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CapitalPress.com
March 6, 2015
People & Places
Cutting-edge technology boosts precision
Olga Walsh wants
to expand use of
drones to make
ag more efficient
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
PARMA, Idaho — New
University of Idaho research-
er Olga Walsh is studying the
use of cutting-edge method-
ologies to help farmers use
nutrients and water more ef-
ficiently.
Walsh, a cropping systems
agronomist, said farmers have
embraced technologies such
as global positioning sat-
ellites but she believes the
next big step is for producers
to adopt the use of precision
agriculture on a large scale
to improve water and nutri-
ent use efficiency.
The technology is already
there to do that, researchers
just need to develop ways to
help farmers determine how
best to use it, she said.
“Our big challenge is to
use these precision tools to
improve the efficiency of
our cropping systems,” said
Walsh, who started work at
UI’s Parma Research and
Extension Center in late
September. “I think in the
future precision agriculture
is going to just be a normal
part of agriculture.”
One of Walsh’s main
priorities is to develop a
system that uses unmanned
aerial vehicles to monitor
wheat fields for nutrient and
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
University of Idaho cropping systems agronomist Olga Walsh uses a pocket sensor to measure crop
reflectance Feb. 27 in a winter wheat field at UI’s Parma research center. Walsh is studying the use of
cutting edge methodologies to help farmers improve water and nutrient use efficiency.
Western Innovator
Olga Walsh
Title: Cropping systems agronomist,
University of Idaho
Education: Bachelor’s degree in
soil science, St. Petersburg State
University, Russia; master’s and Ph.D.
degrees in soil science, Oklahoma State University
Home: Nampa, Idaho
Family: Husband, Stephen, and three children, ages 12, 6 and 3
water stress.
Remote sensing cameras
on the UAVs would show
the light reflectance of the
crop’s canopy and an algo-
rithm specific to Idaho con-
ditions would interpret the
data and show farmers how
they can best use nitrogen
and water to optimize yields.
That type of system al-
ready exists but it is not
specific to Idaho conditions,
said Walsh.
“We just need to develop
the methodology so a grow-
er can go and buy the (drone
and software) as a package,”
she said.
That project will include
using UAVs to drag sticky
traps across wheat fields
so researchers can moni-
tor populations of fusarium
spores and determine if the
field needs to be treated for
the pathogen, which can lead
to fusarium head blight.
Parma research station
superintendent James Bar-
bour said Walsh’s work with
UAVs and other precision
agriculture techniques is ex-
citing, and her background
in that area is one of the rea-
sons she was hired.
“We think (precision ag-
riculture is) going to play a
huge role in agriculture in
the future,” he said. “There
is a lot of untapped poten-
tial there. I think (Walsh) is
going to be a real important
player ... in agriculture in
Idaho.”
Walsh is also working
on a project to develop ref-
erence strips and precision
sensors that can tell a wheat
farmer how much nitrogen is
in a certain part of his field.
“They will know exact-
ly how much nitrogen they
have down ... and can use
that information to gauge
the rest of their crop,” said
Cathy Wilson, the Idaho
Wheat Commission’s direc-
tor of research collaboration.
Walsh also plans to de-
velop sustainable cropping
systems for dual-purpose bi-
ennial canola and evaluate bi-
ological seed and foliar prod-
ucts to improve bean yield
and quality.
She was born in St. Peters-
burg, Russia.
Walsh worked as a soil nu-
trient management specialist
at Montana State University
from 2010 to 2014.
She is looking for growers
interested in precision agri-
culture to work with. She can
be reached at (208) 722-6701,
Ext. 218, or by email at ow-
alsh@uidaho.edu.
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Logging conference opens doors to students
Oregon
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Online
For the Capital Press
EUGENE, Ore. — Compe-
titions, industry accreditation
seminars and displays of the
latest in timber management
equipment were the most ob-
vious components of the 77th
annual Oregon Logging Con-
ference held Feb. 19-21, at the
Lane County Fairgrounds in
Eugene.
Less visible were the more
than 800 third-, fourth- and
fifth-grade students who spent
the better part of a day learning
about the timber industry.
Women in Timber mem-
bers, in cooperation with the
Oregon Forest Resources Insti-
tute, Project Learning Tree and
Society of Oregon Foresters
and other industry groups, have
sponsored the student education
program since 1991. Industry
members consider educating
the young people critical to the
future of Oregon’s forests.
Mary Loftin, a retired teach-
er who volunteers as a Lane
County facilitator for Talk
About Trees, talked about the
Women in Timber: www.
womenintimber.org
For information on free class-
room education programs:
www.oregonforests.org or
www.talkabouttrees.org
Associated Press
FRESNO, Calif. — After
spending 67 years together as
devoted husband and wife, there
was no question how Floyd and
Violet Hartwig would end their
lives — together.
Sensing the couple was close
to death, their children pushed
their two hospice beds together
and gently placed their father’s
hand in their mother’s palm.
Floyd, 90, died first. Vi-
olet, 89, followed five hours
later. They died Feb. 11
at home, just as they had
Photos by Jan Jackson/For the Capital Press
Elementary school children take an outdoor guided tour of equip-
ment and displays at the 77th annual Oregon Logging Conference
in Eugene.
role she played in Friday’s pro-
gram.
About 100 children arrived
at a time and went to a class-
room for a 30-minute overview
of the forest industry, Loftin
said.
“We want them to under-
stand the importance of forest
stewardship and what part it
plays in meeting their own so-
cial, environmental and eco-
nomic needs,” she said. “We
talk about the importance of
science and teamwork, wild-
life and clean water and show
them a short video before they
go into a couple of small group
sessions.”
They also got a guided tour
of the grounds so they could
watch demonstrations and see
the equipment up close.
K.C. VanNatta, a logger
and tree farmer from Colum-
bia County who has attended
Tiffany Roddy, a forester for
Weyerhaeuser, introduces
school children to the boots she
wears on her job in the woods.
the conferences since the early
1970s, believes the future of
the industry relies on educating
young people.
“The next generation will
be right at home with today’s
eco-friendly computer-oper-
ated equipment the size of a
cell phone that can now tell
us where our equipment is lo-
cated and what it is doing, the
diameter measurement of a tree
we are about to harvest and the
weight of the logs as we load
them on the truck,” VanNatta
said. “While us old guys have
had to struggle to learn how to
use the new technology, these
already computer-savvy kids
will find it to be a piece of
cake.”
“Everybody enjoys going
to the conference to see friends
and colleagues, watching the
competitions and getting up-
dates on the latest methods and
equipment,” he said, “but it’s
programs like the Women in
Timber provide that will help
keep our forests alive. Thanks
to them and organizations like
them, these kids are getting
the education they need as
well as an understanding of
what is really going on in the
woods.”
wished, the family said.
“They wanted to go to-
gether,” their daughter, Donna
Scharton, said Thursday. “It was
meant to be that way.”
The two knew each other
as children, growing up in the
Central California farming com-
munity of Easton. Romance
sparked at a local dance hall one
night when Floyd, a decorated
Navy sailor, was home on shore
leave. They were married on
Aug. 16, 1947, and while away
Floyd showered Violet with af-
fection through love letters the
family cherishes.
Returning home for good,
the two raised three children on
their small farm, growing cot-
ton and raising turkeys. Violet
helped on the ranch and kept the
house. She prepared breakfast
early each morning for her hus-
band, seeing him off to work as
a ranch foreman and delivering
eggs.
“They were dedicated to
each other,” Scharton said.
“Even other people who met
them said they had that connec-
tion.”
The couple, who had
four grandchildren and 10
great-grandchildren, remained
active until recently. Around
the holidays, the family noticed
that Violet’s dementia had wors-
ened, and in late January a doc-
tor said Floyd’s failing kidneys
gave him two weeks to live.
The family moved the
couches from the living room
of their ranch house, making
space for the hospice beds. Cyn-
thia Letson said that after her
grandfather passed, they told her
grandmother that she could go,
too. They told Violet that Floyd
was waiting for her.
Letson said her grandpar-
ents are a positive example at
a time with too many broken
marriages.
Fair & Expo, Linn County Fair and
Expo Center, Albany, www.equine-
promotions.net
Fruit Association Annual Meeting, The
Grand Del Mar , San Diego, www.CA-
FreshFruit.com
FFA Conference, Selland Arena,
Fresno, www.calaged.org/statecon-
vention
IDAHO
March 27 — Forestland grazing
workshop, 1 to 5 p.m., Federal Build-
ing meeting room, Seventh Avenue
and College Street, St. Maries, 208-
245-2422, http://www.uidaho.edu/
extension/forestry
APRIL
OREGON
April 18 — Oregon Women for
Agriculture Auction and Dinner, Linn
County Fair and Expo Center, Albany,
503-243-FARM (3276), http://owaon-
line.org/
April 25-26 — AgFest, 8:30
a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday, Oregon State Fairgrounds,
Salem, $9 for adults, under 12 are
free, http://www.oragfest.com
IDAHO
April 8-11 — State FFA
Leadership Conference, College
of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls,
www.idffafoundation.org/
CALIFORNIA
March 17-18 — Fruit Ripening
& Retail Handling Workshop, Uni-
versity of California-Davis, http://
postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Education/
fruitripening/
March 22-24 — California Fresh
CALIFORNIA
April 18-21 — California State
WASHINGTON
April 4 — Washington State
Sheep Producers Lambing and Man-
agement School, Sprague, $50 (mem-
ber), $60 (non-member), 509-257-
2230, dvm@feustelfarms.com
April 6-11 — Washington State
Sheep Producers Shearing School,
Moses Lake
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Index
AP Photo/Cynthia Letson
Floyd and Violet Hartwig pose
together in 2014 in a yard in
Easton, Calif.
Calendar
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 17 — What To Do with
My Small Farm? Oregon State
University Extension Small Farms,
Jackson County, 541-776-7371,
ext. 208 paula.burkhalter@ore-
gonstate.edu. Cost: $25 Register:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/
sorec/farms
March 20-23 — Oregon FFA
State Convention, Silverton, www.
oregonffa.com
March 20-22 — Northwest Horse
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Subscriptions
California couple married 67 years dies holding hands
By SCOTT SMITH
To Place Classified Ads
April 16-19 — Washington
State Spring Fair, Puyallup, 2-10
p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri-
day and Saturday and 10 a.m.-8
p.m. Sunday, http://www.thefair.com/
spring-fair/
MAY
WASHINGTON
May 14-16 — Washington FFA
Convention, Washington State Univer-
sity, Pullman, www.washingtonffa.org/
convention
CALIFORNIA
May 1-2 — Forest Landowners
of California annual meeting, Holiday
Inn, Auburn, www.forestlandowners.
org/
California ...............................11
Dairy .................................... 14
Idaho ...................................... 9
Livestock ............................. 14
Markets ............................... 18
Opinion .................................. 6
Oregon .................................. 8
Washington ......................... 10
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