Idaho wheat groups to move forward with proposed rule change

A rule change proposed during the 2018 Idaho Legislature would give the Idaho Wheat Commission the ability to collect the names and contact information of all wheat farmers in the state.After being delayed for two years, a proposed rule change that Idaho Wheat Commission officials say will benefit Idaho grain farmers will be re-introduced during the 2018 legislative session.IWC and Idaho Grain Producers Association board members last week agreed to move forward with the proposed rule change, which would require first purchasers of Idaho wheat, such as elevators, to submit the names and contact information of all growers to the commission.The commission’s enabling legislation gives it the authority to have that information but it currently lacks the mechanism to collect it, so the IWC only has a partial data base of Idaho wheat growers, said IWC Executive Director Blaine Jacobson.“The (IWC) has a statutory responsibility to educate Idaho wheat growers and to conduct periodic referendums of Idaho wheat growers on how their checkoff dollars are being spent,”