AGRICULTUREA seasonal publication ofSUMMER

SUNDAY, MAY 16, 2010Section G

The graceful lines of young

growing wheat plants are

bright in this Camas Prairie

fi eld near Nezperce.

Tribune/Barry Kough

More insideBeef council steers protein to needy > 2G

Hot on the trail of killer bacteria > 2G

Wheat glut driving down prices > 5G

Capitalizing onkosher markets > 6G

More insideBeef council steers protein to needy > 2G

Hot on the trail of killer bacteria > 2G

Wheat glut driving down prices > 5G

Capitalizing onkosher markets > 6G

Scientists try to wipe out sheep virus > 9GScientists try to wipe out sheep virus > 9G

By JOEL MILLSof the tribune

In 2006, Backyard Harvest started in Moscow to help home gardeners donate their surplus produce to local food banks, and get fresh fruit and veggies into the bellies of hun-gry Idahoans.

Now, the Idaho Beef Coun-cil is doing something similar with protein.

Through the “Beef Counts” pro-gram that kicked off in April, the council is facilitating the donation of beef cattle to be sold at auction, with the proceeds going to buy beef for the Idaho Food Bank.

“An average rancher would love to donate a head of cattle, but what can

the food bank do with it?” said Traci O’Donnell, the council’s executive director. “They don’t have a holding pen in the back of the warehouse, nor do they have the means, finan-cially as well as logistically, to slaughter. That’s been the gap and that’s where our industry came in.”

Beef Counts is a coopera-tive effort between the coun-cil, the food bank, the Idaho

Cattle Association, the Idaho Cattle-women Council and Agri Beef Co., O’Donnell said.

Agri Beef is an integrated beef pro-ducer that ranches, processes and markets cattle in Idaho and Washing-ton. It is providing a 50 percent match to each donation to Beef Counts and is

supplying the frozen beef to the food bank distribution centers. For ex-ample, O’Donnell said, a donated cow that sells for $500 would earn a $250 match from Agri Beef.

Including the match, an average-size animal will provide about 1,600 servings of beef to the 110,000 people who use the centers served by the Idaho Food Bank, according to a news release from the council.

Beef protein plays an important role in muscle development and main-tenance, disease prevention, strength and metabolism, according to the news release.

Currently, the Idaho Food Bank can only provide about seven-tenths of an ounce of protein per day, per person, when the U.S. Department of Agricul-ture recommends 6 ounces per day in a healthy diet.

Since the program began just a few weeks ago, about $9,400 has been do-nated, O’Donnell said. Including the Agri Beef match, that’s $14,100 to buy beef for hungry Idahoans.

O’Donnell said the goal for the pro-gram’s first year is 150 head of cattle, or the cash equivalent.

“Our industry is real proud to come in and try to make a difference for our neighbors in need,” she said.

Those interested in donating to Beef Counts may call (208) 343-1615.

———Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com

or (208) 883-0564.

a g r i c u l t u r e : s u m m e r ’ 1 0 l e W i s t O N t r i B u N e2G s u N D a Y, m a Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0

Traci O’Donnell

R a n c h i n g

Idaho Beef Council aims to steer protein to Idaho Food Bank

>

Discovery of how bacteria moves through cattle may lead to safer production

By ERIC BARKERof the tribune

Researchers at the University of Idaho have unlocked the way a deadly strain of E. coli bacteria op-erates as it moves through cattle and hope the discovery can lead to an effective method of ridding cows of the disease.

The bacteria serotype, E. coli 0157:H7, does not affect cattle but can cause severe illness in people when they consume meat or produce tainted with manure. Understanding how it functions could be an impor-tant step in making food safer.

“I think this is another piece of

Ui scientists are hot on E. coli’s trail

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the puzzle in understanding the basic interaction between the E. coli human patho-gen and the silent reservoir, which is healthy cattle,” said Carolyn Hovde Bohach, a professor at UI’s College of Agriculture.

Hovde Bohach and her colleagues teamed with re-searchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medi-cal Center to learn how the bacteria senses changes in its environment such as when it enters a cow’s gastrointesti-nal tract where it colonizes. The bacteria exists in many places during its life cycle and must behave differently depending on where it is. For example, the bacteria can be

present on the farm, in wa-ter or in the gastrointestinal tracts of cattle.

“Bacteria have to turn on different sets of genes when on the farm as opposed to a very different set of genes when in GI tracts,” said Hovde Bohach. “Our work shows for the first time how it uses chemical signaling in the GI tracts of cattle to know where it is.”

She said if the bacteria can’t sense where it is, it has a much smaller chance of performing tasks it needs to survive as it moves through cattle. So if researchers can figure out a way to essen-tially fool the bacteria about its surroundings so it doesn’t know it has entered a bovine digestive system, it would be possible to significantly de-crease the number of cattle that host the disease.

“We don’t know yet what the intervention would be but once you understand how something works then the pos-sibilities of interfering with that working becomes easier,” she said. “Our ultimate goal is

to try to remove this human pathogen from cattle.”

An estimated 70 percent to 80 percent of healthy cattle herds in the United States carry the particular strain of E. coli at least some of the time. They pass it to each oth-

er through contact with infected cows or contact with the environment where the bacteria is spread through cattle feces.

“The main source of human infection is either directly through interaction with a live animal or by ingesting contam-inated bovine food projects or by con-

taminated manure getting on fruits or vegetables,” Hovde Bohach said.

The research was pub-lished in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sci-ences.”

“We are very thrilled and we are really excited to get this kind of recognition for our work,” she said.

———Barker may be contacted at

ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273.

a g r i c u l t u r e : s u m m e r ’ 1 0 l e W i s t O N t r i B u N e4G s u N D a Y, m a Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0

trailContinued from Page 2g>

Carolyn Hovde Bohach

3 Researchers at the University of Idaho are studying how E. coli works its way through cattle.Tribune photo

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By BRAD W. GARYof the tribune

A glut of wheat on the world market has sent the crop’s prices down, while pea and lentil prices have dropped slightly since last year.

Price watchers note that energy costs and the value of the U.S. dol-lar could have a greater effect on the value of a grower’s crop when harvest comes around.

Worldwide wheat production has increased since a shortage two years ago, especially with large numbers of acres being planted in Europe and the Black Sea region. The present price for soft white wheat is $4.92 a bushel at Port-land, Ore., said Glen Squires, vice president of the Washington Grain Commission at Spokane. Produc-tion in Australia, which has bat-tled drought conditions in recent years, could also be a factor.

“While we’re producing the same amount, their production

just exploded, and Russia sud-denly became the biggest pro-ducer in the world,” Squires said. “Our wheat is competing against that huge amount of wheat that is entering the market from other suppliers.”

Idaho, Washington and Oregon produce about 5 million tons of white wheat each year, a number Squires said doesn’t fluctuate that much, compared to 22.5 million tons produced by Australia.

A number of factors could raise that price, he said, including in-creased energy prices that ap-pear to be creeping up like they did when wheat reached $16 per bushel in 2008.

If the U.S. dollar is weak, Squires and Todd Scholz with the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council notes that could raise prices on exports.

Lentil and pea prices are hard to predict, but Scholz said the or- Tribune/Barry Kough

The large supplies of wheat in the world have driven prices lower than last year. Cur-rently, a bushel of wheat is bringing $4.92 at Portland, Ore.

Global surplus depressing price of wheatExplosive production in Australia, Russia has flooded markets; pea, lentil prices also down from year ago

See wheat, page 6G>

a g r i c u l t u r e : s u m m e r ’ 1 0 l e W i s t O N t r i B u N e6G s u N D a Y, m a Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0

ganization expects the price of chickpeas to re-main fairly flat. The val-ue of the dollar compared to the Canadian dollar is making U.S. peas and lentils more desirable to the rest of the world than their northern border counterparts.

Pea and lentil prices are both down in early season numbers from last year, with green peas listed at $9.50 per 100 weight in the Pacific Northwest compared to around $15 last year, ac-cording to the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council. Lentil prices are slightly down from around $32 per 100 weight last year to about $28 per 100 weight at present.

Chickpeas have actu-ally risen to about $30 per 100 weight com-pared to $24-$26 per 100 weight at this time last year.

A strengthening of the dollar could put a negative spin on pea and lentil prices, with 65 percent to 70 percent of the lentil and dry pea market exported outside the United States.

A significant increase of about 20 percent in the number of len-til acres planted in the United States could also drive that crop’s price down, but Scholz noted demand is still strong in places like India.

“Generally lentil pric-es have started to decline a bit, because of gener-ally more acres, more supply,” Scholz said.

Based upon the num-ber of acres planted, pea prices are predicted to stay the same by har-vest, Scholz said.

———Gary may be contacted at

bgary@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2262.

wheatContinued from PaGe 5G> Cooperative helps area’s

farmers export approved produce across the globe

By Kelsey samuelsof the tribune

Keeping kosher is a way of life for many Jewish people.

It also provides economic op-portunities for local farmers willing to take the extra steps to gain kosher certification. Pacific Northwest Farmers Cooperative, formed in 2008 by the merger of Genesee Union Warehouse and Whitman County Growers, is one such group of farmers.

Sam White, the co-op’s chief operating officer at Lewiston, said the certification opens the company up to a much larger consumer base. Many products of the Palouse are exported to Israel, and most require a cer-tification that is shown on the product’s packaging.

Rabbi Jack Izakson, of Spo-kane, said there’s no blessing or hocus-pocus to kosher certifica-tion, just a lot of inspection. He

inspects all 26 facilities of the Pacific Northwest Farmer’s Co-op, including Genesee, Colton, Albion and Thornton, among other small communities.

“We’re willing to go that extra mile, if you will, to meet the mar-ket demands,” White said, “so if

Pacific Northwest Farmers CooperativeKosher-certified wheat is distributed throughout the Pacific North-west Farmers Cooperative warehouse at Genesee.

Capitalizing on kosher foods

See kosher, page 7G>

a g r i c u l t u r e : s u m m e r ’ 1 0 s u N D a Y, m a Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 7Gl e w i s t o N t r i b u N e

the Jewish community is one of those demands, we’re willing to take those steps to make those sales.”

A group of Jewish men from New York traveled to PNW’s processing plants last year. They wanted to buy grain to make matzo bread. They in-spected every aspect of production — there was a person in the fields, one in the combine and one in the truck that took the product to town.

“It was very strict in the way that it was harvested and the way that it was handled for their needs,” he said. “We hope to do that again next year.”

Izakson certifies PNW on behalf of Spokane Vaad Hakashrut, the kosher-ing committee for the greater Spokane area. Only rabbis can serve on the committee, so for now, he is the only member. He does certification from Three Forks, Mont., to Quincy, Wash., and as far south as Lewiston.

Izakson said any grain, fruits and vegetables are kosher naturally.

“It’s coming in kosher,” he said, “and they just have to make sure it stays that way. Our job is to make sure

that it stays (kosher) from the moment it comes in through the door of their processing plant until it’s packaged and ... shipped to wherever it’s go-ing.”

He inspects machinery, grain ele-vators and production areas to ensure nothing contaminates the product. Possible contaminants include leak-ing motor oil or food or beverages con-sumed at the site.

“PNW does a very good job of being sure there is no food or beverage con-sumption anywhere along the produc-tion line,” Izakson said.

The co-op puts signs up in areas that could be susceptible to contami-nation.

“As far as food safety and regula-tions becoming more strict,” Uto said, “I think since we are a kosher facility, it has made it easier for us as a com-pany to meet regulations that are com-ing out.”

White said some aspects to keeping kosher are just good cleanliness hab-its.

“Some of the things that are re-quired to be kosher certified are just general good practices that we’ve done and that we’ve needed to do,” he said.

———Samuels may be contacted at ksamuels@

lmtribune.com or (208) 883-0564.

KosherContinued from Page 6g>

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By William l. Spenceof the tribune

Got a craving for cabbage or a hunger for herbs?

Farmers markets are the answer. From apples to zucchini, they can satisfy a yearning for most any fresh produce.

Almost a dozen farmers markets oper-ate in this region — including Moscow’s, the oldest in Idaho. Entering its 34th year, the pioneer market features 65 stalls, almost 50 season vendors, musical entertainment and educational displays.

“We’re probably the second-larg-est (farmers market) in the state,” said

Moscow Arts Director Kathleen Burns. “We have more produce than Boise.”

Maybe 40 percent of the vendors offer produce or nursery plants, Burns said, with the remaining stalls split between prepared foods — such as pies, pastries and breads — and crafts. The city tent provides weekly information on topics such as affordable housing and water conservation, and there’s a master gar-dener lecture. Musical entertainment is presented from 9:30-11:30 a.m.

A series of “walk-on” vendors appear each week, offering everything from fresh huckleberries to tomatoes or wild rice. Season vendors cover the produce

spectrum, from fresh fruits and veg-etables to organic beef or chickens and eggs.

“We have a (University of Idaho) chemist who loves to bake,” Burns said. “He sells Egyptian pastries. We have a new grain vendor this year who sells wheat, barley and lentils from the Palouse.”

Some of the same vendors participate in other farmers markets in the region.

For days, times and locations for the various markets, consult the list at right.

———Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.

com or (208) 848-2274.

Tribune/Kyle MillsThe farmers market season is just getting started, with the sidewalk sale at Moscow among the first to open.

Diversity a hallmark of farmers markets

Farmers markets in our region

IdahoMoScow — Saturdays, 8 a.m. to

1 p.m., May 1-oct. 30, next to the Moscow hotel between Main and Jackson, in the friendship Square parking lot.

MoScow — tuesdays, 4:30-6:30 p.m., May 4-oct. 26, Moscow food Co-op parking lot at the corner of fifth and Washington.

Potlatch — Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon, May through mid-octo-ber, Junction Lumber hardware & Supply.

lewiSton — Wednesdays, June 2-oct. 13, D Street parking lot and brackenbury Square.

orofino — tuesdays, July 6-Oct. 12, Orofino City Park.

KooSKia — Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 1-oct. 30, Longcamp RV Park, milepost 68 on U.S. highway 12.

GranGeville — Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon, July 10-oct. 2, heri-tage Square on Main Street.

Mccall — Saturdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., June 9 to mid-October, Pine Street across from Gravity Sport and razzle Dazzle.

caScaDe —Saturdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., May to mid-September, Alpha nursery and Garden Center, 12 Alpha Lane.

WashingtonPullMan — Wednesdays, 4-6

p.m., May 19-Oct. 27, Old Post Of-fice parking lot, 245 S.E. Paradise St.

clarKSton — Saturdays, 8 a.m.-noon, June-September, opposite the Asotin County Library at fifth and Sycamore.

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two years ago for the death of 19 dairy cows that had been shown by FFA students at the Puyallup State Fair. Moreover, a total of 825 bison died in 2003

in a Twin Falls feedlot after be-ing infected with MCF.

“We actually published findings from that outbreak,” said Taus, explaining that a

flock of sheep had been graz-ing in a field adjacent to the buffalo. “It happened to be a

a g r i c u l t u r e : s u m m e r ’ 1 0 s u N D a Y, m a Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 9Gl e w i s t o N t r i b u N e

By DAVID JOHNSONof the tribune

PULLMAN — Sometimes agriculture science gets as basic as collecting sheep snot.

“It happens to have really been an important component of our research,” said Naomi Taus, a veterinary medical of-ficer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service here. “Basi-cally, think of a long Q-tip.”

When inserted into a sheep’s nostril for two or three min-utes, Taus explained, the Q-tip “soaks up all the secretions in the area, and then we extract

material from that.”Taus said she and other

researchers have been prob-ing sheep noses for insight into a viral disease that’s only carried by sheep, but can be deadly when transferred to cattle or bison.

“It turns out the virus does get shed in those nasal secre-tions,” said Taus, who works in affiliation with Washington State University researchers. Ultimately, she explained, the team hopes to develop a vaccine to combat what is called malig-nant catarrhal fever (MCF).

The virus, which can be-come airborne, was blamed

Peggy Greb/Agricultural Research ServiceTechnician Shirley Elias (left) and veterinary medical officer Naomi Taus use a nebulizer to infect a sheep with MCF virus.

The dangers of sheep snotuSDA scientists work to develop a vaccine for virus that sheep can spread to other livestock

See snot, page 10G>

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large enough flock of sheep that were just the right age.”

More than half of the bison in the herd succumbed.

Lacking a vaccine against MCF, Taus said livestock management, such as keeping sheep away from cattle and bison, is a necessary practice. It takes about a month for symptoms to show. Cattle and bison can not pass the virus between themselves. Nor can the virus infect humans.

“It’s a pretty nasty way to die,” Taus said. “Sometimes, with bison, they’ll be looking a little off, and then they’re dead the next day.”

Unfortunately, Taus said, a vaccine against MCF does not appear to be imminent. That’s because researchers have been unable to grow the virus in a laboratory setting. “We’re trying, but I’d have to say we’ve been struggling with this for about seven years,” Taus said. “We’re really hop-ing that in the next five-year research cycle we’ll have a

more definitive answer in terms of, is it actually going to be possible to develop a vac-cine?”

Sheep are not born with MCF. They tend to become infected around six months of age, probably after being in

contact with or near already-infected older sheep. WSU, Taus said, has been able to maintain an MCF-free flock

of sheep that has been critical for research. By artificially infecting individual sheep, Taus explained, researchers are finding what types of cells the virus invades. Such infor-mation, it is hoped, will help lead to ways of growing the virus in the lab.

“The sheep and the virus have adapted to each other,” Taus said. “We call it co-evo-lution.” She said MCF is re-ally a herpes virus that is dis-tantly related to the kind of herpes that cause cold sores in humans.

Another strategy toward creating a vaccine, Taus said, is to use a related virus (that can be replicated in the lab) that doesn’t cause the disease. Coupled with a better under-standing of the various parts of the MCF virus, it might be possible to “sneak” in an ef-fective vaccine.

“We’ve kind of got a couple different strategies going on,” Taus said. “Maybe we’ll have a major breakthrough, but realistically it’s going to be a number of years yet.”

———Johnson may be contacted at

djohnson@lmtribune.com or (208) 883-0564.

a g r i c u l t u r e : s u m m e r ’ 1 0 l e W i s t O N t r i B u N e10G s u N D a Y, m a Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0

Peggy Greb/Agricultural Research ServiceVeterinary medical officer Naomi Taus examines an MCF virus-infected epithelial cell in a sheep lung. The red area is the virus, and the green area is the cell.

snotContinued from Page 9g>

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a g r i c u l t u r e : s u m m e r ’ 1 0 s u N D a Y, m a Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 0 11Gl e w i s t o N t r i b u N e

By Kristi Pihlof the tri-City herald

PASCO — It took seven years, but a former dilapidated Pasco motel final-ly is ready to house farm workers and their families.

Sea Mar Farmworker and Commu-nity Housing Development is finishing work recently on La Posada West at 725 W. Lewis St. in downtown Pasco.

The former Travel Inn will have its final inspection in the next few days, said Michael Leong, Sea Mar vice president of corporate and legal af-fairs.

And at the end of next month, the nonprofit organization expects to open La Posada East — the former Sea Mar Motel at 627 W. Lewis St.

Together the motels will have 66 rooms for a mix of individuals and families to rent while they work in the agricultural industry in the area. The total project cost $5.2 million.

“There (are) a lot of people who don’t have housing right now,” said Rogelio Riojas, Sea Mar CEO and ex-ecutive director.

He said he has visited farm work-er encampments without electricity and other basic services. And often

families double and triple up in apart-ments, which isn’t healthy, especially for children, he said.

La Posada West and East’s warm, terra-cotta stucco walls are a far cry from the former run-down exteriors of the motels.

The old Travel Inn was in awful shape before the remodel, said archi-tect Jose Bazan, of Bazan & Associates Architects of Bellevue.

Now it wouldn’t be recognized as the same building. Fowler Construction of Richland was the general contractor.

La Posada West was gutted and re-built inside, while La Posada East is being refurbished and brought up to accessibility standards. New air-con-ditioning units also will be added to the rooms, Bazan said.

The Travel Inn sign will remain as a little bit of Pasco history, but Bazan said it will be repainted.

Some rooms include a kitchenette with a range and oven, but all have at least a microwave and a refrigera-tor. La Posada East also has a shared cooking area.

Families who rent rooms will need to go through a registration process, Leong said. Registration for the rooms has yet to begin.

Building complete on Pasco motel for farm workers; next up is inspection

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