March 2001

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Dig Into The Potato Surplus&emdash;With A Fork By Marlene Fritz, University of Idaho It's time for every loyal Idahoan to sit down and be counted. Sit down and eat potatoes, that is, during those 154 quick-to-fix meals that marketers say we toss together at home each year. At the National Potato Promotion Board in Denver, Linda McCashion calls them "simple-casual-quick cook-at-home" meals. She also calls them a marketing challenge. That's because U.S. consumers chow down spuds during 40 percent of their traditional "three-part cook-at-home" meals. Gratifyingly&emdash;to the producers of Idaho's over-abundant potatoes&emdash;consumers still prefer to supplement their meat and vegetables with potatoes rather than with rice or pasta. But during their "simple-casual-quick cook-at-home meals," consumers are serving spuds only 13 percent of the time. Instead, they're eating pizza, hot dogs and spaghetti. Even more troubling is the fact that those quick meals already outnumber the estimated 111 traditional three-part meals we Americans eat at home each year, and the market share of meat-vegetables-potatoes dinners is under continual siege. "People are making less and less from scratch," says McCashion, the NPPB's vice president of public relations. "If it needs to be prepared, it has to fight to hold onto its share." Today's citizens, loyal though they may be, simply have "a whole different perception of time than the people who first cleared the land," she says. We also have a whole lot of misconceptions about how long it actually takes to prepare potatoes. "There's a perception that potatoes will always take you 45 minutes," says Janice Stimpson, University of Idaho extension educator in Fremont and Clark counties. "And that's just a perception. It's not the reality." Stimpson slices baking time in half by microwaving her russets for a few minutes before transferring them to the oven for another 15 to 20. She coats her bakers with nothing and wraps them in nothing&emdash;although she does poke them with a fork before heating them. "Nothing could be easier," she says. "Nothing." She also puts mashed or boiled potatoes on the table in 10 minutes by using her pressure saucepan to cook them. For make-ahead meals, Stimpson scoops the insides out of baked potatoes and whips them together with milk, butter, vegetables and leftover meat or seafood. Then she stuffs the mix back into the skins, wraps them tightly and freezes them. On those too-frequent evenings when the family's comings and goings barely leave a few minutes for dining, she slam-dunks the stuffed potatoes into the microwave. "It doesn't take much time," she says. "It just takes more planning." In Boise, Expanded Food and Nutrition Program educator Linda Gossett suggests saving even more time by skipping the mixing and stuffing. Just microwave the potato for not more than six minutes, slice it open, then smother it with leftover chili, stew, meat, vegetables or cheese. "It's certainly a dollar-stretcher," she says. By rights, Gossett believes potatoes should be served far more often than they are. "Potatoes are economical, they're available year-round, they're relatively low in calories and sodium, they have no fat, they're high in vitamin C, they have a significant amount of potassium and their skins provide dietary fiber," she says. "And, if you keep them in a cool, dark, dry place, you can store them for a long period of time." You can also use them to turn soups and stews into satisfying meals. Stimpson tosses potato flakes into her slow-cooker when whatever she's making would benefit from thickening. She pours flakes into her bread dough to soften her loaves' texture and extend their shelf life. "If people haven't tried the new forms of dehydrated potatoes, they should try them again," she says. "They were not very good when they first came out, but they have been greatly improved and they are really tasty now." In Cassia County, UI extension educator Joan Parr makes mashed potatoes from potato flakes, then spoons a fluffy layer across the tops of casseroles. "It's filling, it stretches the cost of the meal, it gives a very nice texture to a casserole and it's very attractive because it browns on the top," she says. Parr also fixes "specialty" potatoes briskly, stir-frying her waxy reds. Or, she just washes and slices her red, purple or yellow spuds&emdash;no need to peel them&emdash;and steams them with snapped fresh beans and sliced carrots or peppers. "If the pieces are uniformly thin, the steamed vegetables just take minutes to cook to the fork-tender stage," she says. "And the newer varieties of specialty potatoes are so colorful they might even encourage those finicky eaters to enjoy a serving of vegetables." Another option: Make a foil pouch and fill it with sliced specialty potatoes, onions, herbs, a tablespoon of water, a little splash of lemon juice and seasonings, plus either a small pat of margarine or butter or a spritz of cooking spray. Slip them into the oven and roast them for as few as 20 minutes at 350 degrees, depending on size. "That's also an excellent way to cook potatoes out on the backyard grill or when you're camping," says Gossett. "It cleans up really easily and you can individualize the pouches for different members of the family." According to McCashion, chilled, pre-cut potatoes that can be ready in under 10 minutes are performing exceptionally well in marketing tests. Merchandised next to eggs and meat, they're catching the eyes of busy buyers too brain-dead after a long day to find inspiration in the usual pile of potatoes in the produce aisle. "Everything today is in a hurry today," she says. "Meals are just one more in-a-hurry thing." Research Suggests Additional Genetic Safety Measures By Carol Flaherty, Montana State University Communications Services If you find out one day that your child needs a gene transplant to be cured of a disease, you are going to be very glad that Ed Schmidt has been studying mice. For several years, researchers have been using a helpful enzyme to change segments of DNA, potentially including ones that are so flawed they cause disease. Until Schmidt's work, though, no one knew that one of the most useful enzymes used in this work can continue to alter genes after its work is done. Schmidt, a researcher in Montana State University's Department of Veterinary Molecular Biology, also has a simple fix for the problem he's found when working with the enzyme nicknamed "Cre." The "fix" is simply to remove it once it has completed its task. After all, says Schmidt, even a plaster cast on a broken arm would cause harm if left on long after the bone was healed. If Cre is not removed, in some cases it could continue to make genetic changes until the chromosomes involved were of no more use than scrambled eggs. "Researchers thought that you could use Cre to put a gene safely into anything," said Schmidt, "Most people suggested that you could leave this system of making genetic change in place with no ill effects. Our research argues very strongly that Cre should be removed after its work is done." Schmidt's research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It was on the World Wide Web Thanksgiving week and was in the printed issue Dec. 5. Dr. Alan Godwin of the University of Kansas Medical Center has reviewed Schmidt's research and says the use of Cre has become very common in genetic research with mice and is being proposed for more and more human genetic studies. "The significance of this work is that it shows side effects associated with Cre that aren't predictable, that could lead to cancer or other genetic abnormalities," says Godwin. "It is a cautionary note." Cre is an enzyme that comes from "bacteriophage P1," a virus that normally infects bacteria. All of us have a similar enzyme in our bodies that's part of our immune system, says Schmidt. Cre has become a powerful tool for manipulating genes in both plants and animals because it naturally prompts a change between DNA elements as a part of its normal viral life cycle. This activity that makes Cre so attractive to researchers in the first place is also what creates the risk if Cre is left in the subject. The process of using Cre in Schmidt's research is quite simple. Once the target DNA is determined, a researcher or technician injects Cre and a small amount of genetic material into the nucleus of a fertilized egg. Up to 30 percent of the injected eggs will develop into mice with the Cre-introduced genes. When Schmidt found the unwanted mutations, he had been trying to develop a mouse that would let researchers better study diseases known to be caused by genetic flaws&emdash;like cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy. That research failed. However, what Schmidt found is of more immediate importance. In the case of Schmidt's work, all male mice descendants of the experimental mice were sterile. Female mice subjects were not affected. The male mice followed the same mating behavior, had normal looking sperm, the same sperm counts and sperm activity. However, all of the eggs these males fertilized died after the first cell division. When Schmidt investigated, he basically found scrambled male mice chromosomes&emdash;at least, that's exactly what it looks like when magnified about 2000 times. As it happens, Schmidt's mouse was very sensitive to Cre, but his experiments with it show that future use of this system of making a genetic change need to include the step of removing the system after it has done its work. Otherwise, there would be a slow introduction of alterations into the target system. "I hope this study will cause people to rethink their approach to genetic therapies," says Schmidt. "I'm not a gene therapy researcher, but my hope is that my research will let these new tools for curing disease be used with greater safety. Far West's WA Legislative Update Pete Fretwell, Far West Agribusiness Association March 8, 2001, Update Bills that did not make committee cutoff have been deleted. The deadline for bills to pass out of their original house is March 14. However, this may have to be changed since the House of Representatives still has not found a location where they can meet. It appears that due to earthquake damage, they will not be back in chambers in the Capitol building anytime soon. Pesticide Use In Schools HB 1451 - SPONSOR: Cooper&emdash;Appropriations Requires licensing of anyone applying a pesticide in or around a school. This will be a limited school facility applicator license. Includes daycare facilities. Requires posting and notification but leaves the method of notification up to the school. NOTE: Several small amendments were added. They did not significantly change the bill. SB 5533 - SPONSOR: Eide&emdash;Senate floor Posting and notification of pesticide applications at schools SB 5534 - SPONSOR: Eide&emdash;Ways & Means Requires licensing of persons applying pesticides at schools. Aerial Applications/Inerts Disclosure SB 5425 - SPONSOR: Kohl-Welles Rules 2 Finds that, because the aerial application of pesticides in densely populated urban residential areas may expose a greater population, it is the purpose of this act to direct the appropriate state and local agencies to implement enhanced standards for public information, notification, and participation in pest control activities involving such aerial application of pesticides. NOTE: This bill not only requires disclosure of inert ingredients but also requires much more public notice and involvement than current law. It also requires surveys of public health in the affected area. Numerous people from Seattle testified in favor of the bill. The general tenor of the hearing was that people have a right to know what is in the poison that is being sprayed on them against their will. SB 5851 - SPONSOR: Rasmussen&emdash;Rules 2 Authorizes the director of agriculture to consult with public entities on human health risks associated with any proposed pesticide use by the department. WSDA request. Sabotage HB 1938 - SPONSOR: Pearson&emdash;Rules Prescribes felony penalties for sabotage resulting in damage to land, facilities, and property. Specifically identifies university or private research facility and biotechnology laboratory as well as agriculture.         Central Filing Of Ag Liens SHCR 4408 - SPONSOR: Chandler, Gary&emdash;Rules House Concurrent Resolution formalizes the Washington Bankers Association study of a central filing system for agricultural liens. For more information, contact: Heather Hansen/ 360-705-2040 or Heatherhh@qwest.net Dan Coyne/ 360-786-8180 or dancoyne@coynenet.com

2000-Crop Oilseed Payments The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that this week more than 590,000 oilseed farmers will begin getting payments totaling about $500 million. The payments were authorized by the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000.  Producers who planted soybeans, sunflowers, flaxseed, canola, rapeseed, safflowerseed, mustard, crambe, and sesame in 2000 are eligible for the payments. Payments are calculated based on the 5-year average price for each oilseed, after dropping the high and low years, and are adjusted to keep spending within the authorized level. The final payment rates are 1.8 percent higher than the projected rates announced prior to the signup that was conducted during the period October 16, 2000 through January 12, 2001. A producer's payment yield is based on a county or national historical average or the producer's actual yield. A producer's payment acres are based on the planted acres in 1997, 1998, or 1999 except that for new producers, the payment acres are based on 2000 plantings. Market Advisor: Combining Crop Insurance and Marketing By George Flaskerud, Crops Economist, NDSU Extension Service Crop insurance and marketing tools are among the basic building blocks of most strategies to manage production and price risk. Now there is a new way to evaluate the use of those tools. The easy-to-use spreadsheet program, which can be downloaded from http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/cropmkt/cropmkt.htm , is called the "Insurance and Marketing Simulator" and requires the use of Microsoft Excel. It was developed by Matthew Diersen, South Dakota State University Extension Service, and Andrew Swenson, North Dakota State University Extension Service. The first step in using the model is to decide how the simulation results should be viewed. They can be viewed in several ways: base, multiple and grid. Base results show total revenue and its sources for one specified yield and price at harvest. Multiple results show total revenue and its sources for nine yields and futures prices at harvest. Grid results show revenue for 70 price and yield scenarios. The desired view determines which of three spreadsheets to use. There is one spreadsheet for base results, one for multiple and one for grid. Select the spreadsheet and specify the information needed for insurance products and marketing tools. The multiple spreadsheet is suggested as a starting point. The simulator can be used to evaluate popular insurance products: Multi Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) and Crop Revenue Coverage (CRC). The simulator can also be used to evaluate a third product, Revenue Assurance with the Harvest Option (RA-HO), because it is essentially the same as CRC. The following is insurance information for some crops. Producers should visit with their crop insurance agent about the many other crops covered by insurance. For 2001, the MPCI price is $2.80 per bushel for spring wheat, $3.40 per bushel for durum, $1.60 per bushel for barley, $2 per bushel for corn, $5.26 per bushel for soybeans, $9.30 per hundredweight for oil sunflowers and canola, and $12.70 per hundredweight for confectionery sunflowers. The CRC base price is $3.41 per bushel for spring wheat, $2.46 per bushel for corn and $4.67 per bushel for soybeans. There is no base price for durum CRC this year, according to a Risk Management Agency Bulletin (www.rma.usda.gov/news/managers/2001/pdf/mgr01-011.pdf) released March 5. There was not enough September or July futures contracts traded at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange in February to establish a base price. Durum producers have three options: "1) not insure their durum wheat under the CRC wheat policy and report durum wheat acreage as uninsurable; 2) insure their durum wheat as spring wheat under the CRC wheat policy, in which case their durum wheat actual production history database will be combined with their spring wheat database for the 2001 crop year; or 3) choose another applicable plan of insurance." The RA price can be specified in the simulator where it calls for a CRC base price. The RA-HO base price is $1.87 per bushel for barley, $7 per hundredweight for sunflowers, and $8.30 per hundredweight for canola. Other RA-HO base prices are the same as for CRC. Other information that needs to be specified in the simulator is the loan rate, expected harvest basis and actual production history yield. Your local elevator manager should be able to help you determine an appropriate harvest basis. The loan rate is needed to determine a loan deficiency payment. The simulator has a table to specify yield and price percentage elections and the premiums for MPCI and CRC (or RA-HO). In that same table, you indicate if you want to use MPCI or CRC (RA-HO) in the analysis. You can not do both at the same time. You need to get results from using one product and then from the other. A marketing table permits you to sell futures, buy puts and buy calls. Selling futures can be used to represent a hedge-to-arrive elevator contract. A marketing tool is activated by specifying the percentage of the actual production history yield to sell using that tool. This would be equivalent to specifying a percentage of the expected crop. You need to specify the futures price for selling, and the strike prices and premiums for the options. All three of the tools can be used simultaneously. The final step is to define the setup for the simulation results. The expected futures price and harvest yield must be specified. For multiple and grid results, increments in prices and yields must also be specified. Ag Export Forecast Remains At $53 Billion Forecasts of U.S. agricultural exports for fiscal 2001 remain at $53 billion, the same as in November, and 4 percent above fiscal 2000. Imports also are unchanged from the November estimate of $40 billion, a 3-percent gain over 2000. Offsetting weaker bulk commodity exports, horticultural and poultry product exports are stronger than previously forecast, boosted by strong demand and expectations of a weaker U.S. dollar. At $11.3 billion, horticultural exports are forecast at a record-high, with especially strong sales to Canada and Mexico. Prospects for poultry exports have improved with strong sales to Russia and several other countries. However, since November, export competition for bulk commodities is forecast stronger than earlier anticipated, and prospective economic growth has weakened somewhat, particularly in the United States and Japan. Forecast bulk export volume is reduced to 117.7 million tons, 4 percent below November, but still 2 percent above 2000. Increased competition has reduced the U.S. corn export forecast, as China is now expected to continue to provide corn export subsidies this year. Also, Argentina's corn exports have been raised substantially since November. Anticipated export competition in soybeans from Argentina and Brazil has also increased since November. And, weaker economic growth is limiting cotton demand. For more information on U.S. agricultural trade, visit the Economic Research Service's U.S. Agricultural Trade briefing room at http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/AgTrade/. Cell Phone Radiation Linked To Battery? Pete Fretwell, Far West Agribusiness Association If you're concerned about possible effects of your cell phone on your health, junkscience.com reports they've found a link between the battery and radiation, rather than the phone and radiation. The Web site's editor suggests that if you remove your cell phone's battery, it will stop emitting any potentially harmful radiation. Dow Buys Rohm- Haas' Ag Line Pete Fretwell, Far West Agribusiness Association Dow AgroSciences LLC will buy Rohm and Haas' Agricultural Chemicals business line, trademarks and working capital for about $1 billion, significantly boosting Dow's global production of agriculture protection products. The acquisition will push Dow AgroSciences' annual sales to roughly $3 billion, elevating it to the world's No. 6 producer of agricultural chemicals, and bolster its production fungicide product lines. Dow officials called that an area where Rohm and Haas excels. A company spokesman told Reuters the Philadelphia-based Rohm and Haas determined earlier this year that the agricultural chemical business, which 25 years ago accounted for nearly 20 percent of the company's overall sales, was no longer large enough to compete in a consolidating industry. Columbia's Low Flows May Interrupt Irrigation Department of Ecology News Release - March 7, 2001 Low flows in the Columbia River above The Dalles, Ore., could prompt state officials to curtail water deliveries to some water-right holders this irrigation season. Approximately 300 irrigation water rights along the Columbia River are subject to restrictions if spring run-off predictions are less than 60 million acre-feet at The Dalles Dam, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology). These interruptible water rights, issued between 1980 and 1992, are regulated under the Instream Resources Protection Program for the Columbia River. Based on March 1 snowpack and reservoir conditions, the Northwest River Forecast Center predicts there will be less than 56 million acre-feet of water at The Dalles Dam during the April to September irrigation season. During an average irrigation season, nearly 100 million acre-feet of water goes by the dam. "Drought conditions are taking their toll throughout the region, prompting a number of water conservation measures statewide," noted Bob Barwin, Ecology's water resource program manager in Yakima. "The Columbia River is experiencing its lowest flow levels since 1977, which means some irrigators may be required to cut back their water use for the first time under this program." Water-right holders will receive letters this week informing them about the curtailment program. During the irrigation season, affected water users will be asked to call a toll-free number each week to find out if they can irrigate that week. This information may also be available on the Internet. Water right permits and certificates for domestic and municipal water supplies are exempt from these Columbia River regulations. Similar programs are in place along the Methow, Okanogan, Little Spokane and Wenatchee rivers, where some water-users routinely are asked to restrict water use during low-flow periods. Electricity Buyback Offers Will Affect Dealers Pete Fretwell, Far West Agribusiness Association The Bonneville Power Administration and Idaho Power are among Northwest utilities offering growers a chance to sell their power back this growing season. While it's unclear what impact these buyback plans could have on dealers who sell crop inputs, it's reasonable to assume there will be a measurable impact. A BPA manager tells Far West they expect to finalize contracts and release details on the BPA buyback plan next week. Capital Press reports the BPA would offer a price per megawatt hour. BPA would work with its public utility customers, who in turn, would work with farmers volunteering to curtail power use. The utilities would calculate administrative costs and lost revenue and offer the balance of any BPA payment to irrigators.  Land would be taken out of production, rather than planted to crops that require less irrigation. The plan would not apply to land already idled or in a federal land bank program such as CRP. There would be some provision for the planting of a cover crop to prevent soil erosion. There would be a "locality adder" for irrigators who pump directly out of the Snake or Columbia rivers. Program participants would be required to keep full-time employees on the payroll.   Idaho Power's plan calls for an open bid process where growers estimate how much energy they can save and how much they will accept as compensation for reduced consumption. An Idaho Power news release says growers must commit to energy savings of at least 100,000 kilowatt hours during the growing season. Humor I married Miss Right&emdash; I just didn't know her first name was Always. I haven't spoken to my wife for 18 months&emdash; I don't like to interrupt her.

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