United States: Idaho farmers to vote on barley assessment rate increase

Idaho barley growers will vote on a proposal this fall that would give the state barley commission authority to raise its assessment rate as much as 100 percent, Capital Press communicated on June, 4.

Producers who have sold barley within the past two years will be mailed a referendum ballot during the first two weeks of November.

Growers will be asked whether the Idaho Barley Commission board should have the authority to set the rate anywhere from 2 cents per hundredweight up to 4 cents per hundredweight.

The state barley assessment has been fixed at 2 cents per cwt. ever since the Idaho Barley Commission was created in 1988.

Decreased acreage and production have resulted in lower revenue for the commission the past several years while costs have continued to rise, said Kelly Olson, administrator for the commission.

The commission has drawn down reserves by about $110,000 the past three years, she said.

Commissioners have tried to spend assessment dollars wisely, scrutinizing every budget item, "but they don't want to cut into what they call the bone of their strategic initiatives," Olson said.

Assessments are used primarily to pay for research and market development.

The board's core initiatives include a malting barley program and the development of winter barley varieties, food barley and specialty feed barleys.

Olson said there are opportunities in all those areas, but limited resources have prevented the commission from fully funding them.

Commissioners believe an increase in the assessment rate will help. "We look at it as an investment in keeping the barley industry competitive in Idaho," Olson said.

Idaho is the nation's second-largest barley producer.

The state produced nearly 50 million bushels of barley last year. That was up from about 43 million bushels produced during the record low years of 2006 and 2007, but well below the average production of the 1990s and early 2000s.

Idaho produced nearly 60 million bushels of barley in 2004 and at least 50 million bushels every year from 1990 to 2003.

If the referendum passes, the Idaho Grain Producers Association will take a fee hike bill to the 2010 Legislature.

However, the IBC board does not anticipate making any assessment increases until at least the 2012 budget year, Olson said.

At its maximum of 4 cents per hundredweight, the proposed barley assessment rate would amount to less than 2 cents per bushel.

05 June, 2009