Northwest Farm and Ranch, July 2018

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Pend Oreille Ferry

Bonner

Spokane

Lincoln

Grant

Boundary

Stevens

Kootenai

Benewah Adams

Whitman

Shoshone

Latah Clearwater

Franklin Yakima

Garfield Columbia

Benton

Nez Perce

Asotin

Walla Walla

Lewis

Farm and Ranch SUMMER 2018

Klickitat Umatilla

Wallowa

Morrow

Idaho

Union

Baker

Veterans encouraged to start farming USDA offers programs, initiatives to help transition military personnel into agriculture

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Table of Contents New pulse on the block

How to fertilize your garden organically

Page 3

Page 18

Working for a better cherry

Caterpillar plant in Texas reminder of trade conflict stakes

Page 5

Drones may soon track wheat yields

Page 19

Page 6

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.

Brewing up barley for better beer

To advertise in Northwest Farm and Ranch, contact Doug Bauer with the Tribune Publishing Company at dbauer@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2269.

Page 7

Idaho grapes may be fewer in wine Page 8

Editorial suggestions and ideas can be sent to Devin Rokyta at editor@dnews.com or Doug Bauer at dbauer@lmtribune.com. Cover photo shot by Barry Kough, Lewiston Tribune

The yellow fungus among us Page 8

Veterans encouraged to get into farming Page 10

Meat 2.0? Clean meat? Spat shows the power of food wording Page 11

‘White gold’ asparagus harvested in Spain Page 12

Bumblebee blues: Pacific Northwest pollinator in trouble Page 14

Scything zen: Ancient way to cut grass also a state of mind Page 16

Barry Kough/Lewiston Tribune file photo

Camas Prairie canola ripens among greening fields of grain.

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| Saturday, June 30, 2018 | 3 Claude Ragains, warehouse manager at Hinrichs Trading Co., shows how bags of chickpeas are stacked and organized before being shipped out Tuesday in Pullman.

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Chickpeas fill the lentil void in Washington and Idaho By Katie Short Daily News Staff Writer

While lentils have reigned at the top of the pulse community for the past 20 years, even earning Pullman the nickname, “Lentil Capital of the World,� a new crop on the block has made a significant impact over the past decade. According to the annual National Agricultural Statistics Service Prospective Planting Report, the chickpea is the only pulse continually growing in acreage since 2016 in Idaho and Washington. Since 2016, Idaho has planted 23,000 more acres of chickpeas; Washington has planted an extra 67,000 acres, the report states. According to the report, 665,000 acres of chickpeas will be planted in the U.S. in 2018; 290,000 of those acres will be grown in Idaho and Washington. While the number of chickpea acres have dramatically increased, lentil

and dry pea acreage have both taken hits, Tim McGreevy, CEO of the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council and the American Pulse Association, said. Since 2016, acres for lentil production are down 13,000 acres in Idaho and 14,000 acres in Washington, leaving Idaho planting some 25,000 acres and Washington planting 56,000 acres — a combined 81,000 acres. The decline follows a national trend. From 2017 to 2018, acres for lentil production were reduced from 1.1 million to about 791,000 acres. The NASS report stated the largest hit to lentils came in Montana and North Dakota. But across the board, lentils had a poor crop yield in 2017. Dry peas also saw a decline in acres planted between 2017 and 2018, from 1.1 million acres to 908,000. McGreevy said the large spike in chickpea demand has been due to the plant-based food movement in the See Pulse, Page 3

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Tyler Hanson, plant manager at Hinrichs Trading Co., tops off a box with chickpeas Tuesday in Pullman. Workers will fill large totes with about 2,000 pounds of chickpeas before shipping the bags away to buyers.

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United States over the past 10 to 15 years. McGreevy said the growing popularity of hummus sparked the chickpea flame and, from there, the small pulse has been utilized in flour, pastas, chips and even in pet foods. McGreevy cited a study by the Neilson Global Survey on Snacking on the popularity of hummus from 1997 to 2014. McGreevy said in 1997 there were only $5 million in hummus sales in the U.S., but by 2014 that figure jumped to nearly $600 million; today, he estimates sales are probably closer to $800 million. Chickpeas are one of the main ingredients in hummus, and as the snack becomes a necessary commodity in almost every fridge, the demand for chickpeas has increased dramatically, he said. “It is just an exciting time to be a chickpea farmer,” McGreevy said, adding chickpeas and other pulses are

being turned into alternative meat and dairy products as well. McGreevy said the chickpea is an easy crop to incorporate into other products and it is often referred to as the “gateway crop” by the pulse community. He said while chickpeas are used domestically in many different forms, the crop also makes up one of the nation’s largest pulse exports, primarily being sent to India. Nearly 50 percent of the U.S. chickpea crop is exported to the Mediterranean and the Middle East, where chickpeas have been traditionally grown, McGreevy said. Phil Hinrichs, CEO and president of Hinrich’s Trading Co., said the weather on the Palouse is particularly conducive to a healthy chickpea crop. He said chickpeas respond well to the hot summer days and cool nights on the Palouse and, because they are a hearty crop, they are able to withstand the odd nights where the Palouse might receive a frost or extra rain. Katie Short can be reached at 208-883-4633 or by email at kshort@dnews.com

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| Saturday, June 30, 2018 | 5

Photo courtesy by WSU

Per McCord, associate professor of stone-fruit breeding at Washington State University’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, is working to develop better cherries.

Working for a better cherry

WSU cherry breeder searches for fruit with wider harvest seasons, more disease resistance, flavor By Garrett Cabeza Daily News staff writer

For the past three months, Per McCord has been looking for the perfect cherry. McCord, an associate professor of stone-fruit breeding at Washington State University’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser, Wash., is looking to breed larger, firmer and more flavorful cherry varieties with wider harvest seasons, and improved disease resistance. “Cherries are already good but there’s some things we can do to improve them,” McCord said. McCord has only just begun his work, as he was hired April 1 to head up WSU’s stone-fruit breeding efforts. He moved to the area from Canal Point, Fla., home of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s sugarcane variety development program.

McCord is using the latest, as well as previously established technologies and techniques, to speed the breeding of new cherry varieties so he can more quickly determine the varieties’ strengths and weaknesses. He said information about different varieties from prior research helps him choose which genetic crosses to make. McCord said there are already DNA tests, or markers, for certain traits that are used in the breeding program. But he said he is also interested in working with other professionals to develop new DNA markers to help him predict better crosses to make and what the result of those crosses are going to be. McCord said eliminating more undesirable traits earlier in the program with DNA tests makes the entire breeding process more efficient. See Cherry, Page 6

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Drones may soon track wheat yields

“

Cherries are already good but there’s some things we can do to improve them.” Per McCord WSU associate professor of stone-fruit breeding

from Page 5

Widening the cherry harvest season would benefit growers and consumers since the fruit would be able to be sold earlier and later in the season, McCord said. He said the cherry harvest window is pretty narrow, starting in early June and running until mid-tolate July in the Northwest. McCord said one cherry variety does not cover the entire market. He said each variety has its weaknesses. Some may bruise more easily while others may not store as well, making exporting more difficult, he said. McCord said he has the official

mandate to work with other stone fruits, or fruits containing a pit, such as peaches, plums and apricots, but he is only working with cherries now. McCord made it clear the cherry breeding process is long and results will not come immediately. He said once cherry seeds are planted in the ground, it takes three years before he will have an idea of what the fruit is like. McCord said he may have developed a genetic cross in April for a variety that will knock other cherries out of the park, but he said he will not have the data to support that claim for years to come.

By Kara McMurray Daily News staff writer

Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 8834631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.

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Cherry

WSU researchers put drones in air to determine agricultural output Plows, tractors and combines might be among the first items that come to mind when thinking of standard farming equipment, but drones could soon join that list; in the future, the aerial devices may even predict wheat yields. Researchers at Washington State University are working under a grant from the United State Department of Agriculture to study the use of drones and sensors in agriculture. Arron Carter, an associate professor and endowed chair in the winter wheat breeding and genetics program at WSU, said he is specifically using drones and sensors to study wheat breeding. “The technology is moving very rapidly. We’ve evolved as it has evolved,” he said. “It used to be you’d hang a 10-pound sensor off your tractor, and now we have a half-pound sensor that you can put on a drone and fly through the fields.” Carter said initial research conducted as part of a $25 million grant from 2012-17 looked at different sensor platforms. He said that research is now “transitioning to actual application.” Jayfred Godoy, a post-doctorate research associate who applies sensor work to plant breeding to estimate wheat yields, said the technology could change the scope of agriculture and work toward eliminating unforeseen risks of farming. “The motivation for using (drones) is seeing stuff you don’t see with your naked eye,” he said. “We’re using it to select for lines that will be high performing.” Previously, Godoy said yields were difficult to estimate. “We’re hoping that data from these sensors will correlate to yield,” he said. Carter said estimating yield without the technology was more difficult, but the sensors also can tell breeders why a line yields high or low. “Before all I knew was it was a

high-yield line,” he said. “This gives me some extra data to look at. We’re able to look at data that I can’t collect with just my eyeball. I can see through the sensors how much photosynthesis is occurring.” Among those differences could be genetic factors and markers. Wilson Craine, a graduate student working on using sensors in breeding, said the sensors have been used for taking traits in plant breeding. “We’ve used visual reading scales using a scoring system to rate all the traits, and that’s subject to a lot of human bias and error. The visual reading system is not very accurate and not very precise,” he said. “We figured imaging was the best way to do that.” Craine said accuracy and speed improves when using the drones. What once took four hours to do he said now takes 15 minutes. Godoy agreed. “Using our old technology, we could walk the field for two to three hours, but with the drone, we can fly for 20 minutes and extract the data,” he said. “It’s a whole new level of getting snapshots of a bigger field and breeding plots.” Craine said drones and sensors are great tools for breeders. “Farming will change. With this, a farmer can sit at his desk and control his drones,” he said. “The farmer will basically be supervising in the future.” Godoy said seminars and workshops on the use of drones and sensors in breeding and farming are starting to emerge, especially in California, where a lot of the technology is already in place. “Here, we’re just really starting,” he said. Carter said the current grant will fund the research through February 2020, at which time there will likely be another grant and the research will continue to move forward. What research will be conducted at that time, however, remains to be seen. “There’s new sensors, and they’re getting new technology all the time,” he said. “It’s moving pretty rapidly.” Kara McMurray can be reached at (208) 8834632, or by email to kmcmurray@dnews.com.

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| Saturday, June 30, 2018 | 7

Brewing up barley for better beer Washington State University researchers look for new barley varieties By Joel Mills Lewiston Tribune staff writer

While commercial malts for brewing beer can be bland and basic, Washington State University has debuted two new varieties of barley that might bring malt into the realm of “marvelous.” The Lyon variety was bred for the Palouse region, and Fritz thrives in coastal communities, according to a WSU news release. Both barleys are suitable for a variety of uses, including food and

“

By giving farmers new malt varieties, we’re adding a lot more value to barley.” Kevin Murphy WSU barley breeder

Breeder Kevin Murphy tours a test plot of barley at WSU’s Spillman Agronomy Farm. University scientists have set out to create new varieties of barley to improve Northwest craft malt.

animal feed. But they are poised to make the biggest impact in the vibrant craft beer industry. Lyon brings nutty, aromatic flavors and more depth to beer than typical malts, according to the university. And Fritz, introduced in 2014, has already won over barley malters with its low protein, crumbliness and chemistry that helps brewers get the most out of their malt. It also helps beer stay stable and dependably flavorful. “What we really wanted was something that would work for Northwest craft maltsters,” WSU barley breeder Kevin Murphy said in the news release. University crop scientists set out to develop the new varieties when WSU bread lab director Steve Jones and Skagit Valley Malting founder Wayne Carpenter realized that Washington’s climate was similar to northern Europe, Scotland and England, areas known for the best malting and distilling barley. Even better, the uniformity of Washington’s climate makes conditions even better than those across the Atlantic Ocean, according to the university.

The university sees the emerging craft malt market as a way to pump up profits from Washington barley, a $20 million annual crop with about 4.5 million bushels harvested each year. And even though barley doesn’t earn farmers as much as wheat, chickpeas, spinach and potatoes, they still keep it in their crop rotations because it helps break disease and weed cycles. “By giving farmers new malt varieties, we’re adding a lot more value to barley,” Murphy said. “It’s all about discovering where these barleys fit best.” Brewers across the Northwest have latched onto the new, more flavorful malts, including Hunga Dunga Brewery in Moscow. Owner and brewmaster Graham Lilly uses it in his Lilly’s Oatmeal Pale Ale. He told the university that he was looking for a malt that evoked the Palouse, and found a winner with Lyon. “It makes sense to brew with grains grown close to home,” Lilly said. “I wanted to reap the benefits of geography while supporting the local economy. That’s what my customers are craving.” Joel Mills can be reached at (208) 883-2266, or by email to jmills@ lmtribune.com.

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Idaho grapes may be fewer in wine Department of Agriculture to consider Idaho Preferred wines with 75 percent Idaho-grown grapes By Kathy Hedberg Lewiston Tribune staff writer

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture is considering a request from Idaho wine grape growers to allow wines with a lower percentage of Idaho-grown grapes to be labeled as Idaho Preferred. The wine grape growers and wine producers want the bar lowered from 95 percent to 75 percent. A level of 95 percent is difficult to reach, the wine growers said in their petition, in years when bad weather lowers the wine grape yield. Chanel Tewalt, public information officer for the agriculture department, said the petition has been accepted and a public meeting was held earlier in June in Boise. “Anyone can petition the agency for rule making on everything from dairy to plants, etc.,� Tewalt said. “The Idaho grape growers and wine

producers commission petitioned the agency to look at changing the percent of grapes in Idaho Preferred wine so we (had) a public meeting asking for stake holders’ input and ask for comment. And the petition goes on our website and then, that rule, if there is consensus, goes to the Legislature for approval.� In their petition, the wine growers said the winter of 2017 was particularly hard for the nascent industry. “Grape growers were hit, and a great number of their vines had to be cut down and then retrained,� the petition says. “This makes it difficult for the harvest to obtain the 95 percent grapes from Idaho on those years.� The Idaho Preferred label applies to a wide range of Idaho-produced agriculture products, including fresh produce and commodities, potatoes, wine, nursery stock and meat products.

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Kathy Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or at (208) 983-2326.

Scientists say stripe rust is under control in 2018, continue to advise mitigation efforts on fields with more susceptible species of wheat

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welfare department. That authority has since been passed to the agriculture department. Tewalt said an advisory committee representing all affected sectors were questioned about what level, if any, they wanted the state to have food safety authority. “We heard very clearly they wanted to work with the state rather than the (Food and Drug Administration) on the inspection side,� Tewalt said. “We’ve negotiated the rule making, and we have had several staff members to meet with the industry trying to get a diverse range of view and input on the rules,� she said. “We definitely want to hear from everyone.� Anyone wishing more information about these rules or any other procedures at the agriculture department may visit: https://agri.idaho.gov/main/i-need-to/seelawsrules/rulemaking/isda-rulemaking2018-2019/rules-governing-fsma-20182019/ or call the department at (208) 332-8500.

The yellow fungus among us

52 Size

The label assures consumers the product has been raised, harvested and processed in the state, but product qualification requirements vary according to the item. A second rule the agriculture department is evaluating has to do with the new federal Food Safety Modernization Act, which establishes science-based minimum standards for safe growing, harvesting, packing and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption. Tewalt said the standards were developed to ensure the safe production and harvesting of produce by domestic and foreign farms. The federal rule has been in place since January 2016, and full compliance for many farms began in 2018. This is the first time in history food safety has been regulated at the production farm level, the agriculture department states. “These rules affect on-farm production in ways they haven’t in the past, so that’s a big change,� Tewalt said. In the past, some food safety authority rested with the state’s health and

Stripe rust in commercial wheat crops has been manageable so far this year, but recent damp weather could cause an uptick in infections, scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture say. An airborne fungal infection, stripe rust is one of many “rust� diseases that cause annual concern among wheat growers throughout the country and has the potential to devastate crop yields to the point of near obliteration. USDA Plant Pathologist Tim

Paulitz said the disease has been a top concern in the Northwest for the past 50 years. Paulitz said it is only through constant research and development of new fungicides and rust-resistant strains of wheat that scientists are able to keep pace with the disease. “I would say it’s the No,1 disease that growers routinely spray fungicides for,� Paulitz said. “It’s one of those things that is constantly changing, you just got to keep on top of it.� While the disease in commercial fields is well under control, Xianming Chen, a USDA plant pathologist and leading authority on the disease, said aggressive infections could develop

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Courtesy photo

Northwest crops are at greater risk of stripe rust because of the recent damp weather, USDA scientists say. quickly if left unchecked. He said recent moist weather and rainfall could aid a rapid explosion of the disease, especially among crops with low resistance. “This is very good for crops, because the more moisture will be better for a good yield,” Chen said. “On the other hand, this also creates more infections of stripe rust because stripe rust needs this high moisture for infection.” Chen said it takes around three hours of continuous moisture as well as ideal temperatures — between about 8 and 16 degrees Celsius — to allow the spores to germinate and infect plant tissue. Once the plant is infected, Chen said, stripe rust can tolerate a wider range of temperatures or even lay dormant through the winter. Typically, Chen said, it takes about two weeks from the time of infection for the rust to produce the next generation of spores. Chen explained most commercially grown varieties of wheat have

some level of resistance, but it varies between each variety — some are nearly immune while others have virtually no resistance. When what he called “rust pressure” is high during the year, Chen said a low resistance to the disease is insufficient to fight off infection. He said scientists establish a reference point for how high the rust pressure will be in a given year by observing the disease in experimental fields of highly susceptible strains of wheat. “For example, last year, commercially grown varieties can have up to 40 percent of yield loss,” Chen said. “But, that is not too bad, because the very highly susceptible varieties actually saw a 75 percent yield loss.” Chen said these control experiments allow scientists to forecast the coming season and advise growers on whether spraying fungicides is necessary and which varieties of wheat may need it most. While some fungicide is a good

thing, Chen said it is important to spray the right amount at the right time. He said it is particularly important to avoid spraying during the later stages of plant development, such as flowering. “If you use it too late, the fungicide can have this residual chemical in the grain — we do not want that,” Chen said. He said so far, the season has held few surprises but he still advises applying fungicide to fields with low to moderate stripe rust resistance, or where rust pustules can be easily found. While resistance to disease is only one of a variety of factors wheat growers select for, he said science continues to find new ways to impart desirable resistances into a widening range of wheat species. “It’s a team effort with breeders, breeding programs, our pathology programs and extension programs,” Chen said. Scott Jackson can be reached at (208) 883-4636, or by email to sjackson@dnews.com.

| Saturday, June 30, 2018 | 9

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The federal government is making efforts to recruit military veterans into the wold of farming.

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Veterans encouraged to get into farming USDA offers programs, initiatives to help transition military personnel into agriculture By Justyna Tomtas Lewiston Tribune staff writer

With nearly a third of the nation’s principal farm operators at least 65 years old, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is encouraging veterans to get involved in farming through a number of initiatives. Resources for veterans include risk management, conservation and farm loan programs, along with training opportunities. “USDA considers veterans to be part of the community of beginning farmers, and as such, they have access to many addition(al) opportunities,” said Bill Ashton, USDA military veterans agricultural liaison. “In particular, USDA can help veterans transition into farming,

ranching and other agricultural opportunities by connecting them with financial, education and training resources, and business planning support.” The skill sets veterans possess bring a valuable asset to agriculture, according to Ashton. “Veterans want meaningful work and quality of life that can be achieved through farming, ranching, community leadership or owning a small business,” he said. “Agriculture is a perfect fit for a veteran who is transitioning. Veterans can continue to serve America by producing food and rebuilding rural and urban communities.” According to numbers provided by Ashton, there are approximately 20 million veterans in the United States, with 19 percent of the military coming

Farm and Ranch from rural parts of the nation. In Washington state, there are more than 600,000 veterans, with the average age of farmers in Washington at almost 59 years old, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture. The 2017 Census of Agriculture will for the first time include a question about military status. The census data will be available to the public in February, providing a better idea of how many military personnel are already involved in agriculture. It’ll document whether they served or are currently on active duty with the U.S. Armed Forces, the National Guard or Reserves. As farmers continue to get older, Ashton said there is a need for a “backfill generation of farmers,� and veterans can be part of that. “Veterans have the skills, mindset, entrepreneurial spirit and access to resources to fill that need,� he said. “... And veterans that we talk with around the U.S. — whether they are backyard farmers or largescale producers — the resounding message is that these veterans and their families are experiencing healing by being closer to nature.� For more information, go online to usda.gov/veterans or go to newfarmers. usda.gov/discovery. Justyna Tomtas may be contacted at jtomtas@ lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2294.

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

| Saturday, June 30, 2018 | 11

Meat 2.0? Clean meat? Spat shows the power of food wording

This Jan 9 photo shows the Impossible Burger at Stella’s, in Bellevue, Neb., which is a burger is made from plant protein. What gets to be considered “meat� is a particularly touchy subject as startups push to alter American eating habits.

By Candice Choi Associated Press

NEW YORK — If meat is grown in a lab without slaughtering animals, what should it be called? That question has yet to be decided by regulators, but for the moment it’s pitting animal rights advocates and others against cattle ranchers in a war of words. Supporters of the science are embracing “clean meat� to describe meat grown by replicating animal cells. Many in the conventional meat industry are irritated by the term and want to stamp it out before it takes hold. “It implies that traditional beef is dirty,� said Danielle Beck, director of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The spat shows the power of language as a new industry attempts to reshape eating habits. It’s why the $49.5 billion U.S. beef, poultry, pork and lamb industry is mobilizing to claim ownership of the term “meat.� Squabbles over language are erupting across the food business as established definitions for mayonnaise and milk are also challenged by the likes of vegan spreads and almond drinks. What gets to be considered “meat� is a particularly touchy subject as new companies come up with substitutes they say are just like the real thing. Impossible Burger’s plant-based patty “bleeds� like beef. Companies such as Memphis Meats are growing meat by culturing animal cells, though it could

Associated Press

be years before products are on shelves. Big meat producers like Tyson Foods and Cargill Inc. are among Memphis Meats’ investors. There’s some confusion over how meat grown by culturing animal cells will be regulated. The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees meat inspections, while the Food and Drug Administration oversees other aspects of food safety, including the “standards of identity� that spell out what ingredients can go into products with specific names. The FDA — which in the past has called out Kraft’s use of the term “pasteurized process cheese food� — plans to hold a public meeting to discuss “cultured� meat next month. In the meantime, all sides are scrambling to frame the issue in their own words. The Good Food Institute,

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See Meat, Page 12

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Meat

from Page 11 an advocacy and lobbying group for meat alternatives, is embracing “clean meat,” which channels the positive connotations of “clean energy.” Other options it tested: “Meat 2.0,” ‘’Safe Meat” and “Pure Meat.” “Green Meat” was dismissed early on. “Nobody wants to eat green meat,” said Bruce Friedrich, co-founder of the Good Food Institute. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is fighting to defend what it sees as its linguistic turf. “Our marching orders were to protect beef nomenclature,” said Beck. The cattlemen’s group prefers less appetizing terms such as “in vitro meat,” “synthetic meat” or even “meat byproduct” for meat grown through cultured cells. For meat alternatives more broadly, it likes “fake meat.” The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, a smaller group, also petitioned the USDA in February to enforce that “beef” and “meat” only be used for animals “born, raised and harvested in the traditional manner.” And in October, the former head of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance

considered a way to possibly halt the use of “clean meat” after hearing the term. “You will see that we left the conference and immediately investigated the term ‘Clean Meat’ from a trademark perspective,” wrote Randy Krotz, then-CEO of the group, according to an email obtained through a public records request by Property of the People, which advocates for government transparency. Krotz noted that another party had already applied for the trademark, but said the alliance was able to claim the Twitter handle @clean—meat. That account does not show any activity. Anne Curzan, a professor of English at the University of Michigan, said the term “clean meat” highlights the positive and pushes into the background aspects that may make people uncomfortable. “It is smart branding to try to keep the product from being associated with ‘frankenfood,’ ” Curzan said. It’s just the latest front in the war of words in food. Last year, the dairy industry revived its quest to abolish terms like “soy milk” and “almond milk,” saying that milk is defined as being obtained from a cow. That came after a vegan spread provoked the ire of the Association for Dressings and Sauces.

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A worker from Cameroon gathers white asparagus in Spain.

Asparagus dubbed ‘white gold’ harvested in Spain By Alvaro Barrientos Associated Press

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CAPARROSO, Spain — With headmounted flashlights and boots deep in the mud, a firefly-like party of laborers in northern Spain harvest precious asparagus shoots once the night falls. Dubbed the “white gold” of these northern Spanish farms because of their color and the high price they fetch in markets and restaurants around the world, the stringy delicacies are planted every fall and picked each year between April and June. The delicate process is performed during the night to shield the vegetables from direct sunlight, which could turn the tip of the shoots from white to a purple-like color and dry their muchappreciated moisture. Maintaining the asparagus’ high concentration of water is, according to experts, key to their balanced and

slightly bitter flavor. That’s why the harvest is speedy and followed, within a few hours, with the boiling and canning of the asparagus that aren’t sold fresh in the markets. Pickers move fast, in silence, making their way through small mountain-shaped rows of soil that bury the vegetables, lifting the black plastic that covers them and cutting the elongated shoots from their base by stabbing the dunes of mud. Despite the arduous and back-crushing job, 38-year-old Cameroon-native Blaise Tchouankwi Ngabo said he was willing to work as fast as possible at the farm near the town of Caparroso in order to be paid more, as salaries for seasonal workers grow in line with the amount of asparagus harvested. Working non-stop from dusk to dawn, a dozen pickers can harvest up to 1.5 tons of asparagus at the height of the asparagus-picking season.

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| Saturday, June 30, 2018 | 13 A worker with muddy boots pauses while picking white asparagus.

“One has to earn one’s living,� Tchouankwi said one morning, taking a brief pause to gobble down a sandwich before getting back to the muddy harvest. Caparroso is in Navarra, a northern Spanish region with cold nights in winter and spring that are said to produce the topquality asparagus. The cans and jars receive a special label of geographical origin under European Union rules for traditional food products. A Navarrese farmer was selling each kilogram of asparagus (2.2 pounds) for 2.90 euros ($3.4) on a recent visit to Uterga, another town along the Way of St. James, an ancient pilgrimage route. The price can double or triple in food markets and even further when served in restaurants, where the bill for a dish of three or four cooked asparagus dressed with olive oil, vinaigrette or mayonnaise begins at nine euros ($10.60). Locals eat them by holding them with two fingers, upside down and above the head, and slowly bringing them down and into the mouth. The best asparaguses are said to melt at the touch of the tongue.

Associated Press

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Associated Press

A worker uses a lantern while heaping white asparagus into a basket.

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14 | Saturday, June 30, 2018 |

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This undated photo provided by Rich Hatfield shows a western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) landing on Canada goldenrod. The Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas for Idaho, Oregon and Washington that started this month aims to accumulate detailed information about bumblebees with the help of hundreds of citizen scientists spreading out across the three states.

The Xerces Society via Associated Press

Bumblebee blues: Pacific Northwest pollinator in trouble

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BOISE — Hundreds of citizen scientists have begun buzzing through locations across the Pacific Northwest seeking a better understanding about nearly 30 bumblebee species. Bumblebees, experts say, are important pollinators for both wild and agricultural plants, but some species have disappeared from places where they were once common, possibly because of the same factors that have been killing honeybees. “It’s really important for us as humans to study these species systems for animals that are the little guys that make the world go around,� said Ann Potter of the Washington Department

of Fish and Wildlife, one of the entities in three states — Oregon and Idaho are the others — participating in the three-year Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas project. Researchers hope to accumulate enough information to recommend ways to conserve bumblebees and their habitat. “There’s more and more interest in restoring habitat for pollinators,� said Rich Hatfield of the conservation group, the Xerces Society. Citizen scientists are being dispatched to selected 2.5-acre sites with insect nets, plant and bee guides, and an app for smartphones so findings can be recorded, photographed, mapped and sent to a central database. Researchers say just more than 200 have signed

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| Saturday, June 30, 2018 | 15 This undated photo provided by Rich Hatfield shows a western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis). The Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas for Idaho, Oregon and Washington that started this month aims to accumulate detailed information about bumblebees with the help of hundreds of citizen scientists spreading out across the three states.

The Xerces Society via Associated Press

on to visit 400 sites through the end of August. More volunteers are needed, Hatfield said, especially to work in more remote areas. Bees are captured and put in a chilled cooler so they go into a state of lethargy. Diagnostic photos are taken, and the bees are released unharmed when they warm up. Bumblebees, unlike honeybees, don’t overwinter in a hive. Bumblebees build nests, typically in holes in the ground, and generally only number a few hundred individuals by the time fall arrives. Any honey they produce they consume. With the arrival of winter, all bumblebees die except a few fertilized queen bees that in the spring head out alone to start a new nest and produce worker bees, beginning the cycle over. “Here’s a species that spends a big part of its life as a vulnerable queen,” said Andony Melathopoulos of Oregon State University. Bumblebees have “this really fascinating solitary phase.” Honeybees are imports from Europe brought in as agricultural workers to pollinate crops. Native bumblebees also help pollinate crops. But when it comes to native North American plants and some crops, the more robust bumblebee with its ability to “buzz” pollinate by grabbing onto an entire flower and shaking the pollen loose is for some

plant species the only insect up to the task. The Western bumblebee, once considered common and widespread, has disappeared from much of its former range. Clues as to why Western bumblebee populations have plummeted are being sought in the current study. “We really don’t know a lot about them,” said Ross Winton of Idaho Fish and Game. “The more we learn, the more concerned we get.” The Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas could ultimately be an example for other states interested in learning more about how bumblebees are doing. “It is a model for other states,” Melathopoulos said. “I think everyone is looking at the Pacific Northwest and this initiative as a test case.” The study is being paid for by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Idaho and Washington, and in Oregon by another government entity called the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research. Collaborators include the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Idaho Fish and Game, Oregon State University, The Oregon Bee Project, the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Xerces Society, an environmental group that works to conserve invertebrates.

THANK YOU FOR FEEDING THE WORLD!

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 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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16 | Saturday, June 30, 2018 |

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Writer Cain Burdeau sharpens a scythe he uses to cut the grass on a property in Contrada Petraro on June 8 in Castelbuono, Sicily, where he lives with his wife and two boys. He has chosen to cut the grass on his property with a scythe in part because he is following the example of his father, a long-time scythe user, but also because he prefers hand tools over mechanized ones.

Audrey Rodeman via Associated Press

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Scything Zen: Ancient way to cut grass also a state of mind By Cain Burdeau Associated Press

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CONTRADA PETRARO, Sicily — Spring is ending and summer approaches. The grass is now long, finished growing. For us, it’s time to scythe. This is a beautiful, and slightly sad, time of year for my wife and me, when the fields of grass and flowers on our 3 acres of farmland in the mountains of northern Sicily must be cut. We would prefer to let them live on: There are deep pink French honeysuckles, purple thistles, yellow dandelions, pale pink and white acanthus, and wispy and lazy grasses. But that’s not prudent in the dry Mediterranean summer, when fires are an annual threat and long grasses

fuel flames. The idea of our olive, almond, ash and fruit trees — not to mention a hundred grape vines I planted this spring — catching fire is a ghastly one. So, off into the fields we go to scythe — an ancient method of cutting grasses that few people do anymore here in Sicily or elsewhere. Landowners here have many ways to prevent fires from raging across the countryside. Some use a tractor to “pulire il terreno” (“clean the land”). Many take out weed whackers, masks and gasoline cans to tackle the grasses. Old-timers used to simply pull plants out by the roots and cut grasses by sickle and scythe. This is our second year of “cleaning up” our land — and we do it the old-fashioned way. I chose to scythe

Farm and Ranch because that’s how my father, Bob Burdeau, has been cutting his grass in Puglia for years. He swears by it, both because he dislikes using machines but also because there is something therapeutic in scything. On cool spring evenings, we talked by telephone about the differences between scything and using a weed whacker. “With a weed whacker, the aim is to get the work done,” my father told me. “And you get it done as efficiently as possible ... Because you’re trying to earn money, you’re trying to do something, and you’ve got other things to do.” “But it’s not as efficient, really, because you have to get your machine fixed all the time; you’ve got to buy gas and additives for the gas,” he said. “But the sensation is that you’re getting it done. And when you’re doing the scything, you’re not really in that same state of mind. You’re in another state of mind.” Surprisingly, I found many local farmers of the same mind — even though they use weed whackers and tractors. I helped a friend cut grass in a beautiful olive orchard inside a valley that runs into the Tyrrhenian Sea. “This is the part of the work I hate the most. I despise weed whackers,” my friend said. And sure enough, it was stressful: Both machines we used broke down, starting and stopping, needing a mechanic’s hand. Clothes got ruined. We smelled of gasoline. I had to wear a mask, safety goggles and ear muffs. After using a weed whacker for a while, your arms are numb from the vibrations. I have a weed whacker, and I might buy gasoline and raze the edges of the property to make solid firebreaks. But other than that, our grass is being cut by an Austrian scythe I bought last year from a hardware store in nearby Castelbuono. I am also using a pair of long clippers for cutting around trees and rocks. When I told Giovanni Spallina, who runs an agriculture shop in Castelbuono, that I used a scythe, he approved. “The work is better with a scythe,” he said. “It comes out better.” Sure enough, as we spoke, a farmer showed up at his busy shop, Spallina Natura, with a weed whacker in need of fixing. This year, I’ve taken a different approach to cutting grass: I decided not to panic about the encroaching sea of grasses and let them grow. Last year, urged by locals and overwhelmed by fast-growing grass, I went out

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

scything in May, in the very heart of flowering — and the experience was excruciating. I suffer from allergies, and after scything for a few hours I’d return to our little farmhouse drenched in sweat and with stinging rashes and welts on my calves and arms. My nose ran without pause, my throat felt like a sandpaper rattle and my eyes were blurry from tears. The same happened this May when I attempted to cut. But then I realized that the grass didn’t need to be cut in May. In fact, it is better, local agronomist and naturalist Giuseppe Piro told me, to wait until grasses have reached their maximum growth. Piro showed me an old scythe among the rusty tools on a property where he makes olive oil with his son. He took the scythe in his hands and demonstrated how oldtimers used them, in particular in the higher mountains where vast fields of wheat, barley and other cereals are grown. Sicily was the breadbasket of the Roman Empire. “Look at the blade,” he said. He ran his finger along it. “Fifty centimeters. With every stroke, 2 meters by 50 centimeters (of grass) go down.” He talked of the ancient culture of cereal cultivation in the mountains, where he worked as a boy. He remembered seeing men, women and children cutting grass by hand and with the help of mules, working through “waves of grass which sway like the ocean.” The grasses are used for animal feed and human consumption. Piro said cutters sheathed their fingers with pieces of bamboo to prevent them from getting cut as they used sickles. He remembered how bales of hay were made, how he piloted an oxpulled sled piled high with hay. As for the machines, he scornfully pointed out patches along the road where one had been used. “When you go with a weed whacker, you destroy the grass. You can’t use it for forage,” he said. “It’s all in pieces.” By the end of May, I was ready to start. I’d had a grip put on our scythe by a blacksmith friend. I’d purchased a big straw hat at the market, and sunglasses. My father had visited and given us some tips on how to dampen the whetstones and sharpen the blade. I had loose-fitting clothing and rubber boots. And thus, as the deep quiet of June descended, I waded off into the fields. One stroke at a time, I cut. Sweat beaded on my brow. The slash of the scythe was soothing. Every 10 minutes, I paused to sharpen the blade and listen to summer’s sounds.

| Saturday, June 30, 2018 | 17

Associated Press

Giuseppe Piro, an agronomist and naturalist, stands with an old scythe May 17 in Contrada Marcatagliastro near Castelbuono, Sicily. He demonstrated how oldtimers used scythes in the higher mountains.

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Grassland Northwest!

Douglas and Diana Renfro recently took over the Grassland West Co. business under the name of Grassland Northwest, LLC. Doug has lived in Clarkston his entire life. The Renfro family had Lewiston Tire and Ranch Supply/Big R for 25 years, ending in 1992. Since then Doug has been in excavation and construction under the name of Renfro Construction LLC. Diana has retired after 32 years at the University of Idaho. We look forward to our new adventure and hope to renew contacts serving our customers in a positive manner with good pricing, fast service and quality products. 1337 Highland Ave., Clarkston (509) 758-9100 www.grasslandwest.com

18 | Saturday, June 30, 2018 |

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How to fertilize your garden organically By Lee Reich Associated Press

In gardening, whether you’re talking about pest control or fertilization, “organic� generally means natural. The word “organic� refers to “organic matter,� the linchpin of organic gardening and, traditionally at least, all good gardening. “Organic matter� is material derived from what is or was once living. Plants are most hungry for three nutrients — nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium — and organic fertilizers can supply them just as synthetic (chemical) fertilizers can. The three prominent numbers on any fertilizer label indicate the percentages of these three nutrients that the bag contains. In the world of organics, many different sources exist for each of these major nutrients.

Nitrogen, most in need by plants Let’s begin with nitrogen, because it’s the nutrient needed in greatest amounts and the one most readily lost

from the soil. The richest organic sources of nitrogen are manures, ground-up animal parts (blood meal, feather dust, leather dust) and seed meals (soybean meal, cottonseed meal). Nitrogen concentration in any manure varies not only with the kind of animal, but also with the kind of bedding used, the age of the manure and how it was stored. Ground-up animal parts and seed meals generally have the highest concentrations of nitrogen. Because they undergo some processing, they are more consistent in their nitrogen concentration.

Organic sources for the two other key plant nutrients Major organic sources of phosphorus include, again, certain manures, as well as bone meal and pulverized rock phosphate. Rock phosphate is a phosphorusrich rock that is ground into fine particles that release their phosphorus slowly and over the course of many years. Hence, only infrequent appli-

cations are needed — I spread some every 10 years. Colloidal phosphate is especially fine, so it releases its phosphorus somewhat more quickly. Manures contain some potassium as well as nitrogen and phosphorous, but richer sources of potassium include seaweed, wood ashes, and the minerals greensand and granite. Wood ashes are alkaline so should not be used on rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, mountain laurels and other plants that thrive only in very acidic soils. Some commercially available organic fertilizers are blends of one or more individual organic fertilizers, so it can offer a balance of all three major nutrients. Particular blends vary in their nutrient concentrations and in how quickly these nutrients are available to plants. For instance, blood meal, bone meal, seaweeds and wood ashes release their nutrients into the soil relatively quickly, while leather dust and pulverized rocks release their nutrients slowly. Read the label carefully if your plants need food quickly.

Compost for all The Cadillac of balanced organic fertilizers is compost. Besides offering a wide spectrum of nutrients, especially when made from a wide spectrum of raw materials, compost also is a good source of organic matter. So good, in fact, that its nutrient concentrations are not high enough for compost to be legally sold as “fertilizer�; it must be classified as a “soil amendment.� Nonetheless, compost spread over the ground can provide all the nourishment that even the hungriest plants need for a season. All that organic matter that hitchhikes along with the nitrogen has far-reaching benefits, indirectly bolstering biological activity in the soil, and helping it retain air and moisture. Sometime each year, usually in autumn or early spring, all the beds in my organic vegetable garden get blanketed with an inch of compost. Nutrients in compost are available slowly over the span of a number of years, so yearly additions keep my plants very well nourished.

We think beyond insurance.

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This undated photo shows application of an organic fertilizer in New Paltz, N.Y. Soybean meal is only one of a number of organic material that can be used to fulfill plant nutrient needs.

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| Saturday, June 30, 2018 | 19

Caterpillar plant in Texas reminder of trade conflict stakes By Rye Druzin San Antonio Express-News

SEGUIN, Texas — Dozens of half-built engines, more than twice the size of a car engine, stand in a row. They slowly roll ahead on a conveyor belt, stopping periodically as workers run quality checks, install fuel lines and tighten bolts with power wrenches. The San Antonio Express-News reported these engines, ranging in size from nine to 18 liters, are used in generators, oil and gas operations and industrial applications. Nearly three out of four of them are heading out of the country to foreign markets. The Caterpillar plant, its engines and the 2,000 people who work there are reminders of the stakes involved as the trade conflict between the United States, China and other countries escalates with new rounds of tariffs and retaliatory actions. Caterpillar is part of a broader heavy machinery and equipment manufac-

turing industry in Texas that employs about 90,000 people and shipped more than $40 billion in industrial machinery to international buyers last year, making it the state’s second leading export after petroleum and accounting for 16 percent of all Texas exports. “Many of our Texas member companies are multinational, they operate all over the world,” said Tony Bennett, chief executive of the Texas Association of Manufacturers as he considered rising trade barriers. “We will not go unscathed.” Fears are growing about the impact of a wider trade war with adversaries and allies alike as the Trump administration moves to alter U.S. trade policies, slapping steep tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum on which manufacturers across Texas and the United States rely and threatening to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada. Stock and commod-

ity markets around the world sold off a day after President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese products, and up to $400 billion if China retaliates. Illinois-based Caterpillar is considered a bellwether of the global economy because of its vast international reach and last year earned more than half of its $45 billion in revenues from foreign sales. Caterpillar spokeswoman Rachel Potts said the company is assessing the potential impact of changing trade policies and lobbying the Trump administration to reconsider recent moves that could make it harder for U.S. companies to sell into foreign markets. “Right now, is there a level of geopolitical uncertainty in the world that could impact us? Yes,” Potts said. “Are we engaged on all of those talks? Yes.” The Trump administration has done much to create that uncertainty, last week announcing it

would go forward with that 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods — from tires to ship turbines to can sealing machines — starting in July. China immediately retaliated, readying tariffs of a similar scale on U.S. agricultural and other products These moves came just weeks after the Trump administration added Canada, Mexico and the European Union to the list of trading partners getting hit with tariffs on steel, again provoking retaliatory actions. For the time being, the brewing trade war is expected to have a small impact on the U.S. economy, which is driven by domestic spending. Exports account for about 13 percent of the goods and services produced in the United States, accord-

ing to the Commerce Department. Still, trade disruptions could hurt specific industries, such as those that import lower-cost foreign steel, raise prices for consumers and slow the economic expansion. And few states have as much at stake in the trade conflict as Texas. Texas sells more goods in international markets that any other state, exporting some $265 billion in products in 2017, according to the Commerce Department. Texas also imported onesixth of all foreign steel coming into the United States, also more than any other state, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. Canada, Mexico and China are Texas’ top export markets, and already the prospect

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of deteriorating trade relations is creating uncertainty that is leading companies to delay investments and hiring, said Bennett of the Texas Association of Manufacturers. “If you’re exporting out of Texas, particularly to Mexico and Canada, you can’t really make any plans for plant expansion, plant location,” Bennett said. “It puts everybody in a holding pattern and is not an efficient way of doing business in a global economy.” Caterpillar employs about 4,000 employees in Texas, spread across more than 20 facilities in the state, including San Antonio and Schertz. The Seguin plant, built in 2010 for $170 million, is one of the largest employers in this city of 29,000.

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Mike Gomez uses tools to assemble an engine June 13 at Caterpillar’s engine manufacturing plant in Seguin, Texas.

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