Welcome to Food for Thought
This week in our Food for Thought roundup, we’re celebrating three soil scientists making a splash at the Tri-Societies CANVAS conference in Portland, Ore., research on alternative forage crops in Western Colorado, and how saffron (also known as red gold) could be a lifeline for Colorado farmers. We’re also learning why the sourdough on the grocery store shelf might be sour-faux, how to support apple orchards in a year of record losses, and how a new study shows equine-assisted therapy lowers stress in children with autism.
CSU soil scientists headline Tri-Societies CANVAS conference in Portland
This week, three Colorado State University faculty from the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences faculty are featured speakers at the CANVAS conference from Nov. 1-4 in Portland, Oregon. Kelly Wrighton, Francesca Cotrufo, and Meagan Schipanski will present their research findings and perspectives on soil health, carbon storage, and agricultural resilience. The conference brings together the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America – known as the Tri-Societies. For more information, check out the full program.
WATER-WISE: The water crisis is the defining issue of our time, and researchers are examining ways Colorado agriculture can consume less while continuing to thrive
At the Western Colorado Research Center in the Grand Valley, Perry Cabot and nonprofit partners are testing alternative forage options to keep more water in the Colorado River. “We need to have food to survive, and we need the agricultural sector in our state to survive,” he says. In Colorado, agriculture brings in $47 billion in annual economic activity, with top agricultural commodities like cattle, dairy, corn, hay, and wheat, and is also the state’s primary water consumer.
“We’re trying to provide answers and solutions and pathways for people to navigate what is almost certainly going to be a drier future,” says Cabot.
The world’s most expensive spice could provide a lifeline to Colorado farmers
Colorado has already experienced a gold rush in the 1800s, and another type of gold holds promise for Colorado farmers – saffron, also known as red gold. Turns out, Colorado’s climate has a lot in common with the plant’s native habitat in the mountainous, semi-arid climate of Iran. Reece Bailey, a horticulture graduate student and his faculty advisor, Jennifer Bousselot, are researching how the plant fares in Colorado’s climate.
“This could provide cash flow value for farmers who want to use solar as an energy source, or who happen to be in an urban agriculture setting,” says Bailey.
That sourdough bread you’re buying might not be real sourdough
Is your sourdough or sour-faux? The U.S. lacks a legal definition of sourdough, so any bread could be labeled sourdough, but sourdough isn’t just any bread! Sourdough needs a wild yeast starter, not a prepackaged, dried one. “Commercial yeast is like the Hulk…it’s been engineered to literally just pump out CO2,” says Martha Calvert, sensory manager at the Food Innovation Center at CSU Spur.
The other trick to good sourdough is time, which can vary wildly between wild yeast starters. Caitlin Clark, food scientist at the center, found that fermentation times varied from six to 78 hours in her research.
These 5 bugs may move into your home this fall—here’s how to get them out
As temperatures cool off, just like humans, insects also want to find a cozy nook indoors. The good news is that while they may be a nuisance, their goal isn’t to reproduce – it’s simply to survive. “They’re nuisance invaders. They’re just trying to find shelter and blundered into your home…they enter a state of diapause, or dormancy, and they will not be feeding or reproducing indoors,” says Whitney Cranshaw, entomologist and professor emeritus in the Department of Agricultural Biology.
‘You got to be the most optimistic human in the world:’ Colorado apple farmers hit hard by devastating April freeze
This spring, orchards across the state faced a devastating April freeze that’s led to complete or nearly complete losses, hitting the Western slope especially hard. “I would say 90 to 95% of the commercial production is in those handful of counties on the Western slope,” says Dawn Thilmany, professor of agriculture and resource economics. This is the second year of losses for many orchards, and it’s been devastating for local farmers.
Horse-assisted therapy linked to lower stress in children with autism, study finds
Ellen M. Rankins and Caiti Peters of the Temple Grandin Equine Center are co-authors on a new cross-disciplinary paper, Effects of Incorporating Horses into Occupational Therapy on Adrenocortical and Sympathetic Nervous System Reactivity and Regulation in Autistic Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial, published in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, demonstrating that equine-assisted therapy has a more positive physiological impact on children with autism than traditional, clinic-based therapy.
“That power of the horse-human interaction for autistic children has often been referred to as ‘magic,’ but this study provides empirical data to support and explain how interacting with horses impacts autistic children physiologically,” says Peters.
When should you water your lawn for the last time before winter? We asked a landscaping pro
Scott Curry, assistant professor of landscape design and contracting in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, shares some tips for making sure your lawn is winter-ready. He suggests knowing your grass (warm or cool-season), winterizing your sprinkler system, fall lawn-care tasks like fertilizing and aerating soil, and accepting a brown lawn in winter or considering a drought-resistant landscape. “As water scarcity continues to be an issue, there is an ethical obligation to consider how we are using our water,” he says.
Applause, upcoming events, and announcements 🎉
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A team of researchers across universities, including Sastry Jayanty, Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, released a paper detailing research findings on the Castle Russet potato, in a new paper published in the American Journal of Potato Research, Castle Russet: A Heavily Russeted Potato Cultivar with Resistance to Potato Virus Y and Corky Ringspot.
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Get ready to learn about the threat facing your carbs with Punya Nachappa, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Biology, during this season’s Ram Talk Series on Nov. 18, just in time for Thanksgiving.
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Join us for the 2026 Thornton-Massa Lecture Series on November 16 and 17, 2026. The featured guest speaker is Dr. Siobahn Brady, Professor, University of California, Davis and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, who specializes in the regulation of gene expression in plant roots.
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Animal Science major Kekua Richards was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after leading the Rams to a win over Utah State in October!
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Dr. Devan Catalano, CSU’s Equine Extension Specialist, has been awarded a $2.5M Conservation Innovation grant from the USDA for the project: Increasing drought resilience and grazing capacity in the West through forage kochia integration in dryland pastures.
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Join Dean Carolyn Lawrence-Dill for Dean’s Office Hours, an opportunity to ask questions, share ideas, or simply connect. October’s hours will be held on Tuesday, November 17, from 12-1 p.m., and Thursday, November 19, from 12 p.m., to 1 p.m. See the CAS calendar for more information.
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