12/06/05 NW wheat associations meet

Ray Buttars says most Idaho grain growers were very happy with their crop results this year, great yields in many cases. Buttars made that comment at the recently held Pacific Northwest Grains Conference. He also says those same farmers never anticipated the high cost of fuel or fertilizer. BUTTARS "The cost associated with production of those crops has made it unprofitable leading to, even in a good production year, farmers going out of business." Many farmers saw their input costs jump by 30 thousand dollars when the price of gasoline and diesel topped three dollars a gallon. BUTTARS "We in our family found a way to absorb the commute to school, the commute to work. However on the farm absorbing 30 thousand dollars is not possible on already tight margins." He says it was important that his association and those from Oregon and Washington met last week for the first time since 1989. BUTTARS "Talked about issues that were common to us, familiarized ourselves with each others issues so as the Pacific Northwest states we can be unified in our approach to solving these problems." Buttar's term as President of the Idaho Grain Producers Association ended Saturday and he was replaced by Wayne Hurst. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott