Summaries
of stories appearing in this issue.
 April 2008 |
Higher
Commodity Returns Generating Optimism
While gasoline, farm chemical and other production costs continue to soar,
not all Columbia Basin potato growers are pacing the floor at night overcome
by doom and gloom.
Randy Mullen, who serves on the Washington State Potato Commission (WSPC)
and farms in the Block 1 area north of Pasco, Wash., is optimistic about
the future of agriculture, at least for the immediate future. While growers
will definitely be paying more for many of their input costs, he also
predicts that they could be looking at some of the highest commodity prices
ever. Things are looking up for corn, wheat, alfalfa and other commodities.
Potatoes, too, are holding their own as a promising option.
The
Ethanol Impact
As most growers know, surging demand for gasoline and the higher prices
being paid at the pump are making it possible for ethanol entrepreneurs
to compete. Thousands of acres across the United States are now being
planted into corn and other crops used to produce ethanol. The demand
has increased competition for land. While potatoes, at one time, were
the most consistent cash crop, not so anymore. For the first time in years,
growers now have a number of exciting options.
“When you can plant wheat and generate $1,500 an acre gross income,
that in itself is going to create a shortage of ground,” he smiles.
“There is now serious competition between various commodities for
land.”
That said, the grower sees the ethanol push as “good for America”
and says he hopes the government will continue supporting it with tax
breaks and other incentives.
“I’m not sure that ethanol is as efficient as it could be, but
I believe that if we continue pushing the necessary research, greater
fuel efficiencies will come,” Mullen says. “But, frankly, I
would rather pay $5 a gallon and see that go to my neighbors versus giving
it to those using it to buy bullets to shoot at me.”
The big question ahead is whether commodity returns can keep ahead of
the growing cost of production, Mullen admits, adding, however, that he
is optimistic that that will be the case.
“I believe in the economy of this country, and while I may be getting
political here, I feel that our economy has rested on the backs of farmers
for too many years,” he says. “I’m not sure that farmers
have every gotten their fair share. While we’re living in interesting
times, I see hope that things will turn around, at least that we can enjoy
a few good seasons in the years ahead.”...
Three-Year
Study Looks at Developmental Profiles and Postharvest Behavior
GemStar, Defender, Alturas and A93157-6LS (6LS) are among the newest frozen-processing
cultivars to be released from the Pacific Northwest Variety Development
Program since Ranger Russet (1991) and Umatilla Russet (1997). How significant
each of these varieties will be for the industry remains to be seen.
Ranger and Umatilla have had significant impacts on the processing industry,
notes Dr. Rick Knowles of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape
Architecture, Washington State University. The two varieties accounted
for 23 and 12 percent of Washington processing potatoes (excluding Russet
Norkotah) in 2006, respectively.
It is anticipated that GemStar, Defender, Alturas and 6LS will also find
niches in the Washington potato industry, with the potential to capture
a significant portion of the frozen French-fry market in particular, Knowles
points out. However, as was the case with Ranger and Umatilla, developing
best management practices for these cultivars under Columbia Basin growing
conditions will involve a “learning curve.”
Working with Mark Pavek, Lisa Knowles and Zachery Holden, Knowles gave
a report at the 2008 Washington State Potato Conference in Moses Lake
on a three-year study (2005-07) collecting and analyzing data on growth,
development and storage of these cultivars. Their goal was to provide
the industry with detailed seasonal growth profiles to enhance the ability
of growers to optimize production of the new varieties in the Columbia
Basin. ...
Beet
Leafhopper Monitoring with Yellow Sticky Cards
by Andrew Jensen
Washington State Potato Commission
Beet leafhopper (BLH) transmits the BLTVA phytoplasma to potatoes, which
causes the disease known as purple top. BLH also transmits beet curly
top virus (BCTV) to various other crops. An effective way to monitor for
the presence of BLH, and to follow its populations, is trapping with yellow
sticky cards. This year, starting in April, the Washington State Potato
Commission (WSPC) will provide interested Washington growers with the
materials necessary to monitor BLH with yellow sticky cards.
Supplies
Needed
Trapping supplies include double-sided 4- x 6-inch yellow sticky cards,
wooden stakes, large binder clips to secure the cards to the stakes and
a magnifying glass for counting BLH on the cards (Figure 1). The magnifying
glass is essential to correctly identify BLH, and sometimes even picking
leafhoppers out from all the other insects caught on a card requires a
magnifier.
How
to Deploy Traps
Yellow sticky cards should be set up as shown in Figure 2. It is important
to keep the traps low to the ground as shown because BLH move about very
close to the ground. Even with a very low mount (like shown in Figure
1), the bottom half of the trap will often catch almost all the BLH on
the trap.
Where to Place
Traps
Beet leafhoppers occur in almost all kinds of habitats we see near potato
fields. There are, however, habitats that they prefer such as unirrigated
low weedy vegetation composed of mustards and grasses (during early spring)
or kochia and Russian thistle (during late spring, summer and fall). When
monitoring for BLH with yellow sticky traps, the traps should be placed
outside potato fields in unirrigated weeds. When siting your traps, focus
on the more disturbed areas around potato fields where annual weeds predominate.
Perennial grass or native shrub habitats are not good places for BLH traps.
Finally, at least two traps should be deployed per field. This is because
BLH populations can be very spotty. More traps make it more likely that
an infestation will be detected. ...
Annual
State Potato Conference Works to Stay Relevant
For 47 years the Washington State Potato Conference has been the site
of equipment purchases, employee hires, earned credits, shared knowledge,
reunions, new friendships, consumption of vast quantities of food and
libations, first and last kisses, and a number of occurrences, of course,
not printable.
“We never forget that the premier focus of the conference, trade
show and all the associated events are the growers—what they need
and what they want,” says Dale Lathim, current leader of the 15-member
Washington conference board of directors.
The conference incorporates instructional sessions in English and Spanish,
the trade show, a ladies program and multiple top-notch social activities,
all of which take hours of planning and physical labor to accomplish,
not to mention funding.
$100,000-Plus
Budget
Funding the conference’s annual budget, which runs in excess of $100,000,
has come from three sources: federal grants, trade show exhibitors and
generous sponsors. The $5 general admission charge for participants goes
directly to the Washington State Potato Foundation’s scholarship
program.
“We could have the whole world show up and it wouldn’t help
the conference budget—just the Foundation,” says Lathim, himself
a former Foundation president. So far it has worked. The Foundation receives
an injection of $4,500-$5,000 and the board has been able to carry forward
an amount into reserve each year.
Beginning in 2004, a keynoter was added to the conference production sessions,
which are primarily presentations of research findings. Keynote speakers
have included Ray Cesca, former corporate official of McDonalds and now
president of Global Alliances for Economic Advancement.
Cesca was invited back twice because of his close relationship with the
potato industry and his ability to marry experience and foresight. Cesca
told the assembly that the potato industry needs more research on variety
and product development to get on menus and in the homes of today’s
consumers.
“I think if you have research on different varieties of potatoes
grown in different climates and different soils and have differences in
nutritional value, it can be promoted in language that the consumer can
understand,” he said. “I think that’s where the future
of potatoes is going.”
Most of the keynotes were funded through a successful grant request of
the USDA Risk Management Agency. ...
UPGA
and the USDA Partner to Improve Critical Data Availability for Growers
Two recent meetings between United Potato Growers of America (UPGA) and
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) representatives should lead to needed
improvements in potato data gathering and reporting.
Potato reporting categories will be revised to separate out red, russet,
yellow and white potatoes, announced Lee Frankel, UPGA president and CEO.
In addition, the USDA has agreed to coordinate the activities of the Marketing
Order Administration Branch with the Market News Service to improve the
accuracy and timeliness of fresh market potato shipments from Canada.
United members have made great strides over the past three years to bring
U.S. potato supplies and consumer demand into better balance, Frankel
said. During that same time, retailer sales data has shown a shift in
sales between the different varieties of potatoes.
“Unfortunately, that data does not include what is happening in the
important foodservice market, leaving growers with only a partial picture
of what is really happening in the marketplace,” Frankel said. “By
reporting data specific to the four basic varieties of potatoes (red,
russet, yellow and white), the USDA is providing data that is critical
for grower planting decisions.”
Knowing the volumes of varieties shipped should enable potato growers
to more profitably market their crop, the UPGA president said.
The meetings were held in late February in two locations. The first set
took place Feb. 21-22 at UPGA’s national headquarters in Salt Lake
City. UPGA leaders met with six members of the USDA Agricultural Marketing
Service and four state agriculture leaders. Among the 19 attendees were
Barbara Maxwell, Washington, D.C., USDA AMS Supply Reports Section Head;
Cary Hoffman, UPGA Marketing Committee chairman; and Debbie Friday and
Tom Cooper, AMS Market News reporters. ...