Catching Up with CALS — Aug. 7, 2024

Dean's Message — Importance of STEAAM

A popular buzzword in education is STEM — short for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. There’s a growing belief that a STEM-educated workforce, well versed in critical thinking and problem-solving skills, is crucial for our nation’s continued competitiveness and prosperity. Some also slip in the letter “A,” acknowledging the arts, but in my experience that still leaves us one “A” short. I believe the acronym that really hits the mark is STEAAM, including a second “A” for agriculture. Modern agriculture encompasses each of these core subjects and more, which is why CALS is so well positioned for fruitful collaborations with other colleges on campus.

Agriculture requires a working knowledge of botany, nematology, entomology, chemistry, soil science, environmental science, hydrology and many other sciences. Advanced technologies including soil sensors, anaerobic digestors on dairies, satellite imagery to assess plant health and more efficient machinery are driving ever-increasing yields and improved efficiency. Engineering has improved our equipment, crop and livestock genetics and agronomic practices. Throughout human history, agriculture has inspired works of art, and math is central to precision agriculture, which involves detailed spreadsheets, strategically allocating inputs and generating sufficient data to make informed decisions. Today’s farmer must remain on the cutting edge of technology, master complex economic principles to manage risk and have a scientific mind to keep pace with trendline yields.

Clearly, we cover a lot of ground in CALS to help the industry meet these challenges, and we’re wise to share resources with our peers from other colleges whenever possible. CALS also has a network of Extension scientists at research and Extension centers and in county offices at its disposal to stay connected with stakeholders and widely disseminate our findings, making us attractive research partners.

In recent years, CALS has set the standard for effective cross-college collaborations within U of I. Here are just a few of the many examples of CALS partnering with other colleges to further stretch our finite resources, boost our brand and serve the people of Idaho:

• Shelley McGuire, professor of nutrition and director of our college’s Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences, received $11 million through the National Institutes of Health Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant to establish a biomedical research center furthering studies on women’s health and nutrition. The COBRE welcomes researchers from every college to participate. Ann Brown, an associate professor of exercise physiology and associate dean of graduate studies in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences (EHHS), is among the initial project leads, and the COBRE covers four new faculty positions, including a health psychologist within the Department of Psychology and Communication Studies and an expert at analyzing large datasets related to women’s health from the Department of Mathematics and Statistical Science.
• CALS works in partnership with the College of Business and Economics to offer both a minor and certificate in agricultural commodity risk management. Students pursuing the minor or certificate may participate in our unique Barker Capital Management and Trading Program, which allows students to trade real money on agricultural commodity futures and options. The program’s students should soon have another opportunity to learn via a real-world application when the Idaho Center for Agriculture Food and the Environment (Idaho CAFE) opens. The facility will include the nation’s largest research dairy in Rupert, and we anticipate agricultural economics students will play a role in managing risk for dairy inputs.
• CALS researchers within the Department of Soil and Water Systems, Michael Strickland and Zachary Kayler, are co-directors of the Deep Soil Ecotron, which will study soil at depths down to 3 meters — deeper than any other research facility. A $550,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust will provide funds to equip the Ecotron with a proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer. The machine will monitor a broad range of volatile organic compounds emitted by soil microorganisms, informing researchers about the living components of soils. In addition to Kayler and Strickland, Leda Kobziar and Armando McDonald with the College of Natural Resources (CNR) and Klas Udekwu with the College of Sciences will be among the investigators overseeing the mass spectrometer project. We anticipate a steady stream of federal grants for Ecotron research. In addition, partners in the project from other major universities are participating in discussions about a research agenda for the unique facility.
• Our Department of Agricultural Education, Leadership and Communications receives certification for its program in agricultural education from the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.
• We plan to partner with the College of Engineering on projects in food science and food processing.
• CALS and CNR co-administer Rinker Rock Creek Ranch in the Wood River Valley. It’s a unique, living laboratory for land management and research. Furthermore, the state legislature has approved an addition to the CALS budget for a new UI Extension forestry position to reinforce CNR forestry programs.

Through such collaborations, our research becomes well-rounded and more widely applicable to stakeholders. We recognize the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Michael P. Parrella

Dean
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

By the Numbers

National Farmers Market Week is celebrated Aug. 4-10, and University of Idaho Extension, in partnership with Caldwell Health Coalition, has given the Caldwell Farm to Fork Farmer’s Market a significant boost while helping area seniors through its Senior Produce Program (5 min. video). The program is in the midst of its 4th season. It started in 2021 as a pilot program with $10,000 based on concerns about the area’s senior population due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the program was funded with $16,320 from the City of Caldwell, St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center and Intermountain Health/Saltzer, with 100% of funds going into $8 vouchers for senior citizens to purchase fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods from the farmers markets. During the 2023 season, 487 households participated and 45% of participants said they attended the market specifically because of the program. Furthermore, 93% of vouchers distributed were redeemed. The program benefited from many volunteers, who put in volunteer hours valued at $1,834.23. Youth comprised 39% of volunteers. For 2024, the program received $10,000, spanning 12 weeks from July through September. The program will distribute 104 sets of $8 vouchers weekly during the current season.

Our Stories

Sequencing Ruminant Genomes

A University of Idaho researcher is co-lead of a recent paper outlining forthcoming projects and goals of a multi-institutional and interdisciplinary global collaboration of scientists devoted to sequencing the genomes of ruminant animal species.

Brenda Murdoch, an associate professor in U of I’s Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences specializing in molecular and genetic tools, and several researchers from her laboratory are among 78 authors of “RT2T: A Global Collaborative Project to Study Chromosomal Evolution in the Suborder Ruminantia,” which was published Aug. 5 in Nature Genetics.

Ruminants are animals that chew cud, including cattle, sheep, goats and various deer species. Dubbed the Ruminant Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium (RT2T), the team of scientists aim to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability while supporting the conservation of endangered species. Their new genome assemblies could lead to valuable insights to improve future ruminant genetics.

The project was inspired by the HT2T Human Genome Project, which developed new tools Murdoch and her cohorts are using to sequence the entire ruminant genome from telomere to telomere for several different ruminant species. Telomeres are the end of the chromosomes.

“The work HT2T did ended up adding more sequence — stuff we couldn’t see before because the technology didn’t allow us to see it. They identified more genes,” Murdoch said. “We’re trying to get more sequence information using newer technologies in order to get telomere-to-telomere genomes for all of the ruminant species we outlined in the paper in order to ask questions about chromosome evolution, sex chromosome evolution and genes we did not know were there because we did not get all of that sequence.”

Also representing U of I on the project are Gabrielle Becker, Temitayo Olagunju, Morgan Stegemiller and Shangquian Xie. Other lead institutions on the project include the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), University of Kentucky, University of Connecticut and University of Missouri.

RT2T embraces an open science model, ensuring that the data and results produced are freely accessible to the global research community. This approach advances collaboration derives input and guidance from diverse perspectives and encourages the engaged participation necessary to accelerate scientific discoveries and drive innovation in agricultural research. Scientists worldwide can access this data to conduct further studies, thereby fostering innovations that could reshape farming practices and animal breeding.

In addition to agricultural benefits, the comprehensive genome data produced by the RT2T can play a critical role in conservation efforts. High-quality genomic information is essential for managing the genetic diversity of endangered ruminant species and developing strategies to improve their populations' survival chances.

About the Ruminant T2T Consortium

The Ruminant T2T (RT2T) Consortium is a multi-institution and interdisciplinary global collaboration of scientists with the aim of producing high quality genome sequence of as many extant species as possible in the ruminant clade for a large-scale comparison of the genetic drivers of observed phenotypes underlying the diversity within this clade. The overarching goals of the RT2T consortium titled RT2T: A Global Collaborative Project to Study Chromosomal Evolution in the Suborder of Ruminantia, has recently been published in the journal Nature Genetics. The data from this project will lay the foundation and enable analyses of complete genomes across the ruminant clade to gain a broader understanding of function and evolution. This project is being jointly led by researchers Timothy Smith and Benjamin Rosen at USDA Animal Research Station, Rachel O’Neill at University of Connecticut, Theodore Kalbfleisch at University of Kentucky, Stephanie McKay at the University of Missouri and Brenda Murdoch at the University of Idaho. Funding from the intramural research program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, grant No. 2023-67015-39000, allowed the consortium to meet and embark on this large project.

Researchers Study Early Grazing

University of Idaho researchers are studying if grazing riparian meadows earlier in the season than normal could provide ranchers with extra forage while also sequestering more soil carbon and bolstering vegetation regrowth.

Ranchers typically wait until the ground is firm and plants reach a minimum height, known as range readiness, before turning cattle loose within meadows to avoid compacting the soil and trampling the grasses, shrubs and forbs.

Eric Winford, associate director of U of I’s Rangeland Center, and Laurel Lynch, an assistant professor in the Department of Soil and Water Systems, hypothesize that grazing meadows a few weeks earlier for a short duration of time and at a moderate density could improve long-term soil and plant health. They’re in the first year of a planned multi-year study testing the theory at U of I’s Rinker Rock Creek Ranch in the Wood River Valley. The initial season of the project is funded with $9,000 from the David Little Range Livestock Endowment.

The study was recommended by ranchers who serve on the Rinker Rock Creek Ranch Advisory Board, seeking to shorten the timeframe when they must feed hay to their livestock.

“The question is, can we turn cattle on meadows a bit earlier, taking advantage of the early green-up on meadows — which has a little bit more moisture and is a little bit more nutritious and palatable — and not do any harm to the soils and the plant health,” Winford said. “The committee wanted to understand what changes would happen below ground and above ground if we did turn out these cows early in these meadows.”

The experiment’s initial phase entailed early grazing a herd of 75 cows, moving them through three 100-acre meadows along Rock Creek from early May through early June. Half of each meadow was left ungrazed as a controlled check. The researchers took soil samples before and after grazing, recorded the height of vegetation to estimate utilization, and flew drones to evaluate vegetation composition and productivity. They hope to expand the research to include additional sites in future years.

Lynch will analyze the soil samples. She is optimistic that early grazing will cause plants to shift energy toward building below-ground roots and carbon stores. After grazing, plants leach carbon-rich materials known as exudates into the soil that support the microbiome — soilborne microorganisms involved in recycling carbon and nutrients to feed plant roots.

“I’m excited about the potential for the microbiome to help with carbon sequestration,” Lynch said.

“During early season grazing, cattle will tamp down the above-ground growth, but those plants are investing a lot of resources into building up their belowground energy stores. If grazing stimulates greater below-ground productivity, microbial communities might grow more efficiently, which could assist plant growth later in the season,” Lynch said.

Lynch will extract DNA from soil samples to analyze the effects of early grazing on soil microbial communities for comparison with the control group. She will also measure nutrient concentrations and monitor soil compaction and water infiltration rates.

Hands-on New Minor

A new minor in agricultural commodity risk management (ACRM), offered cooperatively by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) and the College of Business and Economics (CBE), emphasizes hands-on learning to help students navigate an increasingly volatile marketplace.

The minor, launched in the fall of 2023, is an extension of a popular certificate program. The University of Idaho began offering an ACRM certificate in 2018, preparing students for careers in fields such as commodity trading, merchandising or managing cattle and dairy or grain elevator operations.

The certificate, which offers an agricultural economics path and a finance path, is a 12-credit program encompassing CALS courses within the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology (AERS) and finance courses through CBE. Norm Ruhoff, a clinical assistant professor in AERS, UI Extension specialist Hernan Tejeda and Brett Wilder, an area Extension educator who was a graduate student when the certificate was launched, developed curriculum for the certificate in collaboration with the Idaho Barley Commission.

Hiring Associate Professor Andres Trujillo-Barrera, who is now director of the ACRM program, and Associate Professor Xiaoli Etienne, Idaho Wheat Commission Bill Flory endowed chair of risk management, provided the necessary expertise to expand the curriculum and add a 19-credit minor.

“Students from any college at the University of Idaho can now choose this area of emphasis, which reaches beyond our certificate to give them a solid working knowledge of managing risk in today’s volatile world of agriculture,” Ruhoff said. “Interest from students and demand for those students from industry stands as testament to the importance and success of providing graduates uniquely qualified to meet the risk management needs of our global agricultural supply chain.”

Courses that count toward the new ACRM minor cover a wide range of topics: understanding and using futures and options markets, financial analysis of agricultural firms, commodity price analysis, introduction to market trading, market trading strategies, an applied commodity market analysis lab, commodity merchandising, commodity trading, a market trading lab, agricultural markets in a global economy, supply chain analytics and econometrics. Students in the minor may also receive credit toward the minor through an internship and can earn a trading and capital management certificate. Furthermore, students may participate in the Barker Capital Management and Trading Program for credits toward the minor. The Barker Trading Room replicates an open trading floor environment where students trade with actual money, supported by an endowment from the Barker family.

“This is the only program in the United States that actually allows students to trade with real money on agricultural commodity futures and options,” Etienne said. “Some of the other programs under agricultural economics do allow real trading, but it is not direct exposure to futures and options as we do here.”

The program is poised to add innovative new courses.

A planned one-credit summer class, to be called the Portland Grain Trade Tour, will include three lectures and a tour spanning from the Snake River dams at the Port of Lewiston to export terminals and the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Oregon.

“This will help students understand not just the trading aspect but also the transportation and the logistics of the supply chain,” Etienne said, explaining the course must still be approved to count toward the ACRM certificate or minor.

ACRM students may have the opportunity for another experiential learning opportunity involving real money once the university opens the Idaho Center for Agriculture Food and the Environment (CAFE), which will be based in Rupert and will include the nation’s largest research dairy. Discussions have focused on using ACRM students to help manage risks relating to inputs used at CAFE. Students may also help manage some of the facility’s dairy output risk, though a contract will be in place covering most of the production.

“We wanted to find a curriculum that allows us to manage risk over the whole supply chain, in particular looking at those commodities that are important to the Pacific Northwest,” Trujillo-Barrera said. “You are getting to prepare for the job market by doing things that junior employees are actually doing. We are trying to make this learning by doing — experiential learning — and I think that’s unique.”

Faces and Places

Rita Franco, a doctoral candidate in nutritional sciences, recently presented during a World Vision Guatemala webinar that was attended by more than 450 people. Her presentation focused on sharing recent scientific research about food security and nutrition concerns in Guatemala, including research led by Ginny Lane, a faculty member within the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences.

The first pilot grants have been awarded from the university’s new Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) program focused on nutrition and women’s health. The grant is funded by the National Institute of Medical Sciences, which is a component of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The program’s principal investigator and project director is Shelley McGuire, a professor of nutrition and director of the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS). Adrianne Griebel-Thompson, an FCS assistant professor and Extension specialist specializing in childhood nutrition, received a pilot grant to measure the mineral concentration of human milk and compare it to maternal dietary and supplemental intake of these minerals. Aleksandra Hollingshead, chair of the Department Curriculum and Instruction within the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences (EHHS), and EHHS Dean Brooke Blevins received a pilot grant for a project titled “Thriving or Surviving: The Impact of Academic Leadership on Women’s Dietary Behavior, Physical and Mental Health.” They will examine the impact of academic leadership on women’s physical and mental health and overall wellbeing. C.J. Brush, an assistant professor of exercise, sport and health sciences within EHHS, received a pilot grant to identify whether depressive symptoms and cognitive function are influenced by habitual dietary creatine intake in adolescent girls. Creatine is an essential amino acid found in a variety of animal-sourced foods such as eggs. These findings are crucial for establishing whether creatine impacts both brain health and function, which will inform the development of the dietary creatine supplementation intervention that targets cognitive function to reduce subsequent risk for depression among adolescent girls.

Phil Bass, associate professor of meat science in the Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, recently joined the This Is TASTE podcast to discuss innovations happening in the world of beef and brand-new cuts that will soon be available at the grocery store.