Friday, May 28, 2021
CapitalPress.com 7
Dairy Checkoff
targets Generation Z
China lettuce a challenging
weed for many wheat farmers
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
When Albert Adjesiwor
started in his job as a Uni-
versity of Idaho Extension
weed scientist last year, he
drove around the region and
saw the weed China lettuce
in just about every wheat
fi eld.
“It’s very widespread,”
he said, noting it’s partic-
ularly prevalent in no-till
farming systems, primarily
in the western U.S.
China lettuce is a win-
ter annual that emerges in
the fall. It is also known by
other names, including horse
thistle and compass plant,
because its lower leaves
turn to face the sun. A sin-
gle plant can generate up to
46,000 seeds, which can sur-
vive up to three years in the
soil.
Courtesy of Albert Adjesiwor
Albert Adjesiwor is a weed scientist and University of
Idaho Extension specialist based in Kimberly, Idaho.
The weed is most sus-
ceptible to herbicides before
emergence and at heights
less than 3 inches tall,
Adjesiwor said.
Farmers should prevent
seed production by using
pre-harvest or post-harvest
spraying.
Growers should not plant
into existing stands of China
lettuce.
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Dairy Management Inc.
and its state and regional
Dairy Checkoff partners
have long recognized the
importance of the next gen-
eration as future consum-
ers. Now they’re zeroing in
on Generation Z — youths
between the ages of 10 and
23.
“We know based on
research that this is a gen-
eration that is truly setting
themselves apart,” Barb
O’Brien, DMI president,
said in virtual press confer-
ence on Monday.
“From what we know
about how this generation
wants to change the world,
they’re changing expec-
tations of brands and how
they’re willing to spend
their money on brands that
are doing good and doing
right in their view, it can
have an enormous impact
on dairy as well as other
categories,” she said.
They also have a phi-
losophy of balance when
it comes to food, feeding
their body what it needs
and what it craves, she said.
They have also grown
up online and have infor-
mation at their fi ngertips,
she said.
“They’re digitally savvy
and are willing to share
their data in exchange for
a more personalized expe-
rience, personalized con-
tent and recommendations
meant just for them,” she
said.
Kids today are bom-
barded with opinions on
which foods to eat, what’s
good and bad for them,
on social media and from
celebrities and friends, said
Anne Warden, DMI execu-
tive vice president of strate-
gic integration.
They also have so many
more choices and are more
disconnected from where
their food comes from than
ever before, she said.
“That leads to growing
questions about whether
dairy is good for the ani-
mals, whether it’s good for
the environment,” she said.
It is critical to make sure
they understand milk and
dairy contain unparalleled
nutrition, are made with
care and have a taste that
can’t be matched, she said.
Generation Z is chang-
ing how companies market
Adjesiwor also urged
farmers to diversify their
weed control practices, not-
ing that weeds adapt to any
practice used repeatedly. It
is resistant to Group 2 and
Group 4 herbicides.
Herbicides have vary-
ing degrees of eff ectiveness.
One requires the maximum
label. Others aren’t as eff ec-
tive when it’s too hot and
the humidity is low. Adjesi-
wor recommends splitting
these applications into two
or three passes.
Growers should contact
Adjesiwor for more infor-
mation or if they suspect
they have herbicide-resistant
China lettuce. He is based in
Kimberly, Idaho.
Adjesiwor spoke May
17 during the Idaho Wheat
Commission’s new “Farm
Chat” online discussion
series.
Company lays groundwork for gene-edited hemp
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
A biotechnology company
has taken a key step toward
genetically editing hemp with
an eye toward easing large-
scale production of the crop.
Calyxt, a Minnesota-based
plant
technology
fi rm,
has transformed the hemp
genome to provide a “proof
of concept” that the crop can
be altered with its TALEN
method of using “gene scis-
sors,” said Sarah Reiter, its
chief business offi cer.
“For us, it’s sort of a
dream crop. It also needs a
ton of improvement to reach
that potential,” Reiter said.
Achieving a more uni-
form plant height, reducing
the amount of psychoactive
THC compound and enhanc-
ing the size and consistency
of seed are among the traits
that Calyxt will now try to
develop in hemp, she said.
The company expects to
concentrate more on fi ber
and grain production than the
plant’s CBD content, she said.
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is an
extract that’s popularly used
for its healthful properties.
“We’re happy to work
with them to utilize our tech-
nology but it’s not our imme-
diate focus,” Reiter said of
the hemp CBD market.
If the crop’s height is less
variable, it would be easier to
harvest. Lowering the THC
content would prevent hemp
from testing above the 0.3%
regulatory threshold for mar-
ijuana, which remains illegal
under federal law.
Apart from improving the
quality of seed, the company
also wants to encourage seeds
to mature at the same time to
maximize yield.
The process of developing
those traits is expected to take
three to fi ve years for hemp,
which the company typically
achieves by deleting a gene
to “up-regulate” other func-
tions, Reiter said.
Hemp presents an excit-
ing opportunity because it
can produce fi ber with less
water and pesticides than cot-
ton while also generating oil
that can be used for biodiesel,
she said.
“It’s also a great protein.
It makes more protein than
soy,” Reiter said.
Even so, the crop is “noto-
riously reluctant” to being
gene-edited due to the com-
plexity of its genome and
such characteristics as female
plants that develop male
fl owers, she said.
“There is a lot of complex-
ity to any change you’re try-
Capital Press File
A hemp plant.
ing to make,” she said.
Calyxt plans to develop
traits in breeder seed, which
partnering hemp companies
can then cross-pollinate with
other varieties or multiply
for the commercial market,
Reiter said.
“The functionality could
help wherever hemp is
going,” she said.
Calyxt was incorporated
in 2010. The company is also
developing gene-edited soy-
beans, oats, wheat and alfalfa.
According to Calyxt,
during the fi rst quarter of
2021, the publicly traded fi rm
had a net loss of $10 million
on $4.4 million in revenues,
compared to an $11 million
loss on $2.4 million in reve-
nues at this point last year.
The hemp industry is seek-
ing consistent genetics and
predictable outcomes, partic-
ularly since seed developed
in the U.S. tends to be highly
variable, said Beau Whitney,
an economist with Whitney
Economics who tracks the
crop.
“Because they’re hybrids
of marijuana strains, they’re
unpredictable in terms of test-
ing above 0.3% THC,” he
said.
However, European seed
companies are supplying
hemp for the fi ber market
that’s reliably low in THC
and otherwise has predictable
traits, he said.
It appears Calyxt wants
to speed up the process for
bringing U.S. strains to an
equivalent consistency with
those from Europe, Whitney
said. “That’s compelling but
the proof is in the pudding.”
The company’s informa-
tion about transforming the
hemp genome is “extremely
vague” but its history of
developing herbicide resis-
tant traits is likely “bad
news,” said Bill Freese, sci-
ence policy analyst for the
Center for Food Safety, a
nonprofi t that’s critical of fed-
eral biotech oversight.
Herbicide-resistant crops
can spur the growth of weeds
that also resist them, requir-
ing more to be sprayed, he
said.
Jordan Ma-
ron, a.k.a.
Captain
Sparklez
Rosanna
Pansino
their products and exists
almost entirely online, she
said.
“And we know they’re
really cognizant of whether
companies and brands are
doing good things for con-
sumers beyond just making
money,” she said.
They’ll turn against
products that don’t match
their values or desire for
authenticity, she said.
“So part of why we’re
focused on Gen Z is
because they are having
a massive impact on how
businesses operate. And
we’re going to have to be
really adept at communica-
tion with them in order to
support dairy’s long-term
future,” she said.
DMI is activating three
programs in the next two
months to connect dairy’s
story to the Gen Z audience.
One program is tapping
into Gen Z’s love of gam-
ing to capture their atten-
tion and show how dairy
products fi t well with gam-
ing and meet their wellness
needs, she said.
To do that, DMA is
partnering with gaming
infl uencers Jordan Maron
(known to his fans as Cap-
tainSparklez) and Rosanna
Pansino. The project is
called “Beat the Lag” with
the message that dairy
foods can give gamers an
energy boost and a tasty
pick-me-up during long
stretches of gaming, she
said.
The campaign started a
week ago and has already
had 3 million views.
DMI has also partnered
with GoNoodle to take the
Fuel Up to Play 60 pro-
gram into the virtual space
with a new game.
It’s also tapping into
young dairy farmers to
interact with Gen Z on
social media, such as Tik-
Tok and Instagram, and
will debut a video on June
1 showing the fun and
entertaining side of young
dairy farmer, she said.
FLAT CARS- THE BETTER BRIDGE
Governors zero in
on broadband access
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Western states are mak-
ing progress in providing
broadband internet service
to more rural residents, pro-
ponents say.
The Western Gover-
nors’ Association discussed
broadband during the West-
ern Prosperity Roundta-
ble — a new platform they
established to work on pol-
icies to increase prosperity
throughout the region.
One of the sessions on
access to broadband inter-
net featured a panel from
the federal and state gov-
ernments, tribes and service
providers. They examined
how large investments in
broadband infrastructure are
being deployed and what
needs to be done to enable
everyone — including rural
residents — to work, learn
and receive medical care
from their homes.
According to the National
Telecommunications and
Information Administration,
17 million Americans do
not have a basic broadband
internet connection. Broad-
band service is not available
on 20.9% of tribal lands and
17.2% of rural areas.
While 95.6% of U.S.
households have access
to basic broadband, only
68.5% subscribe to services
at that level or above.
Kathryn de Wit, project
director of the Broadband
Access Initiative with the
Pew Charitable Trusts, said
her team has spent the last
three years looking at how
states are responding to the
digital divide.
“What we found through
the course of that research
is that states are not only
doing quite a bit, they’re
doing quite a bit well,” she
said.
“They are establishing
policy frameworks to cre-
ate space for stakeholders to
solve these problems. They
are relying on statewide,
regional and local plan-
ning,” she said.
They are not only build-
ing buy-in and creating
strategies but are also build-
ing the expertise of commu-
nity leaders to make sure
they have the resources and
knowledge to participate in
community-led initiatives
and public-private partner-
ships, she said.
States are committing
signifi cant amounts of fund-
ing to broadband and com-
mitted historic amounts last
year during the pandemic
and economic recession, she
said.
“States are also evalu-
ating their progress — are
they making the impact that
they had intended? How do
they adjust their policy and
approaches in order to meet
these goals?” she said.
“They really are trying
to apply lessons learned to
ensure that they are being
eff ective stewards of public
funds,” she said.
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