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2 CapitalPress.com December 25, 2015 People & Places Fungus expert spawns truffle orchards Charles Lefevre inoculates trees with culinary fungus Western Innovator Capital Press Charles Lefevre Occupation: Founder of New World Truffieres, which inoculates trees with the fungus that produces truffles Age: 50 Hometown: Eugene, Ore. Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Charles Lefevre, a mycologist, inoculates trees with fungi that produce truffles, which are noted for their aromatic qualities. Lefevre and his wife, Leslie Scott, also founded the annual Oregon Truffle Fes- tival to promote native varieties of the fungus. cessional organisms. When you wipe the slate clean, they’re among the first organ- isms to arrive.” Aside from providing landowners with trees, Lefe- vre conducts site evaluations to see if a property has the basic criteria needed for ef- fective truffle production and what can be done to correct deficiencies. He’s found that the fun- gus is adaptable to a broader range of soil conditions than traditionally thought to be appropriate, likely because the organism is liberated from its natural competitors. Truffles prefer well- drained, rocky soils, but Le- fevre’s first customer planted inoculated trees in an area with a high seasonal water table. “In spite of that, they’re getting good production,” he said, adding that several pro- ductive orchards currently exist in the Northwest. Lefevre produces inocu- lated trees at three nurseries in Oregon and one in Flori- da, though he doesn’t divulge their exact locations to pro- tect his company’s propri- etary technology. New World Truffieres, as the firm is called, is working with nine species of truffle that colonize oak, Douglas fir, hazelnut and pecan trees. Historically found in the wild, truffles were first grown in orchards of inocu- lated trees in France in 1977. The method was replicated in California a decade later. “It proved the concept truffles could be grown else- where in the world,” Lefevre said. The truffle orchard indus- try is still new and will likely follow the trajectory of the U.S. wine industry, he said, noting that the first vineyards were planted in California 150 years ago. “It’s not going to be over- night,” Lefevre said. Aside from producing truf- fle-inoculated trees, Lefevre and his wife, Leslie Scott, launched the annual Oregon Truffle Festival a decade ago to promote native varieties of the fungus. Truffles that are indige- nous to Oregon’s forests have often been considered inferior to European species, or a less expensive alternative to the real thing, but Lefevre has found they are just as aromat- ic if harvested correctly. The practice of raking be- neath trees is common among commercial truffle hunters, but this often yields truffles that are unripe, he said. Specially trained dogs, on the other hand, find truffles that are ready for harvest, offering a measure of quality control, Lefevre said. “If it doesn’t smell, they don’t find it.” Oregon truffles harvested with the aid of dogs fetched more than $700 per pound last winter, up from $40 to $70 when Lefevre began hunting them as a college student 20 years ago. “The goal isn’t to make them out of reach for local people, it’s to give local peo- ple a chance to make more Education: Bachelor of science in biology from the University of Oregon in 1990, Ph.D. in mycology from Oregon State Universi- ty in 2002 Family: Wife, Leslie Scott, and two dogs money,” he said. When Lefevre entered graduate school at Oregon State University in the mid- 1990s, he gathered truffles to supplement his income, but his studies were primarily focused on matsutake mush- rooms, which are also mycor- rhizal. Over the course of his studies, he encountered truffle experts and realized he knew enough about the fungus to begin inoculating trees him- self. In 2000, a landowner in Oregon asked him to inocu- late domestic hazelnuts with the fungus because importa- tion of the trees from outside the state was prohibited for phytosanitary reasons. He then met other land- owners interested in planting orchards, and soon a new company was born. “I launched my business before I ever graduated,” Le- fevre said. “I never needed to apply for a job when I grad- uated.” Oregon FFA students collect 130 tons of food For the Capital Press POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Toll free ............................. 800-882-6789 Main line ........................... 503-364-4431 Fax ................................... 503-370-4383 Advertising Fax ................ 503-364-2692 News Staff N. 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Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048 Photos by Geoff Parks/For the Capital Press Alex Hawes, 17, uses a forklift to unload donated onions for repackaging at Perrydale High School during the school FFA Chap- ter’s Food For All project. Kennewick, Wash. Thursday, Jan. 7 American Farm Bureau Annual Convention, Orlando, Fla. 2016 Precision Farming Expo, Three Rivers Convention Center, Kennewick, Wash. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing offices. 1 year Canada .................................$275 American Farm Bureau Annual Convention, Orlando, Fla. Friday, Jan. 8 Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. 1 year other countries ......... call for quote To submit an event go to the Community Events calendar on the home page of our website at www. capitalpress.com and click on “Sub- mit an Event.” Calendar items can also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR 97301. Idaho Irrigation Equipment Show and Conference, Nampa Civ- ic Center, Nampa, Idaho. An independent newspaper published every Friday. 2 years U.S. .................................$89.99 Lorenz said. The ambassadors line up partners, donors and volun- teers for Food For All, which begins gearing up in October. For example, ambassadors Maddy Ford and Michelle Sekafetz, both 14, contacted “possible partners” — donors, farmers and transport services — via letter. “We then set up appoint- ments with them to go and talk about the program,” Sekafetz said. “All the schools work to- gether on this project,” Sekaf- etz said, adding that the am- bassadors and other students have traveled as far away as Union in northeast Oregon and Ontario in the southeast corner of the state to make their pitches. Food For All 2016 Precision Farming Expo, Three Rivers Convention Center, Kennewick, Wash. Entire contents copyright © 2015 EO Media Group dba Capital Press 1 year U.S. ...................................$49.99 food to at-risk families. Lorenz said a new wrin- kle was added this year to the structure of the program that assures it hews to one of its missions as “a service learn- ing project to teach students a variety of skills while putting food on the table for needy families.” Hutchinson, who still works long hours alongside the kids each December help- ing organize the work, intro- duced a new designation for six of this year’s FFA chapter members, making them Food For All Ambassadors. “We wanted to start a pro- gram so we could get some of the leaders from within our school” to perform out- reach, public relations and cold-call contact functions, Calendar Capital Press Managers Mike O’Brien .............................Publisher Joe Beach ..................................... Editor Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Barbara Nipp ......... Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager drawal from bank or credit card account) By GEOFF PARKS The Lower Willamette FFA District’s Food For All program headed into its stretch run with the finish line — Dec. 23 — in sight and a goal of 130 tons of food for needy Oregon families nearly all collected and distributed or ready for distribution. Food For All is a joint project of the district’s high school FFA chapters at Per- rydale, Willamina, Dayton, Amity, Sheridan and Yam- hill-Carlton. It was created in 1997 by Kirk Hutchinson, the now-retired Perrydale FFA chapter adviser. At the end of each year, the Perrydale K-12 education complex resembles a beehive of activity. Students from kin- dergarten through high school age work furiously to collect, sort, package and distribute potatoes, rutabagas, onions, squash, cabbage, dried and fresh fruits, beets and other vegetables and produce over the course of the first three weeks of December, said Per- rydale’s first-year FFA advis- er, Christina Lorenz. That food is delivered by the Perrydale students and teachers to various areas around the state identified as economically depressed and in need of food services, with the goal of providing 40-pound bags of farm-fresh Established 1928 Board of directors Mike Forrester ..........................President Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Sid Freeman .................. Outside director Mike Omeg .................... Outside director Corporate officer John Perry Chief operating officer By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI While the technical craft of Charles Lefevre’s job is complex, the purpose is sim- ple: Encouraging the natural symbiosis between trees and fungi. In Lefevre’s case, the fungi are of the Tuber genus, which produce highly sought-after truffles and colonize the roots of numerous tree species. Truffles are known for their culinary desirability and high cost, but the primary role of the fungus is as an exten- sion of the tree’s root system, helping it absorb water and nutrients. In exchange, it’s supplied with starches and sugars for growth. “Mycorrhizal fungi and mycorrhizal trees never live without each other,” Lefevre said. “You don’t have to trick them.” Even so, inoculating tree roots with the fungus in a nursery setting requires pro- viding the right levels of nu- trients, water, air and light. Lefevre must also conduct genetic testing to ensure that his trees — which are sold to landowners across North America — are colonized with the right species of truf- fle, rather than some other type of mycorrhizal fungus. Luckily for aspiring truffle farmers, the fungus will thrive in a “simplified” environment, such as a planted orchard, and doesn’t require the complex ecosystem of an old growth forest. “They’re exactly the type of organism we can grow. They like living with us,” Le- fevre said. “They’re early suc- Capital Press Saturday, Jan. 9 American Farm Bureau Annual Convention, Orlando, Fla. Far West AgriBusiness Asso- ciation annual winter conference, College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, Idaho. Sunday, Jan. 10 Potato Expo 2016, Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nev. Wednesday, Jan. 13 Monday, Jan. 11 American Farm Bureau Annual Convention, Orlando, Fla. Tuesday, Jan. 12 Cropping Systems Conference, Three Rivers Convention Center, Kennewick, Wash. Cropping Systems Conference, Three Rivers Convention Center, Far West AgriBusiness Asso- ciation annual winter conference, College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, Idaho. American Farm Bureau Annual Convention, Orlando, Fla. American Farm Bureau Annual Convention, Orlando, Fla. News: Contact the main office or news staff member closest to you, send the in- formation to newsroom@capitalpress.com or mail it to “Newsroom,” c/o Capital Press. Include a contact telephone number. Perrydale High School FFA Food For All ambassador Kyndle Moore, in the yellow shirt, shows Perrydale Elementary School students how to bag oranges. donations have been going to the economically depressed Coos Bay area for 14 years, she said. “By coincidence one year, we were talking to someone in Coos Bay who said he got a real good deal on potatoes — $1 a bag,” Hutchinson said. “I told him I could get him all the bags of potatoes he want- ed for free, and that started the partnership with Coos Bay. “Now, we always go to Coos Bay because they make a donation to our program to buy string and bags and pay for some meals for these kids while they’re on the road or whatever we need to keep our program going.” The more pro-active ef- forts of the ambassador team seem to have paid off, as the original goal for this year of 253,000 pounds of food col- lected jumped to 260,000 pounds with a week to go. “We are just overwhelmed with the amount of things to do (in December),” Hutchin- son said. Potato Expo 2016, Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nev. Wednesday, Jan. 20 Thursday, Jan. 14 Far West AgriBusiness Asso- ciation annual winter conference, College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, Idaho. Oregon Mint Growers 67th An- nual Meeting, Salishan Lodge and Golf Resort, Gleneden Beach, Ore. Potato Expo 2016, Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nev. Friday, Jan. 15 Oregon Mint Growers 67th An- nual Meeting, Salishan Lodge and Golf Resort, Gleneden Beach, Ore. 2016 EcoFarm Conference, Asi- lomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, Calif. Thursday, Jan. 21 2016 EcoFarm Conference, Asi- lomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, Calif. Friday, Jan. 22 2016 EcoFarm Conference, Asi- lomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, Calif. Saturday, Jan. 23 2016 EcoFarm Conference, Asi- lomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, Calif. Letters to the Editor: Send your comments on agriculture-related public issues to opinions@capitalpress.com, or mail your letter to “Opinion,” c/o Capital Press. 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