June 5, 2015
CapitalPress.com
5
UI researchers study giant Palouse earthworm
No ag impact inspected, researcher says
Capital Press
MOSCOW, Idaho — Re-
searchers at the University of
Idaho hope to learn more about a
native earthworm once thought
extinct by building environ-
ments to observe their behavior.
Three presumed giant
Palouse earthworm specimens
were found in mid-May near
Moscow, Idaho, two of which
survived, said graduate student
Chris Baugher.
Identifying them as giant
Palouse earthworms would
require examining them inter-
nally, but there are only “alpha
taxonomists” who are able to do
that, Baugher said. The proce-
dure requires killing the worms,
but the researchers hope to learn
more about the worms and their
burrowing habits, so they want
to keep them alive. Baugher
took DNA samples and hopes to
develop a method where killing
the worms is not necessary.
The worms were found on
a site where the earthworm
has been found before, said
associate professor Jodi John-
son-Maynard.
The earthworm first resur-
faced in 2005 after being thought
extinct. Only a few specimens
have ever been found.
In 2011, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service rejected envi-
ronmental groups’ petitions to
protect the earthworm under
the Endangered Species Act
because it could be more wide-
spread than originally thought,
and because of a general lack
of knowledge about its environ-
ment or the level of threats to
its existence, according to The
Associated Press. A common
nightcrawler may be 4 to 5 mil-
limeters in diameter and roughly
6 inches long. The two speci-
mens are roughly 5 millimeters
in diameter and roughly 7 to 8
inches long, Baugher said.
Johnson-Maynard doesn’t
foresee an impact to agricultur-
al production as more is learned
about the worms. It has never
been found or suspected in an
agricultural field, she said.
“The original discovery was
1897, and it was just a hand-
written note (that) said they
were ‘abundant’ — what does
that mean?” Baugher said. “By
1897, everything that could be
farmed was farmed.”
The worm could “perhaps”
migrate to a very mature no-till
site close by with low distur-
bance, but that hasn’t happened
yet, she said.
Johnson-Maynard
and
Baugher hope to learn more
University of Idaho
researchers hope
to learn more from
one of the suspect-
ed giant Palouse
earthworms found
near Moscow, Idaho
in mid-May.
Courtesy of
Christopher Baugher
University of Idaho
about the worms’ burrowing be-
havior and water movement and
water storage in soils.
Worms can alter an envi-
ronment for other organisms,
affecting water infiltration, in-
creasing nitrogen availability for
plants and improving soil struc-
ture, Johnson-Maynard said.
The researchers also hope to
determine whether the worms
from Central Washington to
the Palouse are one species, or
whether there are multiple spe-
cies. Johnson-Maynard said re-
sults are likely within a year.
University of Idaho associate
professor Jodi Johnson-May-
nard looks on as graduate
student Chris Baugher shows
her some castings made by
the newest suspected Giant
Palouse earthworms May 29
at the lab in Moscow, Idaho.
Baugher hopes to use DNA
from the casts, or feces, to
identify the earthworm.
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
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ROP-23-4-1/#24
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Grain co-op
restructures
from $7.9m
loss in 2014
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Pendleton Grain Growers
sold or closed several divisions
after losing nearly $8 milllion
in 2014 but has refocused on
core business areas and hopes
to regain profitability this year,
its chief executive said.
Rick Jacobson, a Pendleton
native and former Norpac ex-
ecutive called out of retirement
in 2012 to get PGG back on
its feet, said restructuring and
cost containment measures im-
plemented over the past three
years are paying off.
“I’m sitting here feeling
pretty optimistic,” Jacobson
said. “We’re positioned to
make money in the 2015 crop
year.”
PGG, a grain marketing and
supply cooperative founded in
1929, spread itself too thin as it
diversified, Jacobson said. The
co-op jettisoned agronomy ser-
vices, an auto shop, farm sup-
ply business and an irrigation
service. The discontinued ser-
vices accounted for about $7.5
million of the company’s losses
in 2014, Jacobson said.
The co-op also sold excess
inventory and recapitalized its
debts into a new loan package.
Jacobson said PGG has a $20
million line of credit and is in
good position at this point.
The troubles came to light
in 2012 when the USDA tem-
porarily suspended PGG’s
grain license. The suspension
meant growers’ grain deposits
were not guaranteed and was a
“serious issue,” Jacobson said.
The co-op’s board approached
Jacobson and asked him to step
in as manager.
Digging into PGG’s books
revealed severe accounting
problems, including earnings
being overstated by about $10
million over the years. Jacob-
son said the co-op’s accounting
procedures were “inadequate”
but said there was no evidence
of fraud or criminal malfea-
sance.
PGG will now concentrate
on grain, seed, fuel and other
energy products and transpor-
tation, Jacobson. A subsidiary
irrigation business, Precision
Rain, operates in Island City,
Ore.
PGG has a network of 19
grain elevators and serves
wheat, barley, corn and canola
growers.
In a prepared statement,
PGG board Chairman Tim
Hawkins said the co-op will
provide local market services
for years to come.
“We have done the hard
work together,” he said, “and
although some of the steps
were difficult, we are now in a
stronger financial position and
have put in place a meaningful
foundation for the future.”
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