Idaho Coop plans fumigant facility to better serve potato growers

Bingham Cooperative in Idaho  will break ground soon on a $1 million fumigant storage facility here that should enable the company to keep more product on hand for growers and reduce freight costs. Bingham Cooperative General Manager Mike Jensen said work on the project should be underway by early February, with completion expected by mid-May. The planned 375,000-gallon Blackfoot storage facility will supplement the existing 125,000-gallon facility. Jensen explained potato growers have a tight window from mid-September through late November to fumigate fields to control nematodes and certain soil pathogens, and new buffer-zone requirements have forced growers to shank fumigants into their soil with an implement rather than applying it with irrigation water. Jensen said shanking must be done before the soil freezes, and chemicals must be available when custom applicators need them. More