12/11/06 Problems in the sweet corn seed field

For those Idaho farmers who contracted with five seed companies in Canyon County to grown sweet corn seed this hasn't been a banner year. CLINTON "I'm estimating our crop is probably off somewhere between 20 and 25 percent." That's Terry Clinton of the Crookham Company in Caldwell. Weather was the big factor in this year's smaller seed crop. CLINTON "So we've have some problems the past few years because of soil conditions, higher salts, chemical carryovers. There's a lot of environmental conditions we've seen just because of the drought we've been into. We depend on a lot of rains and snows to also help to kind of dilute the soil and condition the soil so there's been other problems beside just the heat. But the heat was a major factor this year. What we need is a really good winter with a lot of rain and snow in this valley." Clinton says they won't be able to meet all of their customer demands for seed this year. CLINTON "There's no doubt about that. We're going to need increased production in this valley and that's going to be difficult." Sweet corn seed is big business in Idaho. Gross returns to growers could total 16 to 20 million dollars, and that figure doubles when the seed companies process and sell the product. But there's another problem, a big one. That story tomorrow. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott