Extension News from the West

Workshop aimed to reduce conflict between staff and elected officials over procedural matters

By Kayla Johnson

The first workshop of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Local Leaders’ Institute was held Feb. 23 and 24 at Cooperative Extension’s Washoe County office in Reno. Twenty-five elected and appointed officials from western Nevada participated. Also participating in the workshop were city council members, county commissioners, and top government executives, including county managers and department managers.

The Local Leaders’ Institute introduced the participants to Nevada’s Open Meeting Law, various types of public financing and budgeting processes, and concepts pertaining to the structure of local and state government in Nevada. The workshop was led by Frederick Steinmann, Extension educator in Eureka County and assistant professor at Cooperative Extension. The special guest presenter for the workshop was Chester Newland, a leading expert on public administration who served as the former advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson.

According to Steinmann, one of the workshop’s objectives was to reduce conflict between staff and elected/appointed officials over procedural matters pertaining to government management and administration.

"A tension was identified between elected/appointed officials and staff — a tension that ultimately has hurt government efficiency and effectiveness in Nevada," Steinmann said.

The idea for the workshop grew out of a 2011 survey of the Nevada Chapter of the American Planning Association’s membership, conducted by Steinmann and Mike Harper, a member of the association and former advanced planning program planning manager of the Washoe County Department of Community Development.

The survey, which was funded by the association, asked a series of questions of practicing planners in the state about what skill sets they felt were important as practicing professional planners. Steinmann found that many of the new or current elected and appointed officials did not have all the necessary skills they needed to work efficiently upon taking office.

After reviewing their findings, Steinmann and Harper decided to develop the Local Leaders’ Institute for Nevada, based largely on the efforts of other similar programs in other states, such as those offered by the American Planning Association and the International Economic Development Council.

Tray Abney, director of government relations at The Chamber in Reno-Sparks, attended the workshop and found it to be beneficial.

"I thought it would be a good opportunity to be more immersed in projects and planning on issues that I was always curious about," he said. "I was able to learn the different types of planning and development terms and also how budget’s works. I am very engaged in the community and felt that the workshop could help me do my job better, and it did."

Abney said the workshop proved to be valuable for all in attendance.

"It introduced everyone to each other in the region." Abney said. "I also think it helped make sure that everyone was on the same page because we were all learning the same concepts, and now we are all able to approach different issues with the same mindset."

Dagny Stapleton, City of Reno planning commissioner, was impressed by the informational workshop and plans to attend more in the future.

"The workshop provided really insightful information and fantastic guest speakers," Stapleton said. "Chester Newland was an outstanding guest speaker and to hear first-hand his experience on federal policy was really interesting and a great opportunity to be a part of."

Eighteen participants completing an evaluation of the workshop all said they would be willing to attend future, more intensive workshops conducted as part of the Local Leaders’ Institute, and they gave all sessions high marks for being helpful. Cooperative Extension will offer additional Local Leaders’ Institute workshops in Eureka and Elko in late spring or early summer and in Las Vegas in late summer or early fall. For more information about the Local Leaders’ Institute, contact Steinmann at steinmannf@unce.unr.edu.

The Alexander A. Smick Scholarship in Rural Community Service and Development

The purpose of the scholarship provided by the Alexander A. and Agnes “Odegaard” Smick Endowment Scholarship is to promote student engagement with an applied course of study in the field of rural community service and development. This scholarship competition, which will award two or more scholarships of up to $1,500 each, is open to all WSU undergraduate and graduate students who have a demonstrated interest in development issues facing rural citizens. Application deadline: March 15, 2013. Find details and the application at http://bit.ly/wsusmick.

Required Lab Self-Inspections

Lab self-inspections are required each year. This year the CAHNRS Safety Committee is requesting that all labs send in their completed reports to sbrooks@wsu.edu by May 1, 2013. The committee is particularly interested in the self-inspection worksheet under the heading of corrective action. A comparison of the reports will reveal any common problems. This will allow better or more specific training and promotion of safer lab practices. You can obtain the Safety Inspection Checklist at http://bit.ly/TrUDcX.

ReConnect Online Subscriptions

You’ve probably seen the print edition of ReConnect, the new CAHNRS alumni magazine that was mailed in January. ReConnect focuses on the greatest assets of CAHNRS: its students, faculty, staff, and alumni. We will be launching an online edition in March with some new stories and class notes. Don’t miss it: subscribe today at http://cahnrsalumni.wsu.edu/reconnect/.

Photo ID

Who is Andrea Stones and what is she drafting?  Where was this photo taken? And who is the other woman in this photo? Did Andrea attend Boise State University or did another person slap the Bronco Athletic Association sticker on the drafting table?

WSU CAHNRS is seeking your help in cataloging its photo archive. We are scanning hundreds of old slides, negatives, and prints to put online. And we need your help to identify these images by telling us, as best you can,

• the contents,
• the date, and
• the identity of the photographer.

To help us identify the contents of this and many more images, see http://bit.ly/wsuphotoid. More photos have been added recently, so please have another look at the full collection of historical images!

Reinterpreting Reality Art Exhibit

Unisex Lifestyle Fashion as an Approach to Sustainability is a video presentation of an apparel collection designed by Master’s candidate Chiayun Corrine Tsai. The collection is part of the 9th Annual Reinterpreting Reality Art Exhibit in the CUB Gallery, Pullman campus.  This exhibit highlights women artists and Women’s History Month. Opening reception at the CUB Gallery, February 26, 2013 from 11:30 a.m. -1:00 p.m.   The Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles welcomes your participation in the reception or viewing of the exhibit during the month of March.

Events Spanish Strengthening Families Program Facilitator Training

Registration is open for Facilitator Training for the Spanish version of Extension’s Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14, Fortaleciendo Familias. The training will take place in Bellingham Feb. 27-March 1. The registration form, information about the program and videos of parent graduates talking about their experiences are available at http://bit.ly/WQW5lE. Anyone with interest is welcome.

Save the date: Third Annual Dr. Virginia Lee “Change the World” Fellowship Fundraiser, Thursday April 18, 2013, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Merry Cellars Winery in Pullman. See details at http://bit.ly/virginia-lee.

Seminars

John Nilson, Edward Meyer Distinguished Professor and Director of the School of Molecular Biosciences, WSU, Publication Ethics, Friday, February 22, 2013 at 4 p.m. in FSHN T-101.

Adams Peterson, Crop Science M.S. student, Salinity Tolerance of Quinoa: Investigation of a High-value Halophytic Crop for Temperate North America, Monday, February 25, 3:10-4:00 p.m. in Johnson Hall Room 204 and via WECN.

Dr. Jacqueline Fletcher, Regents Professor and Sarkeys Distinguished Professor, Dept. of Entomology & Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Enhancing response capabilities for agricultural biosecurity: The emerging discipline of plant pathogen forensics, Monday, February 25, 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343 and via WECN Dial-up #577707. See Announcement »

Josephine Mgbechi-Ezeri, Horticulture M.S. student, Thursday, February 28, 2:50 p.m., Murrow 55, with videoconference arranged for  Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup, and Wenatchee.

Margaret McCoy, Soil Science M.S. Candidate, Differences in how Late Season Soil Versus Foliar Nitrogen Fertilizer Supplements Affect Vitis vinifera Riesling Berry YAN and Canopy Growth, Monday, March 4, 1:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 204 and broadcast to Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup and Wenatchee.

Ying Zhai, Plant Pathology Ph.D. student: Functional analysis of gene-silencing suppressors from plant viruses: two geminiviruses as examples (See Announcement) and Amy Salamone, Plant Pathology Ph.D. student, Novel means of dispersal by pathogenic Fusarium species via waterways, wind and rain (See Announcement), Monday, March 4, 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343 and via WECN Dial-up #577707.

Recent News Releases

WSU Master Gardeners Help Financially, Physically Challenged Residents Grow Their Own Vegetables
Potato Sprout Inhibitor Discovered at WSU Now Approved for Commercial Use
Like mother, like child: new research on parents, preschoolers, obesity

All our news releases are archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The February 17 edition of Green Times discusses a grant supporting sustainable, urban ag education in Puget Sound, WSU’s major and online certificate programs in organic ag, the importance of soil conservation, and the 2013 WSU Snohomish County Extension Growing Groceries Volunteer Mentor Training. The edition also profiles Haley Paul, who says that her organic ag internship helped prepare her for her Honors College thesis and her professional career. Read this edition at http://bit.ly/W87PoQ.

The February 13 edition of On Solid Ground discusses the $5 million investment in WSU R&E centers in Prosser and Wenatchee by the Washington cherry and stone fruit growers, the development of a potato sprout inhibitor, herbicide drift avoidance, and  a factsheet on Understanding the Relationship between Water Price, Value, and Cost. Read all about it at http://bit.ly/W6jap2.

Archives

CAHNRS News is archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/category/cnews/.

<p>BOZEMAN - Nationally recognized renewable energy trainer Roy Butler will conduct a small wind turbine installer training in Great Falls...

WSU Scientists Unearth Potential of Climate Friendly Farming and Carbon Sequestration

Farm management practices such as crop rotation and tillage can provide a real—though modest—contribution to carbon sequestration in the Pacific Northwest. This is the conclusion suggested by two recently published studies by WSU researchers in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences and the Department of Biological Systems Engineering.

Soil plays an essential role in the complex global carbon cycle. To understand this, consider that globally, carbon moves between the land (including soil, plants, trees), the atmosphere, and the oceans. Throughout the cycle, carbon is stored in various places in the system, including living plants, fossils, the deep ocean, the atmosphere – and soil, where it may be stored in residues of plants and animals, as well as in inorganic minerals. Stored carbon can be released into the atmosphere through natural process (such as microbes decomposing organic matter) as well as human activities (fossil fuel burning). Carbon stored in soil accounts for roughly three times the amount stored in the atmosphere and more than four times the carbon stored in living plants and trees.

The carbon cycle, along with similar cycles for water and nitrogen, contributes to an intricate web of interactions that are crucial to sustaining life on the planet. Change in one part of the system can have significant and sometimes unexpected impacts in another part. For example, a relatively small change in the amount of carbon stored in soil (for instance, due to tillage) could significantly influence greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

Simplified representation of the global carbon cycle. Changes are measured in gigatons of carbon per year (GtC/y). Numbers in parentheses refer to stored carbon pools. Yellow numbers refer to natural carbon emissions. Red indicates carbon from human emissions. Graphic courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy Genomic Science Program, http://genomicscience.energy.gov.

How does carbon storage in agricultural soil work? Basically, the more productive the soil—that is, the more plant life or biomass it can support—the more carbon the soil can potentially store (at least until it reaches a state of equilibrium, at which point the soil is holding all the carbon it can). Soil productivity is influenced by several key factors including precipitation, fertilization, crop rotation, the use of perennial crops, organic soil amendments, and tillage. Tillage reduces the amount of stored carbon by exposing crop residue to air. Once exposed, the carbon in the crop residues combines with oxygen, thus releasing CO2 into the atmosphere. That’s why evaluating the impact of alternative practices such as reduced-till and no-till farming is of great interest to scientists, growers, and policy developers alike.

According to Georgine Yorgey of the WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources (CSANR), it’s difficult to produce an exact number for the amount of carbon that can be stored in Pacific Northwest soils, but the “modest” contribution is in the range of less than one percent of Washington’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Nonetheless, the promise of soil carbon sequestration is real enough (and the situation serious enough) to warrant further investigation. While this is a small fraction of the region’s greenhouse gas footprint, storing that much carbon in our soils would make a substantial contribution to the sustainability of regional agriculture.

Given the complexity of the interrelated processes at work with agriculture and climate disruption, the tradeoffs between different management practices must be evaluated. For example, using nitrogen fertilizer can increase nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions and thus counteract the positive benefit of soil carbon sequestration, while including legumes in a cropping system requires less nitrogen fertilizer but produces less biomass and therefore stores less carbon than cereal-based crops. And then again, organic farming systems tend to be more dependent on tillage to control weeds, and tilling soil requires fossil fuels and releases stored carbon.

Soil from an annual wheat field (left) compared to that from a perennial wheatgrass field (right). Perennial crops can store more soil carbon than annual crops. Photo courtesy of The Land Institute.

Chad Kruger, director of CSANR director, cautions that “before we promote a given system or practice as ‘good for the climate’ we need to more fully quantify the total impact.” Science-based information will be critical for developing policy, carbon markets, and sound farm management practices. Studying soil carbon storage offers plenty of opportunity to contribute to the evolving science behind the relationship between agriculture and climate change.

More to explore

This article was inspired by these resources:

“Soil carbon sequestration in the dryland cropping region of the Pacific Northwest” by Brown and Huggins 2012; available online at http://bit.ly/YtFHs4.

“Carbon storage and nitrous oxide emissions of cropping systems in eastern Washington: A simulation study” by Stöckle et al. 2012. Available online at http://bit.ly/UzmpUr.

Webinars on PNW Agriculture and Climate Change including “Soil Carbon Dynamics and Climate Change Mitigation in the Inland Pacific Northwest” by Georgine Yorgey, WSU CSANR. Available online at http://bit.ly/PXldrv.

Perspectives on Sustainability blog post “Can soil carbon storage really make a difference to our climate? Do we have the right data to answer?” by Chad Kruger, WSU CSANR. Available online at http://bit.ly/12Z6ZfF.

Check out a short video on no-till farming practices and how they can retain significant amounts of carbon in the soil, which is beneficial both for crops and the atmosphere: http://bit.ly/Y3zDGQ.

WSU offers numerous educational avenues for those interested in exploring the interplay of climate and agriculture. The departments of Crop and Soil Sciences and Biosystems Engineering are good places to start your exploration.

–Sylvia Kantor, with additions by Chad Kruger and Brian Clark

Natural Soil Antibiotics Offer Alternative to Farm Chemicals

Several naturally occurring antibiotics can control root disease and promote crop health, offering an alternative to chemicals used in farming.

Linda Thomashow, a U.S. Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service geneticist and adjunct professor in plant pathology at WSU.

“All you have to do is make your microbial community happy,” said Linda Thomashow, a U.S. Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service geneticist and adjunct professor in plant pathology at WSU. Thomashow said the door is open for scientists, farmers, and industry to develop commercial applications of root bacteria that can protect the rest of the plant. Thomashow was speaking to fellow scientists and media at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Boston.

But typically, science has concentrated on treating the above-ground parts of a plant, she said. “So much less is understood about the plant mechanics for defense that are available underground.”

In recent years, Thomashow said, the tools of molecular biology have helped scientists understand the microbial and molecular workings of bacteria in the rhizosphere, the layer of soil next to roots, including how antibiotics there can suppress plant diseases. “They are a first line of defense,” she said.

Certain bacteria produce antibiotics that protect crop plants.

One particular disease, Take-all, causes more than $1 billion per year in losses by rotting roots and depriving plants of water and nutrients. It’s often found in soils that are continuously replanted in wheat, whose money-making potential discourages farmers from planting alternative crops that might break disease cycles.

In some areas of eastern Washington, said Thomashow, farms have seen several decades of continuous wheat. Those same soils have in turn seen high densities of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens producing a compound called DAPG that can suppress the Take-all fungus. Such beneficial bacteria create what are called “suppressive soils.” In a variety of circumstances, said Thomashow, they help control soilborne pathogens with minimal use of commercial fungicides and other chemicals. It should be possible to get similar results with a commercially available soil amendment if scientists, industry members, and farmers rise to the challenge and expense of bringing a living thing to market.

“If you balance that against the expense of developing a new chemical, it really doesn’t cost any more,” she said, “and it’s a sustainable alternative to the use of chemicals.”

Learn more about Take-all at http://bit.ly/15qn2CW. Learn more about how plant pathologists are discovering alternatives to chemical pest and disease control by visiting the WSU Department of Plant Pathology website at http://plantpath.wsu.edu/.

–Eric Sorensen

Eat Your Veggies: WSU Master Gardener Program Helps Residents Grow Own Vegetables

Rebecca Branderhorst

Rebecca Branderhorst went a little crazy in her vegetable garden last spring. The Longview, Wash., resident planted pole green beans, Oregon pea pods, lima beans, three kinds of lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, carrots, bunching onions, white Spanish onions, chives, celery, cilantro, and beets. All of it in a single 4-by-8-foot box. By mid-summer, Branderhorst’s garden looked like a mini-jungle of edible delights.

But that kind of enthusiasm was what WSU Extension’s Gary Fredricks wanted to see. He started a new program last year in Cowlitz County that promotes local food production through vegetable gardening while helping people financially or physically challenged to raise their own produce.

“Home VEG (Vegetable Educational Garden) removes some of the barriers that stop people from starting a garden,” Fredricks said. “It’s a great success. All 10 families that participated grew great gardens, learned from their mistakes, and expect to produce even more in 2013.”

The program pairs WSU Master Gardener volunteers with local residents who apply for the program and are accepted. The Master Gardeners build raised beds and provide soil, seeds, plant starts, and advice. Participating growers maintain the garden for three years, attend a class on vegetable gardening, and do all the work to maintain the garden.

For Branderhorst, the raised bed was the best part. She had knee replacement surgery in September 2011, effectively preventing her from digging in the dirt on her hands and knees. The bed had other benefits as well. “There were no slug problems, far fewer weeds, and with my knee replacement, the access to weeding, planting, and tending was so nice,” she said.

Branderhorst was so inspired by her experience that she planted root vegetables in her gardening bed over the winter, banking on Longview’s tendency toward rain for another chance to stock up her larder. “So far, it looks like some of them are doing okay,” she said. “I’ve got little potatoes out there that I hope to throw in a soup or stew.”

Barbara Byker of neighboring Kelso liked the raised beds for a different reason. “Living on dredge spoils [the sand, sediment, and debris from dredging that are transported to land to dry out], we have had poor results from previous gardens,” Byker said. “We planted corn, beans, peas, zucchini, lettuce, tomatoes, pumpkins, and yellow crook-neck squash. We ate better and enjoyed trying new veggies.”

Master Gardener mentors like Jon Griffin enjoyed helping program participants uncover their green thumbs. Griffin worked with Bob Griffith last year and found the Longview resident very willing to try new things—and learn that even one zucchini plant was too much.

“I can see the information Master Gardeners supply connects in a very important way with many members of our community,” Griffin said. “I think this program is a very helpful, healthy teaching program.”

Master Gardener Phyllis Hull, who worked with Longview’s Pam Atkinson, also appreciated helping others learn to grow their own food. But nothing beat the feeling Hull got when she visited Atkinson’s garden one day to take some pictures of her harvest.

“The garden was pretty well picked clean,” Hull said. “I asked Pam what happened to her vegetables. She proudly raised her head high and with a sly grin proclaimed, ‘I ate them.’ I was never as happy as I was for her that day. Her success and feeling of accomplishment were plastered all over her face–along with a little tomato juice.”

For details about the Home VEG program, contact Gary Fredricks at 360-577-3014, Ext. 3, or at garyf@wsu.edu.

—Nella Letizia

Upcoming Beekeeping Events

WSU beekeeping and queen-rearing workshops are coming up in June and July – and are filling up fast. Sweeten up your calendar by registering early for these workshops at http://bit.ly/apis-events-2013.

The queen-rearing workshops will provide an understanding of what it takes to raise high quality queen bees. Basic biology and methods of queen rearing will be presented in hands-on workshops. Beekeepers will be involved in the various steps: setting up cell builders, grafting, and establishing mating nuclei. A queen-right and a queen-less system will be demonstrated. Participants need to bring a bee veil and whatever protective clothing they are comfortable in. The queen-rearing workshops are being offered in both Pullman (June 12 and 13) and Mt. Vernon (July 19).

The WSU Beekeeping Short Course will run June 14 – 15 in Pullman. If you’re curious about what this short course has to offer you, check out this short video from a related program: http://bit.ly/VAq2ei.

Got Credit?

The HumanLinks Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to systematic improvements in education, healthcare and sustainable agriculture, is offering a micro-loan program to sustainable farmers to help strengthen the Washington state farming community.

Beginning in March 2013, HumanLinks Foundation will enable credit access to farmers who may not have been able to secure a loan through a conventional bank. Partnering with Banner Bank, the foundation will give local, sustainable farmers the ability to borrow funds at a favorable interest rate of three percent (3%) for up to two years. The minimum loan size is $2,500 and the maximum loan size is $25,000.

Please email nancy@humanlinksfoundation.org or call 206-830-0083 for more information.

LONGVIEW, Wash.—Rebecca Branderhorst went a little crazy in her vegetable garden last spring.

The Longview, Wash., resident planted pole green beans, Oregon pea pods, lima beans, three kinds of lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, carrots, bunching onions, white Spanish onions, chives, celery, cilantro and beets. All of it in a 4-by-8-foot box. By midsummer, Branderhorst’s garden looked like a mini-jungle of edible delights.

Rebecca Branderhorst of Longview, Wash., inspects her vegetable garden. Photo courtesy of Gary Fredricks.

But that kind of enthusiasm was what Washington State University Extension’s Gary Fredricks wanted to see. He started a new program last year in Cowlitz County that promotes local food production through vegetable gardening while helping those financially or physically challenged to raise their own produce.

“Home VEG (Vegetable Educational Garden) removes some of the barriers that stop people from starting a garden,” Fredricks said. “It’s a great success. All 10 families that participated grew great gardens, learned from their mistakes and expect to produce even more in 2013.”

Raised beds ease effort

The program pairs WSU Master Gardener volunteers with local residents who apply and are accepted. The Master Gardeners build raised beds and provide soil, seeds, plant starts and advice. Growers attend a class on vegetable gardening and do all the work to maintain the garden for three years.

For Branderhorst, the raised bed was the best part. She had knee replacement surgery in September 2011, effectively preventing her from digging in the dirt on her hands and knees. The bed had other benefits as well.

“There were no slug problems, much fewer weeds and with my knee replacement, the access to weeding/planting/tending was so nice,” she said.

Branderhorst was so inspired by her experience that she planted root vegetables in her gardening bed over the winter, banking on Longview’s tendency toward rain for another chance to stock up her larder.

“So far, it looks like some of them are doing okay,” she said. “I’ve got little potatoes out there that I hope to throw in a soup or stew.”

Healthy eating

Barbara Byker of neighboring Kelso liked the raised beds for a different reason.

“Living on dredge spoils [the sand, sediment and debris from dredging that are transported to land to dry out], we have had poor results from previous gardens,” Byker said. “We planted corn, beans, peas, zucchini, lettuce, tomatoes, pumpkins and yellow crook-necked squash. We ate better and enjoyed trying new veggies.”

Longview resident and gardener Pam Atkinson. Photo courtesy of Phyllis Hull.

Master Gardener mentors like Jon Griffin enjoyed helping program participants uncover their green thumbs. Griffin worked with Bob Griffith last year and found the Longview resident very willing to try new things—and learn that even one zucchini plant was too much.

“I can see the information Master Gardeners supply connects in a very important way with many members of our community,” Griffin said. “I think this program is a very helpful, healthy teaching program.”

Rewards and accomplishment

Master Gardener Phyllis Hull, who worked with Longview’s Pam Atkinson, also appreciated helping others learn to grow their own food. But nothing beat the feeling Hull had when she visited Atkinson’s garden to take some photos of her harvest.

“The garden was pretty well picked clean,” Hull said. “I asked Pam what happened to her vegetables. She proudly raised her head high and with a sly grin proclaimed, ‘I ate them.’

“I was never as happy as I was for her that day,” Hull said. “Her success and feeling of accomplishment were written all over her face, along with a little tomato juice.”

-30-

Eighty years ago my mother was in grade school where schoolroom paste was made by mixing a little flour and water together. Memories of that simple glue came back to her when she and I recently stood in my kitchen, mixing two small batches of flour and water. First I mixed regular “better for bread” flour with water in a little dish, then I did the same with special test flour made from soft durum wheat. The first mixture was a pasty, lightest-of-light-tan color, the second had a pale but clearly evident yellow hue.

The simple experiment was inspired by the hardness of different types of wheat. Soft white wheat is the easiest of all types of wheat to mill, weighing in with a hardness rating of only 25-35 on the scale millers use to measure such things. Soft wheat generally goes into products like noodles, cakes and cookies. Hard red wheat has a hardness factor of about 60-75. It is used for bread.

In contrast to its softer cousins, durum wheat tops out with hardness values ranging from 80-100. It is an unusual type of wheat, one with kernels so hard we don’t generally make it into flour at all. Instead, regular durum is ground only to about the consistency of sand-sized grains known as semolina. The semolina is then used to make pasta. In North America, durum wheat is grown in the dry parts of Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan, as well as in some parts of the desert southwest.

Durum wheat has some advantages over other types of wheat from a grower’s point of view and also in terms of global food security. In some ways, durum is pretty primitive stuff: in the lingo of plant genetics, it’s “tetraploid” rather than “hexaploid” like most wheat.  But durum has some highly desirable characteristics. It has better drought resistance and, in some instances, better disease resistance than the more common types of wheat.

It’s the hardness of the kernels of durum that has limited its culinary uses over the millenia, with durum used only for pasta and couscous while softer wheat has been made into flour and transformed into bread, gravies, and all the rest of it.

Enter onto the scene wheat researcher Dr. Craig Morris of the Agricultural Research Service housed on the campus of Washington State University. For ten years Morris has worked to use classical wheat breeding techniques to introduce the genes for a soft kernel into durum wheat. Patient work in greenhouses and ultimately a few acres of farm trials has been going on year after year.

Now Morris can announce that he’s succeeded in his quest. He’s put the genetic information for soft kernels into the durum wheat plant. Hence my little experiment at home in the kitchen using test durum flour Morris had given me.

“In some places durum can out-yield hexaploid wheat,” Morris said to me in his lab. “We’ve thrown off the shackles of the hard kernel of durum. The sky is now the limit.”

To put it another way, world durum production has never been limited by the plant and how well it can grow. Instead, durum has been limited by what we can do with it in terms of food products. Until now, the fact that we didn’t grind durum into flour because it has been so hard kept durum as a poor cousin to hexaploid wheat strains.

The new soft durum can still be used to make pasta. It requires less energy to mill into semolina than hard durum, so that’s a positive. And perhaps better still, the new soft durum can also make flour and go into all the culinary products we are used to making from hexaploid wheat.

Morris and his co-workers are now waiting for the patent on the new type of durum wheat to be secured.

“Once we have that, soft durum is ready for prime time,” Morris said.

Agricultural research is something we’ve always done well in this country. Working behind the scenes at land-grant universities and in the Agricultural Research Service, many scientists contribute daily to technical progress we sometimes take for granted.

Here’s a toast for soft durum wheat and the choices it will give to growers, millers and consumers alike.

<p>BOZEMAN - Montana State University Extension in Gallatin County will offer the Level 2 Master Gardener class starting Monday, March...

<p>BOZEMAN - Whitney Cranshaw, Entomology professor and Extension Specialist for Colorado State University Extension, will be speaking Monday, March 18,...

WSU’s Big Ideas Campaign Continues to Flourish for Fruit

Cherry and stone fruit growers throughout the state have agreed to make a $5 million investment over the next eight years at WSU research and extension centers in Prosser and Wenatchee. This builds on a similar measure voted on by apple and pear growers in 2011 to galvanize cooperation between industry and WSU in response to the university’s historic fundraising effort launched in December 2010.

“The close partnership between Washington’s tree fruit industry and Washington State University continues to be transformational,” said WSU President Elson S. Floyd. “Working together for more than a century, we have helped to make Washington a world leader in tree fruit production. The assessment by cherry and stone fruit growers, in combination with the $27 million investment in WSU made by apple and pear growers in 2011, helps to ensure that our partnership in progress continues for an even brighter future for our state. We are extremely grateful for the industry’s confidence and investment in WSU.”

Washington State Department of Agriculture officials certified the election results Monday, Feb. 4. This substantial financial commitment comes at a time when the state’s $46 billion food and agriculture industry continues to increase its contribution to the state’s economy. Annually, the Washington tree fruit industry accounts for more than $7 billion of economic impact, with more than a third of that derived from exports.

Read the rest of the story by Brian Clark on the WSU ag news site: http://bit.ly/treefruit-wsu.

WSU Potato Sprout Inhibitor Discovery Goes Commercial

Consumers will soon be able to leave potatoes in their pantries a good deal longer thanks to the development of technology discovered by WSU scientists in 2005 that is now approved by the FDA and registered with the EPA to keep tubers from sprouting. Canadian and European registrations have also been filed.

The agricultural products company American Vanguard Corporation licensed the patented application of organic compounds to postharvest potatoes from WSU and conducted seven years of testing via AMVAC Chemical Corporation. The commercial version of the sprout inhibitor is called SmartBlock, which the EPA classifies as a biopesticide.

SmartBlock represents a breakthrough approach in the treatment of postharvest potatoes because it offers safe, comprehensive, long-term storage control that growers and processors can easily apply using existing equipment. AMVAC will begin marketing SmartBlock in the United States immediately.

Rick Knowles, scientist and chair of the Department of Horticulture, and Lisa Knowles, assistant research professor of horticulture, are responsible for the research leading up to SmartBlock. They found that one application of a naturally-occurring food additive to potatoes after harvest inhibited sprouting from two to three months, and two to three applications lasted more than a year. Applications also left little residue.

Economic Impacts

About half of the 9.4 billion pounds of potatoes grown in Washington each year are stored to provide a continuing supply to fresh markets and processing plants. Most varieties begin to sprout about three months after harvest. Because the excess growth hastens deterioration and reduces overall quality, growers and processors in the Pacific Northwest spend an estimated $9 million annually to inhibit sprouting of stored potatoes, said Knowles.

The new technology provides an alternative to other compounds currently used for the same purpose, and is thus expected to facilitate expansion of fresh and processed product exports, particularly to markets with strict chemical residue limits.

WSU economists recently found that the Washington potato industry contributes $4.6 billion and 23,500 jobs to the state. Anson Fatland, director of WSU Intellectual Property, said “We are very pleased to have partnered with AMVAC on the SmartBlock technology. As a result of this very productive and collaborative research relationship, additional intellectual property was developed which resulted in worldwide patent protection.”

According to Dan Bernardo, WSU’s vice president for agriculture and extension and dean of CAHNRS, “This success exemplifies the high quality research being carried out by CAHNRS faculty that has significant impact on Washington potatoes.”

–Brian Clark

Avoid Herbicide Drift

Grape showing continued 2,4-D injury the year AFTER exposure. Vines can show injury for several years due to one exposure. Photo: Jay W. Pscheidt, Oregon State Univeristy, from the PNW Plant Disease Handbook, http://bit.ly/14ODQC9.

Herbicide applicators are responsible for managing and controlling off-target drift. As spring–-and one of the two times of year when drift is most likely to occur-–approaches, WSU Extension educators are offering recommendations about how to avoid what can be critical damage to nearby crops, ornamental plants, humans, fish, wildlife, and water resources. Grapes, blueberries, caneberries, and nursery crops are especially sensitive to several herbicides used in agronomic crops, pasture, rangelands, forests, and rights-of-way.

WSU weed specialists advise that appropriate equipment setup, including the choice of droplet size and nozzle type, is necessary for safe and efficient application of herbicides. Other important considerations are weather conditions, cutoff dates, and formulations.

Read the rest of this story by WSU Extension weed scientist Drew Lyon and ag news writer Brian Clark at http://bit.ly/driftprevention. There you’ll also find a short audio clip available to use as a PSA.

Got Water?

WSU Extension economists understand that water issues can be contentious in arid regions such as central Washington. That’s why our experts wrote Understanding the Relationship between Water Price, Value, and Cost, a factsheet to bring you up to speed on common-–yet frequently misunderstood-–terms used to talk about water management.

Clearly communicating about the economics of water is dependent on adequate explanation and distinction between key words such as price, value, and cost. These terms are typically used to differentiate concepts within public policy forums for water reallocation, but non-economists (including producers as well as consumers) tend to use them interchangeably. Confusion over meanings can generate arguments and create unnecessary misinterpretations. This WSU Extension factsheet explains the differences and connections between price, value, and cost in the context of water, and when each concept is relevant and when it is not. The discussion includes the relevance of water rights.

Download your free copy of FS110E at the WSU Extension Online Bookstore: http://bit.ly/water-econ.

PULLMAN, Wash. – Consumers will soon be able to leave potatoes on the shelf a good deal longer, with federal regulators approving a natural food additive that will keep tubers from sprouting.

American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, AMVAC Chemical Corporation (AMVAC), has received registration from the Environmental Protection Agency for SmartBlock®, a novel potato sprout inhibitor. Canadian and European registrations have been filed and these approvals are progressing on schedule.

SmartBlock features a patented new class of potato sprout inhibitor technology that represents a breakthrough approach in the treatment of post-harvest potatoes. The product is a naturally occurring molecule, an FDA-approved direct food additive and is classified by the EPA as a biopesticide. It offers safe, comprehensive long-term storage control and requires no capital investment by customers since it is easily applied using existing equipment. AMVAC will begin marketing SmartBlock in the United States immediately.

The technology was discovered at Washington State University by Rick Knowles, scientist and chair of the Department of Horticulture, and Lisa Knowles, assistant research professor of horticulture.

The technology involves the application of naturally occurring organic compounds after potatoes are harvested and at the onset of sprouting. In testing, the WSU research team found that one application inhibits sprouting from two to three months. Two to three applications can provide full season sprout suppression. Applications leave little residue.

About half of the 9.4 billion pounds of potatoes grown in Washington each year are stored to provide a continuing supply to fresh markets and processing plants. Most varieties begin to sprout three to four months after harvest. Sprouting hastens deterioration and reduces overall quality. Growers and processors in the Pacific Northwest, which account for more than half the total potato acres in the U.S., spend an estimated $7 million to $9 million annually to inhibit sprouting of stored potatoes, according to Knowles.

The new technology provides an alternative for other compounds currently used to inhibit sprouting and will facilitate expansion of fresh and processed product exports, particularly to markets with strict chemical residue limits.

The Washington potato industry has a $4.6 billion economic impact and contributes more than 23,000 jobs to the state of Washington, according to the Washington State Potato Commission.

Anson Fatland, director of WSU’s Intellectual Property office said, “We are very pleased to have partnered with AMVAC on the SmartBlock technology. As a result of this very productive and collaborative research relationship, additional intellectual property was developed which resulted in worldwide patent protection.”

Dan Bernardo, WSU’s vice president for agriculture and extension and dean of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS), said, “Drs. Rick and Lisa Knowles have been at the forefront of postharvest research of potatoes and this success exemplifies the high quality research being carried out by CAHNRS faculty that has significant impact on Washington potatoes.”

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Complete basic gardening classes for beginners and intermediate gardeners.
Topics include:

• Growing & Cooking W/Herbs
• Family gardening activity
• Care & Pruning Fruit/Trees
• Container /Raised bed gardening
• Seed Saving
• Non-Traditional Cooking
• Pest & Disease’s they carry
• Traditional Food Cooking
• Family Gardening/Potluck Night

Time and Place Date:  Repeats every month every Tuesday until Tue May 07 2013 . 03/05/2013 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm Date:  03/12/2013 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm Date:  03/19/2013 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm Date:  03/26/2013 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm Date:  04/02/2013 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm Date:  04/09/2013 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm Date:  04/16/2013 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm Date:  04/23/2013 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm Date:  04/30/2013 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm Date:  05/07/2013 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm Location:  Chinle Trinity Presbyterian Church Indian Route 7 Chinle , AZ See map: Google Maps Cost and Registration Cost:  Free Registration Required:  No Additional Information Offers volunteer opportunities:  Yes Offers Continuing Education credit:  No File Attachments 2013 It's All About Gardening Classes Chinle AZ Contact Moore, Gerald A few questions Expiration date:  Wed, 05/08/2013 Event category:  General

Complete basic gardening classes for beginners and intermediate gardeners.
Topics include:

• Growing & Cooking W/Herbs
• Family gardening activity
• Care & Pruning Fruit/Trees
• Container /Raised bed gardening
• Seed Saving
• Non-Traditional Cooking
• Pest & Disease’s they carry
• Traditional Food Cooking
• Family Gardening/Potluck Night

Dr. Richard Zack, Assistant Director for the ARC

The Agricultural Research Center is pleased to announce Dr. Richard Zack will be acting as the Assistant Director for the ARC, taking the lead on the reporting system for all ARC research projects. Dr. Zack will also be assisting with the Plan of Work/Annual Report to the USDA, and representing the ARC at various meetings or travel where appropriate. We welcome Rich to the ARC.

Washington Cherry, Stone Fruit Growers Invest in WSU

Cherry and stone fruit growers throughout the state have agreed to make a $5 million investment over the next eight years to support research and extension at Washington State University Centers in Prosser and Wenatchee. This investment builds on a similar measure passed by apple and pear growers in 2011 to galvanize the partnership between the Washington tree fruit industry and WSU.

“The close partnership between Washington’s tree fruit industry and Washington State University continues to be transformational,” said WSU President Elson S. Floyd. “Working together for more than a century, we have helped to make Washington a world leader in tree fruit production.”

“The assessment by cherry and stone fruit growers in combination with the $27 million investment in WSU made by apple and pear growers in 2011 helps to ensure that our partnership in progress continues for an even brighter future for our state. We are extremely grateful for the industry’s confidence and investment in WSU.”

This investment comes at a time when the state’s $46 billion food and agriculture industry continues to increase its contribution to the state’s economy. Annually, the Washington tree fruit industry accounts for more than $7 billion of economic impact, with more than a third of that total derived from exports. Read more »

Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA)

Please encourage undergraduates to participate. The deadline to submit abstracts is February 15. The showcase will be March 29, 2013 in the CUB Ballrooms. See details at http://bit.ly/SURCA.

Academic Advising Survey

All CAHNRS teaching faculty should encourage their students to take the 2012-2013 CAHNRS Academic Advising Survey so that we can continue to monitor the quality of our advising. The survey will remain live until Friday, February 8. Our goal is to identify good advising strategies that are working well for students, and to help identify opportunities for improvement. The survey is available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AdvisingSurvey2012. Survey flyers also are posted around CAHNRS, allowing students to use their smart phones to access the survey by scanning the QR code. The survey has 14 questions and should take 5-10 minutes to complete. For more information, contact Adrea Cox, andrea.cox@wsu.edu, 509-335-5013.

Heart of Crimson Online Fundraising Campaign

The WSU Foundation has launched its first online giving fundraising campaign, called “A Heart of Crimson.” The campaign will run from February 7 through February 14, centering around Valentine’s Day with a goal of raising $25,000 through the online giving website, HeartofCrimson.wsu.edu. Sharing the Heart of Crimson campaign with your friends, family, and fellow Cougars will help make this campaign a success.

Suggested Facebook Posts and online teasers:

• Cougs have a Heart of Crimson. Show your Heart of Crimson and give to what you love today at HeartofCrimson.wsu.edu.
• Show you have a Heart of Crimson and make a gift to something you love today at HeartofCrimson.wsu.edu.
• We know you love WSU, and this week you can show it. Make a gift online at HeartofCrimson.wsu.edu and help us raise $25,000 for WSU.

Events Apple, Pear and Potato Sales

WSU apple, pear and potato sales will continue on Fridays in February from noon to 6 p.m. at the WSU Tukey Horticulture Orchard at the junction of Terre View Drive and Airport Road. Included are McIntosh and other early apples; Fuji and other late apples; d’Anjou and Abate Fetel pears; and this year’s crop of potatoes. Payment by cash and check only. For more details about specific varieties and prices, as well as schedule updates, please see http://horticulture.wsu.edu/orchard.

Graduate School Questions and Answers

Undergraduates can get the answers to common questions about graduate school at a session co-sponsored by the WSU Office of Research & Graduate School and the Honors Student Advisory Council. February 21, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the Honors Hall Lounge, Room 110. See details at http://bit.ly/12wyw83.

Spanish Strengthening Families Program Facilitator Training

Registration is open for Facilitator Training for the Spanish version of Extension’s Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14, Fortaleciendo Familias. The training will take place in Bellingham Feb. 27-March 1. The registration form, information about the program and videos of parent graduates talking about their experiences are available at http://bit.ly/WQW5lE. Anyone with interest is welcome.

The Art of Queen Bee Rearing Workshop

WSU Pullman, June 12 & 13, 2013 and WSU Mt Vernon Ag Station, July 19, 2013. Details at http://entomology.wsu.edu/apis/.

“Vine to Wine” Workshop

WSU, in collaboration with wine-industry professionals, is offering a two-day intensive “Vine to Wine” workshop, 20-21 April in Prosser. For more information and to register, please visit http://bit.ly/Vhq6MT.

Save the Date: Cultural Competency Training for Extension Professionals

Navigating Difference: Cultural Competency Training for Extension Professionals, presented by WSU Extension on May 14-16, 2013, Federal Way, Wash. TheNavigating Difference training is one of four Essential Skills Trainings based on the core competencies for WSU Extension Professionals and is recommended for all Extension personnel. For details, see http://bit.ly/Tsj8qE.

Seminars

Improvement of Heating Uniformity in Peanut Butter during Radio Frequency Pasteurization using Polyetherimide ‘Ultem,’ presented by Yang Jiao, and Microbial oil production from lignocellulosic biomass by Cryptococcus curvatus, presented by Xiaochen Yu, Ph.D. candidates in Biological Systems Engineering, Friday, February 8, 2013, a 4 p.m. in FSHN Room T101.

Dr. Jane Payumo, International Research, International Programs, WSU “Crop Improvement in Emerging Economies: Harnessing Global Plant Science Innovations for Food Security,”  Monday, February 11, 3:10-4:00 p.m. in Johnson Hall Room 204 and via WECN.

Elizabeth Kramer, M.S. student, Induction of systemic acquired resistance in cucumber: A possible mechanism for suppression of Pythium root rot by compost (See Announcement) and Taras Nazarov, Ph.D. student, RNA sequencing analysis of Magnaporthe oryzae and rice interaction (See Announcement), Monday, February 11, 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343 and via WECN Dial-up #:5777077.

Invited Horticulture Speaker: Douglas Young, Professor, School of Economic Sciences, WSU, Procedures for Evaluating Yields and Profitability of Small-Scale Organic Vegetable Farms, Thursday, February 14, 2:50 – 3:40 p.m., Pullman, Murrow 55 and transmitted via AMS.

Invited Horticulture Speaker: Elizabeth Mitcham, Director, Postharvest Technology Center, UC Davis, Thursday, February 21, 2:50 – 3:40 p.m., Pullman, Murrow 55 and transmitted via AMS.

Kudos

Desmond Layne, WSU endowed chair and professor of pomology, was honored by his peers during the recent Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah, GA. The members of the South Carolina Peach Council awarded Layne the title of “Mister Peach,” based on his “outstanding contributions to the peach industry.”

Geyang Wu (pursuing a Ph.D. in Food Science) and Chen Liu (pursuing a M.S. in Food Science), both students in the School of Food Science, are the second place winners of the Flexible Packaging Association’s (FPA) 2013 Student Flexible Packaging Design Challenge. Their flexible packaging prototype for the SAFE YOGURT TUBE was selected from seven outstanding prototypes/bench samples submitted into the 2012 challenge. The judges found their flexible packaging solution to be a “good safety feature” enhancement to an existing flexible package. Their package will be displayed during the 2013 FPA Annual Meeting (February 26-28, 2013) in the 2013 Student Flexible Packaging Design Challenge Showcase. FPA will also highlight their winning entry in an upcoming issue of the FPA Update in Flexible Packaging Magazine.

WSU School of Food Science M.S. student Megan Waldrop won a travel award to attend the USDA Agricultural Forum in Arlington, Virginia on February 21-22, 2013. She was chosen based on her essay on “The Greatest Challenge Facing Agriculture Over the Next 5 Years.” It is a sponsored trip that includes a tour of the ARS and other meetings in addition to the forum.

WSU Puyallup 2012 Employee of the Year awards went to Marianne Elliott, Admin Professional Employee of the Year, and Jim Grosz, Classified Staff Employee of the Year. They each received a WSU sweatshirt, a WSU key chain, and had their names engraved on a plaque.

Recent News Releases

WSU Professor Explores Corporate Social Responsibility in Small Apparel Firms
WSU Student’s Designs Part of Prince Harry Charities Fashion Show
Washington Cherry, Stone Fruit Growers Approve $5 Million Special Project Assessment to Support WSU Research, Extension 
Avoid Herbicide Drift and Damage to Susceptible Crops or Plants
Family Forest Expo slated at Green River Community College, March 23
WSU Student Chapter Donates Shoes for Soles4Souls Philanthropy
In study of organic apparel, everyone has their price

All our news releases are archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The January 30 edition of On Solid Ground discusses the launch of the Plant Health International website by emeritus professor James Cook, and profiles Doris Sonstelie, a Yakima County master gerdener and 2013 winner of WSU’s Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Community Service Award. Read all about it at http://bit.ly/YXdzSE.

Archives

CAHNRS News is archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/category/cnews/.

While sugary drinks, lack of exercise and genetics contribute to a growing number of overweight American children, new research out of Washington State University reveals how a mom’s eating habits and behavior at the dinner table can influence her preschooler’s obesity risk.

The findings come from WSU alumna Halley Morrison’s undergraduate honors thesis, which was recently published in the journal, Appetite. As a biology major and student fitness instructor, Morrison knew she wanted to focus her project on health and the human body. That’s when she met Tom Power, chair of the Department of Human Development, and learned about his research into childhood obesity and prevention. Together, the pair analyzed surveys of 222 low-income African-American and Latino Head Start preschoolers and caregivers in a USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center study.

“The problem is no longer food scarcity, but too much food,” Morrison said. “It doesn’t cost families extra to change their behavior.”

Photo by CarbonNYC

Morrison found moms who eat even when they are already full and also show a high level of control when feeding their kids–for example by pushing their child to finish what’s on their plate or withholding food until the next meal–tend to produce picky eaters. Meanwhile, moms who eat in response to their emotions, or are easily tempted by the sight, scent, or taste of food, had children with a strong desire to eat.

“Like mother, like child,” Morrison said. “This is especially true when kids are so young their environment is primarily based on what their parents are doing.”

Nearly 17 percent of U.S. children between the ages of two and 19 are obese, and while past research has focused mainly on middle-class European-American families, Morrison said the demographic focus on low-income families made this particular study unique. Obesity rates among preschoolers are highest in African-American and Latino populations: 21 and 22 percent, respectively.

The results from the study suggest a family can alter eating behaviors to reduce obesity risk and associated health problems like high blood pressure, respiratory issues, and sleep apnea. Power said some of these behavior changes can include dishing up smaller portions of food and then giving the child more only if they ask. It creates a positive mealtime experience for the child, as he or she feels a sense of accomplishment and is less likely to overeat. He also said moms who eat based on their emotions or temptation can try to keep unhealthy foods out of cupboards.

“When a preschooler says they are full and still has food on his or her plate, it’s important for parents to listen and trust the child,” Power said. “Limit the availability of high-calorie low-nutrient foods, like sweets, but don’t turn them into the forbidden fruits.”

It typically takes up to eight exposures to a new food before a child is willing to eat it—a natural instinct to make sure the food isn’t poisonous or dangerous, Power said. Since pre-school children tend to get hungry every two or three hours, they might not eat everything on their plate, but rather enjoy a healthy snack a few hours after a meal.

As children grow up and begin to make their own food choices they have a tendency to seek out foods they were not allowed to eat when younger, Power said. Morrison said this could lead children to continually consume unhealthy foods in amounts that increase their obesity risk.

“It’s important for parents to be mindful of their eating practices and how they feed their children,” Morrison said. “It will help their kids develop a healthy relationship with food that can then naturally carry over into future generations.”

This article is based on: Morrison, H., Power, T.G., Nicklas, T., Hughes, S.O., Exploring the Effects of Maternal Eating Patterns on Maternal Feeding and Child Eating, Appetite (2012), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2012.12.017

PULLMAN, Wash.—Reports of Bangladeshi girls sewing American brand-name garments over 12- to 15-hour shifts under squalid conditions for less than 20 cents an hour have turned the national spotlight in recent years on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the U.S. apparel industry. Much of the media focus has been on large corporations profiting from these third-world sweatshops. But how do smaller apparel companies compare when it comes to doing the right thing by their employees, their investors, the environment and society?

AMDT’s Ting Chi interviewed executives of small- to medium-sized apparel firms in Washington and California about their perspectives on corporate social responsibility (CSR). One controversial aspect of CSR is treatment of employees in garment factories overseas. Photo by Marissa Orton, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Washington State University assistant professor Ting Chi learned in a preliminary study that senior executives of small- and medium-sized apparel companies run their businesses in a socially responsible way to the extent that they can, given they have fewer resources and personnel than larger firms that have dedicated CSR departments and managers.

Small business, large impact

During 2011, Chi interviewed the executives of eight smaller apparel firms in California and Washington about their perspectives on CSR. The firms reported annual sales revenues of $5 to $60 million, and they employed up to 500 people, he said.

Such a study was needed because these companies make up the majority of the industry, yet little is known about their CSR practices.

“Our understanding of CSR issues among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been largely lagging behind that of large businesses, although more than 80 percent of U.S. apparel companies are SMEs,” said Chi, a faculty member in WSU’s Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles.

“SMEs are not just miniature versions of large businesses,” he said. “Without effective participation by SMEs, the CSR movement in the U.S. apparel industry will never be complete. Given the impact of SMEs on the U.S. apparel economy and society at large, this is a unique opportunity to study a developing phenomenon that holds relevance for business and society.”

How is profit affected?

AMDT assistant professor Ting Chi. Click image for a high-resolution version.

The executives at the smaller apparel firms Chi interviewed identified primary stakeholders to whom CSR policies are directed, including customers, investors, employees, local communities, the environment and suppliers.

The executives said their motivation for developing and implementing CSR practices was driven not only internally, from their own personal beliefs, but also from external factors, such as the possibility of getting more contracts by being perceived as a socially responsible company.

Most of the executives indicated that practicing their business operations in a socially responsible manner improved their firms’ public image, reputation and employee retention rate, though they couldn’t quantify how CSR policies improved sales, profit and return on investment.

“They’d like to see a proven causal relationship between CSR practices and better financial performance from a bigger sample analysis,” said Chi, who plans to expand the study to national apparel companies with more site visits and possibly an industry-wide survey.

Need for practical knowledge

But the executives said they are prevented from fully developing CSR policies in their companies by several factors: insufficient time and capital, lack of knowledge and expertise, and lack of visibility to the public.

“Yet the expectations on SMEs are the same as on big corporations,” Chi said. “The SME executives want more external help or support for them to learn and pursue CSR practices. I plan to continue to work in this area to get more applied knowledge to help U.S. apparel SMEs achieve CSR goals.”

The knowledge is desperately needed. Chi pointed to another recent example of human rights violations in Saipan, the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands and a U.S. commonwealth. Garment factory owners there, supplying clothing for large U.S. retailers, lured Chinese women and girls as young as 12 with the promise of good “American” jobs.

Once on the island, the women and girls were put to work for 12 hours a day, six days a week, for about $2 an hour. Some factory owners forced female workers to perform in live sex shows or become prostitutes.

“There are many CSR violations around the globe. As the forerunner of globalization and one of the most labor-intensive businesses, this industry has been confronting an increasing number of CSR-related problems,” Chi said. “In recent years, with the growing public awareness of and concern over social responsibility, more large corporations have proactively incorporated better practices in their business operations.”

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Rangeland Monitoring

This training course based on the Guidebook to Rangeland Monitoring and Assessment covers basic concepts for
collecting, interpreting, and use of rangeland data for management planning and decisions.  Although there are many technical manuals on range monitoring, and there have been numerous workshops aimed to teach people
how to collect monitoring data using different techniques, this Guidebook and training course
have different objectives.
The emphasis in this course will be on why we monitor and make assessments, what should

Time and Place Date:  03/20/2013 - 8:00am - 4:00pm Location:  Cliff Castle Casino Hotel 555 W Middle Verde Rd Camp Verde, AZ See map: Google Maps Cost and Registration Cost:  20.00 Registration Required:  Yes Additional Information Offers volunteer opportunities:  No Offers Continuing Education credit:  No File Attachments Brochure/Agenda/Registration Contact Ruyle, George Tolleson, Doug A few questions Expiration date:  Thu, 03/21/2013 Event category:  Training

read more

This training course based on the Guidebook to Rangeland Monitoring and Assessment covers basic concepts for
collecting, interpreting, and use of rangeland data for management planning and decisions.  Although there are many technical manuals on range monitoring, and there have been numerous workshops aimed to teach people
how to collect monitoring data using different techniques, this Guidebook and training course
have different objectives.
The emphasis in this course will be on why we monitor and make assessments, what should

Do you love the outdoors? Enjoy exploring the natural world in southern Nevada? Like learning about native plants and animals? Wonder how you can volunteer and participate in conservation projects locally? Then, the Nevada Naturalist program is for you! Drop by the Lifelong Learning Center on Saturday, March 9 between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. and chat with current Nevada Naturalists, meet instructors, see project presentations, participate in activities, learn about exciting volunteer opportunities and more.

Nevada Naturalist, a University of Nevada Cooperative Extension program, focuses on giving a broad understanding of nature to participants interested in learning, volunteering, teaching and participating in conservation projects and issues. The program will also give participants the skills and confidence necessary to make a difference for environmental stewardship and conservation in Southern Nevada.

The Nevada Naturalist program offers two semesters of instruction. Topics include: ecology, regional plants and animals, invasive species, geology and soils, environmental laws, taxonomy, biological diversity, and more. Classes are held in the spring and fall in a variety of settings including classrooms, museums and in the field. You will be able to register for the upcoming spring session at the open house. Additionally, students complete a project intended to increase their capacity and knowledge about specific issues that interest them. Participants receive a certificate following the completion of the course and their projects.

The Lifelong Learning Center is located at 8050 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NV 89123. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information on the open house or the Nevada Naturalist program, email Denise Parsons or call 702-948-5906.

PULLMAN, Wash.—A Washington State University student was one of the featured designers at the Feb. 2 Royal Fashion Show benefit for two charities of England’s Prince Harry of Wales.

Gordon Stumpo works on a mannequin at WSU. Photo by Nella Letizia. Click image for a high-resolution version.

Gordon Stumpo of Denver joined nearly 40 fashion students from around the world who had submitted entries for a design competition preceding the show, which was hosted by charities Pink Ribbons Crusade and Sentebale. The competition was judged by all-star designers and popular contestants from the TV series “Project Runway.” Winning designs were showcased at the Bella Collina Towne and Golf Club in San Clemente, Calif.

Two dresses designed by Gordon Stumpo were modeled at the fashion show. Photos courtesy of Gordon Stumpo.

“Competitions like this one stretch students and allow them an entrance into a formal public arena,” said Patricia Fischer, senior instructor in WSU’s Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles. She worked closely with Stumpo and Marissa Dawson of Seattle, who also entered the competition.

“Both Gordon and Marissa had to learn new and more complex patterning skills beyond those covered in the course content to draft the base patterns for their garments,” Fischer said. “They have both put in a great deal of work outside of class.”

Pink Ribbons Crusade raises funds to fight breast cancer through a traveling exhibit of a multimillion-dollar collection of British royal historical memorabilia, including eight dresses owned and worn by the late Princess Diana, Harry’s mother. Sentebale is a charity for at-risk African children founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of the Lesotho royal family to honor their mothers.

Stumpo, a junior, submitted two dress designs for the competition, both of which were accepted. A major reward during the project was “taking something that was in my mind, using the tools we learned in the classroom and making it physical, tangible,” he said.

The competition also motivated Stumpo’s honors thesis, due this spring, on the evolution of Princess Diana’s clothing styles over time. Part of the thesis will involve creating three to five half-scale garments that interpret Diana’s garment tradition.

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PULLMAN, Wash. – Cherry and stone fruit growers throughout the state have agreed to make a $5 million investment over the next eight years at Washington State University research and extension centers in Prosser and Wenatchee. This builds on a similar measure voted on by apple and pear growers in 2011 to galvanize cooperation between the industry and WSU.

“The close partnership between Washington’s tree fruit industry and Washington State University continues to be transformational,” said WSU President Elson S. Floyd. “Working together for more than a century, we have helped to make Washington a world leader in tree fruit production. The assessment by cherry and stone fruit growers, in combination with the $27 million investment in WSU made by apple and pear growers in 2011, helps to ensure that our partnership in progress continues for an even brighter future for our state. We are extremely grateful for the industry’s confidence and investment in WSU.”

Orchard automation research is just one of the ways WSU scientists are working to keep the Washington tree fruit industry competitive. Photo by Bob Hubner/Washington State University.

State Department of Agriculture officials certified the election results Monday, Feb. 4. Separate ballots were mailed for cherries and stone fruit. The referendum was approved by 338 of the 565 ballots cast by cherry growers, a 59 percent approval rate, and 32 of the 47 ballots cast by stone fruit growers, a 68 percent approval rate.

Cherry growers will be assessed $4 per ton and stone fruit growers $1 per ton.

This investment comes at a time when the state’s $46 billion food and agriculture industry continues to increase its contribution to the state’s economy. Annually, the Washington tree fruit industry accounts for more than $7 billion of economic impact, with more than a third of that derived from exports.

When cherry and stone fruit growers rejected a similar measure in 2011, many industry leaders felt it was imperative to try again.

“The Board of the Washington State Fruit Commission voted unanimously to re-run the referendum, and we are thrilled growers affirmed the importance of this investment,” said Gip Redman, a cherry grower and chair of the commission. “Now the entire Washington tree fruit industry is involved in the efforts on our behalf at the WSU research and extension centers in Prosser and Wenatchee – efforts which keep our industries globally competitive.”

Jim Doornink, chair of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, said approval of the special project assessment further cements a long-standing partnership between WSU and the state’s tree fruit industry.

“This investment builds on the strategic road map outlined by the industry and WSU over a decade ago for all our commodities,” said Doornink, who raises cherries, apricots, peaches, pears and apples in the Yakima Valley. “That trajectory has continued according to plan with WSU’s strategic hires, the commission’s continued funding of priority projects, and now this industry-wide support to make our research and extension partnership with WSU unequivocally the best in the world.”

WSU scientist Matt Whiting is a tree fruit physiologist and an orchard architecture innovator. Photo by Bob Hubner/Washington State University.

“We compete in a global market, and this investment ensures we will continue to be leaders in innovation while maintaining economic prosperity for Washington growers,” said Jake Gutzwiler, a cherry grower and quality control manager for Stemilt Growers who added that research and innovation have always been at the heart of the Washington tree fruit industry’s success.

Gutzwiler is also chair of the WSU Endowment Advisory Committee, which, along with WSU administrators and researchers, has been guiding decisions about how to direct funds from Washington apple and pear growers’ $27 million investment.

“We’ve been developing a list of industry needs in terms of research and extension,” he said. “The challenge has been developing these needs for only apples and pears, when cherries and stone fruit are a significant part of our industry. We just saw the hiring of Desmond Layne, a leader in the delivery of scientific information to producers through extension. And with the recent hire of Stefano Musacchi, a world-renowned pomologist, the industry investment has already attracted two of the best scientists in the world to work right here in Washington. With the additional $5 million investment by cherry and stone fruit growers, we can ensure these new positions represent the full Washington tree fruit industry.”

Dan Bernardo, vice president for agriculture and extension and dean of the WSU College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, agreed.

“The full support of the tree fruit industry is a testament to three critical factors,” he said. “The first is the commitment and foresight of an extremely progressive industry. The second is the long history of quality contributions by our gifted and dedicated scientists and extension professionals at WSU who work tirelessly to serve the industry. And third is the trust and respect built between the two during a century-long partnership.”

Bernardo said WSU has been making significant and strategic investments in all areas of tree fruit research and extension over the past decade. For the special project assessment, WSU is working closely with the industry-appointed Endowment Advisory Committee to ensure their dollars are directed where they will have the most impact.

As a result, the funds will go to WSU’s research and extension centers at Wenatchee and Prosser. Specifically, the funds will be allocated as follows:

• $12 million to establish endowed chairs that will provide perpetual support for the tree fruit research program. WSU will cover the salary and benefit costs for each faculty position.
• $12 million to create an endowment to establish new positions in tree fruit production regions to accelerate the transfer of new information and technologies for Washington growers and shippers. These positions will reinvigorate WSU extension activities and focus on industry priorities.
• $8 million to create an endowment to support dedicated research orchards in Prosser and Wenatchee and enhance development and evaluation of cutting edge technologies and practices.

Bernardo will continue to work directly with the committee to ensure industry-endowed programs perform at the highest level and produce results for the growers and shippers of Washington.

Floyd announced WSU’s historic comprehensive fundraising effort – “The Campaign For Washington State University: Because the World Needs Big Ideas” – in December 2010. The tree fruit industry’s combined commitment of $32 million will be counted toward the campaign’s $1 billion goal.

Generous donors, businesses and organizations have committed more than $758.1 million to the campaign to increase support for WSU’s students, faculty, research and extension programs and to leverage the university’s impact across the state, nation and world.

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