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VOLUME 88, NUMBER 48
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NUTRITION
Concept of breeding for
enhanced nutrition may
fi nally be coming of age
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
F
or the past decade, Pat Hayes
has participated in a project
with a surprisingly unusual
goal among the nation’s crop
breeders — selecting seed with
nutrition in mind.
Even in his own lab, the Oregon State
But Hayes believes the concept of breeding
for enhanced nutrition may fi nally be coming
Illustration by Randy Wrighthouse/EO Media Group
“
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Victor Raboy, a crop scientist with USDA’s Agricultural Research
Service in Aberdeen, Idaho, holds corn he raised in an experiment
to demonstrate the effects of epigenetics, a burgeoning science that
fi nds environmental factors can have heritable impacts on DNA of
progeny. Raboy has been active in research to enhance nutritional
qualities of food and believes epigenetics demonstrates that nutri-
tional decisions of parents can impact subsequent generations.
A farmer is not going to
grow low phytic acid corn
if they’re getting 5 to 10
percent less yield. ... The
low phytic acid corn is so
much more nutritious, but
there’s less yield.”
Victor Raboy
Crop scientist with USDA’s Agricultural
Research Service in Aberdeen, Idaho
Crop researchers throughout the country
agree there’s historically been little attention to
bolstering levels of key vitamins, minerals and
compounds in fresh foods.
But times may be changing as produce de-
partments slowly introduce unique varieties
making bold health claims — such as Del Mon-
te’s pink pineapple, genetically engineered with
high levels of cancer-fi ghting lycopene.
Fresh meats, dairy products and eggs with el-
evated heart-healthy Omega 3 fatty acid content
have also made their way into supermarkets.
And the trend hasn’t been missed by commodi-
ty crops, where public and private breeders are
racing to develop soybeans without artery-clog-
ging trans fats.
Turn to FOOD, Page 12
Washington ecology signals softening on manure rules
Dairy leader: Department of Ecology is listening
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA — The Washington Depart-
ment of Ecology likely will exempt smaller
dairies from expensive new manure-han-
dling rules and also drop its assumption
that clay-lined lagoons always pollute
groundwater, a DOE offi cial said Friday.
The dairy industry remains alarmed by
the prospect of DOE regulating manure
lagoons, which has been the Washington
State Department of Agriculture’s job since
1998. But Washington State Dairy Federa-
tion policy director Jay Gordon said DOE
has at least been listening to dairy farmers’
concerns.
“I will give ecology credit. Their ears
are open,” he said.
DOE has proposed regulating manure
lagoons in a fashion similar to industrial
plants that discharge wastewater, The agen-
cy says the rules are necessary to protect
groundwater.
DOE maintains that even clay-lined
manure lagoons built to Natural Resources
Conservation Service standards leak. But
at a Senate committee meeting and in an
interview afterward, DOE special assis-
tant Kelly Susewind said the department is
moving away from its stance that the seep-
ing manure always reaches groundwater.
The department likely will assume the
burden of proof to document groundwater
pollution at individual farms before requir-
ing a producer to obtain a confi ned animal
feeding operation permit, a shift in posi-
tion from the DOE’s tentative proposal in
October. “It’s a huge change,” Susewind
said.
Turn to RULES, Page 12
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
A lagoon stores manure at a dairy farm in Ferndale, Wash.. The
Washington Department of Ecology has proposed new lagoon
regulations, alarming dairy farmers who argue the rules are unnec-
essary and be expensive to comply with.
Oregon’s water demand to grow by 15 percent by 2050
Longer and warmer growing seasons will require more water
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
By 2050, Oregon’s an-
nual demand for water will
increase by 1.3 million acre
feet — enough to fi ll 640,000
Olympic swimming pools,
according to state water reg-
ulators.
That’s an increase of
roughly 15 percent from to-
day’s annual usage of about
8.425 million acre feet.
Oregon’s agricultural in-
dustry, which uses about 85
percent of the state’s water, is
expected to need 6-9 percent
more water over the next 35
years because growing sea-
sons are expected to become
longer and warmer, according
to the Oregon Water Resourc-
es Department.
Because of a projected
population increase of 1.5
million people, Oregon’s
municipal and industrial wa-
ter use is projected to grow
by 20 percent by 2050, ac-
cording to the agency’s find-
ings.
Based on crop and irriga-
tion trends, the southeastern
portion of the state will like-
ly see the greatest increase in
water demand, particularly
Klamath, Lake and Harney
counties, said Rachel Lovell-
ford, an OWRD hydrologist,
during the Nov. 20 meeting of
the Oregon Water Resources
Commission.
As average annual tem-
peratures are expected to rise
— between 2 and 8 degrees
Fahrenheit, according to
OWRD — crops will require
more water earlier in the sea-
son, Lovellford said.
Farmers of alfalfa, for ex-
ample, are expected to increase
the number of cuttings they
harvest each year, she said.
Meanwhile, growers are
expected to become more de-
pendent on irrigation, rather
than rainfall, Lovellford said.
Currently, rainfall accounts
for 30 percent of water needs
of Oregon crops, while irriga-
tion provides 70 percent, she
said.
That ratio is expected to
shift to between 26 and 29
percent rainfall and 71 and
74 percent irrigation by 2050,
Lovellford said.
The agency arrived at its
conclusions by analyzing sev-
eral climate scenarios under
Turn to WATER, Page 12