12 CapitalPress.com
September 15, 2017
Testing typically takes four days, rush tests take two
STRAW from Page 1
and livestock. Fescue toxico-
sis causes fescue foot — dry,
dead tissue in the extremities;
summer slump in which ani-
mals develop hyperthermia;
reduced food intake; and re-
productive and lactation dif-
ficulties.
Ergot toxicosis can cause
diarrhea, high temperature,
rapid breathing, poor appetite
and weight loss.
David Bohnert, director
of the Eastern Oregon Agri-
cultural Research Center and
a professor at OSU, has re-
searched methods of alleviat-
ing toxicosis symptoms, such
as giving animals seaweed
extract or other compounds to
help reduce the absorption of
toxins.
Researchers,
however,
have found that while they al-
leviate some symptoms, they
don’t eliminate all.
“There is no ‘silver bullet’
that will solve all the alkaloid
problems seen with some va-
rieties of tall fescue,” Bohnert
said in an email. “Each prod-
uct can be part of the over-
all tool box to help manage
high-alkaloid forage; howev-
er, risk, cost and each ranch’s
available infrastructure will
determine what option, or
combination of options, is
best for that particular oper-
ation.”
In addition to impacting
livestock, one of the three
diseases, ergot, can decrease
seed yield by as much as 10
percent, according to OSU re-
searchers.
To combat ergot, they have
been studying how weather
conditions contribute to it by
conducting spore trapping in
perennial ryegrass seed pro-
duction fields in the Columbia
Basin. They found that the
best time to apply fungicide is
between May 15 and June 7 in
a typical year.
Earlier this year, the pro-
gram also received funding to
investigate potential biocon-
trol options to manage ergot.
Photos by Aliya Hall/Capital Press
Dr. A. Morrie Craig, professor of toxicology at the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine, helped create
the Endophyte Service Lab.
gon’s Willamette Valley.
“There’s a lot of unknowns
in the world of endophytes,”
he said. “Some people think
we should establish different
levels in varieties to eliminate
testing, but every year envi-
ronmental factors can change
the levels of the endophyte.”
Because the level of en-
dophyte isn’t solely based on
grass varieties, Beyer said the
industry has to test.
“We do our best to meet
people’s needs,” Holman said.
“It’s hard, it’s a lot of work,
very detail-oriented, “but it
feels good to know it makes
a difference that you come to
work every day; what we’re
doing makes a difference on a
daily basis.”
Benefits of toxins?
Burning to baling
Oregon farmers grew
about 332,000 acres of grass
seed worth $345 million in
2016, according to the USDA
National Agricultural Statis-
tics Service. Among the va-
rieties of grass seed grown in
the state are fescue, perenni-
al ryegrass, annual ryegrass,
bluegrass and bentgrass.
Before the 1990s, the straw
residue left after grass seed
harvest was typically burned
to rid the fields of pests and
diseases. However, after the
phase-out of field burning in
most of Oregon, straw is now
baled and sold locally and
overseas as livestock feed.
At first, some of the straw
was exported to countries
such as Japan, which reported
the first cases of fescue toxic-
ity. In 2000, 5,400 cases were
reported in Japan, according
to the OSU Endophyte Ser-
vice Lab.
“The ships got stopped at
the port because livestock was
getting sick and it was traced
back to Northwest feed,”
Holman, the OSU faculty re-
search assistant, said. “They
A student worker, Jessica Bowers, performs a solid phase ex-
traction in grass seed straw. This is one of 19 steps in the process
of determining the amount of alkaloids in a sample. Testing typical-
ly takes four days.
wanted proof that the feed
was safe.”
A solution was developed:
Growers would test their grass
seed straw before shipping
it. Since 2009, the number
of cases of livestock illness
has dropped to zero, and has
remained stable except for a
few minor blips, according to
Dr. A. Morrie Craig, a profes-
sor of toxicology at the OSU
College of Veterinary Med-
icine. He also helped create
the Endophyte Service Labo-
ratory.
Testing straw
When Craig helped form
the laboratory, he felt it would
become a “world leader.”
From 2005 to 2013 the
lab received an average of
3,497 test requests a year.
Of the samples tested so far
this year, only about 7 per-
cent were positive for high
toxin content.
The testing typically takes
four days, and rush tests take
two. However, the lab has
been short one technician,
which has slowed this sea-
son’s testing.
The test is a “19-step pro-
cess to get accurate numbers,
plus the lab has a second set
of eyes to do the quality con-
trol,” Craig said.
Roger Beyer, executive
director of the Oregon Seed
Council, said it’s “essential”
for grass seed growers to have
a program to test the endo-
phyte level, and that OSU is
the laboratory of choice.
“Testing is crucial to the
shipment of straw for feed,”
he said. “There are other uses
for straw, but not really for the
amount we produce.”
Beyer said more than
6,000 tons of straw are ex-
ported each year from Ore-
Washington had its 18th driest August on record;
Oregon, Idaho received roughly half of normal rainfall
DROUGHT from Page 1
In Oregon, drought conditions were
noted for the first time this summer. The
northwest corner, making up 13 percent
of the state, was in moderate drought.
Among all Western states, change
was most dramatic in Washington.
Moderate drought covered 55 percent
of the state, up from 2 percent the week
before.
Drought touched all or portions of 34
of Washington’s 39 counties, leaving a
swath of “abnormally dry” conditions
over Central Washington and southeast
Washington.
Assistant State Climatologist Karin
Bumbaco, who contributes data to the
drought monitor, said precipitation defi-
cits are higher in Western Washington
and northeast Washington than in the
middle of the state, which receives little
summer rain anyway.
“The change this week has been driv-
en mostly by a lack of precipitation,”
she said.
Washington had its 18th driest
August on record, receiving about
one-quarter the normal amount of pre-
cipitation. Oregon and Idaho received
roughly half their normal rainfall. Cal-
ifornia was actually slightly wetter than
average. National weather records date
back to 1895.
Spring rains and melting snow
swelled water supplies at the beginning
of the irrigation season in Washington.
The state Department of Ecolo-
gy sent cut-off notices to more than
100 water-right holders in two wa-
tersheds in August, but none in the
past week, an agency official said
Thursday.
Most streams in Washington were at
or above normal levels, the U.S. Geo-
logical Survey reported Thursday.
Yakima River Basin reservoirs, filled
last spring by melting snow, held more
water than usual for this time of year,
according to the U.S. Bureau of Recla-
mation.
“If we had this summer on the heels
of a dry, warm winter, it would be terri-
ble,” Bond said.
The U.S. Climate Prediction fore-
cast, with an unusually high degree of
probability, that Washington, Oregon,
Idaho and Northern California will have
higher than normal temperatures for the
rest of September.
Bond said the hot summer may be a
“taste of the weather that will tend to be
more common in future decades,” but
it’s “not the new normal.”
The same toxic endophytes
that can make animals ill can
also help prevent airline disas-
ters. East Coast airports such
as John F. Kennedy, Newark
Liberty and LaGuardia have
discovered that high-endo-
phyte grasses have a natural
insecticide that kills bugs. By
planting the grasses around
the airports, the insect popu-
lation is reduced, attracting
fewer birds. Birds are a haz-
ard to airplanes, as they can
be sucked into jet engines and
damage them.
James Loudon, principal
landscape architect in the Port
Authority of New York and
New Jersey Engineering De-
partment, said in a blog cre-
ated by the port authority that
he and his team do “whatever
we can to discourage birds,
because birds cause the great-
est threat to aircraft in flight
during landings and takeoffs.”
“By limiting the edible de-
lights of birds and the places
they gather to feed and re-
produce, we can discourage
them from visiting the air-
ports,” said Laura Francoeur,
a microbiologist at the port
authority. “Which goes a long
way towards protecting the
flying public from deadly bird
strikes.”
Mountain View Seeds
in Salem, Ore., is one of the
few dealers that sell airports
high-endophyte grasses, and
has a system in place to verify
the levels of endophyte before
it is shipped.
“Endophytes are a living
organism,” Aaron Kuenzi,
executive vice president of
A bag of certified seed at Mountain View Seeds has been checked
at every stage for the right level of endophyte. Mountain View
Seeds sells high-endophyte seed to airports to help keep birds
away from planes that are landing and taking off.
Mountain View Seeds, said.
“Over time it will just fade
away.”
He cited an example of
grass seed with a high level
of endophyte sitting for five
years in a warehouse. It could
start at a level of 90 percent,
but by the time it’s shipped
the level could drop to 20 per-
cent.
Mountain View maintains
the correct level of endophyte
by storing the seed in a cool-
er, and testing for endophyte
presence before shipping it.
“We want to make sure
that when we say it’s a high
endophyte that ... it actually
is,” Kuenzi said.
Endophyte-free
While it is possible to de-
velop fescue strains with little
or no endophyte presence —
typically referred to as “nov-
el” — it is less attractive for
grass seed producers because
their primary product is the
seed, not the straw. The endo-
phytes help protect the grass
plant from insects and dry
weather.
Kuenzi said that it’s been
great to have an alternative
place for this seed production
byproduct, but “ultimately,
if we don’t satisfy the user
or consumer of the seed, we
won’t have production of the
straw either.”
Mountain View Seeds has
also developed non-endo-
phyte varieties for its forage
market with animal health in
mind, but Kuenzi said less
than 25 percent of its acreage
is dedicated to it.
However, according to
Bohnert, the OSU professor,
that still represents progress.
“They have started mov-
ing away from more toxic en-
dophytes and using the ones
with lower (levels),” he said.
“So, I think they are adjust-
ing.”
Beyer, the seed council
director, said that novel en-
dophyte is the trend that the
industry is working toward,
especially for farmers who
grow tall fescue as forage in
their pastures.
“It’s an expensive con-
version to get rid of endo-
phyte grasses and put in nov-
el (grasses),” he said. “But
growing novel, we can grow
it without testing it.”
He said that 17 to 20 per-
cent of forage pasture and
livestock regions have con-
verted, and researchers say
that acreage is increasing by 2
percent a year.
“We have a ways to go, but
we’re working on it,” Beyer
said.
Solution by dilution
Although
researchers
have yet to find a long-term
management solution for en-
dophytes, in the short term
“solution by dilution” has
been effective in keeping an-
imals healthy.
“It is a good feed product if
it’s used safely, but you have
to know what you’re dealing
with in the first place,” Hol-
man said.
Bohnert suggests switch-
ing bales daily if endophyte
is present, to give livestock a
day off. He said it’s “the easi-
est (method) by far.”
Also, once farmers know
the endophyte level of their
hay, they can blend it with
other types of hay that don’t
have endophytes.
Controlling the endophyte
is a delicate balance for farm-
ers and ranchers, as well as for
seed producers. Kuenzi has
brothers who farm and under-
stands the desire to grow only
endophyte-free seeds, but he
needs to think of his main cus-
tomers first.
“It’s keeping in mind the
ultimate product in this is
the seed that goes to the mar-
ketplace, not necessarily the
straw that’s harvested as a
byproduct,” Kuenzi said. “For
us, it’s finding that balance of
satisfying the consumer and
the farmer that’s growing (the
seed).”
The one thing that every-
one agrees on is testing for
the endophyte toxin is crucial.
“A lot of people have be-
come aware of the situation,
the fescue problems are not
like they were,” Bohnert said.
Since 2002, “people have
been very aware of potential
problems. All you have to do
is test, and if you’re feeding
grass seed straw that has the
potential of alkaloids, spend
the money and have it test-
ed so you can have peace of
mind.”
Hirst ruling undermines Department
of Ecology’s authority to manage water
WELL from Page 1
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3
decision, ruled last year that in-
dividual landowners must prove
their new well won’t diminish
existing water rights, including
stream flows for fish. Dissenting
judges said the majority placed
an intolerable burden on individ-
uals. The Washington Farm Bu-
reau joined other groups in de-
nouncing the ruling as an assault
on rural families, communities
and economies.
The Hirst ruling undermined
the Department of Ecology’s au-
thority to manage water. Repub-
licans and Democrats have been
unable to agree on a program to
offset the cumulative impact of
new wells.
The Inslee administration has
not offered a solution. The gover-
nor said in April that responding
to the Hirst decision should not
distract lawmakers from issues
he considered more important.
“A governor is elected to lead
the state, and I feel there has been
a lack of leadership on this issue,”
Senate Agriculture Commit-
tee Chairwoman Judy Warnick,
R-Moses Lake, said Wednesday.
“Often I’ve seen a governor step
in when legislators can’t reach
an agreement, and this governor
hasn’t done that.”
Inslee should convene a spe-
cial session to address the Hirst
ruling and pass a capital bud-
get, she said. “He’s spent a good
amount of time going around the
state talking about the capital bud-
get, and I just need to remind him
he has the ability to call us back.”
Inslee spokeswoman Tara Lee
said in an email that the Gover-
nor’s Office has been meeting
with legislators. She noted the
governor supported a two-year
moratorium on implementing the
Hirst decision to give landown-
ers time to finish their homes and
for legislators to agree on a per-
manent fix.
“Regardless, there is no jus-
tification for linking Hirst to the
capital budget and holding up ac-
tion on one until a resolution is
found on the other,” she wrote.
“Failure to pass a construction
budget also costs our state bil-
lions of dollars in lost invest-
ments and jobs.”
Warnick said a moratorium
is the only proposal she’s heard
from the governor’s office. Re-
publicans reject a moratorium,
arguing it would imply accep-
tance of the decision and leave
landowners, lenders and coun-
ties in no better position to make
long-term plans.
The building industry hired
HR2 Research and Analytics of
Bellevue to assess the potential
economic consequences of the
Hirst decisions. Besides losses
stemming from a shutdown in
land sales, well drilling and home
building, the firm estimated $37
billion in lost property values.
The Hirst decision stemmed
from a lawsuit filed in Whatcom
County by the environmental
group Futurewise and others.
The suit successfully challenged
Ecology’s policy of allowing
new wells in an area where a riv-
er sometimes falls below state-
set minimum levels to protect
fish.