The science of
WINE Valley grape harvest delivers some good news in a rough year Page 8
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2 | Saturday, December 26, 2020 |
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
WSU Plant Sciences Building in full bloom Modern four-story, 82,400-square-foot research building was recently completed on Pullman campus By Garrett Cabeza Farm and Ranch
ABOVE: Washington State University’s fourstory, 82,400-square-foot Plant Sciences Building completed this fall in Pullman promises to help advance research into a wide variety of crops. LEFT: The modular labs in the building sport natural light and ample shared spaces in which to conduct experiments. Washington State University photos
Washington State University’s four-story, 82,400-square-foot Plant Sciences Building completed this fall in Pullman promises to help advance research into a wide variety of crops. The $66 million state-ofthe-art facility, funded by the Washington state Legislature, will be home to collaborative research supporting regional and global agriculture. “This is a massive upgrade in the quality of lab space,” Andre-Denis Wright, dean of WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, said in the Plant Sciences Building virtual commemoration video posted on the college’s website. “The labs we have now were built decades ago and were made for a single research program. Now we can host CAHNRS faculty from four departments — Horticulture, Plant Pathology, Crop and Soil Sciences, and the Institute of Biological Chemistry.” According to the college’s website, scientists at the Plant Sciences Building will use new technologies to explore complex traits in plants, defend against parasites and diseases, and improve the nation’s cyber infrastructure, among other endeavors. Knowledge developed there will help improve hundreds of important crops, including wheat, potatoes, apples, cherries, legumes, forest trees and turfgrass. “The needs of ag in Washington state are always changing,” said Brandon Schrand, College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE |
Saturday, December 26, 2020 | 3 LEFT: The Plant Sciences Building was designed by Seattle-based LMN Architects, and built by Skanska. It was dedicated on Nov. 16. Washington State University photo
André-Denis Wright is the dean of CAHNRS Sciences interim director of communications. “We’re always advancing technologies to make more sustainable, better crops in the state of Washington, and that necessitates sort of state-of-theart researchers, state-of-theart facilities those researchers can work in in order to make sure that Washington is competitive in the national and global marketplace in agriculture.” Schrand said graduate students will make up the lion’s share of the students who
work in the facility. He said the building is “a vital piece of recruiting premier graduate students” to WSU’s plant sciences programs.
“They not only want to come and work with very often particular researchers who specialize in a particular area, but they want to make sure that
postdocs or jobs,” Schrand said. Construction on the glassand-brick building started in 2018. “The concepts and the designs — that conversation was a long time in the making,” Schrand said. “This project was the result of well over a decade of planning from a variety of key players.” The open-concept laboratories foster collaboration, a change from the older, partitioned buildings plant sciences students worked in, he said. “This building, architecturally, really places a premium on the concept of collaboration and the concept of natural they’re working in facilities light,” he said. that are up to date, that are cutting-edge so that they’re not Garrett Cabeza can be reached five, 10 years behind the curve at (208) 883-4631, or by email when they go out to apply for to gcabeza@dnews.com.
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4 | Saturday, December 26, 2020 |
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE
| FARMING IN A CRISIS |
Farmers harvest wheat Aug. 24 near Sunrise and Hemmingway Roads just south of Garfield in Whitman County.
Dan Pelle/Spokesman-Review
Wheat farming weathers pandemic Northwest’s grain industry remains strong amid the challenges of coronavirus By Kathy Hedberg Farm and Ranch
Even though COVID-19 has hit many businesses in the U.S. hard, the grain industry appears to be holding its own and maybe even enjoying an increase. “In many regards our exports are up this year, since June, compared to last year,” said Glen Squires, chief executive officer of the Washington Grain Commission, noting it’s difficult to pinpoint a particular reason for the growing market. “I think it’s hard to have a one-toone direct connection, because so much of what happens in the international market” depends on crops in other parts of the world, such as Australia and the Black Sea region. “All of that stuff becomes part of the whole pic-
“
We had a bigger crop this year — we had a great crop and it’s very good quality.” — GLEN SQUIRES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION ture,” Squires said. “COVID is just another part.” There’s no doubt the side effects of the pandemic, resulting in stay-athome orders, restaurants shutting down, and inaccessibility of goods have had a day-to-day effect on personal incomes. But when people are staying home more, that might translate into a bump in sales for grain products. “We have heard that in places like Japan where people can’t go out, restaurants have decreased in demand. But at the same time a lot of (Asian
Pacific Northwest soft white wheat and all classes of wheat in the U.S. has been the Philippines, with purchases of 2.4 million metric tons. That’s followed by Mexico, which has purchased 2.2 million metric tons and China — which only two years ago bought nothing and last year bought 386,000 tons, topping out at 2 million metric tons. “We had a bigger crop this year — we had a great crop and it’s very good quality,” Squires said. “And I think they’re recognizing that, too. It is good news. “When you put it all together, the grain market is working. Wheat is being exported and being utilized, and I’m sure people overseas are probably adjusting their distribution channels, but it’s still working. “I think we have to remember that wheat and all the other commodities are food, and that food and the ingredients for food, people are putting those things together and still eating.”
countries) have individually wrapped products, so they’re safer” with stay-athome food preparation. “People are still trying to figure out how to deal with the whole issue. But grain is still being harvested, it’s still being moved downriver in barges and everybody’s implementing protocols on how to be safe. Everybody’s doing things to minimize the COVID effect, so in that way I think people are taking precautions to keep grain moving, which is awesome.” Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@ This year the biggest customer for gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE |
Northwest growers flourish in National Wheat Yield Contest
In this Aug. 15, 2018, file photo, wheat grows in a field near St. John. Pete Caster/Farm & Ranch
Eastern Washington and Idaho contestants finish in first places in multiple categories By Anthony Kuipers Farm and Ranch
Science and a little luck with the weather helped an eastern Washington farmer become the Washington state winner in the 2020 National Wheat Yield Contest. John Dixon of Pomeroy competed in the annual contest organized by the National Wheat Foundation and had the top yield in the dryland winter wheat category among Washington farmers. Dixon
had the second highest yield nationally in that category. The winners, announced in November, can be found at wheatfoundation.org/pastcontest-winners/. There were 418 entries in this year’s contest, which recognizes winners in multiple categories. Winter wheat and spring wheat are the two primary categories, with dryland and irrigated as the subcategories. Washington, Idaho and Oregon farmers were well represented in the contest.
Terry Wilcox of Rexburg, Idaho, was the national winner for the irrigated spring wheat category. Derek Friehe of Moses Lake, Wash., earned the top national prize in the irrigated winter wheat category. Trevor Stout, of Genesee, won the national spring dryland category. His father, Doug Stout, took third nationally in the dryland winter wheat category. Bruce Ruddenklau, of Amity, Ore., took first in that category. According to the National
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Wheat Foundation, the state winners receive a certificate, while the national winners will be recognized during a virtual general reception organized by the Commodity Classic. Dixon, who has been a farmer for more than 20 years, said this is the second time he has entered the National Wheat Yield Contest to represent the McGregor Company. His winning yield totaled 189.9 bushels per acre. “I think it’s exciting to see a yield that high in eastern
Washington,” he said. As part of the contest, Dixon said he selected a site in advance called a management zone that he manages throughout the year. The plot is verified by a Washington State University Extension employee. Then it is cut, harvested and weighed. Dixon said the high yield was helped by the rain in May, June and July. He also credited the “science of production” for his success as well. The longtime farmer said science has brought better varieties, fertilizer and understanding of factors like micronutrients. He said he felt satisfaction in seeing what is possible with production. “I think the education of learning what we can do inside our own field is probably what I enjoyed most about it,” he said.
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Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE
UI researcher aims to update barley growers’ guide the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service in Kimberly, A University of Idaho, to understand Idaho barley agronthe needs and omist plans to survey challenges of Idaho’s barley growers’ chalbarley growers. lenges throughout Spackman will work the state and use that with Rodgers on the information to update Spackman project. a barley-production The information from the guide and direct his research survey will lead to growers going forward. Jared Spackman, who works having timely information they out of UI’s Aberdeen (Idaho) can use to make better decisions Research and Extension for their farm so their farms Center, plans to build on the maintain sustainability over the Sean Ellis/Idaho Farm Bureau data gathered in the past couple long term, Spackman said. Idaho has held onto its claim of being the nation’s top barley-producing state, with the state’s farmers of years by his predecessor, The barley-production guide producing 55 million bushels of the small grain this past year. Chris Rodgers, who is now with in use today came out in 2004 By Michael Wells Farm and Ranch
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Saturday, December 26, 2020 | 7
Top 10 states in barley production for 2020 Idaho was the top barley-producing state this year. 60 IN MILLIONS OF BUSHELS
and is based on data from the 1980s, he said. A lot of things have changed since then, and surveying barley farmers in the state will speed up the process of getting the data needed to produce a more updated and helpful barley-production guide. Spackman believes by surveying farmers around the state, he can have the data he needs in three years rather than collecting data for another 16 years at the Aberdeen Research and Extension Center. Barley farming has changed in many ways since the 1980s. The survey should reveal changes in field management, changes in climate and issues caused from climate change, changes in pests and disease pressures, advances in precision agriculture, crop rotation, tillage, seeding rates and irrigation practices. The survey will also allow Spackman to get reacquainted with Idaho and its agriculture producers. Eastern Idaho leads the state in barley production. Barley is also produced in south central Idaho around Twin Falls and Burley, on the Palouse and around Sandpoint, he said. Idaho led the nation in barley production again in 2020, according to the USDA Small Grains 2020 Summary released in September. Gem State
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE |
50
55 46
40 30
29 20 6.5 6.3
10
5.9 2.4 2.3 1.8
0
ID
MT
ND
CO
WA
WY
MN
PA
OR
1.5
1.5
MD
CA
SOURCE: USDA, NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE
growers produced one-third of the U.S. crop this year, or 55 million bushels of barley. The U.S. produced 165 million bushels of barley in 2020. About 75 percent to 80 percent of the Gem State’s barley crop is for malting, while the rest is used for human or livestock food. There were 15 varieties of barley grown in Idaho in 2020 and 13
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in 2019, according to the Barley Variety Survey 2020 from the American Malting Barley Association. Barley varieties grown in Idaho come in names like Merit 57, ABI Voyager, CDC Copeland, Moravian 69, ABI Eagle, Legacy and Thunder to name a few. Malting varieties like ABI Voyager and ABI Eagle were developed by Busch Agricultural
University of Idaho
The Spring Barley Production Guide, released in 2004, is being updated. Resources. Barley used for malting improves the flavor of beers and sweetens ice cream malts and products like granola bars, Spackman said. Barleys produced in northern Idaho are sold as feed for livestock or shipped to Asian markets and sold as a rice supplement.
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8 | Saturday, December 26, 2020 |
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
An otherwise challenging year sees bright spot with promising grape harvest By Elaine Williams Farm and Ranch
Wine grape growers in the LewisClark Valley American Viticultural Area expect 2020’s harvest to age well, providing what they predict will be a lasting sweet note to a year marked by uncertainty. The wines from this year’s grapes are still in their early stages. But proprietors of Clearwater Canyon Cellars in Lewiston, Colter’s Creek Winery in Juliaetta, Rivaura Estate Vineyards & Winery at Arrow and Basalt Cellars in Clarkston say what they’re observing so far is promising. “The chemistry and the flavors (are) incredible,” said Coco Umiker, an owner and winemaker at Clearwater Canyon Cellars. “It was just balanced all year long. The winemaking was almost effortless. There weren’t all these curveballs being thrown at me.” Lane Hewett, assistant winemaker at Rivaura, Mike Pearson, an owner and vineyard manager of Colter’s Creek, and Rick Wasem, an owner and the winemaker at Basalt Cellars had a similar take. “It was a big, plentiful harvest,” Hewett said. “We’re really excited about everything.” The berry size was a little smaller than in some years at Colter’s Creek, creating a higher ratio of grape skins to juice, something that could increase the intensity of the flavors and colors of wines from 2020 grapes, Pearson said.
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE |
Saturday, December 26, 2020 | 9
OPPOSITE PAGE: Coco Umiker, co-owner of Clearwater Canyon Cellars, uses a dropper to measure a precise amount of wine into a volumetric flask as she performs an enzymatic measurement of alcohol content. LEFT: Sitting at her testing lab table, Umiker takes notes while performing an enzymatic measurement of alcohol content of wine. BELOW: Umiker shakes a 1/100 dilution of wine and distilled water as she does an enzymatic measurement of alcohol content of wine. She uses enzymes to test the alcohol concentration in their wines. BELOW LEFT: Umiker and her husband, Kyle, look at the clarity in an Estate Umiker Vineyard Rosé of Syrah at their warehouse in Lewiston. All photos, Pete Caster/Farm and Ranch
“It was a very good year fruitwise, better than some of the years we’ve had,” he said. “From what we’re seeing and tasting right now, we think it’s going to stand out as an exceptional year.” Sometimes the acidity in grapes is too high or too low, which winemakers can adjust with varying degrees of success, depending on what else is happening with the grapes, Wasem said. This year, he didn’t have to do much of that tinkering, which is
the approach he prefers. “The size (of the crop) was average to slightly on the light side, but that ended up translating to better quality,” Wasem said. “You didn’t have to do anything to the fruit when it came in except ferment it.” The potential the 2020 vintage holds comes as a relief for winery owners, who earlier in the season harbored what turned out to be unfounded worries about smoke taint in grapes
from north central Idaho and southeastern Washington. A tiny amount of smoke flavor in a full-bodied wine can be interesting and is somewhat similar to what winemakers do when they age wines in oak barrels, but too much can easily ruin wines, Umiker said. One of the challenges with smoke taint, Wasem said, is that it surfaces during fermentation, frequently in grapes that look healthy and taste right at harvest.
Umiker was so worried about smoke taint, she did at least two small-batch test fermentations on every block of grapes Clearwater Canyon Cellars grew before she was satisfied her grapes were unharmed. Once Umiker and other winemakers realized smoke damage wasn’t a factor, they focused on the strengths of this year’s grapes. The syrah grapes from vines Clearwater Canyon Cellars planted in 2006 are among the best of this year’s harvest, Umiker said. They have “perfect” chemistry and are “hugely explosive with flavor,” she said. “Winemaking is pretty darn easy when the vintage is that perfect.”
Other winemakers are equally as pleased. Like Umiker, Hewett, believes syrah will be a standout. The red grapes are among the varieties his vineyard grows on the north and south sides of the Clearwater River. In the 2020 vintage, they expect to see a continuation of a trend that surfaced in other years. Wines made from the same type of grape raised across the river from each other can be distinct, Hewett said, because of factors such as soil composition and sun exposure. “It’s really cool to taste them side by side and see how different they are,” he said. Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@ lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
10 | Saturday, December 26, 2020 |
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
| EDUCATION |
New chief harvests years of experience Karen Lewis named director of WSU Extension’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Program By Justyna Tomtas Farm and Ranch
Karen Lewis plans to use her more than three decades of experience as a tree fruit specialist as she embarks on a new role within Washington State University’s Extension program. Lewis was recently appointed to a two-year term as the director of the Extension’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Program Unit. “Our tagline is ‘Extending knowledge, changing lives,’ and that’s why I came on board,” she said. The unit oversees programs like the Master Gardeners, the Extensionled Farmer Suicide Prevention program and the Western Center for Risk Management, which helps farmers and ranchers through targeted risk management education. Topics like production agriculture, food science, farm economics, animal sciences and forestry are all housed within the unit. “When this position opened up, I looked at it as an opportunity to bring those 33 years of regional-based experience to the administration, and so I think I’m in a position to represent what regional specialists do and what we need,” Lewis said. “These are challenging times for universities and land grants, and I like challenges, so I wanted to be part of that leadership circle that was going to make some of the hard decisions going forward.” As the director, Lewis plans to remove any barriers or obstacles to collaboration so that regional specialists can focus on the jobs they were hired to do and can remain engaged in the Extension program’s land-grant mission. Based out of the Grant-Adams Extension office in Moses Lake, Lewis would also like to grow partnerships with other program units that serve youth and families, as well as community and economic development. “Our unit is very large and diverse among agriculture and natural resources, but many of us work across other program units,” she said. “We are not
Washington State University
Karen Lewis recently was appointed to a two-year term as the director of Washington State University Extension’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Program Unit. functioning in silos, and if you are in production agriculture everything you do has some impact, whether it’s direct, or intentional or not, on community economic development.” Lewis first began working for the Extension office at the age of 29. She’ll continue her work as a fruit tree specialist in commercial tree fruit production while she’s in the director position. She said she feels grateful to live and work in the Columbia Basin. “You couldn’t find someone more excited to be in the Columbia Basin project and all that it means — the availability of high-quality water, great soils, incredible climate and hard-working people,” Lewis said. “I’m thrilled that I landed here.” She plans to bring her passion to her new role as she mentors younger faculty members.
“We want to attract and keep the best here at Washington State University, and we better be excited about what we are doing,” she said. The coronavirus pandemic has created some challenges for the Extension program, but Lewis said it has also generated a lot of opportunity. “We’ve found new ways of doing what is mission critical and delivering content in digestible and useful ways. There’s been new collaborations, new partnerships and new opportunities,” she said. “It’s absolutely devastating (that some of our work can’t be conducted in person), but we need to continue to look for and leverage the opportunities that came out of COVID.” Lewis led the WSU Tree Fruit Extension Team since 2015. She worked closely with fruit tree growers in the state, outreach specialists and
scientists to share better practices and research-based discoveries. “Professor Lewis is deeply versed in delivering the industry-supporting outreach and education that’s at the heart of the Extension experience,” said AndréDenis Wright, dean of the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, in a news release. “She is ideally skilled to lead the Agriculture and Natural Resources Program Unit, and to foster its land-grant heritage.” Lewis replaced prior director Todd Murray, who was named to lead the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center earlier this year. She holds a bachelor’s degree in plant science and a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of Arizona. Justyna Tomtas may be contacted at jtomtas@lmtribune.com or at (208) 8482294. Follow her on Twitter @jtomtas.
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE |
Saturday, December 26, 2020 | 11
Idaho farms prepared for another wave Farm Bureau chief confident state’s ag industry is poised to handle whatever surges the coronavirus breakout might throw at it By Scott Jackson Farm and Ranch
Even with warnings of the potential for a sharp rise in cases of COVID-19 through the winter and coming spring, Idaho farm officials say the agriculture industry in the state is much better prepared than it was when the virus first struck. Idaho Farm Bureau President and CEO Zak Miller said when the virus first began to have an effect in the U.S. and states began closing businesses, including restaurants and schools, it caused a dramatic shift in the agricultural industry that many were unprepared for. Miller said the
Let
number of cases had less of an impact than the sheer speed of their onset and accompanying health and safety mandates. Now, however, after having dealt with the virus and its effects for most of a year, Miller said farmers have come to better understand how to continue operating safely while minimizing the hit to their bottom line. Additionally, he said, farmers have spent years honing their ability to ensure their products are safe and have adequate storage, and that preparedness has begun to pay off. “They’ve continually invested in (best practices), and we’ve seen even increased emphasis on that too, this summer,” he
said. “So the ability to have the crop on-farm and be in a very healthy and stable state — I think we’re as good now as we’ve probably ever been.” Miller said much of the trouble farmers encountered early Miller in the pandemic was logistical. When the pandemic hit all at once last spring, the U.S. supply chain was relatively unprepared for the dramatic shifts necessary to keep business humming along without disruption. For example, he said, typically more than half of Idaho’s potato and dairy products are sold to the food service industry. When restaurants were shut down in the spring, producers had to store and package their products for new users while minimizing waste and expense.
Since then, farmers, shippers and end users have learned how to adjust for these conditions and are better prepared to adapt if the need arises. “As we look into another wave, if that were to happen, I think we’re far more better established both from the farm level all the way through our manufacturing partners, to our logistic partners, to do a better job,” Miller said. “Probably the biggest concern we have is just do we have the manpower to be able to make sure that the fruits of our labors of the fruited plains of Idaho get onto the plates of those that need it the most.” While shortages still exist, he said the agricultural industry is also better prepared when it comes to personal protective equipment. And though the pandemic
and its impact on the world economy is without precedent, Miller said farmers are pragmatic, adaptable people and the need to balance efficiency with flexibility is nothing new. Similarly, he said, the need for safe, health-focused handling and storage of food products is a familiar problem to tackle as well. “Farmers by nature are scientists. In the agriculture community we’re used to dealing with viruses and pests and understanding the procedures to protect your crops and our animals,” Miller said. “It hasn’t been hard for us to understand what a virus can do to the human population. We get this, it’s part of our wheelhouse, this is what we professionally go to university to be trained for.” Scott Jackson can be reached at (208) 883-4636, or by email to sjackson@dnews.com.
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MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
| FRUIT GROWERS |
Satsumas — and love — grown here Alabama farmers’ story is as sweet as the mandarin oranges growing abundantly on the trees Chad Thornberg planted By Michelle Matthews of Al.com
MOBILE, Ala. — Chad Thornburg probably didn’t have to plant an orchard to get his future wife’s attention. But that was part of his plan a decade ago, when he planted the very first satsuma tree on his grandparents’ property in west Mobile. Chad had been cutting the grass on his grandmother’s 20-acre property anyway, and he figured satsumas would be a good crop to grow in the former pecan orchard. He dug up the trees that were no longer producing, leaving his Grandma’s favorite one and a few others, and gradually planted the rows of satsuma trees that are now so tall they hide her brick house. Before she died, his beloved grandmother ate the first satsuma he picked. Now, his orchard has nearly 400 trees, and Chad has been married to his wife, Jenny, for eight years. Their love story is as sweet as the mandarin oranges growing abundantly on each tree Chad planted. Together, the couple run Southern Orchards, where the public can pick the easy-to-peel satsumas to their hearts’ content. And if you don’t live nearby, you can order fresh-picked satsumas that will be shipped to your doorstep. Chad and Jenny each have full-time jobs – she’s an accountant at an advertising agency, and he’s a firefighter with the Mobile Fire Department – but they also have farming in their blood. Her family owns
ABOVE: The love story of Chad and Jenny Thornburg started about 10 years ago, when he sought her father’s advice before he started planting satsuma trees. LEFT: Southern Orchards ships satsumas all over the country and offers a U-pick option on weekends. Tribune News Service photos
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020 the third-generation Sessions Farm in Grand Bay, and his father, Andy Thornburg, farms cotton and peanuts. The farming community in Mobile County is closeknit, so Chad and Jenny have known each other since they were children. Several years ago, Jenny, who had already been single for a while, learned that Chad was going through a divorce. “I sent him a message to say I was sorry to hear that,” she says. Soon afterward, Chad went to seek advice and guidance from her father, Art Sessions — the largest citrus farmer in the area — about how to get started with his own orchard. “I ran away from farming for a long time,” says Chad. “But this was something I could do on a smaller scale. My mom and dad fronted the funds, and I fronted the labor.” Going to the Sessions Farm was also a good excuse to see Jenny again. Soon after that visit, they started dating. As their love blossomed, so did the orchard.
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE |
Tribune News Service
A bag of Southern Orchards satsuma oranges is ready for shipping anywhere in the United States. “It’s been a learning process,” says Chad. He learned a hard lesson about satsumas when he had to replant the trees twice after they froze. His goal is “to ship to areas where he won’t grow,” he says – which is, basically, anywhere north of Montgomery. “We’ve shipped to Alaska already this
year.” Southern Orchards will ship seven pounds of satsumas for $25 and 15 pounds for $39. They are also open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for those who want to pick a gallon of satsumas for $20. Clippers and a bucket are provided. And if you’re lucky,
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you can pick up a jar of Chad’s mother Beverly’s homemade satsuma pepper jelly. Jenny, who grew up working in the fields with her family, loves to see young families bring children to pick. “They’re introduced to where the fruit comes from,” she says. Visitors can also see the horses Chad’s sister and her family keep, as well as the cows on the other neighbor’s side of the fence. “As much as an experience as it is for them, it is for us to get to watch their excitement about something we might take for granted.” During satsuma season, which started around the first of November and will go through the weekend before Christmas, family members on both sides, including the couple’s three teenage children and their three cousins who live next door to the orchard, pitch in to help on weekends. “Even though it’s work, farming still gives you the opportunity to have family relationships and time together you might not otherwise have,” says Jenny. She’s reminded of the time
Saturday, December 26, 2020 | 13 she spent working in the fields alongside her grandmother when she was growing up. As much as they enjoy sharing their crop with others, Chad loves to be alone among the trees. “Ten months out of the year, I’m out here by myself,” he says. When satsuma season is over, he spends a couple of days each week maintaining the trees and grass. “It’s peaceful.” Even though it’s located just off Airport Boulevard, the satsuma farm feels like it’s a million miles away. “Being in the orchard gives you a chance to disconnect,” Jenny says. “While the world is changing and people enjoy delivery and pickup, there’s still a desire to have this experience, too.” She still likes to tease her husband about the cold winter day he spent with her dad to talk about satsumas — and get her attention. “Getting into farming was a crazy thing to do just for a date,” she says with a big smile. “He went all-in.”
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MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
| ANIMAL RAISING |
Dairy farmers returning to their roots Wisconsin rancher finds a way to make his small-scale farm more profitable and sustainable through rotational grazing By CHRIS HUBBUCH of the Wisconsin State Journal
BLANCHARDVILLE, Wis. — For as long as he can remember, Jason Gruenfelder wanted to be a dairy farmer. But after 10 years of doing it the way his father and grandfathers had, he was tired. Tired of hauling feed into the barn each day and manure back out. Tired of long nights on the tractor. Tired of sending his milk checks to seed and fertilizer vendors. So in 2018, he decided to do something different. Now his cattle spend their days munching fresh grass on his 335-acre farm, leaving Gruenfelder, 35, more time to spend with his family and more money in his pocket, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. In an era when farmers have been told to go big or get out, Gruenfelder found a way John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP to make his small farm more Jason Grunenfelder moves cows onto fresh pasture at his farm near Blanchaardville, Wis. Grunenfelder uses rotational grazing, a model profitable and more sustainable through managed rota- researchers sat can make farms more profitable and more environmentally friendly.
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Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020 tional grazing, a modern take on an old-fashioned practice. “It’s very simple,” Gruenfelder said. “This is going back to the roots of what dairying was a hundred years ago.” A new initiative based at UW-Madison is helping others do the same in a bid to boost Wisconsin’s struggling ag economy while promoting healthy food and the environment. Since switching from confinement feeding to rotational grazing, Jason Gruenfelder said his cows produce less milk, but the farm is more profitable because his costs are so much lower. Funded by a $10 million grant from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the collaborative — called Grassland 2.0 in a nod to the prairies that once dominated the landscape — brings together farmers, researchers, food processors and government officials to find new opportunities for grazing and other perennial grassland farming practices. For an industry battered by unstable commodity prices, rising costs, market constraints and extreme weather, grassland farming represents a bright spot, said Randy Jackson, the UW researcher leading the project. Jackson, a professor of grassland ecology, envisions a future of profitable, productive farmland that also promotes clean water, healthy soil, biodiversity and resilience — much like the region’s original prairie landscape did. He considers the grant a “major win” for residents of the Upper Midwest. “We’re going to need farming practices that simultaneously produce healthy food, support thriving communities and restore ecosystem processes,” Jackson said. “Grazed perennial grasslands do that.” Wisconsin lost 773 dairy farms in 2019, and another 266 so far this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s statistics service. Yet the total number of milk cows is virtually the same as it was five years
MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE |
ago, and milk production hit an all-time high last year as farmers squeezed a record 24,152 pounds of milk from each cow. Speaking at the World Dairy Expo in Madison last year, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue warned small farmers there may be no place for them in this economy. “In America, the big get bigger and the small go out,” Perdue said. “I don’t think in America we, or any small business, we have a guaranteed income or guaranteed profitability.” But the loss of small and mid-size farms is draining rural communities, leaving behind “a disaffected and underemployed” population, Jackson argues, while row-crop farming and confined feeding operations contribute to flooding, water pollution, loss of biodiversity and climate change. Meanwhile, the focus on increased production has led to an oversupply of milk and increased reliance on export markets, leaving farmers vulnerable to volatile milk prices and dependent on government subsidies. “It’s astounding the things we do to maintain the current agricultural system. It’s failing. It’s failing economically. It’s failing environmentally. It’s killing the farmers, sometimes literally,” Jackson said. “It’s not the farmers’ fault that this is happening. It’s the system.” About 16 percent of Wisconsin dairy farmers were using some form of managed grazing as of the USDA’s 2012 Census of Agriculture, said Laura Paine, an outreach coordinator with Grassland 2.0 and former grazing specialist for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. More recent figures have yet to be tabulated. “There are people doing it now,” Jackson said. “But not enough of them.” About 90 percent of the milk produced in Wisconsin comes from “confinement” farms, where cows spend See DAIRY, Page 16
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MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE
Northwest Farm and Ranch | WINTER 2020
Dairy from Page 15
most of their time in barns eating diets rich in grains like corn and soybeans that are grown, harvested and delivered to them. Researchers have shown this system is more energy and carbon-intensive and results in problems like erosion and excess nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen finding their way into streams, rivers and lakes. The system has also become increasingly unprofitable. After accounting for all the costs of running a farm, including labor, capital and general overhead, the average Wisconsin farmer actually lost $1.40 for every hundred pounds of milk produced last year, according to USDA statistics. Grass-fed cattle produce less milk than their confined counterparts, but the economics are much more favorable. And while overall consumption of milk — and red meat — are declining, grass-fed dairy and meat sales are both surging. “The people who were raising grass-fed beef during COVID were out of beef in minutes,” Jackson said. “It’s really an interesting expose on the supply chain.” Gruenfelder, whose farm is not certified organic, doesn’t get paid any more for his milk, and his cows produce about 30 to 50 pounds per day instead of the standard 80 to 100. But with no seed and fertilizer bills and less machinery to maintain, Gruenfelder is able to keep more of his income. “We don’t go into town and brag about the milk production,” he said. “They’d just laugh at me. I’m OK with that, as long as I’m turning a profit.” An analysis by the UW-Madison Center for Dairy Profitability found dairy farms where cattle graze often produce less milk per cow but are ultimately more profitable. “It’s clearly a more profitable way to do dairy farming,” Jackson said. “Almost twice as profitable.” There are environmental
John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
Halle, Jaxon and Cal Grunenfelder play in a pasture on their farm. Their father, Jason Grunenfelder, said grass-based farming allows him more time with his family, and there’s less dangerous machinery than on a traditional confinement dairy. benefits as well. According to research by the USDA, UW-Madison and DATCP, well-managed grasslands can reduce soil erosion and nutrient runoff, which improves water quality, reduces flooding while also supporting wildlife, like pollinators, birds and trout. Grasslands also trap carbon in the soil, which could allow agriculture to become part of the solution to climate change and potentially generate additional revenue if carbon markets are developed. “It’s really a win-win-win across the board if it’s done well,” Jackson said. Gruenfelder first learned about rotational grazing during a farm tour when he was in college. While everyone else laughed, he recognized how much less work that farmer was putting in. “That guy’s got it figured out,” he thought. But with his older brother running the family farm, Gruenfelder and his wife, Kris, had to start from scratch and couldn’t make the finances work while they were getting established. He was happy for
a while running a confinement operation, but eventually he tired of the monotony and not having enough time to spend with his five kids. “It felt like I never got out of the barn,” he said. “It wears on you.” The finances seemed less sustainable, too. “You’d get a nice big milk check, but then it would go right out the door just as quick,” Kris said. “Why are we dragging the kids through the mud?” Now, instead of constantly hauling feed and manure, Gruenfelder leads his cows each morning down a ¾-mile path to one of his pastures. Around midday, he and the kids pile on their four-wheeler and ride out to the field, where he quickly strings up a new electric fenceline and moves the cows onto a fresh patch of grass. He does it once more in the evening. The cows spread their own manure, which helps regenerate the grass before they return to that section. Gruenfelder said his vet bills have fallen substantially since making the switch.
“They’re healthier,” he said. “They’re going out doing what they were put on the earth to do.” He still bales a little hay and buys some corn from his brother to get through the winter months, but Gruenfelder said he spends far less time on the tractor, and he finds the work far more interesting. “You have to roll with the punches. Every day is different depending on weather,” he said. “I love getting out of bed and doing this every day.” Despite the benefits, Jackson said that after eight decades of modernization and focus on increased production, it’s hard to get buy-in to such a cultural change. The transition can be costly, especially for farmers who’ve invested heavily in equipment. Bankers used to seeing much larger numbers are often skeptical. There are relationships with seed and fertilizer salesmen. And there’s peer pressure. “There’s this whole ethos built around high-input farming,” Jackson said. “It’s backwards. Not modern. It’s what grandma and grandpa did.”
That’s where Grassland 2.0 comes in. The collaborative effort — which also includes UW-Madison Extension, the University of Minnesota-St. Paul and multiple nonprofits — will focus on sharing information and resources with farmers while also working to expand markets, identify policy tools and bring together partners at the local and regional level to explore different approaches to expanding grassland agriculture. Jackson hopes that farmers like Gruenfelder can help teach others about the benefits and offer advice on making the switch. He’s also working with David LeZaks, a senior fellow with the Croatan Institute, a nonprofit research institute in North Carolina that works to use investment as a tool for social change and ecological resilience. LeZaks, based in Madison, hopes to use some of that socially conscious capital to support regenerative farming, much in the same way it has flowed to renewable energy, while also showing mainstream financiers that it’s a sound investment. “There’s already a playbook in many cases,” he said. “There are some bankers who fully understand this, but it tends to be at the fringe. It’s bringing it from the fringe into the center.” The program is also using landscape modeling to game out different scenarios, predicting how changes will affect the ecosystem as well as yields and profits. Claudio Gratton, a professor of entomology who developed the computer models in his UW-Madison lab, said farmers can compare the economics of one system to another and experiment with different plantings in individual fields. “We can move beyond anecdote and intuition to the best science to answer these questions,” Gratton said. “Sometimes it’s hard to look around the corner and see what is possible out here.”