Northwest Farm and Ranch, Fall 2019

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WSU’s Cosmic Crisp apple should be on grocery store shelves by the end of the year / Page 2

2 | Saturday, September 28, 2019 |

MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE

Northwest Farm and Ranch | FALL 2019

| FRUIT BREEDING |

On the brink of a stellar debut Limited quantities of the WSU-developed Cosmic Crisp apple should appear in major markets nationwide in December

By Joel Mills For Farm & Ranch

Cosmic Crisp already has an out-of-this-world name, but Washington State University believes its first trademarked apple varietal will have the biggest rollout of any apple in history.

About 6.8 million Cosmic Crisp trees were planted by the end of last year, according to the university. Five million more were added in 2019.

In contrast, a more typical launch might include around 1 million trees and slowly ramp up over time, according to WSU Technology Transfer Coordinator Albert Tsui.

“Over 11 million trees in one state over a period of three years, that’s unheard of,” Tsui said of Cosmic Crisp, which has been in development since 1998. “It’s absolutely huge.”

The university anticipates that Cosmic Crisp will quickly take over the No. 3 spot in

Washington, the only state where it is licensed to be grown. Gala and Red Delicious occupy the top two spots, but Tsui said the crisp, crunchy texture, long storage life and transportability of Cosmic Crisp apples could boost them into that upper tier.

WSU had to learn from past mistakes to fine-tune the Cosmic Crisp rollout, however.

The apple breeding program failed to trademark its WA2 varietal several years ago, leaving marketing choices like brand names up to growers.

That led to confusion that didn’t benefit anyone, and an attempt to rebrand the apple as Sunrise Magic has been slow to pick up steam.

“That was ultimately a disadvantage,” Tsui said of not stamping WA2 with the WSU trademark, a practice that is now the norm in apple breeding. “As a result of that, See COSMIC, Page 3

WSU/Bruce Barritt

Washington State University anticipates the Cosmic Crisp apple will quickly take over the No. 3 spot in Washington, the only state where it is licensed to be grown.

Northwest Farm and Ranch | FALL 2019

| MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE | Saturday, September 28, 2019 | 3 The crisp, crunchy texture, long storage life and transportability of Washington State University’s Cosmic Crisp apples could boost them into the upper tier of bestsellers.

Cosmic from Page 2

the growers weren’t able to get a return on their investment selling that particular apple on the retail market.”

A strong trademark — coupled with a centralized marketing campaign — gives packing houses and their retail partners increased confidence in the quality of the product, Tsui said.

“Unless they have that assurance of brand standards, those packers aren’t going to get a price premium on that,” he said. “With Cosmic, we’ve told them from the very start that this is what you call it, and we’ve branded it as such.”

Still, the introduction of Cosmic Crisp will be incremental.

Limited quantities from the first harvest should start showing up in major markets nationwide in December, with another wave coming in January. According to university estimates, just 175,000 40-pound cases will be ready for market this year.

WSU photo

But with millions of new trees starting to bear fruit, that number should jump to 5 million cases by 2021.

And since it has trademarked Cosmic Crisp as its intellectual property, WSU will receive a royalty if the apples sell for a price in excess of $20 wholesale per case, according to the

university.

Cosmic Crisp won’t make it to market without a bout of legal drama, however. A spinoff company called Phytelligence that was founded by a WSU professor sued the university in 2018, alleging it breached a contract for the company to commercially grow Cosmic Crisp.

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A judge dismissed that suit in June, but WSU filed a countersuit alleging Phytelligence infringed on its patent by selling 135,000 trees without permission. That action is still pending in a federal appeals court, Tsui said.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@ lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.

THE COSMIC CRISP APPLE Genesis: A cross between Enterprise and Honeycrisp.

Texture: Firm and crisp Flavor: Balanced sweetness and tartness makes it good eating apple Storage: Slow to brown when cut and maintains texture and flavor in storage for more than a year.

How it got its name: Focus groups around Washington. The “Cosmic” factor in the name was developed because of the “striking” lenticels on the apple surface. Those little spots look like starbursts to some and consumers are believed to be drawn to names relating to outer space and the cosmos.

4 | Saturday, September 28, 2019 |

Northwest Farm and Ranch | FALL 2019

MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE

Battling waves of insect invaders Invasive species group urges public to be aware of potentially damaging insects leave grain alone, pine beetles sometimes infest stands of evergreen trees that dot the Palouse Whitman County’s wheat hills, especially in drought years.

“It kills the tree from the top fields generally escape being hit down,” Van Vleet said. by the invasive insects Trees that have that typically cost Washington state’s been hit have masses economy $1.3 billion a of sap 4 to 7 feet up year. But other species their trunks. of invasive insects do “(You) won’t see sometimes plague the the beetle,” Van Vleet Palouse. said. “It’s very, very That’s the take of small.”

Stephen Van Vleet, Van Vleet After a tree is an educator with the attacked, an insectiWhitman County Washington cide can be applied.

Steve Ringman/Seattle Times/MCT State University Extension “It’s very expensive,” he Mountain pine beetle larvae live inside whitebark pines, feeding on tree tissue that carries water office. and nutrients.

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Lodgepole pine trees that died in 1989 from a mountain pine beetle attack in the Deschutes National Forest, in central Oregon.

Invaders from Page 4

vide fuel for wildfires that can damage homes or fields, Van Vleet said.

Because of the threat invasive insects pose, the Washington Invasive Species Council recommends homeowners check their trees and swimming pools for signs of infestations.

If they spot anything unusual, they can take photographs and report their findings at invasivespecies.wa.gov/ report.shtml A Washington state study found that, since 1990, at least 70 new insect species have been detected in the state, according to a news release from the Washington Invasive Species Council.

“The public found 36 percent of the new insects first, more than formal surveys or regulatory agencies detected,” according to the news release.

said. “Unless it’s your favorite tree, you’re wasting your money.”

Often, after pine beetles attack, another wave of insects called red turpentine beetles follows, leaving what appears to be sawdust at the base of trees. At that point, the trees can’t be saved.

A better approach is to make sure trees are getting enough water, which makes them less vulnerable to pests.

While the forests in Whitman County are too small to be a major factor in the wood products industry, the beetles create expensive issues. The loss of trees can reduce property values by making home sites less scenic. Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.

Dead trees that aren’t removed can pro- com or (208) 848-2261.

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6 | Saturday, September 28, 2019 |

Northwest Farm and Ranch | FALL 2019

MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE

| GRAIN PRODUCTION |

The wheat is soft but so are the prices Harvest yield looks good, but financial return is another story

By Kathy Hedberg For Farm & Ranch

It was a good harvest for Idaho farm crops this year, Idaho Wheat Commission Executive Director Blaine Jacobson said.

But wheat prices as of late have not been as encouraging as the grain in the bin.

“Overall for Idaho we had an above-average crop,” Jacobson said.

“Not as high yields as last year, but last year was an all-time record.

This year the quality is good and yields are above average, so overall we’re very happy with it.”

The harvest was later than usual, Jacobson noted; about two weeks behind the normal harvesting dates for both winter and spring wheat because of the cooler, wetter spring. But that later starting date did not result in problems with pests or sprout damage.

The main issue has been the prices that have remained below $5 a

Lewiston Tribune file photo

It was a good harvest for Idaho farm crops this year, but wheat prices have not been as encouraging as the grain in the bin. bushel — a benchmark some farmers consider their break-even point.

The ongoing trade tariffs talks with China and other countries don’t seem to be the biggest factor in keeping wheat prices low, Jacobson said.

“I don’t think the trade tariffs talks have really

hit back to the market much,” he said. “We’re not a big exporter to China, so even if there were no tariffs I think the market would be pretty much where it is Jacobson now.

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“Our largest overseas customer for American wheat is Japan, and the largest customer for soft white wheat (grown in the Pacific Northwest) is the Philippines.

other countries.

A second consideration is the low price of corn right now.

“The price of wheat and the price of corn are linked, and the commodity markets have been forecasting a large corn harvest,” Jacobson said.

“The price of corn has been pushed down, so when corn goes down, wheat goes down.”

That’s because a large quantity of corn and wheat grown in the U.S. is used for animal feed.

But it’s still a little early to tell for sure what the outcome of this year’s market will be, and Jacobson said there is reason for optimism in the long run.

“The prices are softer than where they’ve been, but a number of traders are feeling like there might be less corn out there than what is projected. So there are people that feel like, when the next report comes out on corn, the prices will get back up,” Jacobson said. “We’re somewhat optimistic that we’re going to see some recovery in the near future.”

And both of those are still buying very strong quantities, so tariffs are not affecting those markets.”

The bigger factor is the strength of the U.S. dollar, which makes American wheat more expensive for importers Hedberg may be contacted at to buy and less competi- kathyhedberg@gmail.com or tive than wheat grown in (208) 983-2326.

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| MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE | Saturday, September 28, 2019 | 7

Shedding new light on plant pathogens WSU researchers identify light-sensitive genes in plant virus, presenting new possible strategies for disease management

By Scott Jackson For Farm & Ranch

Researchers at Washington State University have discovered an unexpected adaptation in a plant virus that appears to have been borrowed from their photosynthesizing hosts — a sensitivity to light.

Pappu In a recent article published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science, professor of plant pathology Hanu Pappu and colleague

Michael Neff, director of WSU’s molecular plant sciences graduate program, said they have found that tomato spotted wilt virus may respond to light and plant growth hormone.

Tomato spotted wilt belongs to a group known as tospoviruses, which are responsible for an estimated $1 billion in crop losses annually, Pappu said.

Tospoviruses afflict a wide array of food crops including peanut, pepper, potato, onion and soybean,

WSU photos

The varied effects of the spotted wilt virus on tomato leaves. among many others.

Tospoviruses only have five genes but they carry other genetic material with no known function and have a reputation for borrowing chunks of genetic code from their hosts. In their research, Hanu and his team found genetic signatures within this morass that are also present in many plants

UE BL

frugal in the amount of genetic material they carry — most viruses have just enough to ensure survival and reproduction. Pappu said tomato spotted wilt would not have stitched these photosensitive qualities into its own genome or evolved to keep them if it weren’t to the virus’ benefit.

Pappu, who has been studying plant viruses for more than 30 years, said while it’s long been accepted that these viruses have co-evolved with the plants they inhabit, it was nonetheless a surprise to see a virus that had apparently appropriated photosensitive qualities from their plant hosts.

Next, Pappu and his team will work to identify the part these genetics play in the life cycle of the plant and possibly use light or hormonal stimuli to manage the disease. If light can be used to disrupt the viral lifecycle or suppress the disease, it could have a potentially huge impact on crop loss, he said.

and bacteria. Neff and Pappu’s post-doctoral researchers, Ying Zhai and Hao Peng, conducted a series of experiments that confirmed these stolen genetic sequences could be switched on or off with light or hormones.

Viruses are not-quite-alive infectious agents that are met- Jackson can be reached at abolically inert outside of a (208) 883-4636, or by email host cell. They are generally to sjackson@dnews.com.

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8 | Saturday, September 28, 2019 |

Northwest Farm and Ranch | FALL 2019

MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE

| VINTAGE TOOLS |

Geoff Crimmins/Daily News

Richard Corey talks about the 1930s John Deere Van Brunt seed drill that he restored at his home near Deary. The seed drill belonged to Corey’s grandfather, Kenneth Wilkins.

The Implement Whisperer Deary man saved thousands of dollars by restoring the rusty seed drill and fertilizer spreader his grandfather used at least 70 years ago

By Garrett Cabeza For Farm & Ranch

O

ld farm equipment — with grasses and weeds hiding the valuable purpose the machinery once served — often is left in fields to rust away.

Richard Corey, a 66-year-old Deary resident, recently went against the grain when he brought a rusty seed drill and fertilizer spreader from his father’s property back to life.

The fifth-generation Deary resident said his pasture northwest of Deary had probably not been tilled for at least 30 years and an invasive weed species called Ventenata was taking over the land.

So, it was time to take action.

He knew he needed a way to plant seeds and fertilize the pasture after tilling it, but farming equipment can cost thousands of dollars and he would only need to use it sparingly. Corey said his father told him about equipment sitting in his woods. They belonged to Corey’s grandfather.

“The drill had a 10-foot fir tree growing up through it,” Corey said.

But, Corey saw potential.

“I got to looking at it and, you know, I think these are salvageable,” he said of the drill and spreader.

The John Deere drill was made in the 1930s but Corey was unsure how old the spreader was.

His grandfather’s pencil handwriting is still visible on the galvanized steel spreader box with dates in 1949 and 1950 included in the notes.

Corey dragged the machines out and started the restoration process on the decades-old equipment.

“I had the time and the interest and, fortunately, I think enough mechanical aptitude to work on them and have fun doing it and get something useful in return,” said Corey, a retired computer programmer and information technology manager.

Much of the restoration consisted of grinding away rust. He said a couple parts of the machines were not salvageable, so he was forced to buy parts. He manufactured other pieces.

Corey said the restoration process took two to three months. He finished the green John Deere drill “You’ve got a lot of intricate little with yellow wheels and the orange spreader a few weeks ago. He pieces on this drill,” he said.

Corey tested the drill’s mobility and estimated he spent less than $600 on the is confident it will work this fall when he restoration projects.

The spreader was much easier to plans on sowing seeds. restore because of its large flat surface.

Besides restoring the drill, spreader

ABOVE: A 1930s John Deere seed drill as it looked before Corey restored it. (Courtesy Richard Corey) LEFT: Corey talks about the Ezee Flow Corporation fertilizer spreader that he restored BELOW: Corey points to notes his grandfather wrote on the 1930s John Deere Van Brunt seed drill.

Geoff Crimmins/Daily News

and last winter a bicycle from his youth, Corey said he has never restored anything and is by no means an expert.

He said he has always had tremendous admiration for those who restore things, like classic cars.

“I’m kind of a do-it-yourselfer, so I got what I wanted and it was kind of meaningful too,” Corey said.

Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.

10 | Saturday, September 28, 2019 |

Northwest Farm and Ranch | FALL 2019

MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE

| SWEET SCIENCE |

To breed a better berry WSU-developed Cascade Premier raspberry is a fruit that holds up well to machine harvesting

By William L. Spence For Farm & Ranch

A new raspberry variety developed at Washington State University has survived 12 years of trials and evaluations, but still has one final hurdle to cross before it’s deemed a success.

Dubbed “Cascade Premier,” the variety was released to commercial growers last year.

Its first full harvest is expected in the summer of 2021.

“It’s really the growers who decide if a particular variety makes it in the end,” said WSU research professor Patrick Moore, who began work on Cascade Premier in 2007. “If they put in a few acres and it doesn’t do Moore well, they won’t plant it again. It won’t sell. So the final word (on Cascade Premier) is still out.”

Moore has developed nearly a dozen named varieties of raspberries during his 31 years at the university.

The breeding process begins by choosing which strains to use as the parent stock. Moore chose two noncommercial varieties for Cascade Premier: One has lots of very small “drupelets” — as the seed-bearing beads that collectively make up the berry are called — while the other has large drupelets.

Washington State University’s newest raspberry cultivar is named Cascade Premier.

“The combination results in a nice, large fruit with medium-to-large drupelets that come off the receptacle very easily,” he said.

The latter is an important feature for Washington raspberry growers, since most rely on machine harvesting.

“It’s actually better to machine harvest than harvest by hand,” Moore said. “With hand-picking, you have to be able to see the fruit, decide if it’s ripe and take it off without smooshing it. Machine harvesting is basically physics.

The machine comes through and shakes the plant, and if the fruit is at the right stage it will fall off. You get a much more uniform harvest.”

Once a new cross is developed, it takes several years before it’s ready even for test planting. At various points along the way, Moore does a visual selection of the seedlings, flagging those he wants to propagate.

“The ones I don’t like, I keep walking,” he said.

He’ll collect shoot tips from the seedlings he does like and

propagate them by tissue culture. The aim is to get 10 to 15 plants from each selected seedling. Those will then be planted by cooperative growers.

“You have to wait two years for them to produce fruit,” Moore said. “We’ll machine harvest them and take samples. If it still looks good, we’ll propagate more.”

The next batch is grown at WSU’s Puyallup Research and Extension Center. The seedlings will be divided among several test plots, some of which are in areas known to

Washington State University photo

have root rot, a soil-borne fungal disease.

“We’ll evaluate them for three years to see how many are still standing,” Moore said. “If a variety goes through all those steps and still looks good, then it moves on to (larger) grower trials. And if it makes it through that stage, we’ll come up with a name and recommend releasing it commercially. We’ll also apply for a plant patent, to protect our intellectual property.”

On average, he said, it takes See RASPBERRY, Page 11

Northwest Farm and Ranch | FALL 2019

| MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE | Saturday, September 28, 2019 | 11

Raspberry

BizFact

from Page 10

Cascade Premier raspberries roll off a machine harvester. The berries were bred to release easily at the right time, allowing growers to harvest firm fruit instead of mush. The new variety also grows its fruit-bearing branches to a uniform length, reducing damage to the canes from harvest and ensuring better yields.

about 15 years to develop one new berry variety.

Berry yield, the ease of release and the firmness of the fruit are probably the most critical qualities breeders select for, Moore said. Something in the neighborhood of 8-10 tons of berries per acre is what he shoots for, although that varies from year to year depending on growing conditions.

If a variety has good yield and firm fruit but lacks resistance to root rot or other diseases, he said, it might be crossed with a resistant variety to come up with a winner.

At this stage, he said, Cascade Premier seems to tick all the boxes. Besides good yield and easy release, it produces firm, flavorful fruit and has good disease resistance.

“It’s not a perfect berry, but it’s a good one,” Moore said.

Who sells orange juice?

Top exporters, in metric tons, 2018-2019:

Brazil

1.4 million

U.S.

327,000

Mexico

210,000

EU

106,000

China

45,000

WSU photo

Spence may be contacted at bspence@ lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.

Source: U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service Graphic: Tribune News Service

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12 | Saturday, September 28, 2019 |

Northwest Farm and Ranch | FALL 2019

MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE

| GRAINS |

WSU’s new wheat is touted to make better noodles New spring variety, Ryan, could make a big impact on market

By Anthony Kuipers For Farm & Ranch

A new spring wheat variety from Washington State University is widely available to farmers for the first time, and the university believes it will have a major impact on the market.

It is called Ryan and, accord-

ing to a WSU news release, data from the Washington State Crop Improvement Association found it led all public spring wheat varieties for certified seed production in Washington last year.

Ryan is reported to be useful in making udon, a popular Japanese dish with thick wheat flour noodles served in broth. It is made with premium soft wheat varieties mostly coming from Shelly Hanks/WSU Photo Services Australia. It can also be used for traditional white wheat products Shown from grain to bowl, WSU’s newest spring wheat, Ryan, has developed a reputation See RYAN, Page 13

as an outstanding main ingredient in fresh udon noodles. This is the first year that Ryan has been widely available to farmers.

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| MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE | Saturday, September 28, 2019 | 13

Seth Truscott/CAHNRS

Craig Morris, director of the USDA Western Wheat Quality Laboratory, left, and WSU spring wheat breeder Mike Pumphrey hold samples of Ryan grain and fresh noodles.

Ryan

from Page 12 like cookies and crackers.

According to WSU, Ryan has a mutation called partial waxiness that gives it high levels of a starch molecule called amylopectin. It has a chewy bite and a favorable bright, clear appearance that is the result of being bred for low levels of polyphenol oxidase.

In addition to its culinary attributes, it is also a hardy wheat variety.

Tests in WSU’s variety trials show Ryan has the biggest yield in low, mediDavis um and high-rainfall growing areas of eastern Washington. It was bred by WSU scientists for resistance to the stripe rust pathogen and the Hessian fly.

It also has a high tolerance to low pH in the soil due to resistance to aluminum toxicity. It matures early for spring wheat, which could help farmers begin harvest closer in timing to their winter varieties.

Several Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan and Korea have already shown interest in the new spring wheat variety, according to a news release.

Industry representatives have been touring WSU’s Wheat Quality Lab and tasting Ryan noodles.

The variety is named after Ryan A. Davis, a WSU alumnus and former

Shelly Hanks/WSU Photo Services

Cereal chemist Alecia Kiszonas runs Ryan wheat dough through an imported sheeting machine to create udon noodles. manager of the university’s Spillman and Cook research farms, who died at age 38 in 2016 following a battle with cancer.

The new wheat variety was developed with funding by the Washington Grain Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and WSU. Anthony Kuipers can be reached at (208) 8834640, or by email to akuipers@dnews.com.

14 | Saturday, September 28, 2019 |

MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE

Northwest Farm and Ranch | FALL 2019

Vets with PTSD turn to beekeeping for relief New Hampshire program helps former U.S. soldiers deal with their anxiety

U.S. Army veteran Wendi Zimmermann transfers a frame of bees to a new box, while checking them for disease and food supply this past August at the Veterans Affairs’ beehives in Manchester, N.H.

By Michael Casey and Mike Householder Associated Press

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Gently lifting a wooden frame containing dozens of Italian honeybees, Vince Ylitalo seemed transfixed as he and several other veterans inspected the buzzing insects.

“This is really cool,” he said, pointing to a bee with blobs of orange pollen on its hind legs.

Ylitalo, who has battled PTSD after serving nearly 40 years in the military including two tours in Iraq, didn’t seem bothered by the bees swarming around his head or crawling all over the entrance to their hive. Instead, the 57-year-old logistics expert said the several hours spent working on the two hives each week at the Manchester VA Medical Center in New Hampshire was a respite of sorts from his anxiety and depression.

Known as an apiary, the hives are locat-

Associated Press

ed next to a lilac garden off a busy street.

“I’m in this program to help me get out of the thought process of all those problems that I have,” said Ylitalo, who has struggled since leaving the Army in

benefits. For now, there is little hard data, but veterans in programs like the one in Manchester insist that it helps them focus, relax and become more productive. The programs are part of a small but growing effort by Veterans Affairs and veteran groups to promote the training of soldiers in farming and other agricultural careers.

Standing near Ylitalo in her white bee suit, Army veteran Wendi Zimmermann said bees have helped her deal with the anxiety she feels outside her home — 2017. “It helps me think of something even though she initially feared being completely different. ... I’m just think- stung. She and Ylitalo are among 12 veterans that have taken part in beekeeping about bees.”

Researchers are beginning to study See BEEKEEPING, Page 15 whether beekeeping has therapeutic

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Beekeeping from Page 14

ing since the program started in May. “It gives you a chance to shut down and not think about the outside world. It shows me there is a way to shut my brain down to get other things accomplished,” Zimmermann said. “Before, my mind would be filled with thoughts constantly and I wasn’t accomplishing daily tasks.”

While some of the programs are geared to giving soldiers the skills to become farmers and commercial beekeepers, others aim to address the challenges facing those returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq with brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues. The programs are careful to say that beekeeping is just one of several benefits that could help a troubled veteran.

“The anecdotes we have heard are fantastic,” said Alicia Semiatin, who heads the mental health program in Manchester. “Folks find that it is really something that they benefit from at the time they are doing the beekeeping and the benefits seems to be carrying over not only for days but weeks afterward.

What more could you ask for from treatment than something to that degree?”

Similar stories have been heard from beekeeping programs from Brockton, Mass., to Reno, Nev. Those running the programs said there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that beekeeping is making a difference for those who spend time managing hives and harvesting honey. Beekeeping gives them a sense of purpose, helps them relax and allows them to block out dark thoughts, they said.

“Beekeeping affords us the opportunity to really kind of engage in a different way with the natural world,” said Adam Ingrao, a fourth-generation soldier who runs Heroes to Hives through Michigan State University Extension.

“You’re not thinking about what happened in Afghanistan or Iraq. You’re thinking about what’s happening right here, right now.”

Ford Motor Co. is providing space to Heroes to Hives at Henry Ford’s

| MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE | Saturday, September 28, 2019 | 15 old farm near Ann Arbor. The free program provides a nine-month beekeeping course to veterans, about 80 percent of whom have a disability.

In Reno, Ginger Fenwick started Bees4Vets with her husband, Daniel, in 2018 after spotting a 1919 pamphlet written by the government that advocated beekeeping for veterans returning from World War I with shell shock.

Bees4Vets trains 10 veterans a year to manage some of its roughly 30 hives at the agricultural experiment station at the University of Nevada, Reno and residents’ backyards in nearby Sparks.

Inspired by concerns about high levels of suicide among veterans, the program focuses on those with PTSD or traumatic brain injuries from Nevada and Northern California. It also has teamed up with a University of Nevada, Reno professor who studies PTSD to research whether beekeeping is helping veterans in the program. If a majority shows improvement, the program plans to study why and how — and whether beekeeping could be helping.

“If there was anything we could do to help one family, one person, then it would be all worth it,” Fenwick said.

Each veteran gets two hives to manage for the year and learns skills like honey harvesting and wax processing.

One veteran who completed the program wants to start a honey mustard business; another wants to make lip balms using bee wax.

At the University of Minnesota, Rebecca Masterman runs its bee squad.

One of its programs works with veterans who manage 18 hives on the grounds of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. She said the program’s main goal is to expose veterans to beekeeping, though it also promotes the therapeutic benefits of working with bees. She was cautious, however, about commenting on whether beekeeping could be treatment for veterans with PTSD. “We know that beekeeping is an amazing experience,” said Masterman, whose program is seeking funding to study its impact on veterans with PTSD. “But at the same time, we’re not trying to do therapy without setting up an actual program that would specifically do therapy.”

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16 | Saturday, September 28, 2019 |

MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE

Northwest Farm and Ranch | FALL 2019

Family’s Indian corn keeps an ear to history North Dakota farmers have success selling symbolic food

By Jack Dura Bismarck Tribune

HUFF, N.D. — Mary Graner bent down a barbwire fence and waded into 10-foot stalks in her family’s cornfield.

The Huff-area farmer and rancher reached up to pick an ear of flint corn, commonly called Indian corn, bringing it down to shuck its husks and see the kernels’ colors.

Not quite ready.

“We need sunshine,” Graner said on a misty, wet Friday morning. Sunshine helps the corn ripen into hard, colorful globules like shiny marbles or glass beads.

Graner’s family grows variants of corn for food, ornamentals and silage, or animal

Jack Dura/Bismarck Tribune

Mary Graner holds an ear of Indian corn that has yet to ripen Sept.

13 at her Huff, N.D.-area farm. feed. For years, the family has sold sweet corn in Mandan and Indian corn to the Papa’s Pumpkin Patch fall tourist attraction in rural Bismarck.

Graner and her husband,

Kenny, both grew up selling sweet corn. After they married, they began growing corn for a little extra income.

Indian corn is a “huge” seller, said Dave Pearce, owner of

Papa’s Pumpkin Patch, which goes through about 600 dozen ears, peeled, bunched and tied for sale.

“It’s so wonderfully, uniquely colored, and her ears of corn are wonderfully big and full,” said Pearce, before he and others were to begin peeling and tying ears from another supplier last week. “It’s one of those symbols, like the pumpkin, of the harvest, of Thanksgiving.”

Indian corn isn’t a widely grown variant. Graner said she knows of no one else in Morton County who grows it. Pearce said it’s hard to find growers in the area or up north, given the corn’s growing season of more than 100 days.

“You’ve got to be early in the ground with it. You’ve got to pay attention to how you grow it to get it,” he said.

Corn goes back generations among the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes of the upper Missouri River, who also raised

beans and squash in their gardens. In a 1917 account of Hidatsa agriculture, gardener Buffalo Bird Woman described nine varieties of corn in the gardens of Like-a-Fishhook Village, which was directly north of what is now Beulah Bay on Lake Sakakawea.

Buffalo Bird Woman also recounted the legend of how the Hidatsas were introduced to corn upon migrating to the Missouri River.

“One of the Mandans on one side of the river took his arrow, tied a half of a cob and shot it over the river,” said Darian Kath, interpretive park ranger at Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site.

“And the word for ‘eat’ is the same for Mandan and Hidatsa, and so they tried it and took it back to the rest of their villagers, and for the Hidatsas, that’s how they started growing corn, was from the Mandans introducing it to them,” he said.

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