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2 CapitalPress.com February 9, 2018 People & Places In search of the best dairy cows WinStar Genetics partner dairies incorporate their best producers Western Innovator For the Capital Press WinStar Genetics Business: A partnership of Seagull Bay Dairy, Triple Crown Genetics and Cannon Dairy. Location: American Falls, Idaho Innovation: Supplying the dairy industry worldwide with “elite” genetics John O’Connell/For the Capital Press Greg Andersen, an American Falls, Idaho, dairyman who is a partner in a new dairy cow genetics company called WinStar Genetics, shows young bulls bred by the year-old business. Andersen’s brother and heads Seagull Bay Dairy, said about 20 percent of his calves result from embryo transplants, in- cluding some embryos devel- oped in a laboratory through in vitro fertilization, which he said has gained popularity among dairies during the past five years. As a rule of thumb, Andersen said he invests about $500 for each live calf born through IVF and embryo transfer. “Even back in the ear- ly 1980s, my dad was one of the early adopters of embryo transfer in Idaho,” Greg An- dersen said. “You’re trying to increase the number of off- spring from your best genetic animals.” One of the top “cash cows” produced by advanced meth- ods, named Ammon-Peachey Shauna, was voted as Holstein International’s cow of the year in 2015. “She has more than 100 offspring,” Greg Andersen said, adding the cow’s proge- ny have consistently sired or produced higher-producing cows with good milk quality, fertility and longevity. “Five or six of her best sons have been widely used throughout the world.” The WinStar partners also share an ovum pickup center in Shelley, where their tech- nicians remove immature egg cells, called oocytes, which are placed in an incubator and transported to a Washington lab for in vitro fertilization. Prior to the WinStar partner- ship, Greg Andersen said his dairy worked with a third party in Utah for its ovum pickups. Greg Andersen said the best WinStar bulls are leased by top artificial insemination companies. WinStar also sells top bulls, calves and embryos. WinStar uses sex-sorted se- men to ensure about 90 per- cent of its calves are born as females. “We’d like to have at least 1,500 calves per year from the WinStar program, and the top 20 percent from our program are going to be pretty good,” Greg Andersen said. Greg Andersen said Win- Star has been expanding its global reach lately through embryo sales, which remain a relatively small portion of the business. He said the com- pany recently sold embryos to buyers in South Korea. WinStar also found poten- tial embryo buyers during a recent state-sponsored trade mission to Vietnam. He said the Vietnamese were espe- cially interested in embryos with the A2A2 trait, which consumers in the Pacific Rim believe makes the beta-casein protein in milk easier to di- gest, and may be beneficial to those with lactose intolerance. About a quarter of WinStar’s herd possesses the trait, he said. Greg Andersen said there’s also been a growing emphasis within the industry on breed- ing cows that excel in feed efficiency and identifying ge- netic markers associated with certain “wellness” traits, such as low susceptibility to lame- ness and certain diseases. Researchers seek ways to grow better Christmas trees By BRENNA WIEGAND For the Capital Press Christmas trees are a holi- day icon, and researchers are looking for ways to grow bet- ter trees for about 4.7 million families across the globe that buy Oregon trees each year. They are investigating bet- ter ways to grow the trees and keep pests away from them — and looking for varieties that will look best on Christmas morning. A new growth regulator from Europe may take some of the guesswork out of grow- ing lush Christmas trees. Chal Landgren, at the Or- egon State University North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora, Ore., said they’ll perform tri- als on a product so new it has yet to be named. “We’ve had chemicals in the past that you could apply to the leader and it would shorten them, but it was al- ways kind of a crap shoot about how much and when to put it on,” said Landgren, an OSU Extension Christmas tree specialist. “This new product is touted as being able Calendar Courtesy Photo Chal Landgren of Oregon State University Research and Extension Center tallies slugs found among Christmas trees. He has been working with OSU slug specialist Rory McDonnell to learn the population dynamics of slugs. to stop the leader growth at the point where you apply it.” The Research Center has four small seed orchards but conducts much of its testing at privately owned farms around the Willamette Valley. Of the 4.7 million trees harvested annually in Oregon, 99 percent are grown in the Willamette Valley. Oregon is the country’s largest Christ- mas tree producer, with 17 percent of the market. Trees are shipped to Asia as early as Sponsored by: To submit an event go to the Community Events calendar on the home page of our website at www. capitalpress.com and click on “Submit an Event.” Calendar items can also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broad- way St. NE, Salem, OR 97301 or emailed to newsroom@capitalpress. com. Write “Calendar” in the subject line. Saturday, Feb. 10 Field-to-Market Workshop. 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. North Willamette Research and Extension Center, 15210 NE Miley Road, Aurora, Ore. How to produce value-added food products, and where to start. Cost: $25 person or $40 per couple. http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/ field-market Friday, Feb. 16 Pesticide-free Strategies for the Landscape Professional. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Oregon City Pioneer Community Center, 615 Fifth St., Oregon City, Ore. Field session March 14. Cost: $50 http://www.pesticide.org/healthy_land- scape_workshop Monday, Feb. 19 Oregon Blueberry Conference. 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Salem Convention Center, 200 Commercial St. SE, Sa- lem. Program includes a blueberry pro- duction summary and trends, industry Established 1928 Board of directors Mike Forrester Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Susan Rana Mike Omeg Corporate Officer Heidi Wright Chief Operating Officer By JOHN O’CONNELL AMERICAN FALLS, Ida- ho — Three Idaho dairy busi- nesses have combined their herds and resources to form a high-tech breeding company they anticipate will help im- prove Holstein performance worldwide. WinStar Genetics, formed about a year ago, is a part- nership involving American Falls-based Seagull Bay Dairy, Jerome-based Triple Crown Genetics and Shelley-based Cannon Dairy. While most dairies seek to improve their herds by pur- chasing semen from top bulls, WinStar aims to supply the industry with “elite” genetics, explained John Andersen, with Triple Crown. “With genomics, it’s a pret- ty fast-moving game, and we predict it’s going to be just a handful of individuals or groups that are going to pro- vide the genetics for the entire industry,” John Andersen said. “Forming this partnership is trying to make sure we’re one of those groups that does that.” By pooling their animals, the partners benefit from an expanded catalog of desirable traits for breeding and a broad- er group of sires and surrogate cows for embryo transplants. Greg Andersen, who is John Capital Press speakers and research updates, trade show and reception. Website: oregon- blueberry.com Thursday, Feb. 22 Part 1: Farm & Ranch Succes- sion Planning Workshop. 6-8:30 p.m. Clackamas Small Business Develop- ment Center, 7726 SE Harmony Road, Milwaukie, Ore. Register now for the four-part Farm and Ranch Succession Planning Workshop Series. No need to attend in person. You can take this workshop remotely from anywhere in the state. This program is offered and taught by the Clackamas Small Busi- ness Development Center, along with guest presenters such as attorneys and CPAs. In addition to informative topics and experienced ag profes- sionals, courses include confidential, one-on-one business counseling. A complimentary light dinner will start each evening at 6 p.m. To register, call 503-594-0738. Cost: Free. Website: http://bit.ly/2CX1jvl Thursday-Friday Feb. 22-23 Logging, Construction, Trucking & Heavy Equipment Expo. Lane County Fairgrounds and Convention Cen- ter, 796 W 13th Ave., Eugene, Ore. The exhibits, demonstrations and log-loading competition are spon- sored by the Oregon Logging Con- Halloween, and about 700,000 trees are sold to customers in Mexico. The biggest U.S. market is California, which is followed by the rest of the Southwest, but sales in Hawaii are slowed by that state’s stringent re- quirements that include zero tolerance for most slugs. “They don’t damage the trees at all; they’re probably eating mold,” Landgren said. “It’s just a hitchhiker they don’t want.” Landgren has been work- ing with OSU slug specialist Rory McDonnell to learn the population dynamics of the slugs found in area fields. Traps are set in Christmas tree fields and shipping yards and collected every two to four weeks. “I think we’ve found five different species, most not native to Oregon,” Landgren said. As the study matures they’ll examine approaches to controlling them. Landgren attributes this year’s new pest problems to two dry summers. For in- stance, the Douglas fir twig weevil has become a big prob- lem in Noble firs. “They’re inventorying how big the problem is and next autumn we may be looking at doing some spray trials, but once the insect is inside the tree, you’re stuck,” Landgren said. Another pest, aphids, are showing up more frequently in Grand fir, sucking sugars from the needles, which become shorter and shriveled. Last year Landgren conducted a trial testing some “softer” bio- logical insecticides on aphids. “I guess the bottom line is it wasn’t all that successful,” Landgren said. “We did find a few of the newer ones worked at least as well as those we al- ready have.” Another trial is taking a new look at a rare disease. Web Blight had rarely been seen but showed up at a couple farms this year, causing needles to drop, leaving basketball-sized bare patches on trees. Research also continues on breeding projects in Noble, Douglas, Nordmann and Turk- ish firs, which resulted in about 400 promising specimens be- ing grafted into orchards at NWREC this year. Branch cut- tings of Nordmann and Turk- ish firs are sent to Gary Chast- agner, a plant pathologist at Washington State University, who screens them for needle loss. Those who pass his test are grafted into seed orchards. “And then we just wait,” Landgren said. “It may take 10 to 15 years before the or- chard produces seed, and cone production doesn’t happen on any sort of regular clockwork. For example, on Noble firs you may only have a good seed crop every five years.” GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE www.oxarc.com ference, which is celebrating its 80th year. Included is the Oregon Women In Timber annual dinner and auction. Website: www.oregonloggingconfer- ence.com Family Farm Alliance Annual Conference, Eldorado Resort Casi- no, 345 N. Virginia St., Reno, Nev. The theme of this year’s conference is “One year in: What’s changed and where are we going in Western wa- ter?” Website: http://bit.ly/2hGieJU Friday, Feb. 23 Screening of the film “Food Evo- lution.” 3-5 p.m. Polk County Fair- grounds, 520 SW Highway 99W, Rickreall, Ore. This documentary, narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, takes a close look at the facts as- sociated with genetically modified foods. It was directed by Academy Award nominee Scott Hamilton Kennedy. This presentation will include an introduction by Helle Rudenklau and is sponsored by the Polk County Women for Agriculture. Cost: Free. Online: foodevolution- movie.com Produce Safety Alliance Grow- er Training. Ontario, Ore. Growers and others interested in learning about produce safety, the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule, Good Agricultural Practices and co-management of 20 Northwest Locations natural resources and food safety. The course is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule training requirement. Cost $25. To register, visit producesafetyalliance.cornell. edu or contact Sue Davis at sda- vis@oda.state.or.us or 503-807- 5864. Saturday, Feb. 24 Oregon Small Farms Confer- ence 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Oregon State University LaSells Stewart Center and CH2M Hill Alumni Center, 200 LaSells Stewart Center, Corvallis, Ore. The Oregon Small Farms Con- ference is a daylong event geared to- ward farmers, agricultural profession- als, food policy advocates, students and managers of farmers’ markets. Twenty-seven educational sessions are offered on a variety of topics rele- vant to the Oregon small farmers and include a track in Spanish. Speakers include farmers, OSU Extension faculty and agribusiness represen- tatives. Website: http://smallfarms. oregonstate.edu/sfc/registration Monday-Tuesday Feb. 26-27 Oregon Dairy Farmers Association Annual Convention. Salem Conven- tion Center, 200 Commercial St. SE, Salem, Ore. Website: https://oregon- dairyfarmers.org 1-800-765-9055 Tuesday-Thursday March 6-8 FSPCA Preventive Controls for Animal Food. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Hilton Gar- den Inn, 1741 Harrison St. North, Twin Falls, Idaho. The new FSMA regula- tion requires every processing facility to have a trained resource person who has completed a specialized training course (such as this one) developed by the Food Safety Preventive Con- trols Alliance that is recognized by the FDA. Cost: $720/Individual or $648 per person for 2 or more. Website: http:// www.techhelp.org/events/400/fspca- animal-food-2-5-day-course-twin-falls/ Thursday, March 8 Part 2: Farm & Ranch Succes- sion Planning Workshop. 6-8:30 p.m. Clackamas Small Business Develop- ment Center, 7726 SE Harmony Road, Milwaukie, Ore. This workshop can be accessed remotely from anywhere in the state. This program is offered and taught by the Clackamas Small Busi- ness Development Center, along with guest presenters such as attorneys and CPAs. In addition to informative topics and experienced ag profes- sionals, courses include confidential, one-on-one business counseling. A complimentary light dinner will start each evening at 6 p.m. To register, call 503-594-0738. Cost: Free. Website: http://bit.ly/2CX1jvl Capital Press Managers Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Jessica Boone ........ Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager Entire contents copyright © 2018 EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing offices. 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