On July 8, 2014 my family was honored at the University of Idaho field day at Kambitsch Farms near Genesee, ID. A new wheat variety was being released in honor of our son Brad. Both girls were able to be here along with their husbands and Amy's two kids. This is what I wrote regarding
Brad's death. His last college advisor turned boss, Jack Brown, worked hard on the release of this wheat that Brad had identified as having good disease resistance and good yield. The new wheat is called UI/WSU Huffman and will be marketed by Limagrain and all proceeds from royalties that would normally go to the breeder are going into the Bradley Huffman Memorial Scholarship at U of I. It is quite an honor and goes to show the respect the industry had for Brad, although he was only 22. We miss him every single day and will forever and will always wonder at the how someone so healthy could die so suddenly. Worse things happen to families but it's been a tough year. Here are some links to articles and newscasts written about the event.
Capital Press
Western Farmer Stockman
KLEW TV video
Lewiston Morning Tribune - subscription needed so here is the text of the article.
New wheat honors UI graduate
Bradley Huffman, an enthusiastic student of plant breeding, died unexpectedly this past year at 22
Tribune/Steve Hanks
University of Idaho plant breeder Jack
Brown talks with Julie and Doug Huffman as they look over the new soft
white winter wheat that will be named UI-WSU Huffman in honor of their
son, UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences alumnus Bradley
Huffman, who died last year at age 22.
Posted: Wednesday, July 9, 2014 12:00 am
|
Updated: 8:24 am, Wed Jul 9, 2014.
By ELIZABETH RUDD of the Tribune
|
GENESEE - Bradley Huffman's interest in plant breeding began at an early age - and to some, he was a natural.
That's why Jack
Brown felt it was fitting for the new wheat variety released jointly
from the University of Idaho and Washington State University to be named
after the recent UI graduate, who unexpectedly died in June 2013 at age
22.
"Brad
Huffman, to many people, is a name you're not familiar with, but to the
people at UI, it's a name you've been familiar with for quite a long
time," said Brown, a UI plant breeder.
Brown
announced the new soft white winter wheat variety named UI-WSU Huffman
during a field day Tuesday at UI's Kambitsch Farm off of U.S. Highway 95
near Genesee. The field day also had updates on wheat variety trials,
as well as discussion about the collaborative research and breeding
efforts by UI and Limagrain Cereal Seeds, including an agreement to
license and market the Huffman variety exclusively. Limagrain Cereal
Seeds is a joint venture among the French Farmers Cooperative, Limagrain
through Vilmorin and Co., and Arcadia Biosciences in Davis, Calif.
Brown
told a crowd of farmers, researchers, students and community members
that he sincerely thought the Huffman variety was one of the
best-looking wheats because of its disease resistance, high quality and
high yields capability. He said he anticipated seeing high production
numbers of the variety in the next couple years once the wheat becomes
commercialized.
Huffman
grew up on his family's farm near Cavendish and graduated from high
school in 2009, before attending UI, where he graduated from the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Huffman's
parents, Julie and Doug Huffman, said their son expressed interest in
plant breeding as early as junior high. The couple said Tuesday they
were honored to have their son remembered with the wheat naming, though
it was an emotional day.
"It's
certainly mixed feelings," Doug Huffman said. "It's a tremendous honor.
At the same time it's because of his death, so it's mixed feelings."
Doug
Huffman told those in attendance Tuesday that he and his family were
able to gain insight into his son's life through the photos Bradley
took. Some of the last images he snapped included this particular wheat
variety.
"It's been a really tough year for us," Doug Huffman said.
Brown said Bradley Huffman was actively involved in UI's wheat breeding program, even before he started college.
"He was extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable," Brown said, crediting Huffman's farming background.
Huffman
was in the wheat breeding program for five years and his involvement
continued after his graduation. Brown said he's confident that in
different circumstances, Huffman would have been a great plant breeder.
"He took to it very well," Brown said. "He was a natural."
The
seed royalties from the UI-WSU Huffman, which would typically go to the
breeder and College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, will instead go
toward the Bradley Huffman Scholarship for Plant Breeding and Plant
Sciences to help support students studying in the Department of Plant,
Soil and Entomological Sciences, said John Foltz, dean of the college.
---
Rudd may be contacted at erudd@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-8465. Follow her on Twitter @elizabeth_rudd.
