CONTACTS:
Keith Esplin at (208) 785-1110 or pgike@cableone.net in Blackfoot
Jennifer Miller at (208) 850-6504 or millerjen@cableone.net in Boise
Univeristy of Idaho communications specialist Marlene Fritz at (208) 364-6165 or mfritz@uidaho.ed in Boise

BLACKFOOT, Idaho-Bryan Hopkins isn't sure whether it's beginner's luck, but the 55-acre organic demonstration trial that his University of Idaho team planted near Blackfoot this spring is producing surprisingly healthy potato, sweet corn, barley and alfalfa crops.

"It's remarkable how successful it's been," says Hopkins, UI potato cropping systems specialist at Aberdeen. "We haven't had any serious pest or nutritional problems in potatoes or any of the rotation crops, and the weed-control strategies that we've tried-planting late and in dense stands-have worked really well."

Interested producers and other Idahoans are invited to see the trials for themselves on Oct. 4 from 1 to 4 p.m. Hopkins will lead a tour of the plots, which are in the first year of a seven-year rotation. Other speakers will outline the USDA Organic Certification Program; discuss marketing opportunities, sprout inhibition and storage management for organic potatoes, and describe production practices and challenges in organic barley and wheat. Organic potato growers Fred Brossy, Mike Heath and Nate Jones will be on hand to discuss their combined 50-plus years of experience with growing organic potatoes in Idaho.

According to Keith Esplin, executive director of Potato Growers of Idaho, demand for organic Idaho potatoes is currently outstripping supply. "We're getting inquiries from some major users, and we're concerned that if we don't have production in Idaho, we'll be giving those customers to somebody else," he says.

Jennifer Miller, sustainable agriculture program coordinator for the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, says the national organic market has been growing at least 20 percent annually and that Idaho has only about 350 acres of organic potatoes to sell. "This is the fastest growing sector within agriculture, so it provides some real opportunity," she says.

Nora Olsen, UI Extension potato storage specialist in Twin Falls, says options are available for organic potato storage, "but those options will be very specific to varieties and to how the potatoes will ultimately be used." If they're applied multiple times, natural sprout inhibitors like clove oil can provide season-long control, she says.

Esplin, Miller and Olsen will address participants at the Organic Cropping Systems Field Day, as will Margaret Misner, organic program manager for the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, and Juliet Windes, UI Extension cereal cropping systems agronomist.

Hopkins says no serious insect or disease pressure occurred in the organic rotation this year. He attributes this to the extended period since potatoes were last grown in the field and to the field's isolation by more than 200 yards from other crops. Nor did weed populations demand cultivating. "We hand-weeded once at the end of July and there are weeds out there, but they're not anything like I was expecting," he says.

He hopes to show Gem State potato producers that "it's possible to get into this organic niche market if they so desire. I think there's an opportunity to make money, but organic farming requires a significant change in management." Successful production, for example, will demand "a very long rotation."

Miller says she's excited about the university's organic trial and its potential for educating growers who are interested in entering this new market. "Many growers don't yet have access to information on how to grow crops without pesticides," she says. "This will help them get the information they need to grow organically."

The UI's organic demonstration project was funded by the USDA Western Center for Risk Management Education and by USDA Barley for Rural Development. Tuttle Organics of Pingree donated 150 tons of compost and trucking, and Westbridge of Vista, Calif., provided liquid organic fertilizer, plant hormones, spreader/sticker and garlic insect repellent at no cost.

The organic field is located 7 miles southwest of Blackfoot. To reach it, field day participants can take exit 89 off I-15, turn first west then immediately right, travel north for a half-mile and west for 2.3 miles on Riverton Road, turn south onto Blackhawk Road, then travel another half-mile before turning west into the field.

Sponsors include Potato Growers of Idaho, UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and NCAP. Interested participants should RSVP Esplin at (208) 785-1110 in Blackfoot or Miller at (208) 850-6504 in Boise by Sept. 29.

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