Five win prizes in latest quarter QUICK Award drawing

Mike Louisell
Communications

Five WSDA employees are eligible to select a prize because their names were randomly selected from the recent third quarter QUICK Awards drawing. Agency employees handed out 33 awards to coworkers in Western Washington. Nineteen awards were presented to staff based in Eastern Washington.

QUICK Awards are presented by employees who see their peers demonstrating good work and service to others – either inside or outside the agency. Here are the prize recipients from the third quarter drawing and why they received awards.

James Scovel, Food Assistance Program, Olympia, for leading a

Joining James Scovel (left) on tour of Yakima food bank were WSDA staffers, 
Jason Gambill,Julie Youmans, Yoshi Ouye, Ron Hussung and Robert Ambriz. 
A food bank volunteer (pink shirt) enjoyed the WSDA visit.

tour in July at a food bank/pantry in Yakima. Several Olympia-based staff visited the Yakima Valley Opportunities Industrialization Center warehouse. Safety staff came along as an opportunity to observe our employees’ work environment.

Ashley Blowers, Administrative Support Services, Olympia, for being one of the team members planning for Bring Your Kids to Work Day in July.

Keren LaCourse, Food Safety Program, Shoreline, for quickly getting information to her regional manager when needed.

Patrick Ditter, Agricultural Investigations/Commission Merchants Program, Yakima, for helping a grower with a complaint involving a local apple packing facility. Patrick reviewed documents, met with both parties, and was able to resolve the matter.

Amanda Rodriguez, Yakima, Seed Inspection/Certification Program, Yakima, for helping a coworker, including performing tasks outside her normal position.

Dec. 29 next drawing deadline

New QUICK Awards are already coming in to Stormy Townsend (Western Washington) and Brandy Thompson (Eastern Washington). If you catch one of your coworkers doing something special for staff or customers, let them know. You can find the QUICK Award form on the intranet. Forms are also available from your division coordinator or agency receptionists.

In summary: WSDA staff presented 52 QUICK Awards during the third quarter of 2017. Five of their names were randomly drawn to receive prizes.

Montana's garbanzo windfall means more work for WSDA

Kathy Davis
Communications

Grain Program inspector, Eric Rupp at the Spokane Office sizing a sample of garbanzo beans from Montana.

Chickpea-based foods such as hummus and falafel have been growing in popularity. As a result, production of this grain legume - also known as garbanzo beans - has taken off, especially in western states. 

When the state of Montana experienced a big boost in acres planted in garbanzos, their one bean inspector was swamped and needed help. So Montana's grain program reached out to Philip Garcia, WSDA’s Grain Inspection Program manager. That contact led to a six-month contract for WSDA to conduct inspections of Montana’s garbanzo beans. 

A fresh chickpea (garbanzo) newly emerged from its pod.

The garbanzo harvest starts in mid-August and can continue into October. According to Scott Steinbacher, the Grain Program’s acting eastern regional manager, the Spokane and Colfax offices have inspected more than 230 samples from Montana, and they’re still coming in. 

According to USDA, U.S. acres of garbanzos totaled 603,000 this year. Washington, Idaho and Montana are the nation’s top producers. Washington saw a three-fold increase in garbanzo production this year. 

Under WSDA’s agreement with Montana, our staff does the same inspection process as Washington beans get. That starts with removing dockage (non-bean material) and dividing into sample portions. Inspectors remove damaged, split or contrasting beans. Then, using a sieve, the inspector calculates the percentage of beans within each of three size categories, and the beans per ounce in each size. 

“Processing these samples is very time consuming, as is the inspection process,” Scott noted. 

A table full of garbanzo bean samples ready for inspection.

U.S. consumption of chickpeas is forecast to reach 1.85 pounds per person this year, up from 1.21 pounds per person in 2016, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center. 

The benefits of chickpeas are touted for a healthy diet. One cup provides 29 percent of recommended daily protein and 49 percent of daily fiber, and they contain important vitamins and minerals. 

In summary: Due to a blockbuster year of garbanzo – or chickpea – production, WSDA has been helping out the state of Montana under an agreement to provide bean inspections.

WSDA goes to the fair; sharing and connecting

Kathy Davis
Communications

WSDA Director Derek Sandison with Alberto Hernandez
at the Central Washington State Fair in Yakima.

Annual fairs offer fun for folks of all ages – rides, games, food, displays, music, and of course, animals. Modern fairs are built on the foundation of their agricultural roots, when farmers and rural residents could connect, learn and share.

To promote agricultural education, WSDA expanded our presence at fairs this year. Organized by Teresa Norman, agency lead for fairs and commodity commissions, we staffed booths at three state fairs – Evergreen in Monroe, Central in Yakima and the biggest state fair in Puyallup. 

Over 11 days at the three fairs, nearly 40 WSDA staff volunteered for at least a half-day shift at the agency booth. They gave away reusable cloth shopping bags showing crops and statistics, and miniature paper shovels that can be planted to grow herbs – both ag-related and educational. In addition, divisions and programs provided lots of informational material on topics such as animal health, biosecurity, plants, insect pests and pesticide management. Coloring books and recipes were offered too. 

Jeff Larsen (Commodity Inspection Division)
at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe.

At the Evergreen State Fair, we focused on animals and food. Dr. Brian Joseph was at that booth two afternoons so visitors could “meet the state veterinarian.” The focus at the Washington State Fair was plant pests and insects, featuring staff from our Plant Protection Division ready to answer fairgoers questions. 

At the Central Washington Fair, people could spin our big game wheel and take a stab at answering the resulting question. “They’d win a prize regardless of whether they got the answer right,” Teresa said. “The goal was to educate the public about agriculture issues.” 

It seems those who worked the booth got as much out of the experience as those who visited. 

“I had a good time,” said Rick Randall from the Seattle Grain Inspection Program office, who worked the Washington State Fair. “The big draw was the glass cases with dead insects on pins. A lot of people were interested in seeing what a gypsy moth looked like, especially since some had just been captured near Puyallup.”

Jenni Cena (Pest Program) and April Milan (Food Safety)
staffing WSDA’s booth at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup.

Alberto Hernandez is with the Technical Services, Education and Outreach Program within the Pesticide Management Division, and he volunteered at the Central Washington Fair. He said he was very proud to represent the agency.

“Fair goers were very intrigued with the spinning wheel,” he said. “When people found out we have 300 commodities in Washington, they were shocked.” 

Alberto noted that many were also thankful to see state employees providing information and appreciated all the educational publications being offered. 

While there’s not an official count, Teresa estimates WSDA interacted with hundreds of folks at the fairs, and many of them were children. 

“I want to thank all of those who volunteered their time to staff the booths and programs that provided display items and material,” Teresa said. “We shared the story of Washington agriculture and our agency’s mission.”  

Jaime Ramon (Pesticide Management, Technical Services, Education and Outreach Program)
enjoying his time representing the agency at the Central Washington Fair in Yakima.

In summary: Over 11 days during the height of fair season, WSDA staffed three booths and shared information about agriculture and the agency. Learn more by clicking on the headline.

Safety officer’s ride-along with gypsy moth trapper eye opening

Jason Gambill
Western Washington Safety Officer

Gypsy moth trapper, Scott Harrison, places a trap. 

This year the WSDA Pest Program placed about 28,700 gypsy moth traps around Washington State. Nearly 40 seasonal employees joined the agency’s ranks to place and monitor the traps, as part of our effort to control these invasive pests that threaten the environment and agriculture. 

Earlier this year I tagged along with gypsy moth trapper Eli Wixom, who is assigned to the Tacoma region. 

Our WSDA safety team has been shadowing agency staff to learn about their work and safety concerns, and to advocate for safe best practices. Spending time with Eli, I learned a lot – both about the importance of our pest trapping program and about the many safety hazards these workers encounter daily. 

These traps are placed on a variety of public and private property, presenting challenges and risks for the trap tenders. The hazards they face include navigating high-traffic roadways, avoiding animals, dealing with homeowners upset about traps on their property, and interacting with people loitering around the traps. 

Some of these workers even discovered used needles inside of traps during their periodic checks. As a result, the safety team provided needle-proof gloves. 

We also supplied trappers with amber lights for state vehicles to alert other motorists, and water containers and sunscreen to protect against some of the most common causes of summer injuries. 

A male gypsy moth. Photo credit: Louis-Michel Nageleisen,
Département de la Santé des Forêts, Bugwood.org

As this season’s pest monitoring effort is nearing an end, we salute the hardworking folks who have been logging many miles, tromping through brush and fields, and meeting dogs of unknown temperament. 

They and those green (sometimes orange) traps are Washington’s defense to prevent the destructive, invasive gypsy moth from getting a toehold (wing hold?) here in our state. 

In summary: When a WSDA safety officer tagged along with a gypsy moth trapper, he learned a lot about the importance of the work and many hazards of the job. 

Healthy food progress featured at Results Washington meeting

Kathy Davis
Communications

About once a month, state agency leaders gather to review progress toward meeting target measures established by Results Washington. Since 2013, Results Washington has aimed to drive improvements in key state goals that span education, the economy, the environment, public health, safety and effective government. 

Issaquah School District students showing off their lunches on Taste Washington Day 2016.

On Sept. 18, WSDA played host to the most recent of these Goal Council meetings in the Natural Resources Building in Olympia; this one focused on some measures in Goal 4; Healthy and Safe Communities. 

What’s our agency’s connection? Two sub-goals strive to increase availability to nutritious, locally sourced food for school students and low-income children and families. WSDA Deputy Director Kirk Robinson presented data and information showing our progress in those areas. 

Based on 2016 data which was collected by WSDA’s Regional Markets team, 98 percent of Washington schools regularly serve foods produced in-state, such as milk and apples. And they report interest in increasing their farm-to-school connection. 

A key activity to strengthen that school-farmer partnership is Taste Washington Day, an annual celebration to raise awareness around serving farm-fresh school meals. This year it takes place on Oct. 4. 

Fresh fruit and vegetables available at a food pantry.

WSDA’s Food Assistance team has also made progress increasing healthy food options available in the state’s food pantries and meal programs. For instance, through partnerships such as the Farm to Food Pantry Program, 112 food pantries in 15 counties have greatly boosted the pounds of fresh produce purchased or donated. 

WSDA Deputy Director Kirk Robinson, presenting to the Results Washington
Goal Council meeting on Sept. 18, hosted at the agency headquarters building.

The other main state presenter of the day was Dave Stillman, assistant secretary of Economic Services Administration within DSHS. Dave talked about helping public assistance clients achieve self-sufficiency. 

After Kirk’s presentation, Dave pointed out how children who are adequately nourished do better in school, which leads to reductions in inter-generational poverty. An apt reminder of how inter-connected our work across public service is creating a state where all Washingtonians thrive. 

In summary: WSDA hosted the most recent Results Washington Goal Council meeting focused on boosting the availability of fresh, nutritious food to school students and low-income families.