Several important issues facing Idaho’s dry bean industry will be discussed during bean schools in Nampa and Twin Falls Jan. 27-28. About 200 of Idaho’s estimated 500 dry bean growers typically attend the schools, which have been held in Southcentral and Southwestern Idaho every other year. An Idaho Bean Commission survey showed heavy support for holding them every year, and 2016 is the first time they have been held in consecutive years, said IBC Commissioner Don Tolmie. During this year’s schools, former IBC Executive Director Lacey Menasco will provide an overview of the USDA’s dry bean crop insurance policy. Menasco, a specialist with the USDA’s Risk Management Agency, said her presentation will include an overview of prevented planting guidelines, particularly those that relate to a lack of irrigation water. “That could be a big deal if there is a shortage of irrigation water” this year, she said. She will also discuss crop insurance changes in the 2014 farm bill, including new conservation compliance provisions. For example, in a change that took effect last June, farmers who grow on highly erodible land must have a conservation plan approved by and on file with the USDA to be eligible for crop insurance subsidies. The conservation plan requirement has always existed, “they just tied it to the crop subsidies,” Menasco said. A representative from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service will discuss options to meet the conservation compliance requirements, including cover crops and crop residues. University of Idaho weed scientists will discuss the results of field trials that are testing how effective the use of the Eptam 20G herbicide is in controlling nightshade, a troublesome weed that the IBC estimates costs the Idaho industry about $8 million annually. The IBC convinced Gowan Co. to resume producing Eptam 20G last year. Gowan had stopped manufacturing it in 2008 but many Idaho bean farmers say it’s their best option for controlling nightshade later in the season. UI Weed Scientist Don Morishita said initial field trials at UI’s Parma and Kimberly research stations two years ago definitely showed that Eptam 20G provided good later-season nightshade control. But there wasn’t enough nightshade pressure last year to confirm those trials. “We just didn’t have the (weed pressure) to tell us if it did or didn’t do a good job,” he said. Morishita said the trials will be repeated this year and UI researchers will focus on attempting to determine what influences the weeds to emerge from year to year so they can develop Eptam application recommendations for growers. The agenda includes presentations on the results of nitrogen fertility and fungicide studies as well as vole and mite control. The Twin Falls bean school will take place Jan. 27 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Red Lion Hotel. The Nampa school will take place Jan. 28 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Hampton Inn. Source - capitalpress.com