February 2006

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January '06

Trends, Fascinating Or Frightening? By Susan Allen, Food Forethought Foundation The dawning of each new year finds many of us contemplating the proverbial question, what is in, and…what's out? Despite the fact that trends become obsolete seemingly overnight, top ad agencies still invest millions with forecasters who attempt to decipher what it is that you and I will watch on television, download from the internet, subscribe to on our cell phones, decorate our houses with, wear or drive. In the case of 2006 trending, the move towards sleek contemporary styling will prevail in fiber, technology and fashion. The one notable exception to this modernist movement will be in the food we consume. Trend expert Faith Popcorn is predicting that Americans will return to the traditional dinner table. Mealtime values will grow in importance and Ms. Popcorn expects a new category of "faith-friendly" foods to emerge like Christian-raised chicken. Tyson Foods has helped initiate this movement by offering downloadable mealtime prayer booklets available in a variety of faiths with their meat products. In 2006, the fact that meat and produce are locally grown will supersede the importance of the organic label. Organic will lose its pristine image and rapidly morph into simply another line extension for mega food corporations. Graying baby boomers weary of maintaining large expanses of lawn and gardens will look to alternative methods to connect with the land. Their "terroir" (soil) fix will be satisfied through innovative agricultural concepts creatively marketed by farmers. To guarantee a sustainable holiday turkey, urbanites will be able to raise 'e-birds", e-mailing diet specifics to their farmer while monitoring the turkey's daily progress via live internet. Farfetched, not really, given that wine aficionados have already succumbed to savvy vineyard marketing and can now become quasi &endash;grape growers by financially supporting and naming one vine in the vineyard as theirs to prune, nurture and harvest. Of course, ranchers have been ahead of this curve for years enticing dudes to pay to move their cattle from one pasture to another. (think "City Slickers".) The time is ripe for the dairy industry to market cuddly milk producing "Norma" rather than Norman, to the masses. Seattle gave us Starbucks, forever changing the way we drink coffee. In 2006, the Northwest is again poised to influence our national dining habits. A new chain of markets fresh from the "Mecca for the sustainable food movement," Portland,Oregon, will change how we shop for food. (Notice "markets" is used rather than "grocery store" a term considered obsolete in the industry). New Seasons, thriving in Portland's suburbs is a regional co-op of sorts with an emphasis on homegrown food. Their success attributed to recognizing that the same segment of our population that will wait in line twenty minutes for a latte, longs for the return of the corner market to experience a special connection to the food, farmer and the neighborhood. The New Season's chain has masterfully created an aura of patriotic demographic marketing successfully bridging the gap partisan politics has created between traditionally conservative farmers and liberal urban dwellers. New Season consumers strongly support country of origin labeling and request a face to farming, not only to connect them to the land but also to pacify food safety anxiety. This growing trend, already apparent in affluent circles evidenced by a notable return to heritage, artisan and heirloom foods, even in packaging. It is the latest irony in a food industry working to develop innovative packaging techniques, (like edible soy in place of plastic wrap) that the technologically astute who covet the latest blackberry, still desire their "edible" blackberries in retro colored containers. When it comes to our food in this coming year, forget the Jetsons, think slow, sustainable and comfort. As a nation, we are simply tired…. tired of the frantic pace, tired of gizmos, gimmicks, diet fads and especially tired of being disconnected! Instead of a cheesy toy in the cereal box, creatively tell our children how cereal is grown and harvested. In 2006, we will be wise to remember that it will be all about relationship marketing. Those in the agricultural community who understand and embrace this concept will be in for a very good year. OSU Guide Helps Keep Horses Healthy In Mud Season By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Winter brings rain. And rain brings mud&emdash;which can be a problem, especially if you have horses on small acreage. With horses on one to 10 acres, rain and mud can mean an unhealthy mess for your horses and your pasture. Muddy pastures can also pollute streams, groundwater and household wells. "Living in mud and manure is unhealthy for a horse," explained Garry Stephenson, a faculty member with the Oregon State University Extension Service who specializes in small farms. "Mud harbors bacteria and fungal organisms that cause health problems." Wet muddy conditions can foster organisms that cause mud fever (scratches), cracking of the hoof and sole and related lameness. Insects breed in mud and manure. With careful management, it is possible to keep a good grass cover through the winter, keep your weeds down and keep water clean and your horses healthy, said Stephenson. "Managing Small-acreage Horse Farms for Green Pastures, Clean Water, and Healthy Horses," a publication from the OSU Extension Service, spells out how to keep your small acreage horse pastures healthy and at the same time protect horse health and water quality. Stephenson, lead author of the publication, offers several tips for getting through the rainy season with horses on small acreage. For one, he says, keep animals off wet pastures. Animals on wet pastures create mud and compact the soil. They overgraze and trample grass. The result: less vegetation to filter sediments and use up nutrients from manure. Horse owners may create a "sacrifice area," a separate paddock to keep animals off wet pastures. This restricts impacts to one area and saves pastures during wet months. Paddocks can be prepared with "hog fuel"&emdash;wood shavings or chips or gravel. Installing rain gutters and downspouts on farm buildings directs water away from paddocks. Grass or vegetation "buffer strips" can be utilized around your sacrifice area. Don't overgraze or overstock your area, Stephenson advised. Rotate grazing to prevent overgrazing and allow pastures to rest. In western Oregon or Washington, a mare and a foal require about two acres for grazing use. A minimum of one acre per horse is required to cycle nutrients from manure and urine and to provide adequate space for exercise. The amount varies based on the amount and frequency of rain and how much the horse gets supplemental fed and exercised elsewhere. Cover your manure piles with a tarp or roof to prevent rain from leaching away nutrients and microorganisms into water. Or better yet, compost your manure. "Managing Small-acreage Horse Farms" (EC 1558) provides 24 pages of "how-to" practical information to help horse owners keep their horses, pastures and water quality healthy. To preview a copy online go to: http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/edmat/EC1558.pdf Printed copies are available for $4 per copy plus $3 shipping and handling. Send a request for EC 1558 and a check or money order payable to OSU to: Publication Orders, Extension and Station Communications, OSU, 422 Kerr Administration, Corvallis, OR 97331-2119. BeefTalk: The Beef Business Is Full Of Optical Illusions By Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service The phone rings. The producer answers and the voice on the other ends says, "We have a question on one of those calves you sold. Could you pull its record? We shipped it yesterday." This reality check will be said repeatedly as the beef business moves into the future. Individual animal (and producer) accountability is arriving fast and the days of optical illusions may well end soon. The Dickinson Research Extension Center experienced firsthand the illusions of the beef industry. Recently, the center attempted to source and age verify 21 purchased calves. More than 14 percent of the tags were not readable in the calving book. The Quality Systems Assessment (QSA) form, with all relevant questions left blank, was signed by the producer and returned to the center. This simple transaction only scratches the surface. Add on tag loss, replacement and corresponding data spillage throughout the marketing channels and the question pops up, "Are you really ready for accountability?" Not only that, but on arrival at the feed yard, the calves were tagged with QSA tags, with the assumption all forms were signed. What is overlooked in the industry is that these processes take time. We all need to take that time to read the fine print, give some thought to what we are signing and verify what we are signing. The phone call about a calf is no illusion. The road for beef producers has split. The first path is to meet a changing world with progressive enthusiasm and dressed for change. The other path is to fine-tune the art of optical illusion and continue down the path of yesterday. I'm sorry if some are offended, but the beef business is full of optical illusions. There seems to be a significant portion of the industry willing to accept change, provided no change is actually made. The discussion is good, the cowherd withstood the blizzard of 1987 and recent droughts. So what is there to change? A wake-up call should be the enormous efforts made to open the export market to Japan, only to find the vast majority of cattle in the U.S. don't qualify. So what is the fundamental problem? Briefly, the beef industry has been, is and appears to want to stay a lot- or pen-based business operating at a self, predefined "speed of commerce." Individual accountability is not capable of keeping up with that "speed of commerce." Today, beef product development is good, consumer demand is even better and the industry is meeting the challenges presented. Don't encumber business with individual accountability is the motto. Individual animal identification, traceable and verifiable back to the individual producer, buyer, seller, backgrounder, feedlot owner or packer, is simply not desired in the present mode of doing business in beef. Pros and cons can be made and even by the pros, considerable underestimation of cost is evident. Unfortunately, such an environment is ripe for illusion. Optical illusions appear compliant, but in reality only shuffle accountability down the line until, ultimately, the original producer signs the form, picking up the slack in the marketing chain. QSAs or PVPs, (don't worry about what the letters stand for, that is the least of your worries) may fill files, but don't tag calves. The forms state very clearly that all the individual calf data is available at the ranch, is fully auditable, and can be verified for every calf. I have seen many calving books. I suspect there are very few that would meet the criteria, unless handwriting has improved, pencils sharpen themselves, ink doesn't run or hands were washed each time the book was opened. Who is kidding whom? Remember, a group is only a conglomeration of individuals. May you find all your NAIS-approved ear tags. Your comments are always welcome at www.BeefTalk.com. For more information, contact the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement Association, 1133 State Avenue, Dickinson, ND 58601 or go to www.CHAPS2000.com on the Internet. In correspondence about this column, refer to BT0281. Saturated Soils Pose Challenge To Some Plants By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Gardening in Oregon can be a roller-coaster ride. Summers can be dry as a desert, while winters can be a virtual deluge. The drought-hardy plants that thrived last summer may be knee-deep in water this time of year. Will prolonged saturated soils hurt your landscape plants? According to Oregon State University Extension soil scientist Herb Huddleston, it all depends on how deeply rooted the plants are, how sensitive they are to temporary saturation, and how long the soil in the root zone stays soggy. In general, if the upper foot of soil is saturated for no more than a few days at a time, there will be little or no damage to most plants. Water fills up air pockets in the soil, shutting off the oxygen supply to plant roots and the microorganisms that live in the soil. The soil eventually becomes anaerobic. This doesn't happen immediately, explains Huddleston. However, after a few days most of the oxygen is gone. At that point, plants that need plenty of oxygen for root respiration are going to be stressed, and eventually will die. "When the soil becomes anaerobic, the microorganisms that require oxygen will also begin to die, and a different population of anaerobic microorganisms takes over," Huddleston explains. "Anaerobic processes of decomposition are less efficient, however, so organic carbon levels tend to accumulate in soils that are often wet for long periods of time. That's why wet soils often have blacker colors to greater depths than in better drained soils." Sometimes simple actions can help improve chronically wet soil. First, supply your garden with plenty of organic matter, which opens pores in the soil and allows water to flow deep rather than puddle on top. Next, plant landscape plants that can tolerate wet conditions. Don't choose plants that need quick drainage for a spot that tends to have standing water in the winter. Douglas fir, for example, is particularly sensitive to wet soil conditions, whereas Ponderosa pine is much more tolerant. Some plants, such as Oregon ash, have special mechanisms to provide oxygen to roots during wet times and can thrive in soggy soil. For plants such as fruit trees, which must have dry feet, plant in berms, raised beds or planters. Build the beds high enough to settle and still be above the flood. If your soil stays wet in the spring, you should delay tilling and planting. Working wet soil can create hard, impermeable clods, and seeds are more likely to rot in cold, soggy soil. Use structures and ground covers to slow runoff and topsoil loss, or provide surface drainage with shallow ditches if your garden area has a natural slope. "But if your soil is on a broad, level terrace and contains naturally restrictive clay layers, or is in a slightly concave area, about all you can do is wait for it to quit raining and the sun to come out," says Huddleston.

PBS Special Brings Ancient Forests To Life Through Amber Research By David Stauth, Oregon State University Imagine recreating detailed and accurate ecological descriptions of a prehistoric rain forest, based on the study of insects, plants, seeds and other materials&emdash;most of which have been extinct for millions of years. That's exactly what scientists at Oregon State University have done through the study of amber, a semi-precious stone that begins as sap oozing from a tree, trapping very small animals and other materials along the way and displaying them in nearly perfect, three-dimensional form. This and other work relating to one of nature's most fascinating rocks will be explored on Tuesday, Feb. 14, on a Public Broadcasting System national television special, titled "Jewel of the Earth." The Nova special (check local listings for exact time) will be narrated by Sir David Attenborough. The PBS special and much of the career of George Poinar Jr., a courtesy professor at OSU, is focused on amber that reveals the ancient world of a rain forest in the Dominican Republic. Poinar and his wife, Roberta Poinar, have written about their discoveries over decades of research in the book The Amber Forest: A Reconstruction of a Vanished World. "Recreating a forest with what you can tell from insects, plants, a little feather or a hair, is like being a detective or trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle," Poinar said. "It's quite fascinating, and of course there are always a few pieces missing. But amber is the best tool we have to really bring these primitive forests to life." Poinar, an entomologist and one of the world's leading experts on the life forms trapped in amber, says it's not always easy to get access to the amber. "We traveled more than 1,500 miles through the forests and jungles of the Dominican Republic in the 1980s to get the samples we needed," Poinar said. "Sometimes their idea of a mine was a hole you crawled into on your knees, half full of water, hundreds of feet into a hill, carrying a candle so you could tell when you were about to asphyxiate from lack of oxygen. Around then, there were also a lot of public strikes, rebels trying to take control of the country, other things. It was interesting." At various times in his quest for amber, Poinar has been chased through the streets of Morocco by a knife-wielding man, threatened by armed residents protecting their local amber mines, or had to travel with soldiers to pick his way through explosive mine fields in Lebanon. But for the patient and persistent, amber reveals many secrets. Among other things, Poinar said, amber reveals a world that is in constant flux&emdash;where continuing evolution and routine species extinction is the rule, not the exception. Amber can even reveal secrets about medical history, Poinar says. One recent publication announced the discovery in amber of the parasite that causes malaria, found inside the intestine of a mosquito in the Dominican Republic&emdash;the oldest known record of that disease which apparently pre-dates modern humans, and may have evolved separately in the New World as well as Africa. UI Researchers' Analysis Shows Biodiesel Yields Positive Energy Balance By Bill Loftus, University of Idaho University of Idaho researchers say "flawed information" is fueling the debate about biodiesel energy balance. The Idaho biodiesel researchers' analysis shows the fuel from renewable sources produces far more energy for consumers than it takes to make. The issue will be addressed at the annual National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in San Diego, Calif., Feb. 5-8. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel made from renewable resources such as rapeseed, canola, soy or mustard oil and is one of the most thoroughly tested alternative fuels in the marketplace. Dependency on fossil fuels is reduced by increasing the availability of biodiesel in the U.S. Dev Shrestha, UI professor in biological and agricultural engineering, and Jon Van Gerpen, UI lead researcher in biodiesel production, will be making a presentation using recent and new research on the biodiesel energy balance question. Detailed information from a study conducted by U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Energy and published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows biodiesel's energy return to be over 300 percent greater than the fossil-based fuel energy used to produce the alternative fuel. In addition, Shrestha is working on a current USDA research project evaluating the energy balance of biodiesel. Early results indicate similar, if not even higher efficiency, particularly when recycled oils such as restaurant waste oils are used. In the presentation of their paper, "Biodiesel Energy Balance," Shrestha uses results of the 1998 study to point out the efficiency of biodiesel energy balance and to counter claims to the contrary that have appeared recently in the popular press. "This kind of credible and in-depth study on the energy return for the production and use of biodiesel clearly indicates we are on the right track in incorporating this crop-based fuel into our consumption cycle here in the U.S.," said Van Gerpen. "With the surging interest in the use of biodiesel in commercial fleets, on-farm vehicles as well as private consumption, we welcome this opportunity to re-educate long-standing users and to educate a new generation of consumers about the benefits and energy balance of this sustainable fuel," Van Gerpen added. Comparing current UI research and the national laboratory's detailed project to the controversial claims, Van Gerpen and Shrestha say they substantiated their point-by-point objections to assertions that it takes more energy to produce biodiesel than the fuel ultimately supplied. Van Gerpen and Shrestha said biofuel critics apparently fail to recognize the difference between soybean oil and biodiesel. These have different inputs and are different products according to the UI researchers. Van Gerpen said that although the process to produce biodiesel is simple, the critics do not seem to have investigated it in depth. The UI researchers' paper is available online at www.uidaho.edu/bioenergy. More information about the National Biodiesel Conference is available at:: www.biodieselconference.org. More information may be found at:: www.biodieseleducation.org BeefTalk: Bull-buying Homework: Study Numbers, Make Good Choices By Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service The bull season is ripe and bulls are ready for picking. Buying bulls is serious work because the bull has more impact on your calf crop than any individual cow. Sometimes that statement will bring about a quick response from those who have spent time developing cow families within a herd. After all, the cow does need to raise the calf and do all the work. While cows are the heart of the herd and ultimately pay the bills, the fact remains that genetically the bull directly affects every calf he sires. As most producers know, good, fertile bulls can sire many calves. The sire of your calves contributes 50 percent of the genetics of the calf. At the same time, the maternal grandsire of the calf (the dam's sire) theoretically contributes 25 percent of the genetics of the calf. If one keeps working down the bottom side of the pedigree, additional sires would keep popping up. The mother of the calf represents all these previous sires in her pedigree. The maternal grandsire and great-grandsire still tend to have an influence on the herd and each year's calf crop. In a general sense, it is often stated that the last bull purchased represents 50 percent of the calf crop, the second to last bull purchased represents 25 percent of the calf crop and the third to the last bull purchased represents 12.5 percent of the calf crop. If one sums up the impact of the last three bulls purchased, the sum of all the impacts is 87.5 percent. As the saying goes, the bull is the source of potential genes. These genes change the herd output and relevance to the industry. Bull buying is a serious business. So how complicated is bull buying? Not bad, but still one has to shop around and use the tools required. Recently, the North Dakota Stockman magazine arrived in the mail. Almost every page had a bull advertisement and the edition was noted as the largest in the magazine's history. Bulls are available; it's picking the right one that counts. Many Simmental bulls were featured in the magazine, and a lot can be learned before loading up and heading to a bull sale. If you are looking for Simmental bulls, start paging through the magazine and refamiliarize yourself with the various breeding programs. You should log on to the Internet at www.simmental.org/ and review the percentile tables for the nonparent bulls for the traits of interest. For example, pick a percentile level. If you wanted to know the expected progeny differences (EPD) value for the nonparent bulls that would represent the upper 25 percent of the nonparent bulls within the Simmental breed, find the 25 percent level in the table and follow the line. You will find the first value represents calving ease and a bull would need to be a 7.5 to make the 25 percent cutoff. Similarly, you will find the birth weight with an EPD value of 0.6 pound, a weaning weight of 39.3 pounds, a yearling weight of 67.9 pounds, a maternal calving ease of 4.1 pounds, maternal milk at 8.3 pounds and a maternal weaning weight of 26 pounds. Additional traits are listed, so one can get the feel for bull evaluation. Other factors may influence your decisions, but why deal with low-quality bulls of any breed? Start at the top and select from there. As you get more comfortable using the numbers, expand your selection criteria or start exploring the newer index EPDs that are available. Bull selection is never to be taken for granted; learn the numbers and make the right choice. Now sit back and enjoy reading the bull advertisements, but have the advertisement in one hand and the ranking table in the other. May you find all your NAIS-approved ear tags. Your comments are always welcome at www.BeefTalk.com. For more information, contact the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement Association, 1133 State Avenue, Dickinson, ND 58601 or go to www.CHAPS2000.com on the Internet. In correspondence about this column, refer to BT0281. It's Not The Hardiness, It's The Heat From University of Idaho's HomeWise In a world gone ga-ga over gigabytes, it shouldn't be surprising that Idaho gardeners will soon need to learn another digit. Many already know their USDA Plant Hardiness Zone, but they're being challenged to get chummy with their American Horticultural Society Plant Heat Zone as well. Increasingly, plants will be identified by four numbers&emdash;the first two representing the range of hardiness zones within which they'll thrive and the second two representing a comparable range of minimum and maximum heat zones. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone (developed in 1960, updated in 1990 and currently undergoing another revision) indicates a plant's ability to survive winter cold; the AHS Plant Heat Zone tells buyers about its ability to endure summer heat. H. Marc Cathey, AHS president emeritus, says the "effects of heat damage are more subtle than those of extreme cold, which will kill a plant instantly. Heat damage can first appear in many different parts of the plant: Flower buds may wither, leaves may droop or become more attractive to insects, chlorophyll may disappear so that leaves appear white or brown, or roots may cease growing." Death by heat is "slow and lingering," Cathey notes, with plants failing over months or years. To find out your plant heat zone, click on www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_finder.htm. You can enter your zip code and get the answer immediately. To find out your plant hardiness zone, go to www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/index.html for an official map. Idaho's heat zones range from No. 2 to No. 8. Using 1974-95 climate data, the AHS chose the average number of days that temperatures exceed 86 degrees Fahrenheit as the basis for the heat zones. In zone 2, the average number of such days is 1 through 7; in zone 8, it's 91 through 120. The AHS assigned altogether 12 heat zones to U.S. sites. Cathey cautions that the heat-zone ratings assume that a plant consistently receives adequate water. "The accuracy of the zone coding can be substantially distorted by a lack of water, even for a brief period in the life of the plant," he says. Other factors that can skew the heat-zone ratings are oxygen, light, daylength, air movement, surrounding structures, soil pH and nutrients. Health Issues 100 Years Ago Statistics from the year 1905 show some of the following surprising facts. • The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years. • Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college education. Instead they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard." • The five leading causes of death were (in order): 1. Pneumonia and Influenza (tied for 1st) 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart Disease 5. Stroke 1905 Wages What did people earn in wages one hundred years ago? Here are some statistics from that era: • An average U.S. worker made between $200 to $400 per year • A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year. • A dentist brought in $2500 per year. • A veterinarian could expect to earn between $1500 to $4000 per year. • A mechanical engineer could earn $5000 per year.

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