Commission seeks higher assessment as other funding drops

By SEAN ELLIS

Capital Press

BOISE -- A bill that would give the Idaho Barley Commission authority to raise the grower checkoff rate has been introduced in the Idaho Legislature.

The legislation, which is being backed by the Idaho Grain Producers Association, would give the commission authority to raise the grower assessment fee from 2 cents to 4 cents per hundredweight.

Each penny increase in the assessment would generate about $200,000. IGPA lobbyist Dar Olberding said the proposal is being driven by the need for additional research funding.

The current assessment is projected to generate just under $400,000 for fiscal 2012 while the commission's current budget is set at $429,596. The IBC has tapped into reserves for several years to ensure important research and marketing programs are funded.

Olberding said research efforts have declined significantly in recent years because the state has reduced funding for the University of Idaho and the federal government has reduced funding for its barley-breeding program in Aberdeen, Idaho.

"There really hasn't been much barley research done in the last few years," Olberding said. "Research has been pretty minimal on barley varieties."

Research is the backbone of the industry and is what leads to better varieties, best management practices and new uses for the product, said IBC Administrator Kelly Olson.

"It's really what drives productivity and return to the farmer. It all starts with research," she said.

Idaho's barley checkoff rate has never been increased and a similar bill was killed three years ago when a few dozen of Idaho's 1,500 barley producers showed up during a public hearing at the Capitol to oppose it.

A grower referendum conducted by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture in November 2009 showed 54 percent of the 491 growers who responded favored giving the commission authority to raise the assessment by up to 2 cents.

Several things have happened since then, Olson said. Research funding has declined dramatically and barley production has fluctuated significantly, making it difficult to ensure important research and marketing programs are supported.

Also, the industry is much better informed about the funding issue, Olson said. The industry has also held more than 60 grower meetings and field days concentrated in east Idaho, where 65 percent of the state's barley crop is grown.

"We talked at length with growers about the funding challenges we have," Olson said.

In addition, Idaho's checkoff rate continues to lag that of other main barley-producing states, despite Idaho's normal ranking as the second-largest barley producing state, behind North Dakota. North Dakota's checkoff rate is twice that of Idaho's, and Montana and Washington, which use different formulas, also have considerably higher rates, Olson said.

"It's hard to remain competitive when we have a very low checkoff rate compared with other states," she said.