Northwest Farm and Ranch Winter 2011

Page 1

Pend Oreille Ferry

Stevens

Bonner

Spokane

Lincoln

Grant

Boundary

Kootenai

Benewah Adams

Whitman

Shoshone

Latah Clearwater

Franklin Yakima

Garfield Columbia

Benton

Walla Walla

Nez Perce Lewis Asotin

Klickitat Umatilla

Wallowa

Morrow

Idaho

Farm and Ranch Northwest

Union

WINTER 2011

Baker

Inside this issue

‘Farmers of the Year’ pay it forward Looking out for sage grouse

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Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

| Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune

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Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011 Pend Oreille Ferry

Boundary

Stevens

Bonner

Spokane

Lincoln

Grant

Kootenai

Benewah Adams

Whitman

Shoshone

Latah Clearwater

Franklin Yakima

Garfield Columbia

Benton

Walla Walla

Asotin

Nez Perce Lewis

Klickitat Umatilla

Wallowa

Morrow

Idaho

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE |

3

Cover Story: Tilth Farmers of the Year

Union

Farm and Ranch Northwest

Apples and pears $27 million gift soon will start bearing fruit | 8

Tall order

Wheat scientists getting to root of height issue | 9

Homing in

Univeristy of Idaho leads collaborative land management effort | 12 On the cover: Sheryl and Eric Zakarison. Photo by Dean Hare of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Dean Hare/Daily News

Sheryl and Eric Zakarison feed hay to their goats on their farm between Pullman and Palouse. The Zakarisons were recently named the Tilth producers of Washington ‘Farmers of the Year.”

Their passion, fed well 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 Bob Reitz at breitz@lmtribune.com, Editorial suggestions and ideas can be sent to Lee Rozen at lrosen@dnews.com or Doug Bauer at dbauer@lmtribune.com

By Kristen Whitney for Northwest Farm and Ranch

P

ULLMAN – Fostering a community food system is one of many goals farmers Eric and Sheryl Zakarison strive to accomplish through their daily work and farming. “It’s sort of our life work, whether it’s farming or working, in my case on the Moscow Food Co-op board, or in Eric’s case now on the Tilth board. The legacy I

Farm couple earns award for commitment to present, future want to leave is a community that can feed itself, and feed itself well,” Sheryl said The Zakarisons recently won Tilth Producers of Washington’s “Farmers of the Year” award for their commitment to conscientious farming and dedication to cultivating young and beginning farmers. Tilth promotes ecologically sound,

economically viable and socially equitable farming practices that improve the health of communities and the environment. “One of our main areas of concern is making land available to young farmers and giving them the experience and the tools to succeed,” Eric said. In order to do this the Zakarisons hold field trips to their farm about six miles north of town, give lectures on sustainable/ organic farming to Washington State University and the University of Idaho classes and host seminars on poultry processing.

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Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

In addition to this, the Zakarison’s farm flavor,” Eric said. provides employment for WSU organic Eric said the same is true with the aniagriculture students. Over the past four mals they raise. years, the Zakarisons have employed four “If you take the chemicals out of their students. (the animals) diet, the antibiotics, the “It’s been great. They’ve helped us out, hormones... it just simply tastes better,” Eric and I’m sure they’ve also learned a lot as said. “We use good fresh local ingredients, they’ve been working out here,” Eric said. so whether you’re supplying human food Giving back to the younger generation or animal feed, fresh local ingredients really is the Zakarison way of paying it forward, make a difference.” because 20 years ago, they were the young Eric said they have never advertised the farmers being helped. farm’s products and all of their customers “Sheryl and I would never be able to do heard about them by word of mouth. this without the help “The products really and support of my parsell themselves,” Eric ents (Russell and Elaine said. Zakarison), because they “It gets back to creatwere the ones that aling a local food system lowed us to begin farmthat is resilient,” Sheryl ing after we got married said. “It gets back to conin 1983,” Eric said. “We necting people a little could have never done it more closely with their by ourselves. ... So now, food.” it’s our turn to give back, Organic/sustainable either to our kids or farming has different whoever follows us.” challenges than industrial The Zakarisons farming because much started with a traditional of the work is done wheat farm, but began manually rather than by sustainable/organic machine. farming nearly 20 years “It’s hard, physical ago. work as well. Much of “We started to raise what we do isn’t like pasture poultry and sitting on a large 300- or sheep, a lot of vegetables 400-horsepower tractor, in our garden and from which most modern there we started having Palouse farmers do,” Eric Eric Zakarison surplus food,” Eric said. said. “They also work “We started sharing with hard, but we’re actually friends and neighbors and then we started out there forking hay and in my case followselling a little bit of it, and then just over ing behind a team of draft mules ... doing the years we continued to grow, until we got some harrowing on no-spray organic hay, or to the point five or six years ago, where we butchering chickens.” became more commercial with the organic/ Eric said despite being busy from the sustainable production.” moment they receive their first broiler The whole farm is 1,300 acres. Emchicks mid-April until the Saturday before bedded in that is 50 to 75 acres used on a Thanksgiving, he lives for the moments of rotational basis to run the organic/sustainbeauty the farm provides. able part of the farm. “My favorite thing is those small moCurrently Zakarison Farms has more ments, like a new set of twin lambs on a than 150 customers, mainly in the Pullman- spring day and watching the mother nicker Moscow area, who it supplies with pastured to them and watching the lambs struggle broiler chickens, organic eggs, locker lambs to their feet and begin to nurse,” Eric said. and organic feed. “Those are the times, no matter how short “It’s about just providing good, local they may be, they’re priceless.” food; the food tastes better, whether it’s a fruit or vegetable that’s grown under a Kristen Whitney can be reached at (208) 882-5561, little bit of stress, it just tends to have more ext. 236, or by e-mail at briefs@dnews.com.

“My favorite thing is those small moments, like a new set of twin lambs on a spring day and watching the mother nicker to them and watching the lambs struggle to their feet and begin to nurse. Those are the times, no matter how short they may be, they’re priceless.”

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune |

Program seeks to teach farm women what they need to prosper

Taking risks n the five years between 2002 and 2007, there was a 20 percent increase in the number of women making major or primary decisions about how to run the family farm, according to a Washington agriculture report. And yet educational opportunities for women involved in agriculture — either as farmers or ranchers or working off the farm to supplement its income — are paltry compared to those for men. A $48,000 grant recently received by Washington State University from the Western Center for Risk Management Education is intended to help turn that around. “There are a couple things involved,” said Margaret Viebrock, an educator with WSU extension service. “There are not a lot of programs in Washington state for women involved in agriculture. We find that women learn differently than men. So there’s a variety of ag programs for men, but sometimes women don’t feel comfortable going to them. They want to network and share resources, and the time of the classes for men doesn’t necessarily fit the schedule or lifestyle of women involved in agriculture.” For four years, Viebrock said, the extension service and a variety of sponsors held statewide meetings for women in agriculture at Wenatchee. At the beginning the meetings were well attended, but the numbers began to drop off at the final meeting. Women told the sponsors that they didn’t want to travel that far because of responsibilities at home. So for a year the extension service held workshops in specific locations and had good turnouts. “So when I applied for the new grant we were looking at addressing education opportunities for women in Washington state that typically didn’t have a lot of educational programs, and we wanted it so women

“ ... there’s a variety of ag programs for men, but sometimes women don’t feel comfortable going to them. They want to network and share resources, and the time of the classes for men doesn’t necessarily fit the schedule or lifestyle of women involved in agriculture.” Margaret Viebrock WSU extension didn’t have to drive more than an hour and a half to attend,” Viebrock said. A planning group chose 16 locations throughout the state where, on Feb. 11, statewide educational programs will be conducted. Two keynote speakers, one from Pennsylvania, the other from Illinois, will be broadcast simultaneously around the state through a webinar. Following the Feb. 11 workshops, a survey will be conducted with women to see what kind of follow up programs they want to see in their locations. “That helps promote them finding out who they can network with in their area, also making connections with people in their area,” Viebrock said. Typically the questions addressed in risk management education programs include the risks producers have as they try to develop their products to be successful as farmers, she added. “So those risks deal with financial and insurance issues, marketing, interpersonal relationships” and other issues.

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

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Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

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Contributed photo/Farm and Ranch

A male sage grouse struts on a lek, the name for tradional breeding grounds, where dozens of males dance at sunrise to attract females.

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Farmers, ranchers can benefit from protection of rangeland habitats By Katie Roenigk for Northwest Farm and Ranch

F

armers and ranchers in the Pacific Northwest share an unusual bond with the greater sage-grouse, says Tim Griffiths, Sage-Grouse Initiative coordinator for the Natural Resource Conservation Service. “The exact same things sage grouse depend on for survival, the ranching communities and livestock owners also depend on,� Griffiths said in November, “incredible range land resources and native range land habitats (are required) to provide forage for livestock and habitats for grouse.� John O’Keeffe, a rancher in Adel, Ore., said the connection has led to a “tremendous opportunity� for his family and others in the industry, who have received assistance from the federal government to preserve sage grouse habitats on their property. The animal has been protected under the Endangered Species Act since March 2010, when Griffiths said it was labeled a candidate species by the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service. The listing was primarily driven by the fragmentation of sage grouse habitats, which once spanned 375 million acres and housed millions of birds, Griffiths said. Now, only 200,000 sage grouse range through about 186 million acres in the United States and Canada. Fragmentation has different causes in different states, Griffiths said. For O’Keeffe, much of the problem involves Western juniper trees that have encroached on his rangeland. “Through 100 years of keeping fire out of those rangelands, these trees have come down like five million little straws,� Griffiths said. The trees out-compete grass and shrubs that livestock need to survive, Griffiths said, and the conifers also pose a threat to sage grouse by providing perches for birds of prey. So as part of the initiative, ranchers receive grants to remove the trees. “It helps the sage grouse, it helps the watershed and it helps livestock forage,� O’Keeffe said. “It kind of puts your ranch in shape for generations that are coming up

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011 and going to be ranching in the future.” He would not have been able to remove as many trees as he has without help with the expense, O’Keeffe said. “The economic return in the short run is fairly slow, so ... you do need financial help to justify it,” he said. Farmers are the focus in Washington, where the sage grouse population is isolated to areas in Yakima and Douglas County, according to NRCS biologist Jeremy Maestas. He said the land in those locations has been eroded through years of grain production. “Most of them don’t want to have to farm it,” he said. “(It’s) not as profitable. ... But they have to have a way to pay the bills.” He said the initiative is popular with Washington farmers, who are paid through the NRCS Conservation Reserve Program to keep the land out of production for a period of time. “As a result, that habitat has come back, and sage grouse are doing really well there,” Griffiths said. Last year, the majority of CRP contracts expired, he said, but the initiative has continued the program in the state. “In Washington the SGI is really responsible for saving that population of grouse,” he

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune | said. It is beneficial for farmers and ranchers to help keep sage grouse numbers up, Griffiths said, because if the animals are listed as endangered, use of their habitats may become more heavily restricted. Considering that sage grouse habitats cover 11 Western states, he said that situation would pose a problem for those who work the land. “In fact ,we don’t see any threat in those 11 states facing our ranchers more than the listing of sage grouse,” Griffiths said. “If the bird is listed, the implications are huge.” Although the initiative’s primary goal is to recover sage grouse populations and avoid the “endangered” label, he said his group also wants to ensure that ranchers are able to work in the region indefinitely. “We want to make sure grazing is the predominant land use in those areas,” Griffiths said. “It’s that shared vision that’s really important.” He invited people who would like to get involved with the initiative to contact their local NRCS field office or district conservationist.

Katie Roenigk can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 301, or by email to kroenigk@dnews.com.

Contributed graphic/Farm and Ranch

This map, provided by the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, shows current and historic sage grouse range in the western part of the United States.

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| Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

An apples to pears comparison Washington State University organizing 8-year commitment by orchardists By William L. Spence for Northwest Farm and Ranch

W

ENATCHEE – A $27 million gift from apple and pear growers should start bearing fruit at Washington State University beginning about a year from now. Jay Brunner, director of WSU’s Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, said by that time he hopes to have one or two new endowed chairs in place. In a statewide industry vote last fall, apple and pear growers agreed to contribute $1 per ton to fund tree

fruit research at WSU. The self-assessment, which will last for eight years, is the largest single gift in school history. The money will pay for a total of six new endowed chairs, as well as several outreach positions and for dedicated research orchards in Prosser and Wenatchee. “The positions will be added over time,� Brunner said. “We’ll get about $3.5 million in funding after the next crop year. Where those dollars are allocated will determine how fast some of these positions are brought on board.� A seven-member industry advisory committee will work with WSU to decide how to allocate the funds, he said. See Fruit Page 9

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Operations like WSU’s Sunrise Research Orchard will benefit from a recent gift of $27 million to WSU research at WSU’s research and extension centers at Wenatchee and Prosser.

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Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

It isn’t easy being tall

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune |

Wheat scientist try to get to the root of height issue By Joel Mills for Northwest Farm and Ranch

P

ULLMAN – While it’s an attractive attribute for a member of the human race, being tall doesn’t do a lot for wheat. In fact, if a wheat stalk gets too tall, the plant will topple to the ground and take crop yields with it. In the 1960s, Washington State University wheat breeder Orville Vogel found a solution, using dwarfing genes to reduce the height of the wheat plant from 6 feet to about 3½ feet. “These genes are what triggered a green

Fruit from Page 8

See Wheat Page 10

looking for researchers who are near the peak of their careers, with a good national and international reputation.” Another $11 million will be dedicated to industry outreach. The intent is to hire people who will work directly with the growers, helping bring them the latest research in a timely manner. “Over time, the state investment in extension has diminished,” Brunner said. “The industry doesn’t believe the state will continue to invest in that area. They’ve said if it’s important to them, they’ll have to fund it.” WSU is also hoping to raise an additional $10 million from “allied industries” – companies that have a close association with apple and pear growers but that don’t directly participate in the self-assessment. If successful, that money would likely be used for equipment, infrastructure, irrigation systems and the like. Brunner said he’s not aware of another investment of this magnitude being made by the tree fruit industry anywhere in the country. “Nothing really comes close,” he said. “And the industry wouldn’t have stepped up if WSU didn’t have good standing in delivering research in the past. We’re capturing credits that we built up over time.”

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

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The committee will also provide guidance on what type of research would be most beneficial to the industry. “It will be a balance between applied and basic research,” Brunner said. “They aren’t just going to want us to find solutions to today’s problems. The industry recognizes that research is long term.” The thinking right now is that three of the endowed chairs will focus on plant growth research, he said, including trying to understand the molecular basis for fruit size and other plant attributes. The remaining chairs will likely address crop protection and pest management, soil health, and automation and technology. A total of $11 million out of the $27 million will be dedicated to these endowed chairs. Brunner said the interest generated by that investment — an estimated $80,000 per chair per year — will go to the faculty members who sit in those chairs. They can’t keep the money, but they can use it to fund their individual research projects. “That’s money the rest of us don’t have,” Brunner said. “That gives WSU an opportunity to attract the best scientists. There’s some prestige in having an endowed chair. It’s not an entry level position; we’ll be

revolution around the world,” WSU wheat scientist Kulvinder Gill said. Yields more than tripled as seas of wheat flourished. Today, about 90 percent of global wheat crops contain Vogel’s dwarfing genes, Gill said. But like many solutions, dwarfing led to its own set of problems. One of the main drawbacks is a smaller root system that isn’t able to absorb as much water. “The root length is really a problem because then water cannot be utilized effectively,” Gill said. Now he is trying to develop so-called

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Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

| Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune

Wheat from Page 9 “desert wheat” that can thrive in drier climates. “We are trying to reduce the plant height by using a different gene system,” Gill said. Last year, the National Science Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Gill’s research team a $1.6 million, three-year grant to work on desert wheat. They’ve started their pursuit with an Idaho variety of wheat called “Indian” that was a tall plant before Vogel’s dwarfing genes were introduced. Vogel’s genes stopped production of a hormone called gibberellic acid, or GA. “When you reduce a very important plant growth hormone, then it has to have a negative effect on the plant,” Gill said. Other than the desired reduction in plant height, the negative effects included a smaller root system, and problems that probably haven’t even been discovered. So Gill has taken a completely different approach. “We are not reducing any plant hormone,” he said. “We are changing the

A new type of wheat may be developed that’s more suitable for land even drier than the Palouse. distribution of (growth hormone) auxin.” Auxin is produced in the tip and migrates through the whole plant. But it inhibits root growth, and Gill is trying to manipulate genes so more of it stays in the top part of the plant. In fact, the auxin transport system is so

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Joel Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 883-0564.

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important that 70 percent of the project’s resources are dedicated to understanding it through basic research, Gill said. And if the new dwarfing method doesn’t boost root growth there still will be a benefit, Gill said. “Even if our hypothesis is wrong, getting

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune | 11

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

The Green Times is a monthly electronic newsletter produced by Washington State University for various agriculture-related endeavours.

A home for good bugs New e-publication focuses on sustainability By Kathy Hedberg for Northwest Farm and Ranch

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ULLMAN — A recently launched publication of Washington State University’s College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Resources will help people throughout the region keep track of what’s going on in organic and sustainable agriculture. Green Times is a free monthly electronic newsletter that came out Nov. 1. Brian Clark, editor of the newsletter said the publication touches on new research, people and the multifaceted ways they are involved in agriculture. “It focuses on organic and sustainable agriculture in the Pacific Northwest, especially in Washington,” Clark said. “But

anywhere WSU has something going on. And in some cases, like in this first issue, one of the pieces is a very short story with a link to a video about one of our researchers who is doing some work in three African nations.” Clark emphasized that people can selfsubscribe to the newsletter at this shortened Web address http://bit.ly/vih6wL and the university does not share or sell its email lists. Clark is enthusiastic about plans for upcoming issues. “There’s going to be a research story in every issue,” he said. “And in this issue it’s about insect biodiversity. That’s a big issue to farmers and so one of the things that WSU has been working on for ages is: how See Bugs Page 12

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| Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

Homing in on the range issues UI leads collaborative effort on land management By Kathy Hedberg for Northwest Farm and Ranch

“There’s a lot of litigation on rangeland (issues) and a lot of misunderstanding,” , said Karen Launchbaugh, coordinator of the OSCOW — The University of Idaho rangeland center. “And we hope that we will be the place recently to go if you really need the created a answer.” collaboration of researchers, The rangeland departeducators and land managment used to be housed ers to focus on rangeland in the College of Natural stewardship throughout Resources, she said. But Idaho. the people who worked in The new Rangeland Launchbaugh that field were scattered Center comprises 23 people throughout the state. with backgrounds in grazing, “It seemed like a good idea to rangeland ecology, entomology, soil work together rather than work science, rural sociology, fish and

M

wildlife management and other sciences.

See Range Page 15

WSU photo

Operations like WSU’s Sunrise Research Orchard will benefit from a recent gift of $27 million to WSU research at WSU’s research and extension centers at Wenatchee and Prosser.

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do you control those suckers? “One of the things people have found out over the years is you can manipulate the environment to create a habitat that is hospitable for good bugs that will prey upon bad bugs that eat your crop. We have a story about how sustainable farming practices are a way of creating that environment that is hospitable as a bio-control.” Clark said another future story involves bakers on Washington’s west side who are using locally grown wheat in their baking products. It traces how most wheat grown in the Pacific Northwest is exported overseas and obtaining local wheat for commercial purposes is no small task. “One of the primary focuses of this newsletter is to supply people with the information they would need to be able to close that loop or complete that circuit,” Clark said. “Because they would know what it would take to buy locally and support local farmers and learn more about

who they are and what they are doing that goes into making them effective.” Clark said another recurring feature of the newsletter will be an events calendar and encouraged readers to submit information about upcoming events, whether or not they have some connection to WSU. There will be a people’s section involving news about what WSU researchers are doing. But it will also include stories about folks in the field who are using that research in practical ways, such as the story in the current issue about a couple in Stevens County who are making artisanal cheeses out of goat’s milk and offering cooking classes at their home. There have been past newsletters with plenty of subscribers, he said. But the moment word about Green Times got out he had a flood of emails from people interested in signing up. “And what that tells me is there was a huge pent-up need and desire for something like this,” Clark said.

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

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune |

13

WSU Extension receives grant for riverbank grazing workshops Water regs prompt need for management strategies

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ivestock producers, conservation workers, biologists and others involved in managing grazing livestock are being invited by Washington State University Extension and the National Riparian Service Team to attend a two-day workshop in May. The workshop regarding water quality issues related to grazing along rivers and streams is scheduled for May in Mount Vernon and White Salmon. It’s funded by a $49,982 grant that WSU Extension received from the Western Center for Risk Management Education to provide strategies for maintaining proper riparian function and water quality in areas where livestock are allowed to graze near bodies of water. Workshop participants will learn how to assess riparian health, identify risks to water quality, manipulate livestock behaviors and vegetation characteristics to achieve landscape goals, design grazing strategies to improve riparian health and water quality, implement cost-effective monitoring methods and link environmental health to profitability. Tip Hudson, rangeland and livestock management educator for WSU Extension in Kittitas County and project manager for the grant, said nonpoint source water quality regulations are a major issue for regional livestock producers right now. “The Department of Ecology has been increasing their level of surveillance and enforcement on nonpoint source water quality regulations,” he said. “Our objective is to provide producers with some management strategies that will help them maintain proper riparian function, which is the main key to protecting water quality.” He said researchers have studied riparian grazing for the past 50-60 years, but some risk management strategies haven’t been widely adopted. Properly functioning riparian zones

feature vegetation that prevents erosion, filters runoff and increases the water holding capacity of floodplains. “The goal is to graze it less frequently,” Hudson said. He said a major conflict point for livestock producers is the decision whether to fence off riparian areas from their animals. According to a “Livestock Management and Water Quality” publication authored by Hudson, managing livestock to improve or maintain water quality must incorporate practices that reduce the likelihood of manure deposition into the water, discourage overland flow of bacteria-contaminated water and encourage precipitation and irrigation to enter the soil. Management techniques include providing a water tank to discourage livestock from drinking from the natural body of water and making the natural water difficult for livestock to reach with steep slopes or other barriers. Hudson recommended producers, scientists and others interested in riparian grazing management check out a “Grazing Management Processess and Strategies for Riparian-Wetland Areas” document hosted online at this shortened link: http://goo. gl/GMp2y. Those who are interested in attending one of the May workshops should call (509) 962-7507, email Hudson at hudsont@wsu.edu or visit http://kittitas. wsu.edu. Hudson said workshop registration will cost about $40, which covers the cost of food. If it weren’t for the grant from the Western Center for Risk Management Education, such a workshop could cost up to $400 per participant, he said. “The workshop is really for anybody involved in planning grazing management in forest and rangeland,” Hudson said.

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Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune

Tyson Koepke, 27, of Cut Bank, Mont., a doctoral candidate in molecular plant sciences at Washington State University, shows the growth of a rootstock variety of stemless cherry growing in a gelatin and nutrient base

Good cherries mean good genes

Dean Hare Daily News

Amit Dhinga, a horticulture and landscape architecture professor at Washington State University, explains the experiment he is running on how different colors of light affect plant growth, and how that may or may not affect the development of stemless cherries. Dean Hare Daily News

Researchers work with USDA, partners to improve harvest of stem-less cherries By Brandon Macz for Northwest Farm and Ranch

W

ashington State University researchers are working with farmers to sweeten the state’s cherry industry using genetics to make the fruit easier to harvest in an attempt boost productivity. Funded under the USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative, the aim is to maximize the efficiency

of harvesting cherries by reducing both the labor costs and the fruit losses when cherries are separated from their stems. The latter has been the focus of Amit Dhingra’s research at WSU. The associate professor with the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture is analyzing the genetic composition of different varieties of sweet cherry seedlings to determine why some See Cherries Page 15

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

Cherries from Page 14 cherries separate more easily from their stems than others, which will allow for gene-assisted breeding, he said. This is a process where breeders “keep only those seedlings that have the desired qualities you’re looking for and get rid of the rest,” Dhingra said. “We actually kind of use those genes as a fingerprinting tool. … We have identified five or six genes that are related to bings.” While some cherry varieties like skeenas easily separate from their stems, others do not, and require more force to remove them, said Dhingra, which can cause tearing of the fruit, making them dry too quickly and essentially lowering production. “You’re leaving wounds, and pathogens get in,” he said. Harvesting cherries typically has been done using either workers to shake the trees or machinery that bangs against the trees, causing ripe fruit to fall — preferably without their stems. Dhingra said farmers want a shake-and-catch system that will require less force by using cherries with genetic predispositions to separate from their stems more easily. “This change in force allows us to harvest these (trees) mechanically, as well as ensure a clean separation between the stem and the fruit,” he said.

Range from Page 12 against college boundaries,” Launchbaugh said. “This was a way to formalize our interaction.” In August, the rangeland center was formally designated and the group has met twice since in different locations or by use of video conferencing. “Our goal is to be kind of the center of being able to bring people to the table — to be the place to go where, if you need unbiased information on a project we’ll have it,” Launchbaugh said. “But we’ll also be the fulcrum to bring other organizations together to solve problems.” The group hopes to assist investigations by scientists and professionals studying

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune | The work of Matthew Whiting, WSU assistant professor and project director, at the university’s research station in Prosser has also yielded a more efficient production system for stone fruit, said Dhingra, which focuses on upright fruiting offshoots. Rather than letting the tree grow any which way, he said, trees are planted at a 45 degree angle to the ground and one main branch is allowed to grow upright branches from it, providing a singular plain from which to harvest. Dhingra said this process of upright fruiting offshoots allowed the trees to begin producing fruit for harvest in two years — much faster than the conventional method — and also yielded a higher tonnage of fruit per acre. “The tree is reaching its potential much faster,” he said. And that’s good news for farmers who also have a stake in this research funded with $3.9 million from the USDA, plus $3.9 million in matching funds from the industry, Dhingra said. Orchardists are looking to capitalize on the cost-savings these new production and processing systems will provide in the future. Two years into the four-year grant, Dhingra said that as long as WSU and its partners continue producing positive results, funding will be renewed for the next phase of research.

Brandon Macz can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 238, or by email to bmacz@dnews.com. sustainable land management practices. It hopes to publish peer-reviewed reports and conduct workshops and symposiums around rangeland issues. Launchbaugh said the group is trying to find ways to get students in internship programs engaged on the ground with ranchers and other land managers. And a future plan is to form a stakeholder advisory group to inform and evaluate center activities. “I do see us, as they always say, to be the unbiased source of information for rangeland management,” Launchbaugh said.

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

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| Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

Wood-based fuel projects turn skyward Researchers looking for more efficient creation of aviation fuel

By Kelli Hadley for Northwest Farm and Ranch

T

here are many ways to make a car move, but fuel for aviation is a little more complicated, said Norman Lewis, director of the Institute of Biological Chemistry at Washington State University. “There may be different ways in which people can figure out ways to make a car move — it could be solar power, battery, ethanol — but once you get into aircraft, it’s got to be high octane,” Lewis said. “It’s a larger task but it’s also more lucrative.” Two $40 million grants given to teams from the University of Washington and from Washington State University will collaborate on projects to research the use of wood-based fuel for aviation purposes, said Lewis, a leader of the WSU-led program. For that program, WSU will partner with the University of Idaho Colleges of

Natural Resources and Art and Architecture and the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance. Lewis said part of the research involves growing and researching different kinds of feedstock, particularly looking into how to get past challenges associated with converting wood-based materials into fuel. Eventually, that portion of the program aims to develop a regional source of aviation fuel for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. “You can take wood and convert it into almost anything, if you want to, but the economics can be terrible,” Lewis said. “So if you wanted to take wood and break the carbons down, and use that to build something else you certainly can, but it might be very inefficient and very expensive.” The project will determine the best

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“You can take wood and convert it into almost anything, if you want to, but the economics can be terrible. So if you wanted to take wood and break the carbons down, and use that to build something else you certainly can, but it might be very inefficient and very expensive.” Norman Lewis director of the Institute of Biological Chemistry at Washington State University glue that holds everything together.” Lewis said some researchers will focus on breeding plants that break down more easily. Through breeding, he said, they can select for specific traits that will result in the most efficient production. “So we’ll be trying to fix the problem with these recalcitrants, whether that’s by lowering the lignin content or shunting the carbon in a different way,” Lewis said. “Many don’t realize that our domesticated plants didn’t really look like this when they began. … If you saw a potato in Peru you probably wouldn’t eat it, because it’s highly colored and gone through years of cultivation.” The Pacific Northwest is home to a lot of softwood species, generally evergreens, which Lewis said often have more lignin in them, but are also a better source of carbohydrates, which can be easier to ferment into ethanol or isobutanol. Poplar and red alder are also plentiful in the Northwest and will also be researched for conversion. “If you look at where we get oil from in this region, a lot of it used to come from the Alaskan slopes, but their production is slowly going down and we have this big question of domestic security,” Lewis said. “So this provides an opportunity to look at how far along the path we can get to solving some of these issues.”

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | MOSCOWďšşPULLMAN DAILY NEWS / LEWISTON TRIBUNE |

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Grant helps forest owners manage land Trees aren’t the only crop that can be involved By Amelia Veneziano Daily News staff writer

T

he relationship between the land and the life it feeds is as intrinsic as soil and crops. But the relationship between forestry and agriculture isn’t as clear. A recent $40,000 grant aims to bring the two fields closer. It was given to the Northwest Natural Resource Group for tree management from the USDA, administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, awarded by the Western Center for Risk Management Education and housed at the WSU Extension in the School of Economic Sciences. The NNRG project, “Managing Young Stands: Forest Management for New Forest Owners,� creates workshops for the Nisqually and McKenna forest subdivisions in Western Washington, said Shannon Neibergs, the director of the Center for Risk Management Education at the Western Center. But it could have implications wherever forestlands can be developed as croplands. Small foresters produce wood, forest byproducts like plants and floral pieces, and agriculture products, like mushrooms and berries, NNRG executive director Dan Stonington said. Another grant from the USDA in Oregon is helping other landowners participate in emerging ecosystem service markets, like selling carbon credits, water quality trading and other new ways to profit from forest lands. The workshops started in October and conclude in February, covering topics including forest inventorying, improving forest health, pruning and thinning Douglas-fir stands and small-scale milling and lumber sales. “The importance of investing during an economically challenging time is critical,� said Stonington. “It’s critical to support programs that allow innovative new tools to become available for forest land owners.

There’s increasing recognition that economic and environmental goals go hand in hand, and tools to support that are more and more important.� The workshop also include “fireside chats� in the winter, on managing a timber sale, county and state forest management regulations, forestry taxes and harvesting and marketing non-timber forest products. “This was a unique proposal,� Neibergs said. “This is an area that hasn’t been covered before ... We collectively rated this as a proposal to fund in the competitive process.� Many of the projects funded in 2011 relate to crops and critters, helping farms and ranches faced by new economic and product demands and other farm-related fields. The Northwest Natural Resource Group allocation was the only one for wildlands. “We’re trying to improve the economic viability of agricultural producers, and in this case the small landowner was viewed as a woodland ag producer,� Neibergs said. “We’re trying to improve their economic viability, which tied back to profitability and their long-term economic viability.� Most of the potential clients for the NNRG seminars are small landowners, with 20 to 40 acres, although the group defines “small� by volume of product, not acreage. Much like other small agriculture producers, small forest landowners have a hard time competing with major producers, in terms of time, expense and manpower. “There are similarities in the opportunities and challenges for small-scale producers in both agriculture and forestry,� Stonington said. They include higher transactions costs and greater efficiency challenges on the small scale. “Both also have great opportunities to have non-commodity and unique local market products,� he said. Another emerging area in forestry is

Forest Service Certification, which allows foresters to be certified and “branded.� FCS is also the certification brand and process NNRG uses for its membership program. “Certification is a big advantage,� Stonington said. “It’s a brand we feel is really strong in economic, environmental and social outcomes.� The $40,000 Western Center grant will help NNRG hold the seminars, and assist in developing a protocol to streamline participation in the marketplace. “It’s great having that support to go work with smaller forest owners in the Nisqually, on management and certification,� Stonington said. “It’s an innovative partnership.�

Amelia Veneziano can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 233, or by email to aveneziano@dnews.com.

“The importance of investing during an economically challenging time is critical. It’s critical to support programs that allow innovative new tools to become available for forest land owners. There’s increasing recognition that economic and environmental goals go hand in hand, and tools to support that are more and more important.� Dan Stonington executive director of the Northwest Natural Resource Group

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune

By William L. Spence for Northwest Farm and Ranch

A

reluctance to decapitate mice early in his career led one Washington State University researcher to focus on plant defense mechanisms — a move that resulted in a recent discovery that could help combat a major crop disease. Andris Kleinhofs has been at WSU since 1967. He got his start in plant science during a college biochemistry class. “We had to isolate an enzyme from the brain of a mouse, and I got volunteered to decapitate it,” he said. “At that point I decided to study plants. They don’t scream.” Kleinhofs, who is now semi-retired, spent his career investigating the genetics of barley, one of the world’s major cereal crops. He tries to identify different genes in the plant and understand what role they

Barley’s 911 signal for fungus Research finds it reacts much faster than thought play, particularly in disease resistance. His most recent line of research began in 1993, when he and his WSU colleagues set out to clone the Rpg1 gene. “We knew it was an important gene for stem rust resistance,” Kleinhofs said. “Once we cloned the gene, then we started asking how it worked.” Stem rust is a major crop disease, both in barley and in wheat. Unlike stripe rust, it historically hasn’t been a problem in the Pacific Northwest, preferring moister, hotter areas like the Great Plains. Spread by fungal spores, stem rust has largely been controlled through the devel-

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opment of disease-resistant seed varieties. However, a virulent new strain - Ug99, first identified in Uganda in 1999, has been devastating wheat and barley production in Africa and the Middle East, reducing crop yields by 60 to 100 percent. “If Ug99 were to arrive in the United States today, it would probably take out most of the wheat and barley in regions where stem rust is a problem,” Kleinhofs said. His investigation of the Rpg1 gene could help prevent that. While monitoring the gene’s activity, Kleinhofs and Assistant Research Professor Jayaveeramuthu Nirmala recently documented an extremely rapid defense response when stem rust spores land on a barley plant. Prior to this discovery, Kleinhofs said, the standard thinking had been that a plant’s defensive response wouldn’t kick in until it’s actively under attack. But when a spore first lands on a plant, it doesn’t immediately go on the offensive. The pathogen enters the plant through respiratory openings in the leaves, then fungal mycelia grow between the cells and begin constructing “hausitoria” — basically little biochemical factories that pump out the enzymes which actually break down cell walls and weaken the plant. “The dogma had been that that was when resistance would initiate,” Kleinhofs said. “But that process takes about 15 to 20 hours. We observed the whole plant reacting within 5 minutes of a spore landing on a leaf. That was as fast as we could measure it; it may be happening even faster. It was something totally unexpected.” When the spore lands, he said, it releases a couple of proteins. The Rpg1 gene quickly recognizes the proteins and realizes the plant is under attack. This begins a “signal cascade,” with Rpg1 sending messages

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

to other genes, which send more signals to other parts of the plant to start marshalling its defenses. Researchers could eventually use the work to improve plant resistance to stem rust and other diseases. Although Kleinhofs focuses on barley genetics, his work also involves plant signaling mechanisms — the methods used to communicate within and between plants. Mike Kahn, associate director of WSU’s Agricultural Research Center, said the university has a distinguished history in plant signaling research, dating back to the work of Clarence (Bud) Ryan. “Bud showed that plants can transmit the idea that they’re under attack to other parts of the plant,” Kahn said. “He worked out which molecules are used to transmit signals within the plant, and which molecules are used to alert the plant and other plants that they’re under attack.” As Kleinhofs noted in his work, an attack generates a “signal cascade.” One gene recognizes the pathogen, other genes are used to communicate that information within and between plants, and still other genes actually produce the proteins and chemicals used to combat the pathogen. “There’s a lot of communication going on that people aren’t aware of,” Kahn said. “It really gets baroque. Some plants will release volatiles that attract other insects that attack the insects feeding on them. It’s a way of recruiting allies.” Ryan’s work focuses on protein inhibitors in potato plants. These are chemicals that prevent insects from digesting plant material. The thinking used to be that inhibitors were present in the plant all the time, but Ryan showed it was manufactured in response to an insect attack. “Bud was clearly out ahead of everybody,” Kahn said. Plant signaling “was an area that didn’t exist 20 years ago. Now we know a lot about signal molecules.” What’s particularly significant about Kleinhofs’ recent work, he said, is the speed of the defense response. “In most disease processes, timing is critical,” Kahn said. “If the pathogen moves

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune | 19

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011 faster than the plant’s defense response, the pathogen wins.� Kleinhofs said signaling in plants is very similar to the signaling that takes place in animals, but it hasn’t been investigated to the same degree. It’s only been in the last 15 years or so that adequate funding has been available – and as his own work shows, it can take years of research to make an important discovery. “The public sometimes gets discouraged

about funding scientific research and about mistakes or dead-ends,� he said. “But that’s part of science. It’s not straightforward. We’re probing the unknown, and sometimes make mistakes. But as long as it’s an open process and there’s an opportunity to question and re-examine the research, we move forward.�

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

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CLARKSTON 435 Elm Street (509) 751-8872 Wednesday 10-5pm

MOSCOW 124 West C Street (208) 882-0702 Wednesday 9-3pm

DOWNTOWN 1446 Main, Lewiston (208) 743-0222 Mon. and Thurs. 10-5pm PULLMAN 151 N. Grand (509) 334-5808 Wednesday 9-3pm

Spread your message, build your business 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.

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20 |

Farm and Ranch | Winter 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | Moscow-Pullman Daily News / Lewiston Tribune

Les Schwab: Growing with Farmers and R anchers for Over  Years™

EIGHT AREA LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU! WWW.LESSCHWAB.COM LEWISTON 1408 Main Street

GR ANGEVILLE 411 E Main Street

OROFINO 302 Johnson Avenue

COLFA X 215 W Walla Walla Hwy

LEWISTON  ORCHARDS 251 Thain Road

MOSCOW 1421 E White Avenue

PULLMAN 160 SE Bishop Boulevard

CLARKSTON 1468 Bridge Street

208 7431594

208 7462948

208 9831650

208 8823538

208 4765589

509 3341835

509 3974678

509 7519661

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