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CONTACTS: John Hammel, UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences dean, (208) 885-6681, jhammel@uidaho.edu;; Bill Loftus, (208) 885-7694, bloftus@uidaho.edu.
UI Celebrates Progress at Cummings Research Center Near Salmon Aug. 4
SALMON – The University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences will celebrate a significant milestone at its Nancy M. Cummings Research, Extension and Education Center near Salmon Aug. 4.
The event will mark the first transfer of ownership between the Auen Foundation, which represents the heirs of Nancy M. Cummings, to the university for the college-operated center in the upper Salmon River Valley.
The occasion will also mark the fifth anniversary of the agreement that set the stage for the university to acquire the former Hot Springs Ranch seven miles north of Salmon.
“This center is the first opened by the university in the past 20 years and is the only one in our statewide network that has an educational component,” said John Hammel, UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences dean.
“This celebration will recognize the cooperative efforts that brought us to this important milestone and allow us to share our vision for the future,” Hammel said.
The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. and will feature representatives of the Auen Foundation, UI President Tim White and Hammel. A barbeque and presentations about center activities will follow. Comments by elected officials, Idaho Cattle Association and university representatives will conclude the event.
The Auen Foundation donated the ranch to the university with a series of performance goals written into the agreement.
One of the first requirements was that the university work with the Idaho Cattle Association and cattle producers to assemble a research herd. Although originally envisioned as a task over several years, the association’s members donated more than 100 cows or heifers the first year.
Since then, the herd has grown to 280 cows and replacement heifers that will calve next year, said Chad Cheyney, Cummings Center superintendent. The center’s herd development is focused on black baldy cattle, a cross requested by cattle producers.
Beef cattle research at the center includes a study of methods to synchronize the breeding cycle in cattle. A shorter breeding and calving season could cut the costs and effort required of producers.
A study will follow the meat quality, particularly marbeling, of the offspring of four bulls. Another project focuses on breeding cows to calve during May and June, times when pasture grass is most lush.
In addition to providing the ranch, Cheyney said, the Auen Foundation also funded construction of a new classroom building, fences and an upgrade of the irrigation system.
“The goal is to have a long-term impact on Salmon and to make a difference to the community,” said Sherrie Auen, Nancy Cummings’ daughter. The center will offer all kinds of educational opportunities, which is why the foundation donated the ranch in the first place.
About 200 Salmon School District middle school students attended educational field days at the center last fall, said Lemhi County Extension Education Shannon Williams.
The sixth- to eighth -grade students studied topics ranging from noxious week control to water quality and GIS or global information systems technology, she said. This year, the Leadore School District is also expected to send its students to the ranch.
The educational program relied on partner organizations including the Lemhi County Cattlemen, National Resources Conservation Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and others.
Williams is among the researchers using the ranch to study topics important to livestock producers. Her work in recent years focused on the use of goats to control spotted knapweed and leafy spurge, both noxious weeds that can replace plants preferred by livestock and wildlife.
The work was successful enough that it is being used on a 40-acre streamside parcel along the Lemhi River to control knapweed.