PULLMAN, Wash. — The new director of USDA’s Western Wheat Quality Laboratory has one goal in mind: To keep a good thing going.

Sean Finnie joined the lab July 30 as director.

“Really, my priority was not to mess things up,” Finnie told the Capital Press. “I did a lot of just listening and learning how the lab works, understanding the priorities of the stakeholders … really just trying to listen to growers, all the way to food manufacturers.”

The lab is on the Washington State University campus in Pullman. Of four USDA wheat labs in the nation, it has the highest wheat and pulse research and sample through-put, serving Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona, Montana and Utah.

Finnie expects to process 6,000 samples this year, up from 5,500 last year.

He replaces Craig Morris, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2021. Morris was director for 32 years.

Finnie praised research biologist Alecia Kiszonas, who stepped in as interim director, for guiding the lab through “a tremendous, difficult time.”

Started as a dishwasherFinnie, now 42, first worked in the lab as an undergraduate at University of Idaho, starting as a dishwasher.

It’s also where he found his footing as a food science researcher, he said.

He worked in the lab 2002-06, as an undergrad and a graduate student, getting his master’s degree from WSU under Morris.

He got a Ph.D. in grain science at Kansas State University and a post-doctoral degree at KU Leaven in Belgium.

He worked as research project manager for Cargill Inc. and Bay State Milling Co., in Minneapolis and Boston before returning to the lab.

“The experience I had as a student really propelled me into my career, and my life, and brought my wife and I all over the world,” Finnie said. “When the opportunity came up for this job, I couldn’t turn it down.”

‘Characters at the lab’During his time at the lab, Finnie worked closely with longtime lab technicians Doug Engle and Art Bettge, both now retired.

“The characters at the lab really were unique in their approach to research, and helped me develop my approach I have now, which I think is somewhat unique as well,” he said.

Engle was rooting for Finnie to get the job. He expects the lab to continue its long-running mission to answer industry questions and needs.

“It’s just been this continuous drive to find out more, collaborate with our industry partners and produce a better wheat crop,” Engle said.

“He’s extraordinarily experienced and capable,” said Bettge, now a wheat consultant and mayor of Moscow, Idaho. “It’s a beautifully circular story, where he started in the dish tank in the lab and now he’s the director.”

Bettge said he always knew Finnie would be successful.

”(Farmers) can expect somebody who’s going to sit and listen to their concerns, what they need and what the export community needs,” he said. “Sean is going to be great. He’s one of my favorite people.”

Morris’ biggest lesson to Finnie was curiosity, and a willingness to look at things differently.

”That’s something I didn’t fully appreciate until I started working with other scientists that had more of a traditional view on approaching research,” Finnie said.

Current researchAs growing seasons change, the lab will work to maintain the quality that the region’s wheat is known for worldwide, Finnie said.

Major wheat components include starch and protein. Finnie hopes to also work on lipids, or fats, which he calls a “forgotten component” in batters and doughs for cakes, cookies and breads.

‘Wannabe farmer’Finnie and his wife of 20 years, Karee Bohman, met during high school. They have two children, Freya, 5, and Rowan, 2.

The family lives in Spokane, and Finnie commutes to Pullman four to five times a week.

He calls himself a “wannabe farmer.” If he could, he’d attempt to raise organic wheat just because of the challenge involved.

He points to estimates that white flour consumption is declining 3% a year, while organic wheat consumption is increasing by 10% to 20% per year.

“From my research perspective, it’s frustrating that in the wheat industry, the only area that has increased sales year over year is organic wheat,” he said.

Income per acreHis wife comes from a farming family near Troy, Idaho. It’s helped Finnie appreciate the work involved.

“It’s really about income per acre,” he said.

In the traditional commodity market, farmers increase income by boosting yield, he said, but they can potentially develop more opportunities with food manufacturers as traits become specialized.

“Hopefully, throughout the next couple decades that I’m here, we can come up with different wheat traits that can provide value,” he said.