Badger Common’Tater
September 2015
THE VOICE OF WISCONSIN'S POTATO & VEGETABLE INDUSTRY
Storage & Ag Impact Issue INTERVIEW: STORAGE Mary LeMere, McCain Foods STORAGE GALLERY Current Projects AG IMPACT Portage County & Wisconsin BADGER BEAT Clones with High Potential
Volume 67 Number 9 $18.00/year $1.50/copy
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Badger Common'Tater
On the Cover: McCain Foods, USA Plover Field Team, gather together under the McCain Foods sign (L-R) Howie Marceau, Field Department Lead; Kerry Larson, Field Manager; David Stephens, Field Representative; Doug Nelson, Agronomist; Amy Guza, Ag Intern; Mary LeMere, Field Representative/Storage Technician; Laura Bahn Wornell, Field Representative and Tani Crego, Accountant. Dan Snyder, Senior Field Representative/Raw Scheduler, was not present for this photo. Photo by Ruth Faivre.
8 Badger cOMMON’TATER INTERVIEW:
Mary LeMere, McCain Foods Potato crops growing at one of the Mortenson Brothers Farms, a contract grower for McCain Foods, USA. Photo by Ruth Faivre
Departments: ALI’S KITCHEN.................... 66 AUXILIARY NEWS............... 64 GROUNDED ......................... 6 GUEST EDITORIALS............ 42 MARK YOUR CALENDAR ..... 6
24 land ethic
& Central WI vegetable growers
14 as the crow
Photo by Pete Sanderson
flies
THE IMPACT OF IRRIGATION
26 RUDER WARE
WOTUS: rapanos v. united states
MARKETPLACE .................. 62 NEW PRODUCTS ............... 54 NOW NEWS ...................... 46 NPC NEWS ........................ 60
Feature Articles:
PEOPLE ............................. 52
20 BADGER BEAT Clones with High Potential
POTATO BOARD NEWS ..... 51
22 2014 UW STUDY Verified WI Ag’s Economic Impact
SEED PIECE......................... 57
38 STORAGE GALLERY Current Projects 4
BC�T September
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WPVGA Board of Directors: President: Andy Wallendal Vice President: Mark Finnessy Secretary: Eric Schroeder Treasurer: Josh Mattek Directors: Larry Alsum, Steve Diercks, Ron Krueger, Jeremie Pavelski, Gary Wysocki Wisconsin Potato Industry Board: President: Heidi Alsum-Randall Vice President: Richard Okray Secretary: Bill Wysocki Treasurer: Keith Wolter Directors: John Bobek, Cliff Gagas, John T. Schroeder, Tom Wild and Dennis Zeloski WPVGA Associate Division Board of Directors: President: Chris Brooks Vice President: Wayne Solinsky
Secretary: Steve Bohm Treasurer: Zach Mykisen Directors: Butch Fencil, Cathy Schommer, Sally Surprise, Joel Zalewski Wisconsin Seed Potato Improvement Association Board of Directors: President: Ron Krueger Vice President: Eric Schroeder Secretary/Treasurer: Dan Kakes Directors: Bill Guenthner, Charlie Mattek
WPVGA Staff Executive Director: Tamas Houlihan Managing Editor: Ruth Faivre Director of Promotions & Consumer Education: Dana Rady Financial Officer: Karen Rasmussen Executive Assistant: Julie Braun Program Assistant: Danielle Sorano Spudmobile Coordinator: Jim Zdroik
Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary Board of Directors: President: Paula Houlihan Vice President: Lynn Isherwood Secretary/Treasurer: Gabrielle Okray Eck Directors: Kathy Bartsch, Deniell Bula, Patty Hafner & Sheila Rine
WPVGA Office (715) 623-7683 • FAX: (715) 623-3176 E-mail Address: wpvga@wisconsinpotatoes.com Website: www.wisconsinpotatoes.com Like Us On Facebook: www.facebook.com/WPVGA
Mission Statement of the WPVGA: “To assist WPVGA members to be successful through education, information, environmentally sound research, promotion, governmental action, and involvement.” Mission Statement of the WPVGA Associate Division: “Our mission is to work in partnership with the WPVGA as product and service providers to promote mutual industry viability by integrating technology and information resources.”
Badger Common’Tater is published monthly at 700 Fifth Avenue, Antigo, Wisconsin 54409 Subscription rates: $1.50/copy, $18.00/year; $30/2 years. Foreign; $30/year; $50/2 years. Telephone: (715) 623-7683. Mailing address: P.O. Box 327, Antigo, Wisconsin 54409. Or, subscribe free online: http://wisconsinpotatoes.com/blog-news/subscribe/ ADVERTISING: To advertise your service or product in this magazine, call (715) 347-3755, or email: Ruth Faivre: rfaivre@wisconsinpotatoes.com. The editor welcomes manuscripts and pictures but accepts no responsibility for such material while in our hands.
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5
Mark Your
Calendar SEPTEMBER 8-12
50TH ANNUAL POTATO BOWL USA www.potatobowl.com
9-11
INTERDRONE, INT’L DRONE CONFERENCE & EXPOSITION Las Vegas, NV
19 29TH ANNUAL SPUD BOWL/SPUD RUN Goerke Park, Stevens Point, WI Noon-2pm
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19 3RD ANNUAL MAKAH WELLERS WALK Bukolt Park, Stevens Point 9am-12pm 21-24 USPB STATE/NATIONAL WORKSHOP Sonesta Resort, Hilton Head Island, SC 24 A NIGHT ON THE FARM – HELPING FIGHT LOCAL HUNGER 3:30-6:30 pm Pick potatoes for area food pantries rhinelander.ars.wisc.edu/map-directions
OCTOBER 5-9 SUPPLYSIDE WEST 2015 GLOBAL EXPO & CONFERENCE Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV west.supplysideshow.com 13-14
WGA INNOVATIONS EXPO Potawatomi Casino Milwaukee, WI
23-25 PMA FRESH SUMMIT Georgia World Congress Center Atlanta, GA
NOVEMBER 4 FALL VARIETY EXPO See/taste new potato varieties. UW Hancock Research Facility
JANUARY 2016 12-14
POTATO EXPO 2016 & NPC ANNUAL MEETING Mirage Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, NV
Photo by Jim Faivre.
A photo with the McCain Foods, USA Plover Field Team(L-R) Kerry Larson, Field Manager; Howie Marceau, Field Department Lead; Ruth Faivre, BC’T Managing Editor and Mary LeMere, Field Representative/Storage Technician.
Sticking together! Whether you are building a team for
your business, school sports or your industry, you get much more accomplished when you work in concert with each other to achieve common goals. That was one of the aspects I found so interesting while collaborating on an article with the McCain Foods, USA employees who handle the company’s potato storage facilities in Plover. This is a top-notch group of people who are so close; they were truly concerned when one of them was not able to be present for their group shot, not wanting that person to be left out. They also made sure to include employees on whom they depend for services, like the person in charge of maintaining their equipment. The Ag industry needs to develop that same kind of loyalty because going forward, you will need to band together and build strong coalitions to protect your ‘team’, particularly since many activists are striving to severely curtail or eliminate your water rights. Water drives everything in agriculture. Whether you maintain a dairy herd, livestock or grow crops, agriculture revolves around water. No matter how big your operation is, water is a mandatory element. Contact WPVGA or whatever organizations to which you belong and find out what you can do to safeguard your water rights.
FEBRUARY 2016
Please feel free to email me with your thoughts and any questions. Be sure to sign up to receive a notice when our online magazine is available each month and read it free. Click link to subscribe or type in your browser: http://wisconsinpotatoes.com/blog-news/subscribe.
17-25
Ruth Faivre
6
POTATO INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE Grand Forks, ND
BC�T September
Managing Editor rfaivre@wisconsinpotatoes.com
Interview
Mary LeMere McCain Foods, USA By Ruth Faivre, Managing Editor
Name: Mary LeMere Title: Field Representative-Storage Tech Company: McCain Foods, USA Location: Plover, WI Hometown: Sobieski, WI Years in Present Position: Two Previous Employment: Hancock Agricultural Research Station as Storage Research Manager Schooling: MS in Plant Pathology from UW-Madison Activities/Organizations: USMC Veteran, Mensa Hobbies: Cooking, hiking and riding my Harley Davidson motorcycle
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No matter how you like your French fries and whether you cook them yourself from frozen or order these golden, delicious treats at a restaurant or fast-food drive-thru, they probably originated from potatoes processed at McCain Foods USA. McCain Foods USA’s parent company, McCain Foods Limited, a privately owned Canadian company established in 1957, is the world’s largest producer of frozen French fries and other potato specialty items. McCain Foods produces
one-third of all fries consumed in the world, churning out potato products at 1,000,000 pounds per hour, which are sold in over 160 countries. Based on 2014 sales, McCain Foods Limited is the 19th largest private company in Canada, according to The Globe and Mail’s “Report on Business.” The company employs more than 17,000 employees and operates 43 plants on six continents including Wisconsin-based operations in Appleton, Fort Atkinson, Plover and Rice Lake.
While some of McCain Foods’ immense hundredweight of potatoes go directly to processing, many more are stored in optimum climates to facilitate year-round processing. Additionally, some products, like the curly fry, require a ‘pre-conditioning’ stage to enhance maturity. Handling the harvest and storage aspects of this sheer volume in potatoes requires an expert logistics manager like Mary LeMere, Field RepStorage Tech since 2013 for McCain Foods USA, Plover branch, who was selected as the feature interviewee this month to discuss our primary theme this issue: storage. Many of you may recognize LeMere’s name from the many articles she contributed while serving as Hancock Agricultural Research Station’s Assistant Superintendent-Storage Manager. While there, LeMere also conducted numerous storage research projects pertaining
to potato, field corn, soybean, snap bean, carrot, cucumber and sweet corn vegetable crops. At Hancock, she managed the daily operation of Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Association’s (WPVGA) Storage Research Facility, supervising bin loading and unloading, monitoring storage quality, seed handling and cutting, chemical applications, storage sanitation and equipment and facility maintenance. She also oversaw equipment upgrades and replacements to improve potato handling and reduce storage losses. In her present position at McCain Foods USA, LeMere oversees loading activities, executes facility improvements and develops/ implements standard operating procedures and communication protocols for all McCain-Plover harvest and storage functions.
Left Top: A partial lineup of the storage buildings located at the Plover McCain Foods, USA facility. Left Bottom: Senior Maintenance Mechanic, Steve J. Peterson, heads up the crew that keeps all the storage-related equipment and machinery running for the McCain Foods, USA, Plover location. According to Mary LeMere, Field Representative/Storage Technician, “We couldn’t function without Steve and his team's help.”
continued on pg. 10
Above: You cannot maintain optimal potato storage with proper air movement. Here is just one of the massive fans that keep the air flowing.
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BC�T September
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Interview. . . continued from pg. 9
Please describe your storage facilities in Wisconsin and some of the innovations involved in these facilities especially in the areas of air circulation, temperature and humidity management. The purpose of any process potato storage program is to provide quality raw material reliably throughout the year. McCain Foods has a combination of storage design types; all are heavily insulated and have modern computerized control systems. Several are air envelope type buildings. Recently McCain Foods has invested in upgrading ventilation, refrigeration, and heating systems as well as enhancing flooring and drainage for all our storages. By simultaneously augmenting the climate control systems while boosting ventilation capacity we are providing more consistent distribution of air flow, temperature and humidity throughout our large storage buildings. Consistent environmental control is essential to preserving raw quality all year long. Do you consult with an agricultural engineer, familiar with the construction of potato storages, when building a new potato storage facility or renovating an older facility and what other factors do you consider? Yes. The storage improvement plan at McCain Plover has been a joint effort involving the McCain Agriculture Team, McCain Engineering Group and several professional storage systems contractors. Above: Howie Marceau, Field Department Lead, and Mary LeMere, Field Representative/Storage Technician, pose in front of one of the larger McCain Foods, USA Plover location warehouses. Middle: Dan Snyder, Senior Field Representative/Raw Scheduler, second from left, was not available the day the cover photo was taken so here is a photo of the crew from a couple years ago. Shown left to right: Tani Crego, Ag Accountant; Dan Snyder, Senior Field Representative; Laura Bahn Wornell, Field Representative; Kerry Larson, Field Manager; Doug Nelson, Senior Agronomist and Mary LeMere, Field Representative/Storage Technician. Bottom: Mary LeMere shows off the electronics room for one of the warehouses, the ‘brains’ that keep potato storage at optimal conditions. 10 BCďż˝T September
John Walsh, Associate Principal Scientist for McCain Global Agronomy in Florenceville, New Brunswick, and I have been leading the project. John serves as our international expert in storage design and management and has spent a considerable amount of time in Wisconsin this past year assisting with the assessment of our storage facilities.
apply one cfm of air flow and 90 to 95% humidity levels to maintain processing quality. Following this conditioning process, we will cool slowly about one to two degrees per week to an ultimate holding temperature of 47- 48 degrees. Less favorable harvest conditions require more intense
care and management to achieve proper longer-term storability. McCain Foods also conducts a thorough annual summer washdown cleaning of storages and ventilation equipment after they are emptied. Our storage areas are audited for cleanliness annually via continued on pg. 12
What storage conditions and quality standards do your current and potential growers agree to when contracting with you on potato crops? At McCain Foods, our minimum standards include a ventilation capacity of one CFM per cwt, R-30 insulation packages, steel frame structure, humidity application systems, computerized control systems and refrigeration. We recommend variable frequency drives and use them in our long-term storages. Provided harvest is accompanied by favorable weather and low disease pressure, McCain Foods will condition potatoes two to four weeks postharvest at between 55 to 60 degrees, Left: Kerry Larson, Field Manager and Howie Marceau, Field Department Lead, inspect the progress on revamping and revisions for one of the larger storage warehouses. Right: A shipment of potatoes from one of the contract growers moves along the conveyors and up into prepping for plant receiving. BC�T September 11
Interview. . . continued from pg. 11
our participation in the USDA Good Agriculture Practices program. Contract growers must be vigilant daily storage managers. Preventing conditions that may lead to pressure bruising, soft or dry rot, tuber dehydration and dark fry color in the finished product are all major concerns to potato processers. What varieties do you contract for and what challenges do you face with each variety in storage? McCain Foods works mostly with russet-type processing potatoes. The primary varieties currently used include Russet Burbank, Umatilla Russet, Ranger Russet and Innovator. We also have a history of variety development and always have a few new varieties in small field trials for factory process testing. Each variety we work with comes with its own set of challenges. McCain Food’s Agronomy and Field Departments work together to thoroughly trial and prove these new varieties for processing acceptability. Bruising, during harvest and handling, can render potatoes into breeding grounds for microorganisms, which can spread 12 BC�T September
quickly during storage and cause serious losses. What are some of the ways you suggest to prevent bruising prior to storage and to minimize pressure bruising during storage? Management and employee training is the key to bruise prevention during harvest operations and throughout the storage season. Initially, when preparing for harvest, growers should make sure harvest and storage equipment are in good repair, properly padded and calibrated. Training your team in good harvesting practices pays off by proactively getting ahead of issues, which affect your quality and storability. During harvest, a best practice is to keep any drops from one piece of equipment to another under six inches, but less is always better. Fewer and smaller drops improve the chances of having a bruise-free crop. Preventing pressure bruising in storage requires careful attention to relative humidity. Breakdowns of humidification systems that go uncorrected can lead to pressure bruise development later in the storage season.
Left: Mary LeMere takes a quick break during harvest season a few years ago Right: The last ‘leg’ into the raw receiving dock.
What other pre-harvest and postharvest tips can you offer growers to provide a healthier potato destined for storage? Growing a healthy potato crop for storage requires proper handling and distribution. Handling of a crop begins before a grower even receives the first shipment of seed and continues as the potatoes are loaded into storage and eventually removed from storage. It includes everything from proper sanitation procedures and equipment calibration to having a good strong agronomic and storage management program. We recommend regular crop scouting and testing through the growing season to sustain plant health, optimize nutrient levels, apply proper moisture, prevent disease and control insect pressure. Appropriate management of plant stress can significantly increase the chance of producing high quality potatoes that fry with light color and store well.
Distribution is the decision-making step that determines the destination of the crop. Is a field suitable for long-term storage? Are there areas, such as low spots, sprayer tracks or diseased sections that need to be kept out of storage? Do conditions exist that require extra drying time once the crop is in storage? Asking ourselves these questions and planning accordingly enhances the likelihood of having a successful storage year. To avoid sprouting, many growers apply a sprout inhibitor such as Chloro-Isopropyl-N-Phenyl Carbamate (CIPC) or maleic hydrazide. Do you use either of these two inhibitors or do you prefer other alternatives for sprout control (particularly in regards to differing alternatives for specific varieties)? McCain Foods uses only governmentapproved sprout control methods well within tolerance standards. We use both of these compounds under the appropriate circumstances. We have worked diligently to reduce the amount of CIPC required though careful storage monitoring and introspective process scheduling. This has enabled us to reduce application levels in Wisconsin by 35% in the last 10 years. In addition, McCain Foods participates in research around the globe looking for alternative sprout control products and methods. How do you use humidity and temperature to prevent sprouting? Sprout control in storage is a race against the clock. Potatoes held in storage for periods up to a few months may only require proper temperature and humidity control for sprout management. Those that need to last until the following spring and summer will require additional intervention to stay sprout-free. What steps do you recommend to avoid postharvest diseases like
Dave Stephens and Laura Bahn Wornell inspect potatoes at the Mortenson Brothers Farm.
dry, soft and ring rot; leak; late blight and Silver Scurf prior to storage or how to treat them if detected during storage? Avoiding postharvest disease development begins with good management practices in the field and during harvest. Dry rot, for example, can be exacerbated in storage when tubers are roughly handled during harvest. Mechanical damage allows for entry of any number of pathogens that lead to losses in storage. Once disease is found in storage the most effective course of action is to remove the affected portions of the storage immediately. When this is not possible, adjustments can be made to fan speed, temperature and humidity settings to delay progression of the disease for as long as possible. MCCAIN FOODS, USA PLOVER FIELD TEAM • Kerry Larson: Field Manager, 26 years at McCain Foods, 32 years in potato industry. Higher education - North Dakota State, home state North Dakota. • Daniel Snyder: Senior Field Representative/Raw Scheduler, 20 years at McCain Foods, 20 years in potato industry. Higher education - University of Idaho, home state Colorado. • Doug Nelson: Agronomist, 20
years at McCain Foods, 25 years in potato industry. Higher education Washington State University, home state - Washington. • Laura Bahn Wornell: Field Representative, five years at McCain Foods, five years in potato industry. Higher education University of Wisconsin, home state – Wisconsin. • Mary LeMere: Field Representative/Storage Technician, two years at McCain Foods, 10 years in potato industry. Higher education - University of Wisconsin, home state – Wisconsin. • Tani Crego: Accountant, four years at McCain Foods, four years in potato industry. Higher education University of Wisconsin, home state Wisconsin. • Harold “Howie” Marceau: Field Department Lead, 30 years at McCain Foods, 33 years in potato industry. Home state - California/ Wisconsin. • David Stephens: Field Representative, brand new at McCain Foods, 20+ years in Agriculture. Higher education Vermont Technical, home state – Vermont. • Amy Guza: Ag Intern, three months at McCain Foods, four years in Agriculture Industry. Higher education - Michigan State University, Home state – Michigan. BC�T September 13
AS THE CROW FLIES The Impact of Irrigation By Ruth Faivre, Managing Editor
Back in the day, before irrigation started in the 1950s, today’s lush
Central Sands Region farm acres were nothing more than dry, dusty ‘prairies’ because the sandy soils could not retain moisture. Area residents used to joke that, “When a crow flies over the region, it has to bring its own lunch.” Now, a bird’s eye view would yield an entirely different story. Much of the sandy grasslands have given way to irrigated farm fields.
COMPOSITION The Central Sands area lies east of the Wisconsin River and encompasses 1.75 million acres in parts of Adams, Marathon, Marquette, Portage, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara and Wood counties. The area is defined by the Central Wisconsin Sand and Gravel Aquifer, deposits of sand and gravel that were left by melting glaciers at the end of the last ice age. The sand and gravel deposits form an aquifer that can store or transmit water underground. Due to the advent of irrigation, the Central Sands region is now an effective setting for a number of agricultural industries including dairy, vegetable produce, processing, grain, specialty crops, timber, Christmas tree and cranberry production. The estimated economic impact of irrigated agriculture in this area is over one billion dollars and thousands of jobs per year.1
Ken Schroeder, Portage County UW Extension Agriculture Agent, explains the county’s Ag economic impact to Portage County Board members. Photo by Ruth Faivre 14 BC�T September
Within this area, Portage, Waushara and Adams counties account for almost one-half of total agricultural irrigation. These counties also lead the state in the production of potatoes, sweet corn and other assorted vegetables.2
Above: Dairy remains a major Wisconsin industry, with growing strength in dried, condensed and evaporated milk and butter supplies. Dairy farming and dairy processing contribute 78,900 jobs, $3.9 billion to labor income, $7.2 billion to total income and $43.4 billion to industrial sales.
PORTAGE COUNTY How does today’s agriculture specifically affect the economies in the counties of the Central Sands region and in particular, Portage County? Ken Schroeder, Portage County UW Extension Agriculture Agent, addressed that question for Portage County through a recent presentation made at a Portage County Board meeting.
Worth $14.8 million, there are 3,700 head of beef cattle in Portage County.3
According to Schroeder, 17% of Portage County’s economic activity ($1.17 billion) is generated by agriculture, which is about 17% of the county’s total economic activity. Plus, every dollar of sales from Ag products generates an additional $0.36 of economic activity in other parts of the county’s economy. $795.6 million (68%) is directly from farm products while $150.0 million (13%) is generated by purchases of agricultural inputs and services (business-to-business purchases continued on pg. 16
Portage County Dairy Cow Statistics over the past 85 years3 BC�T September 15
As the Crow Flies. . . continued from pg. 15
of fuel, fertilizers, feed, equipment, veterinary services and crop consultants). Another $134.5 million (12%) originates from people working in agriculture-related businesses spending their earnings. DAIRY’S ROLE Dairy reigns king in Portage County, too, since as Schroeder states, it provides, “$47.7 million, 13,500 cows, 268.6 million lbs. milk (31 million gallons) and 50,000 acres of forage crops. VEGETABLE SIGNIFICANCE Schroeder also explained that market value of vegetable crops in Portage County is $167.7 million, which represents 57% of total market value of all ag products sold in Portage County (2012 data). Portage County is the #1 potato producer in the state with 848 million pounds on 17,600 acres. One acre produces an average of 48,000 lbs. and feeds 375 people for a year. Annual Milk Production Trends (in thousand lbs.) in Portage County over the past 85 years3
Over 72,000 acres are planted to vegetables, including potatoes, sweet corn, snap beans, peas, and specialty crops like beets, peppers, cabbages, cucumbers and more. EMPLOYMENT As far as jobs goes, Schroeder asserted that “12.5% of Portage County’s workforce (total job number is 43,535), is employed in agriculture or agriculture-related jobs (5,448),” which he said includes farmers, employees, veterinarians, consultants, feed and fuel suppliers, food processors, machinery manufactures and dealers, building contractors and agriculture lenders. Above: Portage County is the #1 producer of snap beans for processing in the state. WI is #1 producer in the nation (40% of U.S. market) with 3.4 ton/acre in 1977 and 5 ton/acre in 2007.3 Photo by Ruth Faivre.
Trends in Vegetable Production (40 years).3 16 BC�T September
Top Left: Portage County pork production includes 5,030 hogs and pigs.3
Land Use in Portage County • 516,076 acres in Portage County • 278,700 acres are owned and operated by Portage County Farmers (3,000 less than 2007 census)
• 54% of all the land in the county
Above: Portage County is #1 sweet corn producer in the state with 3.8 ton/acre in and 7.7 ton/acre in 2007. Wisconsin is the #2 producer in the nation, representing 23% of U.S. sweet corn production.3 Photo by Ruth Faivre Top Left: Portage County is the #2 pea producer in the state with Fond du Lac being #1 and Green Lake #3. The average ton/acre was 3.4 ton/acre in 1972 and 5 ton/acre in 2007. Wisconsin is the #3 green pea producer in the nation.3 Photo by Ruth Faivre continued on pg. 18
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As the Crow Flies. . . continued from pg. 17
PROCESSING’S CONTRIBUTIONS Schroeder also distributed a UW Extension brochure that discussed how agricultural processing is the major agricultural industry in Portage County, contributing $669.2 million to the county’s economy. $606.6 million of that total generates from Vegetable processing. The processing of milk into dairy products accounts for another $62.6 million. Every dollar of sales of processed products in turn, initiates an additional $0.30 of economic activity in other parts of the economy. Portage County’s agricultural processing businesses account for 2,611 jobs. Vegetable processing generates 2,442 jobs and Dairy processing brings in 169 jobs. OTHER COUNTY IMPACT REPORTS Steve Deller, University of WisconsinMadison professor of agricultural economics and University of Wisconsin-Extension community development specialist; and Dave Williams, University of WisconsinExtension associate professor and assistant program director for Agriculture and Natural Resources, measured agriculture’s contribution to the economy in each of Wisconsin’s counties. As the team finishes county reports from their research, they are posted here: anre.uwex.edu/economicimpact.
Paul Miller, Miller Farms, and his grandson, Jordan, display some of their giant dicing carrots grown for processors. WI ranks #4 in the nation for carrot production, (California is #1). Wisconsin grows 4,300 acres annually. 3,050 acres of carrots are grown in Portage and Waushara Counties. 3 Photo by Ruth Faivre
Check your county or compare counties as you wish. This issue also includes an overview of Ag’s impact on Wisconsin, authored by Steve Deller. SIGNIFICANCE There is a sizeable compilation of knowledge regarding the status of the Central Sands’ lack of farming impact prior to irrigation in the 1950s as compared to the phenomenal growth after irrigation in the last six decades.
Therefore, it is not a stretch of imagination by any means to assume that if irrigation and high capacity wells were taken out of the equation in this region, economic growth would plummet drastically. Replacing the lost Ag dollars and jobs would become a void virtually impossible to fill. PREMPTIVE PLANNING A coalition of stakeholders from agriculture, business, government and organizations such as Wisconsin
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Computerized Control Systems Refrigeration • Humidification • Ozone Electrical Design & Installation Potatoes • Onions Sprout Inhibiting Sprout Nip® • Amplify® • Shield®
Who owns the farms? 86.7% Individuals or families
0.8% Non-family corporations and other
7.0% Family partnerships 5.5% Family-owned corporations
Most non-farming people are very surprised to learn that the bulk of Portage County’s farms are owned by Individuals or families, family partnerships and family–owned corporations. Only 0.8% is owned by non-family corporations.
Potato & Vegetable Growers, Dairy Business Association, Wisconsin Manufacturers Council and others are working hard to develop strategies to achieve a sustainable balance between water uses. This requires a scientific approach to adaptive management and utilizing intense mapping and modeling data that run the gamut of available scenarios in order to plot the best course for everyone’s future. The coalition grows daily as more groups realize that this is a shared responsibility. The future belongs to those who can work together to chart a course towards new strategies that address situations while they can still be reversed, not after all hope is gone. Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources. Central Wisconsin Sand and Gravel Aquifer Managing Water for Multiple Uses
1
Buchwald, C.A. 2009. Water Use in Wisconsin, 2005. U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 2009–1076. Also, see reports for 1979, 1985, 1990, 1995 and 2000
2
2015 Portage County Agribusiness Impact County Board Report presented August 18, 2015
3
4
2014 UW Extension Portage County
Above: Ag Processing is a vitally important segment of Portage County’s total economy and jobs situation.4 Photo by Ruth Faivre Left: Wisconsin is home to many specialty vegetable crops such as beets, cucumbers, celery, garlic, sauerkraut and more. Portage, Waupaca and Waushara are the top cucumber producing counties. WI overall ranks #4 in the nation while Michigan is #1.3 Photo by Ruth Faivre Right: 882 acres of cranberries worth $8.8 million are grown in Portage County. Wisconsin is the #1 producer of cranberries with 57% of the berries across the nation.3 Photo by Corey Salzwedel, Paul’s Machine& Tool, Inc BC�T September 19
Badger Beat
National Variety Trials Identify Clones with High Potential By Paul Bethke, USDA and UW Department of Horticulture Yi Wang, University of Idaho, Kimberly Research and Extension Center Jeffrey Endelman, UW Department of Horticulture
Quality potato varieties are the backbone of a strong potato industry. Variety trials have been used to identify promising new varieties for well over a century. In a typical trial, many lines are planted together in small plots and the merit of each line is judged relative to the merit of other lines in the trial. This approach considers agronomic traits, such as tuber size and yield, as well as storage traits, such as postharvest tuber sugars contents. Trials are repeated and information collected over many years in order to identify confidently, lines that may be well suited for production at a specific location. Because there are pronounced differences in how lines perform between growing locations, less importance is often attached to information collected from sites outside of the target production area. As a potential improvement to this approach, standardized, multi-location variety trials spanning all major US production regions have been initiated. The National Chip Processing Trial was the first of these, followed in 2011 by the National Fry Processing Trial (NFPT). The argument was made that information collected from all of the trial sites could be used to identify superior lines more rapidly than traditional approaches that rely on assessments made over many years at one or a few locations. Rapidly identifying promising lines sounds like a good idea, but do national variety trials work as advertised in the real world?
Figure 1: Average glucose content in tubers from the NFPT varied with growing location and year. The data are for those lines planted at all of the five sites in each year. Glucose content was determined approximately 8 months after tubers went into storage.
at the five NFPT trial sites in 2012 and 2013 (Figure 1).
For the NFPT, the answer is clearly, “Yes, they do.� A detailed analysis of data from the NFPT showed, as expected, that every year and every location is different when it comes to potato production.
Once you know that average tuber glucose content in Wisconsin was high in 2012 and lower in 2013, for example, you can make allowances for those differences when calculating the overall performance of individual lines.
For example, tuber glucose is an important measure of processing quality, and large differences in average tuber glucose content after long-term storage were observed between locations and years for lines planted
For the NFPT, those calculations showed that genetic differences between lines had a greater affect on tuber glucose content than differences attributable to year or location.
20 BC�T September
Figure 2: Distribution of estimates for tuber glucose content after eight months of storage for lines entered into the NFPT from 2011-2013. For each of the 149 lines included in the analysis, estimated glucose was computed after accounting for variability from growing year and trial site.
Figure 3: Advanced selections of fry processing lines growing at the Hancock Research station as part of the SCRI agronomic trial.
Figure 4: W8152-1rus showed lighter fried color than Russet Burbank after eight months of storage.
The same conclusion was drawn for other key traits, including tuber sucrose content, specific gravity and marketable yield. What this means is that the data from all locations of this nationally coordinated trial can be used to generate unbiased estimates of key traits for each line that are generally applicable. Although these estimates are calculated values, they are based on, and representative of, multiple measurements. As an example, estimates for tuber glucose eight months after harvest are plotted as a histogram in Figure 2. Of the 149 lines entered into the NFPT from 2011 to 2013, those with the lowest tuber glucose contents,
and those likely to produce light colored fries with low acrylamide contents, are those on the left side of the histogram. Two recently released varieties, Easton and Payette Russet and the Wisconsin advanced selection W8152-1rus are among the lowest glucose clones identified in this analysis. Each had estimated tuber glucose contents of less than 0.20 mg g-1 fresh weight and low acrylamide contents in fries after eight months of storage. These three lines, as well as several others, have been subjected to a more detailed evaluation in the SCRI agronomic trials conducted at the Hancock research station (Figure 3) and at five additional locations nationally from 2013-2015. The SCRI agronomic trial is funded by the Specialty Crop Research Initiative
grant for acrylamide mitigation in potato and includes evaluations of tuber storage and processing quality traits, such as specific gravity variation among tubers, frequency of sugar end defects and fried product color (Figure 4). Multi-location variety trials rapidly identify superior lines, but no matter how large in scale or detailed in scope, variety trials do not tell the whole story. Because all lines in those trials are grown using standard production practices, few if any lines are grown under optimal conditions. As a result, the full potential of trial lines remains unknown. Additional trials focused on optimizing production and storage conditions for particular locations are required to establish a line’s potential for excellence. BC�T September 21
2014 UW Study Verified Wi Ag’s Economic Impact
By Steven Deller, UW-Extension/Madison Community Development Economist
UW Study Shows Agriculture Generates $88.3 Billion and 413,500 WI Jobs Wisconsin’s farms and agricultural businesses generate $88.3 billion in economic activity and 413,500 jobs, based on data for 2012, according to a study from University of Wisconsin-Extension and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Agriculture remains an important part of the Wisconsin economy,” said Steven Deller, a UW-Extension community development specialist and professor in the UW-Madison agricultural and applied economics department. “Even in the most urban parts of the state, agriculture’s contribution is notable.” The study is a follow-up to one that Deller conducted five years ago using 2007 data. He found that agriculture has risen in importance for the Wisconsin economy, despite the combined effects of the drought of 2012 and the Great Recession.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is taken from a 2014 press release by UWExtension/Madison. At a time when agriculture is facing escalating pressure from environmental groups and increasing regulations, it is important to emphasize the role that agriculture plays in the State of Wisconsin as well as the contributions it makes not just in the form of billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs but also towards the farming communities throughout Wisconsin. Agriculture generated $29 billion more economic activity in 2012 than in 2007 and an additional 59,509 jobs. In 2012 it accounted for 11.9 percent of the state’s overall employment (up from 10 percent in 2007), 10.9 percent of labor income, 10.9 percent of total income, and 16.1 percent of industrial sales. $88.3 BILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT BREAKDOWN • In 2012, on-farm activity contributed 153,900 jobs, $5.7 billion to labor income (wages, salaries and proprietor income), $8.9 billion to total income, and $20.5 billion to industrial sales
Known as “America’s Dairyland,” Wisconsin ranks #1 in the U.S. for cheese production, #2 for milk and is gaining strength in dried, condensed and evaporated milk and dairy supplies. 22 BC�T September
• Food processing contributed 259,600 jobs, $12.9 billion to labor income, $21.2 billion to total income, and $67.8 billion to industrial sales.
• Total agricultural activity contributed 413,500 jobs, $18.6 billion to labor income, $30.1 billion to total income, and $88.3 billion to industrial sales. • Dairy remains a major Wisconsin industry, with growing strength in dried-condensed-evaporated milk and butter supplies. Dairy farming and dairy processing contribute 78,900 jobs, $3.9 billion to labor income, $7.2 billion to total income and $43.4 billion to industrial sales. HOW AGRICULTURE’S IMPACT INCREASED: • Sales from farm-related activity and food processing combined rose from $59.2 billion in 2007 to $88.3 billion in 2012; an increase of 49.3 percent. • Sales related to on-farm activity increased 62.7 percent, from $12.6 billion to $20.5 billion. • Sales from food processing industrial sales increased from just under $50 billion to $67.8 billion; an increase of 35.6 percent. About one in nine people working in Wisconsin hold a job related to agriculture, the study indicates. They include farmers, their
employees and those providing them with goods and services— veterinarians, crop and livestock consultants, feed and fuel suppliers, equipment dealers and lenders—as well as those employed in equipment manufacturing and food processing. The impact varies by region. In southwestern Wisconsin, agriculture accounts for 24,200 jobs or 18.1 percent of total employment, most of it related to on-farm activities. In southeastern Wisconsin, the most urban part of the state, agriculture contributes 50,900 jobs or 4.3 percent of total employment, mostly in food processing. “When we think of agriculture, we must move beyond focusing within farm gate and consider food processing as an important part of the Wisconsin economic cluster,” Deller said. It is also important to look beyond dairying, he adds. “Although one may traditionally think of Wisconsin as the ‘Dairy State,’ the truth is that agriculture is diverse and is likely becoming more diversified across the state. Other parts of Wisconsin agriculture such as the beef industry, vegetables, breweries and more specialized activities like hops, grapes and wineries are growing in size and importance.”
UW-Extension community development specialist Steven Deller believes that many specialized sectors of Wisconsin agriculture such as hops operations and wineries are gaining strength alongside traditional ones such as Dairy, grains and forage. Photo by Ruth Faivre
The full report “Contribution of Agriculture to the Wisconsin Economy: Updated for 2012” is online at: wp.aae.wisc.edu/wfp/ contribution-of-agriculture-to-thewisconsin-economy. Support for this work was provided in part by the Office of the Dean, University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension; Office of the Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
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Land Ethic
& Central WI Vegetable Growers By Deana Knuteson and Jeffrey Wyman Photos by Pete Sanderson.
Land stewardship—that heart felt love of our open, green areas, interspersed with crops that are so essential in maintaining our rural landscapes. We all want to be land stewards but what does that term mean to farmers in Central Wisconsin who own many of these lands? Wisconsin’s land ethic writings go back to Aldo Leopold, the esteemed author of the Sand County Almanac in which he described Wisconsin’s biodiversity, beauty and ability to integrate landscapes and agriculture. Although the book was written in 1949, the themes of the book resonate today, especially with farmers who manage both large and small swaths of land and carefully weave together the natural and agricultural areas into biodiverse landscapes. There is certainly a personal value to land ethic, but the benefits expand beyond private ownership to society at large. 24 BC�T September
Rural communities realize direct value from expanded hunting, fishing and recreational opportunities. Less obvious benefits that stem from the precious resources preserved in these areas include clean water, unique plant and animal species, and pollinator diversity that are not common in urban landscapes. Central Wisconsin has a diverse agroecosystem that goes far beyond “fence row to fence row” farming. In fact, more than 44% of the nonagricultural lands in Wisconsin are owned by farmers! This land is not farmed but intentionally preserved and managed by farmers to provide and enhance local and regional benefits to society. Our ability to apply the principles of Aldo Leopold’s land ethic regionally is largely dependent on the commitment and willingness of farmers to manage these privately owned lands for the public good. Whether this occurs through
restoration efforts to restore natural vegetation, forested landscapes, wetlands, conservation easements or other services, the resulting landscapes benefit us all through improved water infiltration and flood control, soil stabilization, carbon sequestration, natural pest control, diverse pollination and recreational opportunities, such as hiking, hunting and fishing. Potato and vegetable farmers in Central Wisconsin have long pioneered the land ethic through the establishment of the Healthy Grown® potato program, which certifies research-based ecological restoration efforts on farms. This effort commits growers to work with ecologists to identify remnants of natural ecosystems on their farms and install practices to restore them. Currently, more than 400 acres of privately owned lands are being restored based on these certified and documented habitat restoration efforts.
Many new prairie plantings and other habitat improvements have enhanced the diversity of plants and animals across Central Wisconsin as a result of the Healthy Grown® program. Continuing this tradition, potato growers and local food processors are currently working together with the Village of Plover in Portage County to establish a major new Conservancy area that will expand wetlands and relocate crop fields altering the landscape permanently for the benefit of local residents and others throughout the region. Since rural communities encompassing agricultural lands are a huge part of the natural landscapes of Central Wisconsin, we are fortunate that our farmers continue to uphold the land ethic of Aldo Leopold. As described in the Sand County Almanac, “land use that balances the landowner’s need to remain profitable with the responsibility of protecting a functioning ecological system is stewardship.” We have that in Wisconsin! ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Deana Knuteson, Ph.D. is educational program coordinator for Wisconsin Healthy Grown® program and works extensively on large-scale sustainability initiatives. She is located in the Nutrient and Pest Management Program, Department of Horticulture (UW-Madison). Deana received a B.S. in Botany from UW–Stevens Point, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in entomology from UW-Madison. Responsible for coordinating outreach and educational programming to Wisconsin potato, vegetable and cash grain producers, she also assists farmers in reducing reliance on high-risk pesticides, increasing use of bio intensive IPM practices and enhancing on-farm sustainability programs. Deana serves as the liaison between growers, industry and researchers for these programming efforts. Jeff Wyman, Ph.D. is an Emeritus Professor of Entomology at UW-Madison. He currently works with the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Agriculture as a liaison between Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) and College of Agricultural & Life Sciences (CALS) on sustainability, resource protection and environmental issues.
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WOTUS: Rapanos v. United States By Russell W. Wilson
Rapanos v. United States: The Narrow View, The Broad View, and the Search for the Significant Nexus to Clean Water Act Jurisdiction United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes, Inc. and Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers created a jurisdictional vacuum which Rapanos v. United States (“Rapanos”), 547 U.S. 715 (2006) attempted to fill by developing the “significant nexus” test of jurisdiction under theClean Water Act (“CWA”). In Riverside Bayview, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1985 that wetlands adjacent to traditional navigable waters are subject to the jurisdiction of the CWA so as to require a permit under section 404 for the dredging or filling of such wetlands. In 2001 a divided Supreme Court held, 5 to 4, that isolated intrastate ponds and mud flats do not require such a permit because they fall outside CWA jurisdiction. Both cases interpreted regulations promulgated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that define the “waters of the 26 BC�T September
United States” under the CWA, as does Rapanos. Next came Rapanos in 2006, which set the stage for the joint effort of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) to further define the “waters of the United States.” Rapanos does not provide an answer to the extent of jurisdiction under the CWA. Rather, it provides the analytical framework to address that question on a fact-specific, case-by-case basis. To add to the uncertainty, that analytical framework was not decided by a majority. Four justices (Scalia, Roberts, Thomas, and Alito) took the narrow, states-rights view of CWA jurisdiction. Four justices (Stevens, Souter, Ginsberg, and Breyer) issued a dissenting opinion that championed the broad federal power view. Justice Kennedy was the swing vote. While
Justice Kennedy concurred with the result (to send the case back to the district court for further fact finding), he articulated a rationale for CWA jurisdiction – whether there exists a “significant nexus” between the wetland and traditional navigable waters. The case was remanded to the district court to determine whether a significant nexus, in fact, existed. This article explores the narrow view, the broad view, and the view of Justice Kennedy. THE NARROW VIEW Justice Scalia’s plurality opinion, which expresses the narrow view, describes the burdens imposed on land owners and developers, in general, and on John Rapanos, in particular. Rapanos backfilled three parcels of wetlands (the “Salzburg site,” the “Hines Road site,” and the “Pine River site”) located near Midland, Michigan. These wetlands hold “sometimes saturated soil conditions.” They are located roughly 11 to 20 miles away from the nearest traditional navigable
water. The record in the case was not clear as to whether the connections between the wetlands and nearby drains and ditches are continuous or intermittent. Nor was the record clear as to whether the nearby drains and ditches contain continuous or merely occasional flows of water. Ultimately, the water flows to Lake Huron, traditional navigable water. Mr. Rapanos did not have a permit from the Corps to fill the wetlands, and the Corps prosecuted him. After twelve years of civil and criminal litigation, Mr. Rapanos faced potential imprisonment for 63 months and hundreds of thousands of dollars in criminal and civil fines. (Additional parties to the appeal, the Carabells, had sued the Corps in an effort to obtain a wetlands permit.) More broadly, the plurality opinion observes that “[t]he average applicant for an individual permit spends 788 days and $271,596 in completing the [Corps permit]
process” and more than “$1.7 billion is spent each year by the private and public sectors obtaining wetlands permits.” The narrow view describes the Corps as an “enlighted despot” that relies upon “economics,” “aesthetics,” “recreation,” and “in general, the needs and welfare of the people” in its permit decision making. The plurality decried the “immense expansion of federal regulation of land use that has occurred under the Clean Water Act” in the absence of amendment to the governing statute. “In the last three decades, the Corps and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have interpreted their jurisdiction over ‘the waters of the United States’ to cover 270-to-300 million acres of swampy lands in the United States--including half of Alaska and an area the size of California in the lower 48 states.”
According to the plurality opinion, “[i]n fact, the entire land area of the United States lies in some drainage basin, and an endless network of visible channels furrows the entire surface, containing water ephemerally wherever the rain falls. Any plot of land containing such a channel may potentially be regulated as a ‘water of the United States.’ ” The plurality opinion castigates the Corps for its actions and inactions, following the Court’s decisions in Riverside Bayview and SWANCC. First, the plurality censures the Corps for having adopted “increasingly broad interpretations of its own regulations” under the CWA following the court’s ruling in Riverside Bayview. More criticism of the Corps follows. “Following our decision in SWANCC, the Corps did not significantly revise continued on pg. 28
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its theory of federal jurisdiction under § 1344(a) [of the CWA]. The Corps provided notice of a proposed rulemaking in light of SWANCC…but ultimately did not amend its published regulations. Because SWANCC did not directly address tributaries, the Corps notified its field staff that they ‘should continue to assert jurisdiction over traditional navigable waters…and, generally speaking, their tributary systems (and adjacent wetlands)’… In addition, because SWANCC did not overrule Riverside Bayview, the Corps continues to assert jurisdiction over waters ‘neighboring’ traditional navigable waters and their tributaries.” Could the plurality opinion make it any clearer that it expects the Corps to revise its regulations that define the jurisdiction the CWA? The plurality opinion observes: “It is not clear whether the connections between these wetlands and the nearby drains and ditches are continuous or intermittent, or whether the nearby drains and ditches contain continuous or merely occasional flows of water.” (Emphasis supplied.) The plurality opinion rejects the argument that the CWA applies strictly to water that is actually navigable. “We have twice stated that the meaning of ‘navigable waters’ in the Act is broader than the traditional understanding of that term,” citing its decisions in Riverside Bayview and SWANCC. The plurality opinion explains, however, that the qualifier “ ‘navigable’ is not devoid of meaning.” The opinion focuses on Congress’ use of the definite article “the” and the plural (“waters”, as opposed to “water”) in definitions found in Webster’s New International Dictionary 2882 (2d ed. 1954). According to the plurality, Congress intended the CWA to apply to geographical 28 BC�T September
Photo by Ruth Faivre.
features that “connote continuously present, fixed bodies of water, as opposed to ordinarily dry channels through which water occasionally or intermittently flows.” The scathing opinion further invokes the “commonsense understanding” of the term and concludes that “the Corps has stretched the term ‘waters of the United States’ beyond parody. The plain language of the statute simply does not authorize this ‘Land Is Waters’ approach to federal jurisdiction.” The plurality opinion then reviews prior case law in support of its position that “…the Act’s use of the traditional phrase ‘navigable waters’ (the defined term) further confirms that it confers jurisdiction only over relatively permanent bodies of water.” (Emphasis in the original.) According to the plurality opinion, the term “waters of the United States” is unambiguous, but even if it were, the plurality would reject the Corps’ “expansive interpretation” that would, citing SWANCC, “result in significant impingement of the States’ traditional and primary power over land and water use.” (Internal citation omitted.). The plurality opinion finds only one plausible interpretation of “the waters of the United States.” “[‘the waters of the United States’]
…includes only those relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water ‘forming geographic features’ that are described in ordinary parlance as ‘streams[,] …oceans, rivers, [and] lakes.’ See Webster’s Second 2882. The phrase does not include channels through which water flows intermittently or ephemerally, or channels that periodically provide drainage for rainfall. The Corps’ expansive interpretation of the ‘waters of the United States’ is thus not ‘based on a permissible construction of the statute.’ ” (Internal citations omitted.) According to the narrow view, the “significant nexus” is confined to wetlands that are adjacent to navigable waters as in Riverside Bayview. “Therefore, only those wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are ‘waters of the United States’ in their own right, so that there is no clear demarcation between ‘waters’ and wetlands, are ‘adjacent to’ such waters and covered by the Act. Wetlands with only an intermittent, physically remote hydrologic connection to ‘waters of the United States’ do not implicate the boundary-drawing problem of Riverside Bayview, and thus lack the necessary connection
to covered waters that we described as a ‘significant nexus’ in SWANCC.” (Emphasis in the original; internal citations omitted.) The plurality opinion concludes that the “wrong standard” had been applied to determine if the Rapanos (and Carabell) wetlands are covered as “waters of the United States” and because of the “paucity of the record” in both cases whether the “ditches and drains in both cases near each wetland are ‘waters’ in the ordinary sense of containing a relatively permanent flow; and (if they are) whether the wetlands in question are ‘adjacent’ to these ‘waters’ in the sense of possessing a continuous surface connection that creates the boundary-drawing problem we addressed in Riverside Bayview.” This narrow construction, which restricts the “significant nexus” to wetlands adjacent to open waters as in Riverside Bayview, is the
interpretation of four of the justices. While Justice Kennedy agreed in his separate concurring opinion with the result (to remand the case for further fact finding), his articulation of the “significant nexus” is grounded in science. There is no science in Justice Scalia’s plurality opinion. But before we turn to Justice Kennedy’s opinion concurring in the result, let’s review the dissenting opinion. THE BROAD VIEW The main dissenting opinion, authored by Justice Stevens, and joined by Justices Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer, would affirm the judgments from the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which held that the Rapanos and Carabell wetlands were subject to the Corps’ jurisdiction under the CWA. (Justice Breyer also wrote a separate dissenting opinion.) According to the main dissent, the term “waters of the United States” is ambiguous, the Corps’ interpretation
of that phrase is reasonable, and the Court should defer to the Corps’ reasonable interpretation, as it has done so in other cases, particularly in Riverside Bayview. The dissent notes that the definition used by the Corps “were the very same regulations” that the Court evaluated in Riverside Bayview when the Court unanimously upheld their validity. “The broader question is whether regulations that have protected the quality of our waters for decades, that were implicitly approved by Congress, and that have been repeatedly enforced in case after case, must now be revised in light of the creative criticisms voiced by the plurality and Justice Kennedy today.” The dissent attacks what it views as the plurality’s misrepresentative view of the cost of development. As for costs in the cost benefit analysis, the dissent points to evidence in the continued on pg. 30
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Ruder Ware. . . continued from pg. 29
record that the cost of preserving wetlands“…amount to only a small fraction of 1% of the $760 billion spent each year on private and public construction and development activity.” Moreover, the dissent observes that the plurality’s “exaggerated concern about costs” omits any discussion of the benefits of preserving wetlands. “The importance of wetlands for water quality is hard to overstate.” The dissent cites the well-known functions of wetlands in reducing flood peak, protecting shorelines, recharging groundwater, trapping suspended sediment, filtering toxic pollutants, and protecting fish and wildlife. The dissenting opinion characterizes the “creative opinion” of the plurality as “utterly unpersuasive.” Further, “[m]ost importantly, the plurality disregards the fundamental significance of the Clean Water Act.” The dissent continues: “As then-Justice Rhenquist explained when writing for the court in 1981, the Act was ‘not merely another law’ but rather was ‘viewed by Congress as a ‘total restructuring’ and ‘complete rewriting’ of the existing water pollution legislation… ‘Congress’ intent in enacting the [Act] was clearly to establish an all-encompassing program of water pollution regulation,’ and ‘[t]he most casual perusal of the legislative history demonstrates that …views on the comprehensive nature of the legislation were practically universal.” (Internal citations omitted.) This dissent explains that the plurality opinion, contrary to the Corps’ reasonable interpretation of the “waters of the United States,” arbitrarily imposes two conditions: (1) intermittent or ephemeral wetlands do not count as tributaries; only permanent tributaries count; and, (2) there must be a continuous 30 BC�T September
Photo by Ruth Faivre.
surface connection between wetlands and navigable waters. The dissent resorts to the very same dictionary cited by the plurality and counters that opinion for claiming that intermittent or ephemeral streams or rivers are not, in fact, streams or rivers. Citing Riverside Bayview, the dissent notes “Congress found it ‘essential that discharge of pollutants be controlled at the source.’ ” “Intermittent streams can carry pollutants just as perennial streams can, and their regulation may prove as important for flood control purposes.” The dissent observes that under the plurality view developers could, with impunity, fill intermittently wet wetlands with polluted fill material that would make its way to traditional navigable water during precipitation or flooding Moreover, the dissent points out that the term “adjacent” does not require actual contact. Thus, the dissent finds the Corps’ definition of “adjacent” (“bordering, contiguous, or neighboring”) to be “plainly reasonable.” The Corps’ definition further specifies that “[w]etlands separated from other waters of the United States by manmade dikes or barriers, natural river berms, beach dunes and the like are ‘adjacent wetlands.’ ” Further relying upon Riverside
Bayview, the dissent elaborates on the important roles wetlands play. “Among other things, wetlands can offer ‘nesting, spawning, rearing and resting sites for aquatic or land species’; ‘serve as valuable storage areas for storm and flood waters’; and provide ‘significant water purification functions …These values are hardly “independent” ecological considerations as the plurality would have it …–instead, they are integral to the ‘chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.’ ” (Emphasis in the original; internal citations omitted.) The dissenting opinion includes a description of the conduct of Mr. and Mrs. Rapanos, upon which the plurality opinion is silent. According to the evidence in the record pointed out by the dissent, Mr. Rapanos knew the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (“MDNR”) had informed him his lands “probably included wetlands that were ‘waters of the United States.’ ” Rapanos threatened to “destroy” his own wetlands consultant (Dr. Frederick Goff) unless Goff destroyed his wetland report, which Rapanos found to be unfavorable. Rapanos then spent $350,000 in one area (the Salzburg site) to fill wetlands, prevented MDNR inspectors from inspecting, ignored an MDNR cease-and-desist
order, and refused to obey an EPA administrative compliance order. Rapanos engaged in similar conduct at two other areas (the Hines Road and Pine River sites). “They ultimately spent $158,000 at the 275-acre Hines Road site, filling 17 of its existing 64 acres of wetlands. At the 200-acre Pine River site, they spent $463,000 and filled 15 of its 49 acres of wetlands. Prior to their destruction, the wetlands at all three sites had surface connections to tributaries or traditionally navigable waters…” Justice Steven’s dissent observes that the effect of the plurality opinion and the concurring opinion of Justice Kennedy is to replace “30 years of practice by the Army Corps” with “judicially crafted rule distilled from the term ‘significant nexus’ as used in SWANCC.” Justice Stevens writes for the dissenters that the proper analysis is “straightforward.” “The
Corps’ resulting decision to treat these wetlands as …‘waters of the United States’ is a quintessential example of the Executive’s reasonable interpretation of a statutory provision.” The main dissenting opinion highlights the discrepancy between what the plurality opinion means by the ‘significant nexus’ requirement from that articulated by Justice Kennedy. The dissent finds Justice Kennedy’s view “far more faithful to our precedents and to principles of statutory interpretation than is the plurality’s.” Justice Stevens identifies the uncertainties likely to follow in the wake of the plurality/concurring opinions. “But Justice Kennedy’s approach will have the effect of creating additional work for all concerned parties. Developers wishing to fill wetlands adjacent to ephemeral or intermittent tributaries of traditionally navigable waters will have no certain way
of knowing whether they need to get § 404 permits or not. And the Corps will have to make caseby-case (or category-by-category) jurisdictional determinations, which will inevitably increase the time and resources spent processing permit applications. These problems are precisely the ones that Riverside Bayview’s deferential approach avoided…Unlike Justice Kennedy, I see no reason to change Riverside Bayview’s approach—and every reason to continue to defer to the Executive’s sensible, bright-line rule.” Justice Stevens points out another dilemma posed by the plurality and concurring opinions. Whose version of the ‘significant nexus’ test is to be followed? Will it be that of the narrow plurality view that imposes the requirements of surface connection to permanent bodies of water that ignore the importance of ephemeral or intermittent continued on pg. 32
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Ruder Ware. . . continued from pg. 31
streams and subsurface hydrologic connections? Or will it be that as articulated by Justice Kennedy, which may not be far from that of the dissent? “Justice Kennedy’s ‘significant nexus’ test will probably not do much to diminish the number of wetlands covered by the Act in the long run. Justice Kennedy himself recognizes that the records in both cases contain evidence that ‘should permit the establishment of a significant nexus,’ and it seems likely that evidence would support similar findings as to most (if not all) wetlands adjacent to tributaries of navigable waters.” Applying two separate articulations of the “significant nexus” test heightens uncertainty rather than lessening it, in the view of the main dissent. Justice Breyer added his separate dissenting opinion in which he
made two points. First, he would uphold the Corps’ regulations on the basis of the regulation of interstate commerce. Second, he made explicit that which is implicit in all of the opinions. “In the absence of updated regulations, courts will have to make ad hoc determinations that run the risk of transforming scientific questions into matters of law. This is not the system Congress intended. Hence, I believe that today’s opinions, taken together, call for the Army Corps of Engineers to write new regulations, and speedily so.” With that we turn to the critical opinion—the “significant nexus” test as articulated by Justice Kennedy. JUSTICE KENNEDY’S “SIGNIFICANT NEXUS” TEST Justice Kennedy’s concurrence in the
judgment opinion starts with the beginning. The beginning, that is, of the CWA, the purpose of which is “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.” For Justice Kennedy the significant nexus is to that scientific principle, which, he observes, is what Congress intended when it passed the CWA. Science, then, is the touchstone of Justice Kennedy’s opinion. Justice Kennedy attacks the plurality’s idea that wetlands are “ …simply moist patches of earth.” The concurring opinion observes that the Corps’ Wetlands Delineation Manual provides “over 100 pages of technical guidance for Corps officers” to determine the existence and boundaries of wetlands: “(1) prevalence of plant species typically adapted to saturated soil
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conditions, determined in accordance with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s National List of Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands; (2) hydric soil, meaning soil that is saturated, flooded, or ponded for a sufficient time during the growing season to become anaerobic, or lacking in oxygen, in the upper part; and, (3) wetland hydrology, a term generally requiring continuous inundation or saturation to the surface during at least five percent of the growing season in most years.” Justice Kennedy, referencing section 328.3(c) of the Corps’ regulating definition, goes on to state: “Under the Corps’ regulations, wetlands are adjacent to tributaries, and thus covered by the Act, even if they are ‘separated from other waters of the United States by manmade dikes or barriers, natural river berms, beach dunes and the like.’” Justice Kennedy says that Riverside
Bayview and SWANCC established the analytical framework. He pointed out that the Court in Riverside Bayview had specifically left open for future determination whether the Corps has authority to regulate wetlands other than those adjacent to open waters. On the other hand, he notes that the Court in SWANCC had rejected the theory that the Corps had authority to regulate intrastate isolated ponds and mudflats under its “Migratory Bird Rule,” which the Corps had attempted to justify on the basis of interstate commerce. In Justice Kenney’s view “ …neither the plurality nor the dissent addresses the nexus requirement…” The plurality opinion began, in Kennedy’s view, with the correct premise that the CWA extends to “at least some waters that are not navigable in the traditional sense.” The concurring opinion makes that point clear in an analysis of the
text of the statute. (Recall that the Court reached that same conclusion in Riverside Bayview on a unanimous vote.) Justice Kennedy’s concurring opinion then dismantles the plurality opinion’s assertion that the CWA requires that regulated wetlands must be (1) relatively permanent, standing or flowing bodies of water and (2) must have a continuous surface connection to traditional navigable water. RELATIVELY PERMANENT, STANDING OR FLOWING BODIES OF WATER Justice Kennedy points out that the plurality arrives at its conclusion that a wetland must be a relatively permanent, standing or flowing body of water on a selective reading of dictionary definitions that is “without support in the language and purposes of the Act or in our cases interpreting it.” The plurality’s position “ …makes little practical sense in a statute continued on pg. 34
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Ruder Ware. . . continued from pg. 33
concerned with downstream water quality.” The plurality’s position would allow the “merest trickle” (i.e. an insignificant nexus) to be regulated under the CWA so long as the trickle is continuous. Conversely, the plurality’s position would exclude from the Corps’ regulatory authority “ …torrents thundering at irregular intervals through otherwise dry channels…” Justice Kennedy cites the Los Angeles River as an example.
near Saugus, California, carried no flow, but on February 12, 2003, it carried 122 cubic feet per second. Justice Kennedy further points out that the dictionary contains numerous definitions of floods, inundations, and “intermittent streams” that are, just that— intermittent.
“The Los Angeles River, for instance, ordinarily carries only a trickle of water and often looks more like a dry roadway than a river …Yet it periodically releases water volumes so powerful and destructive that it has been encased in concrete and steel over a length of some 50 miles… Though this particular waterway might satisfy the plurality’s test, it is illustrative of what often-dry watercourses can become when rain waters flow.” (Internal citations omitted.)
This second requirement of the plurality is “unpersuasive” in Justice Kennedy’s view. “To begin with, the plurality is wrong to suggest that wetlands are ‘indistinguishable’ from waters to which they bear a surface connection …Even if the precise boundary may be imprecise, a bog or a swamp is different from a river.” (Emphasis in the original.) Moreover, Justice Kennedy notes that the plurality’s theory is inconsistent withRiverside Bayview, in which the Court determined that whether “the moisture creating the wetlands …find[s] its source
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“It seems plausible that new or loose fill, not anchored by grass or roots from other vegetation, could travel downstream through waterways adjacent to a wetland; at the least this is a factual possibility that the Corps’ experts can better assess than can the plurality. Silt, whether from natural or human sources, is a major factor in aquatic environments, and it may clog waterways, alter ecosystems, and limit the useful life of dams.” Justice Kennedy’s opinion explains that the Corps has reasonably concluded that wetlands filter and purify water that drains into adjacent bodies of water and slows the flow of surface runoff, thus preventing flooding and erosion. Filling the wetlands may impair those functions, causing downstream pollution. “In many cases, moreover, filling in wetlands separated from another water by a berm can mean that floodwater, impurities, or runoff that would have been stored or contained in the wetlands will instead flow out to major waterways. With these concerns in mind, the Corps’ definition of adjacency is a reasonable one, for it may be the absence of any interchange of waters prior to the dredge and fill activity that makes protection of the wetlands critical to the statutory scheme.”
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Justice Kennedy attacks the plurality’s argument that dredged fill material, such as spoil, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and the like, “does not normally wash downstream.”:
CONTINUOUS SURFACE CONNECTION
In support of his analysis, Justice Kennedy cites a study showing that for much of the year, Bouquet Creek ●
in the adjacent bodies of water” is irrelevant. Nor does SWANCC, which neither explicitly nor implicitly overruledRiverside Bayview, support the surface-connection requirement, in Justice Kennedy’s view.
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Justice Kennedy finds “the plurality’s overall tone and approach” to be “unduly dismissive of the interests
asserted by the United States.” Referencing the oxygen-depleted zone in the Gulf of Mexico caused by pollution transported by the Mississippi River, Justice Kennedy writes that “[s]cientific evidence indicates that wetlands play a critical role in controlling and filtering runoff.” “It is true, as the plurality indicates, that environmental concerns provide no reason to disregard limits in the statutory text, …but in my view the plurality’s opinion is not a correct reading of the text. The limits the plurality would impose, moreover, give insufficient deference to Congress’ purposes in enacting the Clean Water Act and to the authority of the Executive to implement that statutory mandate.” Justice Kennedy further points out that the plurality opinion presents its interpretation “as the only permissible reading of the plain text.” Were that the case “the Corps would lack discretion, under the plurality’s theory, to adopt contrary regulations.” Justice Kennedy’s opinion is also critical of that of the dissent for giving no importance to the word “navigable” in the phrase “navigable waters.” Justice Kennedy observes that Congress’ choice of words
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created difficulties “ …for the Act contemplates regulation of certain ‘navigable waters’ that are in fact not navigable.” “Consistent with SWANCC and Riverside Bayview and with the need to give the term ‘navigable’ some meaning, the Corps’ jurisdiction over wetlands depends upon the existence of a significant nexus between the wetlands in question and navigable waters in the traditional sense. The required nexus must be assessed in terms of the statute’s goals and purposes. Congress enacted the law to ‘restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters’ … and it pursued that objective by restricting dumping and filling in ‘navigable waters’ …With respect to wetlands, the rationale for Clean Water Act regulation is, as the Corps has recognized, that wetlands can perform critical functions related to the integrity of other waters— functions such as pollutant trapping, flood control, and runoff storage …Accordingly, wetlands possess the requisite nexus, and thus come within the statutory phrase ‘navigable waters,’ if the wetlands, either alone or in combination with similarly situated lands in the region, significantly affect the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of
other covered waters more readily understood as ‘navigable.’ When, in contrast, wetlands’ effects on water quality are speculative or insubstantial, they fall outside the zone fairly encompassed by the statutory term ‘navigable waters.’ ” Turning to the Corps’ regulations, Justice Kennedy finds its existing standard for tributaries to be categorical and overbroad. The existing standard deems a water a tributary “if it feeds into a traditional navigable water (or tributary thereof) and possesses an ordinary high water mark, defined by a ‘line on the shore established by the fluctuations of water and indicated by [certain] physical characteristics,’ § 328.3(e).” The breadth of this categorical definition troubled Justice Kennedy because it lacks the assurance of establishing the significant nexus to traditional navigable waters: “Yet the breadth of this standard— which seems to leave wide room for regulation of drains, ditches, and streams remote from any navigablein-fact water and carrying only minor water volumes toward it—precludes its adoption as the determinative measure of whether adjacent wetlands are likely to play an continued on pg. 36
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Rudar Ware. . . continued from pg. 35
important role in the integrity of an aquatic system comprising navigable waters as traditionally understood. Indeed, in many cases wetlands adjacent to tributaries covered by this standard might appear little more related to navigable-in-fact waters than were the isolated ponds held to fall beyond the Act’s scope in SWANCC.” Looking ahead, Justice Kennedy notes that the Corps may rely on adjacency to establish jurisdiction. “Absent more specific regulations, however, the Corps must establish a significant nexus on a case-by-case basis when it seeks to regulate wetlands based on adjacency to nonnavigable tributaries.” (Emphasis supplied.) Justice Kennedy’s opinion predicts that in most cases wetlands that are adjacent to tributaries will possess the requisite significant nexus. “Thus the end result in these cases and many others to be considered by the Corps may be the same as that suggested by the dissent, namely, that the Corps’ assertion of jurisdiction is valid.”
With Justice Kennedy concurring in the result, but not the reasoning, of the plurality opinion, the case was sent back to the district (trial level) court “for further proceedings.” Summary Points The following points can be taken from the Riverside Bayview, SWANCC, and Rapanos trilogy of decisions: • Traditional navigable waters means waters that were, are, or could reasonably be made navigable in fact. • The CWA applies to “something more” than traditional navigable waters. • Wetlands that are adjacent to open waters that are traditionally navigable fall within the jurisdiction of the CWA. • Wetlands adjacent to tributaries that flow to traditional navigable waters fall within the jurisdiction of the CWA if they possess a significant nexus to the restoration and maintenance of the
chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters. • The Corps of Engineers’ regulations in effect when Riverside Bayview, SWANCC, and Rapanos were decided (1985, 2001, and 2006, respectively) may not be applied by the Corps categorically to determine whether wetlands that are adjacent to tributaries to traditional navigable waters are regulated under the jurisdiction of the CWA. • In the absence of more specific regulations, the Corps must establish a significant nexus on a case-by-case basis when it seeks to regulate wetlands that are adjacent to tributaries to traditional navigable waters. • Any such more specific regulations would have to comport with the significant nexus test as articulated by Justice Kennedy. • The determination as to whether a given wetland that is adjacent to a tributary to traditional navigable water possesses the required
Table of Underlying Facts in Riverside Bayview, SWANCC, and Rapanos Case
Area of Regulation
Navigability
Ruling
Riverside Bayview
Wetlands adjacent to open waters, i.e. Black Greek, which flow to Lake St. Claire. SWANCC
The wetlands are not navigable.
Jurisdiction applies under the CWA because they meet the “adjacent” component of the definition of “waters of the United States.”
SWANCC
Isolated, intrastate ponds and Non-navigable ponds mudflats i.e., not connected and mudflats. to navigable surface water, in abandoned quarry in northern Illinois.
Jurisdiction rejected under the “Migratory Bird Rule” component of the definition of the “waters of the United States.”
Rapanos
Wetlands adjacent to various The wetlands are not tributaries that flow to Lake navigable. Huron.
Remanded to the district court. Justice Kennedy’s test: Is there a significantnexus to the restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters? Or are the effects of the wetlands on water quality speculative or insubstantial?
36 BC�T September
significant nexus to the restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters is a scientific exercise. Following the Court’s decision in Rapanos, the EPA, which administers the CWA, and the Corps, which regulates dredging and filling under section 404 of the CWA, jointly initiated the process that has led to a proposed definition of the “waters of the United States.” In “Waters of the United States”: Something More Than
Actually Navigable Waters” we explored one end of the spectrum, and in “The Odd Jurisdictional Line: ‘Waters of the United States in SWANCC’ ” we examined the other end. For additional help in understanding the different facts in the these three cases, see “Table of Underlying Facts in Riverside Bayview, SWANCC, and Rapanos. All of this serves as background to the joint proposal by the EPA and the Corps for a new definition of the “waters of the United States.” This article is a part of a series exploring
the “waters of the United States.” ©2015 Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C. Accurate reproduction with acknowledgment granted. All rights reserved. This document provides information of a general nature regarding legislative or other legal developments, and is based on the state of the law at the time of the original publication of this article. None of the information contained herein is intended as legal advice or opinion relative to specific matters, facts, situations, or issues, and additional facts and information or future developments may affect the subjects addressed. You should not act upon the information in this document without discussing your specific situation with legal counsel.
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STORAGE GALLERY By Ruth Faivre, Managing Editor
Critical mass. That would be one way to describe the mammoth amounts of potatoes held in storage by potato growers annually in order to provide a year-round, dependable supply of potatoes for processor contracts, destined to become chips, fries or other similar products. Since growers need to deliver a steady stream of product that meets their clients’ stringent requirements, their storage facilities need to be in tip-top shape. This requires constant updating and retrofitting so the buildings sustain consistent temperatures, provide adequate ventilation and appropriate humidity levels to minimize sugar buildup, control condensation and prevent tuber desiccation. Buildings must be properly insulated and sealed not just to maintain desired storage temperatures and reduce heat loss, but also to prevent condensation and keep stored potatoes healthy. Above: Heartland Farms is replacing an old 200,000 CWT storage with a new 320,000CWT storage. The location of the storage was specifically chosen to reduce the amount of miles that need to be traveled to bring the potatoes from the field to the storage. This helps reduce the amount of emissions and the amount of equipment needed during harvest. Left: The new Heartland Farms storage incorporates a unique in-floor ventilation system, rather than using culverts in the bin to move air and humidity, almost like a giant air-hockey table. The goal is to reduce the amount of storage shrink by improving quality as well as increasing the capacity due to not having culverts in the bins. It will also help ensure consistent temperatures and humidity.
38 BC�T September
Bottom: This is the frame of the Heartland Farms’ new storage and also shows the inner construction of the building along with the in-floor ventilation system. It has a Thermodynamic Air Envelope insulation system with insulated metal panel walls and roof with TPO membrane roof covering.
Potato storage is a very dynamic science because besides the aforementioned, it requires adequate oxygen for tuber respiration and the ability to remove carbon dioxide, the by-product of respiration and other deleterious gasses, which affect tuber quality and to fight fungal and bacterial infections. While almost any type of building can be adapted to store potatoes, the most common storage buildings are concrete, wood stud and pole frame, metal Quonset and envelope design storages that help prevent free moisture from accumulating. The envelope design storage is what Hansen-Rice, Inc. designed for Heartland Farm’s new 2015 storage facility. Most new buildings or retrofitted ones are well ventilated with computerized temperature and carbon dioxide controls. A grower’s capital investment varies depending on factors like size, building type, durability, longevity and the type of insulation required for the exterior building envelope. When it comes to new construction, structures must withstand the forces exerted by stored potatoes, wind and snow. Design and construction can typically require three to four months or more; therefore early planning is required to ensure the storage is ready at harvest time. Bin sizes in modern buildings normally range from 40,000 to 80,000 cwt. The photos accompanying this article show a few storage projects in progress currently. continued on pg. 40 Top : Keller, Inc., Kaukauna, is building a new 120,000 cwt (two 60,000 cwt bins) storage facility for Heartland Farms, which basically has two walls and two roofs thanks to the air enveloping system that employs a cavity between all walls and the roof surface. This allows improved temperature and humidity control. Bottom: Nelson’s Vegetable Storage Systems Inc. is handling the storage ventilation for the new Alsum Farms storage facility, which includes an innovative in-floor air system.
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Storage Gallery. . . continued from pg. 39
40 BC�T September
OPPOSITE PAGE Top: Hansen-Rice, Inc., Nampa, ID, is building this 160,000 cwt, 6-binseed storage facility in North Platte, NE. It has an 'air-everywhere' floor system. Exterior insulationsystem is a thermodynamic air envelope with insulated metal panels. Middle: Alsum farms selected Fencil Urethane Systems, Inc to manage insulation needs for their new facility. Bottom: Reactive Industrial Coatings, Plainfield, WI, handled this retrofit of an older wood storage facility at Paramount Farms, Inc., Bancroft, WI, which will be the subject of an article in the October Badger Common’Tater. The existing foam and coating were completely removed, but the original galvanized steel roof deck was in remarkably good condition, considering its age. Some of the original fasteners had to be replaced as they were missing, but overall, it was in quite good shape. Reactive Industrial Coatings applied a 3# density closed cell spray foam to a thickness of 1" immediately followed by a coating of polyurea (100% solids with no VOCs) at a thickness of 80 mils.
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Guest Editorials Wisconsin’s Water Woes
Legislature Must Address High Capacity Wells By Paul Zimmerman EDITOR’S NOTE: Paul Zimmerman is Executive Director of Governmental Relations for Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation (WFBF). This article was reprinted from Farm Bureau’s “Rural Route” August/September issue with permission from Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.
Your help is needed! Please
contact your state senator and representative and ask them to support legislation to address high capacity wells. Here is why…
High capacity wells and their impact on groundwater were a hot topic of discussion at Ag Day at the Capitol in March. I wrote a column for Rural Route (Farm Bureau’s official publication) in April that explained the need for new groundwater legislation. Months later, high capacity wells remain a complex and unresolved issue that needs legislative attention this fall. Persistence gets things done in politics. We cannot let up on this issue. A quick review of the situation: Current law requires a person to obtain approval from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) before constructing a high capacity well. DNR’s definition of a high capacity well is a well that together with all other wells on the 42 BC�T September
same property, have the capacity to withdraw more than 100,000 gallons of water per day. Due to a 2011 State of Wisconsin Supreme Court decision (Lake Beulah Management District V. State Department of Natural Resources), DNR must now conduct an extensive environmental review for all high capacity well permit applications. This includes an application to replace an existing well, reconstruct an existing well or transfer the ownership of the well to another person as part of a land purchase. Prior to the 2011 Court decision, DNR only used the more extensive environmental review process for new high capacity wells that met one of the following conditions: • May impact the water supply of a public water utility. • May impact an outstanding resource water body or an exceptional resource water body. • Is to be used to withdraw water for bottling purposes.
• May impact larger scale springs. Since that 2011 Court ruling, no clear process was established for farmers, businesses or any other person for that matter, to work with the DNR to get high capacity well permits approved. Instead, it is done on a case-by-case basis. This concerns Wisconsin farmers for a number of reasons. If you have an existing well that needs repair or replacement, you may be able to get the approval, but your pumping capacity could be lowered. The same thing could apply to someone purchasing farmland that has a high capacity well. The new owner could have the pumping capacity lowered by the DNR. Imagine asking your lender for a loan to purchase farmland with an existing high capacity well. What is the financial impact of a farm’s value if its pumping capacity is reduced? Installing a new high capacity well is also a thorny issue. According to DNR, more than 150 high capacity
well permits await action but are not being issued because of the 2011 Court decision, which requires extensive environmental reviews for each application. This does not take into consideration all the farmers who are not applying for new high capacity well permits in fear that the DNR will lower pumping capacities for other wells on their farms. So, whether you are a potato and vegetable farmer in the Central Sands region, a dairy farmer near Green Bay or a grain farmer near La Crosse, your ability to use water is in jeopardy. Not because DNR is unreasonable, but rather because of this 2011 Court ruling. Only the Legislature can fix this. That is why your legislators need to hear from farmers about the need to pass high capacity well legislation before this opportunity dries up. Here is a link to find your WI legislators: http://maps.legis.wisconsin.gov.
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(Guest Editorials continued)
BANKER'S ENVIRONMENTAL TALK By MaryBeth Matzek
Photo by Ruth Faivre
EDITOR’S NOTE: MaryBeth Matzek is Editor for Midwest Agriculture Almanac (MAA). This article is reprinted with permission from Midwest Agriculture Almanac, www.midwestagriculturealmanac.com. This article was chosen for reprint because Gordon Speirs openly defended Wisconsin Agriculture against a public speech, which Speirs felt spread incorrect representations about the Dairy industry.
Gordon Speirs is pondering why a business banker is seemingly anti-business. Speirs, a Wisconsin dairy farmer and President of the Dairy Business Association, cannot understand why a Green Bay-based commercial bank president is speaking out against the state’s agricultural industry — blaming it for polluted waterways and other alleged misdeeds. Robert Atwell, founder and president of Nicolet Bank, recently made presentations to both the Fox Cities and Green Bay Chambers of Commerce called “Water, Money and Community.” In his talk, Atwell ripped Wisconsin’s $88 billion/year Ag industry, calling out contained animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, and sharing plenty of misinformation along the way. The speech left Speirs “perplexed.” 44 BC�T September
“Large farms are here to stay … just like big commercial banks. And, much like those mega-financial institutions, modern farms will remain audited, monitored and regulated,” Speirs said. Atwell, in his mid-August presentation to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce in Appleton, talked about a helicopter flight over a snow-covered field in March that was “saturated in manure. Just a few days later, it was in the 50’s and we all know what happened to that manure and that it likely ran off the field.” While Atwell could not recall exactly where the field was, he implied it was likely a CAFO. Speirs said that is a virtual impossibility since state law states “unless there is a departmentapproved emergency situation … liquid manure may not be surface
applied (by a CAFO) from February 1 through March 31.” Non-CAFO farms, which in Wisconsin account for one million of 1.3 million farms, can spread on snow. Atwell also called nutrient management plans, ineffective, saying they “are not followed and not verified … regulations without compliance testing is useless…The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is tough on individuals, but not these large-scale corporate farms.” Speirs said this comment, too, could not be further from the truth, pointing out that violations of the Clean Water Act can cost $30,000 a day. “There are multiple environmental safeguards built into the system,” he said. Some of those safeguards require CAFOs to report where every drop of manure goes; report the
distribution in accordance with the nutrient management plan; test the soil every four years to make sure nutrients are not over applied; report manure distribution annually to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and provide detailed information about that distribution. Atwell said he put his presentation together because he is concerned about how much it might cost taxpayers, communities and businesses to clean up water in the Fox River and the Bay of Green Bay due to phosphorous pollution. Speirs noted that a lecture on public spending by a banker who collected millions in TARP dollars in 2009 is “disingenuous at best.” Public records, news stories and blog posts by Atwell show that he accepted $15 million in taxpayer dollars “to enhance shareholder value” for his commercial bank under the Obama administration’s Troubled
Asset Relief Program (TARP) in 2009. Two years later, Nicolet Bank used money from yet another taxpayerfunded source, the government’s Small Business Lending Fund, to pay off the TARP loan. “The EPA is going to step in and tell us to clean it up and it could cost $1 billion. There are too many people denying that cow density and crop density are playing a role” in the rising levels,” Atwell said. “Anyone riding down a country road can see the increase in the amount of cows and manure.” Speirs noted that while Wisconsin’s human population is at all-time high, the cow population is more than 800,000 below its post-World War II levels. “We need to make sure the DNR is doing its job. There are great small farms and great CAFOs and there are farms of all sizes that are slobs,” said Atwell, who did not offer specifics
about those he perceived as poor performers. Speirs said he wished Atwell had taken his concerns to farmers rather than spreading misinformation with business and community leaders. “My peers and I continue to meet with anyone interested in learning the facts on the ground and the water and the air, along with anyone who has a sincere interest in understanding the advancements and innovations of modern farming,” he said. “Farmers remain Wisconsin’s first and most passionate environmentalists.” In an ironic twist, according to Speirs, more attendees at the Chamber luncheon took time to meet with two visiting employees from a local CAFO for an informal Question & Answer session, than with Atwell after his speech.
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Now News Heartland Farms Shines a Light on LED Safety and Efficiency Projected $88,959 Savings Annually On July 9, 2015, Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative and Focus on Energy (Wisconsin’s statewide program for energy efficiency and renewable energy), presented Heartland Farms, Hancock, WI with a check for $35,442 after installing LED lights in their storage facilities. Heartland Farms’ potato storage facilities were using incandescent and high-pressure sodium lights throughout their operation. Many of the lights had a long turn-on delay after workers flipped the light switch, thus creating a safety hazard when entering the dark storage bins. The lighting also made it difficult to see to the far corners of the bin, providing less than ideal monitoring conditions. After hearing about Focus on Energy’s incentive programs, Heartland Farms’ storage manager contacted the program officials, hoping to garner advice on how to solve these issues and possibly save money on their energy bill by installing LED lights.
Shown (L-R): Laura Dachel, Focus on Energy; Erik Johnston, Heartland Farms Storage Maintenance; Alicia and Jeremie Pavelski, Heartland Farms; Dan Wysocky, Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative and Patrick Gatterman, Adams Columbia Electric Cooperative.
bills each year.
Heartland Farms then installed LED lights throughout the entire storage facility, thereby creating safer working conditions. Due to the improved lighting quality, the workers were also better able to monitor the potatoes in storage.
“The programs available through Focus on Energy are a great way to embrace our farm’s philosophy on sustainability. Working with Focus on Energy has been a great experience with beneficial results in energy conservation and pursuing our goals. We would definitely recommend their programs to other farms and small businesses,” said Alicia Pavelski, co-owner of Heartland Farms.
By completing this project, Heartland Farms will save more than six million kilowatt-hours of electricity—enough energy to power 69 Wisconsin homes for a year. The farm will also benefit from an $88,959 savings on its energy
Not only do these upgrades save energy and money, but also they are also environmentally friendly. The annual environmental benefits are equivalent to offsetting the burning of 1,345 barrels of oil – eliminating
46 BC�T September
more than 1,157,836 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) from being released into the atmosphere. “Heartland Farms has a strong commitment to sustainability, environmental stewardship and smart cost control, so this LED lighting project came as no surprise. They have implemented many projects to save energy and water in their operations,” said Dan Wysocky, Key Accounts Executive, Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative. Focus on Energy helps businesses and residents across the state identify and evaluate energy-saving opportunities, provide specific recommendations, develop energy management plans and arrange technical training
opportunities about energy conservation. For more information, call toll-free (800) 762-7077 or visit focusonenergy.com to see what incentive programs are available. Heartland Farms, Inc. Heartland Farms, Inc. is a fifth generation family-owned and operated potato and vegetable farm located in Central Wisconsin. Since 1873, when the first homestead was established, their mission has been to produce a healthy and safe food product, maintain good ethical values and ensure the viability of the farm for the next generations. Sustainability has been a key factor in both their farming practices and utility consumption. They pride themselves in implementing the latest technologies, which contribute to their sustainability goals. To learn more about the farm, please visit their website at hfinc.biz.
Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative (ACEC) headquartered in Friendship, Wisconsin, is a rural electric distribution cooperative serving approximately 36,000 member/ owners in parts of 12 Central Wisconsin counties. As such, it is the largest rural electric cooperative in Wisconsin and the largest in Region Five of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. ACEC’s geographic service area includes approximately 2,500 square miles in the central Wisconsin counties of Adams, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green Lake, Jefferson, Marquette, Portage, Sauk, Waupaca, Waushara and Wood.
Focus on Energy Focus on Energy is Wisconsin utilities’ statewide energy efficiency and renewable resource program funded by the state’s investor-owned energy utilities and participating municipal and electric cooperative utilities. Focus on Energy works with eligible Wisconsin residents and businesses to install cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Focus on Energy information, resources and financial incentives help to implement projects that otherwise would not be completed. Its efforts help Wisconsin residents and businesses manage rising energy costs, promote in-state economic development, protect our environment and control Wisconsin’s growing demand for electricity and natural gas. For more information call 800.762.7077 or visit focusonenergy.com.
continued on pg.48
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Now News. . . continued from pg. 47
Migrant Seasonal Farmworker Services Benefit Seasonal Employers By Jennifer Lund, Wisconsin Job Service/Marathon Cty Job Center, Bilingual Employment & Training Specialist The Migrant Seasonal Farmworker (MSFW) Program offers a variety of workforce solutions for Wisconsin’s agricultural industry while serving both workers and employers. We understand the importance of a reliable workforce for employers and especially growers and we are here to help. In order to understand what services are appropriate to your operation, it is critical to understand the definitions of workers you may hire. SEASONAL FARMWORKER A seasonal Farmworker is a person who, during the preceding 12 months, worked at least an aggregate of 25 or more days or parts of days in which some work was performed in farm work, earned at least half of his/ her earned income from farm work, and was not employed in farm work year round by the same employer. Non-migrant individuals who are full time students are excluded. MIGRANT FARMWORKER The definition of a Seasonal Farmworker is a person who must travel to perform farm work and is unable to return to his/her permanent residence within the same day. MIGRANT FOOD PROCESSING WORKER Meets all of the above identifying factors and primary work experience must be in food processing and was unable to return to his/her permanent residence within the same day. The MSFW program provides 48 BC�T September
a variety of recruitment options through a labor exchange process that includes foreign labor certification, job orders, crew leader certification and housing inspections. Each growing operation is unique and requires a customized approach for the recruitment and hiring of workers. Some growers participate in the H-2A program, a foreign agricultural visa program, in order to meet their workforce needs, while others rely on a combination of local and migrant help. Some growers collaborate to share resources among themselves, such as housing and transportation requirements. The MSFW program is here to connect farmers to resources that help them successfully manage their workforce needs during the harvest season.
employers and growers, while protecting the safety and concerns of the workers. The Agricultural Recruitment System operates in order to provide reliable information to agricultural workers about employment opportunities, and to provide information to growers about worker availability. Outreach staff work collaboratively to share information with each other about the seasonal workforce needs of employers. One of the goals of the program is to move workers from one part of the state to another as the harvesting of crops shifts. MSFW outreach staff share job order information to connect workers to employers.
MSFW PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
The first step in accessing these services is to place a job order on the Job Center of Wisconsin website. This allows you to access information and services on job seekers.
The MSFW program works in collaboration with a variety of US Department of Labor (DOL) programs to serve the needs of seasonal
You can do this by accessing the website: jobcenterofwisconsin.com or contact your local MSFW staff for assistance.
Once a job order is posted, the information is shared with workers who can apply directly with the employer. FACTORS AFFECTING WORKER AVAILABILITY Housing is an issue that can affect the availability of workers. It can be challenging for workers to find month-to-month leasing for adequate housing while working temporarily for an employer or various employers. If an employer offers housing to workers, there are rules and regulations that must be followed. If an employer offers housing for a migrant or foreign worker, the housing must be inspected and certified. Weather and temperature dictate when crops are planted and harvested. The weather does not always cooperate with school schedules, transportation and childcare. This in turn, affects the availability of workers. Temporary work is often hard to fill, as many workers would prefer permanent work, or often leave seasonal employment for full-time permanent work with another employer during the season. This can lead to a high turnover rate for employers with seasonal workers. STRATEGIES TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE
The MSFW program has a variety of tools, services and strategies to help employers and workers. From the Foreign Labor Certification process for foreign workers to recruitment strategies and support for local or migrant workers, Job Service can assist employers with their unique workforce needs. We collaborate with a variety of community partners such as UMOS under the National Farmworker Jobs Program and Migrant Education with Department of Public Instruction, to offer programs and support to Agricultural workers and their families. These programs have dedicated staff whom can assist with childcare, transportation and educational needs of workers and their families. Connecting workers to the services and supports they need helps them to maintain employment on a seasonal basis. As housing continues to be a challenge across the state, some growers are collaborating to address the issue locally, by coordinating and sharing housing resources among themselves. Foreign Labor Certification is one of the services offered in Wisconsin under the US Department of Labor (DOL). Dedicated staff work with growers in guiding them through the
process of foreign labor certification and explain the regulations and requirements associated with providing housing to agricultural workers. Each part of the state has dedicated MSFW staffs, who conduct pre- and post-season meetings, and growers are encouraged to attend. These meetings serve as a point of contact with the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) continued on pg. 50 BC�T September 49
Now News. . . continued from pg. 49
for growers to provide feedback on seasonal workforce challenges and related issues. The meetings involve local community agencies and organizations and serve as an opportunity to connect with community stakeholders in addressing the issues workers
and employers face with seasonal employment. We strongly encourage growers to attend these meetings in order to stay informed about MSFW services, workforce trends and in turn, to inform MSFW services about trends and concerns you may have in your respective industries and areas.
The State of Wisconsin Migrant Seasonal Farmworker services are a successful program that is regarded as one of the best in the country. It serves as a model for collaboration and one of the most important relationships we have is with the growers and employers we serve.
Wanted!
Hancock Ag Resource Station Historical Photos By Justin Isherwood
We need your contributions! Hancock Agricultural Research Station (HARS) is writing a book to commemorate the upcoming 100th Anniversary of their founding in 1916, which will occur in 2016. We celebrate the century long span of this station and its historic linkage of the farm community to a Land Grant University but we need your help. Please send us the following items, which we need to complete this historic document: • Family and farm histories of the lessons, tactics, processes, seeds, crop patterns, chemistries gained over the years through interaction with HARS, its research and researchers. • Farm photos of crops, equipment, field activities, barns, cows, tractors, horses, potatoes, corn, beans, peas or more. In addition, we need vintage photos you of Hancock Field Days. On a historical note, it was peas that initially brought the HARS to Hancock through the pea cannery. • First person narratives of HARS and its researchers, how they related to your farm’s practice, experimentation and success. 50 BC�T September
• Narratives of how HARS affected you as an Ag services/ products provider or processor in 100-1,000 words. Tell how Hancock worked for you now or through the generations. • Narratives regarding broad scale, multi-generational appreciation of the role of the land grant university and its outreach to the agricultural community. We need these items now! Late October is the drop dead point for gathering all the components for the book, editing and layout in order to finish the book in time for the Centennial. You can hand deliver any of the information above at the front desk of HARS’ office (or mail to Felix Navarro, c/o Hancock ARS, N3909 Country Hwy V, Hancock, WI 54943-7547) or to the WPVGA office, 700 5th Ave, Antigo, WI (WPVGA mailing address is PO Box 327, Antigo, WI 54409). Identify your photos and your work with your name and contact information. We will photocopy and returned any materials and originals you give us. Narratives can be sent hard copy to Felix at the mailing address above or to Justin Isherwood, 6055 Isherwood Road, Plover, WI 54467 or by e-mail, justish@sbcglobal.net.
Potato Board News USPB Launches ‘Potatoes Raise the Bar’ The new 2015/2016 school year is the rallying point for some of the U.S. potato industry’s newest marketing plans and campaigns. The United States Potato Board (USPB) officially launched their School Nutrition Program to reach the 55.5 million strong, and growing, school students who are part of the “Salad Generation.” This younger generation, a cohort stretching from newborns to age 23, represents the next generation of potato consumers, and makes up about 32 percent of the U.S. population. Where better to reach, teach and instruct the salad generation about the health and nutrition of potatoes than in their schools where 5 billion meals are served annually? The USPB School Nutrition Program is a new initiative that will fulfill a major role within the USPB’s Marketing Program. The objective is straightforward: to increase healthy potato offerings at schools. Ultimately, this new direction will drive new and exciting uses of U.S. potatoes on school meals. This new campaign kicked off at the School Nutrition Association’s 69th Annual National Conference last month in Salt Lake City, attended by 2,300 school nutrition and foodservice professionals along with several of the most influential voices and key decision makers for school district menus. The centerpiece of the USPB booth was a Farmers’ Market salad bar, merchandised each day with a different theme and a featured potato dish to sample (Smokey Chipotle Potato Salad, Creamy Buttermilk Ranch Potato Salad and
French Dijon Potato Salad). “Hundreds of school foodservice professionals stopped to talk about Potatoes Raise the Bar,” Myers explained. “They love potatoes. Their kids love potatoes. So, they are eager to get more information about how potatoes can boost meal participation and increase consumption of vegetable in their schools.” The USPB hired Ketchum Communications, an agency with extensive experience in school foodservice marketing to help reach this new, young, target consumer. The school nutrition program will provide useful resources and tools to school foodservice professionals:
• A blog showcasing how schools are using potatoes to raise the bar on their meals • Monthly e-newsletters • Information from an USPBfacilitated pilot study, which gauged how a school with USPB merchandising and information and an industry-donated salad bar, might use potatoes differently on their menus.
• Online toolkit (PotatoesRaiseTheBar.com) • Flavorful and innovative recipes • Merchandising for salad bars and the cafeteria • Nutrition information and handouts
Potato Friendly Salad Bar Challenge The USPB School Nutrition Program supports the industry’s Potato Friendly Salad Bar Challenge, which was unveiled by USPB President and CEO Blair Richardson at POTATO EXPO 2015 in Orlando, FL, earlier this year. The salad bar challenge is a U.S. potato industry initiative to connect more kids to healthy potato meals in school lunch programs across the nation. As of August 5, 22 salad bars had been donated as a result of the industry’s challenge. Students in grades K-12 eat over 5 billion school lunches each year, and one more serving of potatoes equates to 3,750,000 cwt FWE. For every salad bar donated, the USPB plans to match the donation. Sign up today and join the challenge or email questions to saladbars@uspotatoes.com. BC�T September 51
People Langlade Cty UW-Extension Ag Educator Changes Stephanie Plaster has transitioned from her role as Langlade County Agriculture Educator to a new position with UW-Extension’s Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANRE) Program Area. Steve Zimmerman will be assuming the role as Interim Langlade County UW-Extension Agriculture Educator (40% time during August 2015 and 60% time from September 2015 through January 2016). During this time Steve’s primary responsibility will be to work with UW-Madison College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, UW-Extension/ ANRE researchers, research partners and Kevin Gallenberg, Antigo research station site manager to complete
2015 research work and coordinate educational programs related to the Antigo potato research station. Steve will also work with researchers and Wisconsin Potato Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) to begin planning 2016 research projects. Other educational programs will be coordinated depending on clientele needs and time available. Steve Zimmerman has solid training and extensive experience working with the potato industry, planning and implementing educational programs and conducting applied research. He served in a similar interim role in 2012. Contact Steve via email, Stephen. zimmerman@ces.uwex.edu or phone (715) 627-6236.
Steve Zimmerman, new Interim Langlade County UW-Extension Agriculture Educator.
UW-Extension’s ANRE Program Area and the Langlade County UWExtension Office are committed to provide educational programming to support Langlade County agricultural clientele. Due to the recently passed state budget and corresponding reductions to the budget of the University of Wisconsin System, UWExtension will be reviewing changes to their program delivery model and will release further information as those changes are determined.
Valley® Irrigation Appoints New VP Global Operations Valley Irrigation has appointed Joshua Dixon as their new vice president of global operations.
working as a manufacturing materials manager at General Electric’s motor division.
An experienced global manufacturing executive, Dixon has extensive knowledge of lean enterprise, supply chain organization, operations management, product management, strategic planning, mergers/ acquisitions and integration.
Dixon is a graduate of General Electric’s prestigious Operations Management Leadership Program and holds numerous Master Black Belts in lean tools, including Six Sigma. He gained broad international experience, as well as extensive merger, acquisition and integration experience, at both Danaher and Belden.
His past operational experience includes leading lean initiatives as Danaher Business System leader and director of lean enterprise at Belden Inc.; serving as the senior value stream manager at Danaher facilities in Tianjin, China, and Gurnee, IL and 52 BC�T September
Dixon has a passion for thinking outside of industry norms to solve problems and is listed as the coinventor of a unique U.S. patented
Joshua Dixon, new Vice President of Global Operations, Valley Irrigation
coaxial connector for the broadcast industry. “Efficient use of water is key to global sustainability and Valley products are at the forefront of global water stewardship,” Dixon said. “I am excited to build upon the legacy of my predecessors to keep Valley as the
market leader in the global irrigation business.” Valley Irrigation President Len Adams noted that Dixon worked with the company’s previous vice president of global operations, Steve Kaniewski. “Josh’s personality and that relationship with Steve at Belden is a good indicator of his compatibility with our Valley culture,” Adams said.
“We know he will fit in well here. Dixon will be responsible for global manufacturing, process engineering, supply chain management, quality, order management, safety and logistics. About Valley Irrigation Valley Irrigation founded the center pivot irrigation industry in 1954, and our brand is the worldwide leader in
sales, service, quality and innovation. With historical sales of more than 200,000 center pivots and linears, Valmont-built equipment annually irrigates approximately 25 million acres (10 million hectares) around the world. We remain dedicated to providing innovative, precision irrigation solutions now and into the future. For more information, please visit valleyirrigation.com.
WPVGA Sponsors Portage County Youth Soccer Once again, Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers (WPVGA) sponsored a team in the Portage County Youth Soccer (PCYS) Program, 5-6 year old division this year, which also helped pay for the team’s shirts that displayed WPVGA’s Home Grown Wisconsin Potatoes logo on the shirt back as well as soccer equipment and field upkeep. Heartland Farms, Inc. of Hancock also sponsored a team this year. PCYS is a non-profit organization serving Portage County and Central Wisconsin with first-class soccer programming at its state-of-the-art facility in Stevens Point. This volunteer organization serves hundreds of families and over 700
children annually. From casual recreational summer soccer leagues to competitive Classic and Select traveling teams, PCYS and its families promote good sportsmanship, physical fitness, team play, a positive self-image and the enjoyment of the game. All programming, as well as the fields on which the games are played, are made possible by the dedication of parents and the wonderful support generously offered by all of their sponsors and donors. PCYS is a member of the Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association (WYSA) and abides by the rules set forth by the association. Their Classic League teams compete in the Central
WPVGA-sponsored Portage County Youth Soccer team. Photo by Ruth Faivre
Wisconsin Soccer League. WPVGA thanks Associate Member Phil Bender, ADM of Stevens Point for working with Ag-related firms to sponsor the youth soccer teams and who volunteers his time at many of the PCYS events.
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New Products New UW Storage Facility Bulk Storage Program This storage season, University of Wisconsin’s Storage Research Facility (SRF) in Hancock, WI plans to roll out a new plastic box bin storage option to researchers and industry partners who would like to store up to 1,000 lbs. of bulk potatoes or vegetables. Interested parties can choose either a 48°F or 38°F temperature-controlled environment with 95% relative humidity and fresh air exchange set to maintain ≤ 2000 ppm CO2. From a variety development perspective, the UW’s Storage Research Program is excited to utilize the 1,000 lb. box bins to help bridge the current storage gap that exists between storage of 40 lb. crates in lockers and storage of 2,000 cwt. in the Storage Research Facility’s semi-commercial scale bulk bins. Implementation of the 1,000 lb. box
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Top Left: The Hancock Storage Research Facility launches a new 1,000 lb. box bin storage program. Above: The larger, 1,000 lb. box bins allow researchers to experiment with storage variables
bins will allow researchers to continue to gain valuable storage learnings on new varieties throughout the process of seed multiplication while affording them ample material for destructive sampling.
Box bin storage also represents an effective way for growers to limit economic risk while developing storage best practices of new varieties and treatments in an effort to extend quality and storage longevity. Additionally, 1,000 lbs. marks an ideal volume to ship to chip manufacturing plants for small-scale processing tests to screen for both desirable and undesirable processing attributes prior to full-scale commercial ramp-up of a variety. United States Potato Board (USPB) plans to utilize this new storage model to assess the manufacturing performance of several next generation chipping varieties this storage season. Any parties interested in box bin storage at SRF this upcoming storage season are encouraged to contact Troy Fishler, Storage Research Facility Manager, troy.fishler@wisc.edu or (715) 935-0088 to discuss availability and pricing for potato and vegetable storage projects.
RPE Offered A Sweet Surprise at Pma Foodservice Conference Michelin Star Chef Prepares a Flavorful Twist RPE Inc., in partnership with Chef Joey Elenterio, announce the debut of Tasteful Selections Sweet Surprise Mini Sweet Potatoes, which were introduced at the 2015 PMA Foodservice’s “Chef Talks: Strolling Lunch,” where Chef Joey Elenterio created a flavorful twist on the comfort food classic: chili and tomato braised Tasteful Selections Sweet Surprise potatoes. “It’s always a joy to work with a product you love,” said Chef Elenterio. “Potatoes are already fun and versatile to cook with, but the great flavor and small, uniform sizes of Tasteful Selections take it to another level.”
Left: Michelin Star Chef Joey Elenterio extols the virtues of Tasteful Selections Sweet Surprise Mini Sweet Potatoes. Right: Chef Elenterio’s chili and tomato braised Tasteful Selections Sweet Surprise Mini Sweet Potatoes prepared and plated for an eye-appealing treat!
Ventilation
Tasteful Selections Sweet Surprise Sweet Potatoes offer a new and exciting alternative to the wellknown comfort food. These sweet potatoes are hand harvested and thin skinned, so no peeling is needed when preparing these sweet treats. Chef Joey Elenterio, who opened his own restaurant, Cadence, in San Francisco, received one Michelin Star in both 2011 and 2012, during his tenure as executive chef at Chez TJ in Mountain View, California. He was also honored in Zagat’s “30 under 30” and with the San Francisco Chronicle’s 'Rising Star' Chef award. Tasteful Selections, LLC is a joint venture of RPE, CSS Farms and Plover River Farms Alliance, Inc. They are a vertically integrated grower, shipper, marketer of premium specialty potatoes with unique attributes for size and flavor. RPE, a second-generation family farm, is a category leader and key grower/shipper of year-round potatoes and onions. RPE prides itself on maintaining a high level of business integrity that includes commitments to environmental sustainability, as well as category innovation and retail solutions. continued on pg. 56
• Ventilation • Humidification • Climate Control • Refrigeration 47418 US Highway 10 • Perham MN 56573 BTU Ventilation 218-346-3357 Toll Free: 888-884-8070 www.btucorp.com BC�T September 55
New Products. . . continued from pg. 55
ADM Introduces New pH Correction Material-SuperCal 98G ADM is excited to offer growers a new tool in precision pH management, SuperCal 98G. Proper pH is the cornerstone to quality production no matter what the crop. In today’s high yield environments, soils are being pushed to the limits and ADM is meeting that challenge with the best liming technology available. Today all ADM locations throughout Central Wisconsin are offering precision pH correction utilizing SuperCal 98G from Calcium Products, Inc., headquartered in Ames IA. SuperCal 98G is a 98% pure calcitic limestone, finely ground and pelletized for convenience and even distribution across the acre. It is not ‘pel lime’. Pel Lime is pelletized dolomitic aglime. The chart below compares and contrasts Supercal 98G and dolomitic aglime. The sandy soils of Central Wisconsin are especially susceptible to acidification due to the high nitrogen
We do not farm the way we did 86 years ago. So, why use the same liming materials and practices?
usage on potato and corn crops. The uniform pellet size of SuperCal 98G allows ADM applicators to VRT spread it or conventionally broadcast it. It is well suited for no-till as well
SuperCal 98G:
80-89 Dolomitic Aglime
•3 6% Calcium • Fast acting in the soil (pH correction in weeks vs months) • Finely ground – 95% passes 100 mesh screen • Pelletized for uniform distribution • Low use rates – 100’s of pounds per acre vs. tons • Can be blended with other fertilizers • Less than 1% moisture • No in-field piling required
•2 0% Calcium • Takes up to two years to be fully reactive • Non uniform particle size and solubility • Requires incorporation • Off-site movement of fines (most reactive fraction) • Not blendable with other fertilizers • Variable moisture content (often over 10%) • Uneven spread pattern
56 BC�T September
as conventional tillage and can be applied in fall or spring for maximum flexibility. Correct, consistent pH is fundamental to crop production. Contact your ADM representative today to discuss how SuperCal 98G can be implemented into your farming operation. Contact either Phil Bender or Julie Cartwright at the Stevens Point ADM location for more information regarding SuperCal 98G. Phil Bender-Potato and Vegetable Agronomy Sales 920-295-9158 Philip.Bender@adm.com Julie Cartwright-Crop Specialist 715-491-5097 Julie.Cartwright@adm.com Danielle Dykes-Crop Specialist 715-240-0585 Danielle.Dykes@adm.com
Seed Piece 2015-2016 WPIB Scholarship Awarded to Maribeth Kniffin Maribeth Kniffin, a doctoral student at University of Wisconsin-Madison and recipient of the Wisconsin Potato Industry Board (WPIB) Distinguished Graduate Fellowship for 2015-2016, will study water resource dynamics in the Central Sands region of Wisconsin. The Central Sands region contains a sand-and-gravel aquifer that provides water resources to agricultural, municipal and industrial systems. Simultaneously, groundwater supplies water for lakes, streams, springs and wetlands. With its welcoming Midwestern culture, strong agricultural economy and extensive water resources, Kniffin thinks the Central Sands are well suited for exploring collaborative ways to develop and implement local, science-based water resource management solutions to balance water use needs.
scales defined by the user. By focusing on a key question (or set of questions), models can provide a way to assess, measure and predict what factors most readily affect a system as well as how and/or when a system is affected. Models also provide a way to visualize impacts of potential management strategies on the groundwater and surface water levels and flows. STATE OF WI MODELS In Wisconsin, state agencies routinely develop and use environmental models for science-based decision support. Given that water resources management requires both scientific inquiry and public deliberation, researchers have started using these models to conduct science-based, decision-making processes that
promote mutual learning between researchers and stakeholders. To be effective, model development should occur within a disciplined planning and structured participation framework where models are positioned as learning tools.1 CURRENT STATUS For the past year of her doctoral program, Kniffin has been working as a research assistant at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS), UW-Extension on a groundwater flow modeling project. Collaborating with Dr. Kenneth Bradbury, Wisconsin State Geologist and WGNHS Director, Dr. Mike Fienen, research hydrologist at U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and continued on pg. 58
In order to do this, Kniffin will tap into hydrogeological science as a basis for waterscape planning, design and decision-making. MODELS AS TOOLS Groundwater flow modeling may be one tool that can generate dialogue about balancing water resource distribution and application. Models are mathematical tools that aid in the investigation of scientific questions. Modeled processes may relate to geology, groundwater recharge, surface-water flow, groundwater pumping or other land use changes. Models mimic environmental processes at temporal and spatial
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Seed Piece. . . continued from pg. 57
Master’s Candidate Jake Krause at UW-Madison, Kniffin helped construct soil water balance and groundwater flow models of the Little Plover River basin and surrounding area. Funded by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) with additional support from the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Grower Association (WPVGA), these models estimated rates of groundwater recharge for different vegetation types throughout the model domain and simulated how water levels and streamflows change over time. SCENARIO DEVELOPMENT & LOCAL KNOWLEDGE Throughout the Little Plover River model development process, the team interacted with stakeholders including representatives from WPVGA, Village of Plover, Trout Unlimited, Robert’s Irrigation, River Alliance, Portage County Groundwater Citizen advisory group, Little Plover River Work group and Lake Association groups amongst others.
Discussions with local groups helped inform model inputs, such as irrigation pumping rates, land use types and streamflow records. This dialogue also gave citizens the opportunity to suggest potential water management strategies to test with the groundwater flow model being developed. In August 2015, the team completed the model and is currently running several local citizen-developed simulations to test potential water management strategies. When the groundwater flow modeling project is complete, the tool will be publicly available for future use. KNIFFIN’S FUTURE WORK During the next year of her dissertation research, which is funded through the WPIB Fellowship, Kniffin plans to investigate scientific and stakeholder confidence in the Little Plover River model as a tool for water resources planning, design and decision-making processes. Kniffin will gather additional input from local citizens and conduct model simulations of water resource management strategies with the Little
Plover Basin. Kniffin’s dissertation research also aims to explore how glaciallydeposited sediments beneath lakes in the Central Sands affect groundwater and surface water connectivity. Kniffin will focus on Long LakePlainfield, a 52-acre lake in the Fourteen Mile Creek watershed in northwestern Waushara County. As with nearby lake levels, water levels in Long Lake have gradually declined over the last decade. Long Lake is located within a long topographic depression approximately 1,000 feet wide, 50 feet deep and 8 miles long. This depression constitutes the remains of the Plainfield-Huron tunnel channel, a subglacial feature created when glaciers were last present in Central Wisconsin approximately 15,000 years ago. Besides Long Lake, the PlainfieldHuron tunnel channel contains Plainfield Lake, Second Lake, Weymouth Lake, Fiddle Lake, Shumway Lake and Lake Huron. Seasonal and inter-annual water levels in these lakes fluctuate in
WPIB Focus Wisconsin Potato Assessment Collections: Two-Year Comparison Month
Jul-14
Aug-14
Sep-14
Oct-14
Nov-14
Dec-14
Jan-15
Feb-15
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Apr-15
May-15
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Year-to-Date
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Assessment
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58 BC�T September
response weather patterns, climate trends and the dynamics of water use. Lake-aquifer connectivity varies depending on landscape position, depth to groundwater, change in topographic slope, and geologic sediments beneath the lake. AVAILABLE DATA: A MODEL NECESSITY A key challenge in understanding the patterns of lake level variations over time and developing groundwater flow models is obtaining long-term surface and groundwater monitoring records for model calibration. Many lakes and streams in the region do not have long-term lake level records. Kniffin will use a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to develop a record of water levels for Long Lake from the early 1900’s to the present. Kniffin will combine available groundwater and surface water levels and flows at Long Lake with reliable proxy datasets that can provide alternative information to inform the reconstruction of historical lake levels. Proxy variables include nearby water level and flow records, well construction reports, fire surveys, aerial photos, local citizen shoreline photos of Long Lake (or other nearby tunnel channels lakes), and oral histories told by local citizens. To develop local oral histories, Kniffin plans to conduct interviews with citizens who have lived near the lake. Interviews will informed by sharedvision planning1, design thinking2, adaptive management3, scenariodevelopment4 and narrative inquiry5 theories. Kniffin will also develop a geologic model of the area around the Plainfield-Huron tunnel channel using a variety of geophysical methods. The reconstructed, long-term water level record and findings from the geologic investigation will allow
Kniffin to better understand tunnel channel lake-aquifer connections. ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES Kniffin hopes that the outcomes from this investigation result in the development and evaluation of stakeholder-developed management strategies, increased public trust and confidence in groundwater flow models, citizen empowerment and dialogue regarding water resource management, longterm reconstruction Long Lake water levels, and improved understanding of tunnel channel lake-aquifer connections. Kniffin’s research findings can benefit future groundwater flow models constructed to supplement and inform decision-making processes. Maribeth Kniffin received her Bachelor’s degree from Smith College, Graduate Certificate in Sustainability Leadership from Edgewood College and Master’s degree in Water Resources Engineering at UWMadison. At present, she is working on a PhD in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UWMadison.
For more information about the Little Plover River groundwater-modeling project, go to http://fyi.uwex. edu/littleplovermodel or contact Maribeth Kniffin, kniffin@wisc.edu, or Ken Bradbury, ken.bradbury@wgnhs. uwex.edu. To contribute a photo or story of Long Lake, email Maribeth Kniffin, kniffin@wisc.edu. Find out more about the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey at http:// wgnhs.uwex.edu/. Palmer, R., H. Cardwell, M. Lorie, and W. Werick. 2013. Disciplined Planning, Structured Participation, and Collaborative Modeling - Applying Shared Vision Planning to Water Resources. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 49: 614–628.
1
Plattner, H. 2015. The Virtual Crash Course Playbook. Institute of Design at Stanford: http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-content/ uploads/2012/02/crashcourseplaybookfinal31-120302015105-phpapp02.pdf.
2
Holling, C. and G. Meffe. 1996. Command and Control and Pathology of Natural Resource Management. Conservation Biology. 10(2): 328-337.
3
Carpenter, S., E. Bennett, and G. Peterson. 2006. Scenarios for Ecosystem Services. Ecology and Society. 11(1): 29.
4
Connelly, M. and J. Clandinin. 1990. Stories of Experience and Narrative Inquiry. Educational Researcher. 19(5): 2-14.
5
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NPC News Potato Industry Leadership Institute February 17-25, 2016 The National Potato Council (NPC) and the United States Potato Board (USPB) are accepting applications for the Potato Industry Leadership Institute (PILI) class of 2016. The annual eight-day program, held Feb. 17-25, 2016, is designed to identify, develop and cultivate new leaders within the U.S. potato industry. During the program, 20 potato growers and industry representatives from across the country focus on leadership development, public policy, marketing, team building and public communication. The 2016 class will begin in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where participants will receive an overview of the U.S. potato industry and tour
local production areas, storages, fresh pack facilities and processing plants. The group will then travel to Washington, D.C., where the focus will move to national legislative and regulatory policy priorities for the U.S. potato industry. Participants are selected through state organization nominations and a committee facilitated by NPC and the USPB, who jointly coordinate the program. The Institute is made possible each year through a major sponsorship from Syngenta, which has a long history of commitment to leadership development in agriculture. The Institute is also accepting
applications for two scholarships targeting growers who lack a state or local potato organization. The scholarships cover the $2,000 PILI registration fee, air transportation, lodging and meals. Scholarships will be given based upon an application form reviewed by the selection committee. Registration forms and scholarship applications are available online at http://nationalpotatocouncil. org/events-and-programs/potatoindustry-leadership-institute/ or by contacting Hillary Hutchins at hillaryh@nationalpotatocouncil.org. The deadline for both applications is October 15, 2015.
NPC Awards 2015-16 Academic Scholarship The National Potato Council (NPC) is pleased to award a $10,000 2015-16 Academic Scholarship to Shunping Ding, a PhD. student in Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This yearly scholarship is granted to a graduate student with a strong interest in research that can directly benefit the potato industry. Ding is an enthusiastic researcher, dedicated student and proven leader inside and outside the classroom. Her extensive research experience, combined with memberships in several professional organizations, demonstrate that Ding has invested heavily in becoming an expert in her field of study. 60 BC�T September
Her current focus is on enhancing control of the potato early blight complex (EBC), which is a common fungal disease that results in significant annual loss to the potato industry. NPC anticipates that her current and future research into potato diseases will greatly benefit the industry by offering insight into this ongoing industry issue. “Shunping has genuine interest in and dedication to plant disease research in both basic and applied areas. She is driven to solve practical problems, like potato early blight, that have great implications, such as crop loss. Potato early blight ultimately results in loss of income for producers, loss of stability for local and regional economies and ultimately a loss in
food supply,” said Amanda Gevens, Associate Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist of the Department of Plant Pathology with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “She is a professional, respectful student with the capacity to make significant contributions to the scientific and agricultural community.” “Ms. Ding brings an extraordinary level of enthusiasm to her projects and has demonstrated exceptional proficiency in both the basic and applied aspects of her research. I expect that her work will continue to provide insights into the interplay between the hosts and pathogens in this understudied disease complex, resulting in new approaches to control early blight of potato,”
said Dr. Dennis Halterman, Research Geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service Vegetable Crops Research Unit at the University of WisconsinMadison. The NPC Scholarship Committee determined that Ding was the strongest candidate for the scholarship based on both her academic record and professional recommendations. In her recommendation letters, Ding was described as having a strong work ethic and her application reflected a desire to focus on helping to improve the U.S. potato industry. “I am very thankful for this scholarship, which is a great honor and encouragement to me and will help provide me with training opportunities to enhance my research. My goal is to help the U.S. potato industry to mitigate loss in potato production by better managing diseases in an economically
and environmentally responsible manner,” said Ding. Ding is currently an elected member of the Plant Pathology Student Council, which is responsible for organizing student activities, coordinating seminars and interaction between faculties and students. She has also served as a mentor for the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship Program (YAP). Ding is a graduate of Henan University in China and the University of Hong Kong. The National Potato Council is the advocate for the economic well-being of U.S. potato growers on federal legislative, regulatory, environmental, and trade issues. NPC supports the U.S. potato industry by monitoring issues affecting the strength and viability of the potato industry, influencing regulators and legislators on issues crucial to the industry's long term success, ensuring fair market access for potatoes and potato products, and bringing the unique issues and interests of diverse growing regions in the U.S. together on a national level.
Shunping Ding, a PhD. student in Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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Marketplace Wisconsin Spudmobile Celebrates One-Year Anniversary with Updates! By Dana Rady, WPVGA Director of Promotions and Consumer Education “The only thing constant in life is change,” as the saying goes and the Wisconsin Spudmobile it no exception, which celebrates its one-year anniversary this August with some interior updates. Three of the Spudmobile’s interior exhibits are new and improved, namely, Field to Fork, TheaTater and the interactive Touch Table. Two new iPads were added to the Field to Fork exhibit while the digital content was expanded with new games for kids. The digital character ‘Chip’ takes visitors on a true Field to Fork journey. It begins with cutting different varieties of seed potatoes for planting. The more seeds you cut in a certain time, the better your score!
The games on the Field to Fork exhibit are addicting! This participant is trying to win at ‘watering the potatoes to help them grow while also keeping the insects off his potatoes! After all, that is an important step in getting quality potatoes to our dinner plates!
Then there is the ‘plow and plant’ phase, which requires planting the seeds in straight rows, again within a certain time. Watering the plants comes next to make sure the potatoes receive exactly the right amount while also keeping insects off those precious plants. The next stages/levels of the game involve harvesting and packing with the final level being mashing the potatoes right before dinner! It is the perfect way to help families understand how potatoes get from the field to their plates. When they are finished with the Field to Fork, and eventually make their way to the TheaTater exhibit, they
will have the opportunity to see new video additions that are more suitable for younger audiences. Besides learning about water use, they will also get to meet Wisconsin growers speaking with kids in WPVGA’s “Into the Outdoors” episode. The episode is broken into segments; between each segment runs the two 30-second commercials WPVGA produced through its sponsorship with Mad Dog and Merrill from 2014 and 2015. The commercials and episode all speak of Wisconsin potatoes and help educate whomever watches them about the field to fork process, while providing a fun Spudmobile experience!
Left: This young man is trying his hand at planting potatoes in a straight row as fast as he can! It is one of the newest levels to the Field to Fork exhibit in the Spudmobile. 62 BC�T September
Last but not least, the Interactive Touch Table offers new and exciting games for kids that continue the excitement the Spudmobile offers its visitors. Players can challenge each other to a game of ping-pong using a digital potato. They can put puzzles together that show pictures of potatoes. Memory is another fun game with different images of potatoes, prepared dishes, plants and seeds. Visitors can also choose to play pinball or circle potatoes to make them grow, similar to the famous bug game. Being able to change the digital content of the exhibits easily is a huge benefit for the Spudmobile’s entertainment value. The Promotions Committee knew early on that one of their goals would be to keep the exhibits fresh and new, which was necessary because technology
Spudmobile visitors enjoy playing the newest potato-growing game as part of the interactive touch table inside Wisconsin’s traveling billboard.
changes so quickly. These ‘fresh face’ changes to the Spudmobile are sure to keep people talking and visiting the Spudmobile
at the events at which it appears. Be sure to check out these exciting changes the next time you are near the Spudmobile. You will be glad you did!
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Auxiliary News Investing in Future Leaders By Lynn Isherwood, Vice-President, Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary The WPVGA Auxiliary Board and Associate Division again invested in tomorrow’s leaders by awarding eight outstanding scholars with scholarships worth $7,000 for the 2015-16 school years. The students
earning scholarships are Jonathan Fraser ($1,000), Kaitlin Kakes ($1,000), Kaitlin Woyak ($1,000), Lauren Sowinski ($1,000), Nika Wanserski ($1,000), Rachel Rine ($500), Rachel Smith ($500) and Stephanie Fassbender ($1,000).
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JONATHAN FRASER, son of Jeff and Julie Fraser of Cherry Valley Farm, Hillsboro, is a 2015 Kickapoo High School graduate and plans to attend Fox Valley Technical College to study Farming Operations. As a Richland County 4-H Junior Leader, he served as Vice President and Delegate for four years, and averaged 120+ hours a year in community service projects. Jonathan worked on his family’s beef cattle farm for 12 years and owns his own cattle. A Volunteer Junior Fireman at the Viola Fire Department, he also was a Kickapoo FFA Green Hand Award Winner in 2012 and Star Chapter Farmer Award Winner in 2013. KAITLIN KAKES is the daughter of Daniel and Victoria Kakes, Kakes Farms, Ltd, Bryant, WI. She will attend UW-Stevens Point, working towards a Healthcare major, business minor. Kaitlin’s goal upon graduation is to garner a managerial position at a hospital, most specifically in the Human Resources area. Kaitlyn earned UWSP Dean’s Distinguished
Lauren Sowinski
Achievement Award Fall Semester 2013-2014, Exemplary Senior Female nomination AHS and Dean’s List for three semesters at UWSP. During high school, Kaitlin was Secretary of AHS Spanish Club and Helping Hands English Teacher Assistant. KAITLIN WOYAK, daughter of Bruce and Kari Woyak, Stevens Point, (owners of Central Door Solutions and WPVGA Associate Members), earned high honors educationally (3.9 GPA) and as a varsity athlete, serving as Track Team Captain her senior year. Along the way, she became a topnotch photographer. Kaitlin’s work was featured in April 2014 Journey through Wisconsin magazine. She was hired to take professional photos for 2013 Golden Sands Home Builders Show and WPVGA 2014 and 2015 golf outings. She plans to attend UWStout, Art Education major, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree and work as a high school art teacher with a focus in photography. LAUREN SOWINSKI, daughter of Paul
Nika Wanserski
Rachel Rine
Rachael Smith
and Tunie Sowinski, Rhinelander, Sowinski Farms, Inc., was a member of the National Honor Society with a cumulative 3.896 GPA and graduated from Three Lakes High School (2015). Lauren was also active in sports, clubs and community organizations. She will attend UW-Stevens Point majoring in Biochemistry and minoring in Business and hopes to play softball for UW-Stevens Point. Upon graduation, Lauren wishes to become the fourth generation of her family’s farm business, using her biochemistry knowledge in the operation, investigating soils and fertilizers and learning how they improve crop cultivation, storage and control pests. NIKA WANSERSKI, daughter of John and Carol Wanserski, Rhinelander, has Ag roots since her grandfather is Donald Gagas, Gagas Farms, Clifford Gagas is her uncle and her mother, Carol, is one of the farm’s shareholders. As a UW-Stevens Point student, Nika majors in Paper Science and Engineering (PSEN) and minors in Biofuels, which she believes perfectly encompasses all her interests. She will also pursue further education in pulp and paper industry business,
law and research aspects. Already active in this field, she worked at Buckman Laboratories, Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology and Clearwater Paper-Las Vegas in research, engineering, sales and marketing. RACHEL RINE, daughter of Daniel and Sheila Rine, Rine Ridge Farms, Bryant, and an honor roll student (four years), will attend North Central Technical College majoring in nursing, eventually specializing in hospital Obstetrics. Her love of nursing was inspired by her grandmother, who died of cancer, but was always in high spirits and looked on the bright side of things. A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), she works at Evergreen Terrace, Antigo, when not in school. Active in sports throughout high school playing varsity tennis and varsity bowling, Rachel was also 4-H Club President of her school and 4-H ambassador for her community. RACHEL SMITH, daughter of Jason and Ann Fletcher, Fletcher Farms, Custer, a UW-Madison student majoring in Communication Disorders with Education minor, plans to continue
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into a graduate program focused in Speech Therapy and Speech Language Pathology, fields in which she is passionately involved. Rachel hopes to work in a clinical setting as a Speech Language Pathologist, potentially at UW- Health or another larger hospital. She loves working with children and her dream would be to garner a position with a school. Previously, she served as Summer Youth Girls’ Softball Coach (ages 13-14) for Plover Whiting Youth Athletics and worked on fundraising for several local groups. STEPHANIE FASSBENDER, daughter of Jim (deceased) and Peggy Fassbender, will continue at UW-La Crosse where she was on the Dean's List, served as Vice President of Eta Sigma Gamma (National Health Education Honor Society) and will major in Community Health Education. Stephanie says her late father unknowingly gave her a foundation, which she will use for the rest of her life, “He poured his entire heart and soul into the ground he worked, knowing that if he treated it properly it would provide for him a good yield.” She plans to do that same thing in her career only with people instead of plants.
Contact Ken & Dan 715-627-4819
Toll Free: 1-888-853-5690 FAX: 715-627-4810 EMAIL: rineridge@yahoo.com BC�T September 65
Ali's Kitchen Column & Photos by Ali Carter, WPVGA Auxiliary Member
Author John Gunther said, “All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.” I happen to agree with him, and this quiche is the perfect way to start your day...or end it. I firmly believe that it is perfectly acceptable to enjoy breakfast for dinner. This Montamore & Goat Cheese Quiche with Hash Brown Crust looks elegant enough to serve to guests any time of the day yet is quite simple to prepare.
Ali's Recipe
Montamore & Goat Cheese Quiche with Hash Brown Crust Serves 4 INGREDIENTS: 3 Tbsp. softened butter 1 ( 1 pound) package of frozenhash brown potatoes, thawed 12 eggs 1-¼ cup reduced fat sour cream 5 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled 2 oz. Montamore cheese, shredded 3 scallions, sliced thinly Salt and pepper to taste BAKING INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 9x12 inch springform pan with butter and line the bottom and sides with wax paper. Once the wax paper is placed inside of the pan, brush the paper with butter to ensure that your finished quiche will not stick to the pan. Don’t forget this step! I just may be speaking from experience on this.
66 BC�T September
In a large bowl, mix your hash browns, one egg and one ounce of the Montamore cheese. If you do not have Montamore cheese you can substitute shredded parmesan. Montamore cheese is, in my opinion, the BEST cheese in existence. It is made here in Wisconsin at Sartori and my family loves this cheese so much that I drive to Antigo to buy it in bulk directly from Sartori. I call this the ‘love cheese’. It is sweet yet tangy and incredibly creamy yet shreds well, similar to parmesan... but better. Combined with the tart earthy flavor of goat cheese this makes for complete deliciousness. Yummmmmm. Once you have your hash browns mixed with the egg and cheese add a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Pat this hash brown mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the continued on pg. 68
Wisconsin Certified Seed Potato Growers: • • • •
Progressive In Terms Of Technology Proactive Use State-of-the-Art Practices Develop Promising New Varieties These are just some of the ways Dr. Walt Stevenson, Emeritus Professor at the University of Wisconsin, describes the Wisconsin Certified Seed Potato Growers. Visit the newly updated web page of the Wisconsin Seed Potato Improvement Association to find out more about Wisconsin’s Certified Seed Potato Growers: www.potatoseed.org
715-623-4039 For a directory of Wisconsin Certified Seed Potato Growers, scan this code with your smartphone.
BC�T September 67
Ali's Kitchen‌ continued from pg. 67
springform pan. Press firmly. You may need to moisten your hands lightly with water to assist with this. Place your pan onto a rimmed baking sheet to avoid any messes and bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes until the crust is set. While the crust is in the oven mix together the remaining 11 eggs, the sour cream, the crumbled goat cheese, the remaining Montamore cheese, ž of the sliced scallions, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour this mixture into the crust and then sprinkle with the last of the scallions.
Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes until the eggs have set. You know when the quiche is ready to be removed from the oven when you gently tap the pan and there is a slight jiggle in the middle while the sides stay motionless. However, do not overcook the quiche, 68 BC�T September
tough eggs are not a pleasant thing. Once cooked through, remove from the oven and let the quiche rest for 10 minutes prior to serving. Enjoy!
Tater Bin My Grandfather’s Journal By Justin Isherwood My grandfather tended a daily journal the same as he tended his evening kye (rich, sweet, warm chocolaty drink), his plow and his morning fire. I have his collection of journals, called daily journals because that is what journals were supposed to tend. Once, the other newspaper in this town was called the Daily Journal, to which that stickler-for-truth, Bill Berry (at least I am blaming Bill) decided Daily was redundant and the name changed to plain Journal. Personally, I thought the change lost a certain hometown quaintness; never mind it was more correct. Who would not want to live in a place that had a hometown brag called the Daily Journal? The journal is a family trait for I too, keep a journal. While my mother did not exactly keep a journal, she entered recipes similar to how King Midas hoarded gold, and about to the same purpose. Far more recipes than she could ever attempt, hundreds, probably thousands of recipes, 99.99% of which she never tried, much to my relief since I served as her experimental animal. Recipes ought to have been cited in Exodus along with adultery as disruptive to the household. Thankfully, my mama was a ‘four on the floor’, four-wheel drive kind of farmhouse cook. Never in that childhood did we have pizza or hamburgers. Only when the dietary onslaught was unstoppable did we have French fries.
Our meals were of real dead animals, real chicken, real beef, no disguise. Mama did not camouflage food; sauces were camouflage, with the intent to hide inedible things. At the farmhouse, we ate like proper carnivores and every meal beyond our daily ration of oatmeal acknowledged this. What we ate, we looked in the eye. My great grandfather namesake, Mister Justin Manchester, kept a journal (a Christmas present), of his childhood on the banks of the Little Plover, a village named Springville with Plover just down the road. The year was 1871 and in his journal, he records on January 1, that he and his father, were felling red pine to make into steering sweeps for lumber rafts. His handwriting was crisp and neat. He ceased his journal keeping soon after, thinking as most people do regarding a journal, that what they have to say is of no importance, he being just another kid in the Pinery. As we all know, my great grandfather was wrong.
George, my grandfather, was dutiful to his journal. In my library is a box containing his collection of journals, altogether sixty years’ worth of daily notes: Sow got of 25 Dec April 15 Black sow 18 Dec Apr 5 Old sow 23 Dec Apr 13 Lenny L. sow Jan 16 May 7 Largest young sow Jan 16 May 7 continued on pg. 70
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Tater Bin…
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continued from pg. 69
On the next page written sideways: Pet star 16 Jan Underneath is written : Pet steer 16 Jan Seems erratic spelling is something of a genetic marker in my family line. In his journal is a thing we don’t see much of any more, a long hand arithmetic calculation which detailed something grandfather sold; 2567 units at 7 cents each, to guess a pound equaling 179.69 to which was added 9.31 equaling $189 even, to which was added 66.82 and 64.90 to equal $320.72, adding 229.16 and equaling 549.88.
as to why: Roy Kammern of Grand Rapids, John Holman of Parfreyville, and Sam Nelson of Blaine, whether farm customers or a card game assignation at the Simonds mill. On the following page were his entries to Class 13 at the Amherst Fair: ½ bu (bushel) Bliss Triumph potatoes, same measure for Early Ohio potatoes In Class 15, a jar of homemade butter, specimen of butter imprint (perhaps he was referring to a butter mold) and a show of pickles
Ag Systems....................................27 Allied Cooperative.........................70 Altmann Construction...................40 B&B Paving Co...............................35 Badger Plastic & Supply, Inc..........25 Big Iron Equipment..........................9 BTU Ventilation..............................55 Bushmans’, Inc.................................3 Crop Production Services..............63 Fairchild Equipment.......................71 Fencil Urethane Systems, Inc.........69 GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc..........17 Hansen-Rice, Inc............................47
As said, a long form hand calculation. I checked out his math on my digital desk calculator. A fair share of his journal is his math.
Two pages later, he records 7 dollars 25 in fair winnings, the pickles took second of show, his sweet corn best of show as did his popcorn, at a dollar each.
He records addresses of a number of persons without notion
The year for these entries was 1905.
Mid-State Truck Service.................53
J.W. Mattek & Sons, Inc.................45 Jay-Mar,Inc......................................5 Lorbiecki Farms.............................64 M.P.B. Builders...............................57 National Potato Council ..................7 Nelson’s Veg. Storage Systems......39 North Central Irrigation.................33 Nuto Farm Supply, Inc...................54
Rob Shields Precision Ag Manager/ Agronomist
Oasis Irrigation..............................72 Paragon Potato Farms...................59 Pete Sanderson..............................29 R & H Machine, Inc........................34
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Matt Selenske Pest Pros Location Manager
Rine Ridge Farms...........................65 Roberts Irrigation............................2 Ron’s Refrigeration & Air. Cond.....18 Ruder Ware LLSC...........................61 Rural Mutual Insurance.................32
Andrew Pape Plant Pathologist/ Pest Mgmt Specialist
Schroeder Bros. Farms, Inc............37 Spiegl Construction.......................41 T.I.P., Inc.........................................31 Volm Companies, Inc.....................23
Josh Johnson Pest Pros Agronomist
Wick Buildings...............................11 Wisconsin Farm Bureau ................43 WSPIA............................................67
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