Tuesday, March 12, 2024
OSU wheat genetics dominate commercial markets despite outdated infrastructure Courtesy of OSU News
Courtesy of Sunshine Week
Sunshine Week
Support Local Journalism Gene Policinski Courtesy of Sunshine Week
laws to get the information we need as self-governing citizens. The name is a play on the commonsense words spoken more than a century Sunshine Week is ago by U.S. Supreme Court March 10-16, and this year, Justice Louis Brandeis, there’s an even greater need that “Sunlight is said to be for you to get involved. the best of disinfectants.” Sunshine Week annuBrandeis’ remark was not ally celebrates freedom of made in a court opinion. information laws in every It was in a 1913 article state. It also salutes efforts by published in the news magagood government advocates zine Harper’s Weekly. Along and journalists to use and enwith its observations on sure the effectiveness of those American culture and events,
Harper’s was part of the “muckraking” news era, with journalists holding business and government accountable for corruption, waste and illegal activity. As a special treat of each Sunshine Week, we get to see current examples of news reporting on behalf of the public, the type of journalism that the nation’s founders had in mind when they adopted strong First Amendment protection for a free press. See Sunshine on 5
OSUPD academic class turns stipend into scholarships Courtesy of OSU News
offer scholarships. We finally got it done this past December.” Most of the funding for these scholarships is coming from OSUPD officers and In 2021, the Oklahoma State University Police their salaries. As the class continues to grow, the police Department created a threedepartment is hoping to colcredit hour course coverlaborate with others across ing the realities of modern campus to match funds to law enforcement. This year, OSUPD is taking the stipend reach an endowment stage with the OSU Foundation paid to those teaching the account. Without a donor, it course — Building Partnerwill take eight more courses ships Through Policing — until an endowment level is and turning it into student reached. scholarships. “Building Partnerships OSUPD Capt. Colt Through Policing,” offered Chandler said spring 2024 in the sociology department will be the first time the scholarships will be awarded. as a 2000-level course, is “We have been absorb- perfect for students exploring the idea of a career as a first ing the cost of the course since its inception,” Chandler responder or in law enforcement. said. “Two years down the This class helps sturoad, we decided we could dents understand what going use the teaching stipend to into the police force looks benefit students. So, we’ve like, allowing them to see if been working to figure out it’s truly something they want how we can get that stipend to pursue as a career. Chanput into our foundation acdler has been working with count, so we can, in turn,
the sociology department to make this class more accessible to students interested in law enforcement. “It offers an intrinsic perspective about law enforcement, then why we feel OSUPD models success and is successful,” Chandler said. “The very first day we open with very difficult conversations and theoretical models that people need to understand are critical to our job.” Chandler noted some students don’t fully grasp the challenges that may arise from working in the field. “It’s basically a very in-depth Citizens Academy for students,” Chandler said. “We’ve hired one of the students as an OSUPD officer, had five phenomenal interns from three classes, and know of at least four students who went on to be hired at other agencies. Even if they don’t go on to law enforcement, they are educated and informed about why we do what we do.” See OSUPD on 7
In February 2021, a round of sub-zero temperatures crippled the 60-year-old greenhouse facility at the OSU Agronomy Research Station, nearly destroying OSU’s internationallyacclaimed wheat breeding program. Faculty, staff and student workers at the OSU Agronomy Farm worked around the clock to salvage what they could of the young and vulnerable wheat plants that froze in the site’s main greenhouse. Some of the delicate hybrid wheat that had been crossed to develop new varieties was a permanent loss. Three years later, the facility’s aging plumbing and electrical systems are still cause for concern as researchers and staff attempt to keep up with repairs and maintenance. “Modernization of the OSU Agronomy Research Station is needed to position the wheat breeding team to continue its outstanding scientific and economic impacts,” said Jayson Lusk, vice president and dean of OSU Agriculture. “Our efforts at OSU to feed and nourish the world begin at the agronomy farm with the wheat improvement team. Some of the university’s earliest research began in 1892 on experimental wheat field plots named after A.C. Magruder, the university’s first professor of agriculture. The Magruder research site is among the oldest of its kind in the United States, and that speaks volumes about our commitment to agricultural research and our land-grant mission.” Located on the west side of campus along Highway 51 in Stillwater, the farm supports OSU Agriculture’s three mission areas of research, teaching and Extension. It features 28 structures and 134,826 square feet for classroom instruction, greenhouse trials, research and support services. A master plan study conducted in 2018 to identify potential improvements and expansion of the research station indicated the need for several stand-alone projects or phases of modernization. Many of the buildings were constructed in the 1940s and 1950s and have been deemed in need of at least minor repairs. Several others require major renovations or have been categorized in a state of “end of life.” “We are limited on space, so we have to do things that are not ideal in terms of efficiency,” said Brett Carver, OSU regents professor and wheat genetics chair. Space and efficiency challenges It’s late morning in January, and Carver sits in the agronomy farm’s headhouse, also known as the greenhouse common area, where rainwater from the night before has seeped in and spread across the cracked concrete floor. Staff have attempted to clean it up twice. He points across the parking lot to two other older buildings involved in Wheat Improvement Team operations. The Small Grains Building was once shared by several USDA and OSU scientists working primarily on wheat and barley breeding and genetics. Some of its floors are now unsafe to inhabit. Diagonal from the
structure sits the metal-clad Wheat Research 618 building where OSU’s valuable wheat germplasm is stored. Carting seed from one facility to another across a parking lot without a covered walkway is a little risky for plants developed by one of the top wheat geneticists in the country. “We don’t just go down to the mill and buy seed; we create it on our own,” Carver said. “We have to maintain a collection that comes from our own nurseries to have something to rely on in a disaster. Right now, if a disaster occurs, we don’t produce enough seed to go back to fully recover. That’s what happened in 2021 when some of the seed was never recovered.” Wheat varieties developed at OSU have the largest footprint in the Great Plains region and are known for their disease resistance, drought tolerance, grazing tolerance, nitrogen-use efficiency and wide appeal to the U.S. milling and baking industry. OSU has commercialized 34 varieties since 2000, and Oklahoma Wheat Commission surveys report that 71% of the named wheat acreage in Oklahoma was developed in Stillwater. In Texas, 25% of the named wheat acreage comes from OSU wheat genetics. OSU’s newest hard red winter wheat variety, High Cotton, debuted in commercial markets in 2023. The dual-purpose variety is expected to offset potential declines in planted wheat acreage in the future by increasing yield rates. “This is the program where it happens, and we want to keep that going — the producers want to keep it going,” said Carver, one of only three wheat geneticists to lead the Wheat Improvement Team since the 1940s. Oklahoma’s wild weather swings of deep-freeze nights and warm, sunny days regularly plague the agronomy farm’s greenhouse heating and cooling system. The situation makes wheat breeding program manager Jason Ray nervous, and during inclement weather, he visits the facility every couple of hours throughout the night to check on equipment and ensure the greenhouse environment is stable. “If a pipe bursts or a heater goes out, we’ve got around 30 minutes to go to our backup plan,” he said. “If something breaks, I have to shut off water to the entire facility. In 2021, I couldn’t shut off the water in one area to change a broken line at midnight. I had to run water in all of the other greenhouses to live-change the line. When there’s an issue, we have to fix it fast.” Between patched-up plumbing and electrical units and the constant threat of rodents eating wheat germplasm worth millions of dollars, Ray devotes much of his time to emergency maintenance. “Every single day, I have to fix something. We’re keeping up with it just barely,” he said. Advancing wheat research Despite the agronomy farm’s infrastructure challenges, Carver and the Wheat Improvement Team find ways to develop some of the world’s leading wheat varieties, but reliable, modern facilities would open new opportunities.
See Markets on 5