Northwest Farm and Ranch, September 2017

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Efforts ripen for Cosmic Crisp Washington State University’s homegrown apple variety expected to hit grocery stores by 2020 — Page 8

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Table of Contents

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Table of Contents Crickets swarm at record numbers Page 3 UI professor: Farmers shouldn’t fret over warmer temps Page 4 NAFTA negotiations have little affect on region’s farmers Page 5 The ABCs of wheat Page 6 Efforts ripen for Cosmic Crisp Page 8 Keeping it clean Page 11 Celebrating 100 years of farming Page 12 Barns major part of the Yakima Valley landscape Page 14 Taiwan signs $576M wheat deal with United States Page 18

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| Saturday, September 30, 2017 | 3

Crickets swarm at record numbers Mormon crickets decimate crops at higher level than ever before By Katie Short Daily News staff writer

Mormon crickets swarmed farmland in the Pacific Northwest in record numbers during the 2017 harvest season, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service. Although every year the pests seem to decimate farms in a few localized areas, this year they marched in droves. Some farmers have reported as many as 70 crickets per square yard, according to the USDA. In the scientific community, Mormon crickets — which can grow up to 3inches long — are known as anabrus simplex. However, they got their common name by decimating crops grown by Mormon farmers in Utah during the mid-1800s. According to Washington State University’s Orchard Pest

Management, the insects will eat anything and everything in their path, including each other, grasses, forbs, shrubs, fruit trees and grains. According to the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, Mormon crickets are constantly marching to find more food. Female Mormon crickets are easily identifiable by a long appendage on their rear that is used to dig holes to lay eggs. Females typically lay their eggs — often up to 100 at a time — in June, and the nymphs usually hatch in March of the following year, once soil temperatures have started to rise, according to the ISDA. Lloyd Knight, an administrator in the Division of Plant Industries with the ISDA, said a grant through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service provides funding for the ISDA to offer private farmers with more than 5 acres of farmland with Carbaryl, a bait crumble that is most effective when the Mormon crickets are starting to hatch from the ground as nymphs. The crumble is effective because it physically puts down a line that the

crickets have to cross in order to get to the crops, Knight said. It is less effective against grasshoppers because they can fly over the line, unlike their cricket cousins. Carbaryl also uses an odor to attract the crickets to the poison. In 2016, a map of effected areas by the ISDA showed infestations were limited to the southern half of Idaho. However, Knight reported they have received documentation this year of infestations as far north as Kootenai County in Idaho and as far west as central Oregon.

Officials are unsure why there has been an explosion of Mormon crickets. One theory is that the large amount of water received in the Pacific Northwest from snow melt and a fairly wet spring allowed for prosperous crop fields,, which would normally be a very good thing, but in this case it also meant that there was an abundant amount of crops that provided an ample food supply for nymphs.

Katie Short can be reached at (208) 883-4633, or by email to kshort@dnews.com.

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UI professor: Farmers shouldn’t fret over warmer temps Says increased temperatures, carbon dioxide should not affect inland Northwest farmers’ production in near future

Operator Justin Waggoner swings his combine into wheat growing outside Condon, Ore., on Aug. 16.

By Garrett Cabeza Daily News staff writer

Sanford Eigenbrode, a University of Idaho distinguished professor and entomology professor, said despite the persistent and anticipated continued warming trend and the inevitable increase of carbon dioxide, yields for Palouse farmers should not be harmed in the next few decades. Regional models project human-caused climate change will lead to an average annual temperature increase of 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit by the 2050s and 4 to 6.5 degrees by 2100, with increased temperatures during the summer, according to “Advances in Dryland Farming in the Inland Pacific Northwest,� a book written by a multi-disciplinary group of scientists Associated Press See Temps, Page 5

Earth sweltered to 3rd hottest August, summer on record By Seth Borenstein Associated Press

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61.5 degrees, which was a degree-anda-half higher than the 20th century average, but behind 2016 and 2015. The average temperature for June through August was 61.47 degrees. So far, the year to date has edged out 2015 and is the second hottest January through August, averaging 58.88 degrees, behind 2016.

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Temps from Page 4

Geoff Crimmins/Daily News file photo

Wheat grows in a field in June 2013 on Darby Road northeast of Moscow.

NAFTA negotiations have little affect for region’s farmers Most wheat from Inland Northwest is shipped to Asian countries By Kathy Hedberg For Northwest Farm and Ranch

Pacific Northwest wheat farmers are closely watching the current negotiations between the U.S., Mexico and Canada over reworking the North American Free Trade Agreement. Joseph Anderson, of Genesee, chairman of the Idaho Wheat Commission, said because most of the grain grown in north-central Idaho and southeastern Washington is shipped to Asian countries, NAFTA doesn’t affect farmers here as much

as those whose crops are traded with Canada and Mexico. Still, Anderson said, the negotiations are significant. “I believe that farmers around here all understand the importance of trade because so much of this product is exported,” he said. “A lot of the wheat out of northern Idaho and the Pacific Northwest goes to Asia — not all of it goes there. Some could end up in NAFTA countries. And (as far as the trade agreement) there has always been a frustration that we didn’t exactly get the best deal.” The second of seven rounds of negotiations over modernizing the 1994 trade agreement recently concluded See NAFTA, Page 6

across the region. The book, which Eigenbrode helped write, said annual precipitation in the area is projected to increase roughly 5 to 15 percent by 2050. While the overall annual precipitation is expected to go up, summer precipitation is projected to decrease, resulting in reduced soil moisture during the late summer months. Eigenbrode said weather always presents challenges. The past spring was extremely wet, which made it difficult, and in some cases impossible, to plant on the Palouse. However, in other parts of the region, like the Columbia Basin where the annual rainfall is low, wetter springs benefit production.

| Saturday, September 30, 2017 | 5

“It’s kind of a mixed bag,” Eigenbrode said. The book said increased atmospheric carbon dioxide could benefit yields by increasing energy and water use efficiencies. However, the changing temperature and precipitation levels could present new risks and challenges to farmers. “Long term, there are challenges here that have always been here,” Eigenbrode said. He said the Palouse’s soil erodes easily. While they are very deep, the soils will not last forever, which many farmers know, Eigenbrode said. Reduced tillage continues to be adopted as a solution to the soil erosion problem because it conserves the soil, he said. Eigenbrode said practices that involve preserving and limiting the amount of erosion have improved greatly over the last two decades.

The book, intended for farmers, includes current research to support farmers as they make decisions relating to productivity, resilience and their bottom lines. It can be found online at extension. wsu.edu/publications/ pubs/em108/. For a free hard copy, readers can contact Eigenbrode at (208) 885-2972 or the UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at (208) 885-6681 and a copy will be mailed. Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.

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NAFTA from Page 5

in Mexico City and a third round is scheduled to take place at the end of the month in Ottawa, Canada. The goal is to have a deal in place by the end of the year. While Canada and Mexico have praised the trade agreement, saying that it has benefited citizens of all three countries, the Trump administration has taken a different stance. “For countless Americans, this agreement has failed,” said Robert Lighthizer, the top U.S. trade official who described NAFTA as “a job-killing, factory-closing deal.” The National Association of Wheat Growers, of which Anderson is a board member, has urged a

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

“do-no-harm” approach to the trade negotiations. Wheat growers recognize some areas where the framework for cross-border wheat trade between the three countries can be improved. “The wheat industry can benefit from some enhancements to NAFTA,” said Chandler Goule, chief executive officer of the wheat growers association. “A good place to begin is the sanitary and phytosanitary rules that the three countries already agreed to as part of the TransPacific Partnership negotiations. With the global push to reduce tariffs, non-tariff barriers (particularly sanitary and phytosanitary barriers) to trade are becoming increasingly common. It is critical that the sanitary and phytosanitary mea-

sures in any agreement are transparent and based on scientific principles.” Sanitary and phytosanitary rules have to do with the measures of control in plant diseases and exported crops meeting certain quality requirements. Anderson said a main goal of trade negotiations should be to make sure wheat stocks move and don’t get backed up in storage. “You’ve got to make the wheat disappear from the marketplace, no matter where it goes,” Anderson said. “If we didn’t have trade with other countries you end up with inventories and that makes the price go down. ... (In NAFTA negotiations) there’s an opportunity to do better.” Kathy Hedberg may be reached at kathyhedberg@ gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.

Farm and Ranch

The ABCs of wheat Tour offers education of how soft white wheat is used

Suess and others in the agricultural sector explained in a recent tour of wheat farms. The event was sponsored by the Pancakes made from packaged mixes and sweets baked with cake flour Washington Association of Wheat are two of the primary ways Americans Growers. The organization was trying to overcome ignoconsume soft white rance about the wheat, usually not crop that flourishes realizing the food largely because it they’re eating was makes such interraised in eastern mittent appearWashington. ances in the diets That differs from of those who live the Philippines where it’s cultivatwhere flour milled ed, Suess said. from soft white “We live in the wheat is a key middle of one of ingredient in some the most producof the foods people Randy Suess tive wheat groweat most often, like Retired farmer ing regions in the six packs of cookies, said Randy Suess, a retired farm- world and most people don’t realize er who lives in Cheney. “The kids take that,” he said. The fertility of the area is important to them to school for a meal. That would be a lunch.” Understanding how soft white See Wheat, Page 9 wheat is used is just part of what By Elaine Williams

For Northwest Farm and Ranch

“

It was an eye opener (for those at the tour). They realized how complicated this whole thing is.”

514319I-17

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| Saturday, September 30, 2017 | 7 Lonnie Green of Green View Farms in Fairfield, Wash., talks about the different types of equipment used to plant, fertilize and harvest wheat.

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Efforts ripen for Cosmic Crisp WSU’s apple variety expected to hit grocery stores by 2020

at WSU. “Since 2014 a lot of people have wanted to get a hand on it.” The university released the Cosmic Growers throughout the Evergreen Crisp, formerly known as WA 38, in State are working to bring Washington 2014. The apple is the newest product State University’s Cosmic Crisp apple of WSU’s tree fruit breeding program. It’s a cross between to grocery stores by Enterprise and 2020. Honeycrisp apples. A drawing was Unfortunately held for the more for consumers, Tsui than 630,000 of the said the earliest he first Cosmic Crisp expects the apples apple trees, which to hit the stores is were sent to growers 2019, though 2020 is earlier this year and more realistic, and planted in the spring, the Cosmic Crisp can and more than 5 milonly be snatched up lion more are already Albert Tsui at one place — at budded for contracts Cosmic Crisp field and delivery in 2018. WSU business days at different “We had to have development specialist university orchards a drawing because there were so many interested in the apples,” said Albert See Crisp, Page 10 Tsui, business development specialist By Josh Babcock

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Wheat from Page 6

the industry, funneling $1.2 billion a year into the economy just from Washington wheat, Suess said. That money comes from 1,904 wheat farmers, who support 3,836 jobs in the agriculture sector and another 1,120 positions in the general economy at places like vehicle dealerships and supermarkets. None of that would be possible if it weren’t for the large appetite for soft white wheat in other parts of the world, where 90 percent of it is exported, Suess said. The Philippines is the largest market, in front of Japan where it goes into a blend that’s used for sponge cakes, Suess said. “You can find them everywhere,” he said. “People make them in their homes. Restaurants and bakeries sell it. You can buy it from street vendors.” Before the wheat ever reaches the hands of its customers, it goes through a sophisticated process that involves challenging choices for farmers at each step, Suess said. Farmers harvest the wheat with three quarters of a million combines that cut the wheat and break the plants so the

kernels come out of the heads. The chaff typically goes through a straw chopper before being redistributed back into the field, Suess said. “It holds moisture and helps build up the soil for the next crop,” he said. The kernels get deposited into a bulk tank that’s emptied into a truck, Suess said. Farmers then can store it in their own bins or haul it to a third-party storage facility in a nearby town, next to a rail system or along the river. They might sell the crop immediately or hold out for a better price. Each option carries its own set of benefits and risks that go beyond trying to pinpoint when the best per-bushel price will be available in any given year. Home storage is usually the least expensive, but if the crop gets damaged, it’s the farmer’s responsibility. “It was an eye opener (for those at the tour),” Suess said. “They realized how complicated this whole thing is.” Elaine Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@ lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.

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Crisp from Page 8

throughout the state. Tsui said in order for growers to produce quality apples, the trees need up to three years to mature before sending any fruit to packers and then grocers. He said those involved with WSU’s fruit breeding program and the Washington Tree Fruit Commission are meeting with growers to discuss pruning techniques, best practices for managing rootstocks and other techniques for high-quality fruit. “There are things behind the scenes that are being done,� Tsui said. It’s important for the university to

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protect its product to ensure it succeeds when it hits the market, he said, noting that’s why the product was patented, and why Cosmic Crisp apple trees are only being sold to licensed growers and nurseries in Washington state. “Initially, 300,000 to 400,000 trees was the expectation (for the first year),� Tsui said. “But the nursery was able to push things and get it up to the 630,000 mark.� Due to the large first year push, expectations are high for the apple. “In terms of a commercial release like this, 5 million in year No. 2 is very high, usually 500,000 is a large number for the second year,� Tsui said. “In terms of a rollout in the U.S. market, this large of a rollout of an apple

is unheard of.� Tsui said the apple is easy to manage, which may have enticed growers. He said there are no number goals as far as production for the apple, rather the goal in place now is to get growers up to speed on the quality of the fruit. The university will receive 4.75 percent of the price a 40pound box of apples is sold for, as well as a $1 royalty for each tree sold. “This apple, you store it and open it up, it’s as good as the day it was picked off the tree,� Tsui said. “Come late September it remains crisp and crunchy; it may be a year-round type apple.� Josh Babcock can be reached at (509) 339-3423, or by email to jbabcock@ lmtribune.com.

Cosmic Crisp apples are shown cut into slices.

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Keeping it clean

Crop profitability varies in eastern Washington

Produce farmers face new FDA standards for things like worker hygiene and equipment cleanliness By Mary Stone Lewiston Tribune staff writer

Many Idaho farmers who grow produce such as onions or apples bound for consumers’ tables must soon follow new federal safety regulations — as soon as January for the biggest producers. The Food Safety Modernization Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2011, requires growers to meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards for growing, harvesting, packing and storing fruits and vegetables meant

for human consumption. The new rule includes requirements for worker hygiene, equipment cleanliness and the quality of the water that touches the produce. “Under the rule there is a requirement that one person on every farm that must comply has gone through accredited FDA train-

Small and large farms felt the effects of weather extremes this year

several crops in eastern Washington. “Certain areas had very good crops, but overall I would say it would be below average for yield,” White said. On the Palouse, where soft white wheat reigns, White said record moisBy Taylor Nadauld ture last fall and this spring drowned For Northwest Farm and Ranch out much of the cropland, yet little rain was seen after the latter part of May, A combination of quality crops and when it counts. low yields means prof“Those June rains are usually the ones itability will vary this that can really make season for both small it for the producer,” and large-scale local White said. farmers after crops Currently, wheat took a hit from weather prices are slightly better extremes this year in than last year, but not the Pacific Northwest. very high, White said. Sam White, chief The state is waiting to operating officer for see how it will comthe Pacific Northwest pete with Australian Farmers Cooperative wheat markets across in Genesee, said a long Nils Johnson the globe. winter, wet spring and scorching summer pro- WSU Agriculture and small farms duced variable yields of extension coordinator See crop, Page 13

ing,” said Idaho State Department of Agriculture chief of staff Pamm Juker, administrator for the Food Safety Modernization Act in the state. Juker’s office, in cooperation with University of Idaho Extension, is offering the required

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Celebrating 100 years of farming Century Farm program recognizes vanishing breed By Kerri Sandaine For Northwest Farm and Ranch

Honoring Idaho families who persevered through natural disasters and economic hard times to keep their farms in operation is one of the highlights of Earl Bennett’s job. Bennett, a 75-yearold retired geologist, is a trustee for the Idaho State Historical Society, a Latah County Historical Society board member and Genesee’s Bennett local historian. He’s been involved in history for about 15 years now and you’ll often find him speaking at ceremonies recognizing Century Farms in Idaho. See years, Page 17

Courtesy Earl Bennett

The Century Farm award was presented at the Arnzen Farm, one of more than 400 of Idaho’s farms that have been in the same family for a hundred years.

Clean from Page 11

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training at sites around the state, including one scheduled for Feb. 24 in Moscow. Those interested can register online at the state Department of Agriculture website for a $25 fee. Farms that average $500,000 or more in produce sales over three years will be the first required to comply, Juker said. Operators of those farms will need to be up to speed by Jan. 26. Farms averaging $250,000 but less than $500,000 over the previous three years must comply by Jan. 28, 2019. The deadline for those with sales between $25,000 and $250,000 is Jan. 27, 2020. Farms with average sales less than $25,000 are exempt from the new regulations.

Not every farm that meets the sales criteria will be required to participate, Juker said, because of a variety of other specific exemptions. The Idaho State Department of Agriculture is offering an anonymous online tool on its website to help growers determine whether they are included. “Every operation is very unique and the rule is very complex,� Juker said, “so each operation needs to evaluate their operation and the requirements under this rule, because it will be unique for everyone because of the different processes they have.� It’s tough to pinpoint exactly how many farms in Idaho are affected by the new regulations, because there is no state registry, Juker said. But, using national data, her department has estimated there are approximately 240 Idaho farms

that may need to comply with all or parts of the rule. What will happen if farmers do not implement the new standards is unclear. Because it is a new rule, enforcement details are still being worked out, Juker said. The focus now, she said, is on getting the word out to farmers about who must meet the new requirements, and how. An FDA grant is helping Juker’s office, along with UI Extension, with those efforts. Links to the full text of the Food Safety Modernization Act, compliance survey and training registration are available on the Idaho Department of Agriculture website at www.agri.idaho.gov. Mary Stone may be contacted at mstone@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2244. Follow her on Twitter @MarysSchoolNews.

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Crop

from Page 11 Pulse and legume crops were similarly affected by the weather, White said. Despite a few places where timing worked out right, production of peas, lentils and garbanzo beans was below average. On the other hand, though yields were down, barley surprisingly made it through the hot summer in good shape. Hot, dry weather typically affects the plumpness of barley kernels, White said. In Stevens County, hay farmers also had a rough season, according to Nils Johnson, agriculture and small farms extension coordinator for Washington State University’s Stevens County extension. “Regular production of hay in our area, at least hay that came from seeding this year, has had all sorts of problems,” Johnson said. A combination of too wet and too dry weather created an awful conundrum for hay

seedlings, though grass and alfalfa that was already in the ground did well in taking advantage of the moisture, Johnson said. The moisture limited livestock access to certain pasture grounds, but Johnson said the wet weather helped that ground later in the season. Vegetable production also varied in the region, Johnson said. Though there is a relatively small amount of vegetable production in Stevens County, those who did plant held off from doing so during the wet spring. Even when they did plant, Johnson said, germination was delayed. Sweet corn has been about two weeks behind schedule. So what plants did do well this year? Weeds. Johnson said lamb’s quarters and redroot pigweed came up better than ever this year. “It makes me think I should find a way to use those weeds,” Johnson said with a laugh.

| Saturday, September 30, 2017 | 13

Geoff Crimmins/Daily News file photo

A farmer works in a field near the intersection of Snow Road and U.S. Highway 95 in May between Moscow and Genesee.

Taylor Nadauld can be reached at (208) 883-4630, by email to tnadauld@dnews.com and on Twitter @tnadauldarg.

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14 | Saturday, September 30, 2017 |

Farm and Ranch

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Barns major part of the Yakima Valley landscape

In this photo taken Sept. 1, an elevator rises to a platform on the east side of a hops kiln at the O.J. Gendron Ranch on Bell Road in Moxee, Wash.

By Tammy Ayer Yakima Herald-Republic

YAKIMA, Wash. — Historic preservation isn’t just about big old houses and grand public buildings. Many appreciate structures of a more utilitarian nature — barns. Barns make some of the best landmarks, especially in the Yakima Valley, where agriculture is king. They serve specific purposes and as a result are more often plain than fancy, but they also can celebrate the family’s success with their size, materials, craftsmanship and architectural detail. We’ve highlighted some of the region’s most well-known barns:

O.J. Gendron Ranch Barn, 6702 Bell Road, Moxee Like the Cornell Farmstead, this entire property is on the National Register of Historic

Associated Press

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Associated Press

In this photo taken Sept. 4, a cluster of barns is seen along Branch Road in White Swan, Wash. Places. It “embodies the distinctive char- 1915, according to its listing on Heritage acteristics of a typical subsistence and Barns of Washington State. hop farm during the early part of the Antony and Gertrude Herke and 20th century,” according to a summary their eight children emigrated from on its National Register nomination Germany in 1869 and worked their way form. It was constructed circa 1912. across the United States, according to Resting on a stone foundation, the Historic Barns’ 2010 report. When the barn features an attached loafing shed. family reached San Francisco, they took Loafing sheds are small barns that a steamboat to The Dalles, then a wagon enable stock to get out of the weather. to Fort Simcoe and finally Ahtanum Flooring of the Mission. Two children lower east side of the died in infancy along barn, below the loft, is the way, according to thick planks of wood. the report. The west end of the The Herkes bought barn is open construcland near the mission tion from dirt floor to and later 160 acres the roof, the National in Parker Bottom, Register form notes, where they grew hops. and “housed great Antony died in 1908; quantities of loose his two farms were Larry Doman hay, provided protecdivided among the six Cattle rancher and owner tion for animals dursurviving children, ing the winter, and the report notes. Built of complex of four barns was a safe foaling stall for the growing hop near Brownstown for a pregnant mare.” market, the structure The large loafing was moved about 800 shed adjoins three-fourths of the south feet to make way for I-82 and has been side of the barn and features a wooden used more recently for storing hay. walkway and full-length feed trough. The frame of the trough incorporates Barn Complex near Brownstown, just rails reportedly used in the coal mines of west of the intersection of Brownstown Cle Elum, according to the nomination and Branch Road form summary. Cattle rancher Larry Doman has Herke Hop Kiln Barn on Donald Wapato owned this distinctive complex of four red barns just west of Brownstown for Road, Wapato about 24 years. Doman estimates they’re This already tall wooden barn just off at least 75 years old. Interstate 82 near Donald is made taller Reese Brown, the man for whom by its single ventilating tower, a clear indication of its original purpose for storing and drying hops. It was built around See barns, Page 16

“

They’re built from that rough-cut lumber. They’re solid as a rock.”

| Saturday, September 30, 2017 | 15

16 | Saturday, September 30, 2017 |

Farm and Ranch

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Barns from Page 15

Brownstown was named, built the barns and owned 1,000 acres, Doman said. He lived in apartments above the old tavern, now known as Joe’s Place. “He farmed that thousand acres with big Percheron horses. All of those barns are full of stalls that housed those Percheron horses,” Doman said. “The big barn, I have an office in there and some storerooms. The rest of it is big stalls, and I’ve never taken them out. They were built with timber from the mill out in White Swan.” After Brown died in a freak auto accident — he was impaled by a tepee pole when he rearended a truck carrying several of them, Doman said — Maurice Rowe bought the place and owned it for 65 years. “He built the house that we live in now” across Branch Road, Doman added, “then he farmed the same 1,000 acres with those same horses until in the late ’90s, then he bought tractors and then just stored equipment in those big barns.” “Since I’ve owned it, one of the barns I have taken most of the stalls out of and I use that one barn as a maternity ward in the winter,” he said. “I use them basically to house my cattle and a boat. Once in a while I park my tractors in one of them. Mostly I just house equipment.” He appreciates the barns’ substance. “They’re built from that rough-cut lumber.

Associated Press

In this photo taken Sept. 1, a barn is surrounded by a golden field of grasses near the Interstate-82 interchange in Wapato, Wash. They’re solid as a rock,” he said.

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Round Barn at the Cornell Farmstead, Pleasant Road And Old Prosser Road, Grandview The house and barn on this property, which is entirely on the National Register of Historic Places, were built for dairy farmer S.D. Cornell between 1912 and 1916. The big, red, round barn is 200 feet in circumference, with a centrally placed silo 50 feet in circumference. The silo rises through the conical roof, ending about 25 feet above the barn with the words “Marble Ranch” near the top. The interior of the barn is well preserved, according to its state historic property inventory form. The lower level has its original wooden floors and originally featured milking stanchions arranged around the central silo. A ladder by the silo leads to where hay was stored on the second level, which has radiating floor joists and flooring. The barn is used for storage today.

James Gleed Barn, 1960 Old Naches Highway, Naches Built in 1885 as a cattle and horse barn for Massachusetts native and Civil War veteran James Gleed, this barn

built of hand-hewn posts and beams with mortise and tenon joints and wooden pegs is considered an “exceptionally wellpreserved example of heavy timber frame barn construction in the Yakima Valley,” according to its National Register of Historic Places registration form. Gleed was a successful rancher and hay farmer and built an early irrigation system. He grew up in Massachusetts, Illinois and Colorado before he, his wife, four daughters and father-in-law packed a covered wagon and set out for Walla Walla in 1878. But Walla Walla was in the midst of a diptheria epidemic, so they kept going to Yakima City (now Union Gap). The barn was built by Robert Scott of Naches and his sons Walter and Bob. It features hand-hewn posts and beams, and sawn lumber hauled by wagon from a mill at The Dalles, Oregon. The shakes came from a mill at Clemen Mountain.

Marquez Barn just off Interstate 82 In Sunnyside Folks call this distinctive structure near the Grand Cinemas the Marquez barn after Norbert Marquez and son Robert Marquez, who moved it to this location in the 1980s. It features an ambitious Gothic arch roof, a style often seen in dairying areas because it offered

Farm and Ranch

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Associated Press

In this photo taken Aug. 30, lights from vehicle traffic blur along Old Naches Highway as the James Gleed Barn is draped in twilight in Naches, Wash. extensive space for hay storage above the first floor where milking took place. While the Gothic Revival style of residential architecture became popular in the United

States before the Civil War, Gothic arch roof barns weren’t part of the landscape in large numbers until the 1930s. They became popular in the Midwest then, mostly in Wisconsin, before the style

Years from Page 12

More than 400 family farms throughout the state have received the honor since the program was established in 1990. Continuous ownership within the same family is one of the requirements, along with steady agricultural production on at least 40 acres. Bennett said the awards are especially significant today as the industry changes and more family operations fade from Idaho’s landscape. “It’s important because Century Farms are becoming a thing of the past,” Bennett said. “Corporate farming is taking over more and more, plus it’s getting harder and harder to get kids to stay on the farm.” Families who are able to pass the business down to the next generation are fortunate, he said. The young people who do take over for their retiring parents are typically educated in the field of agriculture at the college level. “We have very few farmers in this area who don’t have a master’s degree

moved beyond the center of the country. Because the barn is not listed on the state historic registry, detailed information about its age and origins was not readily available.

or some type of ag degree,” Bennett said. “Farming is so sophisticated now. There’s a lot more to it than hooking up a horse to a plow.” However, some aspects of the career choice remain the same. Running a farm or ranch is hard work and the paycheck reflects the commodities market rather than the hours that went into producing a crop. During the Century Farm ceremonies, Bennett recognizes the difficulties Idaho farm and ranch families face and the contribution agriculture has made to the state economy. The program was established by the Idaho Department of Agriculture in 1990 as part of Idaho’s Centennial Celebration. Ten years later, the Idaho Historical Society took over. Applications for the Century Farm and Ranch awards are available by calling (877) OLD-GEMS, writing to the Idaho State Historical Society in Boise or downloading an application. The applications are reviewed quarterly throughout the year, Bennett said. Kerri Sandaine may be contacted at kerris@ lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2264. Follow her on Twitter @newsfromkerri.

| Saturday, September 30, 2017 | 17

18 | Saturday, September 30, 2017 |

Farm and Ranch

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Taiwan signs $576M wheat deal with United States

This 2009 photo shows a piece of wheat close up while growing in a field on the Palouse.

By Kimberlee Kruesi Associated Press

BOISE — Taiwan has once again agreed to purchase a large share of U.S. wheat over the next two years, with most of it coming from Idaho, North Dakota and Montana. Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch� Otter and Taiwanese milling industry officials signed the $576 million agreement Wednesday at the Idaho Capitol in Boise following similar agreements being signed by Montana and North Dakota officials. “The consumption of wheat foods in Taiwan has now surpassed rice and we appreciate that the Taiwan milling industry recognizes the quality of Idaho wheat,� Otter said. According to the Idaho Wheat Commission, Taiwan mostly buys Idaho’s soft white wheat to use in cookies, crackers and noodles. However, Taiwan has also been buying more of the state’s hard red wheat to use in bread. A total of 5 percent of Idaho’s wheat production is purchased by Taiwan.

Daily News file photo

“Taiwan’s consumers have appreciated high-quality Idaho-grown wheat and famous potatoes for decades,� said Tony I-T Chen, chairman of Taiwan’s milling association. After signing the agreement, Taiwanese delegates gifted Otter with a bottle of single malt whiskey made in Taiwan with Idaho wheat. Otter then joked he might have to taste it later that night during dinner with the delegates. This is the 11th time leaders with the Taiwan Flour Millers Association — which imports wheat on behalf of all 20 Taiwanese flour mills — have pledged to buy U.S. wheat. Taiwan

has roughly one-sixth the land mass of Idaho, but it has a population of more than 23 million. The United States supplies more than 80 percent of Taiwan’s total wheat imports each year. For 2018 and 2019 combined, Taiwan is agreeing to buy 1.8 million metric tons of U.S. wheat. “The partnership between Taiwan’s millers and U.S. wheat producers is enduring and very successful,� said said Bill Flory, vice chairman, Idaho Wheat Commission. “The importance of maintaining this trade relationship with this valued customer cannot be overstated.�

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Farm and Ranch

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

| Saturday, September 30, 2017 | 19 An orange sits on a tree affected by Hurricane Irma Sept. 13 in Lake Wales, Fla. Hurricane Irma dealt Florida’s orange crop a devastating blow, destroying nearly all of some growers’ groves in southwest Florida and seriously damaging groves in central Florida.

around the country

When natural disasters strike Official say ‘lethal’ Hurricane Irma was a ‘major calamity’ for Florida crops By Tamara Lush Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida’s agriculture commissioner said last week the path of Hurricane Irma “could not have been more lethal” to the state’s farmers and that the scope of damage to the state’s fruits and vegetables is unprecedented. Commissioner Adam Putnam, along with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, flew over hundreds of miles of Florida farmland to view the damage. Rural communities and farmland were in the path of the devastating storm from south to north. Putnam said the citrus crop in southwest Florida is particularly devastated. The scope of the damage is more

evident this week because the dropped fruit is starting to turn from green to orange, leaving piles of ruined juice oranges in the groves. He added some groves are still underwater, which will likely kill the trees. “There are a number of old timers who have seen a lot of freezes and fires and floods, and the consensus of the growers is that this is the state’s most significant crop loss ever,” Putnam said. Florida is the nation’s largest juice producer. The citrus industry was already battling a deadly disease when Irma hit. Some citrus producers in southwest Florida say they’ve lost 80-90 percent of their crop, while producers elsewhere say 40 percent was ruined by the storm.

Associated Press

Other crops were also destroyed. Lisa Lochridge, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, said last week that reports indicate a 50 percent to 70 percent crop loss in south Florida. Florida is a key source of fresh fruits and vegetables for the nation in the winter. Putnam said most grow-

ers who had anticipated getting vegetables on the table for November are probably in trouble. “They’ll miss their Thanksgiving market,” he said. Among the hardest hit crops: avocadoes and ornamental plants in Miami-Dade County, along with field crops such as eggplants, tomatoes

and bell peppers. In addition to farmers, people who pick crops, drive produce trucks and process the crops will all feel the downturn. “This is a major calamity,” Putnam said. Agriculture, fishing and horticulture contribute $150 billion dollars to the state’s economy.

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