CALS aufholen - August 24, 2022 - University of Idaho (2023)

Dean's Message - Great stories to tell

It's great to see our students back on campus and feel the excitement of a new school year in the air. Early numbers suggest the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences will see at least modest enrollment growth this past fall. We will know more details when the official enrollment numbers are announced 10 days after the start of the semester. This is encouraging given that the university broke new enrollment records a year ago. The University raised the bar on enrollments last year and I'm happy to say it continues to meet that high bar. We look forward to our CALS welcome picnic scheduled for 4:30pm. m. on Wednesday, 7.9. The Picnic is a great place for CALS students, alumni, faculty and staff to gather and socialize after the summer. For students, it's a perfect opportunity to get to know the campus and discover student clubs and activities.

Fundraising is another focus as we begin a new school year. UofI contributed a record $64.6 million to the campus through fundraising last year, including nearly $25 million to fund scholarships and programs that foster student success. CALS raised $14 million last year. As a faculty, we also start large capital projects. At the end of June, we launched the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, which will also include the country's largest research dairy. We are building a facility that will probe the soil at greater depths than anywhere else in the world, called the Deep Soil Ecotron. We are planning a major renovation of the UofI Parma Research and Extension Center. We have recently opened a state of the art facility to house the potato seed germplasm program. Finally, we are planning a new meat science and innovation center to house Vandal Brand Meats.

Recognizing that unity is strong, I lead a task force focused on building closer relationships with community colleges in the state, particularly the College of Southern Idaho at Twin Falls. We're also increasingly trying to approach projects from a regional perspective, with a focus on multiple commodities and collaborations with USDA and universities throughout the Pacific Northwest to increase our chances of receiving key grants to study urgent farming challenges. The unique, state-of-the-art facilities we are developing will be critical to this large-scale collaborative research effort. We hope we are well positioned to take advantage of research funds from the next Farm Bill. When students return to campus, we'll have momentum on our side and great stories to tell.

Michael P. Parrella

Dean
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

by numbers

The University of Idaho Extension is involved44Fairs in Idaho counties July through October. Entries from animal projects across the state were adding up1.169market meat,772market goats,1.672sheep market,2.509market pigs,242market bird,124market rabbit,1.236horses,397Ave,344Rabbits,80Gatos,33Guinea pig,49bag pets,47miniature horse,14mini donkey,35pygmy goats,227dairy goats,409Hunde in341dairy animals.

The North Idaho State Fair in Coeur d'Alene is celebrating theirs100ºyear as well as the Kootenai County 4-H.4-Hincreased participation in Idaho County with405 4-Htrade fair participants, as well as89adult leaders. At the Payette County Fair,4-Hreports a98%Increase in shooting ads for shotguns, archery and rifle skins. was that1ºBroilers of the year were sold at the market during the sale of animals, and the top shelf of the3brought broilers55 $per pound for1.317 $🇧🇷 At the Gooding County Fair, a young man's 4-H project goat was sold for a huge sum.$ 66per pound. At the Owyhee County Fair and Rodeo in Homedale,4-HSumming up income from the sale of cattle at the market768.000 $no plugins. A market pig was sold as a result of a bidding war between two determined buyers16.000 $🇧🇷 The Western Idaho Fair in Boise is celebrating its125ºyear incl355Exhibitors The Bannock County Fair in Downey almost boasted1.000entries inside4-Hyouth events and250Animal projects are shown. The Bonneville County Fair had a record inventory sale with280Animals and a meat chicken coop sold by1.000 $.

Our Stories: Wheat quality lab sees promise in new equipment

The University of Idaho Wheat Quality Laboratory team is expected to produce more consistent test results in less time by analyzing flour samples obtained from experimental grains harvested this season.

In November 2021, UofI and the Idaho Wheat Commission shared the cost of a $59,000 computerized near-infrared spectrometer for the laboratory at UofI's Aberdeen Research and Extension Center. The modern device will help the laboratory to better measure quality indicators of flour samples, such as protein and moisture content. The technology uses infrared light to analyze the composition of materials and distinguish the unique infrared colors associated with specific components.

Sarah Windes, a laboratory services manager at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences who heads the lab, tried to avoid potentially skewed results by immediately switching to the new spectrometer last season. Instead, he's spent the past few months grading it in preparation for this season's harvest. By the end of August 2022, Windes hopes to finish processing the last flour samples from 2021 using the old machine bought about 20 years ago.

"One of the things that struck me when I walked into the lab was that the NIR spectrometer that the lab used to measure protein levels and ash levels was old," Windes said. "I was a little frizzy."

The spectrometer used by the laboratory sometimes registers a soft wheat variety with a protein content of over 20%, which should normally be between 9 and 11%. When these spikes occur, Windes and his team have to shut down and recalibrate the machine.

The new machine, the TANGO, made in Germany by Bruker Co., connects to the internet and automatically calibrates itself using samples from a global database. It doesn't exhibit such occasional fluctuations in readings and is also much more efficient to use.

"It has removable glasses, and you can line up multiple samples so they can be viewed on the reader," Windes said, adding that the TANGO doesn't need to be cleaned after each sample like its predecessor. "This saves us at least 10 hours a week without having to wait on a chair in front of the machine."

The current spectrometer only analyzes wheat and barley flour or bran. TANGO opens the doors of the laboratory to test other cereals and dozens of different raw materials, as well as whole almonds and oils. Jared Spackman, a barley agronomist in Aberdeen, has previously used TANGO to determine moisture in whole barley. In addition, TANGO calculates two new measurements for the laboratory: fiber and starch content. You can also plot and map the data.

The laboratory, which has operated for several decades to evaluate the end-use qualities of the university's experimental wheat varieties, is funded entirely by the Idaho Wheat Commission. The equipment grinds first generation samples to determine protein, ash content, moisture and grain hardness. State-of-the-art samples are ground to a fine powder. Soft wheat varieties are baked into biscuits. Durum wheat is used to make bread. Some soft wheats are also made into pasta.

The team gets information about the protein quality and other factors of their baked breads.

“We look at the shape, the height it rises in the proofer, the volume of a loaf and the internal structure of the crumb,” says Windes.

Soft wheat biscuits are graded on color, dough extensibility, and surface crack uniformity and size, known as the total score. The lab received 7,500 variety samples from the 2021 crop for evaluation, 80% of which were converted into baked goods.

Fences developed for UofI Ranch are an asset to wildlife and ranchers

While visiting a rancher on the Idaho-Montana border, Wyatt Prescott came up with the basic idea behind the electric fence design, which he uses to better protect wildlife and allow ranchers to save on labor hours and material costs.

The farmer developed the special fence to withstand high snow loads in areas at risk of drift. Prescott, hired to manage farms and infrastructure at the University of IdahoRancho Rinker Rock Creekin Wood River Valley he made his own adjustments to the design.

Prescott installed the first section ofanimal friendly fencesat Rinker Rock Creek Ranch in 2018. The fence has brought significant benefits to rangeland management and conservation and furthered the goals of the unique research farm. Rinker Rock Creek Ranch is managed jointly by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the College of Natural Resources. Two non-profit organizations that helped the university acquire the land, The Nature Conservancy and the Wood River Land Trust, serve on an advisory board that guides management.

"I'm a big fan of that," Prescott said of the special fencing. "It seems like I talk about it all the time."

Rinker Rock Creek Ranch's highly acclaimed design is a heavy-duty, three-strand chain link fence that can be placed in the ground when not in use to resist wear and tear while eliminating a barrier to wildlife. Wires are energized when cattle are present.

"In the seasons when animals are roaming the property, spring and fall, we usually already have the fence up," said Cameron Weskamp, ​​operations manager at Rinker Rock Creek Ranch.

The wooden or metal posts that support the ecological fences are spaced about 30 meters apart, compared to 4.5 meters for traditional barbed wire or wicker fences. The tops of the hollow posts are covered with spray foam to prevent songbirds from flying in and getting stuck. Prescott estimates he spends about half the normal cost of green fencing materials. It takes him about an hour to fix every kilometer of green fence before the cattle return each spring.

"I can't fix new barbed wire at a mile an hour, and we have fewer cattle coming out than four-strand barbed wire," Prescott said.

The land now encompassed by Rinker Rock Creek Ranch was historically owned by several different families and divided into several pastures with barbed wire. The farm is also located in a north-south wildlife migratory corridor.

"Four- or five-wire barbed wire and braided wire can really discourage moose and pronghorn migration," Weskamp said. "By installing green fences and removing barbed and chain-link fences, we are making the landscape much more permeable for migrating animals."

For the initial installation, the Governor's Office of Wildlife Conservation awarded the ranch a $19,000 grant to remove 7.5 miles of barbed wire and barbed wire fencing and install 4 miles of eco-friendly fencing. Ranch officials consulted with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game about the design changes. They've gradually expanded their eco-fence network over the years, most recently in 2020 and 2021 with $100,000 from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Prescott said neighboring farmers were initially skeptical of the concept, but several were sold. Some of them even had it installed on their property. Prescott has installed about 20 miles of wildlife-friendly fencing at Rinker Rock Creek Ranch and a few neighboring farms in recent years. He estimates that about a dozen farmers visit the fence each year.

“Every kilometer gets better. I feel like we did well," Prescott said. "Everyone I speak to is very happy about it."

Dusty Perkins, land management manager at The Nature Conservancy in Boise, recently advised a farmer interested in upgrading his fence to look at the Rinker Rock Creek Ranch project. Adapting to the seasonal migrations of ungulates and other wildlife is a growing priority for conservationists, Perkins said.

"I think this fence is a good demonstration of how we can meet management needs and goals and also how we're meeting some conservation goals," Perkins said. “The theme that uses UofI is an elegant solution. I view the work at Rinker Rock Creek as a demonstration. I'm excited because we have a place where we can point and say, 'Look, they're doing this.

Liming studies focus on the growing challenge to soil health

A North Idaho farmer planted barley after a few years of growing Kentucky wild grass. The barley seedlings grew to about 3 inches and began to die.

The cause of the poor harvest became apparent when the farmer checked the pH of his soil. It was 4.4, too acidic for barley.

Farmers in northern Idaho, particularly those who grow barley, have reported similar experiences. Jared Spackman, a professor of cultivated barley at the University of Idaho and a professor on the Idaho Barley Commission, and Kurt Schroeder, a crop systems agronomist at UI, suggest that many fields in the region that were historically suitable for grain production tend to be acidic , finally out of whack .

In parts of eastern Idaho where soil acidity is also becoming an issue, Spackman is beginning a study using sugar beet lime, a byproduct of the sugar extraction process, as a means of raising soil pH, thereby improving plant health and Weeds are kept down. under control. 🇧🇷

Read the full story.

faces and places

Ritika LamichhanemiEmmanuella Owusu Ansah, both Research Associates in Crop Systems Agronomy with MS in Plant Sciences, have been selected as recipients of the Iddings Research Grant.

UI extension Gardening Specialistthey were lovewas recently featured in a Scientia article on growing sustainable urban landscapes with native plants.

dinosaurs win, manager of the University of Idaho Sheep Center, recently conducted a sheep carcass ultrasound school in Moscow. Participants from Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Kentucky learned how to measure carcass quality in live animals to make herd management decisions.

Gustav Teixeira, Post-Harvest Potato Physiologist of UI Extension, was recently recognized for his efforts in organizing the International Symposium on Post-Harvest Technology to Reduce Food Loss at the 31st International Horticultural Congress in Agers, France.

Ritika Lamichhane and Emmanuella Owusu Ansah

they were love

Dino Vinci (left) with the participants.

Gustavo Teixeira (rechts)