Catching Up with CALS — Nov. 27, 2024

Dean's Message — Essential in Seed

Parma farmer Eric Jemmett (’06, plant science) raises and promotes the state’s most famous crop, spuds, as an Idaho Potato Commissioner, but his rotation also includes some less heralded seed crops that are extremely important to the state’s economy. Idaho has an idyllic climate for vegetable and small-grain seed production, and the Treasure Valley, where Jemmett farms, is the epicenter of the state’s seed industry. Idaho farmers sow up to 2,500 acres of carrot seed annually. One year, Jemmett’s farm alone accounted for nearly a sixth of the world’s carrot seed, raising it under drip irrigation, which avoids the spread of soilborne diseases through splashing. Jemmett’s J & S Farms Inc. is also a major producer of sweetcorn seed. Though people commonly associate corn with the Midwest, Idaho provides the seed — filling nearly three-quarters of the global sweetcorn seed supply. Furthermore, Idaho is the nation’s top grower of potato seed and garden bean seed and ranks among the world’s leading suppliers of alfalfa seed, field bean seed and Kentucky bluegrass seed. Idaho produces about 50 species of seed crops in all, including hundreds of varieties of those species, shipping seed to more than 120 countries.

University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) provides resources, foundation seed production, laboratory services and expertise to assist the state’s producers of high-quality, disease-free seed — which is roughly a $600 million industry — at every step in the process. For growers like Jemmett, access to UI Extension services, including diagnostic testing, is essential. “U of I is an integral part of helping determine ways we can control diseases and prevent them from getting into our seed acres,” Jemmett said. Jemmett also follows CALS research to help him improve fertility and maintain weed control in his seed and other crops.

Lara Brown (’21, plant science) oversees the testing of seed of all types entering the state on behalf of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA). She occasionally sends referrals to the laboratory of her former advisor, UI Extension specialist and plant pathologist James Woodhall, to confirm a diagnosis. U of I plays a greater role in testing Idaho seed bound for export markets, and Woodhall oversees a variety of other services for seed growers at U of I’s Parma Research and Extension Center, including researching key diseases affecting seed crops to help farmers better understand the threats they face. “We do research into testing methods and biology and epidemiology of seedborne diseases and new diagnostic methods,” Woodhall said. “At the moment, we have a project looking at new diagnostic methods of seedborne, bacterial diseases of dry beans. We also have a project looking at high plains virus in sweetcorn — its means of transmission and the relative importance of seed transmission compared with other means of transmission, such as infield by mites.”

Woodhall is also conducting a project supported by the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Seed Association (IEOSA) via federal specialty crop block grant (SCBG) funding awarded through ISDA to develop a database of testing services offered by diagnostic labs throughout the country. Importing countries dictate specific tests exporters must conduct. Often, certain tests are unavailable locally, and it can be tough to find a lab offering them. The database should be finished by the end of 2025, and its development follows a prior ISDA SCBG project involving Woodhall’s lab to develop new seed health tests.

Idaho is uniquely situated to produce clean seed for a wide range of crops thanks to its frigid winters, warm summer days, cool nights and low humidity. Canyon County is the hub of the Gem State’s seed production. “Idaho, especially southwest Idaho because of our desert climate in combination with irrigation, we have less disease pressure and we typically have better harvest conditions,” said Kevin Osborne, operations manager with Allied Seed in Nampa and past IEOSA president. Based on Idaho’s favorable conditions, the leading companies in seed production have made major investments in the state, especially in the Treasure Valley. Syngenta, for example, opened a 37,000-square-foot Global Vegetable Seeds Quality Control Lab in Nampa in the summer of 2022. U of I has also made monumental investments in its seed production facilities, celebrating the grand opening of a new Seed Potato Germplasm Laboratory in Moscow in March 2022. Sixty percent of all potatoes consumed in the U.S. and 90% of Idaho potatoes can be traced back to the laboratory, which produces plantlets and mini tubers used in the initial phase of seed potato production. Seed potato growers also benefit from the work of Kasia Duellman, an associate professor and Extension seed potato specialist based at the Idaho Falls Research and Extension Center, who focuses her research on seed potato production, with an emphasis on combatting important pathogens and improving overall quality.

As the state’s land-grant university, U of I shoulders the responsibility for certifying Idaho’s seed crops. For more than 80 years, the university has transferred those duties to Idaho Crop Improvement Association (ICIA) through a memorandum of understanding. As interim associate dean of research and director of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station, Matt Powell serves as U of I’s ex officio representative on the ICIA Board of Directors. Kathy Stewart-Williams, ICIA executive vice president, explained a central responsibility U of I and CALS fill for her organization: “The university provides scientific review when we make changes to our standards for certification so we can feel confident taking those to the growers that our rationale for certification does have some scientific validity behind it,” she said. Idaho certifies more than 144,000 acres of seed crops throughout the state, with small grains consistently ranking as the program’s top seed category. Beans, potatoes and grass are also big business for ICIA, with the order of certified seed acreage of those crops varying by year.

Another way in which U of I serves producers is by breeding crop varieties that are well adapted to their region, often in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. U of I maintains foundation seed of its varieties, as well as some other public varieties that are popular among area growers. Foundation seed is the first generation of seed in the certification process, sold to commercial growers to produce certified and registered seed. In Moscow, U of I raises foundation seed of mustard, small grains, canola, wheat, rapeseed and garbanzo beans. In Kimberly, U of I raises dry bean and small grain foundation seed. In Tetonia and Aberdeen, the university produces foundation seed of small grains and oats. Chad Jackson, operations manager of U of I’s Aberdeen Research and Extension Center, is the university’s interim foundation seed director. U of I also has special agreements to raise foundation seed on behalf of North Dakota State University and Limagrain Cereal Seeds.

Recognizing our college’s contributions toward Idaho seed producers’ success, the IEOSA awards several scholarships each year to CALS undergraduates, conducting in-person interviews on campus in mid-April. Applications for these scholarships will be open from February through March. Though Idaho’s seed production often flies under the radar, it’s significant to the state’s coffers and is invaluable to commercial farmers seeking to raise quality crops. Through its seed industry, supported by U of I and CALS, Idaho lays the foundation for an incredible volume of commercial crops to be raised worldwide and has an impact on addressing world hunger. And the farmers who plant Idaho seed can bank on getting a clean, safe and consistent product.

Michael P. Parrella

Dean
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

By the Numbers

University of Idaho has more scientists in the top 2% in the world than all other research institutions in the state and the Idaho National Laboratory combined, according to the 2024 Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists list. U of I has 54 researchers included on the list, more than 50% of whom are still actively employed and conducting research at the university. Researchers from across the world are categorized into 22 broad scientific fields and 174 subfields. Only those who rank in the top 2% of their subfield are included. The cumulative list started in 1960. In addition to the state’s medical school, Idaho WWAMI, U of I has 4 colleges with researchers on the list — the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), the College of Natural Resources, the College of Engineering and the College of Science. Of the 10 CALS scientists on the list, 7 are current researchers — R.J. Collier, Sanford Eigenbrode, Alexander Karasev, Edwin Lewis, Mark McGuire, Michelle McGuire and Daniel Strawn. The list also contains 5 emeritus faculty members from CALS — Marc Klowden, Matthew Morra, Nilsa Bosque-Perez, Richard Allen and Esmaeil Fallahi.

Our Stories

Undergraduate Research Grants

An institute affiliated with University of Idaho is now accepting applications for a program that awards stipends toward undergraduate research internships and mini-grants to support research projects.

The program, offered through the Institute of Health in the Human Ecosystem (IHHE), is open to University of Idaho undergraduates of any major who are in good standing and have earned at least 16 credit hours related to science, technology, engineering or mathematics. The deadline for undergraduates to apply for a $7,000 research stipend, including research support for a summer internship, is Dec. 20. Undergraduates may also apply for mini-grants of up to $1,000 toward research supplies, instrument time, travel to field sites, etc.

Students have used the mini-grants for purposes such as visiting laboratories of researchers from other institutions to learn new techniques.

The IHHE is funded with a five-year, $500,000 grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. IHHE aims to build a more sustainable human ecosystem through research, teaching and outreach, founded by co-directors Edwin Lewis and Shirley Luckhart. Lewis is a professor in the Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology (EPPN), and Luckhart has a joint appointment in EPPN and the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science. Lewis is principal investigator of REEU and Luckhart is co-principal investigator.

Students who apply for the REEU stipend must identify a faculty member or industry mentor under whom to work and submit a basic application that includes writing a paragraph about their proposal and how it fits into the focus of the chosen mentor’s research program. There’s sufficient funding for the current application period to cover seven undergraduate research stipends and 15 mini-grants per year. Recipients will be announced in late January, based on the novelty of their proposals and the feasibility of accomplishing their objectives.

Thus far, most of the program’s recipients have been mostly sophomores and juniors within CALS, the College of Natural Resources, the College of Science and the College of Engineering. Most participants present their research off campus at various scientific meetings, about a third of participants have had their name listed as an author of published research. Furthermore, all awardees present their work during the annual IHHE Research Symposium, hosted in Moscow during April in recognition of World Health Day.

“For a student who is thinking about graduate school or a professional school, this is a really meaningful addition to how they qualify in their applications,” Lewis said.

The goal of the REEU, which is operated under the Office of Research and Economic Development, is to train students to understand the connections among plant, animal and human health in complex, managed ecosystems. Lewis and Luckhart both understand the value of research opportunities for undergraduates from personal experience.

“If I hadn’t been involved in research as an undergraduate, I would have never even thought about going to graduate school,” Lewis said. “I was the first college graduate from my family. I got involved in research, and it changed everything for me.”

IHHE received a five-year, $500,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to fund the REEU program through the fall of 2026, of which 100% is the federal share.

Chobani Scholars Selected

The Chobani Scholars program has awarded a total of $80,000 in scholarships to four University of Idaho students who are pursuing careers in agriculture, including its first two recipients from the College of Engineering.

Chobani Scholars awards $20,000 scholarships distributed over four years, granting priority to students from the Magic Valley who intend to pursue a career in food production and the dairy industry and may not have the financial means to attend college on their own.

Chobani, the maker of America’s No. 1 yogurt brand, operates one of the largest yogurt manufacturing facilities in the country, located in Twin Falls, and has offered the scholarships to U of I students from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) since 2018. This year’s cohort has been expanded to include students from a variety of degree fields connected to agriculture and food production, including students from the College of Engineering.

“Kudos to Chobani for stepping up and working with us to develop this impactful program that lifts gifted students, Idaho agriculture and the state’s important dairy sector,” CALS Dean Michael Parrella said. “This is an ideal partnership between academia and industry that’s established a pipeline of creative minds to fill in-demand positions in agribusiness while expanding opportunities for Idahoans.”

Of the students in the first Chobani Scholars cohort, who earned their bachelor’s degrees in the spring of 2023, two are currently in their second year of veterinary school at Washington State University, one is selling John Deere farming equipment, one is a reproductive specialist for a dairy genetics company and one is a U of I graduate student studying dairy science.

“Chobani’s recognition of the collaboration between agriculture and engineering is a testament to the industry’s leadership in food production, sustainability and resource management,” said Suzie Long, dean of the College of Engineering. “These scholarships maximize our students’ ability to contribute to innovations that will change the way we think about our food, our health and our world.”

The new cohort brings the total number of U of I Chobani Scholarships to 25.

About the 2024 Chobani Scholars

Jack DeJong of Wendell is an agricultural economics major with an emphasis on agribusiness. “Agriculture and the food industry are extremely important to the economy of Idaho. The agricultural and food industries of Idaho are large contributors to the economy in the form of jobs, revenue, taxes and exports. I hope that by earning my degree in agricultural economics I can help sustain the agricultural industry in our area. There are so many avenues that my degree could lead me toward. Farming, dairy, banking, commodity sales and risk management are just a few of them. I want to explore all my options, and I believe attending University of Idaho will be the best place to prepare me for my future in agriculture.”

Megan Taber of Shoshone is a mechanical engineering major with a minor in animal science. “The Chobani Scholarship enables me to prioritize my time in favor of my education. Growing up on my family’s dairy and crop farm, the intimate realities of farming are an intrinsic aspect of my life. I was drawn to engineering through experiences with heavy equipment on the farm. I want to be a part of the new era of advancement in ag machinery and the automotive industry. I am a member of the U of I Clean Snowmobile Challenge Team and am currently leading a project for implementing a vehicle emissions control strategy on our competition sled to ultimately reduce the emissions output of our machine.”

Tori Albritton of Filer is a mechanical engineering major. “Before joining a robotics team and competing in the global nonprofit robotics program FIRST Robotics, I did not believe that I had a place within agriculture. I grew up on a small farm. I know the life. But I’d never successfully kept a garden alive and have always been too queasy to go into veterinary medicine. Robotics might not be the typical route for agriculture, but it’s what sparked my interest in mechanical engineering to pave the way for innovation in agriculture and to continue allowing agriculturalists to feed the rest of the population. As a first-generation college student, the only way for me to attend college has been through sheer grit and determination. Every late night I’ve worked and opportunities like the Chobani Scholarship have allowed me to continue to pave a pathway for not just my own future, but also for my younger siblings. As I continue my education, my driving force is knowing that I will one day get to join the 2% that feeds the other 98% of the nation, but from an engineering perspective.”

Kaycie Theurer of Buhl is majoring in agricultural education. “Watching my ag teacher throughout the years, I discovered that I have a passion for advocating for agriculture. I finalized my decision when I got the opportunity to do an ag in the classroom lesson with my local third graders. There were about 100 kids and watching the way they asked questions and got involved made me realize I want to do this for the rest of my life. Honestly, it's sort of scary going into this field, but I know that's why I need to do it. Now more than ever, our society needs to be reminded where their food comes from, and that’s why ag education is so important. I hope to continue bringing agriculture into society one student at a time.”

Ag Outlook Seminar

Registration will be open through Dec. 13 for an annual University of Idaho Extension seminar featuring input cost analysis and supply, demand and price outlook presentations covering Idaho’s major commodities.

The 2024 Idaho Ag Outlook Seminar will be hosted Dec. 18 at the Hilton Garden Inn Boise Downtown, 348 S. 13th St., Boise. Those who are unable to attend in person may register to participate virtually. A $35 fee will be charged for both in-person and online participants, and lunch will be provided to those who attend in person.

Opening remarks will begin at 9 a.m., with the day’s final presentation ending at 4:15 p.m. Food producers, agency officials and others involved in Idaho agriculture use the seminar as an opportunity to brush up on trends and guide decisions about the upcoming growing season.

In prior years, UI Extension hosted separate seminars in Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Nampa and Lewiston.

“Going to one event, it’s a lot easier for us to bring in high-caliber speakers and really focus on making it a high-quality event,” said Brett Wilder, a UI Extension agricultural economist and the seminar’s organizer.

Wilder has taken the lead on preparing a highly anticipated report on the state’s net farm income and gross crop revenues in 2024, called “The Financial Condition of Idaho Agriculture.” The state Legislature and the Idaho Tax Commission use the report’s data to help forecast revenue. Wilder will unveil the findings of his report, completed with assistance from agricultural economist Xiaoxue “Rita” Du, during the seminar.

“The thing that made me feel really good was how close we were last year — just a percentage off,” Wilder said.

Wilder projects farm profits for 2024 will be down significantly to their lowest point in at least three years. The report will show cash receipts for most crops have been lower while cost of production was relatively flat, leading many commodities to be less profitable. For example, prices of feed, including alfalfa and corn, are down, and a potato supplies glut led to a soft spud market, but the cost to produce those crops changed very little since a year ago. Livestock represents a bright spot. The beef market is especially strong, as the nation’s beef herd is now the smallest that it’s been in more than 60 years. Though gross revenue should be relatively flat for dairy producers, Wilder projects dairy profit margins will be greater this year because of lower feed prices.

“Dairies have an insurance product that pays based on margins, and last year for the first time ever, it paid every single month because margins were so terrible,” Wilder explained.

The seminar’s agenda also includes an Idaho agriculture policy outlook by Dexton Lake of Idaho Farm Bureau Federation; an analysis of national and global macroeconomic trends by AgWest Farm Credit’s Idaho President, Doug Robison; a water and weather outlook by National Weather Service Senior Hydrologist Troy Lindquist; a grains outlook by Area Extension Educator Colby Field; a report on input cost trends by Xiaoli Etienne, U of I associate professor and Idaho Wheat Commission endowed chair in commodity risk management; a hay outlook by UI Extension Educator Steve Hines; a potatoes outlook by UI Extension agricultural economist Patrick Hatzenbuehler; a report on other major crops including sugarbeets and onions by Colby Field; a beef outlook by Wilder and a dairy outlook by Dustin Winston, a commodity analyst with StoneX Group Inc.

Wilder is encouraging county UI Extension offices to host watch parties in which they livestream the event for local producers and others from outside of the Treasure Valley who wish to participate without traveling.

“It’s always less exciting to talk about things when it’s less rosy, but I think when we’re not at all-time highs it’s even more important to know where the market sits and what our opportunities are to maximize what we can get for our commodities,” Wilder said.

Faces and Places

Assistant Professor Yimin Chen, nutritional sciences doctorate student Katelyn Heckathorn and former U of I postdoc Chloe Josefson recently attended the 2024 Annual International Milk Genomics Consortium Symposium in Davis, California. Heckathorn presented her research on the anti-inflammatory effects of human milk peptides.

Dinesh Gulati, doctorate student from Ferozepur, Punjab, India studying water resources with an emphasis on engineering and science, was selected as an Irrigation E3 Student by the Irrigation Association. The E3 Student program provides students with exposure, experience and education that revolves around the irrigation industry. The program sponsored Gulati's attendance at the 2024 Irrigation Show in Long Beach, California Nov. 4-7.

Senior Instructor Sara Matthews recently presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for the Education of Young Children in Anaheim, California. Her presentation topic was: “Using artificial intelligence in higher education: Crafting pedagogy that enhances learning, critical thinking and ethical responsibility in early childhood educators.”

University of Idaho Extension’s Cultivating Success program has scheduled a virtual workshop for Dec. 6 titled “Is a Small Farm in Your Future?” The three-hour, intensive workshop is designed to help participants explore the development of a small farm and create a plant for achieving the goal. Explore potential markets and profitability for different enterprises, network with others and learn what it takes to begin and sustain a small-scale farming business. Contact Colette DePhelps for more information. Cultivating Success offers a series of courses that provide farmers and ranchers with the planning and decision-making tools, production skills and support necessary to develop a sustainable small acreage farm or ranch.

Stephen Cook, a professor and head of the Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, is featured in episode 8 of “The Vandal Theory“ podcast, titled “Taming the Huckleberry.”

Rita Franco, a nutritional sciences doctorate student, placed second in the U of I Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition and received the People's Choice award. Franco will compete at the statewide 3MT event in Idaho Falls in February 2025. Franco is studying the impact of egg consumption on child health in Guatemala under the mentorship of Assistant Professor Ginny Lane.

Patrick Hatzenbuehler and Hernan Tejeda, both with the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, helped organize Negotiations in Agriculture, a professional development program to help Extension professionals answer stakeholders’ questions pertaining to agricultural leases. The training was hosted as part of the Agricultural Leases Workshop, which was hosted Nov. 13-14 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Las Vegas, funded by a $88,666 grant from USDA Western SARE. The event in Las Vegas was the second in-person training covered by the grant and included an audience of producers and Extension professionals from Idaho, Wyoming, California, Kansas, Montana and Guam.

Eighteen CALS students traveled to Kansas City, Missouri for the Agriculture Future of America Leaders Conference where they networked with industry professionals and connected with other students from across the nation.

Eight students in the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences recently were initiated into the Zeta chapter of Phi Upsilon Omicron, an honor society in the integrated field of family and consumer sciences. The society offers its members an empowering environment of lifelong learning, leadership building and ethical scholastic excellence. The initiated students include Ava Arrotta, Abbigail Bishop, Brenda Danqua, Kenzie Eppey, Della Wheatcroft, Isabella Zimmerman and Ambur Robbins.

Alan Poplawsky, a research associate in the Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, retires on Nov. 27 after 36 years of service to the University of Idaho.