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The straw that broke the honeybee’s back : Researchers seek to solve the mysterious decline of one of nature’s most important workers — Page 5
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On the cover: A honeybee goes to work | Photo courtesy Geoff Crimmins/Daily News
Latah Clearwater
Yakima
Garfield
Nez Perce
Columbia
Benton
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Klickitat Umatilla
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The straw that broke the honeybee’s back
Kootenai
Whitman
Franklin
Reasons vary from greater competition to last year’s drought I 4A
Bonner
Spokane
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Wheat growers face price decline
Boundary
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| Saturday, March 19, 2016 | 3A
Climate change, pesticides may be factors in bee deaths I 5A
Idaho
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Balancing water for wine WSU researchers look at conservation methods, particularly with white wine grapes I 10A
Northwest Farm and Ranch is published quarterly by the Lewiston Tribune and Moscow-Pullman Daily News and printed at the Tribune Publishing Co. Inc.’s printing facility at 505 Capital St. in Lewiston. To advertise in Northwest Farm and Ranch, contact the Moscow-Pullman Daily News advertising department at 208.882.5561 or Advertising Manager Craig Staszkow at cstaszkow@dnews.com, or the Lewiston Tribune advertising department at 208.848.2216 or Advertising Director Kim Burner at kburner@lmtribune.com.
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4A | Saturday, March 19, 2016 |
Northwest Farm and Ranch
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Wheat growers face price decline Greater competition to last year’s drought issues By Kathy Hedberg Lewiston Tribune staff writer
Farmers are bracing for lower prices on their grain crops this year, even if it turns out to be a moister spring and summer than last year’s dry spell. Randy Suess of Colfax, a former board member and president of U.S. Wheat Associates, said spring seeding has begun in the region and crops are likely to get a good start because of the abundant rains since last fall. “In my area we had 13 inches of rain since the end of September and that puts us on track for being almost normal rainfall,” Suess said. The ground had been so dry that all the precipitation Courtesy Lewiston Tribune that fell over the winter soaked into the High temperatures and lack of rainfall have hurt crop yields in the northwest. Meanwhile global wheat trade is growing and soil, and that’s good news. The bad news, Suess said, is that for has set records in recent years. grain prices to recover the 90 cents a bushel drop they have experienced since Black Sea region of Europe, Canada and the past three marketing years. million metric tons of U.S. wheat in 1985 last harvest “somebody is probably going Argentina to sell more of their wheat at Unlike other wheat exporting coun- and 1986. By 2014 and 2015 that volume to have to have a bad crop in the world. I low prices in more markets around the tries that sell generic wheat, the U.S. was up to about 20 million metric tons. don’t know if that’s going to happen.” world, U.S. Wheat Associates reports. produces six distinct wheat classes that U.S. Wheat Associates President Plentiful wheat supplies, a strong Over the past several years total are prized by countries that demand Alan Tracy said population growth in U.S. dollar and record low freight rates world wheat use and global wheat trade high quality. In Asia and Latin America, markets that cannot grow their own are helping wheat-growing areas in the is growing and has set records in two of for example, buyers imported about 10 wheat and have increasing disposable
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Northwest Farm and Ranch
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
| Saturday, March 19, 2016 | 5A
The straw that broke the honeybee’s back Climate change, pesticides may be factors in bee deaths By Shanon Quinn Daily News staff writer
The cause of decline in North America’s honeybees remains a mystery, in the sense that studies have been unable to discern a single factor responsible for the problem, University of Idaho researcher Brian Dennis said.
But that lack of a smoking gun may in itself be the solution. Dennis, in conjunction with U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist and UI graduate William Kemp, recently released a mathematical model that doesn’t need to point to a single cause — as he believes the causes are numerous.
incomes are keeping a strong demand for U.S. wheat in the export market. Even so, Suess said there are plenty of factors that are likely to keep wheat prices depressed this year. Farmers are still reeling from last year’s record heat and drought that hurt crop yields in this area and added protein to soft white wheat, which is not what Japan — one of the area’s major importers — wants. Soft white wheat is lower in protein than hard red or durum wheats and is used mainly for pastries and noodles. The higher protein level “had a lot to do with a shortfall of rain, but the high heat in May and June was unusual back then and hurt the quality quite a bit,” Suess said. “Prices were relatively
“A recent review paper looked at 60 different environmental factors. None of the 60 factors emerged as a leading cause,” Dennis said. “Our model suggests that critical size is sensitive to any and all environmental stressors.” Critical size, the number of bees a hive requires in order to flourish, has long been con-
low because the world had the second biggest crop of all time, so that didn’t help.” Some farmers, he added, are still holding on to their grain from last season and as the new harvest begins this year, those carryovers coming into the market are likely to keep prices at a lower level. “We’re holding on to our hat right now,” Suess said. “If El Nino (a global warming trend) is over with that sometimes relates to extremely hot, dry weather in the Midwest so if the corn crop is short, corn prices will be up and wheat prices will follow.” Kathy Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.
472107CS-16
nected to the bees’ downfall but research shows hives are now collapsing with higher numbers of inhabitants, leading scientists to believe the collapse has less to do with the number of inhabitants and more to do with which inhabitants have a higher mortality rate. “We put forth the hypothesis that the bees’ social structure is sensitive to environmental
stresses. The reason the social structure is sensitive is because the hive needs the workers to function,” Dennis said. And it’s those workers that are most in decline. Adult worker bees have a great number of responsibilities in the hive, Dennis said. “They take care of the queen, feed her, take care of See Straw, Page 6A
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6A | Saturday, March 19, 2016 |
Northwest Farm and Ranch
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Straw from Page 5A
her eggs ... they build honeycomb, clean the nest, keep the hive at a proper temperature, ward off predators, search for food and they come back and tell everyone where the food is and haul the food back,� he said. “There aren’t enough adult bees emerging from juvenile stages to compensate for the rate at which the adult bees are dying.� It’s the workers’ cause of premature death that has been puzzling bee scientists for three decades, and a problem that has become more urgent during the past 10 years as problems have increased. Dennis said mite infestations in bee hives may have contributed to the issue, making bees more vulnerable to current environmental problems. It’s this combination that could be behind the chronic collapse disorder wiping out hives across the U.S. “It could be any environmental factor, the straw that breaks the camel’s back,� Dennis said. Environmental factors aren’t difficult to identify when discussing the decline of a species. “Pesticides, predators, viruses, parasites, even global warming,� Dennis said. As there are some things — such
as natural predators and climate change — that the average human cannot control, agricultural workers can attempt to stem the decline by examining what they do have control over and make those hazards as minimal as possible. “Bees are vital to all kinds of crops, especially orchard crops and a lot of vegetable crops,� Dennis said. Dennis said pesticides, including a relatively new class related chemically to nicotine, may be one of the problems. The insecticides, known as neonicotinoids or neonics, are commonly used on organic farms. Unlike other pesticides, which remain on the surface of treated crops, neonics are transported to all plant tissues, including the leaves, flowers, roots and stems in addition to pollen and nectar. Dennis said farmers should consider carefully their need of pesticides before deciding to use them, particularly in areas where bees are used for pollination purposes. “The use of pesticides has consequences not only to health, but consequences to other crops, unintended consequences that can reverberate,� he said. “You kill the enemies of your pests, you get a pest outbreak. You kill bees, you’re killing your neighbors crop.�
A variety of factors, from insecticides to mite infestations may be contributing to the decline of honeybees. Two researchers have created a model to examine these different causes.
Shanon Quinn can be reached at (208) 8834636, or by email to squinn@dnews.com.
Geoff Crimmins File photo
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Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Milling around on the Palouse
| Saturday, March 19, 2016 | 7A
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The Myers family has been farming on the Palouse for more than a century By Josh Babcock Daily News staff writer
Way back in 1877, Bill Myers’ greatgreat-grandfather, Daniel Myers, ran out of money on his way from Nebraska to start a homestead in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and found himself stranded on the Palouse. More than 130 years later, and an attempt or two to escape the rolling wheat fields, the Myers family is still on the Palouse, and unlike many other farmers, so is their product. Bill Myers, who now runs the farm near Diamond, Wash., said the farm is completely a family operation, one that has spread to include Joseph’s Grainery, the farm’s own brand name and distribution outlet, located at the Port of Whitman Business Air Center since 2009. Joseph’s Grainery puts locally grown garbanzos, lentils, barley and breakfast cereal in stores throughout the Palouse
and eastern Washington. Bill Myers said he provides the stock for Joseph’s Grainery, while his wife, Carol Myers, acts as the sales representative, and his daughters, Kendra Trump and Kelli Collins, handle the accounting and website. The family uses their very own stone mill and Palouse wheat to make hard red and soft white whole wheat flour too. “We just want to do better and produce a better product,” Bill Myers said. He said the stone mill can produce 400 pounds of flour an hour. But, with Joseph’s Grainery accounting for less than 2 percent of the family’s more than 1,600 acres, it’s just a fraction of the family’s product. Bill Myers said one bushel of wheat, which was fetching about $5 a bushel See Milling, Page 8A
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Northwest Farm and Ranch
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Milling from Page 7A
on the market in mid-February, can bring back a $60 return after being processed and sold as flour. However, after packaging, labeling, shipping and other labor costs, the $60 return doesn’t mean the difference is entirely profit. On the Palouse, Joseph’s Grainery products can be found at Dissmore’s IGA in Pullman and Huckleberry’s Natural Market in Moscow. Bill Myers said if the business takes off and begins to see a higher volume of consumers, he may move into another building he operates out of at the Portowned airport. The rest of the family’s harvest is sold traditionally, on a barge, down the Snake River and to other corners
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of the world. Since Daniel Myers first got stuck on the Palouse, the family farming practice has spanned six family generations. While the work has been tough, Bill Myers said there is a great deal of wealth in the ground and it has supported the family and funded their education. Bill Myers said it was never his great-great-grandfatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intent to stay on the Palouse, but he did. It was the same story for Bill Myerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandfather. Three generations later, Bill Myers is still carrying on the farm, which has been in the family since 1936. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know who the next farmer is going to be, but we have a couple of grandkids to pick from,â&#x20AC;? Bill said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The whole intention is to have the land stay in our lineage and continue on.â&#x20AC;?
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8A | Saturday, March 19, 2016 |
Northwest Farm and Ranch
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
| Saturday, March 19, 2016 | 9A
Washington experts assess the 2015 drought Meteorologists say this year wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be as bad, but high temperatures are likely to become norm By Samantha Malott Daily News staff writer
The 2015 drought that swept across the Northwest will be one for the record books, and many fear high heat and dry summers may become the norm. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is certainly true in the longer climate term, decades from now, I have concerns maybe, even significant concerns, that years like 2015 are going to become more and more commonplace,â&#x20AC;? AgWeatherNet meteorologist Nic Loyd said. Between record dry conditions and high temperatures, there is no doubt the conditions hurt crop yields in the region, said Aaron Esser, the Adams County extension director for Washington State University College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. Esser said some of the producers he works with had their worst harvests since 1977. According to a Washington State Department of Agriculture interim report titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;2015 Drought and Agriculture,â&#x20AC;? the 2015 crop season in Washington state was one of the driest on record. The water year, which began on Oct. 1, See Drought, Page 10A
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10A | Saturday, March 19, 2016 |
Northwest Farm and Ranch
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Drought from Page 9A
2014, and ended on Sept. 30, had above average temperatures throughout the state, severely affecting snowpack and reducing streamflows throughout the region. The report said such conditions can reduce yields, quality and marketability of produce. The report, which was requested by the Washington State Department of Ecology, looked at the economic effect of the 2015 drought on agriculture throughout the state. While there is not yet enough data collected to come to any final conclusions or estimates of total losses, the report found it is clear the drought affected farmers across the state, and there will be a lasting effect. “The impacts of this year’s drought were not limited to certain crops, or certain regions, or even certain times of the year. Every farmer in the state felt some type of impact in 2015, whether it was yield or quality reduction, crop rotation related, a shortened harvest period (due to fast ripening during extreme heat), or some other effect,” according to the report. One of Washington’s largest crops, wheat, had a total final harvest statewide of 111,540,000 bushels, a 22 percent decrease from the five-year average, according to the report. Using the five-year average of $6.92 a bushel, the estimated known loss for wheat is
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approximately $212.4 million from the 2015 drought. Apples had an estimated loss of $86.52 million, blueberries $12 million and red raspberries $13.9 million, according to the report. Of the 434 respondents in the report, 61.5 percent said they expect the 2015 conditions to affect their 2016 season. “I would imagine anytime you have these prolonged conditions, such as we are in now, if you have a grower who faced a tough last year with water shortages or crop difficulties, any problems we have this year, even if conditions better, are going to be magnified,” Loyd said. Esser said the decreased yield and market prices will mean less farm revenue, so farmers are in general going to be more cautious or conservative coming into this year. Loyd said he would be shocked if the coming summer’s conditions are as bad as they were this past year. He said the winter has been warmer than average, but the mountains received significantly more snow than last year. The negative, however, is the early warm temperatures are already melting snowpack, he said. “This summer will probably end up being warmer than normal again, so there could be some drought issues ... but I think it is very unlikely we will see a repeat of next year,” Loyd said. Samantha Malott can be reached at (208) 8834639, or by email to smalott@dnews.com.
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Balancing water for wine WSU researchers look at conservation methods, particularly with white wine grapes By Joel Mills Lewiston Tribune staff writer
Wine grape researchers at Washington State University are unlocking the secrets to optimal irrigation for white wine grapes, and even using what might be called “plant psychology” in the process. Markus Keller, the university’s Chateau Ste. Michelle distinguished professor in viticulture, said he and postdoctoral fellow Yun Zhang are picking up the pace in the oft-neglected area of white wine grapes. “Most research on irrigation has been done on red wine grapes,” Keller said of a bias toward stingy watering that yields smaller fruit. “Winemakers typically think that they want small berries to maximize extraction of the goodies from the skin of the grapes.” But those colors, flavor molecules and tannins in the skin tend to make white wines taste bitter. That may be fine for some white varieties like oakaged chardonnays that benefit from some bitterness, Keller said, but it can spell doom for wines that live for their flavor and aroma in the nose, like a riesling or a pinot gris. So when growers apply the same irrigation techniques for red wine grapes to white wine grapes, they may be setting themselves up for rejection
by consumers, he said. People may love bitterness in beer, and some astringency in red wines, but they tend to get snooty when they detect it in white wines. The solution will be more complex than just dumping more water on white wine grapes. First, there are concerns over water conservation in the arid wine growing regions of central Washington. And too much water will prompt vines to grow out of control, which is never good for the end product. “It’s universally acknowledged that some water deficit is good for wine quality, even white wine quality,” Keller said. “We’re trying to find what the optimum is, both in terms of amount and terms of timing. If we stress those plants, to what degree should we stress them, and at what time of the growing season?” Zhang’s trials in the Chateau Ste. Michelle experimental vineyards since 2014 have examined different irrigation approaches, and tested the water status of the soil, plant and air to devise schedules. She has also employed typical treatments to stress the plants at different times. The grapes are harvested and shipped to the WSU Wine Science Center in Richland, Wash., made into See Wine, Page 12
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Wine
from Page 10A wine and put through blind taste tests. There is one other twist to the research, and that’s where something akin to psychology comes in. Keller said Zhang has employed “partial root zone drying” on some of the plants, and it looks promising. Australian growers first employed the technique, and it was tried in California about 10 years ago. But it was only used for one experiment on red wine grapes, Keller said, and its lack of positive results led growers to abandon it. “We irrigate one side of the vine and let the other dry down, then switch things around,” he said. “You’re kind of tricking the plant into thinking it’s water-stressed, when you’re secretly applying a little bit of water on the other side. And it seems to work.” Keller said that by using partial root zone drying, growers may be able to get by with the same amount of water for white wine grapes as they do for red wine grapes. “So you conserve water,
Courtesy Washington State University
Washington State University researchers utilize the technique of “partial root zone drying” when irrigating grape vines. but we don’t have these negative side-effects with white grapes.” Those results are preliminary, however, because they are only based on the wine made from the first crop in 2014. The 2015 wines are still
aging, and Keller said it takes at least two or three years of tasting to confirm a theory. He is more certain about the other things the irrigation experiments are yielding, specifically that the different watering techniques are gen-
erating different wine styles. Still, more investigation needs to be done. “The verdict is still out whether there is one that is best, one outcome that we tell the industry, ‘Look, if you want this particular style, irrigate
this way.’ We’re not there yet,” Keller said before uncorking a joke. “Unfortunately, we have to taste wines as part of our job.” Joel Mills can be contacted at jmills@ lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.
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We want to express our appreciation to the regional agricultural community, the hard working people who ll our nation’s pantries. Your hard work and concern for the environment keeps our land fertile, productive and safe. It is through your hard work that has enabled our proud nation not just to feed its own, but to send food abroad and ease hunger in other parts of the world.
Thank you for the vital fruit of your labor!
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Moscow-Pullman Daily News
| Saturday, March 19, 2016 | 13A
Bridging the fact gap between ag, politics WSU program helps researchers better communicate with policymakers By Mary Stone Lewiston Tribune staff writer
Promising results have prompted the expansion of a Washington State University initiative aimed at connecting researchers with the people who shape and pass laws. “Scientists aren’t always good at communicating with policymakers,” said professor Kristen Johnson, who heads the program at WSU. “We get laws that have no scientific basis.” The Nitrogen Systems: Policyoriented Integrated Research and Education certification program was developed with a National Science Foundation grant to help bridge that gap. Now, NSPIRE is C-NSPIRE, after its scope was broadened with the addition of carbon cycle research this winter. The program’s participants are doctoral candidates studying issues related to the carbon and nitrogen cycles in such areas as environmental science and agriculture. The students
learn strategies for sharing their knowledge with lawmakers, government agencies and public policy groups. Civil and environmental engineering graduate Sarah Waldo’s research focused on using fertilizer as efficiently as possible, under the theory it would be less costly for farmers while also helping prevent air and water pollution. “Agriculture has a huge impact on the nitrogen cycle, because of the use of nitrogen fertilizers,” Waldo explained. The NSPIRE program — Waldo completed her studies before the C was added — brought a component to her education she otherwise wouldn’t have seen. “It’s fostered a sense of responsibility for being a scientist who’s also a citizen,” Waldo said. A semester’s worth of policy courses culminated in a trip to Washington, D.C., where she and other students met with members of Congress, officials
Courtesy Lewiston Tribune
The C-INSPIRE program aims to help scientists influence public policy with their research. from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency and representatives from several nongovernmental organizations. Waldo’s dissertation stemmed from her NSPIRE fellowship, a three-month stint with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, where her work focused on incentives for climate-friendly crops. As she prepares for her postdoctoral fellowship at an Environmental Protection Agency research office in Cincinnati, Waldo knows she
and her fellow graduates have their work cut out for them. “There’s still a big divide between science and policy,” she said. Doctoral student Rachel Wieme explained via email that the certification program has been a good complement to her degree in soil science. It was what drew her to WSU. “When the description of the NSPIRE program appeared — as a program that would allow me to continue researching sustainable agriculture but also provide training to help that research have an impact
in the policy world — I knew it was a perfect fit for me and my interests and future goals,” she said. Johnson describes the program as “super successful.” Of the students who have graduated, she said, many have chosen to go into public policy. “We ended up with students just really good at and excited about communicating science,” she said. Mary Stone can be contacted at mstone@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2244. Follow her on Twitter @ MarysSchoolNews.
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Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Sun ready to shine on WSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest apple Sunrise Magic expected to be sold at grocery stores by 2018 By Ralph Bartholdt Lewiston Tribune staff writer
Courtesy Washington State University
The new Sunrise Magic apples have a sweet, slightly acidic flavor that impressed consumers in recent tests.
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An apple variety developed by Washington State University and touted as a cross between the popular Slendour and Gala is one step closer to being plucked, boxed and stocked at grocery stores. Recently named Sunrise Magic â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and formerly known as WA 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the pinkish-red apple was given a thumbs-up by consumers in tests last year in Seattle and Spokane who described it as perfect for fresh eating. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is quite sweet with some acidity to it, very appealing,â&#x20AC;? said Lynnelle Brandt, president of Proprietary Variety Management, the marketing company hired by WSU to promote its product and work with growers and shippers primarily in Washington where the apple will be grown. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It
retains its apple flavor very long.â&#x20AC;? Its lengthy shelf life will allow consumers to purchase Sunrise Magic apples for a long time after the growing season. The apple was originally released in 2009 under the research name WA 2, but the name didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make a connection with the taste buds of consumers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People found it hard to get behind it,â&#x20AC;? Brandt said. It was renamed for commercial production a few years ago, and recently, through its latest interaction with consumer groups, earned the new moniker. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Both of the groups came up with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Sunrise,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;? Brandt said. The addition of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Magicâ&#x20AC;? was added for trademark purposes. The next step is for Sunrise Magic buds to be grafted to rootstock in quantities required for commercial produc-
tion. Growers in the Yakima Valley are setting aside agricultural sections to plant and grow the trees, which take a couple years to reach the maturity that allows commercial harvest, said Albert Tsui, a WSU business development specialist. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It takes about two years to get good quality fruit,â&#x20AC;? Tsui said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll actually start seeing fruit in the grocery stores around 2018.â&#x20AC;? WSU has a positive history of working with Proprietary Variety Management, the same company assisting the university with the commercialization of apple variety WA 38 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; better known as Cosmic Crisp. Orchardists already licensed to grow WA 2 from earlier marketing endeavors may continue to sell the apple under their own private brands, including Crimson Delight, an earlier name for the apple. Ralph Bartholdt can be contacted at rbartholdt@ lmtribune.com or (208) 8482275.
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Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Eastern Oregon man takes on 30,000 cage-free chickens George Plaven East Oregonian
PENDLETON, Ore. — Mahlon Zehr walks carefully down the middle row of his cage-free hen house, clapping his hands to scatter the flock of chickens that gather close around his feet. “They’re very curious,” Zehr said. “If you’re working in here, they’ll come right up pecking at your hands and pecking at your shoes.” For Zehr, the chickens came first — all 30,000 of them —and the eggs won’t be far behind. Zehr signed a 10year contract last July to raise commercial eggs for Wilcox Family Farms of Roy, Wash., and has built a production facility at his home on Edwards Road in Milton-Freewater. The chickens arrived on trucks earlier this month, and Zehr said they should start laying eggs in the next week or two. He expects to raise 8.5 million eggs over the course of the year. “It should be pretty busy here in the next couple weeks,” he said. At 20,000 square feet, the hen house is longer than a football field and divided into three main rows where the birds are free to wander and roost.
By summer, Zehr plans to turn the chickens out onto pasture, but for now he keeps them inside over concerns of avian flu. An avian flu outbreak affected two backyard poultry flocks around the Tri-Cities early last year. If just one of his chickens gets sick, Zehr said the entire flock would be euthanized and that would put him out of business for at least six months, and possibly a year. In the meantime, Zehr said he will build a meshed-in porch where the hens can go outside for some fresh air, while protecting them from other wild birds. The operation is cage free, which Zehr said is becoming increasingly important for consumers. “The cage-free market is growing,” he said. “It’s what people want.” Wilcox Farms owns all the chickens and provides the feed, though Zehr has already invested $1.2 million on new equipment and labor. Nearly all the technology is automated, from the ceiling lights to the conveyor belts where eggs are carried off and sorted into trays. “It’s automated enough to where I should be able to handle it myself,” Zehr said.
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Moscow-Pullman Daily News
A growing evolution Pullman startup quickly changing fruit industry ery because of the demand,” Jackson said. “... And they’re going to give it to me for half the price.” Using a process called micropropagation, Phytelligence takes small cuttings of specific plants that growers and nurseries are looking for — like the Geneva 41 rootstock Jackson has on order — and places them in a special growth medium. “It’s our ‘special sauce,’ quite literally,” said Phytelligence co-founder Dr. Tyson Koepke. Different types of growth media are used at different stages of growth, and all are closely held company secrets.
By Bill McKee Daily News staff writer
James Jackson is ready to speed things up. The 35-year apple growing veteran said he wants to add a new batch of Fuji apples to his orchard, but he’s hampered by the same factors constraining the rest of the industry — a limited supply of rootstocks for new trees and varieties. Due to a backlog of demand, plus the time it takes to grow, a new order of rootstocks can easily take up to three years to arrive, Jackson said. But a Pullman-based company has been helping the industry break through that barrier, making it possible for growers like Jackson to add new trees and varieties much sooner than he would have been able to just a few years ago. “They’re going to deliver me a tree in 14 months that I would have had to wait three years for from a nurs-
A game changer The media speed up growth, which Koepke said generally provides about three- to four-fold multiplication every month. Once plants are large enough, they can then be cut into multiple different plant-
lets again, and the process is repeated. “So you can go from one plant to 250,000 plants in a single year,” Koepke said. Barcodes on each jar allow the plants to be tracked from beginning to end in a sterile environment, which, combined with genetic testing on the back end, provides a new level of assurance for the Geoff Crimmins/Daily News genetic purity of the plants. “Inside of the jar they have Plants grow in a growth medium in small containers at Phytelligence an almost perfect environ- in Pullman. ment. They’ve got good humidity, good temperature and all times faster for half the price, space. the nutrients and minerals and if that can be done conKoepke said they can fit 63 they need,” Koepke said. sistently, that’s going to be a jars on each shelf, with about The process is allowing game changer,” Jackson said. 33 plants per jar — for a total Phytelligence to supplement capacity of about 550,000 the nurseries that growers Growing quickly plants at their Pullman locahave typically relied on in the tion — but it’s not nearly Nurseries are limited by enough. past for their new stock. For growers like Jackson, the amount of land availOriginally conceived the speed with which he can able for growing new plants, in a research laboratory at rotate in new varieties, sever- Koepke said, which means Washington State University, al times faster than nurseries every new plant in the ground Phytelligence is based out can provide at a reduced cost, takes up space where a more of the WSU Research and there lies a promise of a new a more mature rootstock could Technology Park. industry paradigm. be growing. Koepke, who since growing “Think about it — if you Phytelligence, on the other up on a Montana farm said can get your root two to three hand, is only limited by shelf he has always had a goal of
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Reckoning day: Ex-U.S. guards face sentencing in Iraq war case By ERIC TUCKER
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WASHINGTON — A yearslong legal fight over a deadly shooting of civilians in an Iraq war zone reaches its reckoning point with the sentencing this week of four former Blackwater security guards. Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty and Paul Slough face mandatory, decadeslong sentences because of firearms convictions. A fourth defendant, Nicholas Slatten, faces life in prison after being found guilty of first-degree murder. At the hearing today in U.S. District Court, defense lawyers intend to appeal for mercy by arguing their clients acted in selfdefense during a chaotic firefight in Baghdad. They also plan to argue that sending the defendants to prison for decades would be an unfairly harsh outcome for men who have close family ties and proud military careers, and who were operating in stressful conditions in a wartorn country. The men were charged in the deaths of 14 Iraqis at a crowded traffic circle in downtown Baghdad, killings that caused an international uproar and became a dark episode of contractor violence during the Iraq war. Defense lawyers argued the contractors, who arrived there after a car bomb exploded, were targeted with gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi police, and shot back in self-defense.
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Second District Judge John Stegner gets advice from many professionals in many fields as they prepare for each session of a mental health specialty court held in Moscow.
Courts are seeing more defendants with mental health issues; theories for why are both plentiful and complex By KATHY HEDBERG OF THE TRIBUNE
Asotin County Prosecutor Ben Nichols recalls when claiming a defendant needed a mental health evaluation to determine whether he was t tt t dt i l
said. “When it got bad and we drugs for a longer period of time. were seeing incredible de- Long-term drug abuse definitely has lays, it wasn’t a good tactic.” an impact on mental health. I would Ironically, the number of say almost without exception” that defendants making their way the defendants who have required through the criminal justice competency evaluations also have system who legitimately substance abuse problems. need mental health evaluaThe other reason for more mental ti t d t i h lh bl i h i
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Northwest Farm and Ranch
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
| Saturday, March 19, 2016 | 17A
Director of Operations Tyson Koepke holds a container of plants growing at Phytelligence in Pullman. Geoff Crimmins Daily News
finding a way to help farmers, started the business with his Ph.D. advisor, associate professor Dr. Amit Dhingra, in 2011 with the goal of helping both growers and nurseries. The business didn’t take off right away, and they didn’t hire their first non-founder employee until 2013. But in just a few short years, the demand for their product has skyrocketed, and the revolution within the company has begun to mirror the change Phytelligence is leading in the industry. Koepke said they now employ about 35 people, have recently opened a new greenhouse in Seattle, and have a new laboratory in Portland coming online next month, where they will add another eight to 10 employees. As the company prepares
to increase its scale of production, it has also recently added a new senior executive staff, including a new chief executive officer, chief operations officer and chief revenue officer, who together have more than 50 years of combined leadership experience, to help usher them into the next stage of the business’ development. Koepke said the long-term goal is to produce about 15 million plants per year across different species. They already offer a variety of different rootstock for apples, as well as pears, cherries and hops. They can also do raspberries, strawberries and grapes, and are looking to expand into almonds, citrus and forestry. While Phytelligence is setting the stage for a revolution
Geoff Crimmins/Daily News
Jeff Moe takes inventory of plants at Phytelligence in Pullman. in the fruit-growing industry, the most noticeable change for most, however, may well be in the fruit aisle of their grocery store. “Right now, still more than 30 percent of the apple indus-
try is red delicious, and that needs to come down because there’s just not that much of a market for red delicious,” he said. “There’s just not enough trees available for growers to make those changes yet. So,
by helping the nurseries have more material, they can make those changes sooner.” Bill McKee can be reached at (208) 883-4627, or by email to wmckee@ dnews.com.
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Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Morton’s Furrow Horse Farm has little need for tractors Owners say horsepower good for environment, crops By Jordan Nailon The Chronicle
MORTON, Wash. — One need look no further than the King Agriculture Museum and its prized antique tractor showcase in Centralia for proof of Lewis County’s enduring relationship to agriculture and its long-running love affair with tractors of every shape and size. With that in mind, it’s important to address first things first: Caitlin Arnold and Brandon Wickes don’t hate tractors. They just love horses. Arnold, 32, and Wickes, 27, run Furrow Horse Farm in Morton, where they grow a cornucopia of vegetables on Associated Press a south sloping hillside at the base of a picturesque crumbling rock outcrop Brandon Wickes, 27, uses his two Belgian horses to till a one-acre field Feb. 24 at of the Cascade foothills. The main dif- Furrow Horse Farm in Morton, Wash. ference between their farm and most other produce farms in North America, of us. They think we are going back in might be wondering why two young let alone Washington, is that theirs is time because we are using technology farmers would make that choice. At powered by only four human hands that was abandoned a long time ago,” the beginning of their grounded underand two horsepower. The hands belong explained Arnold. “Tractors are fine. taking, Arnold wondered the same to Arnold and Wickes. The horsepower Tractors are great. Tractors changed thing. “It was really Brandon’s thing. He’s is also divided equally, between Lady the way that American agriculture and Abby, a mother and daughter pair could happen. But for us it’s just a the one who had to convince me,” said choice we made.” Arnold. “My thought was farming is of American Belgian draft horses. In this land of tractor reverence one already hard, so why would we want “A lot of people are very skeptical
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to make it even harder? That was my perception of farms with draft horses before we got started.” Now, though, Arnold is convinced in the credence of their approach. The equine harnessing farmers say that using horses to prepare the earth for planting takes less of a toll on the land. Most of the benefit comes from the fact that a horse setup is lighter than most tractors so it causes less soil compaction with each pass. The light load also allows the horses to get on the field earlier in the year, when the soil is wetter and heavy tractors tend to bog down in the mud. Fuel inputs are another important factor to consider. Tractors take lots of diesel and a little oil, while horses require only hay and a little grain. “We’re really trying to reduce our fossil fuel use on the farm and our dependence on machinery in that way,” explained Arnold. Cost was another concern. “For us it was just more feasible to buy (horses) and the used equipment than it was to buy a tractor, or even a used tractor, because tractors are expensive.” Mostly though, Arnold and Wickes prefer the duties of animal husbandry to knuckle busting mechanical work. Now in its second growing season, Furrow Horse Farm purchased its horses from a guest ranch in Sandpoint, Idaho, in October 2015. Lady is 20 and Abby is 15. The matriarchal draft
Northwest Farm and Ranch horses spent the past 10 years pulling visitors around in sleighs and wagons, “So this farm thing is quite a bit different for them,” noted Arnold. “But they are doing really good. They’ve been great.” Still, the transition from rolling wagons to pulling plows is one that will take a bit of time. Arnold and Wickes are gradually building up the endurance of their equine workforce and they make sure to give the horses plenty of rest. According to Arnold, it’s best to work draft horses at least once a week in order to keep them in shape. During the busiest times of the growing season in spring and summer she anticipates the horses working as much as twice a week. During the wet winters, though, it can be a real chore to get the horses out in the field. This winter they only got out once a month or so, which Arnold said is not enough because, “They get used to not working.” In the years since tractors took over the conventional farming scene, rampant unemployment has dogged the horse community. A drive down any county road will reveal scores of Eeyore-sad looking horses standing in mud with nothing to do but slump under soggy blankets. “Horses get bored,” explained Arnold. “Draft horses are bred to work. I think they are happier when they work.” Eventually Furrow Horse Farm would like to breed and sell draft horses to supply members of the esoteric farming community with top-notch
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stock, “but that’s a long way down the road,” conceded Arnold. For now Furrow Horse Farm is concentrating on breaking ground and getting its organically grown produce to market. Last year the farm sold its goods at the farmers markets in Chehalis and Tenino as well outlets like The Pearl in Chehalis, the Mineral School, the Vipassana Center in Onalaska and the Eatonville Co-op. Though they will not be attending Tenino any longer, they have applied to the farmers markets in Olympia and Puyallup. Their other main method of produce distribution is a weekly Community Supported Agriculture box. The hefty boxes of produce cost $25 per week, or $500 for a full seasonal share. The farm offers both a summer and fall CSA share. Last year it sold 15 shares for each of the seasonal CSAs and this year the farmers are hoping to expand to 30 shares per season. “Basically our goal is to double everything this year,” said Arnold. Last year the farmers worked about an acre of land in order to curate their produce. This year they plan on breaking ground on an additional half acre. “We grow every vegetable you could think of that’s available at a farmers market,” noted Arnold, who listed root crops, tubers, brassicas, salad greens and hothouse crops like peppers and tomatoes, among others, from their production list. Arnold also raises flowers to sell at market and the plan is to try growing melons this year.
| Saturday, March 19, 2016 | 19A
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Reckoning day: Ex-U.S. guards face sentencing in Iraq war case By ERIC TUCKER
COVERING LEWIS AND CLARK COUNTRY SINCE 1892
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MENTAL HEALTH AND THE COURT SYSTEM
Competency conundrum
OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — A yearslong legal fight over a deadly shooting of civilians in an Iraq war zone reaches its reckoning point with the sentencing this week of four former Blackwater security guards. Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty and Paul Slough face mandatory, decadeslong sentences because of firearms convictions. A fourth defendant, Nicholas Slatten, faces life in prison after being found guilty of first-degree murder. At the hearing today in U.S. District Court, defense lawyers intend to appeal for mercy by arguing their clients acted in selfdefense during a chaotic firefight in Baghdad. They also plan to argue that sending the defendants to prison for decades would be an unfairly harsh outcome for men who have close family ties and proud military careers, and who were operating in stressful conditions in a wartorn country. The men were charged in the deaths of 14 Iraqis at a crowded traffic circle in downtown Baghdad, killings that caused an international uproar and became a dark episode of contractor violence during the Iraq war. Defense lawyers argued the contractors, who arrived there after a car bomb exploded, were targeted with gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi police, and shot back in self-defense.
Tribune/Barry Kough
Second District Judge John Stegner gets advice from many professionals in many fields as they prepare for each session of a mental health specialty court held in Moscow.
Courts are seeing more defendants with mental health issues; theories for why are both plentiful and complex By KATHY HEDBERG OF THE TRIBUNE
Asotin County Prosecutor Ben Nichols recalls when claiming a defendant needed a mental health evaluation to determine whether he was t tt t dt i l
said. “When it got bad and we drugs for a longer period of time. were seeing incredible de- Long-term drug abuse definitely has lays, it wasn’t a good tactic.” an impact on mental health. I would Ironically, the number of say almost without exception” that defendants making their way the defendants who have required through the criminal justice competency evaluations also have system who legitimately substance abuse problems. need mental health evaluaThe other reason for more mental ti t d t i h lh bl i h i
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