Idaho, USA
January 25, 2012

The Idaho Wheat Commission stepped up its support for agricultural research and extension on Jan. 6, announcing a plan to create two faculty research endowments with $2 million to the University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

With $766 million in projected cash receipts in 2011, Idaho wheat growers made this investment recognizing the value that UI research and extension brings to efforts to breed better varieties and develop more efficient ways to grow them.

Also, Limagrain Cereal Seeds announced that it will collaborate with the college to breed new wheat varieties for Idaho and Pacific Northwest growers. That collaboration will include funding a significant endowment for cropping systems research and graduate student training.

Two faculty members who will benefit from the Idaho Wheat Commission’s endowments for essential cereal agronomy research and wheat variety development are Juliet Marshall and Jianli Chen.

As an Idaho Falls-based UI Extension cereals specialist and pathologist, Marshall helped growers protect their wheat and barley crops from stripe rust. Her early warnings helped growers limit losses to 10 to 20%, while losses in untreated research plots hit 80% in some cases.

As an Aberdeen-based wheat breeder, Chen works with the USDA Agricultural Research Service and a national project to assess 3,000 wheat lines for how efficiently they use water and fertilizer. These perpetual sources of funding will help Idaho’s 4,500 wheat producers grow nutritious food efficiently and continue to compete in world markets.
 

Website: http://www.uidaho.edu

Published: January 25, 2012