Sugar beet growers are already planting genetically modified seed even though a federal judge is expected to rule any day on an injunction that could bar further planting and use of the crop.
Some beets have already been planted in the Amalgamated Sugar Co.'s growing area, said Duane Gran ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:19 PM
With a judge's decision imminent on whether genetically modified sugar beets will be prohibited until July, the industry this week was left wondering exactly how the injunction might apply.
Drew Kershen, a professor of ag-biotech law at the University of Oklahoma, said an injunction, ofte ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:14 PM
NAMPA, Idaho — While organic farmers are grateful for conservation programs authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, some wish they worked a lot better.
That's the message a group of organic producers delivered March 5 to USDA Undersecretary Harris Sherman and U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho.
...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 10:29 AM
WOODSTON, Kan. (AP) -- Woodston farmer Jerry McReynolds will be leading a national group dedicated to protecting the interests of wheat growers.
McReynolds was named president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, a Washington-based trade group, at the group's meeting ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 9:40 AM
Citing a world surplus of hops, Anheuser-Busch InBev plans to reduce production on its northern Idaho hop farm, but managers there aren't saying by how much.
Peter Kraemer, vice president of supply for Anheuser-Busch Inc., said high crop yields and improved efficiency at the Elk Mountain Farms ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:33 PM
Dryland farmers are optimistic about the University of Idaho's release of two new hard white winter wheat varieties.
The Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station recently announced the varieties, UICF Grace and UI Silver, will be available for planting this fall. Both are intended for drylan ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 11:28 AM
Failure to resolve a trucking dispute between the U.S. and Mexico is taking a toll on U.S. potato farmers, industry officials say.
Frozen potato exports to Mexico plummeted about 50 percent from April-December 2009 compared to the same nine-month period in 2008, said John Keeling, executi ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 10:29 AM
Idaho's dairy exports declined drastically in 2009, but fourth-quarter numbers showed signs the steep dive may be leveling out.
The state's exports of cheese, milk, cream, butter and whey were down nearly 47 percent in 2009 but only posted declines of about 15 percent in the fourth quarte ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 11:28 AM
Casey Palmer of Canyon County, Idaho, received the state Idaho Angus Auxiliary Black Angus Carcass $100 cash award and plaque at the Annual Gem State Angus Banquet in Twin Falls recently.
Palmer's Black Angus steer had a live weight of 1,185 pounds and carcass weight of 699 pounds. The s ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 10:29 AM
Idaho investigates wolf hunter
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) -- Idaho Fish and Game officials say they hope to use DNA evidence to determine whether a wolf kill actually took place in the hunting zone in which it was reported.
Fish and Game Conservation Officer Lauren Wendt said there is no eviden ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 10:29 AM
TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Sugar beet growers are already planting genetically modified seed even though a federal judge is expect to rule any day on an injunction that could bar further planting and use of the crop.
Some beets have already been planted in the Amalgamated Sugar Company's growing ...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 1:24 PM
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- The Idaho cattle industry is raising a stink in hopes of restricting public access to the state's oversight of feedlot manure operations.
The Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee voted 6-2 Tuesday to bar public access to the reports done once or twice a y ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 3:09 PM
WILSON CREEK, Wash. (AP) -- A rail line that closed in Eastern Washington after a 24-car derailment has reopened.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Gus Melonas says the line reopened at 5 p.m. Sunday.
No one was hurt when the 110-car train traveling from Florence, Minn., to Seattle ...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 12:08 PM
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) -- Idaho Fish and Game officials say they hope to use DNA evidence to determine whether a wolf kill actually took place in the hunting zone in which it was reported.
Fish and Game Conservation Officer Lauren Wendt says there is no evidence anything illegal occurred, but ...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 11:58 AM
SAN FRANCISCO -- Judge Jeffrey White told litigants in federal court on Friday he would further review court briefings before deciding whether to restrict the use of Roundup Ready sugar beets.
White is expected to decide in the next few days whether, or under what conditions, the industry ...
Monday, March 08, 2010 11:49 AM
RITZVILLE, Wash. -- Ron Jirava is walking one of his fields. Surveying the 3,500 acres he farms with his father, Wayne, he looks for signs of life from the winter wheat he planted last fall and makes plans for the spring and summer growing season.
Water is on his mind.
"It's dryland, ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
Getting enough water to thirsty crops this summer could be a challenge for some Western farmers based on the latest snowpack readings.
Snowpack, or the snow-water equivalent as its also known, is barely half the long-term average in some basins, according to data gathered March 1 by elect ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
Farmers who grow potatoes that end up as french fries at McDonald's and other fast food restaurants have begun taking surveys about how they produce the crop.
About a year ago, McDonald's bowed to pressure from activist shareholders and agreed to make an effort to cut pesticide usage on s ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:08 AM
In a measure aimed at protecting Idaho livestock producers from initiatives by animal rights activists, Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, has introduced a bill to create a 13-member Idaho Livestock Care Standards Board.
The director of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture would serve as ch ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:08 AM
Beginning with the 2010 crop year, the USDA Risk Management Agency will offer insurance coverage based on the contract price for certain types of specialty barley.
The new insurance was designed with the help of Pacific Northwest barley commodity groups to meet the needs of farmers.
...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 11:09 AM
As farmers make their final planting decisions, Washington Grain Commission CEO Tom Mick doesn't expect wheat acreage in his state to drop significantly compared with last year.
Some irrigated ground in the Columbia Basin may be diverted from wheat to corn or other row crops, but farmers ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
California Chardonnay. Oregon Pinot Noir. Idaho Viognier?
When people think about Idaho, it's usually not about wine, let alone a rare French varietal.
If Idaho has a reputation for any particular winegrape, it's probably Riesling. But that could change, according to some wine entrep ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
A request to Congress in the form of a joint memorial by the Idaho Legislature urges Congress not to enact the Clean Water Restoration Act, Senate Bill 787, or any similar legislation.
Strong opposition to the Clean Water Restoration Act in Idaho and other Western states lies in the legislation ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
The Idaho Legislature is on its way to requesting the U.S. Congress to vote no on cap and trade legislation and reject efforts to use global warming as a pretext to increase federal revenues.
The bill, House Joint Memorial No. 11, sponsored by Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, passed out of t ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 11:09 AM
Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson, ranking member on the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, took EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to task on the unfunded mandate placed on cities under the Clean Water Act.
During an Interior Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the EPA budget for Fiscal Year 201 ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
The Idaho Legislature has shot down new raw milk rules negotiated by the state's Department of Agriculture.
The proposed rule would have updated quality standards for raw milk and exempted operations with three cows or fewer from meeting Grade A facility standards, which is the current ...
Thursday, March 04, 2010 10:42 AM