Amen Endowment

Otto and Doris Amen.

Otto and Doris Amen established an endowment in recognition of the benefits they, and other dryland producers, have received for research conducted by the Washington State University College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences at the Lind Dryland Research Station. By establishing the endowment, the Amen’s hope to advance agriculture for this and future generations in dryland areas.
Research projects are to clearly address at least one of the below research priorities for the low-precipitation dryland cropping region of the inland Pacific Northwest.

Amen Endowment Research Project Areas

  • Develop wheat varieties specifically adapted to the dryland area
  • Investigate cropping systems for profitable and sustainable production, including agronomy, economics, disease control, weed control, and plant pathology
  • Develop practices to conserve and protect soil from wind and water erosion
  • Evaluate alternative crops suitable for dryland areas
  • Other identified high priority research needs at the discretion of the growers and WSU faculty serving on the endowment committee

Current Projects

  • Aaron Esser – Battalion Pro Biological Herbicide Monitoring and Dryland Winter Wheat Nutrient Uptake Analysis
  • Clark Neely – Maximizing Wheat Stands and Yields through Improved Seeding Rate and Seed Size Management
  • Shikha Singh – Requesting Funds to Purchase a High-Precision Weighing Balance
  • Aichatou Dibo Waziri, Kim Garland Campbell, and Mike Pumphrey – Replenishing the Content of Dietary Nutrients of the Wheat Grain
  • Zhiwu Zhang – AI-UAV aided preparation of dryland wheat farming against the next epidemics of stripe rust

2023

  • Aaron Esser – Feasibility of Battalion Pro as a Tool to Suppress Winter Annual Grassy Weeds in Dryland Cropping Systems
  • Drew Lyon – Management of Russian Thistle in Fallow with Soil-Active Residual Herbicides
  • Michael Neff & Shahbaz Ahmed – Developing Agronomic Practices and Identification of Winter Tolerant Brassica napus Lines for Dry Land Area
  • Karen Sanguinet & Wilson Craine – Water Use and Economic Viability of Important Oilseed Crops for Washington Low Rainfall Zones

2022

  • Aaron Esser – Feasibility of Battalion Pro as a Tool to Suppress Winter Annual Grassy Weeds in Dryland Cropping Systems
  • Drew Lyon – Management of Russian Thistle in Fallow with Soil-Active Residual Herbicides
  • Isaac Madsen – Intercropping for Increased Resource Use Efficiency in the Low Rainfall Region of Eastern Washington
  • Michael Neff & Shahbaz Ahmed – Developing Agronomic Practices and Identification of Winter Tolerant Brassica napus Lines for Dry Land Area
  • Karen Sanguinet & Wilson Craine – Water Use and Economic Viability of Important Oilseed Crops for Washington Low Rainfall Zones

2021

  • Aaron Esser – Feasibility of Battalion Pro as a Tool to Suppress Winter Annual Grassy Weeds in Dryland Cropping Systems
  • Drew Lyon – Management of Russian Thistle in Fallow with Soil-Active Residual Herbicides
  • Isaac Madsen & Wilson Craine – Water Use and Economic Viability of Important Oilseed Crops for Washington Low Rainfall Zones
  • Isaac Madsen – Intercropping for Increased Resource Use Efficiency in the Low Rainfall Region of Eastern Washington
  • Michael Neff & Shahbaz Ahmed – Developing Agronomic Practices and Identification of Winter Tolerant Brassica napus Lines for Dry Land Area
  • Bruce Sauer – GPS for Challenger 45 Tractor at the Lind Station

2020

  • Arron Carter – Developing Winter Wheat Varieties for Late-Planted No-Till Production Under <12″ Annual Precipitation
  • Christine Jade Dilla-Ermita, Scot Hulbert, and Tarah Sullivan – Wheat-Genotype Rhizosphere Microbiome: Potential Biological Control Agents Against Root Rot Diseases of Wheat
  • Isaac Madsen – Intercropping for Increased Resource Use Efficiency in the Low Rainfall Region of Eastern Washington
  • Bruce Sauer – Cost Share for a New Truck
  • Aichatou Djibo Waziri and Kim Garland Campbell – Breeding Wheat for Higher Mineral Content in the Endosperm

2019

  • Arron Carter – Developing Winter Wheat Varieties for Late-Planted No-Till Production Under <12” Annual Precipitation
  • Aaron Esser – Determination of Optimum Seeding Rate for Fall Planted Wheat
  • Rebecca McGee – Seeding Rate, Date, and Depth Studies of Winter Pea at Lind
  • Mike Pumphrey – Drought Tolerance Breeding for Spring Wheat in Low-Rainfall Areas of Washington
  • Karen Sanguinet – Analysis of SALP1 Genes in Wheat to Improve Drought Tolerance
  • Haiying Tao – Developing Variable Rate Nitrogen Application Maps for Dryland Wheat Production in Washington

2018

  • Arron Carter – Developing Winter Wheat Varieties for Late-Planted No-Till Production Under <12” Annual Precipitation
  • Aaron Esser – Determination of Optimum Seeding Rate for Fall Planted Wheat
  • Rebecca McGee – Seeding Rate, Date, and Depth Studies of Winter Pea at Lind
  • Mike Pumphrey – Drought Tolerance Breeding for Spring Wheat in Low-Rainfall Areas of Washington
  • Bruce Sauer – Backhoe Attachment
  • Karen Sanguinet – Analysis of SALP1 Genes in Wheat to Improve Drought Tolerance
  • Karen Sanguinet and Kim Garland-Campbell – Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Wheat Roots Under Drought
  • Haiying Tao – Developing Variable Rate Nitrogen Application Maps for Dryland Wheat Production in Washington

2017

  • Ian Burke & Amber Hauvermale – Seed Dormancy and Dormancy Loss Contribute to Adaptability in the Invasive Weed Species, Downy Brome (Bromus tectorum L.) in Dryland Crop Production Areas
  • Arron Carter – Selection Strategies for Developing Good Emerging Wheat
  • Aaron Esser – Wireworm Damage Assessment and Control in the Dryland Winter Wheat Cropping Region
  • Ryan Higginbotham – Determination of Optimum Seeding Rate for Fall Planted Wheat
  • Rebecca McGee – Seeding Rate, Date, and Depth Studies of Winter Pea at Lind
  • Mike Pumphrey – Drought Tolerance Breeding for Spring Wheat in Low-Rainfall Areas of Washington
  • Bruce Sauer – Cost Share for New Weigh Wagon/Seed Cart
  • Karen Sanguinet – Analysis of SALP1 Genes in Wheat to Improve Drought Tolerance
  • Haiying Tao – Developing Variable Rate Nitrogen Application Maps for Dryland Wheat Production in Washington

2016

  • Ian Burke & Amber Hauvermale – Seed Dormancy and Dormancy Loss Contribute to Adaptability in the Invasive Weed Species, Downy Brome (Bromus tectorum L.) in Dryland Crop Production Areas
  • Arron Carter – Selection Strategies for Developing Good Emerging Wheat
  • Aaron Esser – Wireworm Damage Assessment and Control in the Dryland Winter Wheat Cropping Region
  • Stephen Guy & Rebecca McGee – Seeding Rate, Date, and Depth Studies of Winter Pea at Lind

2015

  • Ian Burke & Amber Hauvermale – Seed Dormancy and Dormancy Loss Contribute to Adaptability in the Invasive Weed Species, Downy Brome (Bromus tectorum L.) in Dryland Crop Production Areas
  • Arron Carter – Selection Strategies for Developing Good Emerging Wheat
  • Aaron Esser – Wireworm Damage Assessment and Control in the Dryland Winter Wheat Cropping Region
  • Stephen Guy & Rebecca McGee – Seeding Rate, Date, and Depth Studies of Winter Pea at Lind
  • Bruce Sauer – Pesticide Storage Building at Lind

2014

  • Arron Carter – Developing winter wheat specifically for emergence from deep planting
  • Aaron Esser – On-farm testing to improve Adams County Wheat Production
  • James Harsh, Melissa LeTourneau, and Linda Thomashow – Micronutrient mobilization by Pseudomonas fluorescents rhizobacteria in dry soil
  • Mike Pumphrey, Sindhu Nair and Arron Carter – Enhanced drought tolerance breeding for spring wheat in dryland farming areas of Washington