August 2013 News Stories

Genetically modified wheat: Oregon farmers cheer Japan’s decision to resume purchases (Oregonian)

Japan’s agricultural ministry announced Tuesday that it will resume buying western white wheat from the Pacific Northwest — a crop valued at up to $500 million a year to Oregon farmers. (see also CNBC, NWCable News, Yahoo)

E. Oregon wheat stunted by lack of rain (Miami Herald)

“In general, it’s going to be a far below-average harvest,” said extension soils scientist Don Wysocki of Oregon State University’s Pendleton center. (see also Register-Guard, Statesman Journal)

Local oysters ok with acid (The World)

Genetically modified wheat: Feds say evidence so far indicates it’s limited to one field on one eastern Oregon farm (Oregonian)

In the agency’s first statement about the genetically-modified wheat investigation in nearly two months, the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said all the evidence collected so far indicates the “Roundup Ready” plants are limited to one field on one Oregon farm. (see also St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

OSU, Whiskey Creek get money to combat shellfish acidification (Sustainable Business Oregon)

Oregon State University has landed six-digits worth of funds to help the state’s shellfish companies fight against ocean acidification. (see also KVAL, Daily Journal of Commerce)

Drones touch down in the American West (High Country News)

Researchers at Kansas State University Salina and Oregon State University are developing ag-friendly drones designed to help farmers and ranchers increase productivity — after they drop $5,000 to $100,000.

Monster mushroom bigger than a toddler looks like a portabello next to Oregon’s 3-mile-long fungus (HNGN)

“We just decided to go out looking for one bigger than the last claim,” Gregory Filip, associate professor of integrated forest protection at Oregon State University, and a honey mushroom expert, said. “There hasn’t been anything measured with any scientific technique that has shown any plant or animal to be larger than this.”

Hot, dry and fiery summer expected to resume after today (Gazette-Times)

According to the Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University, last month was the 15th rain-free July since Oregon began keeping weather records in 1893. The last dry July was in 2003.

Vegetable scientists make expertise available online (Capital Press)

The website collects observations and research by pathologists, entomologists and horticulturists from Washington State University, Oregon State University and the University of Idaho.

Book lists everything to know about slugs, snails (Statesman Journal)

Oregon State University Press has published a new guide to the snails and slugs of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and western Montana.

Atlantis probes depths to find earthquake epicenter (Daily Astorian)

One of those vessels, the research vessel Atlantis operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, departed Astoria Wednesday for a month-long cruise carrying mostly researchers from the University of Washington and three from Oregon State University. (see also Register-Guard, North Jersey, Statesman Journal)

Oregon agricultural production sets record (Perishable News)

Oregon’s agricultural production was worth a record $5.4 billion in 2012, according to preliminary figures compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s statistics service and Oregon State University.

Ag research center celebrates 100 years (Hood River News)

The community is invited to a centennial celebration at Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center on Aug. 8. Dr. Ed Ray, president of Oregon State University, will speak along with other officials.

Know your enemy: How to manage common weeds in the vegetable garden (Statesman Journal)

Knowing more about weeds can give gardeners a leg up in the fight, said Ed Peachey, a weed specialist for the Oregon State University Extension Service.

Farmers Market boom is leveling off (US News & World Report)

“That says that something that grows really rapidly can’t continue to do that forever,” says Larry Lev, a professor and extension economist at Oregon State University who studies farmers markets.

WSU trial finds no GM wheat among NW varieties (Capital Press)

A special test of wheat varieties from around the region showed none were genetically modified for herbicide resistance, Washington State University researchers say. The test included 50 commercially grown varieties from WSU, the University of Idaho and Oregon State University, including new WSU varieties, and 24 varieties from WestBred/Monsanto and Limagrain Cereal Seeds. (see also Northwest Cable News, Equities, Farming UK)

OSU celebrates 100 years of ag service at Hood River (Good Fruit Grower)

Oregon State University’s Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center celebrated its 100-year anniversary, August 8, in Hood River, Oregon. The celebration included a tour of the research plots and a dinner with Dr. Edward Ray, OSU President, state legislators, and other faculty and staff.

5 ways drones are being used in our everyday lives (CTV News)

Researchers at Oregon State University have come up with a fresh way to monitor how potato crops are doing, using a pair of battery-powered drones that weigh only a couple of pounds, to detect unhealthy plants.

Oregon ag products show signs of renewed growth (Western Farmer-Stockman)

Total income for farming in the state was valued at $5.4 billion, based on figures from NASS and Oregon State University data banks.  Overall, trends show that ag has bounced back from the recession,   besting 2011 figures of $5.3 billion.

OSU Climate Center receives USDA grant (Woodworking Network)

Oregon State University has received a five-year, $4 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to investigate increasing impacts of drought, insect attacks and fires on forests in the western U.S., and to project how the influence of climate change may affect forest die-offs in the future. Researchers will also enhance an earth system model to help them predict a forests vulnerability to physiological stress and create strategies to minimize the impact of climate, insects and fire.

Wine waste finds sweet afterlife in baked goods (Boise Public Radio)

Researchers are also exploring pomace’s properties as a food preservative — studies have shown that compounds called polyphenols found in grapes and in pomace kill bacteria that can cause food to spoil. One Oregon State University professor, Yanyun Zhao, has even toyed with turning pomace into a biodegradable material to make flower pots. (see also NPR)

Ashland backers seek agricultural district funds (Medford Mail Tribune)

District tax revenues would support 4-H, Master Gardeners and the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center in the wake of Jackson County funding cuts this year.

Know and grow Portland natives (Portland Magazine)

Oregon State University’s Oregon Flora Project, providing a definitive reference to all Oregon vascular plants, as well as information on endangered Oregon natives.

Oregon nurseries explore using ‘smart sprayer’ to reduce pesticide use (Oregonian)

The sprayer was developed by a team of researchers from Oregon State University, Ohio State University, the University of Tennessee and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Application Technology Research Unit.

Keys to quicker compost (Register-Guard)

“The more time you spend with the compost pile, the better it will be,” allows Ross Penhallegon, a horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service — Lane County office in Eugene

OSU gets money to fight shellfish acidification (Oregon Business)

Oregon State University landed $250,000 through House Bill 5008 to help Oregon’s shellfish companies combat ocean acidification.

Nighttime heatwaves growing in frequency (Register-Guard)

Researchers at the Oregon Climate Service based at OSU documented 15 examples of nighttime heat waves between 1901 and 2009. Of these, 10 have occurred since 1990. Another such nighttime heat wave began this year at the end of June and lasted into early July.

Cows fed flaxseed produce more nutritious dairy products (Tri-State Neighbor)

Dairy cows that are fed flaxseed produce more nutritious milk, according to a new study by Oregon State University. (see also Farm & Ranch Guide, Magic Valley)

Battle in the blades (Lawn and Landscape)

For pests like crane flies and billbugs, Kowalewski says following good IPM practices, scouting early and making applications at the first sign of problems. As far as diseases, the main problem won’t be disease through the summer, says Alec Kowalewski, turfgrass specialist at Oregon State University.

When smoke gets in your garden, it can be a benefit (Mail-Tribune)

For example, Gabriel Balint, Oregon State University viticulturist, commented that many wine grapes may have a smoky flavor this year. Actually, that sounds good to me! On the other hand, David Sugar, OSU plant pathologist, doesn’t think the smoke will affect the flavor

The Tiniest Tsunami Refugees (Slate)

The next day, Chapman went back with a pair of colleagues from Oregon State University to sample the assemblage more rigorously.

Bone-eating worms thrive in the Antarctic (Nature)

Andrew Thurber, an oceanographer at Oregon State University in Corvallis, agrees, saying that the study raises intriguing evolutionary questions. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which flows clockwise around the continent, is thought to act as a barrier that prevents the larvae of many species from reaching Antarctic waters. It’s possible that the bone-eating worms may have crossed the barrier numerous times during evolutionary history, perhaps following the migration routes of whales, says Thurber.

Kemp’s Ridley turtles saved by science (Earthtimes)

Nathan F. Putman of Oregon State University and colleagues from the US and France put together models that could explain how we should locate the youngsters as they travel through the Sea during their most vulnerable stages.
(See also New Scientist)

Study finds novel worm community affects methane release in ocean (Earth Sky)

“We didn’t discover any major ‘burps’ of methane escaping into the atmosphere,” said Andrew R. Thurber, a post-doctoral researcher at Oregon State University and lead author on the study. “However, some of the methane seeps are releasing hundreds of times the amounts of methane we typically see in other locations, so the structure and interactions of this unique habitat certainly got our attention. (see also Science Daily, KEZI, Argentina Star)

Butchery and other fine arts of Central Asian cuisine (Roads and Kingdoms)

An anthropologist named Nancy Rosenberger from Oregon State University wrote about this in a journal article called “Patriotic Appetites and Gnawing Hungers: Food and the Paradox of Nation-Building in Uzbekistan,” Her central thesis is that food is a daily and unconscious reminder of who we are and what we can and can’t grow and sell. Over time, it either forms an enduring and sensually meaningful social bond, or it breaks us apart as a sign of class, faith, and ethnicity.

Oregon State University biochemist Dr. Kevin Ahern uses music, poetry (Metro World News)

Proposed water rules concern Midvalley farmers (Statesman Journal)

Farmers in the Mid-Valley were also concerned, said Derek Godwin, Mid-Valley regional administrator for the Oregon State University Extension Service. Godwin said the FDA is making a concerted effort to prevent food-safety problems instead of just reacting to them, so it¹s taking comments from the public and industry through the fall in anticipation of proposed new treated-water rules.

Jumping juniper: Sustainability bigwigs to manage proliferating wood (Sustainable Business Oregon)

Kitzhaber plans to sign a formal declaration backing the notion Friday in Burns. Harney County and other Eastern Oregon locales are homes to proliferations of juniper. Within the last 150 years, the population and acreage covered by western juniper has increased as much as ten-fold, according to Oregon State University researchers.

Robot pesticide sprayer: Future of farming? (KGW)

It just may be the future of farming. A robot-like contraption that dramatically cuts down on the amount of pesticides going into rivers is being tested in Oregon. The Hans Nelson and Sons Nursery in Boring has been testing out the contraption since May with help from Oregon State University researchers.

Oregon plants from Astoria to Zumwalt (OAN)

The Oregon Flora Project has been  working since 1994 to catalog, map and describe all the vascular plants that grow in Oregon without cultivation. Housed in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University, the project provides research-based information about the state’s plants that is both useful and usable by a diverse audience.

Any way you slice it, Oregon cheese is a winner (Tillamook Headlight Herald)

Oregon’s cheesemakers are pretty special. ”They are passionate and always looking for ways to improve their cheeses,” said Lisbeth Goddik, Oregon State University Extension Dairy Processing Specialist. “They pay close attention to details from animal welfare to the handling of cheeses during the affinage (fine art of ripening cheese) process.”

Beavers, fish and cows: Restless co-existence in Grant County (Oregonian)

Migrating fish usually “can get around them or through them or over them,” says Jimmy Taylor,a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Wildlife Research Center at Oregon State University.

Youths tackle science challenge at STEM academy (Gazette-Times)

While their classmates were enjoying their last weeks of summer vacation, a group of 20 fifth- to eighth-graders turned their attention Friday to explaining tube-and-shelf and microchannel conductors. The group was participating in the Exploring Microtechnology Camp, organized by Oregon State University’s STEM Academy, in partnership with the Microproducts Breakthrough Institute at the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) on the campus of Hewlett-Packard.

Proposed water rules worry farmers (Statesman Journal)

Michael Morrissey, director of the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center in Portland, who attended the FDA hearings, said the FDA appeared to listen to the concerns of the farming community.

Study looking at Mt. Saint Helens’ plumbing (KXLY Spokane)

Oregon State University, Columbia and Rice as well as the U. S. Geological Survey are participating in the study funded by the National Science Foundation.

Another revenue stream (Fruit Growers Report)

When you see a vineyard you see wine. But now USDA researchers are finding ways to turn the pulp, seed, and stem from crushed wine grapes into value added products. Yanyun Zhao of Oregon State University Extension explains. (see also Perishable Goods)

Bald eagles threaten seabirds on the Oregon Coast (KGW)

Could the recovery of the bald eagle mean the demise of a federally protected Oregon seabird? That’s what scientists at Oregon State University are trying to figure out. (see also KREM Spokane, KEX, KVAL)

OSU receives $1.2 million to expand fermentation program (Oregonian)

In the closing days of the 2013 legislative session, Oregon lawmakers approved $1.2 million for Oregon State University to enhance the Agricultural Experiment Station’s fermentation sciences program.

Ocean sound: The Oregon Coast rules when it comes to ambient noise (PhysOrg)

For more than a year, scientists at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center deployed a hydrophone in 50 meters of water just off the coast of Newport, Ore., so they could listen to the natural and human-induced sounds emanating from the Pacific Ocean environment.

Chat leftovers: Picking tomatoes (Washington Post)

The agriculture pros at Oregon State University promise that a tomato cut after its color breaks “will ripen with full vitamin content and nearly full flavor,” but a tomato picked sooner will taste like cardboard even though it might eventually turn red.

Craft beer’s next horizon: Malt (Seattle Weekly)

“Their processing is directed at not introducing flavors into things,” Pat Hayes, barley breeder at Oregon State University, said of mainstream brewers. “If you’re making Bud Light you want it to be Bud Light. You don’t want it to taste like wasabi.” (Wasabi is just an arbitrary flavor note picked to highlight what drives the curiosities of brewers.)

Proposed new federal water regulations worry farmers (Register-Guard)

Michael Morrissey, director of the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center in Portland, who attended the FDA hearings, said the FDA appeared to listen to the concerns of the farming community.

SRG designs $40M building at OSU (Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce)

Construction is expected to start in 2015 on the 60,000-square-foot Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering Building at Oregon State University’s campus in Corvallis, Ore.

Wet-n-dry Willamette Valley (Salem Weekly)

An Oregon State University study projects that by the middle of this century there may be a 56% drop in the amount of water stored in peak snowpack in Oregon Cascade Range watersheds.

Sea turtles ‘lost years’ frustrate researchers (KPIC)

“Hatchling sea turtles are too small for transmitters and electronic tags, and their mortality rate is sufficiently high to make it cost-prohibitive anyway,” said Nathan F. Putman, a post-doctoral researcher at Oregon State University and lead author on the study. (see also KCBY North Bend)

Stepping on the gas (Register-Guard)

Ganti Murthy, an associate professor of biological and ecological engineering at Oregon State University, says countries such as Germany and his homeland of India have biogas plants by the thousands. The projects are uncommon in the United States for two main reasons, he said.

Sweet potatoes show promise in OSU trials (Capital Press)

Oregon State University field trials are showing that sweet potatoes can be grown effectively and with high yields in this region. But one farmer who has tried growing them here says the market for sweet potatoes in eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho is sketchy.

Volunteers help make the state fair go around (Statesman Journal)

Laurelyn Schellin, an Oregon State University master gardener, has been volunteering in the display garden since 1986. “I enjoy meeting new and veteran gardeners from around the state, and sharing my love of both vegetable and flower gardening with all ages,” Schellin said.

16 things Buzzfeed doesn’t know about the ocean (Discovery Magazine)

As NOAA and Oregon State University seismologist Robert Dziak explained to Wired: “Ice breaking up and cracking is a dominant source of natural sound in the southern ocean. Each year there are tens of thousands of what we call ‘icequakes’ created by the cracking and melting of sea ice and ice calving off glaciers into the ocean.”

Scientists seek to breed by stressing plants through epigenetics (Capital Press)

Brett Tyler, director of Oregon State University’s Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing, described epigenetics as chemical tags that “bookmark” DNA, indicating which genes plants should use. He said the tags can be inherited, but they can also change when a plant is under stress.

Seafood harvests dates: What’s in season on the Coast? (Coast Explorer)

The Oregon Seafood Consumer Guide is provided by Oregon Sea Grant at Oregon State University.

Non-native stink bugs could hurt agriculture (Medford Mail-Tribune)

“I was blown away by this,” said Nik Wiman, an Oregon State University researcher working on stink bugs to find a way to control them. “I walked all of these neighborhoods and didn’t find anything last year. Then all of a sudden this year, they’re everywhere. It’s pretty impressive. (see also Ashland Daily Tidings, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

Study finds novel worm community affecting methane release in ocean (Space Daily)

“We didn’t discover any major ‘burps’ of methane escaping into the atmosphere,” said Andrew R. Thurber, a post-doctoral researcher at Oregon State University and lead author on the study. ”However, some of the methane seeps are releasing hundreds of times the amounts of methane we typically see in other locations, so the structure and interactions of this unique habitat certainly got our attention. (see also Environmental Research Web)

Extension service to pitch service district to county (Ashland Daily Tidings)

The Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center hopes to get a service district to pay for its programs on the May 2014 ballot, and agency officials will make their case before Jackson County commissioners Tuesday.

Organic Valley searches for new niche (Capital Press)

Larry Lev, an agricultural economist at Oregon State University, said organic dairy companies are trying to differentiate themselves as the market has grown more competitive. “All of these companies are trying to stay one step ahead,” he said.

Tractor talk: A rookie’s guide to buying a tractor (Equisearch)

“There’s no hard-and-fast guide to counting horses and considering terrain and tractor needs, but the more horses you have and the more time they’re stabled, the more bedding and stall waste you’ll have to move,” says Garry Stephenson, an extension faculty member with Oregon State University. “And for any grazing-based farm, be it for cattle or horses, mowing is essential for the health of the pasture and for weed control.”

Mosquito infestation has Bandon residents buzzing (Sacramento Bee)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife launched a study with Oregon State University scientists to seek a mosquito management strategy but that effort will go on for a year. In the short term, the agency drained a few ponds in the refuge about two weeks ago. Residents report that the problem has lessened in recent days but not gone away. (see also Oregonian)

A weed that’s noxious in the field, tasty by the bale (Hay & Forage Grower)

One whiff of Russian knapweed and there’s no mistaking its nasty nature. Beef cows will avoid the noxious perennial in the field, but when it’s cut and baled, they’ll eat it as readily as they would alfalfa, says David Bohnert, Oregon State University Extension beef specialist.

Something in the DNA? Anderson Lake’s continuing toxic algae problem gains national attention (Peninsula Daily News)

If the algae, also known as cyanobactria, is unique to the lake, that could account for high toxin production, Theo Dreher, chairman of the Department of Microbiology at Oregon State University and lead researcher, has said about the study begun earlier this year.