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November 16, 2018 CapitalPress.com Ice cream class eyes flavors, markets OSU Food Innovation Center hosts delicious two-day course By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press Jeff Heartley and Doug Wells took their time Tuesday at Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center in Portland, tasting nine different va- nilla ice cream samples and evaluat- ing each based on criteria including appearance, flavor and texture. It’s a tough job, but hey, somebody has got to do it. “The texture on this one is nice and creamy,” remarked Wells, who along with Heartley works in ice cream pro- duction at Umpqua Dairy Products in Roseburg, Ore. “The first one I tried was a little icy.” Wells is just six months into the job at Umpqua Dairy, and was one of 63 participants who registered for the first Ice Cream Science, Tech- nology and Supply course hosted by OSU at the Food Innovation Center Nov. 6-7. Sarah Masoni, product and pro- cess development director at the Food Innovation Center, said she hopes the program will lead to more high-qual- ity ice cream made in Oregon and across the Pacific Northwest, which in turn would provide more opportu- nities for local dairy farmers and ber- ry growers to sell their ingredients to market. “Whenever we can create val- ue-added food products, that means we’re bolstering the economy and creating jobs,” Masoni said. The class was funded by a $17,775 grant awarded by the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association to the OSU Ag- ricultural Research Foundation in 2017. Association Director Tami Kerr said the proposal for an ice cream lab and educational workshop was out- side the box, though the board agreed it was something that would ultimate- ly benefit producers. “If processors can produce new and improved ice cream, ultimately that should help with sales, consump- tion and milk prices,” Kerr said. Oregon has about 210 dairy pro- ducers statewide. Milk was the fourth- most valuable agricultural commodi- ty in 2017, at $469.3 million. The milk needed to make ice cream is one thing. New flavors are another potential agricultural market, and that is where Oregon berry grow- ers are seeking to bolster sales of their own. Darcy Kochis, marketing director for the Oregon Raspberry and Black- berry Commission, said the OSU class was a chance to build connec- tions between farmers and producers looking to buy more local fruit, or add flavors. “This is a great opportunity to hit a market that is already buying some fruit, but would maybe do some more,” Kochis said. “If we’re spread- ing the word, hopefully there will be a buzz around Oregon blackberries and raspberries, and they’ll catch on to that.” Oregon is the top producer of fro- zen blackberries, black raspberries and boysenberries in the country. The commission represents approximate- ly 300 growers, located predominate- ly in the Willamette Valley. Kochis said they are especially excited about Columbia Star, a new thornless blackberry variety intro- duced in 2014. “The fruit looks beautiful,” Kochis said. “A lot of people are growing it.” Day one of the two-day work- shop was led by Bruce Tharp, of Tharp’s Food Technology, an in- ternational training and technical consulting business based in Penn- sylvania that specializes in the ice 9 Wheat growers urge Congress to pass farm bill By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press George Plaven/Capital Press Doug Wells, foreground, and Jeff Heartley, of Umpqua Dairy, get ready to taste vanilla ice cream samples during a class Tuesday at the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center. cream industry. Tharp discussed the basic science and principles of mak- ing ice cream, such as how to reduce air bubbles and ice crystals in the fi- nal product to enhance smoothness and quality. “Frozen desserts are the only food intended to be consumed frozen.” Tharp said. “That makes it compli- cated.” After a short series of lectures, Tharp had the group evaluate nine vanilla ice cream samples in a blind taste test, with containers covered by tinfoil to conceal the brand. In qual- ity assurance, he said the key to ice cream is consistency. “If we follow all the rules that we’ve been talking about, we get hap- py consumers,” he said. The National Association of Wheat Growers is calling on members of Congress to pass a farm bill during the lame duck session. With the old farm bill having expired, growers face uncertainty and are denied access to several beneficial programs, Jimmie Musick, NAWG president and Okla- homa wheat farmer, said in a NAWG press release. Musick said the organiza- tion is “slightly optimistic” that Congress may try to pass the bill before new legislators can take office. Some of those new legisla- tors have “no experience and no knowledge of ag,” Musick told the Capital Press. It can take a while for them to catch up, he said. The biggest need in the bill is crop insurance, Musick said. Musick said he expects “mostly minor” changes to the bill during the lame duck session, but hopefully nothing that would create “heartache” for farmers. “We always would like to critique it and make it a little bit better in some areas, but you’ve got so many entities and commodities working on these issues, sometimes it’s a challenge to have a program that works perfect for every- body,” he said. West Coast has strong showing at National FFA Convention A Californian was elected as the new national president and an Oregonian was chosen as the western region vice president at this year’s national FFA convention in Indianapolis. Along with a National Agricultural Proficiency Award won by a Hooper, Wash., student and a third place in the Hall of States competition won by a team from the Quincy, Wash., chapter, West Coast chapters had a strong showing again this year. The national gathering drew more than 60,000 members from across the nation. Luke O’Leary, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., was elected national president of FFA, marking the second year in a row that Californians have held the organization’s highest office. Breanna Holbert of California State University- Chico was the outgoing national president. She was also the first female African American to hold that office. “It was right from the start of freshman year that I was hooked” on agriculture, O’Leary told Capital Press reporter George Plaven. He also spent several summers at his grandfather’s Grant County, Ore., ranch. O’Leary previously served as California FFA president in 2017-18, and is now studying agriculture leadership and development with a minor in political science at Texas A&M University. Shea Booster, a sophomore at Oregon State University, is the new western region vice president. The Bend, Ore., resident is majoring in agricultural business management, with a double minor in communications and Spanish. Though not from an agricultural background, he said he is proof that the organization has expanded as one that cultivates leaders as much as farmers and ranchers. “I was the agriculture rookie,” he said. “Any time I had the opportunity to try something new, I would.” Booster graduated in 2016 from Mountain View High School in Bend. In Washington, Nicole Harder of the LaCrosse FFA Chapter in Hooper, Wash., won the National Agricultural Proficiency award in Beef Production-Placement. The 2018-19 national FFA officer team. From left are Luke O’Leary, president, California; Layni LeBlanc, secretary, Louisiana; Shea Booster, western region vice president, Oregon; Jordan Stowe, southern region vice president, Alabama; Ridge Hughbanks, central region vice president, Oklahoma; and Adrian Schunk, eastern region vice president, Michigan. The Quincy, Wash., FFA finished third in the nation in the Hall of States Competition at the 91st National FFA Convention. From left to right are Anne Safe, Paden Wallace, Gavin Sahli, Taran Brown, Cody Main and Jane Kennedy. She works for both her mother’s farm and another female- owned regional livestock auction facility, according to an FFA press release. At her mother’s farm, they manage approximately 1,300 head of purebred Hereford cow-calf pairs and bulls. Harder is supported by her FFA advisor, Lisa Baser. The Quincy FFA team, which included Anne Safe, Paden Wallace, Gavin Sahli, Taran Brown, Cody Main and Jane Kennedy, placed third in the Hall of States competition. Students promoted their state’s agriculture and FFA Association, and how the two impact each other. The team also designed a 10-by-10-foot booth. 46-3/HOU
