Blogriculture | A blog about agriculture in the West from capitalpress.com

AgMinute for Feb. 27, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:27:25 PST

U.S. dairy exports to Mexico hit the $1 billion mark in 2011, making that country the first billion-dollar U.S. dairy export market. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

Podcast: Digging it in Spokane, how to deal with high diesel prices, and Idaho exports

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:16:20 PST

In this podcast, editors and reporters discuss an innovative museum exhibit that gets down and dirty with soil, how farmers can mitigate rising fuel costs and an update on how exports are reshaping Idaho's farm economy. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Feb. 24, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:05 PST

Idaho cattlemen are backing a bill that would ensure funds collected from the sale of unclaimed livestock are used for agricultural education or research. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

Agminute for Feb. 23, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:32:49 PST

Dairy analysts say the latest USDA production report shows U.S. milk supplies are growing, which could lead to lower prices for dairymen. Not only was January's milk production up 3.7 percent from January 2011, but there were 93,000 more cows in the herd. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Feb. 22, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:19 PST

The National Agricultural Statistics Service says the number of farms in the U.S. dropped slightly last year and the amount of land used for farming continued to decline. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

Ag and the way the media views itself

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:22:50 PST

Regular podcast contributor and agricultural reporter Mateusz Perkowski spoke at the Food and Agricultural Communications Symposium's Colliding Beliefs and Common Ground panel. He's funny and insightful on the role of the media in agriculture.

AgMinute for Feb. 21, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Dry bean growers are reaping the benefits of tight supplies with prices as much as double what they were at the same time last year. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Feb. 20, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:38:35 PST

The total value of Idaho's 2011 crops increased well above the national average, according to USDA estimates. Excluding fruits and nuts, Idaho's 2011 crops increased 25 percent in value from the previous year to $3.79 billion, the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

Podcast: PETA's dairy fight and timber education

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:21:19 PST

In this podcast, editors and reporters explain why dairymen in California are celebrating a legal victory over the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and how the forestry industry is educating the world about the value of timber production. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Feb. 17, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:27:45 PST

President Barack Obama's proposed budget includes a 4.8 percent increase for the Department of Agriculture, but most of that increase goes to nutrition programs. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Feb. 16, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:11 PST

The Idaho State Senate voted 31-4 Tuesday to approve legislation giving the Idaho Wheat Commission with new authority to adjust the assessment on wheat grown in the state. Senate Bill 1259 would provide the IWC with additional authority to set a per-bushel assessment at a level commensurate with anticipated production in any given year. The assessment is used for market development, research

AgMinute for Feb. 15, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:05 PST

A stripe rust epidemic from 2011 shouldn't repeat in southeast Idaho and Magic Valley winter wheat fields this season, a crop disease expert predicted. The region's spring wheat, however, will likely be vulnerable due to wind-borne spores from Oregon and Washington. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Feb. 14, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:19:06 PST

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. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS

AgMinute for Feb. 13, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:52:14 PST

On the back of increased production and higher prices, Idaho’s record for total cash receipts from wheat sales was blown away in 2011. The outlook for this year’s crop is a little less stellar but still positive. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

Podcast: Longshoremen and EGT make peace for grain ship, aquifer recharge, and resolving a timber crisis

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:46:36 PST

In this podcast, editors and reporters of the Capital Press look at an easing of tension in the dispute between a grain terminal and Longshoremen as the first grain ship arrives, examine state funding to better understand aquifer recharge efforts in eastern Idaho, and share the Capital Press position on how to resolve the crisis among federal timber counties. Also, check the latest location of

AgMinute for Feb. 10, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:07 PST

The Idaho Senate ag committee on Feb. 9 accepted a bill that would add a felony provision for animal cruelty to state law, a day after a House committee rejected similar legislation. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Feb. 9, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:16 PST

Concerned that pulse crops are being overlooked as a health-promoting food, the industry is seeking increased funding for health and nutrition research.Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Feb. 8, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:06 PST

The Idaho Cattle Association has sent the Environmental Protection Agency comments on behalf of its 700 members opposing a proposal the group believes would hurt concentrated animal feeding operations.Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader. To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Feb. 7, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:08 PST

A new brucellosis-testing rule approved by the Idaho Legislature is expected to improve the marketability of Idaho cattle and convince other states not to adopt onerous import restrictions on Gem State livestock. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Feb. 6, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Cows are often thought of as docile animals, but one Georgia farmer knows better. The farmer, who is in his 70s, is recovering after being attacked by a 900-pound rabid cow.Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.To listen, click here.

Podcast: Backyard chick demand, child labor on family farms, and an FFA tractor raffle

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:03:04 PST

In this podcast, editors and reporters take a look at businesses riding the wave of demand for backyard chickens, the federal government's shifting stance on child labor on family farms, and a tractor raffle to raise money to help send Idaho FFA members to college.To order raffle tickets for the 1952 John Deere B and three-point sprayer, call 208-861-2467 or e-mail Laura Wilder at lwilder@

AgMinute for Feb. 3, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:15 PST

Idaho Democrats have proposed an ag jobs bill that would provide producers a 50 percent income tax credit when they add some type of value to an existing crop. The proposed tax credit would allow Idaho farmers or ranchers to receive the credit for investing in an agricultural processing facility.Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Feb. 2, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:24:30 PST

Under pressure from farm groups, the Labor Department has agreed to modify a plan that's intended to keep children away from some of the most dangerous farm jobs. The proposal now will have broader exemptions for children whose parents own or operate farms, or have a substantial interest in a farm partnership or corporation.Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.To listen

AgMinute for Feb. 1, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:06 PST

A new study has found that reducing Idaho’s foreign-born labor supply would have a significant negative economic impact.Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.To listen, click here.

AgMinute for Jan. 31, 2012

wkoenig@capitalpress.com (Will Koenig) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:11 PST

Since Mexican officials asked Idaho bean growers last month to help them get through a dire situation, Gem State companies have sent several train carloads of dry beans to that country. Because of severe weather conditions and a drought, Mexico's growers are facing an emergency situation and need an almost immediate supply of dry bean seed for next season.Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or