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CapitalPress.com
February 6, 2015
People & Places
Researcher to study potato storage
Yi Wang goes from
trials to studying
physiological
mechanisms
Western
Innovator
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
KIMBERLY, Idaho — Yi
Wang aims to help the Idaho
potato industry better under-
stand the physiological mech-
anisms responsible for prob-
lems that may take place in
potatoes during storage.
Wang, 29, who will start
March 20 as University of
Idaho’s new potato storage
physiologist, has already
made a name for herself as a
national leader in the potato
industry.
As a post-doctoral re-
searcher with University of
Wisconsin-Madison, she su-
pervised agronomic trials
in six states — Wisconsin,
Maine, North Dakota, Min-
nesota, Idaho, Washington
and Oregon — to test new,
low-acrylamide potato breed-
ing lines.
In 2002, scientists discov-
ered acrylamide, a chemical
found in carbohydrate-rich
foods cooked at high tem-
peratures, was a possible car-
cinogen. In response, potato
processors launched the Na-
tional Fry Processing Trial,
funded with a Specialty Crop
Research Initiative grant, to
develop low-acrylamide po-
tato varieties. As supervisor
of the agronomic trials, Wang
maintains a database on yield,
quality and other attributes of
varieties coming out of the fry
Yi Wang
Age: 29
Job: Incoming potato
storage physiologist with the
University of Idaho’s Kim-
berly Research & Extension
Center
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Yi Wang, who will start in March as the University of Idaho’s potato storage physiologist in Kimberly,
holds a Payette Russet. She has overseen the agronomic trials that evaluated the new line, developed
through a multi-state breeding effort to find potatoes low in acrylamide, which may be linked to cancer.
processing trial.
She’ll continue leading
the national agronomic trials
while in Idaho, until the proj-
ect ends in August of 2016.
Wang, originally from
Central China, earned her
Ph.D. in potato physiology at
Wisconsin, where her disser-
tation focused on causes of
stem-end disorder in chipping
potatoes. She learned the crop
problem is strongly correlated
with late-season heat stress.
She has three major areas
of interest for research when
she starts work at UI’s Kim-
berly Research & Extension
Center. She plans to investi-
gate the underlying physio-
logical mechanisms affecting
performance of potato variet-
ies in storage, and to identify
predictors of success that may
be useful to breeders. She
hopes to find what causes po-
tatoes to have the light, fluffy
texture that processors and
quick-serve restaurants favor.
“This is really a new re-
search area,” Wang said. “Al-
most no one has done any-
thing on it before, but it’s very
important to the industry.”
Finally, she intends to
evaluate lines from the Ab-
erdeen UI and USDA potato
breeding programs for tu-
ber-end defects, with the goal
of pinpointing the mecha-
nisms that cause them.
Wang’s arrival will free
UI Extension potato spe-
cialist Nora Olsen to spend
more time in the field and
to focus greater attention on
variety-specific storage man-
agement techniques. Olsen,
who will work closely with
Wang in Kimberly, explained
Wang’s position has been
mostly vacant since Gale
Kleinkopf retired in 2003,
with another scientist filling
in for a few years in the in-
terim. Wang will be in charge
of the unique potato storage
research facility in Kimberly.
“What she’s figuring out
will help us make a lot of
recommendations to grow-
ers,” Olsen said. “We see the
(storage) responses. We need
to understand at a more min-
ute depth what are some of
the mechanisms going on and
Education: Bachelor’s
degree in biology from Nan-
jing Agricultural University
in China; Ph.D. in potato
physiology from University
of Wisconsin-Madison;
post-doctoral researcher
with UW
Family: Her mother, Minsang
Zhang, and father, Hong-
peng Wang, live in Central
China, and her uncle, Renyi
Zhang, is an atmospheric
scientist at Texas A&M.
Hometown: Currently Mad-
ison, Wis., but soon to be
Twin Falls, Idaho.
why we see those responses.”
Wang believes working in
Idaho’s famous potato indus-
try will open up grant oppor-
tunities, as well as the poten-
tial for her research to have a
big impact on a large number
of growers.
“Idaho is the center of po-
tato production in this coun-
try, and I’m really glad I can
be near to those crucial grow-
ers and processors,” Wang
said. “I’m very sure I will
learn a lot from them.”
Miller crowned Oregon dairy princess-ambassador
SALEM, Ore. — Emma
Miller, representing Linn and
Benton counties, was crowned
the 2015 Oregon Dairy Prin-
cess-Ambassador during recent
ceremonies.
The 56th annual coronation
was hosted by the Oregon Dairy
Women at the Red Lion Hotel
in Salem. Miller was among six
county contestants vying for the
2015 title. Megan Sprute, rep-
resenting Washington County,
was named first alternate, ac-
cording to a press release.
Miller, 20, originally from
Independence, is a student at Or-
egon State University where she
is studying agricultural sciences
in hopes of becoming a high
school agriculture educator.
“I am passionate about agri-
culture,” Miller said in the press
release. “I hope to help students
find their passion as well.”
In college, she is actively
involved in the Oregon State
Dairy Club, the Agricultural Ed-
ucation Club and is second vice
Newly crowned 2015 Oregon
Dairy Princess-Ambassador
Emma Miller, left, with Megan
Sprute, First Alternate Oregon
Dairy Princess-Ambassador.
Photos courtesy of Oregon Dairy Women
Emma Miller reacts as she is announced the 2015 Oregon Dairy
Princess-Ambassador by 2014 Princess-Ambassador Danielle Bull.
president of Sigma Alpha, a pro-
fessional agricultural sorority.
Her speech during the con-
test, titled “Dairy Farming
and America’s Future Gen-
erations,” discussed her pas-
sion and appreciation for the
hard-working dairy farmers
who produce one of her favor-
ite things, milk. Miller spent
two days in interviews, giving
impromptu speeches and in-
teracting with the three judges
before she was selected.
Miller will spend the next
12 months traveling statewide
attending fairs, town meetings
and public events as a repre-
sentative of Oregon’s dairy
farmers. Much of her reign will
be spent in Oregon elementary
schools delivering educational
presentations about life on a
dairy farm and the nutritional
benefits of consuming dairy
products.
Upon being crowned, Miller
received over $3,000 in schol-
arships. Outgoing Dairy Prin-
cess-Ambassador Danielle Bull
received over $14,000 for her
year. She met with over 15,000
students, telling them of the
benefits of dairy products and
about life on a dairy farm.
Megan Sprute, represent-
ing Washington County, was
named first alternate Oregon
dairy
princess-ambassador.
Also a recipient of scholar-
ships, Sprute will assist in the
promotion of the dairy industry
throughout the state in the com-
ing year. Courteney Ellis of
Clackamas County was voted
by her peers to receive the con-
geniality award.
The other finalists included
Teri McGettigan of Columbia
County, Sara Pierson of Marion
County and Charish Ingram of
Tillamook County.
Oregon Dairy Women is an
all-volunteer, nonprofit organi-
zation with the main objective
to promote the dairy industry.
Teams show off potato peeling skills at spud conference
Priscilla Griffith, Miner-
va Garnica and Jesse
Mercado of AgWorld
Support Systems
peel potatoes Jan. 27
during the first potato
peeling competition at
the Washington-Ore-
gon Potato Conference
in Kennewick, Wash.
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
KENNEWICK, Wash. — No blood,
no glory when it comes to peeling
spuds.
The Washington-Oregon Potato
Conference kicked off last week in Ken-
newick, Wash., with the first potato peel-
ing competition.
Conference board members hatched
the idea to offer a potato peeling contest,
said Ryan Holterhoff of the Washington
State Potato Commission.
Six teams with three members each
paid a $100 entry fee. The conference
shared the proceeds with the Hanford
Reach Interpretive Center agriculture ex-
hibit in Richland, Wash.
Each team had 90 seconds to peel as
many potatoes as possible using con-
test-assigned peelers. The winners from
the first two rounds then squared off for
Matthew Weaver
Capital Press
the title, and had two minutes to peel as
many potatoes as cleanly as possible.
Priscilla Griffith, Minerva Garnica
and Jesse Mercado of AgWorld Support
Systems in Moses Lake, Wash., took
home the trophy.
The winning team members said
their company CEO informed them
they would be competing.
“We’re here to support our growers
and processors, just like we do in our ev-
eryday duties,” Mercado said.
They did not practice beforehand.
Garnica attributed the victory to wanting
the win.
Bandages were on hand, which was
good — Griffith cut herself during the
competition.
The teams peeled a test variety of
potato, A06021-1T, supplied by Wash-
ington State University potato specialist
Mark Pavek.
The variety has a high fresh-pack
yield, stores well and doesn’t seem to
bruise too badly, Pavek said.
The Russet variety was also on the
lunch menu to determine what confer-
ence attendees think of its taste, Pavek
said.
Pavek said the variety has been raised
in trials in Idaho, Oregon, Washington,
Colorado and Texas, and still has four
years before its commercial release.
Holterhoff said he hopes to contin-
ue the potato peeling contest.
“It may be one of those things that
we’ll get a few people involved this
year, and I would expect that next year
there will be more interest,” he said.
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Index
California ................................ 9
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Calendar
FEBRUARY
NATIONAL
Feb. 19-20 — Family Farm Alli-
ance annual meeting, Monte Carlo
Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, 707-
998-9487 or ffameeting@aol.com
Feb. 23-26 — Potato D.C. Fly-
In, sponsored by the National Potato
Council, Mayflower Renaissance
Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave. NW,
Washington, D.C., www.nationalpo-
tatocouncil.org
OREGON
Feb. 7 — Oregon Pork Pro-
ducers Annual Meeting and Ed-
ucational Workshops, 8 a.m.-4
p.m., Oregon State University,
Corvallis, 541-737-1906, mat-
thew.kennedy@oregonstate.edu
Feb. 19-21 — Oregon Logging
Conference, Lane County Fair-
grounds and Convention Center,
Eugene, 541-686-9191, www.ore-
gonloggingconference.com
Feb. 24-25 — Oregon Dairy
Farmers Annual Convention, Sa-
lem Conference Center, www.
dairyfarmersor.com/101-conven-
tion-general
CALIFORNIA
Feb. 10-12 — World Ag Expo,
International Agri-Center, Tulare,
http://www.worldagexpo.com/
Feb. 25 — Sutter-Yuba-Colu-
sa-Yolo-Solano-Sacramento Walnut
Day, Veterans Hall, Yuba City, 530-
822-7515, http://cesutter.ucanr.edu
IDAHO
Feb. 26-27 — Idaho Hay and
Forage Conference, Best Western
Burley Inn, www.idahohay.com, 208-
888-0988 or cindy@amgidaho.com
Feb. 27 — Drones for Forestry
workshop, 1:15-4:30 p.m., University
of Idaho Extension, 1808 N. Third Ave.,
Coeur d’Alene, $15, 208-446-1680
Horse Fair & Expo, Linn County
Fair and Expo Center, Albany, www.
equinepromotions.net
MARCH
OREGON
March 16-17 — Oregon State
University Blueberry School, LaSells
Stewart Center and CH2M Hill Alum-
ni Center, OSU campus, Corvallis,
http://osublueberryschool.org/
March 20-23 — Oregon FFA
State Convention, Silverton, www.
oregonffa.com
March 20-22 — Northwest
CALIFORNIA
March 3 — Walnut (7-year-olds)
No Pruning-Pruning Comparison
Field Meeting, morning, Nickels Soil
Lab, Arbuckle, 530-822-7515, http://
cesutter.ucanr.edu
March 3 — Walnut (2-year-olds)
No Pruning-Pruning Comparison
Field Meeting, afternoon, Nickels
Soil Lab, Arbuckle, 530-822-7515,
http://cesutter.ucanr.edu
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