The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – During the months of July and August, the Touchet Valley is buzzing with activity as farmers harvest their crops, reaping the rewards of the year's labor. Even those not actively involved in the process take part as witnesses.

Drivers respectfully give heed as combines crawl along highways, making their way between fields, and children pump their arms in the air, begging truck drivers to blow the horn on their way through Main Street.

And while it doesn't require grain elevators or bank-out wagons, the Limagrain Cereal Seeds (LCS) research station, located on the north end of Waitsburg's Main Street, is bustling with harvest activity as well. That's where one of the world's leading wheat breeders processes and packages the seeds grown in the Pacific Northwest test plots before sending them off for testing.

LCS set up its Waitsburg station in the summer of 2011, with the goal of combining the best characteristics of French and British wheat seeds with those of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) to produce superior varieties that appeal to local growers.

Waitsburg is one of four LCS research stations in the U.S. The other three are located in Fort Collins, Colorado; Wichita, Kansas; and Lafayette, Indiana.

Jean-Bruno Beaufume´, Limagrain's wheat breeder for the Pacific Northwest, said the PNW is a very important region for wheat, and the climate and soil in the area is highly favorable. "The Walla Walla area is a nearly perfect location for breeding," he said.

Beaufume´ moved from a small town in the south of France to Walla Walla, to oversee the PNW breeding program in 2011. Beaufume´ says his wife, son (13) and daughter (10) enjoy the region and have adapted surprisingly quickly.

"When we moved here, my kids knew no English at all, but it only took them a couple of weeks to settle in. People were very warm and welcoming," he said.

Beaufume´ said LCS is working to develop soft winter white and hard red wheat varieties that provide high yields while being resistant to diseases like stripe rust, strawbreaker, and Fusarium crown rot.

"We are also breeding wheat that is resistant to drought," Beaufume´ said. "Last year and this year have been very good for studying that. We are just harvesting now, so it's too early to tell, but we've had some interesting results, and we hope to continue the research this year to become more efficient."

LCS currently farms 16 plots, located in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, which make up the PNW region. The plot locations were chosen to cover the diversity of the area.

"One great challenge is the great diversity of this region," Beaufume´ said. "You can have 20 inches of rainfall in one area, then drive a short way to a 10-12 inch rainfall zone. It's very diverse and challenging for a breeder, but that makes it interesting. In a small perimeter, there are many things to tackle."

Each test plot is made up of many, small, 10.5-foot by 5-foot plots, each planted with a different type of wheat. Beaufume´ said they test several thousand varieties, and the same varieties will be replicated in different plots to compare how the difference in soil affects the wheat.

Plots are harvested with a special research combine that has a 5.5-foot header, which is about four times smaller than the typical farm combine, according to Beaufume´. "Our harvest is much slower than a traditional harvest," he said. "We have to check each plot and clean the combine between each plot. This year we started the beginning of July and we'll finish around the end of August."

Once the seeds from one small plot are harvested, they are taken to the Waitsburg research center where they are bagged, coded, and sampled, before being shipped to the LCS quality lab in Ft. Collins, Colorado.

"We test for the qualities that match the demands of the end user in this area and discount the varieties that don't have the qualities they desire," Beaufume´ said.

In addition to Beaufume´, the Waitsburg facility employs two full-time researchers. Jeron Chatelain, who was born and raised on a dry-land farm near Connell, was the first hire in the winter of 2011. Chatelain graduated from Washington State University and worked at Oregon State University before joining the Limagrain team.

The most recent hire is Ben Brimlow who just purchased a home in Waitsburg. Brimlow is from western Washington and received his masters from WSU this year. "We hired him right after he graduated. We like to recruit local people," said Beaufume´.

The research facility also employs an expatriate from France, Beaufume´ said, who will spend one year here, making a total of three full-time employees, in addition to the 16 temporary workers who help out during harvest.

Courtesy Photo

Limagrain leased the former Northwest Grain Growers building on Waitsburg's Main Street and set up shop in 2011.

Wheat will always be the main focus for LCS, Beaufume´ said, but the company has been having some fun, recently, with the malt and barley market. LCS sent malt from their new Genie spring barley to several breweries, including Burwood Brewing in Walla Walla, which used it to craft its Barley Pop Blonde Summer Ale.

"The barley is well adapted for the craft-brewery market," Beaufume´ said. "It is not a main focus but is a fun and interesting thing to do and a good way build a connection between the barley growers and the craft brewers. Customers can drink beer grown from local barley."

But as for Waitsburg, Beaufume´ said Limagrain is right on track and plans to stay that way. "The program has developed quickly. The plan is to keep developing to make it a key program for Limagrain and the growers in the region in coming years," he said. "We really are working locally for local growers."