08/11/05 Field burning season in North Idaho

With growers in north Idaho preparing to burn their fields the state is geared up to see that they follow the rules. Growers can only burn on certain days at certain times, depending on weather conditions which are monitored by the Idaho Department of Agriculture EMPLOYEE "Okay, that's 33.8." ISDA Director Pat Takasugi says the state's burning program is so successful that the number of smoke complaints has dropped 80 percent. TAKASUGI "It's not impacting them now. It's not the issue it used to be." Nez Perce County bluegrass grower Jim Wemhoff is optimistic that the field burning will continue and he'll be able to produce a quality crop. WEMHOFF "There's a lot of people put in a lot of hours to try to set something up that will work, to manage it to try to burn on days when the smoke dissipates from any populated areas." The state has hotlines set up for growers to register their fields and there are daily updates on zones where burning may or may not be allowed. Some north Idaho residents want the burning halted but other say they don't mind it because they want to keep farmers and open land in places like the Rathdrum Prairie. RESIDENT "With the grass fields out here my aquifer is protected. With 100 thousand houses out here I don't have that protection." Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott