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Trump lashes out at 'weaklings' who believe Epstein 'B.S.' amid building GOP pressure to release documents; environmental groups say new OR groundwater law too diluted to be effective; people in PA to take action for voting rights, justice at "Good Trouble" protests.

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Trump is pressed to name a special counsel for the Epstein case. Speaker Mike Johnson urges Senate not to change rescissions bill, and undocumented immigrants are no longer eligible for bond before deportation hearings.

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Cuts in money for clean energy could hit rural mom-and-pop businesses hard, Alaska's effort to boost its power grid with wind and solar is threatened, and a small Kansas school district attracts new students with a focus on agriculture.

ID Farm Pioneers Regenerative Ag Practices for Potato Growing

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Wednesday, April 26, 2023   

A farm in Idaho is pioneering a new way to grow the state's most famous crop: potatoes.

The pioneering method is being demonstrated on Ladd Wahlen's fourth-generation farm and will involve using regenerative practices to grow potatoes. Wahlen, who researched regenerative practices in college, said using such methods for potatoes is uncharted territory, but he argued it will ultimately benefit the land.

"I want my soil to be healthy and I want it to be sustainable for the generations to come," Wahlen stressed. "Because it's a family farm, family enterprise, and we want it to continue and we want to be able to have good, healthy soil that's capable of producing good, healthy products."

Wahlen and his wife also own a potato chip company called Roots Potato Chips. He noted more consumers are looking for products which have been made sustainably and provide benefits to the environment.

Brad Johnson, agriculture strategy manager for The Nature Conservancy in Idaho, which is partnering with Wahlen on the demonstration farm, said the farm will use techniques like reduced tillage, cover crops and pollinator plant species to reduce the use of insecticides. They are also testing plant companion species to reduce the use of fertilizers.

He pointed out the new methods will reduce the cost of growing potatoes.

"We just now see that there is probably a better way to do it that can reduce the needed inputs that farmers are putting onto the crop," Johnson explained. "Economically, it will be beneficial for them in the long run."

Johnson added many potato companies have promised regenerative agriculture to their consumers. He stressed the demonstration farm will help develop trusted advisers on the ground who understand how to implement the practices.

Wahlen acknowledged some longtime potato farmers are skeptical of the new practices.

"As we try these things and we're able to show the data and the metrics of how they're working and how they're beneficial, then I think hopefully there will be less hesitation," Wahlen emphasized. "More people will jump in and get involved."

Disclosure: The Nature Conservancy of Idaho contributes to our fund for reporting on the Environment. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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