January 2012

Oilseed Crop Production Workshops Slated By Kathy Barnard, WSU CAHNRS MNEC Mark your calendars now to attend the second annual Oilseed Crop Production Workshops scheduled at the Odessa Community Center in Odessa on Jan. 24, and the Hill Ray Plaza in Colfax Jan. 26, 2012. Mike Stamm, canola breeder in the Agronomy Department at Kansas State University, will be one of the featured presenters at both workshops. Stamm will discuss recent increases in winter canola production in the southern Great Plains over the past several years, as well as results from his canola research. His breeding program addresses many of the same agronomic challenges and opportunities Washington producers face such as stand establishment and winter hardiness, herbicide resistance and varieties tailored to dual-purpose use in the Great Plains. Other workshop topics will include the rotational benefits and economics with an oilseed crop in rotation, recent WSU agronomic research findings and perspectives from experts involved in the entire oilseed supply chain from production to end use, including regional breeders and seed suppliers, crop consultants, oilseed processors, biodiesel consumers, and the livestock industry. Experienced regional oilseed and livestock producers, research and Extension faculty, and regional and national industry representatives will be sharing their expertise and perspectives. The workshops are being sponsored and supported by Washington State University, USDA-ARS, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Washington Canola & Rapeseed Commission, U.S. Canola Association, Kansas State University, conservation districts and local agribusinesses. Sponsor opportunities and exhibit space are available by contacting Karen Sowers at 509-396-5936 or ksowers@wsu.edu, or Dennis Roe at 509-335-3491 or rdroe@wsu.edu Registration and agendas will be posted by Dec. 2 at www.css.wsu.edu/biofuels. “Women In Agriculture” From Diana Roberts, WSU Extension This winter women farmers in Washington State will have the unique opportunity to participate in an agricultural workshop offering inspirational stories, practical advice on how to improve their management skills and networking opportunities with other women entrepreneurs. The Women in Agriculture conference will be held on Saturday, February 11 and will broadcast two engaging speakers to 16 different locations throughout the state. The new localized format of the conference is designed to let farm women benefit from a statewide conference while still meeting their on-farm duties. “Women are uniquely tasked with the demands of both farm and family, which can make travel to one state location a challenge,” said WSU Douglas County Extension Director and chair of the conference Margaret Viebrock. “This new approach allows us to offer our headline speakers at all locations, while also making the conference specific to each region.” Keynote speakers will be Lyn Garling, owner of Over the Moon Farm, and Rita Emmet, the author of “The Procrastinator’s Handbook.” Garling, a farmer who got started later in life, will share about being a “woman farmer” today and how her challenges, inspirations and frustrations have contributed to her success. Emmet will be detailing how to “Blast Away Procrastination” in order to be more successful at work, in relationships and in life. Emmet is a fun, persuasive speaker who argues that procrastination is not a character trait, but simply a habit. Garling and Emmet will be joined by local presenters who will talk about their risks and challenges with farming, including how to stay focused, keep current on market trends, the latest production methods and financial management. Registration for the conference is $25 and includes a copy of “The Procrastinator’s Handbook”, an opportunity to be listed in the conference brochure to increase networking opportunities, and lunch during the event. The deadline to register for the event is January 25 by mail or online. The conference is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the WSU Extension Western Center for Risk Management Education. Women farmers and producers, supporting spouses and aspiring farmers are encouraged to attend. Agriculture students and farm interns are also welcome to participate. Website registration is now available online at www.womeninag.wsu.edu. To receive a print brochure in the mail, contact Margaret Viebrock at 509-745-8531 or viebrock@wsu.edu Traditional Foods That Celebrate The New Year Each New Year’s, revelers around the world dine on specific foods to summon good luck for the next 365 days. While some traditions call for fruit and others call for noodles, greens, beans, fish, etc, all the edibles represent forward movement, prosperity and health. Whether or not you’re superstitious, take a look at this list of common celebratory New Year foods. If no luck comes your way, at least you will begin the new year with a full stomach. Cakes, Etc. Cakes and other baked goods are commonly served from Christmas to New Year’s around the world, with a special emphasis placed on round or ring-shaped items. Italy has “chiacchiere”, which are honey-drenched balls of pasta dough fried and dusted with powdered sugar. Poland, Hungary, and the Netherlands also eat donuts, and Holland has “ollie bollen”, puffy, donut-like pastries filled with apples, raisins, and currants. In certain cultures, it’s customary to hide a special trinket or coin inside the cake; the recipient will be lucky in the new year. Mexico’s “rosca de reyes” is a ring-shaped cake decorated with candied fruit and baked with one or more surprises inside. In Greece, a special round cake called “vasilopita” is baked with a coin hidden inside. At midnight or after the New Year’s Day meal, the cake is cut, with the first piece going to St. Basil and the rest being distributed to guests in order of age. Sweden and Norway have similar rituals in which they hide a whole almond in rice pudding, whoever gets the nut is guaranteed great fortune in the new year. Cornbread A favorite throughout the year, cornbread is especially venerated as a New Year’s treat in the southern United States. Why? Its color resembles that of gold. To ensure extra luck, some people add extra corn kernels, which are emblematic of golden nuggets. Greens From the coastal American South to Europe, people eat green leafy vegetables, including kale, collards and cabbage, on New Year’s Day because of their color and appearance, which resembles paper cash. Belief has it, the more you eat, the more prosperous you’ll be (and the healthier, too!). Legumes Legumes including beans, peas, and lentils are also symbolic of money. Their small, seedlike appearance resembles coins that swell when cooked so they are consumed with financial rewards in mind. In Italy, it’s customary to eat cotechino con lenticchie or sausages and green lentils, just after midnight; a particularly propitious meal because pork has its own lucky associations. Germans also partner legumes and pork, usually lentil or split pea soup with sausage. In Brazil, the first meal of the New Year is usually lentil soup or lentils and rice, and in Japan, the “osechi-ryori”, a group of symbolic dishes eaten during the first three days of the new year, includes sweet black beans called “kuro-mame.” • Black-eyed Peas: Considered good luck due to their penny-like appearance and abundance, these peas, enjoyed in the southern United States, are traditionally served in a dish called Hoppin’ John. On the day after New Year’s Day, leftover “Hoppin’ John” becomes “Skippin’ Jenny,” meant to demonstrate frugality and promote prosperity in the new year. This all traces back to the legend that during the Civil War, the town of Vicksburg, MS, ran out of food while under attack. The residents fortunately discovered black-eyed peas and the legume was thereafter considered lucky. • Lentils: Because of the legume’s greenish color and coin-like appearance. Included in this tradition is the fact that when cooked, lentils plump with water, which symbolizes growing wealth. Lentils are also considered good luck in Hungary, where they’re served in a soup. Long Noodles In China, Japan and other Asian countries, it’s customary to eat long noodles, signifying longevity, on New Year’s Day. Since the noodles are never to be broken or shortened during the cooking process, the typical preparation for “Long-Life Noodles” is a stir-fry. Pickled Herring In Germany, Poland and Scandinavia, it’s believed that eating herring at the stroke of midnight will ensure a year of bounty since herring are in abundance throughout Western Europe. Also, their silvery color resembles that of coins, a good omen for future fortune. Pomegranate Pomegranates represent good luck in Turkey for many reasons: Their red color, which represents the human heart, denotes life and fertility; their medicinal properties represent health; and their abundant, round seeds represent prosperity—all things everyone hopes for in any new beginning. Pork In some countries, including Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Austria, pigs symbolize progress. Some say it’s because these animals never move backward, while others believe it’s all in their feeding habits—they push their snouts forward along the ground when rooting for food. And it’s not limited to pork; foods shaped like pigs such as cutout sugar cookies or decorated cupcakes count, too. Roast suckling pig is served for New Year’s in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and Austria. Austrians are also known to decorate the table with miniature pigs made of marzipan. Different pork dishes such as pig’s feet are enjoyed in Sweden while Germans feast on roast pork and sausages. Pork is also consumed in Italy and the United States, where thanks to its rich fat content, it signifies wealth and prosperity. Round Fruits Though the number of pieces varies by region, eating any round fruit is a common New Year’s tradition. In the Philippines, the custom calls for 13, considered a lucky number; in Europe and the U.S., it calls for 12, which represents the months in a year. In both cases, their shape, which looks like a coin, and their sweetness are the common denominators. Grapes are a popular choice for this tradition. Additionally, some people claim the round shape symbolizes how things can change from bad to good. Whole Fish According to Doris Lum, a Chinese cuisine expert, the Chinese word for fish sounds like the Chinese word for abundance, one of the many reasons fish is considered a good luck food. It’s important for the fish be served with head and tail intact to ensure a good year, from start to finish. Fish is a very logical choice for the New Year’s table. According to Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, cod has been a popular feast food since the Middle Ages. The reason? Long before refrigeration and modern transportation, cod could be preserved and transported long distances. He also believes the Catholic Church’s policy against red meat consumption on religious holidays helped make cod, as well as other fish, commonplace at feasts. The Danish eat boiled cod, while in Italy, baccal, or dried salt cod, is served. Herring, another frequently preserved fish, is consumed at midnight in Poland and Germany. Germans also enjoy carp and sometimes place a few fish scales in their wallets for good luck. In Sweden the New Year feast is usually a smorgasbord with a variety of fish dishes such as seafood salad. In Japan, herring roe is consumed for fertility, shrimp for long life, and dried sardines for a good harvest —sardines were once used to fertilize rice fields. Beeftalk: The Uphill Battle Of Expanding The Cow Business By Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service As we discuss the world of beef, it does not take long to understand that those who own the cattle are at the lower end of the price model. Should we think about data or just ponder? That is the question. With the holiday season quickly slowing us down, now is a good time to ponder and maybe let the data rest for a bit. Most of the time, managerial decisions are driven and validated by data. The idea is that data should lead. However, how many times has the question been asked: When will the cow herd expand? Data drives the models. However, one thing about models is that, as new data comes in, the model simply repredicts. If the projections based on various assumptions do not hold true, then the assumptions can be changed and new projections created. This process really has no end and actually creates a lot of news and information that, in turn, drives managerial decisions. What drives the beef business? The demand for beef is the answer. That seems like a simple answer, but the answer is very complex. As long as consumers prefer or at least desire to eat beef, supply and demand will regulate price. Those entities closest to the consumer, which are those who harvest, process, package and serve the beef, will purchase beef at the current competitive price. All marketable products will be extracted from the purchased inputs and the cost of doing business will be added. Ultimately, a final product will be offered at a price driven by demand. If the accepted price is greater than the costs, the food side of the beef business will do fine. If the price dips below cost, then the purchased inputs also must decline or those who harvest, process, package and serve the beef cannot function. The same can be said about the feed yard business. Feeding cattle is the only thing feed yards do. Granted, feed yards do a lot of things while they are in the feeding business and can offer a lot of services to producers. However, the bottom line is that, without cattle, feed yards are not feed yards. Feed yards must balance the cost of feeding cattle with the ability to price the product. The value of the product follows supply and demand, so feed yards estimate product value while adding the cost of feed and services to the desired price. In turn, this generates a break-even price. Those involved in the beef business are very familiar with break-even prices. Most feed yards are fairly comfortable operating using the price of the product plus the costs of feed and services. Just like those that are involved further up the food chain, if the saleable product value decreases or the cost of feed and services increases, feed yards must adjust. The adjustments usually come from the main source of value in a feed yard, which is the value of the beef produced. The owner of the beef will receive fewer dollars, which will shrink the owner’s pocketbook. As we discuss the world of beef, it does not take long to understand that those who own the cattle are at the lower end of the price model. Beef demand is generated out of the need for human food. That demand, plus all the costs of getting the beef to the consumer, must come from the value generated by the cattle. Although there are those who speculate by buying and selling cattle, the real base of the beef industry is the cow-calf producer. We ask why the cow-calf business has been declining even though market signals would indicate producers should be expanding. Fortunately or unfortunately, those involved in the cow-calf business can estimate product value but, in most cases, cannot impact the value originating from consumer demand. Unlike those who feed, harvest, process, package and serve the beef, cow-calf producers must focus on costs. Even when supply and demand is pushing up the value, increased revenue means very little to cow-calf producers if managerial plans do not control costs. The double challenge is that most cow-calf producers do not operate under the same business plan as those who feed, harvest, process, package and serve the beef. Many cow-calf business plans are vague. This leaves producers open to decisions that are heavily influenced by comingling opinions from other sectors of the beef business that are operating under a different business model. With that in mind, is it really any wonder that it is difficult to get young producers established within the beef business? The cow-calf business is a demanding, labor-intensive business built on family labor and long hours. With very little control of income, the risk is high, so controlling costs is paramount. When costs are high, producers seldom desire to increase costs by hiring more labor. This creates a very difficult scenario. By expanding, labor must be increased, so costs go up. By staying constant, costs still go up, but not by as much. Unfortunately, as a producer’s age increases, he or she unrealistically holds down perceived costs. When cow-calf producers finally evaluate the operation, the family base has left and the hired labor will make more than the owner. With that in mind, one of two plans is implemented. The first thought is to try to expand, but the older age of the producer makes expansion difficult, so the second option self-generates, which means dispersing the herd and enjoying the money. Which Wheats Make The Best Whole-Grain Cookie Doughs? Marcia Wood / USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Festive cookies, served at yearend holiday gatherings, may in the future be made with a larger proportion of wholegrain flour instead of familiar, highly refined white flour. That’s a goal of ongoing studies by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists in Wooster, Ohio. A study by scientists with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Soft Wheat Quality Research Unit in Wooster was published earlier this year in Crop Science. The research may help plant breeders zero in on promising new wheat plants that might be tomorrow’s superstar producers of whole-grain soft wheat flours for cookie doughs. ARS is USDA’s chief intramural scientific research agency. Consumption of whole grains has been associated, in some studies, with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. But Americans don’t eat enough whole grains, according to wheat expert Edward J. Souza. A former ARS research leader and plant geneticist at Wooster, Souza now directs wheat breeding for an international plant science company. Souza conducted the cookie-flour study in collaboration with Clay H. Sneller of Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center at Wooster, and with Mary J. Guttieri, formerly with the center. New, detailed evidence from their investigation confirms that two inexpensive, readily available and relatively simple tests are reliable tools for getting an early in-the-laboratory indication of how good a promising new wheat may prove to be as a future source of whole-grain cookie flour. The two procedures—the sucrose SRC (solvent retention capacity) test and the milling softness equivalent test—aren’t new. But the Wooster team’s study is perhaps the most thorough examination of the tests’ reliability as an early screen for a new soft-wheat flour’s performance in wholegrain cookie doughs. The scientists used 14 different commercial varieties of soft wheat for this research. The study showed that breeders and foodmakers can rely on the SRC and softness tests for early screening. Later, when they want to narrow their focus to only those plants that are uniquely superior sources of whole-grain cookie dough fl our, they can invest in the “wire-cut cookie test,” a more expensive procedure. ARS, Ohio State University, and Kraft Foods North America funded the research. Read more about it in the November/December 2011 issue of Agricultural Research magazine or at http://www.ars. usda.gov/is/AR/archive/nov11/flour1111.htm. (Article reprinted from OWGL’s Oregon Wheat Newsletter) Key Scientist Says Agriculture Productivity Must Increase From The Hand That Feeds U.S. A leading scientist recently told American millers that U.S. investment in agricultural research is less than 1 percent of the total farm gate value of goods, which must be increased by developing a greater voice for “the science of agriculture” through cross-sector efforts. Dr. Robert Beachy, former head of USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and a trustee of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, spoke at the North American Millers’ Association annual meeting late last week. From his unique perspective as a former Obama Administration official and a leader of a major, non-profit research center, Beachy described for NAMA members his view of opportunities and challenges for both U.S. and global agriculture. He said that to double agricultural output by 2050, when the global population is expected to be around 9 billion, without growing agriculture’s environmental footprint, the rate of productivity growth will need to rise from around 1.4 percent annually to at least 1.75 percent annually. Beachy said challenges for food providers going forward will include ensuring adequate supplies of food for a growing population, while adapting to changes in the climate, finding new and sustainable sources of energy and ensuring natural resources. To facilitate these goals, Beachy also identified profitability in the agriculture sector as a necessary component of sustainability for the industry. Beachy said a second “green revolution” began 15 years ago with the introduction of biotechnology and predicted a third green revolution will occur around efforts to reduce food losses and waste and to couple efforts to achieve food security goals with production of secondary effects, like bioenergy. He said modern technologies, including biotechnology, will be essential to sustainability efforts, describing biotechnology’s positive impact on the environment, greenhouse gas emissions and productivity for those crops in which it is widely incorporated. Beachy also addressed the state of agricultural research reinvestment, telling audience members an estimated $121 billion is invested annually in agriculture research, with an additional $165 billion invested by food manufacturing companies. These investments support about 3.7 million jobs, as well as the sales of agriculture goods, services and food products in the U.S. and overseas. To increase the money going to basic and applied research, he called for cross-sector efforts to identify research targets and partnerships, as well as the development of new funding mechanisms. He specifically said collaborations and public, private and government partnerships will be essential in the future of agriculture research, as challenges rise while available dollars decrease. NAWG Chief Executive Officer Dana Peterson represented wheat growers at the NAMA meeting, where she also participated in a panel discussion on nutrition policy issues and other topics. Additional speakers at the conference provided information on consumers’ eating habits and how they differ from purchasing habits, and on the state of family businesses. Rising Farm Incomes Dampened By Rising Expenses From The Hand That Feeds U.S. Agriculture has had a strong year. We’ve been reading reports of farms prospering for the better part of a year now. In October it was said that Iowa’s corn and soybean crop alone would almost quadruple the state’s budget. Just last month, the USDA announced that farm exports reached a record high of $137.4 billion in 2011. And now we’re starting to see some of that prosperity make it’s way back to rural America. Last week, the Agriculture Department announced that farm income was up 28 percent from 2010. This growth, says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, is a reflection of the hard work and innovation of the farmers and ranchers who continue to take risks and embrace new methods and innovations that dramatically improve efficiency. And Vilsack points out that good news for farmers is also good news for the hundreds of thousands of workers who depend on the agricultural industry to make a living. “A strong U.S. agricultural economy means more opportunities for small business owners and jobs for folks who package, ship, and market agricultural products,” he said. “Our farmers and ranchers have worked hard to keep their debt low and to capitalize on a broader economic recovery. Their willingness to adapt, innovate and embrace new research and technologies has ensured their success and can be a blueprint for the rest of the country’s economic recovery.” This story looks like it’s headed for a happy ending, but the truth is, it’s far from over, and some troubling news is already starting to surface. As farm income was rising, agricultural input costs were exploding, driving total production expenses up by an estimated $34.4 billion (120 percent) in 2011, to a record $320.0 billion, exceeding $300 billion for the first time in American history. While both input costs and incomes are up, it’s a sustainable system. But, what do the experts see for agriculture in the near future? “I strongly suspect that in 2012, we will see an income number move noticeably back below the $100 billion level. I don’t think we’re going to see crop prices quite as strong,” American Farm Bureau Federation’s Chief Economist, Bob Young, recently told Agri-Pulse http://www.agri-pulse.com/. A fall in commodity prices could be compounded by uncertainty about the future of policies in place to act as a backstop against natural disasters and extreme market fluctuations. Some argue that farm policy isn’t needed since farm incomes have recently grown. But what happens when they look at the other side of the coin? Do they remember when corn sold for just $3 a bushel in 2005? Or the farm crisis of the 1980s, when an estimated one-quarter of the assessed valuation of America’s farmland disappeared? It may be easy to see a target on the backs of successful industries now, but when we consider that agriculture is one of the few successful industries we have left, do we really want to leave its members facing season after season with no backstop? Most of farm policy—like crop insurance—is only paid out when disaster strikes and the farmer needs to make up for a lost harvest. It has endured cuts year after year, in fact, farm program payments are actually expected to decrease by 14.4 percent this year. And if more cuts are made to the wrong places, it would just about eliminate farm policy altogether. So, while we hope this story is one with a happy ending, for now it’s more like a cautionary tale. NRCS Announces Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative From Georgia Sormun, NRCS, Spokane Washington producers interested in extending the growing season for high value crops in an environmentally safe manner can apply for technical and financial assistance through USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced recently. The initiative was first introduced in December 2009 as a pilot project under the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative for farmers to establish high tunnels —also known as hoop houses—to increase the availability of locally grown produce in a conservation-friendly way. Made of ribs of plastic or metal pipe covered with a layer of plastic sheeting, high tunnels are easy to build, maintain and move. High tunnels are used year-round in parts of the country, providing a steady income to farmers, a significant advantage to owners of small farms, limited-resource farmers and organic producers. “There is great potential for high tunnels to expand the availability of healthy, locally-grown crops, a win for producers and consumers,” said State Conservationist Roylene Rides at the Door. “We know that these fixtures can help producers extend their growing season and hopefully add to their bottom line,” she said. The Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative will assist producers in addressing resource concerns by providing technical and financial assistance in improving plant quality, improving soil quality, reducing nutrient and pesticide transport, improving air quality through reduced transportation inputs, and reducing energy use by providing consumers with a local source of fresh produce. While there is a continuous sign-up for the program, applications will be evaluated periodically as funding becomes available. Evaluation periods will end February 3, 2012, March 30, 2012 and June 1, 2012. For the location of your local NRCS office, visit the NRCS website at www.wa.nrcs.usda.gov or call 509/323-2900. Making The Case For Oilseed Production In Eastern Washington By Michael Burley, WSU Agricultural News Intern Article published in WSU’s On Solid Ground, 12/7/2011 For over 10 years, Tom Conrad has successfully grown spring canola in place of chemical fallow in a 3-year rotation. Farmers in eastern Washington’s high rainfall zone who are interested in producing oilseed crops now have an opportunity to learn from the experiences of those already doing so. A new, free publication relates the experiences of five eastern Washington farmers growing canola, mustard, and winter rape. “Oilseed Production Case Studies” is the first in a series written by researchers in the Washington State University Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. One of the major economic drivers for oilseed crop production in the Pacific Northwest is to generate a secondary income stream for growers. “We were looking for something to provide more income on fallow,” Colfax farmer Tom Conrad explained, “so we started growing canola about 10 years ago.” Another reason farmers get into oilseed crops is to create a measure of energy independence. “We, as farmers, need knowledge about biodiesel, how to produce it and how to use it, but that is also a personal choice depending on a particular farmer’s needs and interests,” said Lee Druffel of Colton, Wash. “I have grown the oilseed crops and crushed the seed, and I sold the oil to someone nearby who was already making biodiesel. Although I have not made biodiesel myself, I’ve used a blend from the pump in my equipment and it performed well for me. I like having an alternative fuel source.” After the seeds have been crushed to capture the oil, the remaining solid material from canola may be ground into meal, an important protein source for livestock feed. Oilseed crops may also be used to improve the health of a field. Druffel said, “We chose to grow oilseed for rotation purposes, and to add diversity to our crop choices. There is no doubt, from the perspective of soil health, that an oilseed crop does something to the ground that’s good. The soil health is so improved after an oilseed crop. The soil is mellow, and the roots will break through the hardpan at 16-18 inches—now that’s a darned good subsoiler!” Colfax farmer John Hinnenkamp has grown spring canola for 14 years. He advises farmers to start small and grow a manageable oilseed crop. “The first year we planted 125 acres of spring canola, and we were scared to death! However, things worked out, and we’ve been growing it ever since. Keep in mind that everyone is different, and will respond differently to the suggestion to grow oilseeds.” Like most crops, the decision of what to grow correlates with the demands of the market. In recent years, for instance, mustard has had a higher market value than canola. Steve Teade of Colfax explained his decision to switch from canola to mustard: “Mustard has been better for us due to flexibility, profit, and less expenses even with an open market.” Calculating profitable financial returns and contacting area processors to assess potential market demand for a particular crop are integral parts of planting an oilseed crop. All five farmers concurred that chemical carryover was an issue in planting oilseed crops. Knowing the chemical history of any field being considered for planting is crucial. Likewise, all said that marketing was an issue due to fluctuating prices. Despite the challenges, all five farmers said they would continue producing oilseed crops. Download a free PDF of “Oilseed Production Case Studies” at http://bit.ly/oilseedprod./ WSU continues to be a leader in developing solutions that are making oilseed crops an economically viable alternative for Pacific Northwest farmers. In January, WSU experts are offering oilseed crop production workshops in Odessa and Colfax. Learn more by visiting http://bit.ly/wscssoilseeds./ Check out a story about a La Crosse farmer who grows and presses camelina: http://bit.ly/92ZDJZ./ December WASDE Shows Plenty Of Wheat In The World-For Now The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a bearish outlook for wheat in its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) for December. A quick look at the new 2011/2012 forecasts tell the story: • Global wheat production up to a record 689 million metric tons (MMT) due to higher production in Australia, Argentina and Canada. • Global wheat supplies up 9.3 • MMT to 889 MMT with improving production estimates in the southern hemisphere. • Global wheat ending stocks up 5.9 MMT to 209 MMT, the largest in 12 years. Larger world supplies of wheat and competitive prices relative to corn boosted prospects for 2011/2012 world wheat trade, USDA said. Its trade forecast is up 1.4 MMT, anticipating that Asian countries and Mexico will import more wheat for feed. ABARES, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, recently reported it expects relatively low wheat protein levels this year. While USDA did not cite that specifically, it did increase its Australian and Argentine export forecast based on increased feed wheat demand. It also lowered U.S. export forecasts for hard red winter (HRW), soft red winter (SRW) and white wheat by 1.36 MMT. U.S. grain handlers told U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) the white wheat export reduction surprised them because the soft white (SW) sales pace remains strong. Export forecasts for U.S. hard red spring (HRS) and durum did not change this month. In fact, MGEX HRS futures prices for December, March and May closed up a bit along with March and May KCBOT HRW futures on the day USDA issued the December WASDE. The fact remains that the United States is still the world’s main supplier of high quality milling wheat. Protein levels in the 2011/12 HRW and HRS crop are much higher than last year, with a significant portion of U.S. HRS supply still in storage on the farm or in the local elevators (reflected in current FOB prices). USW Vice President for Overseas Operations Vince Peterson recently told buyers in Latin America that falling prices create an opportunity for buyers to lock in the best value for higher quality U.S. wheat classes they have seen in a long time. Speaking to Reuters, USW Regional Vice President for the Middle East, North and East Africa Dick Prior noted that U.S. wheat prices are becoming more competitive with other origins. However, the downward price trend may not be sustainable for long. USDA/Foreign Agricultural Service Director of Policy Analysis Michael Dwyer’s current analysis of longer-term market factors point to continued historically high agricultural commodity prices. Dwyer recently discussed his analysis with online publication Agri-Pulse. Farming In America: The Economics Of Fortune Telling From The Hand That Feeds U.S. People have tried to predict the weather since the beginning of time. And while we may have come a long way since believing the world is flat or that everything revolves around the planet Earth, we’re no closer to understanding all of the nuances that make the atmosphere react how, and more importantly, when, it does. Likewise, the globalization of our financial system, in the process of creating endless opportunities, has created endless uncertainties—creating its own unpredictable atmosphere. No one can know exactly how either are ever going to turn out and yet, there is one industry that has to deal with the consequences of each on a daily basis: Agriculture. Some, including the Wall Street Journal, have criticized the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its inability to accurately predict these unpredictable circumstances, saying that economists are to blame for inaccurate forecasts. “Over the past two years, the Department of Agriculture’s monthly forecasts of how much farmers will harvest have been off the mark to a greater degree than any other two consecutive years in the last 15,” reported the Journal. But long-time producers and users of the supply and demand data think the USDA should be applauded for its work, not discouraged, noting weather anomalies of the past few years and an unparalleled market rollercoaster. When we consider the task at hand—to predict exactly how much of each commodity is on each individual farm, what the weather will do throughout the year, what the yields will look like, and where the prices will fall, not to mention Americans’ eating habits and food trends—it’s not as if a simple formula will do the trick. A crystal ball would be more helpful. “Weather is both hard, if not impossible, to predict and the major determinant of crop yield variations from the norm,” said Jack Roney, an economist with the American Sugar Alliance and former economist with the USDA. Roney pointed out that while the Journal did acknowledge USDA forecasts, over time, are as accurate as any private forecasting, they missed the bigger picture. “They failed to note the value to farmers and consumers of having objective USDA forecasts to consider, rather than relying on forecasts of commodity trading firms that may bias their reports to favor their positions in the futures market.” Not to mention the value we see when we compare the USDA’s system to foreign countries. Roney says the article also failed to note another major factor regarding the cost of USDA forecasts to farmers and consumers: None. “And that’s compared to trade house commodity-forecast subscriptions that can be very expensive,” he said. Bottom line? “Some years USDA projections will prove to be more accurate than others, some years the weather varies more from normal expectations than others. But Americans are well served by USDA’s crop forecasting work.” And without the Agency’s hard work, farmers would have a lot more to worry about than unpredictable weather patterns and economic volatility. WSU Efforts To Improve Afghanistan Agriculture Continue By Kathy Barnard, WSU CAHNRS MNEC Washington State University’s work to help secure and improve agriculture in war-torn Afghanistan will continue with two new initiatives recently funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the U. S. Agency for International Development. Working as part of a consortia led by the University of California-Davis, WSU will receive $3.12 million to help strengthen the Afghani extension system. It will receive an additional $895,500 from a project led by Purdue University to improve the skills of agriculture-oriented faculty members at Afghan colleges and universities. “These new programs build on our efforts to build both human and institutional capacity from previous programs implemented through our department.,” said Chris Pannkuk, director of WSU’s International Research and Development in the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. The Afghan Agricultural Extension Program is a three-year project intended to build the capacity of the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock extension service to deliver programs on the ground. WSU’s role in that project includes establishing training in the technical and management skills of Extension in high impact priority areas, such as improved wheat and grain storage, fresh market and processing value changes, use of legumes in grain crop rotation, protecting food production for high value urban markets, and livestock production for improved household health and well-being. “We’ll also be working to establish an integrative communications model to ease the development of extension policy, management, training and information exchange with our Afghan stakeholders,” Pannkuk explained. For the five-year “Strengthening Afghan Agricultural Faculties” project, WSU will conduct four primary activities, all aimed at helping develop faculty capacity, agronomy courses and curriculum, establishing labs and integrating them into educational programs, and developing ag production activities on student and research farms. Specifically, WSU faculty will: • Develop a series of annual technical assistant/training workshops targeting course curriculum development, lab development, applied research and staff visits. The project calls for 10 visits by WSU faculty to Afghanistan, two each for each of the five project years. During those visits, they will meet with their Afghani counterparts and students. • Provide graduate education to five Afghan faculty, two earning master’s degrees and three earning their doctoral degrees in agronomy • Host a mid-career senior Afghan faculty member as a visiting scholar for four months each year. WSU has had a working presence in Afghanistan for the past eight years, working in a variety of projects aimed at developing human and institutional capacity. WSU Organic Gardening Intensive Course By Kathy Barnard, Washington State University Washington State University Extension Master Gardeners and the WSU Organic Farm are joining forces to offer an intensive, multi-week course in organic gardening, covering everything from composting to garden planning as well as organic pest control and fertilization. “Organic Gardening Intensive” begins Feb. 20 and run through May 8. The program will include four Saturday sessions that run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and five Wednesday sessions that run from 1 to 4 p.m. Altogether, participants will receive 35 hours of instruction from WSU faculty, researchers and area farmers. The classes will be held in greenhouses on the Pullman campus as well as at the WSU Organic Farm. Costs of the training vary. Current Master Gardeners will pay $100. Participants willing to give 20 hours of volunteer service at the WSU Organic Farm following the training will pay $150. All other participants will pay $250. Applications for those interested are available at www.css.wsu.edu/organicfarm. Productive Year For Trade Policy Action By Tyler Jameson, Asst. Director of Policy, U.S. Wheat Associates In addition to U.S. Wheat Associates’ work helping public and private wheat buyers get the most value possible from U.S. wheat imports, the U.S. wheat industry advocates for trade policies that support open and fair competition. Looking back on 2011, several trade policy achievements hold the promise of an even more rewarding year in 2012 for wheat buyers and producers. Perhaps most important, the United States ratified three free trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama that add value to the partnership with U.S. wheat farmers. Swift implementation of these three important agreements will ensure that customers in these countries are no longer subject to tariffs on U.S. wheat imports. Negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) gained momentum this year. Several countries—most notably Japan—expressed interest in joining the nine current TPP negotiating countries. Details of the agreement are taking shape and, after a successful Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, there is hope for a final agreement in 2012. Once complete, the TPP will help lower tariffs and other trade barriers facing U.S. wheat and help improve economic opportunity for each member country. While progress in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round in 2011 was slow at best, the WTO remains a useful organization for the international trading system. USW fully supports the fundamental objective of the Doha Round to improve the trading prospects of developing countries. Last month, Director-General Pascal Lamy told WTO members that “in a context of greater economic uncertainty and U.S. wheat importers rising global risks, it is all the more important that the process of global trade opening continues.” U.S. wheat importers made record use of the USDA’s GSM-102 Export Credit Guarantee Program. GSM-102 provides credit guarantees to encourage financing of commercial exports of U.S. agricultural products, while providing competitive credit terms to buyers, especially in developing countries. Finally, in the face of critical budget challenges, the U.S. Congress has agreed to maintain full funding of the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) programs for fiscal year 2012. We believe that is because these programs provide an excellent return to U.S. farmers and their overseas customers. USW and the entire U.S. wheat industry will continue advocating for MAP and FMD so that we can continue offering the trade service, technical assistance and market information on which our customers rely.

Family Foresters Workshop From Brian Clark, WSU CAHNRS MNEC The 2012 Family Foresters Workshop will be held at the Mirabeau Park Hotel and Convention Center in Spokane Valley on Jan. 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Family Foresters Workshop is designed to strengthen the skills of consulting foresters, state-employed service foresters, and other natural resource professionals who work with family forest owners. It serves as a forum to provide updates on emerging technology and knowledge applicable to family forestry. Family-owned forests are vital to the economy and quality of life in the inland Pacific Northwest. These lands are critical for wildlife habitat, timber supply, water quality, and many other values. Unique skills are required of foresters and other natural resource professionals who help family forest owners manage their property. Topics planned for this year include assessing the costs of logging and trucking for family-forest owners; prescribed burner certification with an eye on reducing liability; climate change information for inland Pacific Northwest family forest landowners, including climate models and related tools being developed for landowners and managers; the future of markets for wood products from inland Pacific Northwest family forests; using Google Earth and other freely available mapping software; balancing wildfire risk reduction with wildlife habitat needs; and the annual family forest economics and policy update. The program can accommodate up to 100 people. Registration forms are available at local University of Idaho and Washington State University Extension offices, and should be returned by January 13. The $85 pre-registration fee ($95 after Jan. 13) includes lunch and refreshments. For questions on the program, contact: Chris Schnepf at 208-446-1680 or Andy Perleberg at 509-667-6658. The 2012 Family Foresters Workshop will be held at the Mirabeau Park Hotel and Convention Center in Spokane Valley on Jan. 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Family Foresters Workshop is designed to strengthen the skills of consulting foresters, state-employed service foresters, and other natural resource professionals who work with family forest owners. It serves as a forum to provide updates on emerging technology and knowledge applicable to family forestry. Family-owned forests are vital to the economy and quality of life in the inland Pacific Northwest. These lands are critical for wildlife habitat, timber supply, water quality, and many other values. Unique skills are required of foresters and other natural resource professionals who help family forest owners manage their property. Topics planned for this year include assessing the costs of logging and trucking for family-forest owners; prescribed burner certification with an eye on reducing liability; climate change information for inland Pacific Northwest family forest landowners, including climate models and related tools being developed for landowners and managers; the future of markets for wood products from inland Pacific Northwest family forests; using Google Earth and other freely available mapping software; balancing wildfire risk reduction with wildlife habitat needs; and the annual family forest economics and policy update. The program can accommodate up to 100 people. Registration forms are available at local University of Idaho and Washington State University Extension offices, and should be returned by January 13. The $85 pre-registration fee ($95 after Jan. 13) includes lunch and refreshments. For questions on the program, contact: Chris Schnepf at 208-446-1680 or Andy Perleberg at 509-667-6658. USDA Pollinator Video Premiers USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service presents a unique view of the importance of pollinators. In less than 2 minutes, “Be a Friend to Pollinators” takes flight on YouTube with simple facts about bees, butterflies, birds, and bats and other pollinators. Featured are the places of pollinators in food production, plus food for thought on what it would be like to live in a world without pollinators. The video also advises on how to help pollinators thrive. Connect to the video and more NRCS pollinator information at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/plantsanimals/pollinate. December Weather Trumps Year Of Wild Cards By Brian Clark, Washington State University In a year of meteorological wild cards, December took the last trick. Despite the presence of La Nina, which favors wetter and snowier than normal winter conditions, December was unusually dry and calm across Washington. Low clouds and poor air quality were the most notable weather concerns of the month. “Normally, December is one of the more active weather months of the year,” said AgWeatherNet meteorologist Nic Loyd. “However, a strong ridge of high pressure blocked the storms that might have otherwise reached the Northwest. The high-pressure system persisted over the region from the end of November through Christmas. As a result, Washington experienced very little interesting winter weather until the final week of the year.” Mountain snowfall was very low in December, and the Cascade snowpack remains below normal at the beginning of 2012. Northwest Avalanche Center data indicate that mountain snow depths ranged from 55 to 103 percent of normal on January 1. However, Paradise and White Pass snow depths were at record low levels for a La Nina winter like this one. “If the mountain snowpack remains below normal, it could have a negative impact on available water for irrigation during the summer,” said AgWeatherNet Director Gerrit Hoogenboom. Even so, there is still a chance to recover from the current snow deficit if heavy snows materialize during the later part of winter. At year’s end, increasingly unsettled weather brought heavy rain to the coast, and strong wind and unseasonable warmth to eastern Washington. Prosser experienced its warmest December day on record on the 28th, and the daily low temperature of 52 degrees smashed the old December record by four degrees. Long Beach recorded two and a half inches of rain from December 28-29, while winds at St. John gusted to over 50 mph, while in the Walla Walla area, temperatures jumped to around 60 degrees. Ironically, December was a noteworthy weather month precisely because of the uneventful and dry weather conditions observed until Christmas. And the current forecast suggests a continuation of the status quo with little chance for significant wintry weather in Washington for at least the first two weeks of 2012. However, the longer-term climate outlook from the Climate Prediction Center still suggests enhanced odds of cooler and wetter than normal conditions in Washington through the spring of 2012. A Web-based, publicly available system, AgWeatherNet provides access to near real-time weather data and value-added products from WSU’s statewide weather network, along with decision aids for agricultural producers and other users. It includes 134 weather stations located mostly in the irrigated regions of eastern Washington State, but the network recently has undergone significant expansion in western Washington and in dry land regions of the state. AgWeatherNet is available at www.weather.wsu.edu. First 2012 Forecast Of Stripe Rust For The Pacific Northwest Jan. 2, 2012- From Xianming Chen, Washington State University Based on the 2011 December temperatures, stripe rust yield loss on highly susceptible winter wheat cultivars is predicted to be 47%. The value is calculated using the formula Y (yield loss) = 84.3 - 0.323X, where X is the absolute value of the accumulated value of negative degree days based on daily maximum temperatures. The negative degree day value for a day equals the maximum temperature (°C) subtracted by 7 (°C). This is the first of a series of models we use to predict stripe rust damage on susceptible cultivars for the major wheat growing region in the Pacific Northwest. For more information about this formula and other formulas, you may refer to our recent publication (Sharma-Poudyal, D., and Chen, X. M. 2011. Models for predicting potential yield loss of wheat caused by stripe rust in the US Pacific Northwest. Phytopathology 101:544-554). If we classify stripe rust yield losses into four categories, low (equal to or less than 20%), moderate (more than 20% but equal to or less than 40%), severe (more than 40% but equal to or less than 60%), and extremely severe (more than 60%), the predicted level of 47% for 2012 indicates a severe level, higher than normal (35%). For comparison, the 2010 stripe rust epidemic caused 60% yield loss and in 2011 caused more than 90% on highly susceptible winter wheat cultivars. Please keep in mind that this prediction is based on the winter weather so far. If the weather conditions from now to June are close to normal, the prediction will be very close to the real disease situation. The other models using the weather data from the entire November to February give better predictions. Our next forecast will be in early March. Family Forest Landowner & Manager Conference All farm and ranch landowners and managers are invited to the 24th annual Family Forest Landowners & Managers Conference & Exposition on March 19-21, 2012 at the University Inn-Best Western in Moscow, Idaho. At this year’s Conference, nationally recognized experts on succession planning for landowners will be featured, as well as segments on germplasm storage and climate studies. The conference theme is “Family Landowners in Action: Together We Get Results”. Presentations will focus on four main topics: • Action at the State and National Level! • Action at the Grass (& Tree) Roots! • Action for Effective Succession! • and, Action for Future Conditions!. Again this year the Conference will feature an Equipment Exposition. It will be held inside and outside the Palouse Mall and features equipment useful to small scale resource-based operations. Businesses offering equipment or other land management services will also be on hand. Additionally, a special session of “Ties to the Land” will be offered on March 21 to assist families with intergenerational planning to transition land-based operations intact to succeeding generations. This workshop is limited to 25 people. For a full conference agenda and to download a registration form from the internet, go to www.idahoforestowners.org. For registration or program information, e-mail info@idahoforestowners.org or call 208/683-3168. Information specific to the Forestry, Farming and Gardening Expo is available at 208/301-5141 or 208-596-0670. New Research Busts Tannin Additions Myth, Sparks Trans-Pacific Collaboration By Brian Clark, as seen in WSU’s “Voice of the Vine” If you’re using tannin additions in your red winemaking process, you may well be wasting your money, according to recently published research by Washington State University enologist Jim Harbertson and Australian wine and grape researcher Mark Downey, a lead researcher at Victoria’s Department of Primary Industries. Harbertson, Downey and their colleagues analyzed commercially available tannin additives and found them to be, at best, an unnecessary expense for red wines made from Washington-grown grapes. Many winemaking manuals recommend adding tannins, though, in the belief that the additions help bolster mouth feel and improve color in red wine. A red wine’s mouth feel is the result of a range of chemicals causing astringency and is described with a variety of words ranging from “velvety” to “drying.” “At the recommended dosage, these additives are, at most, giving a slight tweak to astringency,” Harbertson said. “In higher doses, you get some aroma shifting and a negative impact on sensory character. It made them earthy tasting, and turned the wine brown.” Harbertson and Downey collaborated with renowned sensory scientist Hildegarde Heymann, professor of enology at UC Davis, and her Italian post-doctoral student, Giuseppina Parpinello, to conduct sensory analyses of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines made with tannin additions. “In a collaboration with Chateau Ste. Michelle, we added commercial tannin products to both barrel-aging Merlot and to Cabernet Sauvignon after pressing the grapes,” Harbertson said. “We used a range of concentrations and a variety of commercially available additives to get a sense of what is going on when these products are added to Washington wines.” Harbertson explained that there is a crucial difference between taste (flavor, aroma) and astringency, or mouth feel. “Mouth feel is a tactile sensation,” he said. “It’s basically the removal of the lubricating proteins that naturally occur in the mouth. Aroma and flavor, in contrast, are receptor-based and are caused by our taste buds being stimulated by the flavor and aroma molecules in wine. Astringency is thought to be a result of chemical precipitation in which tannin molecules bind the lubricating proteins in the mouth, thus taking them out of action. That’s why some wines have a drying or “spikey” mouth feel, as the overabundance of tannins rob the mouth of its lubricants.” Not only did the additives have a limited or negative impact on wine quality, analysis of the products revealed them to be, at most, only 48 percent tannin. “On the low end, we found some products to contain as little as 12 percent tannin,” Harbertson said. The products contain fillers that enable the additives to go into solution more easily. Harbertson and Downey conducted the analysis of the tannin additives. “The bottom line for Washington red winemakers is this,” Harbertson said. “We have plenty of naturally available tannins available in red grapes grown here. In an industry with tight margins and dealing with global competition, we are suggesting that the extra expense of adding tannins is simply unnecessary.” Downey observed that “Tannins additives are one of the many tools available to winemakers in Australia and have been used extensively by some producers without a clear understanding of their impact. Some winemakers consider their addition essential, while for others it is more of an insurance policy, but neither approach is based on science. Given that tannin additions are an added cost, understanding their impact may result in cost-savings for producers. In the current economic climate, this is of considerable interest.” Harbertson speculated that tannin additions might control some problems faced by white wine makers, such as protein haze or Botrytis. “But this idea has not been scientifically tested,” he pointed out. Harbertson also mentioned that certain hybrid grape varieties, once grown in Europe for their resistance to diseases and pests, don’t produce much tannin on their own, so an additive is needed. However, most hybrids aren’t grown in Europe simply because they produce wine that is too acidic for most consumers. Several hybrid varieties are still grown on the east coast of the U.S. and in Ontario, Canada, where they are popular as constituents of the ice wines enjoyed in the region. “This study shows us what happens when you add tannins at one end of the spectrum. What we need to do is look at the other end: adding tannins to wines from low-tannin regions or fruit grown in high volumes in a warm climate. Not all of these conditions are present in Washington or Victoria (or convenient to our research programs) so it makes sense to work together,” said Downey. Downey said that his and Harbertson’s research programs “are complementary rather than competitive. The knowledge earned from scientific research doesn’t give you a competitive advantage. Rather, it’s how growers and winemakers use that knowledge that gives you the advantage. Working together actually achieves more for our respective industries. By collaborating and sharing the load, the Washington industry gets more research outcomes for the same research dollar invested and so do we.” Indeed, Harbertson and Downey plan to continue their collaborative research. Among other things, they will be investigating the effects of aging red wines in oak barrels. Like so much of their work, both together and individually, the role of oak and oak’s contribution of tannins, in wine quality is assumed but not well understood. Indeed, this and other questions have led the scientists’ respective institutions to sign a formal agreement, allowing them to collaborate over the long term in ways that would not otherwise be possible. The paper discussed in this article, “Impact of exogenous tannin additions on wine chemistry and wine sensory character,” will be published in the April, 2012 issue of the journal Food Chemistry. The paper was published online Oct. 1 and readers with access to a subscribing institution may access the paper by visiting http://bit.ly/wsutannins./ OSU Extension Helps Oregon’s Christmas Tree Industry By Gail Wells, Oregon State University One of Rick Fletcher’s boyhood memories is of hunting Christmas trees on his family’s southern Oregon ranch. “I was 8 years old, and I was wading through snow up to my waist, dragging these trees out of the woods. We’d truck them south and sell them at our family’s lot in Los Angeles.” The trees, of course, were the forest-grown kind: sparse-limbed, flat-sided, bent-stemmed—the only choice in those days. “You could wander a long way,” says Fletcher, “before you found a tree anyone would call perfect.” By the time Fletcher grew up and became a forestry agent with the Oregon State University Extension Service, things were changing. Today the Christmas tree universe is utterly transformed. Plantation-grown trees—straight, sturdy, bushy and vividly green—have become a huge industry in Oregon, thanks in large part to Fletcher and his colleagues. Tree topper Oregon is the leading producer of Christmas trees in the nation. The state’s growers sold 6.4 million trees in 2010, grossing $91 million, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. About 1,600 operations cultivated 57,000 acres in Oregon last year and employed nearly 8,000 full-time and seasonal workers, the service reported. Oregon trees travel the world, people in the Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand enjoy their spicy fragrance, but most are sold in California and the Southwest. The idea of farming Christmas trees instead of hunting them started in the early 1950s, as growers in Michigan and the East experimented with plantation spruce and Scotch pine. In Oregon, pioneer grower Hal Schudel and partner Paul Goodmonson bought their first 238 acres near Kings Valley in 1955 and planted Douglas-fir seedlings. Their enterprise grew to become Holiday Tree Farms, headquartered in Corvallis and the largest grower of Christmas trees in the nation. “Paul and I are often credited as founders of the modern Christmas tree industry,” writes Schudel in his memoir, “From the Great Plains to the Great Northwest.” That’s not quite right, he says. “We were the first to grow plantation trees in volume, using modern agricultural knowledge, and to market them competitively throughout the United States.” In this, the burgeoning industry was greatly helped by OSU Extension agronomy. Growers were developing a new farm crop from scratch, and they had many questions about basic agricultural practices such as selection of planting stock, fertilizing, spacing, irrigation, weed control and soil productivity. Extension researchers and agents like Bob Logan in Roseburg and Ken Brown in the mid-Willamette Valley began working with Oregon Christmas tree pioneers like Barney Douglass and Drew Michaels, as well as a growing number of farmers interested in the new crop. Brown, a small-fruits expert, experimented with ways to prune trees to a perfect conical shape. This was a new idea, and nobody knew for sure whether customers would like the fluffy, full-bodied look. Hal Schudel recalls sending the first carloads to his LA wholesalers and wondering, “What if I can’t sell all those crazy sheared trees?” But they were a hit, and sheared trees became the industry standard. Booming business By the mid-1970s Christmas trees were booming. OSU Extension hired a statewide Christmas tree specialist, but county faculty found their workloads ever expanding. Clayton Wills in Clackamas County was working with poultry as well as Christmas trees and “he had more jobs than he could handle,” according to Dan Green, who joined the team as an Extension forester in 1976. In 1979 Fletcher and colleagues Chal Landgren and Mike Bondi joined Green to become the go-to Extension team for Christmas tree growers. Their first urgent question concerned fertilizer. “We found that farmers were applying way too much nitrogen,” Fletcher says, “which was costly and bad for the groundwater.” He and his colleagues started researching Christmas tree nutrition. Their work culminated in the publication: Christmas Tree Nutrient Management Guide for Western Oregon and Washington (PDF) http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/jspui/bitstream/1957/12863/3/EM8856.pdf  Soil productivity was another concern. Landgren and colleagues looked at the effects of machine compaction and long-term herbicide use on the soil, as well as the effects of continuous cropping on nutrients. “We found that if they don’t take care of the site—if they continually take, take, take and don’t put anything back—then they’ll have declines.” Most growers are now careful to avoid compacting the soil, and some are planting cover crops after two rotations (a rotation is five to six years for Douglas-fir, nine to 11 years for noble fir). “I’d like to think we helped make that change,” Landgren says. Extension research has also produced better planting stock. The earliest seed sources for Christmas trees were forest-grown trees, which tend to be lean and rangy. Growers wanted uniform, bushy, fast-growing trees with generously budded stems. Brown, Landgren and their colleagues began research to identify promising Douglas- and noble fir trees to use for seed sources. They established seed orchards on cooperating growers’ farms. Now, nurseries plant seeds from these superior trees to produce the best stock. More recently, Landgren and colleague Gary Chastagner, an Extension plant pathologist at Washington State University, have been screening trees for their needle-holding capability. Greener trees This season, holiday trees have become a little bit greener with a new sustainability program for Christmas tree farms. Trees from certified farms have met standards for protecting land, water, wildlife and the people who work on the farm. The trees bear a tag identifying their origin as a Socially and Environmentally Responsible Farm (SERF) http://www.serfcertified.org. “A SERF-certified tree assures you that this real tree is grown using the best and safest methods known,” said Landgren, who helped create the certification program. To be certified, a farm must develop a plan for all their operations addressing five areas of social and environmental health: biodiversity, soil and water resources, integrated pest management, worker health and safety, and consumer and community relations. OSU Extension provides training and support to growers in developing their sustainability plans, the Oregon Department of Agriculture conducts independent inspections of the farm, and the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Growers Association provides the final certification approval. Grown on sustainable farms, Christmas trees are cultivated just like other crops; growers plant one or more to replace every tree they harvest. Bondi has been appearing on television in California and the Southwest during the past few holiday seasons, advising consumers on the care of Christmas trees and explaining their “green” virtues: They absorb carbon dioxide and produce life-giving oxygen. They don’t threaten natural forests. They provide wildlife habitat and rural scenery. They’re grown by family farmers. They support local economies. They can be recycled and turned into mulch or compost, so no waste goes into landfills. And they smell heavenly, even the cleverest artificial tree can’t perfume the house with that wholesome fragrance. See website: http://extensionweb.forestry.oregonstate.edu/christmas-tree-producers WSU Viticulture And Enology Certificate Grads Score Points With Critics By Brian Clark, from WSU’s “Voice of the Vine” Leala Cramer, winemaker and owner of Marcus Sophia Winery, recently scored a coveted 90 points from Robert Parker for her 2010 Viognier. Parker writes: “Marcus Sophia’s 2010 Voignier Lonesome Spring Ranch offers up a delightful perfume of peach, apricot, mineral, and nutmeg. In the glass it opens to reveal a smooth texture, dry fruity flavors, impeccable balance, and a lengthy, seamless finish. It is an outstanding value in Viognier meant for drinking over the next 3-4 years.” After 20 years as a personal chef working with ingredients produced by Pacific Northwest farmers, Cramer long dreamed of becoming a winemaker and owning her own winery. Cramer took the plunge into the wine business by getting her professional certificate in enology from WSU. “I deepened my knowledge of winemaking” through the certificate program, she says on her web site. No wonder she named her winery after her son, Marcus, and the Greek goddess for wisdom, Sophia. After all, making the best use of knowledge is the definition of wisdom. Meanwhile, bells are ringing in the wake of critic Stephen Tanzer’s 90-point review of the 2009 Red Willow Syrah from Eight Bells Winery. Eight Bells is owned and operated by three WSU viticulture and enology certificate graduates, Tim Bates, Andy Shepherd and Frank Michiels. Bates started making wine back in 1980. He got Shepherd hooked on winemaking in 1996 and, with their connection to the Boeing Wine Club (birthplace of many a Washington winery), started making wines with some of the best grapes being grown in the Pacific Northwest. Michiels joined forces with the pair in 2006. The nautical theme of Eight Bells comes from the fact that Bates and Shepherd are National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research scientists. When they aren’t making wine, they are sailing the deep blue sea on a research vessel. Web-based Grapevine Cold Hardiness Tool Launches By Brian Clark, from WSU’s “Voice of the Vine” Just in time for winter, WSU researchers have launched a web-based Grapevine Cold Hardiness tool. Based on mathematical simulations of how grapevines respond to cold temperatures throughout the winter, this tool provides estimated low temperature thresholds for bud damage of over 20 wine and juice grape cultivars. With AgWeatherNet stations across the entire state, the Grape Cold Hardiness tool enables growers to closely monitor temperatures at their vineyard sites and see, in real time, potential effects on their grapevines. The damage thresholds programmed into the tool represent temperatures that would kill 10, 50, and 90 percent of a particular variety’s primary buds. If a temperature threshold is reached, a warning statement indicating the estimated level of damage appears on the Grapevine Cold Hardiness tool’s web page. These real-time observations can be found at http://bit.ly/wsuvecold, the WSU Viticulture and Enology Extension cold hardiness web site. In the fall, grapevines “harden off,” becoming more cold hardy as temperatures decline. The Grapevine Cold Hardiness tool web page indicates how well a particular cultivar is developing cold hardiness in response to local temperatures. The tool is available online starting Dec. 1 at http://bit.ly/wsucoldhardiness. In order to access the tool, you must be a registered user of AgWeatherNet. Registration is free and an online help system is available on the page. A short how-to video on using the tool can be found on the WSU Viticulture and Enology Extension cold hardiness web site at http://bit.ly/wsuvecold. This site also contains valuable information regarding preventing, assessing, and responding to cold damage in vineyards. To prepare Washington growers for dealing with cold damage, WSU’s team of viticulture experts has published a grapevine cold-damage management guide, available as a free PDF download from http://bit.ly/wsucolddamage. Check out WSU Viticulture and Enology Extension’s YouTube channel at http://bit.ly/sAeR2u. You can connect with the V&E team on Facebook, too: http://on.fb.me/j5jipq./ Raise A Glass, Fund A Scholarship By Brian Clark, from WSU’s “Voice of the Vine” Nearly 150 restaurants around the Puget Sound are participating in Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates’ 4th annual “Raise a Glass, Fund a Scholarship.” We are grateful to Chateau Ste. Michelle and all the restaurants participating in this program. We are even more grateful to all of you. Last year, you helped raise $40,000 for WSU’s wine science education program. The way it works is simple: visit a participating restaurant and order wine that supports WSU’s viticulture and enology program. The list of participating restaurants (with addresses) is online at http://bit.ly/fundveedu. Assistance Available For On-Farm Energy Conservation From Georgia Sormun, NRCS, Spokane Financial and technical assistance is now available through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for producers interested in conserving energy on their property, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced recently. NRCS and producers develop Agricultural Energy Management Plans (AgEMP) or farm energy audits that assess energy consumption on an operation. NRCS then uses auditdata to develop energy conservation recommendations. Each AgEMP has a landscape component that assesses equipment and farming processes and a farm headquarters component that assesses power usage and efficiencies in livestock buildings, grain handling operations, and similar facilities to support the farm operation. Producers may also receive assistance to implement energy efficiency measures such as irrigation improvements, farmstead energy improvements, tillage management and pumping plant improvements. According to NRCS Acting Asst. State Conservationist, Lacey Gaw, a qualified energy management consultant will work with producers using a new energy assessment tool. “The tool is tailored specifically for Washington producers and will help evaluate energy conservation options and identify potential energy savings on each operation,” Gaw said. The on-farm energy initiative is a continuous sign-up, and applications may be submitted at any time. Applications will be evaluated periodically as funding becomes available. Application evaluation periods will end February 3, 2012, March 30, 2012 and June 1, 2012. For the location of your local NRCS office, visit the NRCS website at www.wa.nrcs.usda.gov or call 509/323-2900. New Research Will Dig Deep Into Kingdom Of Fungi By Peg Herring, Oregon State University Fungi are master recyclers, turning waste into nutrients and providing humankind with everything from penicillin to pale ale. Although fungi are members of one of the world’s most diverse kingdoms, we know relatively little about them. That is about to change. A new study headed by Joseph Spatafora, an Oregon State University professor of botany and plant pathology, will use powerful new tools of genomics to learn more about fungi. Spatafora and an international team of scientists will sequence the full set of chromosomes for 1,000 fungus species, creating at least two reference genomes for each recognized family within the fungal kingdom. This project builds on the knowledge created by a previous 10-year study called Assembling the Fungal Tree of Life, also led by Spatafora. That study helped to develop a classification system of fungi from around the world and paved the way for creating a reference encyclopedia of what fungi exist, how they are related, what they do and how they do it. “With this genome encyclopedia we’ll have access to the playbook of fungi,” Spatafora said, adding that the playbook is important to carbon cycling, food science, environmental clean up, human health and more. There are an estimated 1.5 million species of fungi, yet only about 100,000 species have been described. Spatafora credits recent advances in gene sequencing technology that will make it possible to unravel genetic details with speed and accuracy. “We’ve used fungi for so many services to society for centuries without much knowledge about how they are assembled at a genomic level. Think about what we can discover with this powerful knowledge,” he said. The 1000 Fungal Genomes project is one of 41 projects funded through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute whose purpose is to enable scientists from universities and national laboratories around the world to explore the hidden world of microbes and plants for solutions to major challenges in energy, climate and environment. Spatafora leads an international team of researchers, including Jason Stajich at University of California at Riverside and Igor Grigorlev of the DOE Joint Genome Institute. Fungi have an enormous impact on life and ecosystem functioning, as decomposers, pathogens, and essential components of the global carbon cycle. They are capable of degrading almost any biological material as well as many synthetic compounds. Therefore, fungi are useful in the development of alternative fuels, carbon sequestration and bioremediation of contaminated sites. In order to harness this potential, the 1000 Fungal Genomes project will build a reference library as a foundation for accurate analyses of the enormous volumes of data that will be created through genomic research. Fungal species to be analyzed will come from at least five science centers around the world, including University of Missouri at Kansas City; University of Arizona; USDA Center for Forest Mycology Research; USDA Northern Regional Research Laboratory; and the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures Fungal Biodiversity Centre, the Netherlands. The first year of the five-year project focuses on some of the most diverse classes of fungi that have been studied so far in these culture collections. As the project matures and as knowledge grows, the research will expand to include questions of sampling strategy, curation of data, research and analytical protocols, training and publications. For more information see the 1000 Fungal Genomes Project website http://1000.fungalgenomes.org/. Sorghum Gets A Face-Lift From Marri Carrow, USGC Global Update The U.S. Grains Council’s Japan office hosted a sorghum recipe contest on December 15 as part of a series of promotional events to showcase U.S. sorghum as a viable, alternative ingredient in food preparation. The region has been limited to primarily using sorghum in livestock rations, but based on a new branding effort, the grain will play an increasing role in the food industry. Over 150 recipes were submitted, and 10 were selected for tasting. Among several, judges were presented with choices of apple sorghum crumble, Japanese sorghu kebab, sorghum grain-stuffed chicken and a crispy sorghum cereal bar made of marshmallow, raisin and Graham cracker. Mrs. Barbara Wiggin, wife of U.S. Agricultural Minister-Counselor Geoff Wiggin, helped judge the event. Council staff along with local media were also in attendence. Raise A Glass, Fund A Scholarship By Brian Clark, from WSU’s “Voice of the Vine” Nearly 150 restaurants around the Puget Sound are participating in Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates’ 4th annual “Raise a Glass, Fund a Scholarship.” We are grateful to Chateau Ste. Michelle and all the restaurants participating in this program. We are even more grateful to all of you. Last year, you helped raise $40,000 for WSU’s wine science education program. The way it works is simple: visit a participating restaurant and order wine that supports WSU’s viticulture and enology program. The list of participating restaurants (with addresses) is online at http://bit.ly/fundveedu. $7.1B And Counting: Indemnities Soar In 2011 From National Crop Insurance Services What’s Cropping Up? Crop insurance companies have paid out more than $7.1 billion and climbing in claims so far this year, which makes 2011 second only to 2008?s $8.6 billion in the total value of indemnities paid out to farmers. The combination of several large-scale floods in the Central U.S., record droughts in the southern plains, a strong tropical storm in the Northeast and a hard freeze in Florida set the stage for the widespread agricultural losses. But what is the significance of this? The fact is that despite being one of the worst weather years in recent history, farmers had a policy backstop in place, crop insurance, to preclude major losses from natural disasters or market fluctuations that could lead to widespread bankruptcies and foreclosures. Thankfully, Congress had the foresight to make decades of significant investments in crop insurance infrastructure, increase the varieties of crops covered and policies available as well as augmenting resources to increase farmer participation. The net result is the resilient and robust modern-day crop insurance policy. But it hasn’t always been this way. Although the program was originally launched in 1938, it was not particularly successful because program costs were high and participation by farmers was low. In 1980, Congress passed legislation designed to increase participation in the crop insurance program and make it more affordable and accessible for farmers. This modern era of crop insurance was marked by the introduction of a public-private partnership between the U.S. government and private insurance companies. Despite these changes, farmer participation remained low, averaging about 30 percent. Low farmer participation in crop insurance combined with several large natural disasters set the stage for today’s crop insurance policy. A major drought in 1988 spurred the first of what would be the last costly string of federal /ad hoc/ disaster assistance bills for farmers. Another ad hoc disaster bill was passed in 1989; a third one enacted in 1992 gave farmers the option of claiming disaster losses on a farm-by-farm basis for any year between 1990 and 1992, and then an extremely wet and cool growing season in 1993 caused more losses, and Congress passed yet another ad hoc disaster bill. Low farmer participation remained a major hurdle. Congress enhanced the crop insurance program in 1994 and again in 2000 in order to encourage greater participation. They accomplished this by combining federal dollars with farmer premiums to make otherwise cost-prohibitive crop insurance policies universally affordable to farmers of all sizes. The changes also expanded the role of the private sector in developing new products that would help farmers manage their risks. With these additional changes, farmer participation in the policy greatly expanded. By 1998, more than 180 million acres of farmland were insured under the program, representing a three-fold increase over 1988. By 2010, roughly 80 percent of eligible farm land including all major grain crops and cotton, nursery, citrus, rice, potatoes, and livestock, covering more than 256 million acres of farmland and valued at nearly $80 billion, were protected by private crop insurance policies. As the number of acres covered by crop insurance policies grew, so did the cost of the program along with it. Another factor that has driven up the cost of the policy is the recent dramatic rise in commodity prices. As the value of crops rise, the coverage needed to protect them rises too. For example according to USDA’s Economic Research Service, the average price a farmer received for a bushel of corn in September 2007 was $2.20. In September 2011, that price had nearly tripled to $6.37 per bushel. Soybean prices nearly doubled during the same period, with prices rising from $5.24 per bushel in September 2007 to $9.98 in September 2011. The success of the agriculture sector due to these record prices has been a major boon to rural America. According to USDA, net farm income is forecast at $100.9 billion for 2011, up $21.8 billion for a rise of 28 percent from 2010. All three measures of farm sector earnings (net farm income, net cash income, and net value added) are forecast to rise more than 18 percent in 2011. Underpinning this economic boon that has been one of the only bright spots in the U.S. economy has been this nation’s private crop insurance policies...and that’s been a dose of good news for taxpayers. 100 Years Of OSU Advice Now Online By Rachel Beck, Oregon State University More than 6,000 documents from Oregon State University that cover a century of agricultural research and homemaking advice are now available to the public online. Dating as far back as 1888, the publications were produced by OSU’s Extension Service and the university’s agricultural research centers around the state. The materials include annual research reports and instructional guides covering everything from agricultural techniques to housecleaning. The project was the result of a partnership between OSU Libraries and the university’s department of Extension and Experiment Station Communications (EESC). “These publications represent more than 100 years of communicating the university’Äôs research advancements for the benefit of Oregon’s communities, natural resources and economy,” said Peg Herring, the head of EESC. “Now they’re digitally preserved, searchable and free to anyone in the world with an Internet connection.” The topics of the publications offer a glimpse of Oregon life over the past century and will delight Oregon history buffs. “Bulletin No. 1,” issued in 1888, outlined how OSU’s newly created agricultural research centers would operate. “Low Cost Menus for One Month,” published in 1933, advocated giving three teaspoons of cod liver oil per day to young children to ensure healthy development. And a 1971 booklet titled “30 Days to Reality” explained what a credit card was and how it worked. Oregonians can also find information from current publications to help with modern life. Recent titles in the database include “Canning Seafood http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/25506” and “Composting With Worms http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/23949.” All publications are available through OSU’s institutional repository, ScholarsArchive@OSU http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/. A direct link to the EESC publications is: http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/3904. Users can also find names of specific publications through the library catalog (http://oasis.oregonstate.edu/) and Internet search engines. The descriptions for out-of-date publications contain a disclaimer advising readers to search for the most current information in the OSU Extension catalog http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog. “It’s a great publishing model, and a valuable partnership between EESC and OSU Libraries,” said Sue Kunda, digital scholarship librarian. ‘”The most current research-based information is in the OSU Extension catalog, and all publications are preserved online for the benefit of the university and the public.”

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