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CapitalPress.com
July 17, 2015
People & Places
Researcher seeks new markets for crops
Girish Ganjyal’s
laboratory at WSU
explores ways to
add value
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By MATTHEW WEAVER
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PULLMAN, Wash. — Gi-
rish Ganjyal stands by as his
team of graduate students tests
materials in hopes of building a
better puffed cereal.
As Ganjyal watches, Ryan
Kowalski compares corn, wheat
and tapioca starches, pushing
samples through an extruder,
which heats them under pres-
sure so they come out puffed
in a long strand. Students Bon-
Jae Gu slices the strand to make
samples and Sravya Kallu bags
them for testing.
Ganjyal’s work in the val-
ue-added processing laboratory
at Washington State University
seeks to increase the nutritional
value of the puffs, but still main-
tain their taste and texture.
The project is one of many
the laboratory undertakes to
find new markets for crops
Washington farmers grow and
to help processors perfect their
products.
Other research projects in-
clude:
• Increasing soft white wheat
uses in tortillas and cereals.
• New uses for pea and lentil
starches and proteins.
• New uses for quinoa, a
popular gluten-free crop.
• Reducing splits and cracks
in cherries during packing.
• A new drying process for
apple packing.
• Making candies from left-
over cherry materials.
The lab indirectly helps
farmers by creating more mar-
kets for their crops, Ganjyal
said. For example, sprouted
wheat isn’t good for bread. The
dough, instead of being elastic,
becomes viscous. But it could
be used for tortillas or in pow-
der used to make energy drinks,
Ganjyal said.
Another project looks at the
waste from fruit juice process-
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Girish Ganjyal, assistant professor and extension food processing specialist, points to a research poster outlining some of the work his
food processing laboratory is doing on the Washington State University campus in Pullman, Wash.
Western Innovator
Girish Ganjyal
Occupation: Assistant professor and
extension food processing specialist,
Washington State University
Age: 38
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Hometown: Hubli, India
Current location: Pullman, Wash.
Education: Ph.D. in food processing from University of Nebras-
Washington State University Ph.D. student Ryan Kowalski feeds
starch into an extruder in WSU’s food processing laboratory, while
master’s degree student and research assistant Sravya Kallu
prepares to obtain a sample for testing as Ph.D. student Bon-Jae
Gu cuts it March 17.
ing. The lab is studying different
pomaces, which can improve
the juice by adding fiber and im-
proving the taste.
The laboratory also provides
technical assistance to proces-
sors.
Colleen Lamb-Gunnerson,
owner of Dungeness River
Lamb Farm and Lamb Farm
Kitchen in Sequim, Wash., said
Ganjyal’s laboratory evaluated
16 fruit preserve products for
her company.
The lab has helped signifi-
cantly, Lamb-Gunnerson said,
as the products can be sold as
“shelf stable” in a variety of
markets, including the Internet.
“We have confidence, from
Dr. Ganjyal, that our products
will remain safe food products,”
she said.
Susana Rios, production
assistant at Chukar Cherry Co.
in Prosser, Wash., said Ganjyal
has helped identify and correct
the causes of failed batches of
its foods, and improving flavor
profiles and texture.
“Girish’s lab has helped us
not only know what to do, but
why we need to do so,” Rios
said.
The researchers also hope to
modify pea proteins naturally to
increase their solubility for use
in energy drinks. The proteins
ka-Lincoln, MBA from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan.,
News Staff
Family: Wife Uju, son Sahil, 7
N. California
Tim Hearden .................... 530-605-3072
Website: http://foodprocessing.wsu.edu/
could also be used in gluten-free
noodles or cakes.
“That’s adding value to the
existing crops,” Ganjyal said.
“That gives them a whole differ-
ent market.”
“Girish’s work is of signif-
icant value to the agricultural
processing industry,” said Rob-
ert McDaniel, director of com-
munity and economic develop-
ment for WSU Extension. “He
is highly sought after as a prob-
lem-solver, applied researcher
and trainer.”
As consumer demands
change, the industry must com-
bine nutritional value with food
ingredient functions, such as
using healthful pea starch as a
thickening agent for soups, Gan-
jyal said.
The lab has an annual budget
of $300,000 to $500,000, Gan-
jyal said. Funding comes from
commodity organizations, the
National Science Foundation,
USDA, the Economic Devel-
opment Authority and WSU.
Individual companies contribute
as well.
In the long term, Ganjyal
hopes to explore byproducts that
are currently without existing
uses. Some are ever-present, but
others such as sprouted wheat
only happen once in a while.
“But if you find a use for it,
don’t you all of a sudden have
a market?” Ganjyal said. “One
farmer stood up (during a meet-
ing) and said, ‘You know what,
if you find a use for it, I’m going
to go irrigate my wheat.’”
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Cowboy Logic goes visual, but not yet viral
By RYAN M. TAYLOR
For the Capital Press
T
OWNER, N.D. —
There’s a lot of crossover
between work and plea-
sure here on the ranch, and that’s
a good thing. We have horses on
the place for work, but they’re
also a pleasure to use. Others
might say the same thing about
their four-wheeled ATV, or a
nice shop where they service
tractors for the farm and tinker
with old cars for fun.
Life is good when the things
you use to make a living also
help you have a life. When I
bought my last iPad, I knew it
was another tool with a lot of
crossover potential.
Work and non-work
I bought a little keyboard
for it and I’ve typed a bunch
Cowboy
Logic
Ryan Taylor
of columns out on it while I’ve
traveled. I suppose I could
have written those columns at
home before hitting the road but
there’s no excitement in having
them done so far ahead of my
deadline. Best to leave them to
the last minute, pound them out
on that miniature screen and zap
them to the editors via cellular
phone signaled email just under
the wire.
Plenty of non-work is logged
onto the iPad, too. I do a lot of
reading on it, some books but
mostly newspapers. The kids
have watched a movie or two on
it, and our little girl discovered
how much she likes YouTube
music videos, especially from
a couple of young ladies named
Lennon and Maisy.
They were young enough to
directly relate to my daughter.
Maisy was 6 years old in one of
the first videos she found. It had
over 2 million views. When they
sang “Call Your Girlfriend,”
complete with claps and cups,
they got 27 million views. From
there, they ended up on a televi-
sion series and the stage of the
Grand Ole Opry, where they
sang “Ho Hey” and got 8 mil-
lion views.
Passive cash
Before the songs play on
YouTube, there’s a quick ad-
vertisement, which gave me an
idea. Maybe I could make a little
extra money with my iPad and
its integrated video camera. I
could do it myself, no film crew
needed with the “selfie” video
option and my iPad balanced
atop a fencepost or the pickup
dashboard out in the pasture.
Cowboy Logic could hit the
YouTube, and rake in some ad-
vertising dollars to buy the chil-
dren new shoes for school.
Granted, it’s a crowded field.
Every minute (yes, minute),
300 hours (yes, hours) of video
is uploaded to YouTube. They
have more than a billion users
logging billions of views each
day, and half of those views are
on mobile devices. No wonder
tractors need auto-steer technol-
ogy so fields can stay straight
while tech-savvy farmers watch
mobile YouTube videos.
Viewers needed
They even have videos for us
up-and-coming YouTube “cre-
ators” on how to “monetize” our
content in the YouTube “ecosys-
tem.” It’s the one place where
going “viral” is positive. I’d cry
if my cattle herd went viral, but
it’s aerial fist pumps if my vid-
eo goes viral.
Most of the videos on my
YouTube channel are minute-
and-a-half-long pieces I’ve
done for a show called Ag-
Week TV. Go ahead, search out
“Ryan Taylor Cowboy Logic”
and give them a click. My last
upload has 127 views so it’s
going to take a while to reach
Lennon and Maisy status, and
the associated ad monetization.
In the meantime, I’m going
to step away from the screen,
get outside and make sure my
cattle don’t go viral. Looks like
the calf check is going to out-
perform my YouTube channel
this year, and I’m just fine with
that.
Anders Benjamin Christensen, retired farmer, dies at 102
Anders Benjamin Chris-
tensen, a retired farmer and a
charter member and 58-year di-
rector of the Linn Soil and Water
Conservation District, died June
25, 2015, in Albany, Ore. He
was 102.
Known by his friends and
family as Ben, he was born June
9, 1913, in Rowland, Ore. He
was the oldest of four children
born to Katharine and Anders C.
Christensen.
He graduated from Har-
risburg High School in 1932
and worked with his father and
brother on their farm until 1935,
when he pur-
chased a neigh-
boring farm.
He married
Rose Darling on
Oct. 26, 1935.
They had three
Anders
sons,
Anders
Benjamin Clifford, Cecil
Christensen and Hubert.
In his young-
er years he helped build Gap
Road east of Harrisburg using
horses and a Fresno scraper. He
also helped build and maintain
telephone lines in the area when
phone service became available.
He also helped survey and
clear rights-of-way for Consum-
ers Power in the area.
He farmed until 1961 and
ran a tree-planting crew in the
winters. Ben was a charter
member of the Linn Soil and
Water Conservation District. He
not only ran equipment for the
district building ditches, dikes
and leveling fields, he served as
a director for 58 years. He was
treasurer for the State Conserva-
tion District for 45 years.
After retiring from farm-
ing, Ben worked for Lochmead
Farms and Dairy for 30 years.
He joined the Harrisburg
Fire Department in 1941-42.
He helped serve the Fourth of
July breakfast every year until
he was 99. He also assisted with
the fireworks displays.
He enjoyed deep sea fishing
and hunting. For his 100th birth-
day, Ben traveled with family to
Alaska and fished at Seward.
Ben was a member of the
IOOF Lodge for 70 years, he
was also a member of the Charity
Grange for 64 years.
He is preceded in death by his
parents; his wife, Rose; brother
Leonard Christensen; and sisters
Blake Enos and Elsie “Chris”
Bryant.
He leaves behind sons Clifford
of Terrebonne, Ore., Cecil of Eu-
gene, Ore., Hubert (Carolyn) of
Harrisburg, Ore., four grandchil-
dren, six stepgrandchildren and
numerous great-, great-great- and
great-great-great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life will be
held at 2 p.m. July 25 at the Har-
risburg Area Museum.
In lieu of flowers, donations
may be made to Harrisburg Fire
Rescue, Samaritan Evergreen
Hospice and the Harrisburg Area
Museum.
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Index
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Correction policy
Calendar
Saturday, July 18
Friday, July 24
Sunday, Aug. 2
Tuesday, Aug. 4
Washington State Sheep Produc-
ers Ram & Ewe Sale, 11: 30 a.m.-6
UCCE Rice Production Workshop,
8: 30 a.m.-3 p.m. The Refuge
“Rise Up Country” Music Festival,
1-5 p.m. Antelope Church lawn, An-
telope, Ore. 541-395-2507. Kicks
off at 1 p.m. with Joni Harms, Ore-
gon’s award winning singer-song-
writer, followed by a Chuckwagon
Barbecue and the harmonies of
the Mud Springs Gospel Band.
Headlining the festival will be Susie
McEntire, a multi-award winning
entertainer.
Spotted Wing Drosophila Work-
shop, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Eugene
Unitarian Universalist Church,
Eugene, Ore. 208-850-6504.
Topics include understanding
SWD biology, behavior and
seasonal needs; management
tools and practices; monitoring,
identification and fruit sampling
demonstrations.
p.m. Grant County Fairgrounds,
Moses Lake, Wash.
Restaurant, Yuba City, Calif. 530-
538-7201.
Wednesday-
Saturday, July 22-25
Wednesday, July 29
Hood River County Fair, noon-10
p.m. Hood River County Fair-
grounds, Hood River, Ore.
Easy Pay U.S. $3.75/month (direct with-
North Willamette Research &
Extension Center Community Open
House, 4-7 p.m. North Willamette
Research & Extension Center,
Aurora, Ore.
Saturday-Sunday,
Aug. 15-16
Harvest Fest, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Yamhill Valley Heritage Center
Museum, McMinnville, Ore.
503-434-0490. Tractor parade,
threshing, binding and baling oats
using antique farming equipment
and horses. Pioneer kids area,
agricultural displays, music, food
and fun.
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