Quarterly spring12 web(1)

Spring 2012 Volume 12, Issue 2
Famous
Idaho Cows
– pg. 4
Marketbasket
Survey
– pg. 14
Custer County
Road Dispute
– pg. 8

Setting
the Record
Straight
By Frank Priestley
President Idaho Farm
Bureau Federation
Vote in the
Primary
Elections
By Rick Keller
CEO Idaho Farm
Bureau Federation
The President’s Desk
The Ag Agenda
USDA:
Celebrating
150 years of
Innovation
By Bob Stallman
President American Farm
Bureau Federation
Inside Farm Bureau
2 IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY / SPRING 2012
See PRIESTLEY, page 7
See STALLMAN, page 6
See KELLER, page 6
President Abraham Lincoln
is known for many achieve-
ments during his lifetime,
but a little known triumph
of his—that affects farmers
and ranchers greatly—was
the establishment of the
United States Department
of Agriculture 150 years
ago.
On May 15, 1862, President Lincoln
signed into law a bill establishing a new
Department of Agriculture, which was
specifically directed to acquire informa-
tion through :practical and scientific ex-
periments” and to collect and propagate
“new and valuable seeds and plants” and
distribute these to the nation’s agricultur-
ists. It is clear, Lincoln was a man beyond
his time.
A Man with a Vision
Lincoln understood the importance of
Pink Slime. It’s another
over-hyped, inaccurate
catch phrase designed to
scare consumers about the
safety of our food supply.
One of the biggest chal-
lenges agriculture faces to-
day is fighting back against
what sometimes seems like
a constant barrage of mis-
information about our food
supply and what goes into producing it.
Questions and concerns about our food
supply often come under scrutiny, as
they should. The act of putting food in
one’s mouth is one of the most intimate
things we do and scrutinizing the safety
offoodisveryimportant.However,ques-
tions about the safety of our food supply
can quickly become emotional and over-
blown, as is the case with so-called pink
slime.
To better understand this discussion let’s
first define what we are talking about.
Lean finely textured beef (LFTB) is the
The upcoming Idaho pri-
mary elections on May 15
most likely will determine
who Idaho’s legislators will
be in November. Because
of unique demographics,
seventy-three percent or
seventy-seven of Idaho’s
105 legislative races in 2010
were determined at the pri-
mary elections. In each of
those races, the party nominee went on
to win the general election with more
than two-thirds of the votes cast. That
held true in both Democratic and Repub-
lican districts.
Primaries are elections which take place
before the general Election Day. Primary
elections in the United States are unique
among many of the countries around the
world. Primary elections originated as a
result of the progressive movement in the
early20thcentury. Themiddle-classwas
tired of the corrupt political machines of
the day, dictating who would be the po-

IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY / SPRING 2012 3
Cover: Warm spring weather in mid-April brought
out the cherry blossoms in an orchard near
Emmett.
Photo by Steve Ritter
DEPARTMENTS
Volume 12, Issue 2
IFBF OFFICERS
President ..................................Frank Priestley, Franklin
Vice President ..................................Mark Trupp, Driggs
ExecutiveVice President .............................. Rick Keller
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Bryan Searle ...........................................................Shelley
Scott Bird .......................................................... Pocatello
Chris Dalley ......................................................Blackfoot
Dean Schwendiman ..........................................Newdale
Danny Ferguson .......................................................Rigby
Scott Steele .................................................... Idaho Falls
Gerald Marchant ................................................. Oakley
Rick Pearson .................................................. Hagerman
Mike Garner............................................................. Declo
Curt Krantz ............................................................ Parma
Mike McEvoy .................................................... Middleton
Tracy Walton ....................................................... Emmett
Marjorie French .............................................. Princeton
Bob Callihan ....................................................... Potlatch
Louis Kins .......................................................... Kootenai
Carol Guthrie ........................................................ Inkom
Cody Chandler ..................................................... Weiser
STAFF
Dir. of Admin. Services ...................... Nancy Shiozawa
Dir. of Member Services ................................... Ray Poe
Dir. of Commodities ............................ Dennis Brower
Commodity Assistant ................................. Peggy Pratt
Membership Assistant ............................. Peggy Moore
Info and Member Services Assistant ... Dixie Ashton
Dist. I Regional Manager .......................... Justin Patten
Dist. II Regional Manager ....................... Kendall Keller
Dist. III Regional Manager .................. Charles Garner
Dist. IV Regional Manager .................. Russ Hendricks
Dist.V Regional Manager ...................... Bob Smathers
Dir. of Governmental Affairs .......................Kent Lauer
Asst. Dir. of Governmental Affairs ... Dennis Tanikuni
Range/Livestock Specialist..........................Wally Butler
Director of Public Relations ............. John Thompson
Video Services Manager ........................... Steve Ritter
Broadcast Services Manager .................... Jake Putnam
Office Manager, Boise ................... Julie Christoffersen
Member Services Manager ....................... Joel Benson
Printed by: Owyhee Publishing, Homedale, ID
IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY
USPS #022-899, is published quarterly by the
IDAHO FARM BUREAU FEDERATION,
275 TierraVista Drive, Pocatello, ID 83201.
POSTMASTER send changes of address to:
IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY
P.O. Box 4848, Pocatello, ID 83205-4848.
Periodicals postage paid at Pocatello, ID
and additional mailing offices.
SUBSCRIPTION: $4 a year included in Farm Bureau dues.
MAGAZINE CONTACTS:
Idaho Farm Bureau Federation
EDITOR (208) 239-4292 • ADS (208) 239-4279
E-MAIL: dashton@idahofb.org
www.idahofb.org
CONTENTS
FEATURES
The Ag Agenda: Bob Stallman ............................................................ 2
The President’s Desk: Frank Priestley.............................................. 2
Inside Farm Bureau: Rick Keller........................................................ 2
Insurance Matters ..............................................................................20
Crossword...........................................................................................23
Classifieds ...........................................................................................42
Famous bovines:
Power County farms produce
top animals
PAGE 4
Custer County enters court
battle with BLM over road
closure
PAGE 8
A market gardener in
Middleton got a wake-up
call regarding use of certified
seed recently from the Idaho
State Department of Agricul-
ture.
PAGE 10
Focus on Agriculture:
Abraham Lincoln’s legacy and
its connection to agriculture
PAGE 12
Marketbasket Survey
PAGE 14
Women’s Leadership
Committee sponsors annual
art contest
PAGE 16
Forest Service nursery sup-
plies native plants for fire
rehabilitation
PAGE 24
Longtime Idaho rancher re-
flects on a life of hard work,
determination and the people
who have crossed his path
PAGE 32

IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY / SPRING 20124
By John Thompson
Power County cattle from farms not much more than a stone’s
throw apart, are making it big on the national scene.
The Andersen family raises Holstein dairy cattle and has one of
the best in the breed, while their neighbors, the Fehringers, are
winning prestigious awards for raising some of the top Red Angus
beef cattle in the U.S.
Ammon-Peachey Shauna from Seagull Bay Dairy is one of the top
Holstein dairy cows in the world. Utilizing cutting edge reproduc-
tion technology, this three-year old cow, is already responsible for
26 offspring with the top seller fetching $87,000.
Greg Andersen, who runs the family’s registered Holstein busi-
ness, bought Shauna in a pick of flush auction for $21,000. In this
type of auction a top cow is flushed and her embryos are fertilized
with a top sire and then placed in surrogates. The top bidder then
gets to pick the calf he wants once they are born. Andersen se-
lected Shauna about four months after she was born. She was born
in Pennsylvania and comes from the Rudy Missy cow family.
For people familiar with Holstein genetics, Shauna’s bloodlines
impress, but with modern genomic mapping, Andersen says it’s
now possible to tell far more about a cow’s potential.
“They can now make genomic predictions by taking DNA and
mapping it for the bovine genome,” he said. “They do it by identi-
fying which genes show high milk production, longevity, confir-
mation, overall health and several other traits.”
This isn’t the Andersen family’s first foray into the registered Hol-
stein business. In 2005 they sold some of the top animals in the
breed deciding that the inherent risks of the dairy industry were
big enough.
“It’s ironic that we sold some top animals in 2005 and then were
able to get back into one of the best in the breed,” Andersen said.
“I guess it’s just karma. I knew she would be good but some cows
underperform. She has exceeded our expectations.”
Scott Metzger of Trans Ova Genetics said the Andersen family has
Idaho’s Celebrity Bovines
Ammon Peachey Shauna is one of the top Holstein cows in the world. She is owned by the Andersen family who operate dairies in Power and Cassia
counties. Photo Courtesy of Greg Andersen

See CELEBRITY BOVINES p. 27
done a good job of maximizing its oppor-
tunities. “Ammon-Peachy Shauna is one of
the most valuable young cows in the Hol-
stein breed at this time, with her genetics
being in extremely high demand. The An-
dersenfamilyhasverysuccessfullyutilized
the advanced reproductive technologies of
embryo transfer and in vitro fertilization
to multiply her genetics and increase their
marketing opportunities with her.”
Bull calves from Shauna are leased out and
Andersen receives a royalty from the se-
men they produce. Currently, Shauna has
seven sons producing semen, six at Select
Sires in Ohio and one at ABS in Wiscon-
sin. Semen production from top Holsteins
can be more lucrative than embryo produc-
tion due to volume, Andersen said. A bull
can propagate far more pregnancies than a
cow.
AndersenaddedthatShauna’slegacywould
be set in cement if she produces some good
cows with all or most of her traits. Once
she has some daughters milking that will
prove out. Andersen said some cows can
fizzle out over time. Good progeny is need-
ed to verify the DNA predictions.
“I got lucky mostly, when I bought her,” he
continued. “I knew a little but I was still
lucky. A cow like Shauna doesn’t come
along very often.”
lakeview Cattle Co.
Just a half mile down the road from Seagull
Bay Dairy, a small Red Angus cattle op-
eration is getting noticed in a big way. Rus-
sell Fehringer, along with his wife Shawna
and daughter Payton are marketing some
of the top cattle in the breed. At this year’s
National Western Stock Show in Denver,
known as the Super Bowl of stock shows,
their pen of three Red Angus heifers won a
reserve championship.
A week later they won two more reserve
champion trophies at the Black Hills Stock
Show. The cattle they sold in South Dako-
ta, a young bull and a heifer fetched $8,000
and $8,750 respectively.
In April Payton’s bull Pie Code Red won
the Junior All-Breed Performance Bull
award at the Midland Bull Sale in Colum-
bus, Montana. The bull was also the leader
in average daily gain for the Red Angus
breed and Payton picked up a $500 schol-
arship for her efforts.
In addition to the cattle mentioned above,
the family owns four of the top ten Red
Angus bulls at the Midland Bull Test in the
average daily gain category, two of which
are also in the top ten for weight per day of
Russell Fehringer, his wife Shauna and daughter Payton own some of the top Red Angus cattle in the nation. Photo by John Thompson

sTAllmAN
Continued from page 2
Keller
agriculture to America, and, as impor-
tantly, he realized science and technology
played a major role in the farming industry.
Without a doubt, I believe Lincoln today
would embrace the many technological
advancements farmers use on their farms,
including biotechnology.
Lincoln once wrote: “Every blade of grass
is a study, and to produce two, where
there was but one, is both a profit and a
pleasure. And not grass alone, but soils,
seeds and seasons—hedges, ditches and
fences, draining, droughts and irrigation—
plowing, hoeing and harrowing—reaping,
mowing and threshing—saving crops,
pests of crops, diseases of crops and what
will prevent or cure them … the thousand
things of which these are specimens—each
a world of study within itself.”
The federal government was, from the be-
ginning of its involvement in agriculture,
dedicated to scientific progress in farming.
This commitment continues today and is
shared by farmers and ranchers across the
country, regardless of the methods of food
and fiber production they use—organic,
conventional or biotechnology. They all
need science.
Full speed Ahead
The importance of science and innovation
(biotechnology in particular) to agricul-
ture will be significant as we face several
challenges in the years ahead. The world’s
population just passed the 7 billion mark.
According to the World Food Program, the
best estimate is that 1 billion people (one in
seven) are hungry and food insecure. By
2050 the world’s population will rise to 9
billion people. This means we must double
world food production by 2050 in order to
meet this challenge.
Further,wemustaccomplishthisheftygoal
while realizing that our Earth is fragile. To
take care of our environment, we must em-
brace agriculture research, science, inno-
vation and biotechnology. When it comes
to medical care, communication and trans-
portation we accept the importance of in-
novation. We need to do the same when it
comes to the production of food.
Earlier this year, the United Nations issued
a special report recognizing that “new
‘green’ biotechnologies can….improve re-
sistance to pests, restore soil fertility and
contribute to the diversification of the ru-
ral economy.” Sound familiar? Seems a lot
like what Lincoln described as a goal 150
years ago.
Scientists have developed new seeds that
can improve yields while resisting disease
and requiring less water. That is critical
as 70 percent of all fresh water is used
by agriculture. American consumers and
consumers all over the world can feel safe
with this technology and confident it will
improve our environment.
While meeting these quantitative challeng-
es and meeting our environmental goals,
we will strive to focus even greater atten-
tion on the qualitative side, to also meet the
needs of consumers who express a prefer-
ence for foods grown “their way.” Science
is the answer for all these missions, and
today’s USDA is helping to blaze that trail.
So, Happy Birthday USDA and best wishes
as we continue down the road for another
150 years. America’s farmers, ranchers
and research scientists can lead the way to
a new 21st
century Green Revolution if we
follow the vision of Abraham Lincoln. As
Honest Abe said, “Leave nothing for to-
morrow which can be done today.”
be the political party’s destined candidate.
Laws were passed providing opportunities
for the members of a political party or vot-
ers to select candidates for the next gen-
eral election. Primaries take the power of
candidate nomination from party leaders
to the people.
Primaries allow us to choose who we will
have on the ballot on Election Day. When
you vote in a primary, you have a wider
range of choices and are therefore more
likely to find a candidate with whom you
agree on more issues. In Idaho, 339 indi-
viduals have filed to run in the primary for
the legislature this year. 268 are newcom-
ers to the body to which they seek elec-
tion.
The 2012 election will be dynamic. In
Idaho there will be at least twenty-two per-
cent, or more than one in every five races,
in which a newcomer will win. This is
guaranteed because 33 legislative seats are
open races; in other words, an incumbent
is not running for the position.
The Idaho’s Secretary of State website de-
clares: “The purpose of primary elections
in the State of Idaho is to allow members
of a recognized political party to select
that party’s nominees to go on the general
election ballot. For the 2012 Primary Elec-
tion, the only electors who can vote on the
Republican Ballot are those who have af-
filiated, including those who affiliate on
Election Day, with the Republican Party.
Members of the Democratic, Republican,
Constitution or Libertarian Parties and
those who do not affiliate with any party
will be permitted to vote the Democratic
Ballot if they so choose. An elector can
vote only one party ballot however, and
the poll book and registered voter history
will reflect which ballot the elector voted.
Party registration requirements have no
effect on general election procedures. At
general elections, all voters receive exactly
the same ballot and may vote for any can-
didate whose name appears on it, without
regard to the political affiliation of the can-
didate or the voter.”
Vote on May 15th
. Let your voice be heard.
If you do not vote during the primary, your
elected representative will most likely be
determined for you.

PrIesTley
product being referred to as pink slime. The phrase was first found
in a USDA internal memo that was provided to the New York
Times in 2009 resulting from a Freedom of Information Act re-
quest. What consumers should first understand is that LFTB is just
plain old beef that is separated from the trimmings that result from
the processing of cattle. Pieces of fat that are cut from carcasses
contain small pieces of red meat. The meat that cannot be separated
from fat with a knife is separated through a heating and centrifuge
process. The meat is then treated with ammonia in gaseous state
to kill bacteria and then mixed with beef that is ground into ham-
burger. This process makes beef processing plants more efficient
and reduces the amount of waste left over. Before the process was
adopted, this waste was used to make pet food and cooking oil.
Why use ammonia? We understand why consumers would be con-
cerned about a cleaning product being used to treat food. Ammonia
and water, both naturally occurring compounds, have been used to
make food safe since 1974 when the Food and Drug Administra-
tion permitted its use. LFTB receives a puff of ammonia to elimi-
nate bacteria safely and effectively. When combined with moisture
naturally in beef, ammonia hydroxide is formed, a naturally oc-
curring compound found in many foods, in our own bodies and
the environment. Food safety experts and scientists agree it is an
effective way to ensure safer ground beef and to reiterate, it’s been
in use since 1974.
The U.S. has the safest, most abundant and affordable food supply
of any country on the planet. This most recent blow-up over LFTB
resulted in three beef processing plants being shut down and over
300 people losing their jobs. If consumers don’t want to purchase
ground beef that contains LFTB, they have many options to choose
from. But in our opinion, it’s wrong for the media to create a con-
troversy over a product with a safety record that has been proven
over the last 38 years.
Let’s also not lose sight of the facts that the United States has the
safest, most abundant and affordable food supply of any nation on
earth and that our global population is expected to double by 2050
which will put even more pressure on our ability to produce food
for the masses. We expect an increasing demand for processes like
the one developed to create LFTB will be needed to increase the
efficiency of our food production system.
Following are a few quotes from experts discussing the quality and
methods used to produce LFTB. More information can be found at
www.beefisbeef.com
“It’s safe, it’s leaner than other beef sources on the market, and it’s
less costly.” - Kevin Concannon, USDA undersecretary for food,
nutrition and consumer sciences
“Ammonium hydroxide itself is used in a multitude of different
food products. It’s not a safety concern.” – Dr. Elisabeth Hagen,
USDA undersecretary for food safety
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Article and photos by John Thompson
Custer County commissioners staged a
rally in protest of federal government land
management policies in the upper reaches
ofHerdCreekinaremoteareaneartheEast
Fork of the Salmon River in mid-April.
Commissioners, along with about 40 resi-
dents made the trip to the border of the
Jerry Peak Wilderness Study Area to let
the federal government, expressly the Bu-
reau of Land Management (BLM), know
that they are disgusted with road closures
and other heavy-handed policies that block
access to land in Custer County.
Commission Chairman Wayne Butts be-
lieves the county has a valid claim to open
the Herd Creek Road by virtue of Revised
Statute 2477 (R.S. 2477), a federal law es-
tablished in 1866 to encourage settlement
of western states. The road is blocked by
boulders and has been closed since 1999.
Custer County notified BLM last sum-
mer that they intended to open the road on
April 15. They brought a Caterpillar 950
front end loader to the end of the road but
chose not to move the boulders and violate
a restraining order granted two days prior
to the rally by Federal Judge B. Lynn Win-
mill.
“I think we have made a huge statement
by going through this process,” said Butts,
speaking to the group from the bed of a
county sheriff’s pickup. “This is a case that
will be recognized clear across the west-
ern states. Our county is 97 percent state
and federally-owned land. That’s a higher
percentage than any other county in the
lower 48. While we know that we are right,
we have deep respect for the USA and the
Constitution that guides us. In the spirit of
that respect we will let this issue play out
in the courts.”
A letter dated April 12, from BLM State
Director Steven A. Ellis explains that the
road was closed under the authority of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act
(FLPMA). The BLM disputes the County’s
claimtoanRS2477right-of-way.Theletter
states that county proceedings (validation
hearing) are not a forum for determining
the merits of an RS 2477 and the County’s
position is “unsustainable.”
Further, Custer County is relying on state
law contending that RS 2477 claims can
be determined by county commissioners.
However, BLM asserts that “no state law
can contradict, override, limit or restrict
Congress’ exclusive control of Federal
property.”
In early April, Butts communicated his in-
tentions to Ellis at a meeting in Boise. He
County Challenges BLM Over Road Closure
A group of Custer County residents gathered near the top of Herd Creek on April 15 for a rally protesting closure of public lands.

also informed Ellis that any federal agents
attempting to block opening of the road
would be handcuffed and arrested. “We
believe it’s a slap in the face to our elderly,
handicapped and veterans to continue to
restrict access to these public lands,” Butts
said. “We did this by state statute. We held
a validation hearing. The BLM was invited
to testify but they declined.”
Other contentions indicate that the County
and BLM have not been communicating.
Butts said the County was not invited to at-
tend the hearing with Judge Winmill when
the restraining order was awarded. An ad-
ministrator in Winmill’s court said minutes
from the hearing place attorneys represent-
ing the U.S. Department of Justice, David
Negri and Nicholas Woychick, as respon-
sible for notifying Custer County about the
hearing. It is noted in the court documents
that the defendant, Custer County, was not
present at the hearing. Winmill issued the
temporary restraining order anyway.
Then, the court set a date for a hearing on
Thursday, April 19 at 9 a.m. Butts said the
County will seek a continuance because
they haven’t been given time to prepare
their arguments. The County is being rep-
resented by Fred Kelly Grant, a constitu-
tional lawyer from Nampa.
“Why didn’t they (BLM) come to the table
a year ago instead of waiting until the last
minute?” Butts asked. “We are extremely
disappointed that BLM and the Department
of Justice have decided to try and nullify an
act of Congress, the Tenth Amendment and
Idaho law all in one lawsuit. We are also
shocked that a federal judge would allow
himself to be used as an arm of judicial ac-
tivism of the worst sort.”
More coverage of this issue will be pre-
sented in the June edition of Gem State
Producer Magazine and on the Idaho Farm
Bureau website at www.idahofb.org
This photograph shows boulders used to close the Herd Creek Road and documents taped to the
boulders asserting Custer County’s intentions to open the road. The matter is now before the
federal court.
Custer County Commission Chairman Wayne Butts speaks to a gathering on April 15 in protest of federal land management policies.

By Jake Putnam
MIDDLETON - The furthest thing from
Robin Caudill’s mind was breaking the law.
The organic gardener was getting her garlic
inspected when she froze with fear. The in-
spector took a look around the garden and
asked if she had planted certified seed.
“He said, ‘everything is cool with the gar-
lic but we need to talk about your potatoes,
your grapes, your onions and your beans,’”
recalled Caudill.
Caudill went into a panic, being certified
organic, she documents everything. Her
grapes were fine, onions good, potatoes
checked out, but questions about the beans
remained. Panic gripped the gardener. “I
told him I don’t know what you mean about
the beans.”
As the popularity of farmers markets con-
tinues to grow across the Gem State, it has
not gone unnoticed by production agricul-
ture. They know that rapid growth has its
peril.
The Idaho Bean Commission and the Idaho
Potato Commission wants the Idaho De-
partment of Agriculture to strictly enforce
trademark and certification rules for farm-
ers and gardeners to protect the state’s agri-
culture industry.
As farmer markets open this month across
the Gem State, this could be a milestone
year. Karen Ellis the director of Capitol
City Public Market calls the 2012 season
“the year of enforcement.”
The laws have been on the books for years
but new growth is spurring a new level of
awareness by the Idaho State Department
of Agriculture.
“People are just starting to pay attention to
letters we sent out last summer,” said Lloyd
Knight of the ISDA. “We don’t have new
rules; we haven’t done anything different
other than just reaching out to these folks
in the last year or two. The small growers
are just starting to be aware of what’s go-
ing on.”
Market potatoes grown in Idaho need to
have trademark certification saying they’re
Idaho potatoes. Vendors have to get a li-
cense from the Idaho Potato Commission.
It’s the same with bean seeds, gardeners
and farmers must buy from approved been
seed growers. It’s not a money issue; it’s a
safeguard against disease.
“Our commercial guys understand very
well what the requirements are and always
have,” said Knight. “We rarely have issues
with them and have to send a warning or
enforcement. It just doesn’t happen at all.
Sometimes you’ll find a company on a trial
ground that planted seed that wasn’t certi-
fied, but it’s rare.”
Cuadill’s Lazy Dog Gardens has seen
steady growth through the years. Just an
acre, the small organic operation crosses
the T’s and dot the I’s on just about every-
thing. The bean seed scare was Cuadill’s
closest brush with the law.
“I went and got a packet of my seeds which
showed lots and things like that on it,” she
said. “The inspector thought that I might
be okay. So I was made aware and given a
copy of the bean rules and I was fine with it.
Farmer Markets Come of Age,
Face ‘AYear of Enforcement’
Robin Caudill is the owner of Lazy Dog Gardens in Middleton.

I thought I was being legal and
doing the right thing and being
mindful of it. Last spring I got
a letter from ISDA, saying that
just because I was organic that
I was not above the law that I
had to follow all the rules and
regulations.”
The ISDA’s Rule 02.06.06 regu-
lates Idaho grown beans: “Bean
seeds planted in Idaho shall be
from an approved lot bearing
an approved tag on each bag or
container, stating the kind, vari-
ety and lot number.”
“Those have been on the books
since 2003,” said Knight. “The
industry put these rules in be-
cause we grow a lot of bean seed
in Idaho. Again they’re making
sure that were protected from
new diseases.”
The Idaho Farm Bureau’s Russ
Hendricks lobbies agriculture
issues at the Idaho Statehouse
and has followed the case. He
was concerned by the penalty
clause outlined in the letter.
“She received a letter from
ISDA last summer informing
her that she was in violation of
the Idaho bean seed rules and
could be liable for a civil pen-
alty of up to $10,000 and/or a
criminal penalty of a misde-
meanor and $3,000 fine and up
to 12 months in jail,” said Hen-
dricks.
Caudill and many other growers
are entering the farmer’s market
business completely unaware of
the bean seed rules requiring
all bean seed planted in Idaho
to be certified, disease free and
accompanied by a “green tag”
from ISDA. Hendricks points
out that there is no exemption
for gardeners.
“There are also rules for a num-
ber of other crops grown in Ida-
ho including garlic, potatoes,
onions, grapes even nursery
stock,” Hendricks said. “She
was fortunately able to obtain
the green tags from her seed
supplier and avoid the penalties,
but the concern remains that
these rules are being enforced
and the educational component
is not keeping up with all the
new growers that are coming
on-line.”
One of the biggest problems
facing small scale farms is that
bean seed vendors only sell in
bulk. Small garden operations
only need 2-pounds of bean
seed per year. They don’t want
50 pounds of beans, and they’re
looking for ways to get certified
beans in amounts they can af-
ford.
“We reached out to the small
growers sending them letters,”
said Knight. “They told us
that it was hard for them to do
business because it’s hard to
find small-batch certified bean
seed for sale. So we met with
the Bean Commission and they
had members put together small
bags of seed for sale, so they
could comply.”
The ISDA says they’re con-
tinuing work on the bulk prob-
lem. “It’s a supply and demand
thing,” said Knight. “It was just
a matter of connecting the or-
ganic growers and others with
seed producers asking what
they need so they can comply.
The seed industry is on board
and wants to help. They should
be commended. They’re con-
cerned about blight, and this is a
way to keep it out of the state.”
This brush with the law sends
shivers down Robin Caudill’s
spine. “I planted my beans
about five days before the green
tags came and I got a call that I
was going to be in trouble,” she
said. “Sure enough I got a letter
from the ISDA, it sounded like
a folksy, heads up call; but later
a certified letter showed up.”
“ISDA said in the letter that I
could go to jail and face $13,000
in fines over green beans? I’m a
grandmother,” chuckled Cau-
dill. “Can you imagine me in
the Canyon County jail?
There are no records of er-
rant gardeners serving time
for planting uncertified seed in
Idaho but the State does have
enforcement authority on the
books.
“We can quarantine or plow un-
der a crop if it was planted with
untagged seed,” added Knight.
“We do have that ability, if need
be, but we’re realistic about
how we enforce rules. We’re not
going to go into neighborhood
gardens to check out their bean
seed and when they planted it.”
Through it all Caudill says it’s
been a learning experience. She
understands that the rules are
in place to protect commercial
bean growers so that disease is
not introduced into Idaho. She
is concerned that more educa-
tion needs to happen so that oth-
ers do not end up going through
stress and sleepless nights.
“It’s a cautionary tale for all
gardeners,” she said. “Make
sure you got certified, inspected
seeds and keep the documenta-
tion. Our seed growers need
to be protected. I’m totally on
board with that.” She now buys
certified seed and documents
everything.
“The small growers may think
that we are trying to put them
down,” said Knight. “We are
not just protecting our agricul-
ture industry. Back in the day
we had seed come in from other
states and we had bacterial
blight, now we don’t. A single
outbreak could put the industry
on its knees.”
IDAHO FARM BUREAU
FINANCIAL SERVICES
To celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2011, we’ve
reduced interest rates on new (and many other)
loan products. Ask us today about loans for:
Call us toll-free at 1-888-566-3276 or contact the
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a loan anytime online by visiting www.idfbfs.com.
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Celebrating 50 years
with low-interest rate loans.

Focus on Agriculture
150th
Anniversary of Lincoln’s Legacy to Agriculture
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By stewart Truelsen
Biographers and historians
have written more about Abra-
ham Lincoln than any other
American president but never
seem to pay much attention to
his influence on American ag-
riculture. If they are ever going
to recognize his contributions,
this would be an appropriate
time.
One-hundred fifty years ago in
1862, the 37th
Congress passed,
and the president signed, three
laws of great importance to ag-
riculture. They were an act to
establish a Department of Ag-
riculture, the Homestead Act
and the Morrill Land-Grant
Act. The department did not
immediately attain cabinet lev-
el status; that came more than
two decades later.
It was Lincoln who referred to
the Department of Agriculture
as “The People’s Department.”
He undoubtedly called it that
because half of the nation’s
people were farmers. Recently
the term has been misused by
some to try to subordinate the
needs of farmers and ranchers.
Before becoming president,
Lincoln told a farm audience in
Milwaukee, Wis., that farmers
were neither better nor worse
than other people, and added,
“But farmers being the most
numerous class, it follows that
their interest is the largest in-
terest.”
The Homestead Act to open up
the West had been a platform
plank of the fledgling Republi-
can Party. It allowed a citizen
to file for 160 acres of public
land. All he had to do was pay
a nominal fee, improve the land
and settle there for five years.
The Morrill Act gave the states
federal lands to establish land-
grant colleges which formed a
highereducationframeworkfor
the nation and became centers
of agricultural learning. After
the Civil War, the act was ex-
tended to the Southern states.
Lincoln was raised on the
frontier by parents who had
limited success farming. He
understood the importance of
farmers obtaining knowledge
to farm better. In fact, Lincoln
thought farming was an ideal
occupation for the “combina-
tion of labor with cultivated
thought.”
“Every blade of grass is a
study;” he said, “and to pro-
duce two where there was but
one, is both a profit and a plea-
sure.” Those feelings still ring
true with farmers today.
If Lincoln needed another rea-
son for the federal government
to promote and encourage the
success of American agricul-
ture, he could have found it
in the disastrous Irish Potato
Famine that began in the sum-
mer of 1845. A million Irish
died from the famine and mil-
lions more emigrated, many to
America and Lincoln’s home
state of Illinois.
The Irish famine may have
impressed upon the president
and other political leaders of
his day the importance of hav-
ing a stable, diverse food sup-
ply and the knowledge to pro-
duce enough food for a rapidly
growing nation.
In any event, the laws signed
150 years ago transformed
American agriculture, setting
it on a course to become the
envy of the rest of the world. It
is only because Lincoln’s leg-
acy is so large that we seldom
recognize this part of it.
Stewart Truelsen is a regular
contributor to the Focus on
Agriculture series and is the
author of a book marking the
American Farm Bureau Fed-
eration’s 90th anniversary,
Forward Farm Bureau.

The lifeblood of America.
FB02-ID (3-12)
They’re the humble heroes who rise before dawn and battle
the elements. They put clothes on our backs and food on
our tables. Their genuine values and tireless work ethic are
an inspiration to us all. We appreciate all that America’s
farmers do and invite you to join us in saying thanks at
www.fbfs.com/SayThanksToAFarmer.
ID-Tribute(3-12).indd 1 3/12/12 3:54 PM

Tracking Milk & Eggs - Page 36
Marketbasket Survey
Meats and Cheese Drive Slight Increase in Retail Food Prices
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Retail food prices
at the supermarket increased slightly dur-
ing the first quarter of 2012 with protein
staples—meats and cheese—showing the
greatest increase in price, according to the
latest American Farm Bureau Federation
Marketbasket Survey.
The informal survey shows the total cost
of 16 food items that can be used to prepare
one or more meals was $52.47, up $3.24
or about 7 percent compared to the fourth
quarter of 2011. Of the 16 items surveyed,
13 increased and three decreased in aver-
age price compared to the prior quarter.
The cost for the overall basket of foods in-
creased about 7 percent compared to one
year ago.
About two-thirds of the quarter-to-
quarter increase in the marketbasket of
foods was due to higher retail prices for
sliced deli ham, sirloin tip roast,
ground chuck, bacon and cheddar
cheese.
“Retail prices for meats and
cheese were higher in the first
quarter of the year due to gener-
ally strong demand and tight sup-
plies, a situation that carried over
from 2011,” said John Anderson,
an AFBF senior economist. “Ac-
cording to Agriculture Depart-
ment data, retail meat prices
probably peaked sometime in the
first quarter, and wholesale prices
have declined noticeably in recent
weeks. This suggests that retail
meat prices may decline as 2012
progresses.”
Reversing a decline in the prior
quarter, sliced deli ham increased
74 cents to $5.43 per pound; sir-
loin tip roast increased 60 cents
to $4.75 per pound; ground chuck
increased 36 cents to $3.53 per
pound; shredded cheddar in-
creased 33 cents to $4.65 per
pound and bacon increased 16 cents to
$4.21 per pound.
Other items that increased in price com-
pared to the fourth quarter of last year
were bagged salad, up 37 cents to $2.85
per pound; flour, up 27 cents to $2.65 for a
5-pound bag; Russet potatoes, up 26 cents
to $3.01 for a 5-pound bag; orange juice, up
19 cents to $3.36 for a half-gallon; apples,
up 19 cents to $1.59 per pound; toasted oat
cereal, up 6 cents to $3.13 for a 9-ounce
box; large eggs, up 5 cents to $1.77 per doz-
en; and vegetable oil, up 1 cent to $2.97 for
a 32-ounce bottle.
Whole milk decreased 23 cents to $3.53
per gallon; white bread decreased 7 cents
to $1.85 for a 20-ounce loaf and boneless
chicken breasts decreased 5 cents to $3.19
per pound.
Several items showing an increase in retail
price from quarter-to-quarter also showed
year-to-year increases. Compared to one
year ago sirloin tip roast increased 20 per-
cent, ground chuck increased 14 percent
and sliced deli ham increased 11 percent.
The year-to-year direction of the Market-
basket Survey tracks with the federal gov-
ernment’s Consumer Price Index (http://
www.bls.gov/cpi/) report for food at
home. As retail grocery prices have in-
creased gradually over time, the share of
the average food dollar that America’s farm
and ranch families receive has dropped.
“Through the mid-1970s, farmers received
about one-third of consumer retail food ex-
penditures for food eaten at home and away
from home, on average. Since then, that
figure has decreased steadily and is now
about 16 percent, according to the Agricul-
ture Department’s revised Food Dollar Se-
ries,” Anderson said. USDA’s new
Food Dollar Series may be found
online at http://www.ers.usda.
gov/Data/FoodDollar/app/.
Using the “food at home and away
from home” percentage across-
the-board, the farmer’s share of
this quarter’s $52.47 marketbasket
would be $8.40.
AFBF, the nation’s largest gen-
eral farm organization, has been
conducting the informal quarterly
Marketbasket Survey of retail food
price trends since 1989. The mix
of foods in the marketbasket was
updated during the first quarter of
2008.
According to USDA, Americans
spend just under 10 percent of their
disposable annual income on food,
the lowest average of any country
in the world. A total of 64 shop-
pers in 24 states participated in the
latest survey, conducted in March.

Controlled BurnsTurn Disastrous
Photos by Jim Parker
Six controlled burns turned into property-damaging fires in Bear Lake
County in early April. They were all started by people burning ditch
banks or fence lines. One hay shed with 80 tons of hay and various equip-
ment was lost in one fire as well as another shed with two tractors and a
haystack in another fire. Landowners are cautioned to be aware of chang-
ing wind and weather conditions.

Idaho Farm Bureau
Women’s
Leadership
Committee Art
ContestWinners
This project promotes the arts and furthers the
understanding of agriculture in our lives by using
this contest in grades 6-8. Mediums to include
water color, color pencil, ink, pastels, oil and
pencil. Cash prizes are awarded.
District 2 First Place:
Ace Christensen, Kershaw Intermediate School,
Sugar City
District 3 First Place:
Hannah Bybee, Buhl Middle School, Buhl
District 5 First Place
Hailey Russell, Grangeville Elementary/Middle
School, Grangeville

State 3rd
Place & District 2 3rd
Place:
Katie Josephson, Sugar Salem Jr High, Sugar City
State 2nd
Place & 1st
Place District 4
Jace Robers, Weiser Middle School, Weiser
State & District 1 First Place:
Bailey Chatterton, Harold B Lee Middle School, Dayton (Franklin County)

Slowness is
Deceptively Fast
By Timothy Prather
Timothy has escaped! No, the excitement
and concern did not refer to me but to anoth-
er Timothy. While some might confuse us,
the statement was about Timothy the Tor-
toise, a tortoise that lived in the garden of a
nineteenthcenturynaturalist,GilbertWhite.
Verlyn Kinkenborg wrote a wonderful book
about the tortoise called Timothy; Or, Notes
of an Abject Reptile in one chapter he writes
about a time when Timothy escaped from
the garden. A couple of boys found Timothy
in a field a few hundred yards away, 8 days
after the great escape. It is obvious Timothy
was moving in high gear to have gotten that
far. So Timothy hears people talking about
the escape and how did he do it? Timothy
has an interesting perspective. Here are
Timothy’s thoughts on the matter.
“Was it an escape? I was eighty-one years
old at the time. Age and torpidity are against
me. So humans think, who grow torpid with
age.
A better question. How do I escape from
that nimbletongued, fleet-footed race? It
helps if they leave the wicket gate open.
The true secret? Walk through the holes in
their attention. Easier at my speed than at
any faster rate. At evening the larkers stalk
the wheat fields, nets spread. Bits of mirror
flash behind them. Larks fly into the glit-
tering-and the nets. Larkers cage them. Off
they go to wealthy tables, waiting mouths in
Tunbridge and Brighthelmstone.
So it is with humans. Quickness draws their
eye. Entangles their attention. What they
notice they call reality. But reality is a fence
with many holes, a net with many tears. I
walk through them slowly. My slowness is
deceptively fast.”
So why share this story? It just as well
could have been written about many of the
many weeds we have here in Idaho. First
we leave the wicket gate open. Whether the
weeds are creeping along roads, catching a
ride on equipment or on animals, we leave
the wicket gate open. Noticing something
new along a road on your property or near
to your property hopefully will catch your
attention. After it catches your attention,
please find out what it is.
So what is the best way to find out what a
plant is that you don’t recognize? You can
use your local county extension office for
help and you can also ask your county weed
superintendent. County extension offices
and weed superintendents can send plants
or photographs they don’t recognize to the
Erickson Weed Identification Lab. The
University of Idaho lab offers weed identi-
fication at no charge so take advantage of it
when you need it.
Timothy the Tortoise ex-
plained that people were at-
tracted to the quick. I suppose
fast acting threats capture our
attention. It might be an insect
outbreak like gypsy moth or a
pathogen like white pine blis-
ter rust. However the weed on
the road side or at the edge of
the property moves slowly.
One response I have heard
is, “I noticed that plant but it
doesn’t seem to be doing much
and I have other things to wor-
ry about.” We often only pay
attention once weeds have become more
common and take more effort to eradicate
(Figure 1). Eradication is cost effective for
species that are not widespread because
eradication is the removal of that species
and after eradication it is no longer there. So
eradicate a weed in the short term or control
a weed in the long term.
Weeds may creep slowly along, moving
through holes in our consciousness. One
example is yellow starthistle which was
mapped in Lawyer’s Canyon and occupied
25 acres. We may have many small patches
(Figure 2) initially but those patches grow
and form new patches. In just six years the
area infested increased to 150 acres and was
over 270 acres in twelve years. “My slow-
ness is deceptively fast.”
As the weeds continue to expand, the cost
to control them and the effort require con-
tinue to increase. A study of Idahoans sug-
gests they value wildlife and the habitat
the wildlife live in. If we lose that habitat
there is a loss of that value. The graph in
Figure 3 shows the loss in value from yel-
low starthistle invasion within our example
of Lawyer’s Canyon. The line marked A in
Figure 3 shows the loss as yellow starthis-
tle expands. If we work to control yellow
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
0.25 2.5 25 250
Effort
(hours/
project)
AcresInfested
Figure 1 Eradication projects take time to complete. The larger
the area infested, the longer it takes to remove completely.

starthistle (line marked B in
Figure 3) we see the cost is high-
er than the loss in value initially
but after the sixth year we ac-
tually see the costs drop below
Line A showing we now have a
benefit to wildlife habitat. The
benefit is independent of any
improvement in forage value
and protection of forage value to
livestock by that control so the
overall benefit is likely greater.
The point of the example though
is to show what happens if you
delay just two years. Delaying
two years is represented by Line
C in Figure 3. We see that our
cost of control stays higher than
Line A across the entire graph.
The graph demonstrates that the
cost of controlling additional
acres means we don’t see our
cost of control fall below the
value of the habitat protected for
wildlife. We would need a graph
that extended many more years
to show a benefit. So waiting to
control has the affect of increas-
ing our cost of control. Waiting
just costs you more money.
What if we don’t leave the
wicket gate open? Well some
plant communities just are not
going to be invaded by some
weeds and if it can’t be invaded
it is like having the wicket gate
closed. If we know what the
limits are then we can use that
information to plan for our own
property. If I have a small por-
tion of my land that is suscep-
tible to invasion by a weed then
why look at the rest of my land
for that weed. Just look where it
might be able to establish. We
are using the concept to look for
rush skeletonweed (Figure 4)
in the area north of the Salmon
River, east of Riggins. The ar-
eas in red in Figure 5 are the ar-
eas that could be invaded most
easily by rush skeletonweed. A
closeup in the upper corner of
Figure 5 shows actual infesta-
tions in black and those areas in
black lie within the most likely
invaded category. We can see
where crews need to look for
new infestations by looking at
this map. We can summarize
the information in the map and
show that most of the area on the
map is not going to be invaded,
86%, in fact (Figure 6). We only
have about 2% of the total area
that is actually susceptible to in-
vasion. If you know what your
potential risk is, it helps to put
the problem into perspective.
Knowing that only 2% of the
area is highly susceptible keeps
the manager from panicking and
still allows for focus to survey
areas to make sure that most of
that 2% remains weed free.
For this issue of Private Forest
I would like to leave you with a
couple of points to think about.
First, Timothy the Tortoise un-
derstands human nature. We are
attracted to the quick. We ignore
the slowly encroaching weeds.
Second, we leave wicket gates
open. Let’s not give weeds the
opportunity to get established.
Further, our work shows that
delaying control means higher
costs later and it also means
more work if it is a weed that
could actually be eradicated.
And finally we are gettign better
at knowing which areas are sus-
ceptible to invasion by weeds
and that will help us plan. The
snow is off, let’s enjoy getting
out to work but please don’t get
so busy you forget to look for
weeds. Don’t let those weeds
“slip through holes in their con-
sciousness.”
Timothy S. Prather is an Asso-
ciate Professor, Weed Ecology,
Dept. of Plant, Soils, and Ento-
mological Sciences, College of
Agricultural and Life Sciences,
at the University of Idaho. He
can be reached at tprather@
uidaho.edu
19
147,865
9,915 8,051
2,248 1,292 1,927
171,297
0
30,000
60,000
90,000
120,000
150,000
180,000
Figure 3. Line A is the damage to wildlife habitat by yellow starthistle
invasion measured in dollars. Line B is the cost of starting to treat yellow
starthistle in the first year. Line C is the cost of treating yellow starthistle
if you delay starting treatment for 2 years.
Figure 6. Within the area displayed in Figure 5, most land is not
susceptible to rush skeletonweed, 147,865 acres out of 171,297 or 86%.
Areas that are highly susceptible to invasion constitute just 2% of the
total area.
Figure 5. Some of the area adjacent to the Salmon River, east of Riggins,
is susceptible to invasion by rush skeletonweed. Knowing where
susceptible land is allows plant survey crews who are looking for any new
sites that contain rush skeletonweed to focus only on suceptible areas.
The steep terrain makes the work difficult so information like this makes
the process efficient.

INSURANCE MATTERS
MIKE MYERS — Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. of Idaho
On May 1, 1947, a group of
Idaho farmers and ranchers
founded an insurance com-
pany that survived decades of
change through the creation
of a customer-centered cul-
ture grounded in the belief that
neighbors should help neigh-
bors.
That company, the Idaho Farm
Insurance Company, (the com-
pany changed its name to Farm
Bureau Mutual Insurance
Company of Idaho in the 1950s
when it became a mutual com-
pany owned by its policyhold-
ers) offered one policy - auto
insurance, from its downtown
Pocatello office. Premiums for
the first 60 days of business to-
taled $10,247.00.
Subsequent generations of em-
ployees and agents, guided by
the founders’ beliefs, built the
company into what it is today:
one of Idaho’s leading auto
insurers, the largest writer of
farm and ranch insurance in
Idaho, and the largest insur-
ance company wholly based in
Idaho.
Recognizing customer needs
has always been at the core of
Farm Bureau Insurance’s suc-
cess. In 1953, at the request of
customers, life insurance was
offered through an affiliate
company. Fire insurance was
offered in 1956, also in re-
sponse to customer requests. In
1961, the company formed the
Farm Bureau Finance Com-
pany (now Idaho Farm Bureau
Financial Services) to make
low-interest loans available to
customers. In 1962, the compa-
ny was the first to inaugurate a
complete “package” policy that
combined multiple insurance
products into one convenient
policy, typically at a discount-
ed price.
This customer-centered focus
still shapes Farm Bureau In-
surance today and inspires its
employees and agents to get
to know their customers. For
example, Farm Bureau Insur-
ance agents try to review their
customers’ policies with them
once a year. These reviews
may take a little more time, but
they can help make sure cus-
tomers don’t have too little or
too much insurance.
On reaching this special mile-
stone of 65 years, Phil Joslin,
Executive Vice President and
CEO of Farm Bureau Mutual
Insurance Company of Idaho,
pledged the company’s re-
newed commitment to the ide-
als on which it was founded.
“Our longevity rests on our
founders’ success in shaping
a customer-driven company.
Their beliefs and values from
the past can guide us into a
promising future.” While Jos-
lin says growth is important
for Farm Bureau Insurance, he
also believes it’s important to
achieve this growth ethically.
“The people of Farm Bureau
Mutual Insurance Company of
Idaho have been earning our
customers’ trust and keeping
promises for 65 years. But we
know we can’t rely on what has
been earned in the past. We
are passionately committed to
maintaining our reputation as
a customer-centered company
that helps its neighbors.”
Helping its neighbors, Joslin
added, also means that Farm
Bureau Insurance will carry on
its long history of volunteerism
and public service. “We can
only do these things with the
best people. I want to thank our
employees – who live and work
in communities of every size
across the state – for the active
roles they play in their home-
towns and for the contributions
they make to our success.”
Celebrating 65Years
Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Idaho is celebrating its 65th Anniversary and 10 years at our Tierra Vista Drive location in Pocatello.

Mountains & Ranges Crossword
Across
4. Highest point is Castle Peak. Proposed as a wilderness area
8. Most of the area is private property, including the range's tallest mountain, Taylor Mountain, also
includes Wolverine Canyon.
11. 120 miles long and boundaries are usually defined by a river of the same name. White Mountain is the
highest peak with 5 peaks over 10,000 feet
15. Highest peaks are Thompson Peak and Mount Cramer. Redfish Lake is located in this range
16. Highest point is Naomi Peak, located in northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho
19. Highest peaks are Cherry Peak and Patricks Knob. It’s named after an Indian tribe
20. Named after an Earl, Thomas Douglas. Home to the only extisting woodland caribou population in the
contiguous United States
21. Highest peak in the range is Mount Jefferson. About 100,000 acres of them are roadless
23
CROSSWORD PUZZLE: Mountains & Ranges
ANSWERS ON PAGE 29
Across
4. Highest point is Castle Peak. Proposed as a wilderness area
8. Most of the area is private property, including the range’s tallest
mountain, Taylor Mountain, also includes Wolverine Canyon.
11. 120 miles long and boundaries are usually defined by a river of
the same name. White Mountain is the highest peak with 5 peaks
over 10,000 feet
15. Highest peaks are Thompson Peak and Mount Cramer. Redfish
Lake is located in this range
16. Highest point is Naomi Peak, located in northeastern Utah and
southeastern Idaho
19. Highest peaks are Cherry Peak and Patricks Knob. It’s named
after an Indian tribe
20. Named after an Earl, Thomas Douglas. Home to the only
extisting woodland caribou population in the contiguous United
States
21. Highest peak in the range is Mount Jefferson. About 100,000
acres of them are roadless
22. Located on the west side of the Wood River Valley , highest
point in the range is Saviers Peak
Down
1. Named after the a small pink flower, runs from Pend Oreille Lake to Monida Pass
2. Located in central Idaho near Arco and includes Borah Peak and Upper Pahimeroi
Valley
3. Highest point in the range is Ryan Peak and stretch from a few miles north of Ketchum
to north to near Challis
5. The highest peaks are Snowshoe Peak, A Peak, Bockman Peak, and Elephant Peak
6. Located in northeastern Latah County and southeastern Benewah County. The high point
is Bald Mountain
7. Bordered by the Palisades Reservoir and the Teton Range. Highest point is Mount Baird
9. Located in the panhandle of Idaho and lies between the Salmon River and the Bitterroot
Range. Highest point is Stripe Mountain
10. Major summits include Garfield Mountain and Eighteenmile Peak
12. Spans Blaine, Butte and Custer counties. Two highest peaks are Hyndman Peak and
Goat Mountain
13. Extends along the Idaho/Oregon border for roughly 40 miles between the Idaho towns
of Whitebird and Council. The state’s most precipitous range
14. Highest point is Hayden Peak, Geology: Lava rocks and thundereggs
17. The mountain range that stretches from British Columbia to New Mexico
18. Highest point is Smoky Dome. Includes Iron Mountain with an old Forest Service fire
lookout on its summit

By Jake Putnam
A wildfire near Glens Ferry last August
sent chills down Steve Grupe’s spine.
Grupe is Idaho Fish and Game volunteer
and helplessly watched the bitterbrush and
sage burn.
The fire raged in unit 45 just north of Glens
Ferry and is renowned for its lush bitter-
brush. In just a few days more than 35,000
acres of prime habitat went up in smoke.
When the first snows came in November
the deer and elk migrated out of the moun-
tains but could find little to eat in their
traditional wintering areas. “As you can
imagine it was quite a shock for the deer
to come down when winter set in and find
nothing to eat,” said Grupe.
Rehab began after the fire, but the first
stage is designed to stop soil erosion, re-
placing bitterbrush and sage takes years
and is much more tricky. Crews have to
literally drill holes in the scorched earth
for the seedlings, then just over half will
survive.
There’s only a few places in the United
States that grow native plants for revegeta-
tion projects. One such place is the Boise
National Forest’s Lucky Peak Nursery off
Highway 21 North of Boise.
“We grow seedlings for reforestation on
public lands, and whatever the demand
is,” said Clark Fleege of the Boise Na-
tional Forest. “That demand can vary
from 2-6 million seedlings a year. For
the 2012 season we’re producing 2-mil-
lion plants about a million and half coni-
fers and a half million dryland shrubs.”
On cold days there’s no place like the Lucky
Peak Nursery. The greenhouse could house
a football field. It’s a lush sea of green and
many forests and rangeland across the
United States get a second start here.
“The conifers we produce are mostly used
for revegitating fires,” said Fleege. “Like
the fire we had a couple of years ago
near Cascade. We’re still shipping
seedlings down to New Mexico
and Arizona following the Wallow
fire from a couple of years ago. ”
The nursery operations are diverse,
driven by demand, and vary from
year to years. Last year range fires
in the Southwest were big, two
years ago it was range fires in Tex-
as, there’s no way to predict what
the next year will bring.
“So the big species this year is
the Ponderosa Pine; to the tune
of a half million seedlings. We
also have Douglas fir, Englemann
spruce, and few other varieties of
pine,” said Fleege. The nurseries
are going 24/7 and we’re still grow-
ing brush for the range fires mainly
dryland shrubs like sage and bitter-
brush,” said Fleege.
Having a world class nursery in
Idaho benefits the state. Each year
the Boise National Forest has a
surplus seedling sale designed for
landowners that are rehabbing scorched
earth on their property. The projects en-
hance wildlife habitat on private land and
dress up the ravaged landscape.
“A minimum order is usually 50 plants,”
explains Fleege, “and it’s a deal at $25. So
that’s what 50-cents a piece? This year we
have Ponderosa Pine, sage and bitterbrush
and we always make the sale available
from the first of March till we run out of
seedlings.”
OnthisdayGrupewaspickinguptruckload
of seedlings, a mix of sage and bitterbrush.
“I’m picking up several thousand plants to
start this spring’s planting program. Vol-
unteers will spend the next few weekends
planting. It’s a real worthy endeavor.”
Losing 35-thousand acres of habitat last
year still worries Fish and Game biologists.
“We really lucked out this past winter be-
cause we had a mild winter. But my con-
cerns are for next year because if they find
nothing to eat they’ll cross Interstate 84 in
search of food. We need to get the area re-
habbed so the game has something to eat
especially during the harsh winters ahead,”
said Grupe.
Each year, the Lucky Peak Nursery produc-
es over two million trees and shrubs. When
the Nursery produces more seedlings than
its customers need, the surplus trees and
brush are available to local landowners for
home conservation projects. Each tree and
brush comes complete with planting in-
structions and and phone number for tech-
nical assistance if needed.
The Lucky Peak Nursery is located 16
miles northeast of Boise on Highway 21.
For more information call (208) 343-1977.
Lucky Peak Nursery helps Fire
Rehabilitation across theWest
Clark Fleege of the Boise National Forest shows off
thousands of sprouting trees and brush destined for
helping fire ravaged rangelands.
Photo by Steve Ritter

Walter Johnson,‘The BigTrain’ got his start in Idaho
Walter Johnson got his start in Idaho and went on to an illustrious
career with the Washington Senators
By Jake Putnam
One of the most dominating major league
pitchers to play the game got his start in
Weiser 106 years ago this spring.
Nineteen year old Walter “Big Train” John-
son got off the train in Caldwell back in the
spring of 1906. After a stellar high school
career the 18 year old was offered the pitch-
ing job by the Weiser Kids, a marquee team
in Idaho’s Interstate League.
“I’ve seen towns get steamed up over base-
ball,” Johnson reminisced in 1924, ‘but the
place that went craziest was Weiser, Idaho,
where I first earned money for pitching.”
Pitching for the Weiser Kids back in 1906-
07, Johnson threw an astonishing 77 con-
secutive scoreless innings and racked up
a 14-2 record. Scouts started showing up
from major league teams because Johnson
was striking out at least two hitters per in-
ning.
At a time when prime agricultural farm
land was selling for $40 per acre in Wash-
ington County, Johnson was pulling down
the handsome sum of $150 a month. Not
one to rest on his laurels, the big strong kid
from Kansas dug post holes for the phone
company during the day for additional
cash.
Baseball was serious business in Idaho at
the time. Town rivalries were fueled by
beer and fights in the stands were common.
In his first game pitching against Caldwell
a riot broke out in the 4th inning. He was
saved from hooligans by the Canyon Coun-
ty sheriff who told him:“We ain’t going to
let you get into a jam and hurt your arm on
some worthless coyote.”
Johnson’s best year came in 1907 when he
pitched seven straight shutouts topped by
a perfect game against the Emmett Prune
Pickers. Then there was the no-hitter off
the Mountain Home Dudes in mid July.
The Weiser Kids were unbeatable when-
ever ‘Big Train’ Johnson took the mound.
By the end of summer arch-rivals Weiser
and Caldwell tied for the pennant. John-
son was sitting pretty, he
leased a house at 49 West
Park Street in Weiser, (it’s
still there) and planned on
staying a while. That is
until Washington Senators
scout Cliff Blankenship
showed up to see the “phe-
nom” pitch.
“What I found when I got
to Weiser was a boy,” re-
called Blankenship. “A
big, husky boy and a green
one too! He knew nothing
of the fine points of base-
ball but he could put more
smoke on that old baseball
than I ever dreamed pos-
sible.”
Blankenship signed John-
son for $350 a month,
a $100 bonus, and train
fare back to Washington.
By August the lanky kid
was in the Senators pitch-
ing rotation. Fellow Hall
of Famer Ty Cobb of the
Detroit Tigers squared off
against the hayseed from
Idaho:
“On August 2, 1907, I encountered the
most threatening sight I ever saw in the
ball field. He was a rookie, and we licked
our lips as we warmed up for the first game
of a doubleheader in Washington. Evident-
ly, manager Joe Cantilon of the Nats had
picked a rube out of the cornfields of the
deepest bushes to pitch against us. He was
a tall, shambling galoot of about twenty,
with arms so long they hung far out of his
sleeves, and with a sidearm delivery that
looked unimpressive at first glance. One
of the Tigers imitated a cow mooing, and
we hollered at Cantillon: ‘Get the pitchfork
ready, Joe, your hayseed’s on his way back
to the barn.’ The first time I faced him, I
watched him take that easy windup. Then
something went past me that made me
flinch. The thing just hissed with danger.
We couldn’t touch him, every one of us
knew we’d met the most powerful arm ever
turned loose in a ball park.”
During his 20 year career with
Senators,Johnson amassed 3,508 strike-
outs, a record that stood until 1983. No
pitcher since has topped his shutout record
of 110 games. He once pitched 55 straight
scoreless innings and is still second in the
major leagues with 416 wins. Johnson was
one of the first five players elected to the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.
Johnson passed away in 1946 at the age of
59. The baseball field at Memorial Park, in
Weiser is called Walter Johnson Field.
Sources for this article include “Cobb”, a
biography by Al Stump, Wikipedia and the
Idaho Daily Statesman

XTREME SIDE x SIDE
PERFORMANCE.
Vehicles shown with optional accessories. Avoid operating Polaris RANGERs on paved surfaces or public
roads. Riders and passengers should always wear helmets, eye protection, protective clothing, and seat belts.
Always use cab nets. Drivers of RANGER vehicles must be at least 16 years old with a valid driver’s license.
Warning: ATV’s can be hazardous to operate. For your safety: Avoid operating Polaris ATV’s on paved
surfaces or public roads. Riders and passengers should wear helmets, eye protection, protective clothing,
and seat belts. Polaris ATV models are for riders aged 16 and older. Be sure to take a safety training course.
For safety training information in the U.S., call the SVIA at (800) 887-2887, see your dealer, or call Polaris at
(800) 342-3764. In Canada, see your local dealer. ©2011 Polaris Industries Inc.
Polaris would like to congratulate Jake Andersen the
winner of this year’s Young Farmer and Rancher
Discussion Meet as well as Greg and Gwen Andersen for
being presented with the Idaho Farm Bureau’s 2011 Young
Farmer and Rancher Achiever Award. We hope you enjoy
your new Polaris Trail Boss 330 and RGR 400 and thank
you for your continued contributions to the Idaho Farming
and Ranching Community.
A big thank you to those Idaho Polaris dealers who
continue to support the Idaho Farm Bureau and Young
Farmer and Rancher Program:
Farm Bureau
members pay
20% less off
of“Best
Available Rate”.
CallToll-Free:877-670-7088
For Super 8 call 800-889-9706
Farm Bureau Discount
ID# 61810

age. On top of that they are the only fam-
ily in the history of the Midland Bull Test
(48 years) to own the top Red Angus bull
and top Black Angus bull for average daily
gain in the same year.
Their new herd sire, Trooper 21Y, was pur-
chased in Canada last fall. So far he has
been recognized as Red Roundup 2011 Bull
Calf Champion, Farm Fair 2011 Intermedi-
ate Bull Calf Champion, and Agribition
2011 Intermediate Bull Calf Champion.
That’s a fairly impressive resume consid-
ering they have only been in the purebred
cattle business nine years and their base
herd is only 30 mother cows. Russell ex-
plained that with the limited acreage base
of their farm they knew they would never
be in the cattle business at a scale where
they would be able to ship a semi-load of
calves to market each fall. So when an op-
portunity to purchase a small herd of red
Angus cows came long, they added it to
their farming operation.
“We don’t have the land base to support a
large herd,” Russell said. “Our goal in this
operation, we raise potatoes, wheat, silage
corn, sugar snap peas and cattle, is to make
it a full circle operation.”
Helping keep the circle whole, they have
four full-time employees, Payton has her
own show cattle business (Rib Eye Ranch)
and competes on the junior show circuit
and Shawna does the accounting and mar-
keting.
The Fehringers diverse operation keeps
them busy all year long. In the spring as
calving begins they also cut potato seed for
several Power County growers. After that
they begin planning cattle breeding sched-
ules utilizing artificial insemination and
embryo transfer to surrogate cattle. From
their 30 cows, and some surrogates bor-
rowed from their veterinarian, they pro-
duce 60 to 70 calves per year.
For Shawna, a lot of the time is spent mar-
keting cattle. She put together a website
lakeviewcattlecompany.com that is defi-
nitely worth a look for anyone interested in
knowing more about their operation. They
are also on Facebook.
“We are trying to educate our youth and
give them responsibility,” said Russell.
“She (Payton) can sell her cattle if and
when she wants and we hope she will set
aside some money for college but we want
her to be in charge of making those deci-
sions.”
“Our goal is to raise kids in a successful ag-
riculture operation and I believe if they can
thrive in this lifestyle they can go out and
do anything they want,” Shawna added.
CeleBrITy BoVINes
“Our goal is to raise kids in a
successful agriculture opera-
tion and I believe if they can
thrive in this lifestyle they
can go out and do anything
they want,”

Farm Facts

CROSSWORD ANSWERS - From p. 23
Top Farm Bureau agenTs
AgentoftheMonth:
Wayne Hungate
Newell Agency
AgencyoftheMonth:
Mike Newell
Newell Agency
Across: 4. White Cloud, 8. Blackfoot, 11. Salmon River, 15. Sawtooth, 16. Bear River, 19. Coeur
d'Alene, 20. Selkirk, 21. Centennial, 22. Smoky.
Down: 1. Bitterroot, 2. Lost River, 3. Boulder, 5. Cabinet, 6. Hoodoo, 7. Snake River, 9. Clearwater, 10.
Beaverhead, 12. Pioneer, 13. Seven Devils, 14. Owyhee, 17. Rockies, 18. Soldier.

Across: 4. White Cloud, 8. Blackfoot, 11. Salmon River,
15. Sawtooth, 16. Bear River, 19. Coeur d’Alene, 20. Selkirk,
21. Centennial, 22. Smoky.
Down: 1. Bitterroot, 2. Lost River, 3. Boulder, 5. Cabinet,
6. Hoodoo, 7. Snake River, 9. Clearwater, 10. Beaverhead,
12. Pioneer, 13. Seven Devils, 14. Owyhee, 17. Rockies,
18. Soldier.

ATaste of Idaho: Steak Dinner
By Julie Christoffersen
Backyard grills see more use as the weath-
er begins to warm. With so many wonder-
ful grilling recipes to choose from grill-
ing decisions may take some time. In the
end my favorite, a well-seasoned grilled
steak was my choice. It’s hard to beat a
good steak when grilled to the desired
doneness, not to mention the smell. So I’m
featuring a marinated sirloin steak paired
with garlicky potatoes, green beans and
cauliflower.
There are many different ways to cook a
good steak, but I prefer the grill. When
marinated and seasoned correctly, it is
hard to mess up a grilled steak if you fol-
low a few grilling tips.
In the meat section at the supermarket
there are a variety of cuts to choose from
varying in price. You don’t have to buy
the top cuts to have a good steak. The sir-
loin is a reasonably priced steak to grill.
Remember to look for fresh steaks with
a fair amount of marbling. The marbling
with produce the most flavor and give you
a tender steak.
Keep in mind the thickness of your steak,
a steak less than an inch is more likely to
be tougher than a thicker steak and is easi-
er to overcook. So when possible choose a
steak no less than one inch thick.
I will use a tenderizer on my steaks before
putting them on the grill. This really helps
some of the tougher cuts of beef. The ten-
derizer breaks down the tough fibers thus
making a tender steak. There are too many
tenderizers on the market to say one is bet-
ter than another. A marinade will also help
tenderize your steak if you don’t have a
tenderizer.
The main reason I use a marinade is to aid
in the flavor of my steak. And again, there
are numerous marinades on the market. A
homemade marinade is easy to do if you
follow a few guidelines for making one. A
marinade should have an acidic ingredient
as well as herbs and spices.
Once you have your marinade, make sure
you have enough to completely cover the
meat to work best. I place the steak and
marinade in a plastic bag in the refrig-
erator and flip the bag two or three times
during the process. If you have a tougher
cut of beef you will want to marinade the
steak all day or overnight. Otherwise two
or so hours are sufficient for a tender cut
of beef. The marinade should not be used
more than once; rinse it down the sink
when you take the steak out of it.
The cooking time will vary with the thick-
ness of your steak and the type of grill
used. When using a gas grill the cooking
time for a one inch steak should be 13-16
minutes. For the charcoal grill the time
should be 11-15 minutes.
And remember Idaho producers know
their stuff; you can’t go wrong with a
grilled steak, garlic, potatoes, green beans
and cauliflower for a great dinner.
marinated sirloin steak
¾ cup apple juice
¾ cup soy sauce
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 beef top sirloin steak (1 – 1 1/2 pounds
feeds 4)
Directions
In a large plastic bag, combine the apple
juice, soy sauce, oil and seasonings. Add
the beef, coat well and refrigerate for 1 or
more hours.
Grill the steak over medium heat for 8 –
10 minutes per side or until desired done-
ness. Grill with the lid closed. Slice thinly
against the grain.

1 pound fingerling potatoes, cleaned not peeled
pinch salt
3 cups cauliflower florets
1 pound green beans
3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
In a large pot, cover the potatoes with 2 inches of salted water and bring to a
boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes
are almost tender, about 8 minutes. Add the cauliflower and green beans to
the pot and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile in a small skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook over
low heat until golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the paprika and a large
pinch of salt, and remove from the heat.
Drain the vegetables well and transfer to a serving bowl. Season with salt,
drizzle with garlic oil and sprinkle with the vinegar, toss well and serve.
Serves 6-8
Garlicky Potatoes, Green Beans and Cauliflower

By steve stuebner
There’s a man in Picabo, Idaho, who’s
been a true leader in the ranching and
business industry, who also hunted ducks
with Ernest Hemingway, and is still fly-
ing his own airplane at age 94. His name
is Bud Purdy. In ranching circles, he’s
considered an Idaho legend.
“Bud Purdy is one of my heroes,” says
Bert Brackett, a Rogerson cattle rancher
who has worked with Bud for years on
many projects. “He’s been an integral
part of the range and beef industry forev-
er. He exemplifies what a lot of us would
aspire to be.”
Adds Lt. Gov. Brad Little, a lifelong
rancher from Emmett, “He always wants
to learn. I bet Bud Purdy has been on
thousands of range tours. He sits in the
front of the bus; he’s often one of the first
ones off the bus; he wants to kick the
clods, look at the creeks, look at the grass.
He’s continually interested in range sci-
ence and resources.”
Bud Purdy was born in Beatrice, Nebras-
ka. After a divorce, his mother moved
Bud and her three other children to Red-
lands, Calif., to live with her family.
Soon after, her father, W.H. Kilpatrick,
sent Bud and his brother, Bill, to work on
the family sheep ranch in Picabo in the
summer of 1928. The boys were 10 and
11 years old at the time. A family friend,
Elmer Cox, drove them to Picabo in a
Chevy two-door coupe. It took them four
days to get there.
“There weren’t very many paved roads
then, I’ll tell you that,” Purdy quips. “We
went through Las Vegas and Salt Lake
City, and a lot of the area in between
wasn’t paved.”
Bud and Bill got paid 10 cents a load to
spread manure in the hay fields. They
each had a team of horses to work with.
“We only worked half a day at a time, and
then we’d go swimming or something,
you know how kids are,” Purdy said with
a smile.
When he got a little older, Bud ran a der-
rick cart to pick up hay and stack it in big
hay piles with the assistance of the ranch
crew. The boys also helped tend to the
sheep in the mountains. The K-K Ranch,
as it was known then, was primarily a
sheep operation.
“We had some range up in the East Fork
of the Wood River, and we’d spend may-
be a week up there, and one day, I think
I was 11, we decided to climb Hyndman
Peak,” Purdy says. Hyndman is one of
Idaho’s tallest peaks at 12,009 feet. Obvi-
ously, Purdy got his mountain legs pretty
quick. “It was a pretty good way for a
little kid to have fun.”
Bud got a business degree from Wash-
ington State University in 1938. He didn’t
expect to return to the ranch in Picabo.
“There weren’t any jobs,” he recalls.
“We were still in the Depression then.
But Grandpa says, you go to Picabo and
I’ll pay you $60 a month plus room and
board. Well that sounded like a pretty
good deal, so I came to Picabo, and I’ve
pretty much been here ever since.”
Bud was fortunate to have ties to the Kil-
patrick family. The Kilpatrick Brothers
Company had done well in the logging,
mining and railroad business across the
United States, helping build the nation.
The K-K Ranch had been established in
Picabo by the Kilpatrick Brothers in 1889
at the same time the company was work-
ing on building the Oregon Short Line
railroad from Shoshone to Ketchum.
When Bud returned to Picabo after col-
lege at age 21, the K-K Ranch was focused
primarily on raising sheep. They had four
bands, or 8,000 sheep, and several hun-
dred beef cattle. In the mid-1950s, Bud
and his siblings bought the K-K Ranch.
His sister and brother took the sheep op-
eration, and Bud and his brother, Bill, de-
cided to grow the cattle side of the busi-
ness.
“There was a big transition going on at
the time (from sheep to cattle),” Purdy
says. “I decided the cattle were the best
deal, and it turned out that way.”
Purdy notes that there were 2.5 million
sheep in Idaho at the time, and today
there are only 250,000. “Can you believe
that?”
Bud also acquired the Lava Lake Ranch,
the Picabo store, and the Kilpatrick feed
and grain elevator business. He named
his ranching business Picabo Livestock.
Bud was in love with the ranching life-
style by then.
“Once you get started in it, and get in it,
you’re hooked,” he says. “Every morn-
ing, you get up and do something differ-
ent. You turn out on the range and ride
a horse every day. Even now, I go out
and make sure the water is OK, check
the fences and make sure the gates are
closed. It’s just a constant going out there
and doing it.
“I was never a cowboy, but I’ve ridden a
million miles.”
Certainly part of the mystique had to be
living on the banks of Silver Creek, a
spring-fed blue-ribbon trout stream that
winds through the Purdy Ranch. Bud
can go fishing or hunt ducks right out the
back door. The local fishing and hunt-
ing was one reason Ernest Hemingway
moved to Ketchum in 1959. He’d already
been duck hunting with Bud on Silver
Creek for years.
“We were pretty good friends,” Purdy
says. “He really liked bird hunting. I just
looked on Hemingway as just another
guy. I knew he was kind of a promi-
nent person, but still, he didn’t throw his
weight around, he was just another guy.”
The Hemingways were fond of Bud.
They sent him several guns as a gift, and
Hemingway signed his books.
“My favorite is The Green Hills of Af-
rica, which is about hunting in Kenya and
Tanzania, too,” Purdy says. Hemingway
signed the book, “To Ruth and Bud - Best
Bud Purdy - Progressive Rancher and a Legend
See BUD PURDY, page 34

Bud Purdy works cattle on his ranch near Picabo.

Always, Love, your friend and fellow
shooter.”
As Bud developed the cattle business,
Purdy Livestock encompassed 6,000
acres of private land next to Silver Creek
and the Lava Lake Ranch property, and
50,000 acres of BLM and Forest Service
grazing leases. They raised grain, barley,
corn, potatoes and alfalfa on the private
land. They wintered more than 2,500
head of cattle at the home ranch, using
some of the original barns built in the
late 1800s, and a 50,000-gallon water
tank built by the Kilpatricks, which also
provided drinking water to the town of
Picabo. They always had a ranch fore-
man and several employees to stay on
top of things. “It’s a big operation,”
Purdy says.
Bud and his first wife, Maxine, had three
children, Nick, Christine and Mark. Af-
ter a divorce in 1950, Bud got remarried
to Ruth Eckles, to whom he was married
for 51 years. Ruth also had a son, Gordon
Eckles, who became part of the blended
family.
In the 1970s, Bud tried some new cattle
grazing management techniques. He
credits Gus Hormay, the father of rest-
rotation grazing, with educating ranch-
BuD PurDy
An aerial view of Silver Creek.

ers about doing things right. Hormay
worked for the Forest Service and spread
the word about rest-rotation grazing with
ranchers throughout the western United
States.
“After listening to that guy, you start real-
izing we’ve got to take care of the plants,
the soil, and the water,” Purdy says. “And
then my son went to work for us in the
1960s, and he was even more gung ho
than I was about it. And so we just started
in and tried to make things a little better
all the time.”
Being located next to world-class fishing
stream made the Purdys sensitive to the
impacts of cattle on stream banks. They
provided off-site water for livestock to
keep them out of the river. They also ad-
opted rest-rotation grazing systems on
public lands. Range tours helped with the
education, Purdy says.
“I’ve got to give the agencies, and the
universities and extension credit for call-
ing that stuff to our attention,” he says.
“The tours, they’re the best thing in the
world. See what someone else is doing.”
In the 1990s, the Purdys took the next
step in their conservation legacy and
donated a 3,500-acre conservation ease-
ment to The Nature Conservancy. Bud’s
son, Nick Purdy explains.
“The easement is on the whole ranch. It’s
a non-developable easement. You can’t
subdivide. Essentially, there’s a 100-foot
strip on either side of the creek that’s re-
stricted in terms of grazing and spraying
and different practices. I’m glad we did
it. Our easement was a gift with no in-
tention of taking any money for it or tax
advantage taken.”
The conservation easement has been
valued at $7 million, according to some
sources, as was reported in a history of
the Kilpatrick family.
“It’s such a special piece of property,”
Nick Purdy says. “There’s hardly any
land like it because of Silver Creek. I feel
we’re just holding it for the generations
and passing it on ... it isn’t really ours,
and it’s really too special to really belong
to you, so we’re just kind of in charge of
it, and it’ll go down through the genera-
tions.”
Nick Purdy says it’s important for ranch-
ers to have a strong conservation ethic. “I
think you have to have that if you’re go-
ing to stay in business,” he says. “You’ve
got to protect the land, protect the water,
and make it better all the time because it’s
good business sense, but morally, you’ve
got to do it too.”
Education is important to Bud Purdy.
He was one of the founders of the Ida-
ho Rangeland Resource Commission, a
state agency with a mission to educate
urban dwellers about the importance of
rangelands, a land classification of open
shrub-steppe grasslands that make up 44
percent of Idaho.
“We need to get the word out to the school
kids about rangeland,” Bud Purdy says.
“Not particularly the cattle or the sheep,
but the rangeland. It’s unbelievable what
it supports -- watershed, wildlife. It sup-
ports everything!”
Bud Purdy also served in many leader-
ship posts in education and business
circles. He was chairman of the Univer-
sity of Idaho Foundation, president of the
Idaho Cattle Association, and chairman
of the Idaho Association of Commerce
and Industry (IACI), the state’s most in-
fluential business lobby.
When Purdy was chairman of IACI in
1982-83, he flew around Idaho with IACI
President Pat Harwood to help recruit
members. Another one of Purdy’s talents
is being a private pilot. He still flies his
own plane -- a Piper 235 Cherokee.
“I fly it all the time,” Purdy says. “It flies
like a dream.”
Purdy’s been flying since 1941, check-
ing on his cattle, finding strays, flying to
business meetings, and even flying with
son Nick to Mexico to go dove hunting.
The Purdys have a turbo-charged, pres-
surized Cessna 210 with a Rolls Royce
engine. Nick flies that plane.
“There’s something about flying that you
like to fly,” he says. “If a band of sheep
gets lost, you can get in the airplane and
spot them real quick. I like to fly for rec-
reation, too. Hell, for 50 years, we flew
into the Root Ranch and hunted elk.”
Purdy doesn’t have any particular advice
for living a long and full life. “Just take it
one day at a time, that’s all you can do,”
he says. “I don’t do anything special, you
know. I don’t abuse myself ... I’ll take a
drink but I don’t smoke, I’m careful.”
Most of all, Bud believes that growing up
on a ranch teaches kids to have a strong
work ethic, just like it did for him.
“You couldn’t beat it, could you? No way.
Nick’s boys were raised on the ranch, and
they’re real workers,” Purdy says. “Boy
those are the best kids you ever saw. Un-
believable. That’s what it does, they learn
to work. “
Here is a list of awards that Bud Purdy
received over the years:
• U.S. Forest Service 75th an-
niversary award, 1980.
• Soil Conservation Service (now
Natural Resources Conservation Ser-
vice) 50th anniversary award, 1985.
• Idaho Cattleman of the Year, 1987.
• National Environmental Stew-
ardship Award, National Cat-
tlemen’s Association, 1994.
• Pat Harwood Award for Distin-
guished Service to Idaho Business,
1999, presented by the Idaho Asso-
ciation of Commerce and Industry.
• Distinguished Service Award,
College of Southern Idaho.
• Outstanding Achievement Award, So-
ciety of Range Management.
Steve Stuebner is the writer and pro-
ducer of Life on the Range, a public edu-
cation project sponsored by the Idaho
Rangeland Resource Commission. www.
lifeontherange.org

Tracking Milk and EggTrends
For the first quarter of 2012, shoppers
reported the average price for a half-
gallon of regular whole milk was $2.46,
up 9 cents from the prior quarter. The
average price for one gallon of regular
whole milk was $3.53, down 23 cents.
Comparing per-quart prices, the retail
price for whole milk sold
in gallon containers was
about 25 percent lower
compared to half-gal-
lon containers, a typi-
cal volume discount
long employed by
retailers.
The aver-
age price
for a half-
gallon of
rBST-free
milk was
$3.42, up 8 cents from the last quarter,
about 40 percent higher than the report-
ed retail price for a half-gallon of regular
milk ($2.46).
The average price for a half-gallon of
organic milk was $4.19, up 28 cents
compared to the prior quarter, about 70
percent higher than the reported retail
price for a half-gallon of regular milk
($2.46).
Compared to a year ago (first quarter
of 2011), the retail price for regular milk
in gallon containers was up about 2 per-
cent, while regular milk in half-gallon
containers rose 9 percent. The average
retail price for rBST-free milk increased
6 percent compared to the prior year,
while organic milk was up 13 percent.
For the first quarter of 2012, the aver-
age price for one dozen regular eggs was
$1.77, up 5 cents compared to the prior
quarter. The average price for a dozen
“cage-free” eggs was $3.39, up 42 cents
compared to the prior quarter but nearly
double (90 percent higher) the price of
regular eggs. Compared to a year ago
(first quarter of 2011), regular eggs in-
creased 8 percent while “cage-free”
eggs increased 6 percent.

By Terry Kristof
The overall Spill Preven-
tion, Control and Counter-
measure (SPCC) concept
is about reducing risk. An
SPCC plan is required by
law, enforced under the
Clean Water Act and by the
US Environmental Protec-
tion Agency. Those who
store a minimum volume of
1,320 gallons of fuel must
have a plan in place and on
site. Farmers handling up
to 10,000 gallons can write
their own plan, and self-
certify it. Those who handle
over 10,000 gallons need an
engineer to write and certify
their plans.
Before you start any plan at
all, consider your fuel tanks,
and your use of them. Do
they generate a profit? If so,
you would consider them
an asset. If not, why do you
have them? There is nothing
inherently wrong in keeping
fuel tanks for convenience;
it simply begs the question
“how much unnecessary
risk do you want?”
If your tanks are an asset,
a necessary liability or you
just want to keep them,
consider the risk. Fuel is
toxic, explosive and expen-
sive. Handling fuel is only
a small part of your overall
operation. Honestly, how
long has it been since you’ve
given your tanks a long, slow
thought? Safety planning
is underrated until some
human being is gone in a
flash….literally. Loss of fuel
is costly. Costs of a cleanup
dramatically increase with
the period of time it takes
to contain and control the
spill. Check your insurance
coverage. How long are you
planning to buy and use fuel
for your farm? Each farmer
will have different answers;
some will decide either the
tanks or themselves are too
old to fuss with any more.
Some will see that there is
a better spot; some will pur-
chase newer tanks and some
will expand.
If you handle less than
10,000 gallons you can
download a SPCC plan
template at www.epa.gov/
osweroe1/content/spcc/tier-
1temp.htm. The template is
confusing. If you use this
template, start by making
your map. Ignore the certifi-
cation section until you have
finished the plan.
The map is really the “heart”
of your plan. Download an
aerial photo of your farm,
(Google Earth). Before you
zoom in closely, notice the
overall drainage in your
area. Draw in the location
of your tanks. Inventory
includes every petroleum
product stored in 55 gallon
drums and larger. Now, vi-
sualize the worst possible
spill, frozen ground, in the
rain. With this nightmare
scenario in mind answer
each question in the tem-
plate. Would a ditch or berm
come in handy? Supplies?
Spark sources? Where is
your well? Most important-
ly, what would be best? At
each step consider the risk.
This won’t be easy; nothing
good is. Some questions will
require that you look up the
section of law the template
references,(shown to the
right of each section number
ie (§112.7(a)(3)(i)).When you
have finished your plan, go
back to that first question.
Now, you may find that you
have a plan that meets the
code and that you are com-
fortable certifying.
Terry Kristof has over 20
years continuous experi-
ence writing SPCC Plans
for facilities ranging from
large petroleum storage and
distribution sites to remote
school districts to airports;
including over 60 plans for
farms.
Don’tTake Unnecessary Risks
with Spill Prevention

County Happenings
The Idaho Potato Commission’s latest promotion was in Pocatello in early April. The giant spud is being trucked across country with stops in
several states. The spud weighs over 12,000 pounds and if it were a real potato it would make over 30,000 servings of mashed potatoes. Find more
information at www.bigidahopotato.com
Idaho Farm Bureau’s Moving Agriculture to the Classroom (MAC)
project visited several North Idaho schools in early April. This photo is of
students eating pancakes they made from flour they ground at a school in
Orofino.
Photo by Bob Smathers
The North Idaho Hay Growers Workshop was held on March 20 at the
Worley Grange Hall. It was sponsored by University of Idaho Extension,
Primeland Cooperatives, Kootenai County Farm Bureau and IHFA. There
were 82 in attendance and speakers were Dr. Glenn Shewmaker from UI
speaking on forage crop establishment, Steve Fansen from WSU speaking
on Timothy Hay Production, Dr. Timothy Prather from UI speaking on
weeds in forage crops. Dr. Shewmaker also spoke on growing hay for
horses and what the marketing opportunities were. In the photo is Dr.
Tim Prather speaking on Ventenata.
Photo by Bob Smathers
More County Happenings on Page 41

Farm to School is a broad term that encompasses efforts to bring more local foods to schools cafeterias, increase nutrition and
agriculture literacy, and establish school gardens. A survey of Idaho school districts found that over 70 percent report doing
some type of Farm to School program at select schools within their districts. School participation varies from buying local
foods like trout, tortillas and apples from regular foodservice distributors, to schools who buy fresh fruits directly from growers.
Schools may also have school gardens or host special events to increase awareness of local foods and agriculture.
The Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s Idaho Preferred program works collaboratively with the Idaho State Department
of Education’s Child Nutrition Services to coordinate statewide Farm to School efforts. This year, a Farm to School Advisory
Committee was formed to help expand the depth and scope of the program. As a result, the first Idaho Farm to School Confer-
ence will be held this summer in Boise. Farmers, school foodservice directors, educators and others interested in working col-
laboratively to increase agricultural literacy, school gardens and local food use in cafeterias will meet July 23-24, 2012. Work-
shops, success stories, learning from a recent pilot program, and local field trips will provide hands on-learning opportunities in
procurement, production, regulations and other issues affecting schools Farm to School efforts.
For more information, go to http://idahopreferred.com/farm-to-school/farmtoschoolconference.htm
Idaho’s Farm to School Program Continues to Grow
County Happenings
John Quintana recently won an ag basket from
the Twin Falls County Farm Bureau.
Edna Sparrow recently won an ag basket from
Dean Kohntopp recently won an ag basket from

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