Tag Archives: potato

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, U.S.

Global Food Crisis: Late blight kills Idaho’s 2014 potato crops? Confirmed in Bannock County! Blame Mexico or Global Cooling?

19 August 2014 (01:53 UTC-07 Tango)/22 Shawwal 1435/28 Mordad 1393/24 Ren-Shen 4712

“…..just the beginning. The opportunity for this thing to be explosive in its spread is definitely there.”-Phil Nolte, University of Idaho

A few days ago it was reported by local news media that potato late blight was devastating crops in Bingham County, I can tell you it’s here in Bannock County, and it started back in July.

Farm field on the west side of Chubbuck. About 4 weeks ago these spuds were full and green.

Farm field on the west side of Chubbuck. About 4 weeks ago this spud field was full and green.

Don’t blame the drought, since the end of July eastern Idaho has been hit with abnormal rain, so much that University of Idaho pathologists warned the unseasonable heavy rain is causing late blight (Phytophthora infestans).  Late blight was confirmed in Blackfoot farm fields on 11-12 August 2014, in Bingham County.

I can tell you that the farm field on the west side of Chubbuck (Bannock County) was showing signs of disease before the heavy rains started, back at the beginning of July.   It’s an irrigated farm, and several types of crops are rotated every year.   The farmer stopped irrigating by the time the rains hit.

Check out the devastation. Back in July the potato plants were more than 2 feet tall, now they're dead! Late blight killed off the large fields in only a few weeks time.

Check out the devastation. Back in July the potato plants were more than 2 feet tall, now they’re dead! The only plants growing now are the tumble weeds! Late blight killed off the large fields in only a few weeks time.

Apparently it only takes the late blight fungus about five days to begin spreading spores (the spores travel by air).

A late blight is blamed for the infamous Irish Potato Famine, and it made its way to North America in the late 1800s.  But ever since the 1990s new strains of late blight evolved in Mexico, and are making their way north.  The new strains are considered more lethal than the old Irish Potato Famine version.   It attacks tomatoes as well.

University of Idaho ag officials stated that spraying fungicides should kill the blight, however they admitted many farmers are short on cash and can’t afford the chemicals.  A farmer from Aberdeen (Bingham County) stated that he hoped his anti-early blight spray would suffice for preventing late blight, due to cost concerns.   After all, potatoes haven’t really been a money making crop for Idaho farmers (despite the propaganda spouted in the metropolitan areas of the United States).

It’s not just potatoes, Idaho hay/alfalfa growers are facing fungus problems due to the unseasonal heavy rains.  By the end of the first week of August, Jefferson and Bingham counties reported record rain fall totals.

Hay farmers had already shipped off their first cuts, but University of Idaho officials reported that the second cut (now stacked in bales) is in jeopardy of mold contamination due to being soaked: “…..there was enough rain on uncovered stacks that it probably went through the first bale. We could have more hay fires and a bunch of ruined hay. Monitor your stacks.”-Glenn Shewmaker

A Blackfoot hay farmer reported that his hay stacks had already turned black with mold: “It’s the ugliest hay I’ve ever been a part of!”-Dewey Stander, lost 404 hectares (1-thousand acres) of cut hay

Up ’till now the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had been making optimistic reports regarding agricultural crop production in Idaho.

But there’s more climate change threats coming for Idaho farmers.  Climatologist Cliff Harris says he and his colleges agree that Idaho could see a colder than normal Autumn (our temps have actually been unusually cool for August).  He even warns that there could be hard freezes in September, meaning less food for you city folks to eat.

Business/Economics, International, Opinion

Global Class war: Denmark & Hungary impose taxes on Fat and Potato Chips

Under the guise of forcing people to eat “healthy”, the governments of Denmark and Hungary have imposed the world’s first taxes targeting specific foods.  Of course those foods are the most affordable for the growing number of people with less and less income.

Hungary has imposed a potato chip snack tax. Snack chips (called crisps, in Europe) will be taxed at about U.S.$1 per kilogram (2.2 pounds), which could add 10 to 20 cents per bag of chips.  The tax includes other items like sugary drinks, snack cakes, salty snacks, and even food flavorings!

Denmark has imposed a U.S.$3 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) tax on the saturated fat content of food.  The main targets of the fat tax are milk, butter and cheese.

Here’s the problem with the logic of the governments’ reasons for taxing food that is fast becoming the only food people can afford: Putting a tax on food does not make people eat healthy!  The taxes imposed by Denmark and Hungary are not enough to force people to buy much more expensive health food. In the case of Denmark, they’re taxing the main staples of European diets; milk,butter and cheese! Rather, I think those governments are trying to capitalize on the fact that more and more people will be buying the “less healthy” food, because they can’t afford anything else!

Read why the Danish fat tax is only about money (clue: the Danes are not fat)!

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Idaho slashes and burns social programs, yet can fork up $2.4 million for college bowl name?

The Idaho Potato Commission, a state taxpayer funded agency, has signed a $2.4 million deal, to rename the college football Humanitarian Bowl game.  It will now be known as the “Famous Idaho Potato” Bowl.

Commission officials say they need to spend that kind of money to promote Idaho grown potatoes: “The bottom line, is that we believe we have negotiated a very favorable contract when compared to other similar bowls with similar national media coverage.”-Frank Muir, IPC President

Business/Economics, Idaho

What Global Warming? Idaho Potato farmers running out of time, cool weather adding to Global Food Crisis

It’s June 11, and potato farmers in Ashton, and Driggs, Idaho, have been hoping for warmer, dryer weather.  They can’t plant potatoes in wet, cold ground: “This season has been especially hard because every time we are about to get into the fields for a couple days it rains us out. It takes sometimes five to 10 days to dry up in good enough shape in preparation for planting.”-Dennis Fransen, potato seed farmer

Potato seed farmers are at the bottom of the potato farming chain.  Commercial potato farmers rely on the seed farmers for their new crop.  Bigger potatoes are sent to the commercial farmers to grow even bigger.  The small potatoes are kept for ‘seed’ for the next planting.  This year, because of the wet, cool weather it looks like most of the seed crop will be the small type, that commercial farmers don’t want.