Capital press., September 13, 2019, Page 7, Image 7

Friday, September 13, 2019
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Millennial daughter operates dairy
By ALIYA HALL
For the Capital Press
CRESWELL, Ore. —
Dairy farming never stops,
according to Bobbi Frost of
Harrold’s Dairy.
“You can’t ask the cows
to take a break,” she said.
Frost, 30, is the fourth
generation of her family
to operate Harrold’s Dairy,
which was founded by her
great-grandfather in 1946.
The dairy milks 375-400
cows on 1,000 acres and
grows its own feed for the
cows.
About 36% of farms are
run by female producers,
according to the USDA’s
2017 Census of Agriculture.
“I always loved growing
up on the farm,” she said.
“My parents wanted me to be
in ruminant
nutrition so
I could see
cows every
day but not
be at the
mercy
of
Bobbi Frost farm life.”
It was her
junior year of college when
she spoke with a salesman
who had grown up on a farm
but his family had sold it by
the time he wanted to take it
over. He had imparted these
words to her: “You can be on
a farm every day, but if it’s
not yours, it’s not the same,”
Frost said. “If you know in
your heart that you need to be
on the farm — you will never
be happy anywhere else.”
Originally, Frost’s fam-
ily was from North Dakota.
She said that her great-grand-
father had bought a farm in
Oregon, but when his family
moved, the farm was sold out
from under him and they had
to find a new property. They
found 200 acres in Creswell
where they started milk-
ing five cows. At the time,
all the milking was done by
hand, but over the years the
farm incorporated newer
technology.
Now the farm has a dou-
ble 12 milking parlor, which
milks 24 cows at a time. The
cows are milked three times
a day, at 3 a.m., 11 a.m.,
and 7 p.m. and the process
takes around six hours. Frost
said her grandfather joked
that their family is “equal
opportunity”when it comes
to cows; their herd is made
up of Holsteins and Jer-
seys, as well as some “Hojo”
crossbreeds.
The milk is pumped into
a tank and before it leaves
on the milk truck two sam-
ples are tested for antibiotics
and the fat and protein con-
tent. Along with quantity,
dairy farmers are paid for the
amount of protein and fat in
their milk as well.
Harrold’s Dairy is part
of the Darigold cooper-
ative, which is run by a
board of directors that are
made up of co-op members.
Karen Samek, Northwest
Dairy Field Manager for
the co-op, said that a key
component of Darigold is
to help farmers feel heard.
The co-op also has a pro-
gram to engage its younger
members, farmers under
45, and Samek said that
Frost is really active in it.
Aliya Hall/For the Capital Press
Harrold’s Dairy milks 375-400 Jerseys, Holsteins and
“Hojos” in their double 12 milking parlor. The dairy is
part of the Darigold Cooperative.
Whether wolves roam South
Cascades remains a mystery
USDA advertises for new
falling number researcher
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Nationwide search
will fill key position
Three more months may
pass before researchers
can report whether wolves
occupy the South Cascades,
a University of Washington
scientist said Wednesday.
The study has been
pushed back by budget
constraints, ivory poach-
ing probes and time-con-
suming DNA testing, said
Samuel Wasser, director of
UW’s Center for Conserva-
tion Biology
“It’s an unfortunate thing,
but we are a small lab, and
we do very high-end work,”
he said.
Wasser has been hon-
ored by wildlife advocates
for helping track the source
of poached ivory through
DNA testing of elephant
dung and tusks. Washington
lawmakers in 2018 charged
him with analyzing scat col-
lected in the South Cascades
to count wolves and other
predators, and learn what
they eat.
Dogs last winter sniffed
out about 2,000 piles of
scat. Preliminary tests on
40 samples found no wolf
scat between Interstate 90
and the Columbia River.
Wasser told legislators in
April that he expected to
have complete results by
summer.
Wasser said Wednesday
that his center has 2.6 posi-
tions, excluding himself,
and is working on several
other projects, including
testing for the Department
of Homeland Security tusks
seized in Hong Kong and
Uganda.
The poaching cases
require an “urgent turn-
around,” while the wolf
research is “a long-term
project,” he said.
“So we’re kind of fitting
this in as we can,” he said.
“It’s not that we don’t care.
We care deeply.”
The state funded sim-
ilar research by Wasser
in northeast Washington
between 2015 and 2017.
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Wolf researcher Samuel Wasser, director of the
Center for Conservation Biology at the University
of Washington, talks after a presentation to the
House Agriculture and Natural Resources April 24 in
Olympia.
The research led Was-
ser to speculate that Wash-
ington had more wolves
than counted by Fish and
Wildlife.
Wasser said he got “push
back” from the department,
so for the South Cascades
project, his laboratory will
pioneer additional testing
to increase confidence in
the results.
“There are all of these
steps that take forever,” he
said. “When we say, there
are ‘X number of wolves,’
we’ll be very confident.
Frankly, we were confident
the last time.
“The last thing we want
to do is create animosity
with (Fish and Wildlife).
We want to be collabora-
tors,” Wasser said.
Fish and Wildlife state-
wide wolf specialist Ben
Maletzke said the depart-
ment and Wasser are work-
ing on an agreement to
share genetic informa-
tion about wolves, another
time-consuming step.
Maletzke
said
the
department will appreci-
ate information it may get
from Wasser’s research. He
also said the department is
grateful for reports filed by
hunters, campers and oth-
ers who spot wolves in the
South Cascades.
“We’re working hard to
find packs,” he said. “There
could be easily be a pack or
two down there.”
Lawmakers set aside
$172,000 in 2018 and
another $344,000 this year
for the project, according to
budgets. A lawmaker who
advocated for the funding
said he doesn’t want to rush
the analysis, but he is get-
ting impatient.
“I want a ‘yes’ or ‘no’
answer: Are there wolves in
the South Cascades?” said
House Agriculture and Nat-
ural Resources Commit-
tee Chairman Brian Blake,
D-Aberdeen.
Recovery won’t be com-
plete until at least four wolf-
packs are producing pups in
the South Cascades, accord-
ing to Fish and Wildlife. The
department has not found
any pack, let alone one
breeding pups.
Finding wolves there
would bolster the argument
for removing wolves from
the state-protected species
list, Blake said.
“We have no confir-
mation of a live wolf in
the South Cascades. That
seems a little bit crazy to
me,” he said. “I have to
believe wolves are there,
and we just haven’t spot-
ted them.
The USDA Agricultural
Research Service is adver-
tising for a key researcher to
help farmers address a starch
problem that can develop in
wheat, costing millions of
dollars in lower prices.
The ARS is advertising
for a plant molecular biol-
ogist, plant physiologist or
geneticist, who will work on
the Washington State Uni-
versity campus in Pullman.
The
salary
ranges
from roughly $75,000 to
$115,000 per year.
The posting went up
Aug. 29 and will remain
open for one month, said
David Weller, leader of the
ARS wheat health, genetics
and quality research unit.
He hopes to have the
position filled by the end of
the year.
The industry uses the
falling number test to detect
starch damage caused by
alpha-amylase
enzyme
activity in wheat. A low
falling number test result
indicates starch damage in
the flour, leading to poor
quality in baked goods and
other products.
Congress provided $1
million for falling num-
ber research in 2018. The
USDA was slated to post
the position in January, but
was delayed by the govern-
ment shutdown.
“As always, it takes time
for these things to be done,
but we’re very excited that
we’re moving forward on
what I see as a very import-
ant position,” Weller told
the Capital Press.
“We’re really excited
about this position,” said
Mary Palmer Sullivan, vice
president of the Washing-
ton Grain Commission.
Starch damage doesn’t
happen consistently. It
appears to be related to
wide temperature swings
or rain at certain points in
wheat’s growth cycle.
“When it does create
problems, it costs the farm-
ers a lot of money,” Sulli-
van said. “We’re hoping
this position will help alle-
viate that, answer some
questions and potentially
work with breeders at WSU
and ARS to identify why
we’re having these prob-
lems, so they can incorpo-
rate this into their breeding
program.”
While some farmers this
year have experienced low
falling numbers, it has not
been widespread, nor does
it seem to be impacting
exporters, Sullivan said.
The researcher will be
dedicated specifically to
solving the falling number
problem.
“This problem, we
think, needs to be attacked
on the level of very funda-
mental research,” Weller
said. “Once you identify
and determine those bio-
chemical, plant physio-
logical responses that are
occurring and the basic
work is done, then you can
move forward, applying
that knowledge to develop-
ing new varieties and new
treatments for this.”
The USDA is searching
nationally, including plac-
ing notices with profes-
sional organizations and
ads in scientific journals.
“I think we’re going to
get a good cross section of
individuals,” Weller said.
Candidate applications
first go to USDA ARS
headquarters, which will
send them to Weller.
A committee of ARS and
WSU scientists and stake-
holders will invite several
to campus to interview.
Idaho Preferred takes to the road
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
From Driggs to McCall, the Idaho Preferred
Retail Roadshow is making its way across the
state on its third annual tour to promote local,
seasonal produce.
September is the peak of harvest season,
and the roadshow will highlight local produce
and the economic benefits of buying locally
through events at 29 grocery stores.
Administered by the Idaho Department of
Agriculture, the Idaho Preferred program iden-
tifies and promotes food and agricultural prod-
ucts grown, raised or processed in the state.
“There are more than 185 different agricul-
tural commodities produced in Idaho,” Skylar
Jett, manager of the program and a trade spe-
cialist with ISDA, said.
“Choosing to purchase these products sup-
ports Idaho farmers, producers, communities
and the Idaho economy as a whole,” she said.
The roadshow kicked off Sept. 6 in Driggs
and is making its way across the state, with a
final stop in Boise on Sept. 29.
“The Idaho Roadshow has a lot of benefits
for producers and agriculture as a whole,” Jett
said.
It brings awareness to consumers of the
Idaho products in their stores, allows them to
sample Idaho products and in some cases meet
the farmers and ranchers who produce the
food, she said.
“Last year’s sales of Idaho produce
increased $2.5 million because of the road-
show,” she said.
Sales of Idaho-grown produce for partici-
pating roadshow retailers in 2018 increased by
150% to 315% during September compared to
2017, according to ISDA.
Since the first year of the roadshow, Idaho
Preferred has increased the number of events,
participating retailers, participating agricul-
tural partners and the volume of sales.
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