Podcast: Federal egg policy, years of prosperity and pesticide espionage

In this podcast, writers and editors at the Capital Press talk about the possibility of federal policy on egg-laying hens, farmers' expectations for the coming year, Chinese pesticide espionage, the outlook for the Western snowpack and a court victory for people raising livestock in Washington state.

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AgMinute: Dec. 30, 2011

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has adopted an interim policy to protect the greater sage grouse in 10 Western states until it can implement long-term policies to preserve habitat for the mainly ground-dwelling bird.

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AgMinute: Dec. 29, 2011

Several factors have decreased U.S. beef imports in 2011, but at the top of the list is the weaker U.S. dollar. The weak dollar makes it more expensive for U.S. end users to purchase beef overseas and reduces the attractiveness of the U.S. market to importers.

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AgMinute: Dec. 28, 2011

Snowpack levels across the Northwest are well below average at the end of 2011, but the outlook for irrigators seems likely to improve in the new year.

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AgMinute: Dec. 27, 2011

Idaho officials believe an in-store promotion of Idaho products by Mexico’s second-largest retailer was a major coup for the state’s agricultural community. Mexican supermarket chain Soriana, which owns 480 grocery and super-stores, promoted Idaho products at several of its stores for seven days. The pilot promotion was timed to kick off Dec. 8 with the arrival of an Idaho trade delegation.

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AgMinute: Dec. 26, 2011

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reinstatement of its trout report came as a pleasant surprise to Idaho’s trout industry. The agency decided to ax the report, along with 13 others it would eliminate or reduce, in mid-October, but announced it was reinstating the report, along with nine others.

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Podcast: Yogurt infrastructure, financial improprieties and a gravel fight

In this podcast, Capital Press reporters and editors talk about a new dairy processing facility in Idaho, financial improprieties at a livestock-feed manufacturer, why a successful fertilizer-maker is seeking bankruptcy and a legal battle over gravel in Oregon.

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AgMinute: Dec. 23, 2011

An animal-rights group deeply involved in agricultural issues is again under fire for its fundraising efforts. HumaneWatch recently launched a TV ad campaign accusing the HSUS of deceptive practices. HumaneWatch was created by the Center for Consumer Freedom, a “libertarian consumer watchdog,” according to senior research analyst Justin Wilson.

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AgMinute: Dec. 22, 2011

The world's largest potato, courtesy of Idaho spud farmers, made its public debut Dec. 17 in front of millions of ESPN viewers during the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

"The rumors have been true. There is a giant potato moving its way across Boise, and it will soon be making its way across the United States," Idaho Potato Commission President and CEO Frank Muir said during a press conference before the game.

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AgMinute: Dec. 21, 2011

Potato industry representatives who met with top-level officials of major food companies during Idaho’s trade mission to Mexico and Brazil believe the meetings will translate into more sales of frozen spud products in Mexico.

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AgMinute: Dec. 20, 2011

Dehydrated potato production increased by a record 68 percent from last year within the nine major potato processing states, according to a new report from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Overall, processors in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin, Colorado, North Dakota, Maine, Minnesota and Michigan used 73 million hundredweight of the 2011 crop as of Dec. 1, up 17 percent from the previous year. Dehydrated processing accounted for 13.4 million hundredweight of the total.

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AgMinute: Dec. 19, 2011

National Milk Producers Federation will continue Cooperatives Working Together’s dairy export assistance program for the next two years. The decision was based on a narrow margin of support for the export program. The CWT committee had set minimum participation at 70 percent of the nation’s milk, and it has garnered 70.1 percent.

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Podcast: Mexico trade mission results and why to collaborate on salmon

State officials and agricultural leaders from Idaho have just returned from a trade mission to Mexico and Brazil. Capital Press reporter Sean Ellis, who attended the Mexico leg of the trip, shares some of the trip's results.

Growers are collaborating with environmentalists to improve salmon populations as part of efforts to gain more water from the Columbia for irrigation, according to participants in the recent Oregon Leadership Summit. Oregon Wheat Growers League president Craig Reeder speaks on why he is involved.

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AgMinute: Dec. 16, 2011

Dairy analysts are optimistic that global demand will remain strong in 2012.
The biggest reason to be optimistic is that emerging markets keep on emerging, analysts say.

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AgMinute: Dec. 15, 2011

Agricultural commodity representatives believe Idaho’s recent trade mission to Mexico and Brazil could end up providing a significant boost for the state’s farmers and ranchers. According to Idaho Department of Commerce estimates, actual and projected sales resulting from the trade mission already total in excess of $30 million.

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AgMinute: Dec. 14, 2011

The Idaho dry bean industry will help Mexican growers through a severe seed shortage. Because of extreme weather conditions this year, Mexican dry bean growers are facing a severe shortage of certified seed, while Idaho's bean industry has an adequate supply because of over-production last year.

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AgMinute: Dec. 13, 2011

The nation's fall potato crop was slightly larger than previously estimated, according to revised numbers from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Fall potato production throughout the U.S. actually rose by 6 percent at 387 million hundredweight, and the 939,200 acres harvested throughout the country represented a 7 percent increase.

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AgMinute: Dec. 12, 2011

USDA estimates that farmers will have 848 million bushels of corn on hand at the end of next summer. That would satisfy demand for fewer than 25 days. A 30 day supply is considered healthy.

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Podcast: Co-op collusion, using wine waste, rising cattle prices and the fries of Five Guys

In this podcast, reporters and editors talk about some of the highlights in this week's edition of the Capital Press, including a judicial ruling that strikes at the heart of many agricultural cooperatives, new uses for wine waste, the factors pushing up cattle prices, and how a handshake led to booming business with the fast-growing chain Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

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AgMinute: Dec. 9, 2011

Two investor groups are suing the federal government over new financial rules aimed at curbing speculation in the commodity market.

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AgMinute: Dec. 8, 2011

Jerry Wright explained his task during his first stint as president and chief executive officer of the United Potato Growers of America in 2004 was to right a potato industry facing disaster caused by overproduction.
By helping growers embrace basic supply and demand principles, Wright, of Idaho Falls, believes his organization, which represents fresh growers, laid the groundwork for years of prosperity.
On Dec. 3, the Salt Lake City-based cooperative chose Wright to return to his former post, where he vows to refocus growers’ attention on those economic fundamentals.

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AgMinute: Dec. 7, 2011

Dec. 16 is the application cutoff date for two farm bill programs that provide Idaho farmers and ranchers millions of dollars in financial assistance each year to protect the environment or improve wildlife habitat. The Environmental Quality Incentive Program and the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program are both voluntary programs that help agricultural producers complete natural resource conservation projects or conserve wildlife habitat on their land.

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AgMinute: Dec. 6, 2011

Participants in Idaho's Dec. 3-10 trade mission to Mexico and Brazil will be led by Lt. Gov. Brad Little, who runs a diversified farming and cattle operation. The trade mission includes meetings with several large grower groups and major retail chains, including La Huerta, an international fruit and vegetable company; supermarket chain Soriana, Mexico's largest retailer, and Grupo Altex, the main purchaser of wheat for Grupo Bimbo, Mexico's largest food company and one of the largest bakers in the world.

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AgMinute: Dec. 5, 2011

It's becoming increasingly clear that Idaho will set a record for total agricultural cash receipts in 2011. In fact, the previous state record for farm cash receipts in a single year -- $6.285 billion in 2008 -- will likely be blown away.

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Podcast: Banking profits, big local food, Idaho revenue, and export growth

In this podcast, editors and reporters highlight some of the stories in this week's edition. We'll talk about how changes in the lending climate and the Federal Reserve are affecting farming operations, big trends in local food, soaring revenue for Idaho growers, and growing overseas demand for American meat and dairy products. The Capital Press also congratulates Julie Fox and Al Drake of Eastern Washington on their sky-high engagement.

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AgMinute: Dec. 2, 2011

The Federal Reserve System has made it easier to borrow dollars overseas, theoretically boosting the prospects for U.S. crop exports while making fuel and fertilizer more expensive.

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AgMinute: Dec. 1, 2011

Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Mark Udall, D-Colo., hope to ease the “devastating” estate tax burden on farming families with legislation they recently introduced. Their American Family Farm and Ranchland Protection Act, SB1901, would enable a family inheriting agricultural property to place up to half of it, up to $5 million, under a tax-free easement, if it remains in agricultural use.

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