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16 CapitalPress.com September 4, 2015 Subscribe to our weekly dairy or livestock email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Dairy/Livestock UI to test water filtration system on dairies By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press MOSCOW, Idaho — A University of Idaho professor who developed a mobile facil- ity that cleans dirty water and converts the pollutants into fertilizer plans to start testing his experimental technology on dairy lagoons in late Sep- tember. Greg Moller, a professor of environmental chemis- try and toxicology, built his demonstration-scale machine — a 40-foot-long, 9-ton fil- tration system mounted on a trailer — with a $427,000 grant from the Idaho Depart- ment of Commerce’s Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mis- sion. Moller explained the ma- chine is an updated version of a technology he pioneered about a decade ago, called reactive filtration water treat- ment. His original system Courtesy of Greg Moller The Nutrients-Energy-Water Tech filtration System, mounted on the trailer pictured above, was developed by University of Idaho pro- fessor Greg Moller and is scheduled to be tested for cleaning the UI’s research dairy in late September. The experimental technology pulls pollutants out of tainted water and converts them into fertilizer for agriculture. utilizes a filter of sand coat- ed in iron — which acts as a sponge attracting pollutants and pulling them out of sus- pension — and has been im- plemented at municipal water treatment facilities through- out the world, including in three Idaho cities, Plummer, Grangeville and Hayden. A second version of the technology also treats water with ozone, which sterilizes pathogens including viruses, bacteria, antibiotics and trace organic compounds. The latest incarnation, called Nutrient-Energy-Wa- ter Tech, works by adding a biochar powder treated with iron to water, where it bonds with pollutants. Water is again treated with ozone and then filtered through iron- stained sand. Moller said the biochar, which becomes in- fused with key agricultural nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen as it cleans, can be converted into pellets to aid in both soil tilth and fer- tility. “We’re recovering water so it can be re-used, pulling out nutrients and pollution and addressing food security issues,” Moller said. Moller said farmers who use biochar could potentially be eligible for future carbon trading credits due to the car- bon sequestered in the prod- uct. J.R. Simplot Co. is part- nering on the project to evalu- ate the nutrient-enhanced bio- char as a sustainable fertilizer source. Blue Water Technolo- gies, of Hayden, has licenced Moller’s previous innovations and is also a research partner on the current project. Moller has tested the trail- er, which has the capacity to process 15 to 25 gallons of water per minute, on wa- ter that has undergone ini- tial treatment at the Moscow wastewater treatment plant, but still contains elevated nu- trient loads. Moller said the trailer will soon commence with testing on the lagoon at UI’s research dairy in Moscow. He intends to test the product at addition- al dairies throughout the state later this year or early next year. Idaho Dairymen’s Asso- ciation has aided Moller by offering letters of support, though the organization hasn’t provided direct financial aid, said executive director Bob Naerebout. “We think all of those types of projects are extreme- ly important in terms of how we can harvest the nutrients out of lagoon water,” Naere- bout said. Naerebout said the asso- ciation has been involved in similar research in the past that hasn’t proven economi- cally feasible for dairy oper- ations, and he’ll “anxiously await” results of dairy test- ing. Moller’s trailer was show- cased during the Idaho Na- tional Laboratory’s Aug. 18 Intermountain Energy Sum- mit in Idaho Nalls, and Moller is scheduled to discuss the breakthrough Oct. 27 during the Northwest Nood Proces- sors Association’s Sustain- ability Summit at the Crowne Plaza in Portland, Ore. Utah State University team creates winning dairy product By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press SUN VALLEY, Idaho — A team of food science students from Utah State University took top honors and $10,000 in the Idaho Milk Processors Association new product competition. The product — called Eu- reka! — is a liquid meat mar- inade made with acid whey produced in the manufacture of Greek yogurt. The prod- uct is comprised of about 65 percent dairy, utilizing a by- product that carries expensive disposal costs. The marinade comes in a resealable pouch containing 16 ounces of liquid marinade and is large enough to hold up to 2 pounds of meat. The students developed two fla- vors — Traditional Savory and Spicy Chipotle Pepper — with the potential for ad- ditional flavors, different size containers and vegetable mar- inades. The product could tap into the growing marinade market with a savory, user-friendly, shelf-stable and self-con- tained marinade pouch, the students said in their presen- tation at IMPA’s annual con- ference. In 2013, U.S. sales of cooking sauces, marinades and dressing totaled $7.4 bil- lion. A 2013-2014 survey of 24,000 Americans found that 82 percent of those house- holds were using some form of barbecue sauce or mari- nade for meat on a regular ba- sis, with more than half using at least two bottles or packag- es per month, they noted. The students conducted a taste panel with 109 panelists to evaluate beef and chicken marinated with their product. On a scale from 1 (dislike extremely) to 9 (like extreme- ly), the products rated in the neighborhood of 7 for smell, appearance, flavor, overall ap- peal and tenderness, the stu- dents said. Cost to produce the mari- nades per 16 ounce package on a large-scale basis would be $0.84 for the Tradition- al Savory and $1.50 for the Spicy Chipotle Pepper, with retail prices ranging from $2.50 to $4. The product has an easy-to-understand label and a ready-to-use marinade in a bag and provides a simple solution for consumers who want a satisfying yet easy meal at home, the students said. “The team from Utah State offered a compelling product with the data and marketing materials to back it,” said Alan Reed, chairman of the contest committee. Jan JacksonoFor the Capital Press Tom Pettyjohn, a Burns, Ore., sheep grower, says he’ll keep going despite the drought and wildfires that have impacted his operation this year. Persistence key to raising sheep in drought-plagued E. Oregon By JAN JACKSON For the Capital Press BURNS, Ore. — Trying to bring a crop to market during the unprecedented drought that has gripped the region is more than a full-time job for sheep grower Tom Pettyjohn. There’s no feed left in the mountains, a shrinking supply of feed in the valley and wild- fires that are either out of control or have burned the range in pre- vious years. It all adds up to a hard year for sheep growers in this isolat- ed part of Oregon. Pettyjohn trails two bands of fine wool sheep onto Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Norest Service land in the sum- mer and sends the ewes to finish out in the valley in the fall. This year he is having trou- ble doing any of that. “We’re bringing two 800- plus bands and another 400 ewes down from the moun- tains a month early because the food has run out,” Pettyjohn said. The grazing is so sparse that “many of them are leaving the flock and coming down the mountain on their own.” Even his dogs are impacted. “I have a young dehydrat- ed herd dog recuperating at the vet’s right now because he was bent on trying to keep them from running,” Pettyjohn said. “To make their way home, they have to go through town so I get calls all the time from folks telling me my sheep are in their yards, the park and any place they find food to their liking,” he said. “They are all home a little early for the winter — in fact the last of them just crossed the highway at the truck stop this morning. “Now I’m hoping for an ear- ly winter.” Pettyjohn, who was born in nearby Nyssa and raised in Burns, grew up in the woods. He remem- bers one past wildfire in particular that his dad helped fight. “My dad drove truck for what in his day was one of the biggest Ponderosa pine mills in the world and was fighting fires on my 10th birthday,” Petty- john said. “My present that year was a helmet with a flashlight attached to it that was left over from the fire. Pettyjohn left the woods for ranching. “I started out in cattle and didn’t get into sheep until some- one gave my daughter 5 ewes. Nrom there I bought a band from Wyoming, bought some from my friend Jim Shepherd and I’m still buying,” he said. “I still have about 100 head of cat- tle, but really I enjoy the sheep. “Right now I’m looking for some place in the valley that has grass that can take about 400 ewes and looking to see what Montana is paying in case I have decide to truck them there.” Shepherd, a Burns rancher and Oregon Sheep Commission member who still keeps a flock of Rambouiletts, talked about working with Pettyjohn. “Right now we all are get- ting ready for the Harney Coun- ty Fair and the drought and fire problems aren’t keeping Tom from donating the use of his steel panels and sheep for the annual Mutton Buster,” Shepherd said. “Nortunately, the drought and fires aren’t affecting the FFA kids who have project sheep as much as the production sheep growers, though the price of hay is getting to them.” Cash dairy prices ride a roller coaster By LEE MIELKE For the Capital Press C ash dairy product pric- es were/are on a roller coaster. After all, this is fair season. The bearish July Milk Production and Cold Stor- age reports provided the down- ward momentum last week and demand provided the uplift. Block Cheddar cheese lost 8 1/4 cents by Thursday but re- gained 4 1/4 Nriday to close at $1.70 per pound, down 4 cents on the week and 63 cents below a year ago. They tacked on an- other 3 cents Monday, as trad- ers awaited Tuesday’s Global Dairy Markets Lee Mielke Dairy Trade auction, and added 2 cents Tuesday, hitting $1.75 per pound. The barrels finished Friday at $1.60, down 9 1/2-cents on the week, 74 1/2-cents below a year ago, and an unsustainable 10 cents below the blocks. They inched a penny higher Monday and jumped 6 cents Tuesday, to $1.67, reducing the spread to an above average 8 cents. Product made its way to Chicago last week, particular- ly barrel, as 10 cars of block traded hands and 31 of barrel. Sales so far this week are min- imal. Some Central cheese man- ufacturers report milk intakes are down slightly, due to the seasonal decline and the in- creased bottling demand for schools, reports Dairy Market News. Cheese production is active with little extra capac- ity available. Cheese makers are buying occasional loads of milk to fill capacity, but only when they can be purchased at or below Class. Cheese demand continues to be good. Prize-winning state fair steer to go to food bank 36-7/#5 SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Now that his stint at the Or- egon State Nair is over, a prize-winning steer will soon be feeding the needy. The Salem States- man-Journal reports that Cas- cade High School students have been raising the steer, named Red Box, with the in- tention to donate his beef to the Marion-Polk Nood Share, where it will head to a food bank so they can give back to their neighbors. Red Box weighs 1,070 pounds, and students say they expect him to be larger when he’s butchered Sept. 23. They are fundraising for another $200 to offset the cost of get- ting his beef U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected. Red Box was crowned grand champion feeder calf at the Marion County Nair. He took third place in the market steer class against other stu- dent groups showing at the Oregon State Nair.