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W<br />
L<br />
HEAT IFE<br />
The official publication of the Washington Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers<br />
JANUARY 2012<br />
A well-dealt hand<br />
The 2012 Legislative playbook<br />
Scott Barr<br />
Farming and politics meet in one<br />
extraordinary man<br />
Beyond a 10-day forecast<br />
Art Douglas’ 2012 weather<br />
predictions<br />
Washington Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers<br />
109 East First Avenue, Ritzville, WA 99169<br />
Address Service Requested
W<br />
WAWG MEMBERSHIP<br />
(509) 659-0610 • 800-598-6890<br />
$125 per year<br />
EDITOR<br />
Kara Rowe • kararowe@wawg.org<br />
(509) 456-2481<br />
ART DIRECTOR<br />
Trista Crossley<br />
AD SALES MANAGER<br />
Kevin Gaffney • KevinGaffney@mac.com<br />
(509) 235-2715<br />
GRAPHIC DESIGN<br />
Devin Taylor • Trista Crossley<br />
AD BILLING<br />
Michelle Hennings • michelle@wawg.org<br />
(509) 659-0610 • 800-598-6890<br />
CIRCULATION<br />
Address changes, extra copies, subscriptions<br />
Chauna Carlson • frontdesk@wawg.org<br />
(509) 659-0610 • 800-598-6890<br />
Subscriptions are $50 per year<br />
WAWG EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE<br />
PRESIDENT<br />
Eric Maier • Ritzville<br />
VICE-PRESIDENT<br />
Ryan Kregger • Touchet<br />
PRESIDENT EMERITUS<br />
Ben Barstow • Palouse<br />
APPOINTED MEMBERS<br />
Brad Isaak • Coulee City<br />
JP Kent • Walla Walla<br />
Dan McKinley • Dayton<br />
L<br />
HEAT IFE<br />
Volume 55 • Number 1<br />
www.wheatlife.org<br />
The official publication of<br />
WASHINGTON<br />
ASSOCIATION OF<br />
WHEAT GROWERS<br />
109 East First Avenue<br />
Ritzville, WA 99169-2394<br />
(509) 659-0610 • 800-598-6890<br />
In association with:<br />
www.washingtongrainalliance.com<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong> <strong>Life</strong> (ISSN 0043-4701) is published by the<br />
Washington Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers (WAWG):<br />
109 E. First Avenue • Ritzville, WA 99169-2394<br />
Eleven issues per year with a combined August/<br />
September issue. Standard (A) postage paid at<br />
Ritzville, Wash., and additional entry offices.<br />
Contents of this publication may not be reprinted<br />
without permission.<br />
Advertising in <strong>Wheat</strong> <strong>Life</strong> does not indicate<br />
endorsement of an organization, product or political<br />
candidate by WAWG.<br />
President’s Perspective<br />
Concerning the budget crisis<br />
By Eric Maier<br />
Having been over in Olympia numerous times in the<br />
past, it was interesting to be on campus and experience<br />
the intensity of the recent protests employed by Occupy<br />
Olympia and the different labor groups. Through their<br />
protests and passion for a cause, they have been able to<br />
disrupt the fluidity of our state’s capital. With the state’s<br />
current budget situation, it is truly going to become very<br />
interesting to see how the current budget debate evolves and just how agriculture<br />
and wheat as economic drivers in Washington State will be affected.<br />
Before they reconvene regular session this month, lawmakers in Olympia<br />
worked throughout December toward managing an anticipatory reduction in<br />
the state’s $1.4 billion shortfall, with $400 million in preliminary budget cuts. The<br />
expected outcome by lawmakers is a $2 billion cut in budget to remedy the loss of<br />
$1.4 billion dollars, while allowing for a $600 million dollar buffer. Along with the<br />
assistance of Governor Christine Gregoire, the state has proposed a bevy of cuts,<br />
fund transfers and delayed state program payments. The implications of these<br />
cuts will be felt throughout Washington with, perhaps, a shortening of the school<br />
year by four days, the elimination of some social programs and early release of<br />
prisoners.<br />
To offset the effect of the cuts, Gregoire has proposed that voters approve a temporary<br />
bill that will increase sales tax statewide to allow for relief from the deficits.<br />
The increase will be a half of a cent added to the current tax rate and would sunset<br />
in three to four years. Agricultural groups have ultimately agreed to remain open<br />
to the idea of Gregoire’s tax increase proposal, provided the executive and legislative<br />
branches still uphold and require an honest and focused budget. They would<br />
like it to be based upon the core functions of state government—which would<br />
include finding every savings and efficiency that can be found—before any new<br />
revenue options would be entertained.<br />
Agricultural research at Washington State University, the B&O tax proposal<br />
and agriculture’s current tax exemptions are still on the table for discussion as<br />
well. The Washington Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers’ leadership will continue to<br />
monitor these issues of concern. WAWG and other agricultural commodity groups<br />
are advocating and working towards maintaining your current tax exemptions,<br />
maintaining research programs implemented by WSU and holistically minimizing<br />
the anticipated effects of the budget crisis to ensure the success of our industry.<br />
In order for these enacted efforts to come to fruition, all WAWG members,<br />
family farmers and those affiliated with Washington wheat should to be prepared<br />
to become advocates for the industry.<br />
Cover photo: While on a tugboat ride on the Willamette River, the 2011 <strong>Wheat</strong> Export and Quality Workshop<br />
tour group got a bird’s eye view of their wheat coming and going through the CLD terminal. In the<br />
foreground, a barge unloads its cargo of wheat. In the background, the ocean-going vessel, Wadi Alkarnak<br />
out of Alexandria, is in the process of loading wheat. For more pictures of the tour, see pages 32-33.<br />
2 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
WAWG President’s Perspective 2<br />
WAWG at Work 4<br />
Policy Matters 12<br />
2012 Legislative Playbook<br />
Playing with a smart hand in both Washingtons 20<br />
Fluctuations in fertilizer prices<br />
If a butterfly flaps its wings in China . . . 28<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong>, coming and going<br />
The 2011 <strong>Wheat</strong> Export Tour/Quality Workshop 32<br />
Profile<br />
Scott Barr, farmer, statesman, philanthropist 34<br />
WGC Chairman’s Column 41<br />
WGC Review 42<br />
Whither the weather<br />
Art Douglas’ forecast through August 2012 46<br />
Don’t leave home without it<br />
Smart phones are quickly becoming<br />
a standard piece of farming equipment<br />
50<br />
FSA services hit by budget woes<br />
Planning for cutbacks in staff, shortened hours 54<br />
Nitrogen requirements for protein<br />
Worksheet will help with calculations 55<br />
Messing with our numbers<br />
Major changes may be coming to NASS 58<br />
WGC Wide World of <strong>Wheat</strong> 60<br />
Old-time advertising<br />
Colorful cards document early advances<br />
in agricultural equipment<br />
62<br />
A roof-raising good time<br />
A “how to” on using heritage barn grants 68<br />
Your <strong>Wheat</strong> <strong>Life</strong> 72<br />
Advertiser’s Index 74<br />
Contributors<br />
Eric Maier, president, Washington Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers<br />
Tom Zwainz, chairman, Washington Grain Commission<br />
Scott A. Yates, communications director, Washington Grain<br />
Commission<br />
Kevin Gaffney, ad sales manager, <strong>Wheat</strong> <strong>Life</strong><br />
Inside This Issue<br />
Rich Koenig, chairman, WSU Department of Crop and Soil Science<br />
Hope Bellie Tinney, Washington State University<br />
Norman Reed, historian<br />
Heidi Scott, writer, Spokane, Wash.<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 3
WAWG<br />
at<br />
work<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong> farmers oppose<br />
Occupy’s port shutdown<br />
Occupy came. Occupy went. But, they went with<br />
more negative headlines than they probably expected.<br />
In an attempt to show solidarity for worker<br />
rights and a plight against the wealth of America, the<br />
Occupy movement showed up at West Coast ports in<br />
mid-December with the idea of shutting off all trade<br />
from the Pacific for a day. In their attempt to have<br />
a negative effect on trade and, subsequently, Wall<br />
Street, they managed to infuriate the workers they<br />
claim to represent. Longshoremen refused to join the<br />
protest.<br />
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Port of<br />
Oakland officials said disruptions caused by protesters<br />
likely cost businesses, workers and the surrounding<br />
community millions of dollars. Officials estimate<br />
the port generates around $8.5 million per day in<br />
business revenue, wages, taxes and other economic<br />
activity.<br />
Closer to home, between 60 and 80 union workers<br />
were not paid due to port shutdowns orchestrated<br />
by the Occupy Seattle movement, a union leader told<br />
seattlepi.com.<br />
In Portland, the Oregonian editorial board wrote<br />
that if nothing else, the port protests demonstrated<br />
Oregon’s deep reliance on trade. “As the picketers<br />
meandered from one terminal to the next, they took<br />
a day’s pay away from almost 400 International<br />
Longshore and Warehouse Union workers who were<br />
told to avoid the protests and stay home. It’s doubtful<br />
that large exporters and ship-owning companies<br />
such as Goldman Sachs were affected in any way by<br />
the protest—but hundreds of Oregon families took a<br />
holiday hit to their paychecks.”<br />
A barge unloads its cargo of wheat at the Columbia Grain export terminal in Portland,<br />
Ore. Billions of dollars worth of agricultural products are shipped through<br />
Pacific Northwest ports every year.<br />
Representing thousands of wheat farmers in the state, the<br />
Washington Grain Alliance took a firm stand against the protesting<br />
that shut down the West Coast ports last month.<br />
“We need everyone to work together in order to keep grain<br />
moving to our customers,” said WAWG President Eric Maier.<br />
“Thousands of jobs on both sides of the state rely on our wheat,<br />
including the export facility workers who oversee the ports, the<br />
workers who load the ships, the river and bar pilots who guide<br />
the ships...the list is long. They need us, and we need them.”<br />
In the organization’s resolutions, WAWG opposes any mea-<br />
4 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
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sures that interfere with the international<br />
shipment of grain. WAWG<br />
also opposes the withholding of<br />
food as leverage to achieve political<br />
objectives.<br />
“Trade is vital not only to wheat,<br />
as we export about 80 percent of our<br />
crop, but to the rest of agriculture in<br />
the state as well,” said Maier. Nearly<br />
$13 billion in food and agricultural<br />
products were exported through<br />
Washington ports in 2010, the third<br />
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WAWG presses<br />
for fairness in<br />
state budget fix<br />
In December, Governor<br />
Gregoire sat down with<br />
Washington agriculture sectors<br />
to hear ideas and to discuss<br />
a compromise to fix the financial<br />
stability of the state.<br />
The Governor acknowledged<br />
that agriculture is vital to the<br />
state’s economy. The $40-billion<br />
food and agriculture industry<br />
employs approximately 160,000<br />
people and contributes 12 percent<br />
to the state’s economy. In<br />
fact, Yakima, Grant and Benton<br />
counties are traditionally the<br />
largest ag producing areas in<br />
the state. The wheat industry<br />
alone generated nearly $1 billion<br />
in production value in 2010.<br />
While each group represented<br />
their own interests, they<br />
were united on opposing the<br />
removal of ag’s tax exemptions.<br />
They agreed that any solution<br />
to the state budget crisis must<br />
be fair across all industries and<br />
citizens.<br />
6 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
TIME<br />
FOR A LITTLE<br />
PAYBACK<br />
This just might be the best example of “what<br />
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Northwest Farm Credit Services is a cooperative,<br />
which means you have a voice within the<br />
organization and we pay cash back to you. No<br />
bank does this. When we do well, we share<br />
profits with you, not third party investors. And<br />
this year Northwest FCS customer-owners will<br />
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WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 7
PROTECTING YOUR<br />
CROPS IS A GOOD IDEA.<br />
SO IS PROTECTING<br />
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For full terms and conditions and to learn which other offers you may be eligible for, visit<br />
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customers with an available Special Terms credit limit. After the promotional period, interest charges will begin to<br />
accrue at the rate provided in the John Deere Financial Multi-Use Account Credit Agreement. Subject to John Deere<br />
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DC agenda set<br />
Washington’s wheat leader team is primed and ready to hit the Hill in<br />
Washington, D.C., later this month. The officer team and staff plan to advocate<br />
for farmers with Washington’s 11 Congressional delegates and their<br />
staff (see page 20 for more information). The highest priority is to preserve<br />
a baseline for a safety net for our family farmers in the new 2012 Farm<br />
Bill. Transportation issues, foreign market access, pesticide regulation and<br />
agricultural research funding also top the priority list.<br />
The team also plans to join forces with leaders from Idaho and Oregon<br />
to meet with various federal agency staff including Chief Dave White<br />
of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, NOAA Administrator<br />
Jane Lubchenco and administrators from the Environmental Protection<br />
Agency, Farm Service Agency, Agricultural Research Service and Risk<br />
Management Agency.<br />
“By joining forces with our friends in Idaho and Oregon, we are truly<br />
utilizing the tri-state effort to its fullest capacity,” said WAWG National<br />
Legislative Chair Brett Blankenship. “Our goal is to unite on topics and<br />
concerns we have in common. Together, we can make more of an impact<br />
than by ourselves.”<br />
Leaders will also attend the joint winter conference for both the National<br />
Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers and U.S. <strong>Wheat</strong> Associates while in the<br />
capitol.<br />
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Not all offers are available in all<br />
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For full terms and conditions, visit<br />
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The Washington <strong>Wheat</strong> Foundation building was again full with more than 50 farmers from Adams,<br />
Franklin and Walla Walla counties interested in learning more about the new deep furrow drill.<br />
Research on the drill is being conducted by the WSU Dryland Research Station at Lind, led by WSU<br />
Research Agronomist Bill Schillinger. The new drill is seen as phase two of the original undercutter<br />
project, which allows low-rainfall area farmers to use minimal tillage practices and reduce dust. The<br />
new drill will allow farmers to plant seeds deep, even through the high residue left by the undercutter.<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 9
WL<br />
WAWG AT WORK<br />
Mark your calender<br />
The Risk Management Agency<br />
reminds producers of winter and<br />
spring sales closing dates for the<br />
Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI)<br />
programs, the Adjusted Gross<br />
Revenue Pilot (AGR) available in select<br />
Northwest counties and the Adjusted<br />
Gross Revenue-Lite (AGR-Lite) programs<br />
available throughout the Pacific<br />
Northwest. AGR and AGR-Lite cover<br />
most farm-raised crops, animals and<br />
animal products.<br />
Upcoming regional sales closing<br />
dates:<br />
•Jan. 31, 2012 - Final date to obtain<br />
or change AGR insurance in select<br />
counties in Idaho, Oregon and<br />
Washington. Final date to submit<br />
required documents to continue or<br />
change 2012 AGR-Lite insurance<br />
for EXISTING POLICY HOLDERS<br />
in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and<br />
Washington.<br />
•Feb. 1, 2012 - Final date to obtain<br />
or change crop insurance coverage<br />
for 2011 spring planted onions in<br />
Idaho, Oregon and Washington<br />
and cabbage in Oregon and<br />
Washington.<br />
•March 15, 2012 - Final date to obtain<br />
or change ALL OTHER spring<br />
seeded MPCI (excluding wheat<br />
in counties with fall and spring<br />
planted types). Also, the final date<br />
to obtain 2011 AGR-Lite insurance<br />
for NEW APPLICATION/<br />
ENROLLMENT POLICIES<br />
in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and<br />
Washington.<br />
Current policyholders and uninsured<br />
growers must make all of their<br />
decisions on crop insurance coverage,<br />
especially which crops to insure and<br />
which level and type of coverage to<br />
obtain, prior to the sales closing date.<br />
Note: Billing dates for federal crop insurance<br />
policies were changed effective for<br />
2012. Most billing dates were moved up to<br />
Aug. 15.<br />
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WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 11
POLICY MATTERS<br />
Agriculture<br />
vs. football<br />
Not really. But, with the recent<br />
signing of Mike Leach as the<br />
new WSU head football coach<br />
for $2 million annually while<br />
students pay higher tuition<br />
costs and programs like agriculture<br />
continue to battle funding<br />
cuts, many have<br />
wondered what’s<br />
going on. No,<br />
the WSU Athletic<br />
Department is not<br />
stealing money<br />
from the university’s<br />
general fund to<br />
pay for Leach. No, the college of<br />
ag is not hurting worse because<br />
of the new hire. In fact, the<br />
two don’t have anything to do<br />
with each other from a budget<br />
standpoint. It seems the “education”<br />
side of WSU has nothing<br />
to do with the “athletics” side.<br />
Specifically, WAWG will still<br />
be pounding the pavement in<br />
defense of WSU ag research<br />
funding in both Olympia and<br />
Washington, D.C., regardless of<br />
the new windfall in athletics.<br />
WSU is able to afford Leach<br />
because of a recent $3 billion<br />
PAC-12 television deal with Fox<br />
and ESPN. Because of equal revenue<br />
sharing, each of the PAC-12<br />
schools will eventually reap<br />
more than $20 million annually<br />
from the 12-year contract.<br />
As for the struggling backbone<br />
of education and research<br />
at WSU, as years progress, it<br />
may improve because of the<br />
Leach hire. Donor funds to<br />
WSU says NO to further cuts<br />
By Hope Bellie Tinney<br />
WSU News<br />
Washington State University administrators have not started working on a<br />
plan to make additional cuts to the WSU operating budget, said WSU Provost<br />
and Executive Vice President Warwick Bayly, because the 17 percent cut on the<br />
table is untenable.<br />
Bayly spoke with WSU’s Administrative Professional Advisory Council<br />
(APAC) in December, discussing a wide range of topics including shrinking<br />
budgets, increasing enrollment, differential tuition and the importance of athletics.<br />
But much of the discussion focused on the budget.<br />
In November, Governor Christine Gregoire proposed that the state’s four-year<br />
institutions take a 17 percent cut in the upcoming biennium budget as part of<br />
a plan to deal with a $2 billion shortfall. At WSU, where the operating budget<br />
already has fallen from $530 million to $260 million in the last four years, a 17<br />
percent cut would put WSU’s operating budget at $220 million.<br />
“The only thing we’ve said is that the governor’s proposal is unacceptable,”<br />
Bayly said. The governor called the Legislature into special session in November<br />
in the hope that it would pass the $2 billion in budget cuts before the holidays,<br />
but legislators were unable to accomplish the task.<br />
Bayly and WSU President Elson S. Floyd had both been scheduled to meet<br />
with APAC, but, Bayly said, the president had been called to Olympia by the<br />
governor.<br />
When asked if WSU’s stance—refusing to plan for a 17 percent cut—would<br />
exacerbate the difficulty of cuts later on, Bayly said the problem with creating a<br />
plan is that as soon as you do, the Legislature can decide the plan is a workable<br />
one, even if it isn’t.<br />
“We don’t have a plan because this (current proposal) doesn’t warrant a plan,”<br />
he said.<br />
Previous budget cuts have resulted in 570 positions lost, he said, out of a total<br />
workforce of more than 6,000 employees. Every job lost is devastating to the<br />
person who lost it, he said, but WSU has managed to limit job loss to about 10<br />
percent of the total workforce, even while the operating budget has dropped 50<br />
percent.<br />
“Can we continue doing that” he asked. “I don’t know; I don’t know.”<br />
As part of her budget proposal, the governor also has proposed a temporary<br />
half-cent sales tax that would bring in nearly $500 million in fiscal year 2013 and<br />
would expire in 2015. If approved, much of that money would be used to restore<br />
education funding.<br />
According to a story in a December Spokesman Review newspaper, Gregoire<br />
told reporters that she does not believe legislators will ask voters to approve the<br />
sales tax.<br />
12 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
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WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 13
WL<br />
POLICY MATTERS<br />
the university have substantially increased. According<br />
to KING 5 television out of Seattle, the WSU Foundation<br />
has seen a huge bump since the hiring. “It’s been a great<br />
windfall for the foundation for immediate gifts,” WSU<br />
Vice President for University Development Gil Picciotto<br />
told KING 5. He claimed the WSU Foundation took in<br />
more than $300,000 in less than a week after Leach’s hire<br />
was announced. The school also sold more than $200,000<br />
in season tickets within days, meaning Leach’s hiring<br />
prompted more than a half million dollars in revenue in<br />
the first week of his hire.<br />
Ag committee leaders talk<br />
timelines for 2012 Farm Bill<br />
From NAWG<br />
Agriculture leaders in Congress began opening up<br />
about their plans for the 2012 Farm Bill process.<br />
The leaders—and the ag community at large—have<br />
been examining options for renewing the law since attempts<br />
to attach a farm policy proposal to a debt reduction<br />
bill failed with the debt-deficit<br />
super committee last month.<br />
Senate Agriculture Committee<br />
Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow<br />
(D-Mich.) said Congress must<br />
complete the farm bill rewrite<br />
before the current bill expires.<br />
Speaking at the Farm Journal<br />
Forum in Washington, she said her<br />
Committee will resume hearings<br />
on farm bill issues this month,<br />
with the goal of having an “initial<br />
product” by spring.<br />
She also said 12 public hearings<br />
held in 2011 and the lessons<br />
learned from the super committee-related attempt “have<br />
helped us identify ways to streamline<br />
and strengthen programs<br />
to reduce the deficit and create<br />
agriculture jobs” and will be the<br />
framework for coming efforts.<br />
House Agriculture Chairman<br />
Frank Lucas (R-Okla.)<br />
Senate Agriculture Committee<br />
Chairwoman Debbie<br />
Stabenow (D-Mich.)<br />
In an interview with Oklahoma<br />
farm broadcaster Ron Hays, House<br />
Agriculture Chairman Frank<br />
Lucas (R-Okla.) noted Stabenow’s<br />
plans to hold hearings, but did not<br />
commit to do the same.<br />
He was generally positive about<br />
the package he and Stabenow negotiated prior to the super<br />
committee’s collapse—which has yet to be released publicly—and<br />
indicated the House’s schedule could mean an<br />
extension of current policy is needed.<br />
NAWG supports biotech<br />
regulatory certainty<br />
From NAWG<br />
NAWG and coalition partners recently submitted comments<br />
supporting full deregulation of biotech sugar beets<br />
and urging continued evolution of the regulatory process<br />
to address the court challenges that crop has faced.<br />
In individual and group comments, NAWG told USDA’s<br />
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that<br />
full deregulation of Roundup Ready sugar beets, which<br />
have been determined to be safe by a number of government<br />
reviews, would be the appropriate regulatory<br />
decision.<br />
Roundup Ready sugar beets were deregulated in 2005<br />
by USDA, but in 2010, a U.S. District Court judge ruled<br />
the Department should conduct a more extensive review,<br />
known as an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Since<br />
the court challenge was based on process and not safety,<br />
the widely-adopted crop was partially deregulated in<br />
early 2011, in time to allow farmers to plant it this growing<br />
season.<br />
In the Association’s individual statement, NAWG Chief<br />
Executive Officer Dana Peterson told regulators NAWG<br />
strongly believes growers should have the choice to plant<br />
new and safe agricultural technologies, and they should<br />
have access to a reliable regulatory process.<br />
“Farmers, processors and consumers should be able to<br />
count on biotech crop approvals issued by the experts in<br />
federal agencies,” she wrote.<br />
Policy on endangered species<br />
eligibility proposed<br />
From Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife News Bulletin<br />
A new proposed federal policy is intended to clarify<br />
which species or populations of species are eligible for<br />
protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).<br />
Public comments will be accepted for 60 days on the<br />
policy proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<br />
(USFWS) and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service,<br />
the two federal agencies responsible for administering the<br />
14 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
Transition Planning - Asset Protection<br />
Getting the next generation ready in today’s environment<br />
2012 Spokane Ag Expo-Farm Forum Schedule<br />
Tuesday, Feb. 7, Noon ............Succession Planning From A-Z<br />
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 1:30 pm .........Keeping The Farm In The Family, Session 1<br />
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 3 pm ............Keeping The Farm In The Family, Session 2<br />
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 10:30 am .....Overview Of Elder Law & Estate Planning<br />
Wednesday, Feb. 8, Noon .........Keeping The Farm In The Family, Session 3<br />
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 1:30 pm ......Keeping The Farm In The Family, Session 4<br />
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 3 pm .........Farm Taxes and Planning A Secure Retirement<br />
Thursday, Feb. 9, 10:30 am .......Wind Energy, Water Law, Real Estate & More<br />
Thursday, Feb. 9, Noon ...........<strong>Life</strong> Insurance And Money-Keep It Simple<br />
(Schedule subject to change, refer to seminar listings at Ag Expo Show)<br />
Other Brock Law Firm<br />
Seminars Coming Up:<br />
Quincy, Wash.<br />
Thursday, Jan. 19, 9 am<br />
Grant Co. Fire District<br />
Dayton, Wash.<br />
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 8:30 am<br />
The Weinhard Hotel<br />
(Call Lauren at 509-622-4707 for info<br />
or to RSVP for these seminars)<br />
Jan. 25, AMMO-Davenport, Wash.<br />
1:00 pm, Memorial Hall<br />
Jan. 26, AMMO-Colfax, Wash.<br />
1:00 pm, Palouse Empire Fairgrounds<br />
Over 40 Years Serving Inland Northwest Farming Clients<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong> life_bw.pdf 1 11/21/11 3:40 PM<br />
Corey F. Brock<br />
Spokane-Kennewick<br />
509-622-4707<br />
Norman D. Brock<br />
Davenport<br />
509-725-3101<br />
Northwest’s Largest Ag Show<br />
NORTHWEST AGRICULTURE<br />
SHOW<br />
It’s the 2nd largest Ag Show west of the Mississippi with the best<br />
and brightest in NW Ag on display. Talk to industry professionals<br />
and specialists. Check out what’s new in equipment, products and<br />
services. Participate in our first-ever industry-shaping roundtable<br />
discussions. Bring the entire family on Family Day, Wednesday,<br />
January 25th! One $15 ticket gets the whole family in the door!<br />
Celebrate NW Agriculture…don’t miss the NW Ag Show!<br />
FFA<br />
Equipment<br />
Contest<br />
See What<br />
Tomorrow’s<br />
Farmers Are<br />
Working On<br />
PORTLAND EXPO CENTER<br />
JAN 24-26<br />
Tues 10-6 • Wed 10-9<br />
Thur 10-5<br />
EVERYTHING FOR<br />
EVERY FARMER<br />
UNDER ONE ROOF<br />
THE REGION’S#1 SHOW FOR<br />
AGRIBUSINESS PROFESSIONALS<br />
Hundreds Of On-Site Meetings<br />
Exhibitors<br />
& Seminars<br />
Farm equipment, supplies, Dozens of industry and<br />
products & services<br />
business building meetings<br />
at the Expo Center!<br />
Safety Zone<br />
Check out the “Safety Zone”<br />
interactive displays and<br />
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take a look into<br />
NW FARMING’S PAST<br />
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One $15 ticket gets the whole<br />
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For Detailed Information Visit:<br />
nwagshow.com<br />
Sponsored by: Oregon Association of Nurseries,<br />
Oregon Horticultural Society & Nut Growers Society<br />
of Oregon, Washington & British Columbia.<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 15
WL<br />
POLICY MATTERS<br />
To-may-to, to-maa-to<br />
Earmarks were the dirty word of 2010. While some<br />
call them “pet project” funds (think wooden arrows and<br />
bridges to nowhere), agencies like the U.S. Army Corps of<br />
Engineers (Corps) use the funds for maintenance projects.<br />
Specifically, many of the earmark funds went to maintain<br />
projects along the Columbia-Snake River System.<br />
Earmarks help cover projects that are not included in the<br />
President’s budget. Even the most conservative members<br />
Endangered Species Act.<br />
The proposed policy, the agencies say, will define the<br />
key phrase “significant portion of its range” in the ESA<br />
and “provide consistency for how it should be applied,<br />
aiding the agencies in making decisions on whether to<br />
add or remove species from the federal list of threatened<br />
and endangered wildlife and plants.”<br />
The phrase is not defined in the ESA, but appears in the<br />
statutory definitions of “endangered species” and “threatened<br />
species” in the ESA. The policy would clarify that<br />
the USFWS and NOAA Fisheries could list a species if it<br />
is endangered or threatened in a “significant portion of its<br />
range,” even if that species is not endangered or threatened<br />
throughout all its range.<br />
Under the proposed policy, a portion of the range of<br />
any given species would be defined as “significant” if its<br />
contribution to the viability of the species is so important<br />
that, without that portion, the species would be in danger<br />
of extinction.<br />
While the agencies say they expect this circumstance<br />
to arise infrequently, this policy interpretation will allow<br />
ESA protections to help species in trouble before largescale<br />
decline occurs throughout the species’ entire range.<br />
“This proposed interpretation will provide consistency<br />
and clarity for the services and our partners, while making<br />
more effective use of our resources and improving<br />
our ability to protect and recover species before they are<br />
on the brink of extinction,” said USFWS Director Dan<br />
Ashe. “By taking action to protect imperiled native fish,<br />
wildlife and plants, we can ensure a healthy future for our<br />
communities and protect treasured landscapes for future<br />
generations.”<br />
“A clear and consistent policy will help our partners<br />
and improve the process of evaluating species status<br />
under the Endangered Species Act,” said Eric Schwaab,<br />
NOAA’s assistant administrator for Fisheries.<br />
16 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
Industry, work, character,<br />
honesty, and fair dealings.<br />
You will find all of these at our Spokane Ag Expo booth.<br />
We look forward to the opportunity to visit<br />
about things we both believe in…<br />
the future success of your farming operation.<br />
www.mcgregor.com<br />
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pass to the last, you now have the perfect quarterback for running all of your precision<br />
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savings. Now with four-product VRA.<br />
WINNING POINTS<br />
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From integrated GPS technology, advance data mapping<br />
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assisted steering and planter controls, Envizio Pro<br />
II works seamlessly to deliver higher efficiency and performance.<br />
Doing More With Less. Packed with the latest in advanced<br />
computer software and RTK technology, Envizio Pro II brings<br />
a new level of accuracy and control to every aspect of your game. That means greater savings<br />
in farm inputs—and greater efficiency and productivity from planting to harvest.<br />
Built To Grow. Ready to accommodate your every farming need—and let you add to your<br />
system’s capabilities when the time is right. Compatible with commonly used industry software<br />
and equipment.<br />
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✓Integrated dual-frequency GPS receiver,<br />
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✓ Specially trained to quarterback Raven’s<br />
powerful OmniRow advanced planter control<br />
system with ease<br />
✓ Works seamlessly with Raven’s new<br />
SmartYield TM yield monitoring system for<br />
superior crop management capability<br />
✓ Slingshot-ready for wireless RTK corrections,<br />
data transfer, remote support capabilities,<br />
high-speed Internet access and more<br />
✓Complete multi-function capabilities for<br />
improving every stage of your operation<br />
✓ Multi-product control for added efficiency,<br />
including direct injection<br />
✓NEW four-product VRA for more precise planter<br />
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✓ Real-time data mapping, field reports and<br />
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Raven Open House<br />
Thursday, Feb. 23. Join us!<br />
(Includes Free Lunch)<br />
RSVP at (800) 477-7729<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 17
WL<br />
POLICY MATTERS<br />
of Congress understand these funds are vital for necessary<br />
projects. In a public relations spin, Congress is now calling<br />
them “additional funding” or “policy riders” rather than<br />
their negative predecessor. Even though the Republican<br />
conferences in both chambers adopted temporary earmark<br />
moratoriums in 2010, members are still attaching individual<br />
funding projects to legislation.<br />
Some are working to stop it completely. Sen. Claire<br />
McCaskill (D-Mo.) said the moratoriums still contain loopholes,<br />
and the recent defense spending bill that passed<br />
includes a number of earmarks. McCaskill and Sen. Pat<br />
Toomey (R-Penn.) are pushing a permanent earmark ban<br />
by creating a new Senate rule granting every senator the<br />
power to challenge any bill containing earmarks. A twothirds<br />
majority of the Senate would be required to overrule<br />
the challenge.<br />
Meanwhile, on the PNW home front, the additional<br />
funding is working in favor of the Corps and<br />
Washington’s river system. Recently, the House approved<br />
their FY2012 Energy & Water appropriations bill which<br />
calls for additional funding in the General Investigations,<br />
Construction and Operations & Maintenance accounts to<br />
be made available to the Corps, with the Administration<br />
having discretion over how these additional monies are<br />
spent. The Senate followed the same pattern, but with<br />
more funding proposed.<br />
Protect Your Investment<br />
For more information,contact an Authorized Meridian Dealer near you:<br />
Boise, ID Marian at Bratney Companies (800) 853-5926<br />
Caldwell, ID Larry at Superior Steel (800) 743-9550<br />
Lewiston, ID Ken at Primeland Cooperatives (208) 743-8551<br />
Legrande, OR Tim at Wallender Farm Service (541) 910-7800<br />
Ontario, OR Leon at Leon James Construction Company Inc. (541) 889-6483<br />
Cheney, WA Dale at AG Enterprise Supply Inc. (800) 782-7786<br />
Colfax, WA Joe at The McGregor Company (800) 727-9160<br />
Kalama, WA John at ABM Equipment (503) 248-0711<br />
Moses Lake, WA Phil or Ryan at Farm Chem (509) 764-9396<br />
Spokane, WA Tom at Keigley & Co. (800) 333-4889<br />
Spokane, WA Michael Dunlap & Associates (509) 844-4695<br />
Spokane Valley, WA Tom at Bratney Companies (800) 853-5926<br />
The value of seed and fertilizer continues to grow – Protect your investment with<br />
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see the newest evolution of storage to fit all your on-farm needs.<br />
18 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
POLICY MATTERS WL<br />
Jetties at top of list<br />
According to the Pacific Northwest Waterways<br />
Association (PNWA), the President’s FY2012 budget<br />
included $750K for completion of the Mouth of the<br />
Columbia River Jetties’ major rehab report, which is due<br />
to be complete in March 2012 for FY2014 budget submittal.<br />
PNWA is also advocating for unfunded jetty needs as<br />
the House and Senate continue their appropriations work.<br />
PNWA is also advocating for funding in the FY2013 budget<br />
and is working with the Portland District to support<br />
their completion of the rehab study. WAWG is a member<br />
of PNWA and supports maintaining and repairing the<br />
jetties. The maintenance of the jetties is vital to keeping<br />
international trade moving from the Pacific Northwest<br />
port system.<br />
Proudly Serving The Inland<br />
Northwest Farm Community<br />
For More Than 70 Years<br />
• Farm Corporations • Real Estate<br />
• Water Rights • Farm Estate Planning<br />
• Elder Law • Probate<br />
• Agribusiness Planning<br />
Visit our booth at Spokane Ag Expo!<br />
Davenport, WA Odessa, WA Ritzville, WA<br />
509-725-4100 509-982-2672 509-659-0425<br />
Fairfield, WA Rosalia, WA St. John, WA<br />
509-283-4223 509-523-5809 509-684-3683<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 19
WL<br />
FEATURE<br />
Playing<br />
with a full deck<br />
As a helpful tool to our farmers, landlords and industry<br />
representatives, we use the January issue of <strong>Wheat</strong> <strong>Life</strong> as<br />
a playbook of sorts on our state and national delegates. As<br />
you review Washington’s key policymakers, don’t hesitate to<br />
contact WAWG or the delegates directly with your comments,<br />
concerns and ideas about state and national policy. Your voice is<br />
heard, and it can make an impact on each decision being made<br />
in both capitols. We urge you to connect with us and them!<br />
20 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
The Washington, D.C., hand<br />
FEATURE WL<br />
a<br />
]<br />
Sen. Maria CANTWEll (D)<br />
First elected to office:<br />
Nov. 7, 2000<br />
(888) 648-7328<br />
311 Hart<br />
Senate Office Building<br />
Washington, DC 20510<br />
a<br />
]<br />
Sen. pATTY MURRAY (D)<br />
First elected to office:<br />
Dec. 3, 1992<br />
(866) 481-9186<br />
448 Russell<br />
Senate Office Building<br />
Washington, DC 20510<br />
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation<br />
Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security-Chair<br />
Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export<br />
Promotion<br />
Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and Internet<br />
Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast<br />
Guard<br />
Subcommittee on Science and Space<br />
Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine<br />
Infrastructure, Safety and Security<br />
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources<br />
Subcommittee on Energy - Chair<br />
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests<br />
Subcommittee on Water and Power<br />
Senate Committee on Finance<br />
Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and<br />
Infrastructure<br />
Subcommittee on Health Care<br />
Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight<br />
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs<br />
Senate Committee on Small Business and<br />
Entrepreneurship<br />
a<br />
]<br />
Secretary of the Democratic Conference<br />
Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction<br />
Senate Committee on Appropriations<br />
Subcommittee on Defense<br />
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development<br />
Subcommittee on Homeland Security<br />
Subcommittee on Military Construction & Veterans’ Affairs, and<br />
Related Agencies<br />
Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban<br />
Development, and Related Agencies - Chair<br />
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human<br />
Services, Education, and Related Agencies<br />
Senate Committee on the Budget<br />
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and<br />
Pensions<br />
Subcommittee on Children and Families<br />
Subcommittee on Employment & Workplace<br />
Safety - Chair<br />
Senate Committee on Rules & Administration<br />
Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs - Chair<br />
a<br />
]<br />
a<br />
[<br />
Rep. Doc<br />
HASTINGS (R)<br />
Chelan, Douglas, Grant,<br />
Yakima, Benton, Kittitas,<br />
Klickitat, Franklin counties<br />
First elected to office:<br />
Nov. 1, 1994<br />
(202) 225-5816<br />
1203 Longworth HOB<br />
Washington, DC 20515<br />
House Committee on Natural Resources<br />
- Chair<br />
a<br />
[<br />
a<br />
}<br />
Rep. Rick lARSEN (D)<br />
Whatcom, Skagit,<br />
Snohomish, King counties<br />
First elected to office:<br />
Nov. 7, 2000<br />
(202) 225-2605<br />
108 Cannon HOB<br />
Washington, DC 20515<br />
House Committee on Transportation and<br />
Infrastructure<br />
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime<br />
Transportation - Ranking Minority Member<br />
Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and<br />
Hazardous Materials<br />
House Committee on Armed Services<br />
House Defense Business Panel - Ranking<br />
Minority Member<br />
Subcommittee on Seapower and<br />
Projection Forces<br />
Subcommittee on Strategic Forces<br />
a<br />
}<br />
a<br />
[<br />
Rep. Jaime<br />
HERRERA BEUTler (R)<br />
Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis,<br />
Pacific, Skamania, Thurston,<br />
Wahkiakum counties<br />
First elected to office:<br />
Nov. 2, 2010<br />
(202) 225-3536<br />
1130 Longworth HOB<br />
Washington, DC 20515<br />
House Committee on Transportation and<br />
Infrastructure<br />
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit<br />
Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and<br />
Hazardous Materials<br />
Subcommittee on Water Resources<br />
and Environment<br />
House Committee on Small Business<br />
Subcommittee on Healthcare and<br />
Technology<br />
Subcommittee on Investigations,<br />
Oversight and Regulations<br />
a<br />
[<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 21
WL<br />
a<br />
[<br />
a<br />
}<br />
FEATURE<br />
Rep. Cathy<br />
McMORRIS RODGERS (R)<br />
Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens,<br />
Pend Oreille, Spokane, Lincoln,<br />
Adams, Whitman, Walla Walla,<br />
Columbia, Garfield, Asotin<br />
counties<br />
First elected to office:<br />
Nov. 2, 2004<br />
(202) 225-2006<br />
2421 Rayburn HOB<br />
Washington, DC 20515<br />
Vice Chair Republican Conference<br />
House Committee on Energy and Commerce<br />
Subcommittee on Energy and Power<br />
Subcommittee on Environment and<br />
Economy<br />
Subcommittee on Health<br />
Rep. Jim McDERMOTT (D)<br />
King County<br />
First elected to office:<br />
Nov. 8, 1988<br />
(202) 225-3106<br />
1035 Longworth HOB<br />
Washington, DC 20515<br />
a<br />
[<br />
House Committee on Ways and Means<br />
Subcommittee on Human Resources<br />
Subcommittee on Oversight<br />
Subcommittee on Trade - Ranking Minority<br />
Member<br />
a<br />
}<br />
Rep. Norm DICKS (D)<br />
Clallam, Jefferson, Gray’s<br />
Harbor, Mason counties<br />
First elected to office:<br />
Nov. 2, 1976<br />
(202) 225-5916<br />
2467 Rayburn HOB<br />
Washington, DC 20515<br />
House Committee on Appropriations - Ranking<br />
Minority Member<br />
Subcommittee on Defense - Ranking Minority<br />
Member<br />
a<br />
}<br />
a<br />
}<br />
Rep. ADAM SMITH (D)<br />
King, Thurston counties<br />
a<br />
}<br />
Rep. Jay Inslee (D)<br />
King, Kitsap, Snohomish<br />
counties<br />
First elected to office:<br />
Nov. 3, 1998<br />
(202) 225-6311<br />
2329 Rayburn HOB<br />
Washington, DC 20515<br />
House Committee on Energy and Commerce<br />
Subcommittee on Energy and Power<br />
First elected to office:<br />
Nov. 5, 1996<br />
(202) 225-8901<br />
2402 Rayburn HOB<br />
Washington, DC 20515 a<br />
[<br />
Rep. Dave REICHERT (R)<br />
House Committee on Armed Services -<br />
Ranking Minority Member<br />
a<br />
}<br />
King, Pierce counties<br />
First elected to office:<br />
Nov. 2, 2004<br />
(202) 225-7761<br />
1730 Longworth HOB<br />
Washington, DC 20515<br />
House Committee on Ways and Means<br />
Subcommittee on Health<br />
Subcommittee on Trade<br />
a<br />
}<br />
a<br />
}<br />
a<br />
[<br />
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WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 23
WL<br />
FEATURE<br />
The Olympia hand<br />
2011/12 House Leadership<br />
Democratic Caucus<br />
Republican Caucus<br />
Speaker<br />
Rep. Frank<br />
Chopp<br />
Seattle<br />
Majority<br />
Leader Rep.<br />
Pat Sullivan<br />
Auburn<br />
Minority<br />
Leader<br />
Rep. Richard<br />
DeBolt<br />
Chehalis<br />
Deputy<br />
Minority<br />
Leader Rep.<br />
Joel Kretz<br />
Omak<br />
Majority<br />
Caucus Chair<br />
Rep. Eric<br />
Pettigrew<br />
Seattle<br />
Majority<br />
Whip Rep.<br />
Kevin Van<br />
De Wege<br />
Sequim<br />
Minority<br />
Caucus Chair<br />
Rep. Dan<br />
Kristiansen<br />
Snohomish<br />
Minority<br />
Whip Rep.<br />
Bill Hinkle<br />
Ellensburg<br />
Majority Floor<br />
Leader Rep.<br />
Tami Green<br />
University Place<br />
Minority Floor<br />
Leader Rep.<br />
Charles Ross<br />
Yakima<br />
Democratic Caucus<br />
2011/12 Senate Leadership<br />
Lieutenant<br />
Governor<br />
Brad<br />
Owen,<br />
President<br />
of the<br />
Senate<br />
Republican Caucus<br />
Majority<br />
Leader<br />
Lisa Brown<br />
Spokane<br />
Majority<br />
Caucus<br />
Chair Karen<br />
Fraser<br />
Olympia<br />
Republican<br />
Leader<br />
Mike<br />
Hewitt<br />
Walla Walla<br />
Republican<br />
Caucus<br />
Chair Linda<br />
Evans<br />
Parlette<br />
Wenatchee<br />
Majority<br />
Floor Leader<br />
Tracey J. Eide<br />
Federal Way<br />
Majority<br />
Whip<br />
Nick Harper<br />
Everett<br />
Republican<br />
Floor Leader<br />
Mark Schoesler<br />
Ritzville<br />
Republican<br />
Whip Doug<br />
Ericksen<br />
Bellingham<br />
24 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
2011/12 Senate<br />
Committees<br />
Senate Agriculture,<br />
Water & Rural<br />
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Development-<br />
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Senate Ways &<br />
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Committees<br />
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WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 25
WL<br />
FEATURE<br />
Do political action committees work<br />
While political action committees are as pungent sounding<br />
as lemon juice, they do work. The passing of last fall’s<br />
Initiative 1183 by almost 60 percent is simple proof.<br />
The measure called for closing state liquor<br />
stores and allowing state licensing of private<br />
parties. The initiative called for a 17 percent<br />
fee from retailers on all liquor sales, as well<br />
as other fees from distributors. The state office<br />
estimated that the 2011 initiative could<br />
generate an extra $42 million a year for the<br />
state and $38 million for local government<br />
over the span of six years. According to<br />
proponents, the proposed measure would<br />
generate $200 million more than the current<br />
system for both state and local governments<br />
in the measure’s first two years of enactment.<br />
Supporters included Costco Wholesale<br />
Corp., the Northwest Grocery Association,<br />
Washington Restaurant Association,<br />
Washington Retail Association and Attorney<br />
General Rob McKenna.<br />
The opposition argued that the vague<br />
wording in the initiative would lead to minimarts<br />
having the ability to sell hard alcohol.<br />
They argued that it would lead to more<br />
alcohol availability and the ruin of small<br />
liquor store businesses. Opposition included the Wine and<br />
Spirits Wholesalers of America, Rosauers, the Washington<br />
Food Industry Association and Governor Christine<br />
Gregoire.<br />
By the end of the campaign, voters heard a smattering<br />
of television ads with local public safety officers on both<br />
sides of the argument. Both sides were disputing the others’<br />
“facts,” and voters were ultimately confused on who<br />
Top Political Action Committees in Washington<br />
(monies raised as of December 2011)<br />
Washington Education Association ..........................$1.1 million<br />
Washington Beer & Wine Distributors Association ..............$846,700<br />
Realtors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$683,400<br />
Washington State Dental ......................................$383,200<br />
Service Employees International Union Local 925 ..............$291,400<br />
Stand for Children Washington ................................$263,500<br />
Help Us Help Taxpayers .......................................$250,200<br />
Farmers Employees and Agents ...............................$236,200<br />
Washington Teamsters ........................................$234,500<br />
Washington Restaurant Association ...........................$219,200<br />
The race for governor: Who’s got more money<br />
(as of December 2011)<br />
Rob McKenna (R) .............................................$3 million<br />
Jay Inslee (D) ...............................................$2.5 million<br />
was telling the truth. In the end, the overwhelming passage<br />
may have had more to do with the amount of money<br />
behind each campaign and whose message was heard<br />
more often. Supporters of I-1183 raised more than $22 million<br />
and the opposition raised about $12 million.<br />
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26 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
WL<br />
FEATURE<br />
Global<br />
Demand,<br />
Local<br />
Impact<br />
What CAuSES FERTILIzer PRICE VOLATILITy<br />
AND WHAT TO exPECT THIS yEAR<br />
By Kara Rowe<br />
It’s not news that 2012 fertilizer prices will not only be<br />
volatile, they’ll most likely be higher than last year. Put<br />
simply, because commodity prices have remained relatively<br />
good, farmers throughout the nation have not cut<br />
their production or their demand for inputs. Demand for<br />
fertilizer is high, so prices remain high. 2011 was higher<br />
than 2010, and experts don’t expect that to change for 2012.<br />
In 2011, ammonia prices increased 24 percent, urea was<br />
up 40 percent, liquid nitrogen rose 32 percent, phosphorus<br />
was up 18 percent and potash leaped 38 percent according<br />
to Ag Economist Barry Ward of Ohio State University.<br />
Ward told Farm and Dairy that he expects a slight to<br />
moderate increase this winter and spring in the price of<br />
fertilizer if demand continues at the same rate.<br />
Fertilizer manufacturer The Mosaic Company agreed<br />
Cranes unloading a ship of urea.<br />
that the<br />
demand for<br />
fertilizer, particularly potash, reflects<br />
an effort among the world’s farmers to increase yields as<br />
crop prices remain relatively high. Their 2012/13 crop year<br />
estimations indicate that global wheat acreage could rise 4<br />
percent from last year. Farmers throughout the world need<br />
some type of nutrient base to increase productivity.<br />
While we tend to think locally, in actuality, a farmer in<br />
Prescott, Wash., is not only competing with his neighbor<br />
for the best fertilizer prices, but also with a farmer in<br />
Punjab, India. This demand is profiting well for the manufacturers.<br />
Mosaic received an average of $446/metric ton<br />
of potash in its first 2012 fiscal quarter, up from $331 in the<br />
same period a year ago. The company estimated potash<br />
prices for the second quarter at $440-$465/metric ton. For<br />
its phosphate products, Mosaic received $576/metric ton in<br />
the first quarter, compared with $431 in the same period<br />
a year ago. Phosphate prices for the second quarter were<br />
predicted to be at $600-$625/metric ton.<br />
Bill Bienapfl of WestLink Ag Cooperative Corporation<br />
agreed that the future prices of fertilizer go well beyond<br />
the local co-ops and fertilizer shops. “I look at what’s going<br />
on globally. Are there major fertilizer suppliers down<br />
Are major countries, such as India, taking what they<br />
normally buy or are they holding back And what are the<br />
reasons You have to look at all that,” he said. WestLink is<br />
a nonprofit corporation which helps source fertilizer and<br />
chemicals for their 31 members, including Ag Enterprise<br />
of Eastern Washington. “As a group, we can compete with<br />
the bigger outfits, like CPS, Wilbur-Ellis, McGregor.”<br />
Bienapfl graduated from Boise State and has been in the<br />
chemical industry since the 1960s. He’s seen input markets<br />
rise and fall over the years, but he said one thing remains<br />
28 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
FEATURE WL<br />
the same: fertilizer price is determined by supply and<br />
demand. With that said, however, manufacturers must<br />
realize that farmers tend to stick to their guns regardless<br />
of what the crop pays.<br />
“Just because a farmer is scheduled to make a lot of<br />
money does not mean he thinks the sky is the limit on<br />
buying fertilizer,” Bienapfl said. “Every farmer has a set<br />
price on NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium/potash),<br />
and they will use that set price point 100 percent.”<br />
Bienapfl agreed there is, however, one similarity between<br />
most farmers. “The last place they’ll cut is nitrogen.<br />
But, they will cut all their inputs if they deem the price<br />
is too high. It doesn’t matter if they make $2 or $200 per<br />
acre. Manufacturers don’t get it. Manufacturers look out<br />
their windows and see equipment. Farmers look out their<br />
windows and see soil and there’s an emotion. It’s a philosophical<br />
difference. Farmers have a different feel for what<br />
they’re doing. Growing a crop is much more an emotional<br />
thing than manufacturing a fertilizer.”<br />
Through his tenure, Bienapfl believes this philosophical<br />
difference is why, at times, there seems to be a rub between<br />
manufacturers and farmers. In fact, farmers quickly<br />
notice that when their commodity prices rise, so do input<br />
costs. It doesn’t take a nuclear physicist to realize there<br />
must be some playing of the system by manufacturers<br />
to get the most for their products. While this may be the<br />
case in some instances, the fertilizer market is no different<br />
than the commodity market. There are global players,<br />
global suppliers and global users. New Orleans is the<br />
main entry point for fertilizer coming into North America.<br />
Manufacturers know what’s coming into the country and<br />
what’s happening around the world.<br />
“Manufacturers set the prices, and you will always see<br />
their bullish nature when commodity prices are higher,<br />
like this year,” said Bienapfl. “Commodities were high.<br />
Because of those prices, the manufacturers believe farmers<br />
will buy 110 percent of what they need. What comes first,<br />
the chicken or the egg” He added that just like in Wall<br />
Street, speculators play a role in fertilizer rates. “Recently,<br />
the price of urea at New Orleans dropped $80 per ton in<br />
a week. Like so many commodities, you have speculators.<br />
Speculators buy barges of fertilizer. When they deem<br />
things will soften, they offload them. There’s a sudden<br />
mass supply on the market, and the price drops.”<br />
Experts warn, however, that our global economy will<br />
also play a key role in fertilizer pricing. If the economy<br />
goes into a recession in the U.S. or Europe, farmers may<br />
face lower commodity prices, creating less of a demand,<br />
meaning lower prices. Bienapfl believes that’s a stretch.<br />
“In my old age, the bigger the perceived problem, the<br />
less likely it will happen. With the Greece and Europe<br />
situation, I believe countries will step in. Farmers will continue<br />
to plant. There’s not a farmer on earth who likes to<br />
see his soil empty. One thing this country has done is keep<br />
people fed. If you keep people fed, you keep people happy.<br />
Happy people equal stable markets.”<br />
For now, Bienapfl isn’t worried about supply, and he<br />
believes once the EU settles down, prices will lose their<br />
volatility. “People are worried about the EU, which caused<br />
a temporary downturn on urea. It may last a week or a<br />
month, but at some point, everybody will start filling storages.<br />
Once that happens you will see price firming.”<br />
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WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 29
WL<br />
FEATURE<br />
Where does our fertilizer come from<br />
In the U.S., nitrogen, phosphorus<br />
and potassium/potash are the<br />
standard NPK fertilizer combination<br />
most people know. They are considered<br />
the macronutrients, or most<br />
important. But most farmers use other<br />
elements as well to improve the<br />
health of their soil. Sulfur, calcium<br />
and magnesium are considered<br />
secondary nutrients. Boron, cobalt,<br />
copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum<br />
and zinc are micronutrients.<br />
There is some confusion as to<br />
whether fertilizers are natural. The<br />
simple answer is yes. The three main<br />
ingredients in fertilizer—nitrogen,<br />
potassium and phosphorus—come<br />
from nature; they are not manmade.<br />
Fertilizer companies simply convert<br />
them into a form that plants can use.<br />
Fertilizer manufacturers can blend<br />
nutrients into precise combinations<br />
to match the unique needs of<br />
different farms, crops and fields. In<br />
this way, farmers can feed their soils<br />
with the most effective and efficient<br />
blend of potassium, phosphorus and<br />
nitrogen to achieve optimal yields.<br />
Here are some other great fertilizer<br />
facts from our friends at the<br />
Canadian Fertilizer Institute:<br />
Where does phosphorus come<br />
from<br />
Phosphorus used in fertilizers<br />
comes from the fossilized remains of<br />
ancient marine life found in rock deposits<br />
in the U.S. and other parts of<br />
the world. This raw ore is processed<br />
to create water-soluble compounds<br />
that make the phosphorus available<br />
to plants as a nutrient.<br />
Phosphorus helps early plant<br />
health and root growth. It is involved<br />
in seed germination and<br />
ensures plants use water efficiently.<br />
Phosphorus is the plant world’s<br />
equivalent of carbohydrates—it<br />
Phosphate mining in the West African country of Togo.<br />
provides the energy that a plant needs to grow.<br />
Where does potassium come from<br />
Potassium is the seventh most abundant element in the earth’s crust. Through<br />
natural processes, it is filtered into the planet’s seas and oceans. As these bodies<br />
of water evaporate over time, they leave behind mineral deposits. Fertilizer<br />
companies mine potassium from these deposits.<br />
Potassium is a mineral that helps crops fight stress and disease. It helps plants<br />
grow strong stalks, in the same way that calcium gives people strong bones.<br />
Where does nitrogen come from<br />
The air all around us contains huge amounts of nitrogen. In fact, nitrogen<br />
makes up about 78 percent of the atmosphere. Fertilizer producers combine<br />
nitrogen with natural gas to change it into a form that plants can digest.<br />
Nitrogen is nitrogen, whether it’s used by plants, animals or people. It is a key<br />
element in protein. Like the human body, plants need nitrogen to grow. Often<br />
used in greater amounts than other nutrients, nitrogen helps make plants green<br />
and plays a major role in boosting yields.<br />
Aren’t organic foods better because they’re grown without fertilizer<br />
Actually, most organic growers use fertilizer too. It’s made from different<br />
ingredients though, such as livestock manure or sewage sludge. However, these<br />
natural fertilizers are not available in sufficient quantities to meet the demands<br />
of today’s high-yield farming nor do they provide nutrients in the fine-tuned<br />
combinations possible with commercial fertilizers. For example, using enough<br />
manure to provide an adequate supply of nitrogen would mean adding four to<br />
five times more potassium and phosphorus than a crop needs. So it’s easy to<br />
over- or under-fertilize in this type of farming.<br />
30 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
Have wheat, will travel<br />
Photos BY TRISTA CROSSLEY AND GLEN SqUIRES<br />
What does it take to get your grain from the local elevator to the customer<br />
For most PNW wheat, it is sent to an export facilities in the Lower<br />
Columbia River via train or barge, where it is inspected thoroughly and loaded<br />
into vast, ocean-going ships from all over the world. The 2011 Washington<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong> Export Tour & Quality Workshop, hosted by the Washington Grain<br />
Commission, took a few lucky farmers, landlords and agency officials and<br />
showed them how that journey happens. The tour made stops at Bonneville<br />
Dam, Franz Bakery, Columbia Grain Export Terminal along the Willamette<br />
River, the Federal Grain Inspection Service and the <strong>Wheat</strong> Marketing Center<br />
in Portland. Several speakers, such as the river and bar pilots, also spoke to<br />
the group. The trip was capped off by a tugboat ride where the group got to<br />
see the grain-loading process in action.<br />
At the Federal Grain Inspection Service in Portland, Jerry<br />
Kuseck demonstrates how samples from shipments are<br />
weighed and checked for moisture and dockage, analyzed<br />
for protein content and tested for vomitoxin. The samples are<br />
labeled and kept for at least 90 days. FGIS must give approval<br />
before grain is loaded on a ship.<br />
At the <strong>Wheat</strong> Marketing Center in Portland, different wheat<br />
classes are tested for different end uses, such as breads,<br />
crackers and noodles. The center offers educational courses<br />
and provides research to wheat buyers, processors and sellers.<br />
Here, Bon Lee explains milling to Wade and Jens Foged.<br />
(Above) The ocean-going vessel Wadi Alkarnak out of Alexandria loads wheat at the Irving<br />
export terminal. The tour group was fortunate enough to get a tug boat ride up the Willamette<br />
River from the Shaver Transportation company. (Right) Tour participants learn the intricacies<br />
and challenges of export terminal operations inside the “brain center” of Columbia Grain Inc.’s<br />
terminal in Portland, Ore.
At the <strong>Wheat</strong> Marketing<br />
Center in Portland,<br />
an alveograph is used to<br />
measure gluten strength of<br />
doughs made out of different<br />
classes of wheat. A ball<br />
of dough is placed on the<br />
alveograph and is blown<br />
into a bubble. Stronger<br />
gluten flour requires more<br />
force to blow the bubble.<br />
In the captain’s deck of the tug, Washington Grain Commission Chairman Tom Zwainz (left)<br />
and Washington Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers President Eric Maier share a laugh. The two<br />
organizations have worked together on projects as the Washington Grain Alliance for a<br />
number of years.<br />
“Putting the whole process together,” said Jeanne Schmitz (left) when asked what stood<br />
out on the tour for her. “There’s almost a whole second phase after we ship the grain.”<br />
Jeanne and her husband Joe (middle, in the red cap) and Brad Bowers (right) watch a barge<br />
unloading grain at the Columbia Grain Export Terminal.<br />
Another machine used at the <strong>Wheat</strong> Marketing Center, the extensigraph,<br />
determines the resistance and extensibility of a dough by<br />
measuring the force required to stretch the dough until it breaks.<br />
Looking on are Katie Walters (left) of Walla Walla, WAWG President<br />
Eric Maier (center) and Mike Quest (right) of Ritzville.<br />
(Above) WGC Vice President Glen Squires (left) looks on as Dee Hale from the USDA’s Foreign Ag<br />
Service and Eve and Randy Fortenbery of Pullman demonstrate how different ingredients and the<br />
type of flour used in commercial breads can affect the breads’ appearance and floppiness. (Left) Tour<br />
participants also got an up-close and personal look at the Bonneville Dam lock system.<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong> farmers interested in attending next years’ tour, please contact Glen Squires at<br />
the Washington Grain Commission to reserve your spot: 509-456-2481.
WL PROFILES<br />
Scott Barr<br />
Farmer, rancher, legislator and philanthropist<br />
By Kevin Gaffney<br />
As the current crop of elected officials wrestle with the<br />
budget deficit problems of Washington state, Scott Barr,<br />
former house and senate member, is satisfied to be retired<br />
from politics. At age 95, Barr still manages his farm and<br />
ranch interests from his home in the Colville valley.<br />
Still active and well-spoken, Barr agreed to sit down and<br />
talk about his life and his career in farming, ranching and<br />
politics.<br />
Barr was born in 1916 and was raised on the breaks<br />
of the Snake River in southern Whitman County near<br />
Hooper, Wash.<br />
His years growing up were not easy ones, as he vividly<br />
remembers tough times during the Great Depression.<br />
The oldest son, Barr attended country schools, but only<br />
sporadically after the age of twelve as he was needed at<br />
home on the farm, living on the land previously lost to<br />
foreclosure.<br />
“The sons in most farm families didn’t go to school<br />
regularly once they were old enough to work,” noted Barr.<br />
“Commodity prices were depressed, and no one had very<br />
much money.”<br />
When Barr was 13, the family scraped up all the money<br />
they could spare and went to Spokane to buy some cattle.<br />
They purchased six head of yearlings for 4.5 cents per<br />
pound. One of them died soon afterward, but that small<br />
initial investment eventually grew into a herd of more<br />
than 800 head over 80 plus years.<br />
By the time Barr was 19, he was the ranch foreman and<br />
was three years older than all the hired hands on their<br />
farm at harvest. Scott and his brother Clay agreed to stay<br />
on the farm and not seek any higher education in return<br />
for the promise from his father and stepmother that they<br />
would be full partners.<br />
The agreement also included the stipulation that if one<br />
of the sons decided to get married, the parents would<br />
move off the farm to allow the new family to live there.<br />
By the time he turned 26, Scott had found the woman<br />
of his dreams, the local schoolmarm, Evelyn Heimbigner.<br />
They were married in 1943. For five years, things<br />
went well, with the farm expanding and the economy<br />
improving.<br />
They bought a neighboring farm for $18.50 per acre, and<br />
another for $22 per acre. The Barr brothers were building<br />
an efficient operation.<br />
Scott Barr and his wife Dollie.<br />
Suddenly, Scott’s parents decided they hated living in<br />
Colfax and wanted to move back to the farm. Following<br />
some uncomfortable negotiations, Scott and Clay decided<br />
to pack it up and find a farm elsewhere.<br />
They found a nice, 2,200-acre farm near Edwall. Several<br />
of the locals had wanted to buy the land, but felt the asking<br />
price of $165 per acre was too high. There was plenty<br />
of skepticism among neighbors that wasn’t very well hidden,<br />
said Barr.<br />
“Several neighboring farmers openly stated that no one<br />
could pay that much per acre and survive. ‘Those Snake<br />
River kids won’t be here in three years, they’ll go broke,’<br />
they said. That was 63 years ago. I guess we lasted a bit<br />
longer than they expected,” Barr said with a smile.<br />
For many years, Barr and his brother put themselves<br />
to the task with a vengeance. Eventually, Clay decided to<br />
go into real estate speculation as a career. Scott was more<br />
comfortable with farming and ranching, so they split the<br />
partnership and went their separate ways.<br />
When Barr finally felt that the farm had reached a stable<br />
financial footing, he decided to devote 50 percent of his<br />
time to various volunteer pursuits.<br />
34 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
PROFILES WL<br />
“I decided that in lieu of attaining higher education at a<br />
college, there would be other ways of gaining knowledge,<br />
skills and experience,” said Barr. “I wanted to be able to<br />
serve and also to give myself an alternative education.”<br />
Barr began putting in many hours of work for the<br />
Lincoln County Conservation District, including lobbying<br />
the state legislature in Olympia for 25 years. He served on<br />
the Edwall Grain Growers’ board of directors for many<br />
years. Barr spent the better part of a year traveling around<br />
the U.S. to help raise funds for the agriculture exhibit for<br />
Spokane’s Expo ‘74 World’s Fair.<br />
He was heavily involved with the Washington<br />
Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers from its inception in 1954,<br />
chairing several committees. Barr became the first WAWG<br />
officer to be elected to serve from a floor nomination.<br />
“I had to learn quickly before serving as president, because<br />
the vice president was in poor health and resigned,<br />
so I moved up one slot,” said Barr. “Then the president<br />
took a sabbatical, going on a world tour with Western<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong> Associates (now U.S. <strong>Wheat</strong> Associates), essentially<br />
leaving me in charge. So I began my term early and served<br />
over a year. It was very intense, because at that time the<br />
WAWG office had only one employee on staff.”<br />
The amount of service Barr was providing would not<br />
have been possible without having an excellent manager<br />
on the farm in Edwall all those years. Surprisingly, the<br />
perfect person for the job was found quite by accident.<br />
“I had arranged to have a hired man come help temporarily<br />
on the farm, and the next day a 16-year-old kid with<br />
an old Model A Ford showed up,” remembered Barr. “I<br />
thought, this is going to be a disaster. I could see this kid<br />
taking off in that car every chance he got or spending too<br />
much time working on it. I was planning to replace him.<br />
“But, this ‘Skinnie’ teenager asked me where he could<br />
park his car, so I told him right over there under that tree.<br />
It was the only tree on the entire farm.<br />
“Amazingly, from May of that year until Christmas<br />
Eve, he didn’t touch that car. He never even looked at it.<br />
That was Skinnie Ebert, who ended up working with me<br />
until he passed away. Now, Skinnie’s grandchildren are<br />
involved in the operation of our farm.”<br />
With his many years of lobbying experience, it seemed a<br />
natural for Barr to run for public office. With some encouragement<br />
and a lot of help from other 7th District folks, he<br />
ran for the state senate, losing in his first campaign.<br />
Not being one to give up, Barr was elected to an open<br />
house seat for the 7th District in 1979. Barr spent six years<br />
in the house and eleven years in the senate, retiring one<br />
year before his final term was up in 1996.<br />
(Above) Scott Barr’s 1989 Senate photo. (Below) Barr’s 1979 House of Representatives<br />
photo.<br />
Obviously, Barr looked out for the best interests of the<br />
agriculture industry during his service in Olympia. He<br />
also championed other specific causes.<br />
“I was known for focusing on three main issues: water<br />
rights, small school districts and rural community hospitals,”<br />
explained Barr.<br />
Barr served as chairman of the Agriculture and Water<br />
Resources Committee for five years. Since that time he has<br />
been referred to as “Mr. Water.”<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 35
WL<br />
PROFILES<br />
He continually fought to help rural hospitals survive<br />
and provide critical health care for residents in sparsely<br />
populated towns and counties in his district.<br />
Barr was known for standing up for rural school<br />
districts, sometimes raising the ire of the Washington<br />
Education Association (WEA) teachers’ union.<br />
“I was so frustrated fighting the WEA, because they<br />
simply didn’t care about the smaller school districts,” said<br />
Barr. “I also defended the cause of parents’ rights to home<br />
school their children. Our work definitely helped to save<br />
home schooling in the state of Washington by creating a<br />
competitive atmosphere.<br />
“One of the WEA presidents was headquartered in<br />
Spokane, and she told the local newspaper that I was the<br />
worst legislator serving in Olympia,” noted Barr. “She had<br />
no idea what an incredible boost that gave to my popularity<br />
with my constituents. She couldn’t have done me a<br />
bigger favor in a rural legislative district, the largest in the<br />
state.”<br />
Incongruously, one of the legislative accomplishments<br />
that Barr was most proud of turned out to be somewhat of<br />
a disaster.<br />
“When a bill was passed increasing the tax on cigarettes,<br />
I added an amendment that allotted 10 percent of those<br />
funds for nonpoint pollution work that would go to the<br />
conservation districts all over the state. Their work is very<br />
important, and there was always a shortage of money for<br />
important projects.<br />
“I must admit, I didn’t anticipate what lengths the<br />
Department of Ecology would go to in their efforts to grab<br />
that money,” said Barr. “Nonpoint pollution had always<br />
been related specifically to agriculture. But they changed<br />
some rules and definitions and took all those funds away.<br />
The conservation districts never received a single dime.”<br />
There were some lighter moments in the legislature.<br />
Barr was known as a farmer with large landholdings, and<br />
the 7th district was the largest in the state. When he was<br />
elected in 1979, there was only one traffic light in his entire<br />
district.<br />
One fellow House Member in particular, Rod Chandler,<br />
often teased Barr about the rural nature and the size of his<br />
district. Chandler served an urban district in the Seattle<br />
area and was a polished speaker. On several occasions, he<br />
had joked that Barr owned his entire eastern Washington<br />
district. One day, various potential redistricting maps<br />
were being shown and commented upon. A proposed new<br />
7th District map was put on the big screen. It was an oddshaped<br />
district extending from the Idaho border clear over<br />
to the border of Chelan County.<br />
Barr was asked his opinion of it, and he responded,<br />
“That would be fine with me, I’d only have to buy 50 more<br />
acres to own the district.” Pandemonium broke loose in<br />
the chamber for some time.<br />
Barr has been blessed with two happy marriages. He is<br />
now in the third decade of his marriage to Dollie, whom<br />
he met during his first term in the house when he was<br />
meeting with his constituents in Colville.<br />
Deciding he wanted to spend more time with her, Barr<br />
hired Dollie as the secretary for his Olympia office. His<br />
plan worked out well; they were married within a year.<br />
Barr fondly remembers the years with his first wife,<br />
Evelyn. She was giving of her time, having earned a home<br />
economics degree in college and serving as a notorious 4H<br />
leader for many years.<br />
When she was stricken with cancer in 1979, they discussed<br />
what to do with her share of the farm which had<br />
been built up to 3,500 acres of wheat land, over 10,000<br />
acres of pasture and several farm units in the Columbia<br />
Basin.<br />
They decided to donate her half of their property to two<br />
entities. One half went to the 4H Foundation, and the other<br />
half was donated to Whitworth University in Spokane<br />
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36 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
PROFILES WL<br />
as part of a living trust. Since that time, Barr has continued<br />
the same philanthropic approach to his life.<br />
Being charitable can have a high cost. Barr had been assured<br />
by his accountant and his lawyer that the donation<br />
would qualify as a nontaxable charitable gift. The Internal<br />
Revenue Service (IRS) did not agree.<br />
Because Barr had retained the capability to use the<br />
land until his death, the IRS ruled that he had to pay up<br />
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“That decision bothers me to this day,” said Barr. “But<br />
maybe I’ve had the last laugh after all, because I doubt<br />
they expected me to live this long.”<br />
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asked for his assistance in the 1960s.<br />
“They told me they needed to buy some rural property<br />
that wasn’t too far out of the way, and they didn’t want<br />
any water or any snakes,” said Barr. “I gave them 30 acres<br />
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WL<br />
PROFILES<br />
Asked to reflect on changes in farming over his lifetime,<br />
Barr pointed out the amazing developments in farm<br />
equipment and the introduction of crop fertility and crop<br />
protection products. But he chose the development of<br />
high-yielding, semi-dwarf wheat varieties as the single<br />
most significant advancement.<br />
“The work of Dr. Orville Vogel at Washington State<br />
University was simply incredible. It literally transformed<br />
the business of raising wheat on a global scale,” Barr said.<br />
Barr specified hard work as the key to his success over<br />
the years. “I certainly made my share of mistakes, but you<br />
have to be able to take some risks to be successful,” said<br />
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By Tom Zwainz<br />
“May you live in interesting times” is said to be a<br />
Chinese curse, to which I say, I’m glad I live in America.<br />
You see, I believe the challenge of living in interesting<br />
times is what makes us stronger both individually and<br />
as a nation. That said, these are interesting times at the<br />
Washington Grain Commission. As the new chairman<br />
of the WGC Board, I am both excited and apprehensive<br />
about the year ahead. The issues that confront us as an<br />
industry are like nothing we’ve faced before.<br />
There’s no doubt my great-grandfathers, who homesteaded<br />
near Reardan in the late 1800s, also faced obstacles<br />
that were, for them, like nothing they’d dealt with<br />
before. But there’s a difference between evolutionary<br />
change and revolutionary change—the type of change<br />
futurists refer to as a paradigm shift—when everything is<br />
knocked off kilter by a radical new approach.<br />
It is still unclear whether the recent embrace of the<br />
American wheat industry by large private corporations<br />
including Monsanto, Syngenta, Limagrain, Dow and<br />
Bayer CropSciences is the type of hug that makes for<br />
good feelings, or one that squeezes the breath out of you.<br />
One thing is certain: the coming change will not only<br />
affect our individual operations, it will affect one of our<br />
most important partners and allies, Washington State<br />
University.<br />
For more than a hundred years, WSU has released<br />
the varieties that have allowed us to prosper. Since 1958,<br />
when farmers voted to form the Washington <strong>Wheat</strong><br />
Commission and tax themselves on each bushel of<br />
grain they produced, millions of dollars have flowed<br />
into winter and spring breeding programs in Pullman.<br />
Lately, that support has become even more crucial as state<br />
government pulls back from its investment at the university.<br />
In the 2011/12 budget year, more than $2 million<br />
worth of growers’ money will flow into breeding-oriented<br />
research.<br />
Among wheat and grain commissions throughout<br />
the nation, the WGC is by far the most generous with its<br />
funding of university programs. I believe that generosity<br />
has been well repaid until now. The question that faces<br />
us—indeed the entire university land grant system—is<br />
whether the money we have invested, the equity we<br />
have built, will survive against the competition of private<br />
companies for whom a million dollars is a rounding error.<br />
That is the big question, but there are numerous smaller<br />
questions that must be wrestled with as we go forward.<br />
One that must be addressed quickly is ensuring that<br />
private companies maintain the same commitment to<br />
quality as to yield.<br />
It goes without saying that all of the farmers who serve<br />
on the WGC understand yield is what pays the bills. But<br />
your commissioners also understand it is quality that<br />
helps ensure we maintain market share. And without<br />
markets, a big yield is worthless.<br />
Since 1997, the WGC has been investing in evaluating<br />
the quality of varieties being grown in Eastern<br />
Washington. Recently, however, we have had a situation<br />
where private companies are opting out of having their<br />
wheat lines planted by WSU’s variety testing program.<br />
They are not just complaining about the cost, though that<br />
is part of it, they are also critical of some of the factors<br />
involved in evaluating their lines in the field.<br />
There are several problems when private lines aren’t<br />
planted side-by-side with public varieties. First, growers<br />
don’t get the opportunity to see how the lines perform<br />
in replicated trials from a yield and disease standpoint.<br />
Second, the absent lines cannot be evaluated for quality<br />
in the Genotype and Environment Study conducted<br />
by the Western <strong>Wheat</strong> Quality Lab (WWQL). Owing to<br />
environmental effects, three years of data is required to<br />
evaluate how a variety will perform.<br />
Private companies will tell you the quality of their varieties<br />
are evaluated prior to release at their own facilities.<br />
I’m sure that’s the case, but every lab is a little bit different<br />
in how they look at quality. At the WWQL, we are assured<br />
of a standard protocol, an apples-to-apples comparison<br />
against a control variety. As such, it is imperative<br />
we be assured that private companies’ wheat lines and<br />
the varieties they ultimately release are made available<br />
for quality evaluation. The only way that can happen is if<br />
they are part of WSU’s variety testing program<br />
Which is why, if need be, I’m in favor of the WGC<br />
providing the money required to assure private varieties<br />
are planted in the state trials. The cost is not insubstantial,<br />
but the data, as the credit card company commercial puts<br />
it, is priceless. There are some who might object to the<br />
WGC paying for private company entries. After all, we’re<br />
talking about an organization with a 2011 budget of $5<br />
million against corporations that measure their bottom<br />
lines in the billions. I don’t like it myself, but if private<br />
companies won’t ante up, then I don’t see an alternative.<br />
The WGC has staked the future of the industry in part,<br />
on ensuring that growers know the quality of the wheat<br />
they are growing. Without that information on private<br />
releases, it seems to me we’ll be whistling in the dark<br />
through these interesting times of ours.<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 41
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
Apply here<br />
In an era of government belt tightening, it is rare to hear of a state agency that is<br />
hiring. But due to planned retirements and the expansion of grain export facilities,<br />
the grain inspection office of the Washington State Department of Agriculture<br />
(WSDA) is looking for a few good men and women. Brad Avy, assistant director of<br />
the Commodity Inspection Division at the WSDA, said 20 individuals out of 280 who<br />
applied, were recently brought in to go through a 12- to 15-month training program<br />
that is the first step toward inspection licensing. Avy said the agency is being very<br />
selective about potential hires. “One of the goals is to elevate the level of professionalism,”<br />
he said. “We want them to look at the job as a career path and not a stop<br />
gap.” Among the talents a grain inspector must possess is the ability to differentiate<br />
between a variety of grains, the ability to smell certain grain anomalies as well as to<br />
“climb on top of grain cars and not panic.” For information about the grain inspection<br />
program, go to www.youtube.com/watchv=kPRWMKh_0Uc&lr=1<br />
Bob Hoff (left) interviews Aaron Carter. Hoff retired earlier this year from the Northwest Ag News<br />
Network.<br />
Au Revoir, mon ami<br />
Eastern Washington wheat farmers who listen to Northwest Ag News Network will<br />
no longer hear the gravel-voiced Bob Hoff. The veteran agriculture journalist retired<br />
at the first of the year. Hoff was honored for his long career at the Washington<br />
Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers’ annual meeting during the 2011 Tri-State convention<br />
held in November in Spokane.<br />
Catch 22<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong> farmers have first-hand<br />
knowledge of the protective effect of<br />
applying fungicides to protect wheat<br />
against rust, but not many of them<br />
realize that the fungicide application<br />
itself has been correlated with reducing<br />
falling number scores. While the<br />
decline is small, research in England<br />
where the climate demands the application<br />
of fungicides on a regular basis,<br />
the connection is clear. According<br />
to one of the many papers written<br />
on the subject going back to the<br />
mid-1980s, the<br />
effect is caused<br />
by greater alpha<br />
amylase activity<br />
though the exact<br />
mechanism<br />
by which fungicides<br />
affect<br />
falling numbers<br />
is not clear. It<br />
is thought fungicides<br />
could<br />
reduce falling<br />
number by retarding grain drying.<br />
Those who have followed the falling<br />
number controversy know that cool<br />
weather during heading can trigger<br />
alpha amylase activity which is indicative<br />
of sprout. This is also the sort of<br />
climatic condition, not to mention<br />
the timing, which calls for fungicide<br />
application. Mike Pumphrey, spring<br />
wheat breeder at Washington State<br />
University, believes the magnitude of<br />
the effect is smaller than the falling<br />
number variation among varieties.<br />
“The effect of fungicides on falling<br />
numbers is probably part of the low<br />
falling number issue, but not the biggest<br />
part. For a variety with a consistently<br />
high falling number, this effect<br />
would not make any difference,” he<br />
said, indicating the effect may, however,<br />
push those varieties already on<br />
the margin below the level at which<br />
point discounts are often applied.<br />
42 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
WGC REVIEW WL<br />
Weed scientist do over<br />
In March 2011, the Washington Grain Commission<br />
voted to contribute $1.5 million toward a weed science<br />
professorship at Washington State University.<br />
After a nationwide search and interviews with the<br />
two finalists, Rich Koenig, chair of the Department<br />
of Crop and Soil Sciences, said faculty members<br />
were unable to reach a consensus on the top<br />
candidate. “Both had excellent academic records.<br />
However, neither was deemed a good fit for the<br />
extension responsibilities,” he said. The decision was<br />
unanimous to continue the search, Koenig said. For now, the position<br />
is considered “open until filled.”<br />
Believe It Or Not!<br />
America’s longest running side-by-side<br />
comparison of organic and chemical<br />
agriculture, a 30-year study sponsored<br />
by the Rodale Institute, has found that<br />
after an initial decline in yields during<br />
the first few years of transition, the<br />
organic system not only rebounded to<br />
match or surpass the conventional system<br />
in yields, but far exceeded conventional<br />
income. Different organic systems were used including organic<br />
manure and organic legumes. Although the study looked at corn and<br />
soybean rotations primarily, wheat was added to the conventional<br />
system in 2004 and proved to be the study’s most profitable crop,<br />
netting $835/acre/year. The organic system was said to be especially<br />
cost effective during drought years when its yields were 31 percent<br />
higher than conventional. For the complete report go to<br />
www.rodaleinstitute.org/fst30years<br />
Into the red—<br />
wheat, that is<br />
The spring wheat breeding program at WSU has<br />
turned a corner. After decades of predominantly<br />
breeding and releasing varieties of soft white<br />
wheat, 65 percent of the program’s efforts are<br />
now directed toward developing hard red spring<br />
cultivars. Another 10 percent is directed toward<br />
hard white. Michael Pumphrey recently told the<br />
Washington Grain Commission that while the yield<br />
of hard red types will not be 100 percent of soft<br />
white, they will be close. Research and breeding efforts<br />
are focused on improving their ability to make<br />
protein. As for quality, Pumphrey said he would<br />
line up today’s WSU’s red spring varieties with any<br />
competitor available.<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
Million Acres and MMT<br />
40.0<br />
35.0<br />
30.0<br />
25.0<br />
20.0<br />
15.0<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong> in Canada<br />
Acres Production Yield Poly. (Acres)<br />
1991<br />
1992<br />
1993<br />
1994<br />
1995<br />
1996<br />
1997<br />
1998<br />
1999<br />
2000<br />
2001<br />
2002<br />
2003<br />
2004<br />
2005<br />
2006<br />
2007<br />
2008<br />
2009<br />
2010<br />
1.40<br />
1.20<br />
1.00<br />
0.80<br />
0.60<br />
0.40<br />
0.20<br />
0.00<br />
Yield - MT/acre<br />
Acreage goes south up North<br />
Look at a graph of Canadian wheat acres from 1991 to 2010<br />
as Glen Squires, vice president of the Washington Grain<br />
Commission, recently did, and a not-so-subtle downward<br />
trend is the picture revealed. From more than 35 million<br />
acres, Canadian acreage declined to just over 20 million<br />
acres in 2010. Did the Canadian <strong>Wheat</strong> Board have<br />
anything to do with the decline Some might argue that<br />
farmers shifted out of wheat and into crops they could<br />
market themselves, like canola or peas and lentils. Now,<br />
the question is whether the demise of the board will lead<br />
farmers to see new marketing opportunities and reasons to<br />
increase acreage.<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 43
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
WL<br />
WGC REVIEW<br />
That’s water<br />
over the dam<br />
Remember last spring when the<br />
Snake and Columbia rivers were running<br />
so high that Bonneville Power<br />
Administration (BPA) told wind turbine<br />
providers to shut down at nights and<br />
on weekends so that hydroelectric<br />
power generated by dams (at a significantly<br />
lower cost) would have someplace<br />
to go Turns out the Federal<br />
Energy Regulatory Commission told<br />
BPA they goofed. The electric system<br />
administration now has to come up<br />
with plans that don’t discriminate<br />
against wind generators in the event of<br />
a similar situation.<br />
Crystal ball gazing<br />
wheat:Quality<br />
Three keys of The Washington Grain Commission has hung its hat on ensuring<br />
farmers have access to the highest quality varieties. So when news<br />
comes that two Northwest millers have indicated a reluctance to take<br />
shipments of a specific variety, it is indeed a moment for concern. The<br />
variety in question, Xerpha, is a WSU cross between Eltan, an Eastern<br />
Washington soft white wheat workhorse, and Estica, a feed-type hard<br />
red winter wheat from Europe. Xerpha has proven to be an excellent<br />
yielder and, as yet, there has been no rumbling from export customers<br />
about the quality of grain they are receiving. It is important that<br />
farmers bear in mind the domestic millers’ concerns when it comes<br />
to Xerpha. There are many varieties available that exceed its quality<br />
attributes and nearly meet its agronomic performance. Keeping our<br />
customers happy is worth something.<br />
Judge not-good-enough steps down<br />
District Court Judge James Redden, who has rejected three salmon<br />
restoration plans from three U.S. presidents for the Columbia Basin<br />
hydroelectric system, announced in an email that he is taking himself off<br />
the case. Last August, he ruled the Obama’s update of the Bush restoration<br />
plan, known as a biological opinion, was vague. Although he left<br />
the plan in force for now, he said it was time to consider new options,<br />
including removing some of the dams. Redden, who is 82, gave no<br />
reason for asking the case be reassigned. Will Stelle, Northwest regional<br />
director of the NOAA Fisheries Service, doesn’t expect a new judge to<br />
divert much from the course set by Redden. “He has already laid out the<br />
road map for us,” Stelle said. “We will follow that road map.”<br />
Tom Mick, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission, recently attended a meeting<br />
in Minneapolis where the impact of the elimination of the Canadian <strong>Wheat</strong><br />
Board (CWB) on the U.S. market was discussed.<br />
Although there is some concern about a flood of<br />
Canadian wheat headed south, Mick said experts at<br />
the meeting believe it doesn’t make economic sense<br />
to move wheat into the U.S. much beyond 40 miles<br />
from the border. Meanwhile, there is a belief that<br />
the quality of Canadian wheat will decline. Currently,<br />
growers can only plant a limited number of authorized<br />
varieties in Canada. With the elimination of the<br />
CWB, not only will farmers be able to market wheat<br />
on their own, they’ll be able to choose which varieties<br />
to grow. It’s expected that some U.S. wheat varieties<br />
will head north as a result. The question, which doesn’t have an answer for<br />
now, is how Canada’s foreign customers will react. Under the CWB they received<br />
special benefits, like cleaned wheat, at no cost.<br />
But not faster than<br />
a speeding bullet<br />
A report on National Public Radio highlighted<br />
the efficiency of the U.S. barge industry and<br />
barge company efforts in the Midwest to ensure<br />
the public knows exactly which transportation<br />
alternative is the most efficient. Television commercials<br />
tout barges as superior to railroads and<br />
trucks both in terms of fuel burned and emissions<br />
released into the atmosphere. To help the<br />
public understand barge capacity, the companies<br />
are redefining loads in terms more easily<br />
understood. For instance,<br />
instead of saying a<br />
barge can carry 1,500<br />
tons of wheat, they’re<br />
saying it carries the<br />
equivalent of 2.5<br />
million loaves of bread.<br />
Barges ply 12,000 miles of<br />
navigable waterways in the U.S. (including the<br />
360 miles along the Snake and Columbia rivers),<br />
but the locks which make the system possible<br />
have outlived their 50-year lifespan. A U.S. Army<br />
Corps of Engineer spokesman said the agency’s<br />
$180 million repair budget is only enough to fix<br />
things as they break and not enough for preventative<br />
maintenance. In all, the system needs<br />
$8 billion worth of work.<br />
44 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
WGC REVIEW WL<br />
Somebody’s got to do it<br />
You never know who you’re going to meet as<br />
chairman of U.S. <strong>Wheat</strong> Associates. Just ask<br />
Randy Suess who had a nice conversation with<br />
the 2011 Miss America, Teresa Scanlan, during<br />
the National Association of Farm Broadcasters’<br />
meeting in Kansas City. Scanlan grew up on a<br />
wheat and cattle farm in Gering, Neb. At 17, she<br />
was the youngest contestant to have ever been<br />
chosen as Miss America, which came with a<br />
$50,000 scholarship. Suess said Scanlan was quite<br />
knowledgeable about wheat farming, and the<br />
two spent a lot of time comparing notes.<br />
(From left) U.S. <strong>Wheat</strong> Associates Chairman and Colfax farmer<br />
Randy Suess, 2011 Miss America Teresa Scanlan, National<br />
Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> President Wayne Hurst and U.S. <strong>Wheat</strong><br />
Associates President Alan Tracy.<br />
What lies beneath, what lies on top<br />
If you missed Oregon State University (OSU) Plant Pathologist Dick Smiley’s fascinating<br />
webinar on nematodes or Tim Murray’s educational presentation on snow<br />
mold, you can still access both via a library of webinars hosted by the Idaho <strong>Wheat</strong><br />
Commission. The three Northwest commissions have joined together to produce<br />
webinars on a variety of subjects of interest to wheat growers. The OSU scientist<br />
addressed the different types of nematodes found in the region, the extensive soil<br />
testing that has been conducted, how wheat reacts at various nematode population<br />
levels and what growers can do to combat the pests. Murray, a plant pathologist<br />
at WSU, updated viewers on the latest snow mold research and indicated how<br />
variety selection can make a difference in resistance. Go to www.idahowheat.org<br />
to access both programs.<br />
Hard work. What’s that<br />
“Are we going to outlaw children helping mom bake cookies in the kitchen because<br />
they might get their hand in the blender” That was the question posed by<br />
Scott Neufeld, a farmer in Oklahoma, about a proposed rule that would restrict the<br />
chores children can be hired to perform on the nation’s farms. Neufeld, who said<br />
he was driving combines for 10 hours at 14, believes the U.S. Department of Labor<br />
proposal would mean he couldn’t hire local kids to move hay or pull grain carts at<br />
harvest. The rule would bar most farm hands younger than 16 from jobs such as<br />
operating power equipment, branding and breeding animals and working atop<br />
ladders higher than six feet. The new regulations would not apply to children who<br />
work on farms owned by their parents, but it would apply to teens who work at<br />
farms owned by their uncles or grandparents.<br />
Making a splash<br />
Bayer CropSciences, which until recently<br />
had only been thought of as an<br />
agrichemical company, has jumped<br />
into the wheat breeding business<br />
big time. Its latest agreement is a<br />
nonexclusive accord for wheat breeding<br />
and germplasm access with South<br />
Dakota State University. The<br />
company has already signed<br />
wheat agreements with<br />
companies in Romania,<br />
France, Israel, Ukraine and<br />
Australia as well as the<br />
University of Nebraska-<br />
Lincoln. For at least the next<br />
10 years, due to Europe’s<br />
fear of agricultural innovation,<br />
Bayer’s breeding<br />
efforts will be done without<br />
using genetic engineering.<br />
Nevertheless, a spokesman<br />
believes that by turbo<br />
charging traditional<br />
classical breeding<br />
techniques, it will<br />
still be possible<br />
to develop heat<br />
and drought<br />
tolerant<br />
varieties.<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 45<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION
WL<br />
WGC REPORTS<br />
EPORTS RWASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
A favorable forecast<br />
popular Tri-STATE CONVENTION SPEAKER GIVES CONTExt FOR WEATHER CONCLuSIONS<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
By Scott A. Yates<br />
Whether it’s wheat farming or long-range weather<br />
forecasting, the end product is what’s important, but<br />
it’s the process that makes it all possible. Which may be<br />
why wheat farmers so enjoy Art Douglas’ meteorological<br />
presentations. He doesn’t just anticipate Mother Nature’s<br />
moves, he provides the context for his conclusions.<br />
Douglas, who has been traveling to<br />
the Pacific Northwest almost every<br />
year since 1979, spoke at the Tri-State<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong> Convention in late November.<br />
The Washington Grain Commissionsponsored<br />
event drew a large and<br />
appreciative audience. It didn’t hurt that<br />
Douglas’ forecast through August 2012<br />
predicted a relatively benign weather<br />
pattern of adequate, but not heavy<br />
moisture, moderate temperatures and a<br />
dry harvest period for the region.<br />
Although the future should be similar<br />
to last year, this season won’t be a repeat<br />
of 2010/11 because of a cooler than<br />
normal body of water off the Pacific<br />
Northwest coast. This phenomenon is<br />
reducing evaporation, which means<br />
fewer clouds, which means less potential<br />
precipitation. As such, Douglas<br />
predicts a smaller amount of snow in the Cascade<br />
Mountains as well as “not having excess moisture<br />
through the winter” in wheat growing areas.<br />
“You are not going to have the heavy snow cover you<br />
experienced the last few years,” he said.<br />
The main factor influencing Douglas’ forecast, however,<br />
is the reemergence of a cool body of water off the west<br />
coast of South America. Called La Niña, it will dictate<br />
world crop conditions for the next three or four months.<br />
Meteorologist Art<br />
Douglas predicts<br />
a relatively benign<br />
weather pattern for<br />
the PNW through<br />
August of 2012:<br />
•Adequate, but not<br />
heavy moisture<br />
•Moderate<br />
temperatures<br />
•A dry harvest period<br />
for the region<br />
In the Northwest, it generally means adequate moisture.<br />
Its opposite number, called El Niño, is represented by a<br />
warm body of water off the west coast of South America.<br />
When El Niño dominates, it also has implications for<br />
much of the world. In the Northwest, it signals drought.<br />
It is good news for the region, therefore, that a La Niña<br />
reasserted itself this season. Other areas of the U.S. will<br />
not be as pleased. In the Southwest,<br />
including Texas north to Kansas and<br />
Colorado, La Niña means dry weather<br />
in a section of the country already reeling<br />
from a lack of moisture.<br />
“You have to be concerned about winter<br />
wheat production in the Southern<br />
plains,” Douglas said.<br />
At the same time, he cautioned<br />
his audience of wheat farmers from<br />
Washington, Oregon and Idaho that<br />
if El Niño develops this summer, they<br />
may face drought conditions going into<br />
the fall.<br />
European climate modeling data,<br />
which Douglas believes is among the<br />
most accurate, predicts an El Niño<br />
developing this summer after the<br />
Northwest wheat crop has been made.<br />
U.S. climate modeling is not as aggressive<br />
about its strength, but also foresees an El Niño<br />
replacing the current La Niña by summer. Australian<br />
models are the exception. Last year, Australian meteorologists<br />
were predicting an El Niño that didn’t form. This<br />
year they are predicting no El Niño.<br />
Like the Northwest, Australia is frequently hammered<br />
by drought during El Niño years. If the warm water off<br />
the west coast of South America reasserts itself in the<br />
June-August time frame, wheat growers Down Under<br />
46 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
WGC REPORTS WL<br />
Winter 2011 temperature and precipitation outlook<br />
Summer 2012 temperature and precipitation outlook<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
Slides taken from Art Douglas’ presentation at the 2011 Tri-State <strong>Wheat</strong> Convention<br />
could be in for difficult times as their crop is still in its<br />
growing phase. Harvest in Australia begins in October<br />
and continues through January.<br />
Not all parts of the world are influenced by the La<br />
Niña/El Niño phenomenon and that includes Ukraine<br />
and Russia. However, Douglas said satellite vegetation<br />
maps show drought is redeveloping in much of the Black<br />
Sea area. Not only that, there was considerably more<br />
snow cover in the grain-growing region indicating cold<br />
temperatures and the potential for winter kill for wheat<br />
under drought stress.<br />
Back in the Northwest, Douglas’ prediction of an average<br />
growing season has one caveat: sunspots. Not long<br />
ago, the sun went for a long period without any sunspot<br />
activity. Now, at 120 sunspots, numbers are way above<br />
normal.<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 47
WL<br />
WGC REPORTS<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
Long-range weather forecaster Art Douglas (left) talks with Washington Grain Commissioner Hal Johnson at the Tri-State <strong>Wheat</strong> Convention.<br />
He said it is possible a massive solar flare<br />
could heat the atmosphere above Greenland,<br />
where solar energy initially strikes the earth,<br />
and create an upper stratospheric warming<br />
event. As opposed to expectations, that high<br />
altitude warming could result in a sudden<br />
chill in the Eastern U.S., a freezing event<br />
which has the potential to extend as far west<br />
as the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, solar<br />
flares can’t be forecast more than six or eight<br />
hours in advance.<br />
A coronal mass ejection hit Earth on Oct. 24, 2011 at<br />
approximately 2:00 p.m. EDT. The impact strongly<br />
compressed Earth’s magnetic field, directly exposing geosynchronous<br />
satellites to solar wind plasma and sparked<br />
an intense geomagnetic storm. As night fell over North<br />
America, auroras spilled across the Canadian border<br />
into the contiguous United States. A U.S. Department of<br />
Defense satellite photographed the crossing.<br />
48 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
WGC REPORTS WL<br />
Not so fast<br />
Man’s CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT quESTIONED<br />
It’s not that wheat farmers are skeptical of global warming and the potential for<br />
climate change, it’s that many of them believe man’s impact on the environment is<br />
puny compared to the planet’s self-regulating mechanisms. Art Douglas couldn’t<br />
agree more.<br />
Professor emeritus at Creighton University in Nebraska where he taught for 25 years,<br />
Douglas now lives in Arizona where he continues to consult. Although most mainstream<br />
scientists agree climate change caused by humankind’s CO2 contribution to the<br />
atmosphere is occurring, Douglas begs to differ. Not only that, he questions whether<br />
rising CO2 levels are necessarily a bad thing, especially when viewed against a historical<br />
record of ice cores that reveal levels 15 to 20 times higher during various prehistoric<br />
periods.<br />
“Don’t let anyone tell you CO2 is a bad for you and is going to kill us. It’s always been<br />
much higher than it is now,” he said, adding the earth has also tended to be warmer<br />
than it is now.<br />
Douglas calls on the work of Milutin Milankovic, a Serbian geophysicist and<br />
civil engineer who lived from 1879 to 1958, to back up his contention that man has<br />
very little to do with the changing climate. While interned in Hungary during the First<br />
World War, Milankovic worked out a theory on the occurrence of ice ages based on periodic changes in earth’s orbit in<br />
relation to the sun and the tilt of its axis.<br />
In a nutshell, the change in the tilt of the Earth’s axis and the placement of the earth in an elliptical orbit which sometimes<br />
takes it further from the sun creates a 100,000-year climate cycle. Although Milankovic’s work was just a theory<br />
during his lifetime, deep sea core samples have proven a cycle of rapid warm ups of the planet followed by a slow cooling<br />
down with a corresponding rise and fall in CO2.<br />
Showing a graph of the rhythm of warming and cooling over 400,000 years, Douglas asked, “Where are we now A<br />
rapid rise in temperature. Humans who are so worried about what we are doing with CO2 have got to realize we are<br />
in a Milankovic cycle that is at the peak of<br />
Sun spot numbers and<br />
global sea surface temperatures<br />
warming.”<br />
Another aspect of climate change unrelated<br />
to Milankovic’s work looks at sunspots.<br />
Douglas said there is a relationship<br />
between sunspots and the temperature of<br />
the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.<br />
“What is controlling our climate The<br />
Atlantic and the Pacific. What is causing the<br />
oceans to warm up and cool off Sunspots.<br />
We are seeing a natural phenomenon.<br />
There’s a lot more to the story than what<br />
is being told to you,” he said. “Should we<br />
be worried about CO2 in the atmosphere<br />
No, because it is not going to be there much<br />
longer.”<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
Slide taken from Art Douglas’ presentation at the 2011 Tri-State <strong>Wheat</strong> Convention<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 49
WL<br />
WGC REPORTS<br />
$MARTPHONES<br />
FARMERS<br />
FUTURE<br />
Efficiency with a rub<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
By Scott A. Yates<br />
Ask an Eastern Washington wheat farmer to list his<br />
most valuable pieces of equipment, and it’s unlikely the<br />
small device he carries in his pocket or in a holster on<br />
his belt would even make the inventory. And yet the cell<br />
phone—nowadays the smart phone—has dramatically<br />
increased farmers’ efficiency while improving their bottom<br />
lines.<br />
Nationwide, farmers are well aware of the advantages.<br />
A survey by the magazine, Successful Farming, found that<br />
94 percent of farmers own<br />
a mobile phone or smart<br />
phone—11 percent more<br />
than the general public. The<br />
same survey found that<br />
while farmers with internet<br />
access on their phones do<br />
less internet browsing than<br />
the general public, they<br />
access their email more<br />
frequently.<br />
Talk to a few farmers and<br />
it’s easy to understand the<br />
reason. Farmers view their<br />
phone primarily as a business<br />
tool, not an avenue for<br />
entertainment. Updating<br />
their Facebook page (in the<br />
unlikely event they have a<br />
Facebook page) or watching<br />
a television show or YouTube<br />
video, is not a priority. Getting marketing advice or finding<br />
an online parts manual for a piece of equipment—<br />
that’s a horse of a different color.<br />
Back in the beginning of the cell phone revolution,<br />
the ability of a farmer to make a phone call wherever he<br />
was located (at least, wherever he had a signal), initially<br />
gained converts to the technology. Suddenly, farmers<br />
Michelle Hennings, director of administration and finance for the Washington<br />
Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers, shows off her iPhone, a must-have<br />
work accessory which comes complete with a photo of her children as a<br />
screen saver.<br />
who had been out of touch while they tilled or sprayed<br />
their fields, drove in their pickups or harvested their<br />
crops, were reachable, although in those early days, dead<br />
zones were a widespread problem.<br />
Conversing directly with another person is still a valuable<br />
function of the cell phone, but like a Leatherman<br />
tool, the advent of the smart phone has incorporated<br />
many different gadgets into a single device. So many, in<br />
fact, that one-on-one conversation is no longer the technology’s<br />
strong suit.<br />
That change is reflected<br />
nationally. A analysis of<br />
60,000 cell phone bills by<br />
the media research firm,<br />
the Nielsen Company,<br />
found the number of actual<br />
telephone calls declined 25<br />
percent from 2009 to 2010,<br />
and the length of those calls<br />
diminished as well. What’s<br />
happening<br />
Nicole Berg, who farms<br />
near Patterson, Wash., said<br />
it’s about efficiency. By<br />
texting—that is, sending a<br />
short, typed message—you<br />
save time.<br />
“It’s a quick, easy way to<br />
communicate, and unlike<br />
calling, you don’t have to ask<br />
about the kids or how things are going,” she said.<br />
Text messages are also superior over voice for another<br />
reason. Unlike phone conversations which need an<br />
uninterrupted line-of-sight link with a cell phone tower<br />
to avoid dropping the call, a text will be sent (or received)<br />
with even a momentary connection. The same thing goes<br />
for emails.<br />
At 40 and 36, Berg and her brother Steve are part of a<br />
50 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
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Brett Blankenship (left), chairman of the domestic policy<br />
committee of the National Association of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers<br />
and a farmer from Washtucna, and Wayne Hurst, an Idaho<br />
farmer who is president of NAWG, were all fingers as they<br />
communicated with the national office about the latest<br />
farm bill developments at the recent Tri-State Convention.<br />
Nicole Berg never knows when the camera<br />
on her smart phone will be called into action.<br />
Sometimes it is used to photograph a rainbow.<br />
Other times, it’s used to document a breakdown<br />
like this one.<br />
younger generation of farmers who have embraced smart phones as<br />
the high-powered pocket computers they are. Working a farm that<br />
is both irrigated and dryland, the ability to control and monitor irrigation<br />
pivots by phone has revolutionized the way they operate.<br />
“Back in the day, we used to need an individual—or two or<br />
three—on the farm 24 hours a day to physically go to the pump<br />
and push a button to start the water and troubleshoot. Now, we can<br />
turn on and off our pumps and pivots by our smart phones, we can<br />
see on a map which circles are running and which ones aren’t and<br />
if there are any in trouble,” she said.<br />
Berg said the ability to have control in the palm of their hands<br />
has saved the operation thousands of dollars and countless<br />
headaches.<br />
“It’s not just the extra help we don’t need to hire, it’s the extra<br />
pickup we can do without. And it’s so fast. If something goes<br />
wrong, there’s a phone alert, and we can transfer water to another<br />
pivot or shut down immediately so we don’t have lines blow up<br />
that will hurt the rest of the system,” she said.<br />
At 57, Steve Hair, who farms near Walla Walla, is close to the<br />
average age of the Eastern Washington wheat farmer demographic.<br />
That, however, is about all that’s typical about him. Hair wowed<br />
a team of Natural Resource Conservation Service personnel who<br />
came to his farm by using a Global Position System application on<br />
his phone to show them moving across the topography. The screen<br />
also highlighted the individual tracks he was thinking about put-<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
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WGC REPORTS<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
ting into a permanent Conservation Reserve Program.<br />
Although he still uses a D-5 crawler tractor on his farm<br />
with levers instead of a steering wheel, Hair is a bit of a<br />
geek when it comes to his smart phone. He laughingly<br />
begs to differ, arguing mastery of the phone isn’t about<br />
being a geek, it’s about desire and patience. But then, in<br />
all seriousness, he’ll brief you on various phone operating<br />
systems including Froyo, Gingerbread and Ice Cream<br />
Sandwich. He’s very excited about trading up to Ice Cream<br />
Sandwich. Enough said.<br />
Despite his technical know-how, Hair’s No. 1 use of<br />
his phone is to access email. He’s learned to text mainly<br />
because that’s how his kids communicate.<br />
The camera function on cell phones may be old hat now,<br />
but Hair finds it to be incredibly useful. He uses the smart<br />
phone camera as a visual journal of what is happening on<br />
the farm. For instance,<br />
by taking a photo of<br />
his initial tillage, he’s<br />
not only able to see<br />
later how it looked,<br />
but the date attached<br />
to the photo tells him<br />
exactly when he started<br />
the operation. He also<br />
takes photos of parts he<br />
needs to ensure he gets<br />
what he’s ordered. If his<br />
daughter is gopher for<br />
the day, he can email<br />
her the photo on the<br />
A photo with the time it was taken attached<br />
can communicate a thousand<br />
words to the trucking company that didn’t<br />
adhere to its schedule said Nicole Berg.<br />
way to the dealership.<br />
And in a nod to social<br />
networking, he will<br />
use the camera’s video<br />
function to record “massive breakdowns,” which he posts<br />
to YouTube for a select few.<br />
Brett Blankenship, 53, who farms near Washtucna,<br />
initially purchased a smart phone to aid him as he went<br />
through the officer chairs of the Washington Association<br />
of <strong>Wheat</strong> Growers. Now, he is chairman of the domestic<br />
policy committee of the National Association of <strong>Wheat</strong><br />
Growers and in the running to serve as an officer in that<br />
organization.<br />
Although his role as a WAWG officer is what compelled<br />
him to make the transition to a smart phone in order to<br />
check and respond to emails on-the-fly, he subsequently<br />
became aware of its capabilities for the farm.<br />
“Once I had the phone, I discovered the other things it<br />
could do, such as checking the markets and being more<br />
Sometimes, a single phone just isn’t enough. Kara Rowe, editor of <strong>Wheat</strong><br />
<strong>Life</strong> and outreach coordinator of WAWG, packs two: one for work and one<br />
for her personal life.<br />
During a break at a recent Washington Grain Commission meeting, Mike<br />
Miller checks the latest wheat prices.<br />
What would a meeting be without a cup of coffee and a Blackberry<br />
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responsive to the moves on the board of trade. I have it<br />
set up now that I get text alerts every half hour when the<br />
market is open. Plus, I receive email notifications from<br />
some marketing advice groups. That, and I have cell<br />
phone capability to call my broker. All of those things are<br />
now happening at the same time,” he said.<br />
Does it make a difference Blankenship said if nothing<br />
else, the connectivity keeps him focused on the idea that<br />
marketing is a year-round endeavor.<br />
“This is not the old days when, after harvest, you<br />
counted your bushels and sold a contract or two. Now, it<br />
is a 12-month plan,” he said.<br />
Brit Ausman, who farms near Asotin, Wash., and is the<br />
newest member of the Washington Grain Commission,<br />
has had cell phones since the mid-1990s, and he agrees<br />
they have helped make him more efficient. Accessing<br />
the weather, the market, using the calendar function,<br />
GPS and texting and emailing throughout the day has<br />
provided him with a range of capabilities to stay on top<br />
of an increasingly complicated operation.<br />
And yet Ausman, 40, sees a dark side to all that productivity.<br />
He feels it is rude and unproductive when he<br />
goes to a meeting and 60 percent of the room is sending<br />
or reading a text or on the internet Facebooking.<br />
“We are losing the face-to-face contact of a meeting. It<br />
is almost as if the world is becoming disconnected from<br />
personal conversation, and I don’t think that is good,” he<br />
said.<br />
He admits he’s part of the problem. Like Berg, he likes<br />
the text function because it’s quick and direct when he<br />
doesn’t want to spare time for an actual conversation.<br />
But removing face-to-face contact and now even voiceto-voice<br />
contact can lead to conflicted “conversations”<br />
that result in miscommunication due to a text or email<br />
without an emotional connection.<br />
For Ausman, the cell phone opened Pandora’s Box,<br />
and the smart phone is just the latest iteration. On his<br />
farm, the linkage will become even more sophisticated<br />
next year when his sprayer is connected to the internet.<br />
Thanks to new software from a precision ag company,<br />
he will be able follow the sprayer in real time from his<br />
phone. It’s not that he necessarily needs the ability to<br />
know what his sprayer is doing at any given moment,<br />
but by connecting its functions to the internet, he will<br />
have an automatic record of all of his chemical applications,<br />
something he believes will be more important as<br />
time goes on.<br />
Like most farmers, Ausman occasionally chooses to<br />
turn his phone off. Reading bedtime stories to his young<br />
children is one of those interludes. As for time to reflect<br />
and plan without being disturbed by endless interruptions,<br />
he has two intermissions. One is while he’s taking<br />
a shower. The other is when he’s on an airplane.<br />
Unfortunately, as airlines begin to offer high speed<br />
internet connections on their flights, it appears that for<br />
smart farmers like Ausman, the only respite from smart<br />
phones and today’s 24/7 business of farming will be taking<br />
longer showers.<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
Email is one of Nicole Berg’s most used functions on her phone—and it’s<br />
not all about the farm.<br />
Some people like to dress up their phones, like Mary Palmer Sullivan,<br />
program director for the Washington Grain Commission.<br />
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Belt tightening at FSA farmers<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
Patience is a virtue the State Executive Director of<br />
Washington State’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is asking<br />
wheat farmers to practice in 2012.<br />
Cutbacks at the Washington State FSA due to a declining<br />
administrative/operational budget will necessitate<br />
growers planning further ahead and paying for some<br />
of the materials previously supplied by the agency. Due<br />
to a program of incentivizing retirement, it is also likely<br />
that farmers who have worked with specific staff in the<br />
past will no longer see those people<br />
behind county office counters. Not<br />
only that, those positions will probably<br />
remain vacant for now.<br />
The number of permanent, fulltime<br />
employees at the state FSA will<br />
decline from 130 to 118 by September<br />
2012. Judy Olson, who serves as state<br />
executive director and also operates<br />
a wheat farm with her husband,<br />
Rich, expects staffing reductions will<br />
all be achieved through retirement.<br />
Meanwhile, funding for temporary<br />
employees who are brought in to<br />
county offices to help during busy<br />
sign-up periods has been eliminated,<br />
and no overtime has been authorized in more than a<br />
year.<br />
Olson has been making the rounds of agricultural<br />
organizations to let them know what to expect, but even<br />
that is a problem. The state agency’s travel budget has<br />
been cut by more than 50 percent, and there is no money<br />
for per diem, which means overnight travel is out. Olson<br />
made it clear, however, that funding is still available to<br />
make spot checks of farmers’ field or to measure grain<br />
bins to ensure compliance under the programs the<br />
agency administers.<br />
With belt tightening extending to items like paper,<br />
printer ink cartridges and postage, farmers and their<br />
landlords will no longer receive printed newsletters.<br />
Monthly electronic newsletters will replace them and<br />
will be available on the Washington State FSA website<br />
at www.fsa.usda.gov/wa. For those individuals without<br />
high speed internet, Olson said various ideas are being<br />
considered to reach them, including leaving a few printed<br />
newsletters at county office counters or at locations<br />
where farmers gather. Individual letters will continue to<br />
be sent, but not bulk mailings.<br />
The cutbacks are extending even to the materials<br />
farmers have come to expect over the years. Olson said<br />
farmers will be limited to one set of maps and one set of<br />
documentation. If they need additional copies for landlords,<br />
they will either have to make copies themselves or<br />
pay the FSA to do it. It will be possible for county offices<br />
to download the information onto thumb drives or disks<br />
for farmers, but Olson noted that such storage devices<br />
must come to the offices in new, unopened packaging<br />
due to security concerns.<br />
The operational cutbacks are part of a national mood<br />
aimed at making government smaller<br />
by reducing federal agency funding<br />
while attempting to balance the<br />
budget. This national debate sets the<br />
scene for what members of Congress<br />
submit regarding annual appropriations<br />
for all federal agencies, Olson<br />
said. In Washington, the state FSA<br />
cuts amount to about 10 percent from<br />
the Fiscal Year 2011 funding level.<br />
These administrative/operational<br />
funding reductions are not expected<br />
to change deadlines for sign-ups<br />
which are set nationally. That could<br />
create challenges, especially in some<br />
county offices which will be left shorthanded<br />
by retirements.<br />
“We are urging patience, and we are encouraging<br />
producers to make appointments, especially where that<br />
hasn’t traditionally been the case,” Olson said, adding<br />
that a register will be established that can extend service<br />
to farmers past the imposed deadlines. She cautions,<br />
however, that only those who have attempted to make a<br />
timely appointment will be included on the list. Because<br />
the FSA doesn’t have a say in who retires, office staffing<br />
around the state is likely to be unbalanced until staff can<br />
be repositioned. Staff may be asked to change duty station<br />
assignments to assist with workload demands.<br />
Some county offices which are understaffed may be<br />
shut part of the week, and farmers who don’t phone<br />
ahead may be greeted by a sign on the door noting the<br />
closure. In Eastern Washington, Asotin and Garfield,<br />
Columbia and Walla Walla, Okanogan and Ferry and<br />
Chelan and Douglas counties all have shared management,<br />
although each county has its own county<br />
committee.<br />
Additional temporary shared management situations<br />
may occur as employees retire. Shared management<br />
refers to a single county executive director managing<br />
multiple county offices.<br />
54 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
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Nitrogen and protein<br />
go together like a horse and carriage<br />
Ensuring PROTEIN LEVELS IN HARD WHEATS<br />
By Rich Koenig<br />
The 2011 crop season proved challenging when it came<br />
to making protein for Eastern Washington’s hard wheat<br />
crops. Above-average precipitation and an extended cool<br />
spring and early summer combined to increase grain<br />
yields while driving down grain protein concentrations.<br />
Managing nitrogen (N) for grain protein in hard wheat<br />
is a moving target, and there is<br />
no one-size-fits-all solution across<br />
Publications available<br />
online for more reading<br />
Three briefs from the Washington<br />
Grain Commission:<br />
Hard white spring wheat N and<br />
protein management: http://css.wsu.<br />
edu/people/faculty/soils/Koenig_<br />
files/Hard_White_Spring_<strong>Wheat</strong>_<br />
Nitrogen_Protein_Brief_WGC.pdf<br />
Hard red spring wheat N and<br />
protein management: http://css.wsu.<br />
edu/people/faculty/soils/Koenig_<br />
files/Hard_Red_Spring_<strong>Wheat</strong>_<br />
Nitrogen_Protein_Brief_WGC.pdf<br />
Hard red winter wheat N and<br />
protein management: http://css.wsu.<br />
edu/people/faculty/soils/Koenig_<br />
files/Hard_Red_Winter_<strong>Wheat</strong>_<br />
Nitrogen_Protein_Brief_WGC.pdf<br />
The PNW publication Nitrogen<br />
Management for Hard <strong>Wheat</strong> Protein<br />
Enhancement: http://www.cals.<br />
uidaho.edu/edComm/pdf/pnw/<br />
pnw0578.pdf<br />
The WSU Dryland winter wheat<br />
fertilizer guide: http://cru.cahe.wsu.<br />
edu/CEPublications/eb1987/eb1987.<br />
pdf<br />
the state’s diverse rainfall zones.<br />
Year-to-year variability based on<br />
weather and variability within<br />
fields adds to the complexity.<br />
There are, however, key principles<br />
involved in managing N to produce<br />
hard wheat with high grain<br />
protein.<br />
Recommendations given here<br />
are based on research conducted<br />
at Washington State University<br />
and by the fertilizer industry,<br />
three hard wheat “briefs” published<br />
in 2005 by the Washington<br />
Grain Commission and the experience<br />
of various crop consultants<br />
serving eastern Washington<br />
agriculture.<br />
Planning. <strong>Wheat</strong> yield<br />
and grain protein are influenced<br />
by moisture and N availability.<br />
For hard wheat, the amount of N<br />
necessary to achieve high grain<br />
protein is slightly above that necessary<br />
to achieve maximum yield.<br />
An accurate estimate of yield<br />
is critical. If you underestimate<br />
yield, you will under-fertilize<br />
for protein. Predicting yield then<br />
is the largest source of error in<br />
managing fertilizer for high grain<br />
protein.<br />
A simple worksheet for calculating<br />
fertilizer N requirements for hard wheat (Table<br />
1) permits a grower to establish yield goals based on<br />
historic trends or measured soil moisture and in-season<br />
precipitation. Nitrogen requirements are approximately<br />
3.6 lbs/bushel for 14 percent protein DNS, 3.2 lbs/bushel<br />
for 12.5 percent protein hard white, and 3.0 lbs/bushel<br />
for 11.5 percent hard red winter wheat. These figures<br />
represent the total (soil+fertilizer)<br />
N requirement for these crops.<br />
Growers never apply this much<br />
fertilizer N because the total is<br />
always discounted by residual<br />
N maintained in the soil. Testing<br />
is critical to assess this residual.<br />
Sulfur (S) is also recommended<br />
at a ratio of 1 lb S for each 10 to 15<br />
lbs of N applied to hard wheat.<br />
Most of the N required by<br />
wheat is taken up during vegetative<br />
growth before flowering and<br />
contributes directly to grain yield.<br />
Vegetative N is later transported<br />
to the kernels to form protein<br />
during grain filling. Early season<br />
N availability is critical to<br />
make yield and a moderate level<br />
of grain protein. Additional N<br />
absorbed by wheat after flowering<br />
primarily increases grain protein.<br />
In dryland situations, N stranded<br />
near the surface in dry soil<br />
will not be available for absorption<br />
and protein formation later<br />
in the growing season. The key is<br />
to manage fertilizer application<br />
timing so that some N is present<br />
near the surface early in the season<br />
to meet plant requirements<br />
for vegetative growth and yield,<br />
and some is present deeper in the<br />
soil profile (3 to 4 feet) later in the<br />
season, where active rooting and<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
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Table 1. Worksheet for calculating dryland hard wheat nitrogen needs<br />
A<br />
N supply needed by the crop to meet yield and protein goals<br />
B<br />
1. yield goal: bu/acre<br />
2. N supply needed: bu/acre (line A1) x<br />
1<br />
lbs N/bu =<br />
Soil inventory<br />
lb N/ac<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
1. Current soil test N (ammonium + nitrate)<br />
(ammonium in the first foot only, nitrate in all depths<br />
sampled)<br />
2. Credit from organic matter release<br />
(15 to 20 lb N per % organic matter in the soil test)<br />
3. Debit for residue decomposition<br />
(35 lb/ac for winter wheat, 30 lb/ac for spring wheat<br />
and 25 lb/ac for barley as the preceding crop)<br />
4. Other N credits<br />
5. Total soil N inventory (lines 1 through 4) =<br />
N to apply (fertilizer recommendation)<br />
C line A2 – line B5 =<br />
1<br />
Enter values of 3.0 for hard red winter, 3.2 for hard white, or 3.6 for DNS.<br />
water absorption are occurring, to<br />
ensure high grain protein.<br />
For hard red and white winter<br />
wheat in low rainfall zones, N<br />
applications in the fallow period<br />
or just before or at planting are normally<br />
adequate to achieve the optimum<br />
soil distribution described<br />
above. For DNS and hard white<br />
spring, fall application of a portion<br />
of the total N requirement has been<br />
used to promote movement of some<br />
N deeper into the profile where it<br />
will be available to the crop later in<br />
the growing season. Fall application<br />
may reduce the potential for “burning<br />
up” (stimulating excessive<br />
vegetative growth and depleting<br />
soil moisture) a spring wheat crop<br />
that can occur when high rates of N<br />
are applied at or near planting. Fall<br />
fertilization also allows growers<br />
Yield and protein<br />
Yield-Protein 101: Cereals<br />
Low Moderate Adequate Excessive<br />
Grain yield<br />
Grain protein<br />
+ lb/acre<br />
+ lb/acre<br />
- lb/acre<br />
+ lb/acre<br />
Nitrogen (N) availability<br />
-<br />
lb N/ac<br />
=<br />
lb N/ac<br />
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The three hard wheat “briefs” published in 2005 by the Washington Grain Commission.<br />
to re-evaluate spring wheat yield potentials before the<br />
remainder of the N is applied at or near planting.<br />
The timing of fall fertilization for DNS and hard white<br />
spring is critical. Early fall application is desirable in low<br />
rainfall areas to ensure adequate time for some of the<br />
N to convert from the ammonium form, which is not<br />
mobile in soil, to nitrate (mobile form) and move down<br />
the profile with over-winter precipitation. In high rainfall<br />
zones, late fall application after soil temperatures have<br />
dropped below 50º F is recommended. This not only limits<br />
the conversion process, it also helps to prevent excessive<br />
movement within the soil profile and the potential<br />
loss of nitrates through leaching out of the root zone.<br />
Monitoring. When yield potentials increase due<br />
to favorable weather conditions, grain protein potential<br />
will decrease unless additional N is supplied to compensate<br />
for the higher yield. Hard wheat growers should<br />
periodically evaluate whether the yield potential of the<br />
crop has increased and ask themselves whether the N<br />
supply (Table 1) is still adequate given the higher yield<br />
potential. If not, supplemental N should be applied as<br />
early as possible to adjust for the higher yield potential.<br />
Tissue sampling can be used as a guide to determine<br />
whether a crop contains adequate nutrients at various<br />
growth stages. Whole-plant samples can be tested for N<br />
and S content and compared to established critical values<br />
to determine sufficiency. Many commercial agronomic<br />
labs in Washington are capable of performing tissue testing<br />
services. For DNS, a flag leaf N concentration of 4.5<br />
percent at flowering is associated with 14 percent grain<br />
protein.<br />
Adjusting. In situations where an adjustment in<br />
the N program is necessary to respond to a higher yield<br />
potential, an in-season application may be warranted.<br />
Late winter/early spring applications of N can effectively<br />
supplement pre-plant applications and help achieve yield<br />
and protein goals. Research shows the earlier in-season<br />
applications can be made on dryland winter wheat the<br />
better. Positive yield and protein response diminishes<br />
with later in-season applications and may lower test<br />
weights in low rainfall areas. Some consultants also recommend<br />
a small amount of S be applied with in-season<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
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WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
N applications to improve grain<br />
protein content.<br />
In dryland systems, N is most<br />
effective in influencing grain yield<br />
and protein content when it is<br />
absorbed through the root system.<br />
However, some growers have successfully<br />
used foliar applications of<br />
fluid urea or urea ammonium nitrate<br />
to manage grain protein content<br />
in hard wheat. Research shows<br />
this practice is highly dependent on<br />
favorable weather conditions (cool,<br />
moist) after foliar applications are<br />
made.<br />
WSU’s wheat breeders have made<br />
great strides in developing superior<br />
hard wheat varieties for Eastern<br />
Washington’s climatic conditions,<br />
but their efforts can only go so far.<br />
Farmers are key to ensuring the<br />
varieties of hard red winter, hard<br />
red spring and hard white wheat<br />
meet the protein levels which will<br />
reimburse them for the additional<br />
management the crop demands.<br />
Rich Koenig is a soil scientist and<br />
chairman of the Department of Crop<br />
and Soil Science at Washington State<br />
University<br />
State statistic service<br />
changing to handle cuts<br />
By Scott A. Yates<br />
The National Agricultural Statistic Service (NASS) has already announced<br />
that it intends to eliminate an array of commodity-related<br />
program reports, but what could be even a bigger change would see<br />
the agency’s main functions consolidate into nine regional centers.<br />
David Knopf, director<br />
for the Washington Field<br />
Office of NASS, made it<br />
clear the change is still<br />
a proposal, but it has<br />
been reported elsewhere<br />
that a senior executive<br />
team within NASS has<br />
accepted the plan and is<br />
awaiting approval from<br />
the U.S. Department of<br />
Agriculture. The initiative<br />
would streamline the<br />
agency’s 45 field offices<br />
into nine regional offices<br />
while maintaining a token<br />
presence of two employees<br />
in each state. Currently,<br />
Washington State’s field<br />
office has 16 employees.<br />
Under the proposal,<br />
many of the functions<br />
currently performed within Washington would be transferred to a<br />
regional hub based in Sacramento. State and county estimates would<br />
be done from the consolidated location. Part of the task of the two individuals<br />
who would remain behind would be to serve as commodity<br />
organization contacts and to work with the state’s 70, part-time enumerators<br />
who gather information for reports that can’t be conducted on<br />
a regional basis.<br />
Knopf said it’s anticipated the 14 individuals who would not be staying<br />
at the state office, nine of whom are statisticians, would have the<br />
opportunity to transfer to a regional office or receive an early retirement<br />
buy-out, among other possible options. Besides California, the<br />
regional hubs would be located in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Florida,<br />
Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas and Colorado. It’s expected each<br />
hub would have a workforce of approximately 45 employees. In creating<br />
the regional offices, NASS senior staff is said to have considered<br />
which states have similar cash receipts, agricultural issues, existing<br />
survey programs as well as the average workload of the current state<br />
staff.<br />
58 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
WGC REPORTS WL<br />
The National Agricultural Statistics Service can trace<br />
its roots to 1863, the year after Abraham Lincoln created<br />
the agriculture department. Recently, the agency<br />
revealed it would eliminate numerous reports based<br />
on a “mission and user-based criteria” to ensure only<br />
the most important and useful data remained available.<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong> reports were unscathed.<br />
Knopf, who has worked for the agency for 28 years,<br />
said the current proposal has rocked his world, but<br />
obviously it wouldn’t have been floated were it not for<br />
the realities of the funding being apportioned to federal<br />
agencies.<br />
“We internally have always felt we are a NASS family,<br />
and we have always enjoyed the structure of state field<br />
offices that has given us the chance to work with a lot of<br />
people across the country. The structure proposed is the<br />
most significant change I have experienced, but obviously,<br />
I have to get us moving toward the new structure<br />
if we go that route,” he said.<br />
Money—or the lack of it—is the driver in all of the<br />
changes that have either come to pass or are being proposed.<br />
Various initiatives have already been put in place,<br />
including video teleconferencing, computer-assisted personal<br />
interviewing using iPads, the creation of a national<br />
operations center which opened in the fall of 2011 in St.<br />
Louis to centrally process data and the creation of virtual<br />
networks which have transferred computer data storage<br />
from each state to “the cloud,” as centralized locations<br />
are referred to. The fifth initiative, what Knopf calls “the<br />
beast,” is system standardization which would promote<br />
data collection and data processing efficiencies.<br />
Officials within Washington’s NASS office have spent<br />
many years pointing out the importance of grower<br />
cooperation in agricultural surveys. Growers, on the<br />
other hand, indicate that as their numbers decline they<br />
are experiencing survey fatigue. Will growers show even<br />
less desire to answer telephone surveys knowing the<br />
enumerator (interviewer) is located at a distant call center<br />
Knopf said one of the reasons St. Louis was chosen<br />
as a national operation center was because of the area’s<br />
neutral accent.<br />
The Washington Grain Commission pays the<br />
Washington field office of NASS $11,600 to conduct a<br />
survey of wheat and barley varieties planted in the state<br />
each year. The WGC also pays enumerators to collect harvested<br />
wheat for testing at the <strong>Wheat</strong> Marketing Center<br />
in Portland. Other commodity groups also share the cost<br />
of various data collection efforts, a function that Knopf<br />
said will remain very important even if the agency does<br />
consolidate into regional centers.<br />
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION<br />
A NASS interviewer uses an iPad for data collection for the September Agricultural Survey.<br />
United States DEPARTMENT OF AGRICulture PHOTO<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 59
WIDE WORLD OF WHEAT<br />
Photo by ANDREW SMITH<br />
A New Holland combine harvester dispenses its grain<br />
into a trailer as it harvests a field of wheat just east of<br />
Childrey, Oxfordshire, Great Britain.<br />
Low water in Europe’s Rhine and Danube<br />
rivers helped Britain’s wheat exports<br />
climb to their highest levels in nearly a<br />
year. The river levels meant some European<br />
exporters have only been able to partially<br />
load ships and barges. Recent rains have replenished<br />
Rhine water levels, and traffic was<br />
returning to normal at the end of the year.<br />
Danube levels remain low, sapped by a lack<br />
of rain evident by the poor health of winter<br />
grain seedlings in Ukraine, where the river<br />
flows into the Black Sea. U.S. Department of<br />
Agriculture foreign staff in Belgrade report<br />
100 barges are blocked in Serbia, a situation<br />
they fear may not improve until spring.<br />
Britain is the European Union’s third-ranked<br />
producer of wheat.<br />
Russian wheat is cheap, but at least<br />
a third of it is also substandard. Research<br />
carried out by specialists with the Center for<br />
Quality Assessment, a division of the Russian<br />
Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary<br />
Surveillance, checked three million tons of<br />
grain and grain products in August.<br />
They found about 987,000 tons of<br />
grain destined for the domestic<br />
market and 920,000 tons allocated<br />
for export was substandard. Most<br />
of the grain was contaminated by<br />
pests. The Russian government<br />
does not monitor the quality and<br />
safety of grain and its products,<br />
but recently Russian President<br />
Dmitry Medvedev said a reinstatement of state grain inspection is a<br />
possibility.<br />
A Federal Court judge ruled that Canada’s agriculture minister broke<br />
the law by failing to put the elimination of the Canadian <strong>Wheat</strong> Board to<br />
a vote of farmers. Gerry Ritz isn’t impressed by the power of the judicial<br />
branch, however, and said the ruling will not change his plans to create<br />
an open market for prairie wheat and barley growers by next August. The<br />
CWB held a vote of its own, and 62 percent of farmers cast their ballots in<br />
favor of maintaining the board. At the time, Ritz said the vote was nothing<br />
more than an opinion poll and not binding. But Justice Douglas Campbell<br />
sided with a group calling itself “Friends of the Canadian <strong>Wheat</strong> Board.”<br />
They had argued that Ritz violated the CWB Act that calls for the minister to<br />
consult with the wheat board and hold a farm vote before making substantial<br />
changes to the agency’s marketing power. The government plans to<br />
appeal the judge’s ruling and is telling growers to act as if the board will be<br />
abolished.<br />
Egypt has given tentative<br />
approval to adding Hungary<br />
and Bulgaria to its official list<br />
of wheat providers. The two<br />
countries recently made the<br />
request during a conference of<br />
wheat importers and exporters<br />
in Geneva. First, Egyptian officials<br />
want to examine the wheat<br />
Laszlo BALOGH/REUTERS<br />
quality in both countries. Until Farmers harvest wheat at a field near Mezokovesd,<br />
130 km (80.8 miles) east of Budapest,<br />
recently, almost 90 percent of<br />
Hungary.<br />
Egypt’s imports this year were<br />
coming from Russia. Egypt is the world’s largest wheat importer.<br />
Officials in Ukraine say they have experienced the driest autumn in<br />
50 years. That translated to emerged wheat that was 22 percent smaller<br />
on Dec. 8 than a year earlier. Winter wheat sprouted on 12.7 million acres,<br />
down from 16.3 million acres a year earlier. It’s expected crops on 3.2 million<br />
acres won’t emerge at all.<br />
South kOREA is developing a growing interest in consuming whole<br />
grain products, which is the basis of a three-year project to investigate<br />
whole wheat processing and quality. Washington<br />
State University Cereal Chemist Byung-Kee<br />
Baik and South Korean Scientist Induck Choi<br />
are funded by a $220,000 grant from the<br />
International Technology Cooperation Center<br />
in Korea. They will investigate various milling<br />
methods that affect flour particle size and<br />
processing quality with the goal to develop<br />
novel flour processing technologies to<br />
make whole wheat behave more like white<br />
flour in baking. Ultimately, they want to<br />
60 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
develop a protocol for selecting varieties<br />
that are most suitable for making whole<br />
wheat products. <strong>Wheat</strong> is the second major<br />
staple in Korea, and close to 99 percent of it<br />
is imported.<br />
The Port Kembla Grain Terminal facilities are owned<br />
and operated by GrainCorp Limited on land owned<br />
by the Port Kembla Port Corporation.<br />
Lack of investment in rail infrastructure<br />
over the last 50 years has caused<br />
Australia’s New South Wales government<br />
to lift a long-standing curfew on<br />
grain trucked to Port Kembla’s terminal. The<br />
terminal now has approval to receive grain<br />
by road around the clock due to the inability<br />
of rail to adequately service the location.<br />
GrainCorp pushed for the change because<br />
of the fear grain exports would be lost to<br />
other ports, despite resident’s concerns<br />
about increased traffic, pollution, noise and<br />
road damage. Moving grain by truck to port<br />
is expected to cost an extra $10 million and<br />
increase greenhouse emissions by 200,000<br />
tons annually. Despite the transportation difficulties,<br />
Australia is poised to export more<br />
than 20 million tons of wheat, helping cap<br />
gains in global prices.<br />
A nitrogen grain storage method is being<br />
promoted by China’s Grain Reserve<br />
Corp. as a method to reduce food losses and<br />
prevent food contamination and environmental<br />
pollution caused when using chemicals.<br />
The company has so far stored 3.5<br />
billion kilograms of grains with the nitrogen<br />
moderation method. A 2-billion-kilogram,<br />
nitrogen-based grain reserve project is currently<br />
under construction. China Grain, also<br />
known as Sinograin, said nitrogen moderation,<br />
which displaces oxygen with nitrogen<br />
in a sealed storage space, could be a new<br />
chapter in the safety of food storage and<br />
food savings.<br />
There’s a lot of talk about whether or not<br />
agriculture can feed 9 billion people, but ac-<br />
cording to Simon Bentley, head of grains at LMC International, the Black<br />
SEA region has tens of millions of hectares of additional and accessible arable<br />
land that can be sown to grain and oilseeds. “If we get the price, we will<br />
get the area response,” he said. Already, since 2004, the area has added more<br />
than 17 million acres to planted grains. “It’s provided most of the swing capacity<br />
in the world grain market. When you look around the world at where<br />
agriculture can expand, two regions jump out, South America and this one,”<br />
he said. Black Sea wheat producing nations are<br />
generally thought of as Russia, Ukraine and<br />
Kazakhstan.<br />
Soap sold in Japan which contained “wheat<br />
derived substances” was responsible for 471<br />
cases of wheat allergy, including swelling,<br />
rashes and breathing difficulties. At least 66<br />
people had to be hospitalized as a result of<br />
using the “Drop of Tea” soap, which was sold by<br />
mail order.<br />
World wheat production is up, and prices are<br />
down, which is usually a signal to pull back on acreage. Not in France,<br />
however, where the European Union’s largest grain producer is boosting the<br />
planting of winter soft wheat to 12.5 million acres, matching the record set in<br />
2008. The average cost to produce a ton of wheat in France next year is estimated<br />
at between 140 to 145 euros, based on average yields. In the first part<br />
of December 2011, milling wheat for delivery after harvest 2012 was pegged<br />
at 175 euros ($233.87).<br />
Drought during Kenya’s main wheat growing season slashed production,<br />
missing output targets by close to two-thirds. The Agriculture Ministry<br />
said the country harvested 2.18 million, 90-kg bags during its long rainy<br />
season against a target of 5.69 million bags. Kenya is a net importer of wheat<br />
with consumption of about 1.4 mmt ton per year. Domestic production<br />
stands at about 200,000 mt.<br />
Kazakhstan, the world’s largest landlocked country with a territory<br />
bigger than Western Europe, harvested a record 24 million tons of wheat in<br />
2011/12, a new record. Spring varieties constitute about 85 percent of the<br />
country’s grain<br />
production.<br />
Phenomenal<br />
weather conditions<br />
through<br />
the growing<br />
period generated<br />
a huge amount<br />
of lower-thanusual<br />
quality<br />
wheat, while lack<br />
of snow through the beginning of November allowed farmers to complete<br />
the harvest. According to the agricultural ministry, Kazakhstan may increase<br />
grain exports by 150 percent to 15 mmt. Kazakhstan has 230 million acres of<br />
arable land and 99 million acres of “plough” land. “We have only used 16 million<br />
hectares (40 million acres) this year and have enough room for potential<br />
for growth,” said Vice Minister of Agriculture Marat Tolibayev.<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 61
WL<br />
FEATURE<br />
Getting the word out<br />
A collection of colorful cards capture the history of the farm implement evolution in the PNW<br />
By Norman Reed<br />
My collection of colorful, very early advertising cards intrigued<br />
me to research the men and their firms resulting in this<br />
brief history of our farm implement dealers, their fascinating<br />
founders and the equipment that they provided to build our territory’s<br />
great farming success.<br />
When pioneer settlers first arrived in the Oregon<br />
Territory, they came with little more than the clothes on<br />
their backs. They probably had a shovel, ax, scythe and<br />
saw, and that was about it. The farming techniques that<br />
they knew had changed very little in the last hundreds<br />
of years. In Champoeg, Toledo, Salem, Silverton and<br />
Walla Walla, they found great farm land and were able to<br />
carve out subsistence for their families, but even with the<br />
outstanding soil, profitable farming, as we have come to<br />
know it, was not possible with such primitive tools.<br />
During those same years, great changes were occurring<br />
in American agriculture. By 1847, Cyrus McCormick<br />
in Rockbridge County, Va., had perfected the reaper to<br />
harvest grain. By 1863 in Racine, Wisc., Jerome I. Case had<br />
improved on the complicated grain threshing machines.<br />
Deere, Deering, Oliver and Russell were improving plows,<br />
binders, engines and other implements. These changes<br />
revolutionized farming throughout the United States and<br />
world. Not all inventions came from the east. The combined<br />
harvester and the track tractor were invented here<br />
in the west, with Daniel Best and other Oregon men making<br />
significant inputs.<br />
At this same time another idea began: marketing and<br />
advertising through the lithographic printing of colorful,<br />
giveaway cards. These cards, now called Victorian Trade<br />
Cards, were the first colored images ever produced in<br />
mass quantity by marketers, and they were distributed to<br />
farmers who really were the first buyers of large, massmanufactured<br />
items. Previously, only small, black ink line<br />
drawings were available in magazines, and they promoted<br />
household items like patent medicine. This article introduces<br />
the companies who used the cards as advertising<br />
to help them bring improved agricultural methods to<br />
Oregon, Washington and Idaho. It tells of the fascinating<br />
men who built these companies and describes how the<br />
companies helped our region.<br />
Knapp, Burrell & Company<br />
In those early days, after a firm member had gone east to place the orders,<br />
equipment had to be shipped around the horn of South America.<br />
Managing such an enterprise took great skill and courage, and Martin<br />
Strong Burrell had it. He may have been the most diverse businessman<br />
of the implement dealers. He came to Portland from Ohio in<br />
1856 and gained employment as a bookkeeper for the firm of Knapp<br />
& Hull commission merchants. In 1860, Hull retired, and Burrell<br />
became a partner with his cousins, Jabez B. Knapp and Richard<br />
B. Knapp, in Knapp, Burrell & Co. on Front and Alder streets.<br />
Soon, agricultural implements grew from just a department to<br />
the whole interest of the company. Burrell’s abilities allowed<br />
him time to found a system of national banks in Baker City,<br />
Pendleton, Walla Walla, Dayton and Colfax. He also invested heavily in<br />
a fleet of sailing vessels managed by a New Bedford, Mass., sea captain.<br />
In 1870, Jabez B. Knapp sold his interest to his brother Richard. Burrell died in 1885, and<br />
Richard Knapp carried on as president. As the business prospered, so did Portland, as it grew from a<br />
thousand inhabitants into the region’s major city by the turn of the century. The Knapps and Burrell demonstrated<br />
aggressive, progressive leadership over the years. Jabez B. Knapp, who sold out in 1870, went across the Columbia<br />
River and started a lumber business and cement mines at a site that became the town of Knappton.<br />
MAJOR LINES: McCormick reapers and binders, farm and mill machinery, fine carriages<br />
LOCATIONS: Seattle, Spokane, Walla Walla, Colfax, Wash.; La Grande, Ore.<br />
62 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
FEATURE WL<br />
Charles H. Dodd & Company<br />
From the beginning, Charles H. Dodd became one of the most<br />
influential people in the territory’s agricultural future. He established<br />
supply depots throughout the territory. He loaned equipment to<br />
farmers expecting payment only when the crops came in and were<br />
marketed. As early as 1869, thousands of dollars in equipment was<br />
loaned. When Indian wars drove farmers from their homes, Dodd<br />
suffered great losses, but his reputation as one who the farmers<br />
could rely on was cemented.<br />
Dodd was the most adventuresome of the men who formed<br />
the implement companies. He was born of English parents in<br />
New York City on Feb. 26, 1838. He was given a fine education and<br />
grounding by relatives in Stamford, Conn., and entered Yale College at the age of 15.<br />
Though he intended to continue at Yale until graduation, near the end of his sophomore year in<br />
1855, a recruiter convinced him and three classmates<br />
to go to Panama to supervise crews of workmen building a<br />
railroad line across the Isthmus of Panama. While on that job,<br />
he came down with the dreaded Chagres fever, but recovered<br />
in time to finish the job. He gained experience in engineering,<br />
construction and crew supervision. After the Panama experience,<br />
Dodd tried gold mining, then went to San Francisco and<br />
joined a hardware firm. Needing a strong and resourceful man<br />
to recover a lost or stolen cargo vessel in South America, the<br />
Peabody Co. of Boston hired Dodd, and he began the search.<br />
He traveled much of South America before finding the vessel<br />
in Montevideo, Uruguay. After another brief foray into the<br />
hardware business, Dodd joined the Arizona Rifle Company<br />
and went off to fight in the border wars with Mexico.<br />
Marriage convinced the adventuresome Dodd to settle down, and he came to Salem, Ore., and established a hardware<br />
store in 1866. In 1868, he moved to Portland and opened Hawley, Dodd and Co. Hawley was a San Francisco<br />
financial backer. In 1880, Dodd bought out Hawley and became the sole proprietor.<br />
I have not found reference to when the company ended, but presumably it carried on for many years.<br />
Dodd became a prominent leader of Portland affairs as chairman of the School<br />
Board, president of the Board of Trade (Chamber<br />
of Commerce) and chair of the State<br />
Immigration Board. He was certainly a hard<br />
working and brilliant businessman. His<br />
sons were educated in the east at Amherst<br />
College, and then spent their lives back there.<br />
Charles Dodd died in Portland on June 12,<br />
1921.<br />
MAJOR LINES: Schuttler wagons, Buckeye<br />
mowers and reapers, Altman threshers, Deere<br />
plows<br />
LOCATIONS: Portland, Albany, Athena, Ore.;<br />
Spokane, Pullman, Colfax, Walla Walla, Wash.;<br />
Moscow, Lewiston, Idaho.<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 63
WL<br />
FEATURE<br />
Mitchell<br />
& Lewis<br />
Co.<br />
During the<br />
mid 1800s, two<br />
young men in<br />
Wisconsin could<br />
not know that<br />
they would<br />
form businesses<br />
in<br />
Portland, Ore.,<br />
that would last into the<br />
21st century. The first, 19-year-old William<br />
Henry Mitchell, left Wisconsin by oxen wagon for Olympia,<br />
Wash., in 1853. Though he was the eldest son of Henry Mitchell,<br />
the founder of the Mitchell Lewis Wagon Company in Racine,<br />
Wisc., he wanted to strike out for himself. He entered into a<br />
sawmill business in Tumwater as the Ward & Mitchell Mill.<br />
Later he had his own mill in Olympia. He was the principal<br />
in establishing the Olympia-Tenino railroad. In 1882, Mitchell<br />
sold his interests and returned to Racine for a visit. His father’s<br />
Mitchell Wagon had become the leading farm wagon in the<br />
country. William saw opportunity and soon returned west to<br />
establish the Mitchell Lewis Office in Portland and the Mitchell<br />
& Lewis Co. began! Business was good, more lines were added<br />
and branches established.<br />
MAJOR LINES: The Mitchell Wagon, Canton Clipper plows,<br />
Champion bailing presses, Ingersoll compressors, Avery headers,<br />
Hoosier drills.<br />
LOCATIONS: Seattle, Spokane, Wash.; Boise, Idaho<br />
Frank Brothers<br />
Implement Co.<br />
George P. Frank was working as a clerk<br />
for a Chicago railroad when he got the<br />
urge to go west. He and his brother, A. S.<br />
Frank, moved to San Francisco in 1875 and<br />
opened a farm implement business. A few<br />
years later, they moved to Portland and<br />
incorporated as Frank Brothers Implement<br />
Company. The Franks enjoyed considerable<br />
success, giving George time for politics. In<br />
1894, he was elected mayor of Portland and<br />
served the customary two-year term. Frank<br />
A. Knapp was a key associate and manager<br />
during the 1890s and retired in 1903<br />
to became a very successful Portland real<br />
estate broker.<br />
LOCATIONS: Cheney, Colfax, Wash.<br />
64 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
WL<br />
FEATURE<br />
Staver & Walker<br />
George W. Staver grew up in Wisconsin, and after<br />
serving in the Civil War, he entered the hardware and<br />
farm implement business. His expertise in threshing<br />
encouraged the J. I. Case Company to employ him as a<br />
consultant and traveling sales representative. In 1879,<br />
Staver was sent to Salem, Ore., to sell a large stock of<br />
equipment that Case had sent out. Staver determined<br />
that Portland would be a better location, and in 1881,<br />
he partnered with another employee, W. H. Walker, to<br />
form Staver and Walker. Though they started with just<br />
the J. I. Case line, they soon expanded to a complete line<br />
of implements and built an immense warehouse on the<br />
New Market block on First Street.<br />
The company’s expansion was rapid due to Staver’s<br />
expertise in agricultural machinery, and they soon had<br />
branches in most major towns.<br />
MAJOR LINES: J. I. Case threshers, engines and plows;<br />
dairy, farm and mill machinery; engines, boilers and sawmills;<br />
wagons, buggies, carriages and carts.<br />
LOCATIONS:<br />
Seattle, Spokane Falls, Walla Walla, Pomeroy, Pullman,<br />
Colfax, Wash.; Moscow, Idaho; Medford, La Grande, Ore.<br />
The Perfect Partnership<br />
Walker died in a hunting accident in 1890. Over<br />
at Mitchell & Lewis, business was good, but could<br />
be even better with more lines to sell, so in 1892<br />
Mitchell merged with the<br />
Staver & Walker Company<br />
to become Mitchell, Lewis &<br />
Staver. The two Wisconsin men<br />
had merged! Henry Mitchell<br />
remained as president until<br />
1897 when his son, Henry W.<br />
Mitchell, became manager.<br />
Their Seattle branch occupied a<br />
substantial, four-story building and was managed by<br />
another son, Frank W. Mitchell.<br />
An advertisement in the Seattle paper, Argus,<br />
shows that by 1900, the company was beginning<br />
to branch into pumps and compressors and other<br />
mining equipment which was more in demand in<br />
Seattle. This diversity must have been important to<br />
the continuance of the company as Mitchell, Lewis<br />
& Staver is still in business today, headquartered<br />
in Wilsonville, Ore., with its many branches selling<br />
pumps throughout the western U.S.<br />
66 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
WL<br />
FEATURE<br />
Raising the roof on an old<br />
“Everybody loves a cool, old barn,” said Chris Moore,<br />
field director for the Washington Trust for Historic<br />
Preservation.<br />
According to the Department of Archaeology & Historic<br />
Preservation, “there seem to be less and less of these<br />
grandfather structures standing. The passage of time and<br />
harsh season changes continually take their toll on the<br />
barns still in existence.”<br />
The State of Washington has ensured that our historic<br />
barns are recognized and preserved. The Heritage Barn<br />
Preservation Bill, signed in 2007, plays a role in achieving<br />
this goal. The bill gives the Heritage Barn Advisory Board<br />
the charge “to examine tax incentives and land-use regulations<br />
that support barn preservation and use.” Governor<br />
Christine Gregoire even<br />
The historic Lund<br />
Barn as it stands<br />
today. The barn was<br />
rebuilt with help<br />
from the Heritage<br />
Barn Rehabilitation<br />
Grant Program.<br />
Story by Heidi Scott<br />
once voiced her support for the bill.<br />
“Barns can be beautiful buildings and a symbol of our<br />
state’s agricultural heritage. This bill will help family<br />
farms preserve their history, not only for themselves, but<br />
for all Washingtonians,” she said.<br />
Property owners of these once-grand structures interested<br />
in maintaining and/or restoring their barns have<br />
two options available through the bill.<br />
First, owners can nominate their barn to the Heritage<br />
Barn Register. Barns that are more than 50 years old, with<br />
a good amount of their original historic and architectural<br />
integrity, may qualify to be placed on this register.<br />
Second, owners can apply for matching grant funds<br />
through the Heritage Barn Rehabilitation Grant Program.<br />
Once barns are on the register, owners are eligible to<br />
submit applications for funds “to stabilize and<br />
rehabilitate their barns.”<br />
Roy and Karin Clinesmith from Benge,<br />
Wash., were some of the first to benefit<br />
from the program. Their barn, designated<br />
as the Lund Barn for its original<br />
owners, was placed on<br />
the register in 2008.<br />
Shortly after,<br />
they applied<br />
for matching<br />
grant<br />
Raising the roof on an old
FEATURE WL<br />
funds to stabilize and restore it. Originally<br />
a milking parlor, the structure was built in<br />
1916 but was almost completely destroyed<br />
by fire and had to be rebuilt in 1923. For<br />
more than 30 years, the Clinesmiths<br />
watched this lovely building slowly<br />
deteriorate.<br />
They admitted that filling out the application<br />
was a bit of a challenge. After<br />
adding pictures, letters of recommendation<br />
and thorough research on construction<br />
costs, the application filled 27 pages.<br />
They applied in November 2009 and were<br />
notified of the awarded grant in February<br />
2010. That is when anxiety really set in.<br />
The terms of the grant state that owners<br />
contribute half of the total funds for the<br />
project. In this case, a total of $68,000 was<br />
needed to restore the barn to its original<br />
state. Karin admitted that they dragged<br />
their feet in signing the papers, unsure<br />
of how to come up with the necessary<br />
$34,000. Some donated funds were volunteered<br />
to the Lund Barn project, but receiving<br />
and documenting donations can be<br />
tricky in this situation. Fortunately, Karin<br />
served on the board of the Adams County<br />
Historical Society. The Society agreed that<br />
this project fell within the parameters of<br />
their mission, and it created a separate account<br />
for owners of Adams County barns<br />
to access the 501c3 status. This allows grant<br />
money to be tax-deductable for donors and<br />
to qualify as matching funds in the grant<br />
program.<br />
Just when the undertaking seemed<br />
almost doable, the barn collapsed. The<br />
Clinesmiths were worried about how this<br />
would affect their status with the Heritage<br />
Barn Grant Program. “I got worried, but<br />
Karin kept pushing and just didn’t give<br />
up,” Roy admitted.<br />
Paul Parish, a homegrown boy from<br />
Benge, found out about their predicament.<br />
He is a long time employee/consultant<br />
of The International Lampson Crane<br />
Company of Pasco, Wash. Parish worked at<br />
the dairy as a young man earning money<br />
for college, so he had a sentimental attachment<br />
to the property. This personal regard<br />
led him to a generous donation, the use of<br />
a “small yard crane” to lift the collapsed<br />
roof and enough personnel to man the<br />
Irene and Edna Lund stand in front of their milking parlor. Originally built in 1913, the barn was<br />
rebuilt in 1923 after a fire destroyed it.<br />
The barn collapsed shortly after the grant was approved in 2010.<br />
The “small yard crane” donated by the Lampson Crane Company lifted the center section of<br />
the roof over the foundation so work on the walls could begin. For two weeks, the walls were<br />
rebuilt and stabilized before the roof was replaced.<br />
WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 69
WL<br />
FEATURE<br />
project. The use of the massive crane alone<br />
was worth thousands of dollars. Many<br />
of the local men working the crane also<br />
had personal connections to the barn or<br />
the Lund family, and they were happy to<br />
donate their time to help out. This was<br />
an extraordinary personal favor to the<br />
owners and changed everything for them.<br />
Donations, volunteer labor and in-kind<br />
contributions qualify for matching grants.<br />
The Clinesmiths signed the grant papers<br />
right away. On Jan. 28, 2011, the crane<br />
operator, Marvin Meise, another former<br />
Benge local, came to lift the center section<br />
of the barn. The Clinesmiths expected that<br />
slowly lifting the roof in one piece would<br />
take many days. The process had many<br />
(Above) Custom-built windows by master craftsman<br />
Leon Avery are modeled after the originals. (Below)<br />
The underside of the center section. Workers preserved<br />
as much of the original wood as possible during<br />
the restoration.<br />
Roy and Karin Clinesmith stand in the door of the Lund Barn.<br />
unknowns, most importantly whether or not the old wood could sustain<br />
the pressure of being lifted without shattering. Fortunately, winter conditions<br />
created the perfect scenario with the wet wood becoming pliable.<br />
By the afternoon of the same day, the center section of the roof was dangling<br />
over the foundation, and the work on the walls could begin. For two<br />
weeks, the walls were rebuilt and stabilized before the roof was replaced.<br />
Meise admits that the day the crane supports were removed was a very<br />
nervous one for him. Footage of the miraculous lift is available at<br />
www.youtube.com, under the search “Lund Barn Raising.”<br />
All grant recipients, including the Clinesmiths, worked closely<br />
throughout the entire process with Chris Moore, the field director for the<br />
Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.<br />
“Washington State was great to work with. Chris was super. We learned<br />
a lot through it, and I think they learned a lot, too,” Karin said. After passing<br />
inspections and waiting patiently, they received reimbursement for<br />
half of the total, as agreed. Seeing the barn in its beautiful state today, few<br />
would argue that it wasn’t all worth it.<br />
Master craftsman, Leon Avery, of Colfax, Wash., restored the windows<br />
of the Lund Barn to their previous, simple beauty. He doesn’t charge much<br />
because, “it’s only a barn.” The Clinesmiths considered his skill absolutely<br />
critical to the beauty of the finished product. Avery is also working on<br />
the Coon family sheep shed, two miles away, which is another Heritage<br />
Barn Rehabilitation grant project. The sheep shed is still in the middle<br />
of its restoration, and, like the Clinesmiths, the Coons are utilizing the<br />
Adams County Historical Society’s 501c3 status account for tax-deductible<br />
donations.<br />
To be eligible to receive grant money for stabilizing roofs, foundations<br />
and structural elements, barns must be visible from a publicly accessible<br />
road. If not clearly visible from the road, barn owners must agree to open<br />
their barns to the public for as little as one day a year. More information<br />
about this program can be found at the Department of Archeology and<br />
Historic Preservation website. Grant funds for the 2011-13 biennium were<br />
recently awarded, with 14 barns across the state selected to receive funding.<br />
Information and nomination forms for the Heritage Barn Register<br />
are available at www.dahp.wa.gov/heritage-barn-register. The next round<br />
for grant applications is not until 2013, provided the legislature approves<br />
funding. For those curious to see pictures of Washington’s restored barns,<br />
70 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012
look for the list at the bottom of the<br />
webpage mentioned above.<br />
Barn owners not interested or able<br />
to restore their barns are still encouraged<br />
to have them listed in the<br />
Heritage Barn Register. The committee<br />
meets several times every year to<br />
award barns a place on the register.<br />
This is simply an honorary title, requiring<br />
no alterations or future commitments.<br />
The register does not offer<br />
protection from elemental or human<br />
destruction, but it does come with a<br />
nice certificate and plaque to show<br />
friends and neighbors, and it might<br />
help persuade future generations<br />
to take better care of Washington<br />
State’s history.<br />
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WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 71
Your wheat<br />
life...<br />
Two-year-old Jack Bafus ponders what’s<br />
next after a long day of harvest on<br />
Grandpa Darrell’s farm near Endicott.<br />
Bafus family photo<br />
Pond near highway 95 north of Moscow.<br />
Norma Schultz photo<br />
Send us photos of your wheat life!<br />
Email them to Kara at<br />
kararowe@wawg.org<br />
Kylee Bourquin in her great-grandparent<br />
Ogden’s wheat field near Colville.<br />
Kriss Lecaire photo
Eleven-year-old Riley Kuch checks to make<br />
sure the bank-out wagon is full on the<br />
Gering and Kuch Farm southeast of Lind.<br />
Kuch family photo<br />
The Swannack kids at harvest on their<br />
family’s farm near Lamont<br />
Amy Swannack photo<br />
Harvest on the A & M Farms<br />
north of Davenport.<br />
George Arland photo
CIH-PF-02<br />
Advertiser Index<br />
A & L Supply, Inc. 11<br />
Ag Enterprise Supply Inc. 65<br />
AGPRO 10<br />
AG-TEQ 37<br />
Barber Engineering 7<br />
BASF–Headline Advantage 8, 9<br />
BIAGRO Western Inc. 75<br />
Brock Law Firm 15<br />
Butch Booker Auction 13<br />
Byrnes Oil Co. 39<br />
Carpenter, McGuire, DeWulf, P.S. 19<br />
Class 8 Trucks 39<br />
Coleman Oil 13<br />
Cooperative Ag Producers Inc. 7<br />
Connell Grange Supply Inc. 39<br />
Connell Oil Co. 27<br />
Country Financial 65<br />
Diesel & Machine 40<br />
Edward Jones 29<br />
Farm & Home Supply 40<br />
Freedom Truck Centers 31<br />
Great Plains Equipment 25<br />
Hillco Technologies 38<br />
J & M Fabrication 71<br />
Jess Ford 27<br />
Jones Truck & Implement 26, 31<br />
Kincaid Real Estate 13<br />
Klesor Equipment 27<br />
Kralman Steel Structures 37<br />
Landmark Native Seed 40<br />
Lange Supply, Inc. 39<br />
Les Schwab Tire Centers 13<br />
LimaGrain Cereal Seeds LLC 76<br />
Meridian Manufacturing Group 18<br />
Micro-Ag 75<br />
Morrow County Grain Growers Inc. 23<br />
North Pine Ag Equipment Inc. 71<br />
Northwest Ag Show 15<br />
Northwest Farm Credit Services 7<br />
NU-CHEM 36<br />
OXARC 67<br />
PNW Farmers Cooperative 17<br />
Pioneer West, Inc. 6<br />
Pomeroy Grain Growers Inc. 67<br />
RH Machine 65<br />
Rabo AgriFinance 27<br />
Ramada Spokane Airport 31<br />
Raven Precision 23<br />
Rock Steel Structures 37<br />
Ronald J. Perkins, CPA 40<br />
Scales NW 75<br />
Spectrum Crop Development 71<br />
Spokane Ag Expo 11<br />
Spray Center Electronics 17<br />
SS Equipment 11<br />
St. John Hardware & Implement Co. 74<br />
State Bank Northwest 19<br />
T & S Sales 71<br />
The McGregor Co. 17<br />
The Whitney Land Co. 74<br />
Touchmark 16<br />
Walter Implement 67<br />
Western Reclamation 38<br />
<strong>Wheat</strong>land Bank 10<br />
Wheeler Industries 23<br />
Wilbur-Ellis–In-Place 5<br />
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Contact your area Precision Ag<br />
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Airway Heights WA St. John WA Fairfield WA Moscow ID NezPerce ID<br />
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EASTERN OREGON FARMS<br />
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LAKE COUNTY, FORT ROCK, OR<br />
Hay Ranch containing 1,520 total deeded acres. Premium hay ground<br />
containing 660 acres within 4 pivots and 860 acres of dryland pasture.<br />
Ranch style home, hay shed, horse barn, roping arena.<br />
$4,230,000 #WL02211H<br />
Lake County, Fort Rock, OR<br />
Premium Cattle/Hunting ranch containing 4,388 total acres. Includes<br />
130 acres of pivot irrigation, 348 acres of dryland pasture and 3,910<br />
acres of range. Includes 15,000.00 acres of “out the gate” BLM. New<br />
home, shop and livestock facilities. $2,467,000.00 #WL02211C<br />
989.40 ACRES<br />
With 346.2 currently under CRP contract. Improvements include two<br />
cabins. Douglas Fir is the principal species of timber. Grazing consists<br />
of 643+/- acres of native pasture and timber land, and includes seven<br />
ponds. Wind power is presently being looked at.<br />
$1,900,000 #WL02609<br />
UNION COUNTY, ELGIN, OR<br />
NE Oregon income property with large metal shed which has large<br />
doors for easy access. 236.24 acres total. Has CRP income and<br />
merchantable timber, grazing land for livestock. Good road access<br />
and well located. LOP tags for big game. $249,000 #WL03411<br />
The Whitney Land Co.<br />
(541) 278-4444<br />
www.whitneylandcompany.com<br />
74 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012