision to halt
field residue burning, increased incidence
of wolf depredation and the looming water
rights adjudication, north Idaho is currently a hotbed of activity.
The 9th Circuit Court decision that halted
field residue burning throughout Idaho
takes an important tool away from farmers statewide, but is a major threat to north
Idaho’s bluegrass seed industry. IFBF is
working with a Washington, D.C., attorney
in conjunction with the Idaho Grain Producers Association, seeking a legal remedy.
Two workshops were held to help north
Idaho residents better understand the water rights adjudication process. Sponsored
by IFBF and the Idaho Groundwater Appropriators, the public, informational
workshops featured Idaho Department of
Water Resources Director Dave Tuthill,
Idaho legislators, and members of the
Idaho Water Resources Board, as well as
legal and technical experts who helped
Photo by Sean Ellis
Idaho Farm Bureau Federation’s Summer County President’s Meeting was held July 17-18 in Idaho
Falls.
explain Idaho water rights adjudication,
groundwater hydrology and aquifers, how
water adjudication will be conducted in the
northern Idaho river basins and who will
be affected. The workshops were held in
Sandpoint and Plummer.
A meeting to discuss wolf depredation and
other matters related to the management of
wolves in north central Idaho, also sponsored by IFBF, was held July 24 in Grangeville. According to Betty DeVeny, Idaho
County Farm Bureau president, “We hope
this workshop will help us all better understand how the state of Idaho will manage
wolves once they are removed from endangered species protection. We also want to
bring together all of the current players to
hear about the proposed revisions to the
current wolf management guidelines, also
known as the USFWS 10(j) rule, the status of the wolf delisting process, and how
the public can participate and comment.”
The workshop provided a forum for local
ranchers to learn how they deal with wolf
conflict prevention and livestock compensation in the event of a loss.
Agencies invited to participate included
Idaho Fish & Game Department, Idaho’s
Office of Species Conservation, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Defenders of Wildlife, Nez Perce Tribe, APHIS/Wildlife
Services and Idaho Outfitters and Guides
Association.
Magic Valley Farm Bureau leaders raised
concern about the public’s perception of
agriculture, and local county commission
efforts to limit growth of the dairy industry. Commissioners in both Gooding and
Jerome counties have recently attempted
See ACTION, page 24
23
action
to place moratoriums on new dairy development. Commissioners in Teton County
recently passed a moratorium on residential development, creating concern among
local landowners. However, courts have
ruled against all three counties.
In southwest Idaho, Farm Bureau leaders discussed a recent water related lawsuit wherein the federal government filed
overlapping claims to stockwater rights.
Federal attorneys told the ranchers if they
did not accept a settlement the case would
go all the way to the Idaho Supreme Court
and attorney fees could surpass the value
of the two ranches in question. Although
the court ruled in favor of the ranchers, the
attorneys were correct in their assertion.
The two ranchers are looking for help in
appealing the Supreme Court’s decision to
award attorney fees.
Other happenings:
• The IFBF Summer County President’s
Meeting was held at the Shilo Inn, Idaho
Falls, on July 17-18. Following the meeting,
the IFBF State Board of Directors met at
the same location.
Photos by Connie Kimmell
Above — About 100 people turned out for a north Idaho water adjudication workshop held in
Plummer June 14. Below — A meeting to discuss wolf-related issues was held July 24 in Grangeville.
• The IFBF policy development process
is underway. Members should begin to get
their ideas down on paper and make preparations for policy development.
• The IFBF beef and dairy committees
met in Twin Falls in early May to discuss
policy development and other issues. The
committees spent time discussing the pros
and cons of animal identification systems,
livestock and milk markets, and the need
for additional beef processing capacity
in Idaho. The groups also toured Ballard
Dairy, a family operation that produces
artisan cheeses near Gooding, and Intermountain Beef Feeders near Murtaugh.
• IFBF Commodities Director Gary
Fuhriman met with officials from the Idaho
Grain Producers, and the Idaho wheat and
barley commissions in late May. Reports
on the recent trade mission to Cuba with
Gov. Butch Otter, research, grain markets
and rail transportation were given.
24
• The IFBF Commodity Division, in
cooperation with AgriSource of Burley,
hosted a contingent of Mexican grain buyers in Pocatello July 11.
• Fuhriman attended a meeting with
several other commodity group and pri-
vate company officials in early May with
Celia Gould, the new director of the
Idaho State Department of Agriculture.
Trade issues and reports from the different groups on the international trade front
were given.
Trailing of the Sheep Festival Marks 11th Year
The 11th Annual Trailing of
the Sheep Festival is scheduled for Oct. 12-14 in Hailey
and Ketchum. This year’s festival celebrates the Peruvian
culture’s contribution to the
sheep herding tradition with
the sights, stories and sounds
of Peru. Other planned events
include special music, food,
dance, workshops, tours, lectures and a great parade. The
Idaho Farm Bureau Federation is one of the sponsors of
this year’s event.
Other attractions at this
year’s festival include storytelling, a Folklife Fair with
its full-day of Scottish, Peruvian, Basque, Polish and
Celtic music, dance, food
and demonstrations of sheep
ranching -- shearing, herding sheep with dogs, sheep
camps and spinning and
weaving, and the Big Sheep
Parade of 1,500 woolies
trailing through downtown
Ketchum led by musicians
and dancers.
John Hailey brought the first
sheep into the Wood River
Valley in the late 1860s. At
that time, Idaho recorded a
breeding sheep population of
14,000. As the mines began
to play out in the valley, the
sheep industry filled an increasingly large role in the
local economy. By 1890 there
were a reported 614,000 sheep
in Idaho. In1918 their numbers reached 2.65 million,
almost six times the state’s
human population. During
this time, thousands of lambs
were shipped by railroad from
Picabo, Bellevue, Hailey and
Ketchum to markets around
the West. The area became
Peruvian dancers at the 2004 Trailing of the Sheep Festival.
a major sheep center, at one
time second only to Sydney,
Australia.
When Sun Valley opened
its winter ski resort in 1936,
sheepman Jack Lane was
holding forth at his general
store in Ketchum. This mercantile served as the sheep
center where ranchers congregated, and swapped stories
about prices and the weather.
Today the building is still located at the corner of Main
Street and Sun Valley Road.
As they have since the early
part of the century, sheep still
migrate north each spring
from the Snake River plain of
southern Idaho, traveling in
bands of close to 1,500 sheep,
through the Wood River Valley to summer mountain pastures. This traditional route
takes them up Highway 75
through newly populated, residential areas and the towns
of Bellevue, Hailey and Ketchum. Some continue their
journey over Galena Summit
into the Sawtooth Mountains.
Farm Bureau File Photo
In the fall, the animals retrace this trail south to desert
pastures and it is this return
migration that we celebrate
as the Trailing of the Sheep
Festival.
In 1997, the Wood River Valley began this proud tradition
of honoring the history and
heritage of sheep ranching in
the region. We invite you to
join us this year for the family festival of sheep and stories, of music, food, hikes and
history.
25
26
Word Search Puzzle: Member Benefits
 Amerisight - Lasik Eye
Summer
Surgery
 Lagoon Theme Park
 Amsoil Synthetic Oil
 Life Flight Membership  Boondocks Fun Park
Discount
 Coast To Coast Vision
 Notary
 Commercial Tire

 Paint
 Cub River Ranch
Columbia Paint & Coatings
 Dell
Kelly-Moore Paint
 Dodge
Sherwin Williams Paint
 Enterprise Rent-a-car
 Qts Payroll Services
 FB Apparel
 (Fun) Roaring Springs Water Park
 FB Connection
 Salt Lake Express
 Farm Bureau Bank
 San Diego Zoo
 Grainger
 Scholarship Program - Idaho  Hansen Guest Ranch
Farm Bureau
 Hells Canyon Adventures
 Sea World - San Diego
 Heritage Safe
 Ski Discount Packages
 Hertz Car Rental
 The Canadian Pharmacy
 Hotels
 Vandalism Reward $1,000
Wyndham Hotels
Find The Words That Are In Bold Type
Choice Hotels Member Benefit Questions: Contact Joel Benson 239-4289
 $1,000 FB Accidental Death Benefit
 American Hearing Benefits
International
 Alfalfa & Seed Program
 Amerigas
Grand Targhee Resort - Answers on Page 39
Farm Bureau Members Pay Less For Rental Cars
Online Instructions:
www.Hertz.com
Step 1: At the bottom of the reservation box there
is a line that says “I HAVE A DISCOUNT (CDP),
COUPON OR OTHER OFFER” Check “Yes”. After
entering your information and pressing continue you
will see a space listed as Discount/CDP/Club Code:
Enter Farm Bureau’s Discount code“0409226”.
Farm Bureau discount prices will now be shown
instead of regular prices.
Step 2: Call Joel Benson at 208-239-4289 and
have him mail you the coupon that must be present
at the time of car rental or when the car is returned.
www.Enterprise.com
Step 1: At the bottom of the reservation
box there is a line that says “OPTIONAL:
COUPON, CUSTOMER OR CORPORATE
NUMBER: Enter Farm Bureau’s code of
“CID2197”.
Step 2: Enter information for reservation.
When the screen asks for first 3 letters of
company name type in “FAR” for Farm
Bureau. Farm Bureau discount prices will
now be shown instead of regular prices.
www.Avis.com
Step 1: Place all of your reservation
information on the first page and
press “Continue To Next Step”.
Step 2: Under the Rate/Discount
section, select “Check my corporate
rate” and then type A298812 in the
AWD box. Corporate rates will then
appear. Farm Bureau discount
prices will now be shown instead of
regular prices.
27
Above — Hilary Andersen (left) and Lydia Andersen of American Falls
pose for a photo during Idaho Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmer and
Rancher summer rodeo. Below — Porter Robinson rides a sheep during
the event, which was held June 23 at the Guthrie Ranch in Inkom. More
than 150 people showed up for the rodeo, including about 90 children.
During the event, food was collected and then donated to “Harvest for
All,” Idaho’s foodbank.
Oneida County Farm Bureau volunteers served breakfast July 4 to about
400 people during the group’s bi-annual summer breakfast.
Idaho Farm Bureau Federation President Frank Priestley (taking notes)
and Vice President Carl Montgomery listen as Lee Stacey, administrator
of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s Division of Agricultural
Inspections, speaks about GAP audits during IFBF’s annual summer county
presidents’ meeting, held July 17-18 in Idaho Falls.
28
Marketbasket Survey
Retail Food Prices Up 4
Percent in Second Quarter
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Retail food prices
at the supermarket increased slightly in the
second quarter of 2007, according to the latest American Farm Bureau Federation Marketbasket Survey. The informal survey shows
the total cost of 16 basic grocery items in the
second quarter of 2007 was $42.95, up about 4
percent or $1.61 from the first quarter of 2007.
Of the 16 items surveyed, 14 increased, one
decreased and one stayed the same in average
price compared to the 2007 first-quarter survey. Compared to one year ago, the overall cost
for the marketbasket items showed an increase
of about 8 percent.
Regular whole milk showed the largest quarter-to-quarter price increase, up 34 cents to
$3.46 per gallon. Sirloin tip roast increased 27
cents to $3.99 per pound; pork chops increased
22 cents to $3.63 per pound; ground chuck increased 20 cents per pound to $2.85.
Other items that increased in price: whole fryers, up 17 cents to $1.28 per pound; apples, up
15 cents to $1.45 per pound; vegetable oil and
bread, both up 9 cents to $2.66 for a 32-oz. bottle and $1.58 for a 20-ounce loaf, respectively;
mayonnaise, up 8 cents to $3.43 for a 32-oz.
jar; and regular eggs, up 5 cents to $1.56 per
dozen. Volunteer shoppers recorded nominal
price increases for: cheddar cheese, up 3 cents
to $3.72 per pound; flour, up 2 cents to $1.92
for a 5-pound bag; toasted oat cereal and corn
oil, up 1 cent each to $2.86 for a 10-oz. box and
$2.78 for a 32-oz. bottle, respectively.
Russet potatoes dropped 12 cents to $2.34 for
a 5-pound bag. Bacon stayed the same at $3.44
per pound.
“Consumers have no doubt noticed their food
dollar stretched a little tighter lately,” said
AFBF Economist Jim Sartwelle. “As energy
costs have increased, it has become more expensive to process, package, and transport
food items for retail sale. In addition, soaring
demand overseas for U.S. dairy and meat products has reduced quantities available at home,
resulting in retail price increases at the grocery
store. ”
As retail grocery prices have gradually increased, the share of the average food dollar
that America’s farm and ranch families receive
has dropped over time.
“In the mid-1970s, farmers received about onethird of consumer retail food expenditures on
average. That figure has decreased steadily
over time and is now just 22 percent, according to Agriculture Department statistics,” Sartwelle said.
Using that percentage across-the-board, the
farmer’s share of this quarter’s $42.95 marketbasket total would be $9.45.
AFBF, the nation’s largest general farm organization, conducts its informal quarterly marketbasket survey as a tool to reflect retail food
price trends. According to USDA statistics,
Americans spend just under 10 percent of their
disposable income on food annually, the lowest
average of any country in the world. A total of
82 volunteer shoppers in 32 states participated
in the latest survey, conducted during May.
AAA Calls Idaho a ‘Vacation Bargain’
BOISE — On average, a family
of four will save $48 a day for
lodging and restaurant costs in
Idaho compared to the national
average price, making the Gem
State a summer travel bargain,
according to AAA Idaho.
The numbers, reflected in
AAA’s Annual Vacation Costs
survey, show that a family of
four can expect to pay nearly
$270 a day, on average in the
U.S., for food and lodging in
2007. That’s $9 more than a
year ago, representing a 3.7
percent increase.
Vacationers to Idaho will pay
just $222, according to AAA’s
annual state-by-state rankings,
making the Gem State the 13th
most affordable vacation destination in the country.
Broken down, the $270 national average price tag in the AAA
survey shows that a family of
two adults and two children
can expect to pay an average
$152 a night, for lodgings, up
nearly 7.9 percent from a year
ago. They will pay $118 for
meals, down 1.3 percent from
2006. Idaho’s hotel costs average $116.43 and meals average
$105.53.
“When we factor in Idaho’s excellent recreational opportunities and lower vacation costs,
there’s reason to believe Idaho
can be a great travel destination,” said AAA Idaho spokesman Dave Carlson. “When you
consider this year’s record gas
prices, the trend toward short
getaways closer to home makes
more sense than ever.”
Rising travel demand has
pushed hotel rates higher in
many parts of the country. Rising energy costs are partly responsible for increases in both
food and lodging, according to
AAA.
AAA has been tracking vacation costs since 1950, when the
average cost of meals and lodging was $13 a day.
29
The Case of the
Deformed Trees
By Yvonne C. Barkley
Insect and disease diagnostics are sometimes very similar to a good murder mystery. Someone calls you on the phone to report a death. You gather as much information as you can about the events leading to
the reported incident, about the surroundings, and any suspects. On occasion, your
information leads to a dead end and, after
months of investigation, you are left with
one of America’s unsolved mysteries.
Over the years, we have had our share of
unsolved tree-problem mysteries, many
of which we still have not found the
answer to. But in The Case of the Deformed Trees, a particular pattern began to emerge, leading us to believe
that the deformation and death of conifers across Idaho were related.
Adult eriophyid mite.
30
Way back in 1994, a University of
Idaho county faculty member in
south Idaho called with a problem
from a local nursery. Their Colorado
blue spruce had swollen terminal
buds that had died and looked like
“asparagus tips.” Another landowner
across the state reported spruce with
“bent tips and needles yellowing.”
That’s easy, we thought — it’s needle
cast or a watering problem. But the
trees didn’t respond to treatment. In
1995, the same nursery called with a
problem on pine – the candles would
elongate in the spring and then turn
brown. They became resin coated
and crooked, with some pith browning. But there were no entry and exit
holes or evidence of larvae, challenging our diagnosis of European shoot
University of Idaho Photo moth.
In the fall of 1999, the same symptoms
were reported in several locations on
Douglas fir in Whitman County, Wash.
Once again, information was gathered and
samples taken and examined. All of these
cases defied a solid diagnosis. We came up
with physiological stress, winter kill, dormancy requirements not being met, pesticide residuals, misapplication, or drift,
mite damage, but were just throwing out
our best educated guess. Over the years,
similar reports of swelling, distortion, and
medusa-like growth continued to come in
from all over the state.
And then one day, the phone rang….
The latest victims were Austrian pine. This
time I had our forest pathologist, George
Newcombe, come out to the site with me.
Upon investigation, we observed signs of
gross swelling and distortion of leaders.
We took samples and collected information about planting, maintenance, pesticide
application and use, and the surrounding
environment. Then it was back to the lab
with George and Steve Cook, UI forest entomologist, to study the samples. George
quickly ruled out any fungal pathogens.
Steve, however, had struck entomological
gold. He put the sample we gave him under his 40x powered microscope, a piece of
equipment we did not previously have, and
lo and behold, there they were – Eriophyid
mites.
Eriophyid mites are part of a group of insects that are mostly unknown and undescribed. They are very small (their size is
measured in micrometers) and are undetectable with a conventional hand-lens or
common dissecting microscope. These torpedo-shaped, slow moving insects dive in
and out of leaf stomata to feed on interior
leaf tissue. On conifers, their damage is expressed by chlorotic, distorted, or dwarfed
needles, by rosetted bud/needle clusters
similar to witches’-brooms, by galls, and
by partial defoliation of old as well as current season’s needles. They are found on
the buds and foliage of all North American
conifer species. Because these mites are
not visible without powerful magnification, they often go undetected until extensive damage has occurred.
On pine, Eriophyid mites initially congregate between the needles (where Steve
found them), but as population increase,
they will cover the entire base of the needle
under the sheath. Eventually, they destroy
the entire base of the needle through feeding. Little is described, or even known,
of Eriophyid mites that parasitize other
species of conifers such as Colorado blue
spruce and Douglas fir, although mention
of one species of Eriophyid mite is reported on Douglas fir in coastal California
and Oregon. A newsletter from Minnesota
reported the same problem on Black Hills
spruce, white spruce, and Colorado blue
spruce. Elsewhere in the continental U.S.,
they have been reported on Douglas fir,
most species of true fir, hemlock, juniper,
pine, and spruce.
I have suspected Eriophyid mites through
the years, but was never able to find even
one under my scope. Now that we have one
confirmed diagnosis – which has led us
to reopen the Case of the Deformed Trees
– we are in the process of pulling records
of unidentified problems from the past on
trees across the state of Idaho. Landowners and county faculty will be contacted
and asked to collect samples this summer.
We are fairly confident that we will find
Eriophyid mites on several of our unsolved
mysteries.
The good news is we have made a positive identification. The bad news is standard treatment for mites — dormant oil
application before bud break in the spring
— doesn’t seem to be a good control method. A systemic insecticide might work, but
there are no products registered for use on
conifers for this particular insect. A systemic insecticide trial is being developed
by UI researchers and private industry to
look for a new product that may control
these mites on conifers. We will keep you
posted.
University of Idaho Photos
Eriophyid mite damage, above and right.
Yvonne Barkley is an associate
extension forester for the
University of Idaho. She can be
reached at yvonnec@uidaho.
edu.
31
Huckleberry Tent & Breakfast
Story and Photos By
Renee E. D’Aoust
About 45 minutes east of Sandpoint, near the Idaho-Montana
border, Christine and Timothy
Dick have started a familyowned business modeled after
the popular bed and breakfast
concept, but even better: Huckleberry Tent & Breakfast.
As you leave Highway 200, the
well-maintained gravel road
gains in elevation, much more
than you expect, and you leave
behind modern-day amenities. But forget those camping
trips where you slept, or tried
to sleep — remember that one
pesky rock?
As Christine says, “It’s authentic Idaho camping, but you don’t
have to be on the ground.”
Huckleberry Tent & Breakfast
has three canvas tent cabins on
42 acres (think of big, roomy
“wall tents” with raised hardwood floors). Each cabin is
tastefully decorated with fresh
flowers and antiques — enough
for ambiance but not too much
to overwhelm. There is a
queen-sized bed with quilts
(extra cots are underneath), a
wood stove with pre-chopped
kindling and firewood, oldfashioned trunks, an overhead
kerosene lamp, and a table with
chairs. Mosquito netting surrounds the canvas walls, which
can be raised or lowered to let
in more, or less, fresh air. It’s
all the fun of camping with all
the comfort of a four-star vacation.
Easy-walking paths through
cedar, larch, pine, and fir
woods connect all the tent sites,
and each has its own outhouse,
32
An interior view of a canvas tent cabin at Huckleberry Tent and Breakfast.
built to code. And forget struggling with a tiny camp stove. A
retreat to the woods no longer
means roughing it or eating
power bars. Every site has its
own camp kitchen, separate
from the bedroom tent cabin,
where guests can cook on a
propane stove. What isn’t to
like about serving dinner on
enamel-wear plates stored in a
basket under the sink?
Attached to the back of the
kitchen is an “outdoor shower
roofed by nature,” says Christine. “But if it is too rustic, they
are more than welcome to come
to the house for a quote unquote
normal shower.” So far, all the
guests have been delighted to
shower under the gaze of tall
trees. Guests pump their own
water.
“You show up with your suitcase, ice, food for dinner, and
all else is taken care of,” says
Christine. “In season, guests
are welcome to look in the garden and pick lettuce for salad
for their dinner.” She provides
the makings for s’mores in each
camp kitchen, and if guests
want she’ll provide the makings for Dutch-oven brownies.
Smaller pie ovens can be used
to make campfire apple pies.
The Mountain View tent site
(the other sites are called
“Nona’s” and “Cedars”) has
a spectacular view of Scotch-
man Peak, which rises above
the Cabinet Mountains, and the
view suggests the abundance of
hikes available in the area. At
the Web site of the Scotchman
Peak Wilderness organization (www.scotchmanpeaks.
org/) there is information on
self-guided or group hikes and
the proposed wilderness area.
Huckleberry Tent & Breakfast is very kid-friendly (pets
are okay, too, as long as they
are always leashed). It’s the
perfect place to recommend
to friends visiting Idaho, for
couples traveling together, for
people wanting a back-to-theland, homestead experience,
for honeymooners, for the
traveler who wants time in the
unique backwoods of the Idaho
Panhandle, for hikers, for bird
watchers and hunters.
Ten acres are reserved for the
home-site, and the front porch
is where Christine serves a
home-style breakfast, which
includes farm-fresh eggs. If it is
a little chilly, guests are invited
inside to sit at a round wooden
table next to the Amish built
wood cook stove. The Dicks
live off the grid, using solar
power, propane, wood stoves,
and a generator for back-up.
Christine and Timothy cleared
the sites and built the cabins on
their own. Timothy milled the
wood on his wood miser.
I think the best way to convey
the special feeling at the canvas
tent cabins and sites is to say it
straight — Huckleberry Tent &
Breakfast is adorable.
The Dicks invite their guests
to experience life off the grid.
It’s the way they live, but that
doesn’t mean they suffer in the
process. Quite the contrary.
The peace and quiet at Huckleberry Tent & Breakfast is palpable. An inner quiet will stay
with you as you drive down the
mountain and out of the northern Idaho woods.
A kitchen at Huckleberry Tent and Breakfast’s Nona’s Site, also pictured below.
To make a reservation and for
more information, call (208)
266-0155 or visit the Web site:
w w w.huckleber r y tentandbreakfast.com/.
Renee E. D’Aoust lives with her
Plott hound Truffle in northern
Idaho.
33
34
Vehicle Crash Tests Making an Impact
By Mike Myers
Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co.
You’ve probably seen the dramatic, slow
motion footage of violent vehicle crash
tests on TV. The images are so widely
shown they have become a part of our
collective consciousness.
But did you know Farm Bureau Mutual
Insurance Co. of Idaho is a sponsor of
the Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety, the organization that conducts
these tests? In fact, the IIHS, called
“one of the more influential organizations conducting crash tests” by the
New York Times, is wholly funded by
81 auto insurers around the world, including Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance
Co. of Idaho.
But these tests by the IIHS don’t just
provide eye-catching television footage. In direct response to these IIHS
tests, passenger vehicle designs are
changing for the better, injuries are being prevented in real crashes, and lives
are being saved.
The IIHS focuses its research on three
distinct areas: human factors, vehicle
factors, and roadside hazards.
Human factors research addresses problems associated with teenage drivers,
alcohol-impaired driving, truck driver
fatigue, and safety belt use, to name a
few. Vehicle factors research focuses on
both crash avoidance and vehicle crashworthiness. Roadside hazards research
is aimed at the physical environment.
It includes, for example, assessment
of roadway designs to reduce run-offthe-road crashes and the elimination of
roadside hazards.
Here’s a sample of the results IIHS testing has yielded:
• In 1995, the Institute became the first
organization in the world to use offset
crash tests into a deformable barrier
to supply consumers with car-by-car
crashworthiness information. Automak-
Vehicle crash tests are a critical part of IIHS research. Crash tests are conducted at the Institute’s
21,600 square foot crash hall.
ers scrambled to avoid the high-profile
publicity for poor performing vehicles.
Most cars now earn good overall frontal
crashworthiness ratings, and automakers tout positive results in their advertisements. One Ford executive said the
tests “provide information we have to
address. Our customers are paying attention.”
• In late 2002, the Institute began side
impact testing for consumer information. Again, automakers quickly took
notice. Today automakers are shifting
into high gear to upgrade their vehicles’
side impact protection, paying particular attention to side airbags that protect
people’s heads.
• The Institute’s system for rating how
well head restraints prevent occupants’
heads from snapping backwards has
been adopted worldwide. These ratings
will help lower the risk of whiplash injury.
• After negative news coverage of poor
performance in bumper tests, Hyundai
improved the front and rear bumpers on
the Elantra, and Mazda improved the
Protege’s rear bumper. When frontal
airbags unexpectedly deployed during
5 mph bumper tests of the Volvo S80
and Kia Sedona, both automakers addressed the problem.
These are just a few of the ways IIHS
tests have helped accelerate the development of safer passenger vehicle designs. These and other tests have also
helped reduce deaths, injuries, and
property damage from motor vehicle
crashes. Putting the brakes on these
losses is why the IIHS exists, and why
Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. of
Idaho is a proud sponsor.
To learn more about the IIHS and its
crash test programs, visit the Farm
Bureau Web site, www.idf bins.com.
Click on the “Links” tab, then select
“Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.”
The source of the image and much of
the text in this article was www.iihs.
org. Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / Summer 2007
35
Food Page
Healthy
Eating
Tips
For most people, maintaining a healthy
weight boils down to two simple things:
balancing the amount of calories
consumed with energy burned. To lose,
weight, of course, requires eating fewer
calories and expending more energy.
Even small changes in the way you eat
can quickly add up to 100 fewer calories
per day. The following tips are meant to
help reduce caloric intake. These tips are
adapted from several sources, including America on the Move and Portneuf
Medical Center in Pocatello.
• Leave 3-4 bites on your plate.
• Purchase and use smaller bowls, cups,
plates and other serving utensils to eat and
drink with.
• Use non-fat or 1 percent milk stead of
whole milk.
• Try a bowl of bananas, berries, low-fat milk
and sugar substitute instead of a sweet roll.
• Use fat-free mayonnaise to prepare tuna or
chicken.
• Look for foods that you would normally eat
as a whole portion and split them into a half
portion for now and save the rest for later.
• Instead of tuna packed in oil, try tuna
packed in water.
Bell Pepper Chopped
Dressing:
on juice
3 Tablespoons fresh lem
2 tsp. sugar
nced
2 small garlic cloves, mi
3/4 tsp. salt
ck pepper
1/3 tsp. freshly ground bla
oil
4 Tbs. olive
Salad
Salad:
ed
2 medium cucumbers, dic
ed
dic
es,
ato
tom
m
diu
2 me
ed
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, dic
1 red bell pepper, diced ions
1/3 cup sliced green on sley
1/2 cup minced fresh par quartered (or buy
1/2 cup olives, pitted andolive rings)
already chopped canned
pepper in a large bowl.
Instructions:
juice, sugar, garlic, salt and
1. Whisk together lemon isking until combined.
2. Add oil in a stream, whwith dressing.
3. Toss salad ingredients
ydrates, 2g fiber.
Makes 8 servings
calories, 6g fat, 8g carboh
102
g:
vin
ser
per
ts
fac
ion
Nutrit
36
• Leave the croutons off your salad.
• Instead of frying chicken and fish, bake,
broil or grill it.
• Eat slowly.
• Drink diet soda instead of regular soda.
• Drink bottled water or diet iced tea instead
of soda from the vending machine.
• Reduce cooked rice and pasta by ½ cup at
meals.
• Get the small or medium drink instead of
the large one.
• Use soft taco size flour tortillas instead of
the larger burrito size.
• Reduce the amount of high-fat ingredients like cheese, creams and dressing
with meals and recipes.
• Drink fruit juices with no sugar added.
• Instead of eating chips or pretzels
straight from the bag, control your portions by pouring a serving into a bowl.
• Eat canned fruit packed in water or its
own natural juices instead of heavy syrup.
• When eating out, ask for the bread basket to be taken off the table.
The following healthy recipe was submitted
by Gwen Coleman, a registered dietitian
with Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello.
37
NIFC Photo by Karen Wattenmaker
Idaho, West Scorched by Wildfires
By Sean Ellis
Farm Bureau Writer
POCATELLO – The fire season has hit the West, and particularly Idaho, with a fury.
There are no signs it will ease
up any time soon.
More than 55,000 wildland fires
had started as of late July and
the situation was so grim that
U.S. fire officials were on the
verge of asking for assistance
from the military and international firefighters.
It may seem like the whole
state is on fire at times. It’s not.
It just appears that way because
of the constant haze of smoke
that has blanketed many parts
of the Gem State this summer.
As of July 24, there were 17
38
large fires burning in Idaho and
this state led the country with
the most active acres burning.
Through that date, there had
been 800 fires started in Idaho
and more than 800,000 acres
burned.
“We have a lot of firefighters
doing a lot of hard work, especially in Idaho,” said Ken Frederick, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center,
based in Boise. “It’s a bad year
for Idaho.”
At press time, the biggest fire
in Idaho was the Murphy Complex fire, a nearly 600,000-acre
mega fire 56 miles southwest of
Twin Falls. That fire became a
raging inferno after two large
fires joined together and several communities were evacuated
because of it. Numerous towns,
ranches and Mountain Home
Air Force Base training range
facilities were threatened by it.
All across the West, firefighting
resources have been stretched
thin in 2007, which is hot on
the heels of 2006, the worst
year in the modern era as far as
total acres burned.
In 2006, a total of 96,385 fires
in the U.S. burned a record 9.9
million acres, at least 1 million
acres more than the second
worst year, which was 2005
(8.7 million acres).
Year to date in 2007, almost 4.4
million acres had burned in the
U.S. as of July 24. On that same
date in 2006, 4.95 million acres
had burned. The 10-year average for that date is 3.1 million
acres.
Keep in mind that in the Western U.S., the fire season was
only about one-third finished at
that point.
With temperatures well above
average and with super-dry
conditions, Western fire officials were bracing for more
fires as a new series of lightning storms were set to hit the
region.
On July 18, the nation’s wildfire alert status was raised to 5,
the highest possible level. The
wildfire season really got hot
after July 4 and within three
weeks the alert level had been
raised from 3 to 4 to 5.
The heightened alert status
paves the way for the U.S. to
call in the National Guard and
international help if it’s needed,
as it was in 2006.
is keeping crews adequately
rested, a requirement of federal
law.
Last year, U.S. fire officials
called in converted military air
tankers, a battalion of soldiers
from Fort Lewis, Wash., 10
firefighting crews from Canada
and 116 mid-level fireline managers from Australia and New
Zealand.
“Fire crews are hard to come
by,” Frederick said.
“We played all the cards last
year,” Frederick said. “If we
need to, we will” again this
year.
As of late July, about 15,000
people were working directly
on fires in the U.S. Several
thousand more were indirectly
involved with fire activities,
such as dispatchers, drivers and
people working in mobilization
centers.
Sixteen large air tankers, which
can hold 2,000-2,500 gallons of
fire retardant each, were being used to battle large blazes.
Another 80 single-engine crop
duster type planes that have
been converted to air tankers
were also being used. Each one
of those holds about 800 gallons.
Hundreds of helicopters were
also enlisted in the fight, as
well as several thousand wildfire engines and other ground
equipment, such as bulldozers.
In firefighting lingo, the situation was very active and very
busy.
One of the main hurdles fire
officials are facing this year
In response to requests from
local authorities, Gov. Butch
Otter issued disaster emergency declarations July 23 for
five counties: Cassia, Idaho,
Nez Perce, Owyhee and Twin
Falls. The declarations, which
cite the risk to life and property as a result of uncontrolled
wildfires, authorize the use of
state government resources to
assist in efforts to deal with the
affected counties.
On a good note, there has only
been one firefighting fatality
this year. A 61-year-old pilot
from Boise died July 23 when
the helicopter he was using to
deliver water to ground crews
battling a blaze went down in
extremely rugged mountain
territory in northern California.
The fire situation is so grim,
fire officials are practically
begging the public to use strict
caution when using any potential heat source while camping,
fishing or hiking in the outdoors.
NIFC Photo by Karen Wattenmaker
by humans, but most major
fires (and most acres burned)
are caused by lightning strikes.
Fire prevention tips are
available on-line at www.
firewise.org.
Word Search Puzzle Answers From Page 27
“You have to have the mentality of being really diligent
with any heat source that could
ignite a fire,” Frederick said.
“People need to think, ‘Is there
anything I’m doing out here in
the wild that could potentially
start a fire?’”
Most wildland fires are caused
‘We have a lot of firefighters doing a lot of
hard work, especially in Idaho. It’s a bad
year for Idaho.’
— Ken Frederick,
Spokesman, National Interagency Fire Center
39
Summer 2007 Lodging Offer For
Farm Bureau Members Only
Normal rate = $109, Farm Bureau rate = $79.00/night June 1 - June 28th
Normal rate = $139, Farm Bureau rate = $99.00/night June 29 - September 2.
Normal rate = $109, Farm Bureau rate = $79.00/night September 3 - September 16
Nightly rate in the Teewinot Lodge does not include 6% tax. Based on availability and not valid for
groups or with any other offers or promotions. Must have Idaho Farm Bureau membership number
when booking reservation. oll-free
800-827-4433 to make a reservation
Reservations: 800-827-4433
40
Adjudication Workshops Draw Hundreds
By Farm Bureau Staff
The Idaho Farm Bureau Federation and the Idaho Groundwater
Appropriators recently sponsored workshops on the upcoming north Idaho water adjudication. The interest in this issue
was enormous.
Plummer
The Plummer workshop June 14
attracted over 100 area property
owners who were interested in
learning more about how a water adjudication conducted by
the Idaho Department of Water
Resources would impact them.
The main concerns of the crowd
centered on tribal claims, federal reserved rights and whether
IDWR was going to meter private domestic wells and assess
an annual fee for water use. All
three Idaho legislators in attendance expressed concern and
did not support the NIA effort.
Sandpoint
The Sandpoint workshop July
16 attracted nearly 500 area
residents on a hot July evening
at the Sandpoint High School
gymnasium.
Hydrologist John Monks explained how both groundwater
and surface waters behave in
north Idaho, especially within
the Rathdrum aquifer, Lake
Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai River
basin and Lake Pend Orielle
as well as the geology lying
beneath the entire Idaho panhandle.
Idaho Water Resources Board
Chairman and Rexburg attorney Jerry Rigby emphasized
the importance of the NIA.
“We need to determine what
water rights are out there,” he
said. “It’s important to know
and get this behind us.”
Countering Rigby was Scott
Campbell, a Boise-based water law attorney who seriously
questions the need for the NIA.
Campbell asked the other panelists and the crowd, “Why
now? Why anytime?” Campbell predicted, “Just the federal
and tribal claims alone to north
Idaho water will take years to
settle and cost taxpayers millions of dollars before it’s all
over.” Both Campbell and Rigby answered many questions
from the audience, offering differing opinions on the need for
the NIA to proceed.
IDWR Director Dave Tuthill explained how the state got to this
point and how the NIA would
proceed. Tuthill reminded the
crowd that the NIA was proceeding because “Many north
Idaho legislators requested the
state address the water situation
within the Rathdrum Prairie
and the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene
River basin.” “Can we adjudicate water rights in (north) Idaho? The answer is yes,” Tuthill
reassured the sometimes skeptical and vocal crowd. He explained how his agency had the
necessary personnel already in
place to proceed with the NIA
and the 2007 Idaho Legislature
had already funded adjudication for the Spokane/CDA Basin and Rathdrum aquifer to
begin this year.
NIA proponent, Rep. Frank
Henderson, R-Post Falls, shared
that during his tenure as Post
Falls mayor, he constantly battled with his Washington state
neighbors. “Every day our (Idaho) water was under siege by the
city of Spokane and the state of
Photo by Connie Kimmell
About 500 people showed up for a north Idaho water adjudication
workshop, held July 16 in the Sandpoint High School gymnasium.
Washington. How do we protect
our water? Adjudication will
help,” Henderson stated.
judications in the other basins,
we won’t fund the effort,” Keough assured the crowd.
State Sen. Shawn Keough, RSandpoint, reminded the crowd
that the NIA statute was designed to only adjudicate those
water basins that the legislature
funded. “If the public doesn’t
want to proceed with future ad-
Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, an outspoken critic of the
NIA, suggested that the IDWR
reduce the fees for filing applications on domestic wells and
dispel any notion of metering
domestic wells once and for all.
FREE CLASSIFIEDS
Non commercial classified ads are free to Idaho Farm Bureau members.
Must include membership number for free ad. Forty (40) words maximum.
Non-member cost- 50 cents per word. You may advertise your own crops,
livestock, used machinery, household items, vehicles, etc. Ads will not be
accepted by phone. Ads run one time only and must be re-submitted in each
subsequent issue. We reserve the right to refuse to run any ad. Please type or
print clearly. Proof-read your ad.
Mail ad copy to:
P.O. Box 4848, Pocatello, ID 83205-4848
or email Dixie at
[email protected]
Name: __________________________________________________________________________
Address: _________________________________________________________________________
City / State / Zip: __________________________________________________________________
Phone: _____________________________________ Membership No. ___________________
Ad Copy: ________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
41
Classifieds
DEADLINE DATES: ADS MUST $1,200. One nineteen year old OH thoroughbred
gelding. Not a kid horse. Burley, Id. 678-2845
BE RECEIVED BY OCTOBER 20
For Sale 5 year old Angus bull great disposition.
FOR NEXT ISSUE.
Case/IH 8840 Windrower 2000 hr. $20,500; 8545
inline 14x18 baler $9,750; NH 420 16x18 baler
$4,750. All sheded out of weather, very clean and
well maintained, field ready. Treasure Valley, 440Nice bull for heifers, lots of years left in this bull! 8356
Fruitland, Id. Come take a look at him 452-3969
Animals
Gehl Model 170, 540 PTO Grinder Mixer, Power Bale
Feeder. Always shedded. Excellent Condition. $5,000.
Kelpe puppies, bred for cows, registered. Richfield.
Equipment
Cottonwood, Id. 962-7721
Id. 669-1832
6600 Heston Windrower 14 ft AC $6,000. 8400
Heeler/Lab Mix-3 yr old neutered male. Very stocky, Heston Windrower $18,000. Meridian, Id 888-7142
Help Wanted
good looking, loyal and has great house manners.
Like
new
(3)
16.9
X
38
power
grip
tires;
set
of
We’re moving and need a good country home for
Appraisal Career Opportunity. Many of our partthis nice dog. Free to the right home. Sandpoint, silver metallic hook-on rims; set of chains; 12 IH time livestock and farm equipment appraisers earn
50LB. tractor plate weights - $2,750/OBO. Swan $20,000-$30,000/yr. We have full-time appraisers
Id. 290-7400
Valley. 483-2305.
earning over $100,000/yr. For information about
Doberman Puppies AKC Champion lineage. DNA
becoming a certified livestock or farm equipment
International
manure
spreader
595
with
single
tested “Clear”. Exceptional Doberman quality. Perfect
appraiser call (800) 488-7570 or visit www.
markings. Family raised. Make your reservation now. beater. Very good condition. Caldwell area. amagappraisers.com
$3500.
Call
Terry
at
573-2359.
Sagle, Id 263-7655
AKC Registered Labrador Retriever Pups due Sept Balewagons: New Holland self-propelled or pull-type
14th, 2007 available Nov. 2007. Moscow, Id. Leave models. Will consider any model. Also interested
in buying balewagons. Call Jim at 880-2889 or
message 882-4218
evenings 459-3268
Clublamb Type Ewes and Rams For Sale: Great
MidWest Genetics. Have produced champions. Ram Complete irrigation system. 60 plus pipes, heads,
Lambs, Yearling Ram, Ewes of all ages. Package tee’s elbows on trailer. Two pumps with electric
Deals! Please call Stevenson Sheep Company for motors on trailer. Also nice dry manure spreader, six
yard, mounted on dependable international truck.
more info. 208.888.2754
Call for info and pictures. Sagle, Id. 263-3700
Registered Suffolk Rams: 1 Codon 171 RR born 1
Mar. 05 for $500.00. 3 the progeny of above ram, John Deere 820, John Deere 720 both in good
born Feb Mar 06 for $300.00. Horses-Arabian/ condition. John Deere Model L power unit, turns free.
quarter crosses. Burley, Id. Call 654-2238 or 654- Parting out John Deere 3010. All parts reasonably
priced. 432-4247
2567
100% grass fed, all natural Idaho Lamb. Cut and
wrapped to your specifications. $5.50 per lb.
hanging weight. Also available Suffolk and Dorset
breeding ewes and 4-H lambs. Nampa, Id. Call
Sharon at 466-3808 or 899-7715
Suffolk, Targhee, and Finn Rams, Yearlings and Ram
Lambs. American Sheep from Idaho Lands. Malad,
Id. 799-4936.
APHA registered all ages. $500 and up. Quality
conformation. Excellent color and dispositions.
Performance bloodlines. Some rideable. Stallion
Service available. Fee $400. KC Rebel Chant,
KLCS Rowdee U Two and KC Snippers Sundance.
(Palomino Over) Caldwell, Id 454-2454
Team Roping Head Horse. 16 Yr APHA Bay Tobiano
Gelding. Solid, Sound & Powerful. Quiet in the rope
box. Gets to steer quickly. Effortlessly pulls for
heeler. Ropers Don’t Miss Out! $8,500.00 Dream
Horse ID: 1034446. Nampa, ID 850-8585
Quality Quarter Horses. Registered and grade. Some
green broke. Gentle dispositioned. Buhl, Id. 5435646
One seven year old Appaloosa OH gelding with 3
months professional training, easy to catch and load.
42
Household
garden, large garage, heated mans dream workshop,
with 1/2 bath. $525,000. 689-9296
County Approved 1977 trailer home. 66 ft, 3 bdrm,
2 bath. $7,000. To be moved immediately. Shelley,
Id. 357-7285 or 589-7285
Two adjoining, rural lots for sale in Cascade
area. 6.34 and 6.89 acres. Level building sights,
C.C. and R’s, close to Tamarack Resort. $105,000.00
each. Phone 634-9462
Single Cemetery Plot. Sandy UT. Price Negotiable.
Leave Message 208-734-2319
Trailers/ RVs
Car Dolly by Western Trailer. Heavy Duty - Wide
frame. Near new tires $475.00. Blackfoot, Id 7854797 Vehicles
Small used Hurricane wood stove, and pipes. Stove
Looking for 1956-1962 Chrysler Desoto Plymouth
pipes were installed new, but never used. Asking
Dodge cars or parts. 1939 to 1968 Dodge trucks
$500 for all, or best offer. Rupert, Id. Call 532especially PowerWagons. Hemi cars 1966-71
4125.
Jerome, Idaho. Will pay cash, distance no problem.
Girls Blue 10 speed Schwinn Frontier Bike. Pocatello, [email protected] or call Chris at 208308-1967.
Id 478-2897
1999 Chrysler concord, beautiful car!! Excellent
condition, fully loaded, sunroof, leather interior,
Heavy Duty Tarps - 15’x50’, waterproof, very power everything, color: deep cranberry. Great gas
durable, great for Hay Machinery ect. $65.00 each mileage. $7,000.00. Shelly, Id. 357-7807
Call jared@ 801-232-0953
2001 Ford Escape XLT 4x4 many extras, low miles,
great shape. 1987 S-10 Chevy blazer 4x4. Lots
Antique
Case
Tractor
for
yard
ornament.
Not
Horse Wagon 11ft long X 6ft wide, single or
of new parts. $900.. Tires and rims runs great.
double. Extra sturdy and has been stored indoors. operable. $900. OBO. Rigby, Id. 538-6447
American Falls, Id. 339-2536 or 226-7536
$1000.00 Also draft size harness. $250.00. Nampa,
Oil
Leaks?
SealLube
Seal
Expander,
Stops
any
rubber
Id. Call Sharon at 466-3808 or 899-7715
seal leak in engines, trans. Power steering or air
Wanted
6602 John Deere combine, 20 foot platform conditioner. Guaranteed! Works in hour-Lasts for
with Cheney reel, standup cab, AC, turbo diesel years! 8 oz bottle $14.95+ $4.60 S+H. New Tech Want to buy stocktrailer, a 5’ x 12’ or 14’. Tandem
$4000.00 OBO. John Deere 15 foot BWA disk, field Intl. Box 26198, Fraser, MI 48198, (800)434-9192 axel prefer, also a bumper pull. Call 431-8939
ready with hydraulic ram. Best offer. Holbrook, ID. SealLube.com. Visa/MC/Amx/Disc/Ck
Wanted: Registered male Pekingese puppy. Am. Falls.
698-3387 or [email protected]
Flag poles by Old Sarge. Custom made from 2” Call 226-5706
Knapheide 13ft pup trailer, 42 inch grain sides, galvanized poles. Any length, 16-30 ft. Check us Wanted: Bull/drive gear for Altman-Taylor steam
single axel, dual wheels, 900:20 rubber, Knaphoist out. Wilford Green, 2618 N. Inkom Rd. Inkom, Id engine. Need drive gear that bolts to drive wheel.
heavy duty scissor hoist. Asking $4,000. Sandpoint 775-3490
Gear has 6 spokes, 143 inches in circumference, 45
area. 263-5038
inches in diameter; 4 inches wide and has total of
ATVs/Snowmobiles/Boats 64 teeth. Buhl, ID 543-2434.
Wanted: 5 or 7 prong ripper. Long shanks
only. John Deere, International, Brillion, etc. Gauge 1984 fiber glass Classycraft 15’ boat. Open bow Old License Plates Wanted: Also key chain license
wheels are a plus. Emmett, Id. 208-365-6571 center console. 2002 40 hp mercury 4 stroke plates, old signs, light fixtures. Will pay cash. Please
motor with lift trim & trolling plate W/ 2005
JD 648 Hang-on plow, fits JD A $500. Two tumble Larson trailer. All in excellent condition. A great email, call or write. Gary Peterson, 130 E Pecan,
bug plows, $300 each. $1000 for all three. pleasure and fishing boat. American Falls, Id Genesee, Id 83832. [email protected]. 285-1258
Hammett, Id. 366-3069
226.7536 or 339.2536
Paying cash for German & Japanese war relics/
souvenirs! Pistols, rifles, swords, daggers, flags, scopes,
6 ft. General brush hog $650.00, 8 ft. corrugators
optical equipment, uniforms, helmets, machine guns
Real Estate/Acreage
$250.00, 4-8” casters for scaffolding $35.00, 2
(ATF rules apply) medals, flags, etc. 549-3841
heavy metal stall doors with tracks $40.00 each,
Home for sale, Awesome 3 bed, 2 ba. View Free. 5 (evenings) or 405-9338.
8 ft wide 5 ft tall chain link gate $40.00. Buhl,
acres overlooking Coeur d’Alene River and 3 lakes,
Id. 543-2867 plus lake lot, boat access. Decks galore. Fruit trees,
Miscellaneous

- Idaho Farm Bureau

Transcription

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