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CapitalPress.com
Friday, January 15, 2021
People & Places
This scientist’s passion for
bees is helping agriculture
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By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
CORVALLIS, Ore. —
Andony Melathopoulos says
his work is pretty sweet.
Melathopoulos leads Ore-
gon State University Exten-
sion’s statewide pollina-
tor health program and is an
assistant professor. Agricul-
tural experts say he’s one of
the nation’s most remark-
able innovators in the world
of bees.
The researcher has made
significant
contributions
to bee disease studies, has
trained thousands of Oregon
applicators in how to safely
apply pesticides, teaches the
public about agriculture and
pollination and started Amer-
ica’s first statewide native
bee inventory.
“I love it when peo-
ple get excited about bees.
A lot of Oregonians I run
into — rancher, applicator,
Portland person — are like,
‘What are these weird little
red things zipping along the
landscape?’ They’re really
just curious, like me,” said
Melathopoulos.
Melathopoulos said he has
always been interested in the
natural world. He remembers
watching nature TV shows as
a kid and thinking: “How can
such creatures exist?”
He grew up in Canada and
said that working in Oregon
has been “a dream” because
Canada doesn’t have an
extension service and Ore-
gon has a wider range of
fauna, or animal life.
In Canada, Melathopou-
los grew up in an agricultural
Carl Sampson .................. Managing Editor
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Entire contents copyright © 2021
Western
Innovator
ANDONY
MELATHOPOULOS
Occupation: Assistant pro-
fessor in horticulture and
pollinator health, Oregon
State University Extension
specialist
Age: 49
Lynn Ketchum/Oregon State University
Andony Melathopoulos, OSU Extension pollinator specialist, with honey bees.
Melathopoulos with a
“bee beard.”
region and worked along-
side farmers. Here too, he
said he’s passionate about
the intersection of agriculture
and pollination.
Melathopoulos runs a
program called the Oregon
Bee Project with two dif-
ferent arms. The first helps
beekeepers and farmers bet-
ter care for “managed” bees
including honey bees, leaf-
cutter bees, orchard mason
bees and alkali bees.
The second arm focuses
on native bees, of which Ore-
gon has more than 620 types.
The researcher’s latest
project, OSU’s Master Mel-
ittologists program — a mel-
ittologist is a bee expert —
trains volunteers to locate,
identify and preserve bees
native to the state in a data-
base called the Oregon Bee
Atlas.
He and his colleagues
train volunteers and then
send them out to catch and
track bees. The project has
helped promote biodiversity
and enabled growers to boost
crop yields.
The researcher has trained
more than 150 volunteers to
collect samples.
“A lot of ‘citizen sci-
ence’ programs make peo-
ple do a repetitive task again
and again, the grunt work.
But these volunteers wanted
to be the discoverers. They
wanted some independence.
So I gave it to them,” said
Melathopoulos.
Volunteers
say
this
sets Melathopoulos apart
from many researchers; he
empowers people.
“I just — I don’t know
how Andony (Melathopou-
los) does it because this is
just one little part of his job.
He’s been amazing. And
he makes himself available
to everyone,” said Michael
O’Loughlin, 58, a Yamhill
County volunteer.
Melathopoulos’
native
bee studies have been use-
ful in crop pollination efforts,
especially in the state’s clo-
ver seed industry and in Ban-
don-area cranberries.
Born and raised: Calgary,
Canada
Education: Interdisciplin-
ary Ph.D. (2016), Dalhousie
University, Halifax, Canada;
masters in pest man-
agement (1999), Simon
Fraser University, Burnaby,
Canada; bachelor of science
in biology, honors (1995),
Simon Fraser University
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Melathopoulos said he’s
also passionate about help-
ing farmers apply pesticides in
the safest ways possible. Since
2018, he has trained more than
7,000 pesticide applicators.
He also teaches the public
about agriculture and pollina-
tion through coloring books,
OMSI exhibits and presen-
tations. OMSI is the Ore-
gon Museum of Science and
Industry.
And colleagues say in his
OSU classrooms, he’s train-
ing the next generation of bee
experts.
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Oregon FFA receives $500K gift for endowment to expand programs
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
CORVALLIS, Ore. — The Ore-
gon FFA Foundation has received its
largest single donation of $500,000
from Northwest Farm Credit Ser-
vices to expand agricultural educa-
tion programs and reach more stu-
dents statewide.
Foundation President Kirk Maag
said the money will be used to seed
a new endowment fund called “Ore-
gon FFA Today and Tomorrow,” that
will bolster FFA’s leadership and
career development opportunities.
“First and foremost, we’re just
incredibly thankful,” Maag said.
“We want to be deliberate in mak-
ing sure that we best invest this gift
in ways that will pro-
vide the biggest bene-
fit to our members over
an extended period of
time.”
Maag said the Foun-
dation’s Board of Direc-
tors will seek input from
agriculture teachers and
FFA advisers across
Oregon to determine priorities for
the endowment.
“Our hands aren’t overly tied in
how we spend this money,” Maag
said. “Northwest Farm Credit Ser-
vices has placed a lot of trust in the
Oregon FFA Board of Directors to
work with our team of very talented
employees to think of how we can
make the biggest impact.”
The Oregon FFA
Foundation is the primary
source of funding for Ore-
gon FFA and its 11,000
members.
“This endowment will
ultimately allow us to
reach more students in
more communities, and
provide expanded oppor-
tunities for each of those students,”
Maag said.
In a statement, Brent Fetsch, Ore-
gon President of Northwest Farm
Credit Services, said he hopes other
companies will join in contributing
to the new endowment.
“Students who participate in FFA
are more likely to graduate from
high school, and 93% continue their
education beyond high school,” said
Fetsch, who also serves as the Ore-
gon FFA Foundation secretary and is
a former FFA state officer.
Fetsch said he has heard repeat-
edly from the bank’s customers
and other agribusiness that recruit-
ing talent is a top concern facing the
industry.
“The return on investing in Ore-
gon FFA is more young people grad-
uating high school, pursuing further
education or training and ultimately
taking their place as the next gener-
ation of Oregon agriculture and for-
est product industries,” Fetsch said.
“We are grateful for the impact-
ful work Oregon FFA does for over
11,000 students, communities and
agriculture.”
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Wilco donates $75K to Santiam Canyon Wildfire Relief Fund
Co-op makes largest
single donation in its
history
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
MT. ANGEL, Ore. —
Wilco staff delivered a
check for $75,000 to the
Santiam Canyon Wildfire
Relief Fund on Jan. 4 to help
communities rebuild after a
series of destructive wild-
fires ravaged the area last
September.
It is the largest single
contribution in the co-op’s
history. In addition to direct
donations from Wilco cus-
tomers and employees, some
employees also converted
their unused vacation time
to give to the local nonprofit.
“Our hope with any cash
donation is that it offers
immediate relief to those
Wilco
Wilco representatives present the Santiam Canyon
Wildfire Relief Fund with a $75,000 check. From left to
right are TJ Colson, vice president of store operations;
Jeff Buccello, Wilco-Purina Lifestyle production special-
ist; Tanner Shockey, Stayton farm store manager; Me-
gan Draper, community engagement specialist; Melissa
Baurer, Santiam Hospital service integration coordina-
tor, Deana Freres, Santiam Canyon Wildfire Relief Fund
adviser; and Maggie Hudson, CEO of Santiam Hospital.
who need it most,” said TJ
Colson, vice president of
retail store operations for
Wilco. “The September
wildfires in Oregon added to
a historic year of upheaval
and we want to be part of
the rebuilding, growth
and renewal of our rural
communities.”
The canyon was dev-
astated by wind-whipped
wildfires that swept through
the area during the week
after Labor Day. More than
700 homes were destroyed
in and around the towns of
Detroit, Mill City, Gates,
Lyons and Mehama and in
the Little North Fork area.
The Santiam Canyon
Wildfire Relief Fund has
set a goal to raise $5 mil-
lion that will go directly
to support residents of
fire-stricken
communi-
ties, including Detroit, Mill
City, Gates, Lyons and
Mehama. To date, the fund
has raised more than $2.6
million.
“This effort means a lot
to our employees and farm-
ers, many whom were per-
sonally affected by the
wildfires,” Colson said.
All together, Wilco has
donated more than $120,000
in cash and supplies since
the 2020 Oregon wildfires
began. That includes a sep-
arate $25,000 donation to
the American Red Cross,
and more than $20,000 in
donated supplies — includ-
ing donations from vendors
such as Purina and Nature’s
Bedding.
Hundreds of Wilco
employees also volun-
teered at county and state
fairgrounds that served as
evacuation sites during the
fires, where families were
forced to flee with their
animals.
“One positive that came
out of the tragic fires was
seeing our employees, cus-
tomers and vendors all
rally together to help com-
munity members and their
animals in a time of real
need,” Colson said.
Established in 1967,
Wilco today serves more
than 500,000 customers
and has more than 3,000
farmer members across the
Pacific Northwest.
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TUESDAY-
WEDNESDAY
JAN. 19-20
Dairy Strong Annual Con-
ference (virtual): The annual
conference is organized by the
Dairy Business Association.
More details to come. Website:
https://www.dairystrong.org
TUESDAY-THURSDAY
JAN. 19-21
Idaho Potato Conference (virtual):
The 53rd annual Idaho Potato Con-
ference is scheduled virtually from
8 a.m. to noon Mountain Jan. 19-21.
Sessions are free. Advance regis-
tration is required. Certified Crop
Adviser and Idaho pesticide-recerti-
fication credits are available. A Span-
ish session is 1 to 3 p.m. Jan. 19.
Seminars are slated on topics rang-
ing from potato varieties and quality
— including economic ramifications
— to disease and recommended
practices. Each day will conclude
with a presentation by a company
working in the industry. Additional
details about the conference will
be posted at https://www.uidaho.
edu/cals/potatoes/news/idaho-po-
Opinion ...................................................6
tato-conference. Registration: Kristy
Mayer, UI Auxiliary Services, 208-885-
4152 or kristym@uidaho.edu.
WEDNESDAY-
SATURDAY JAN. 20-23
41st EcoFarm Conference
(virtual): Save the date for the
41st EcoFarm Conference Jan.
20-23. Building upon its farmer-
to-farmer education model, Eco-
Farm is an essential networking
and educational hub for ecolog-
ically minded farmers, ranchers
and all who work to support their
success in growing a healthy food
system and world. Mark your cal-
endars for Jan. 20-23 and get
ready for an EcoFarm Conference
unlike any before as we will con-
vene online for our 41st event.
Phone: 831-763-2111 Email: info@
eco-farm.org Website: https://eco-
farm.org/conference
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