The crack of wheat stubble pressed beneath boots and the distant rumble of combines serves as the soundtrack for Stan Herd and his team as they make the finishing touches to this year’s WSU-BECU crop mural.
This year’s mural, the fifth such project orchestrated by WSU, BECU, and their creative partners, features Butch and a WSU megaphone with the message “Win the Day!” The text comes from the WSU fight song and serves as a calling for all Cougs to strive for success every day, whether it’s on the football field, inside the classroom, or within a research laboratory.
“This project is really a rallying cry for the WSU community and the Palouse,” said Erin Jarrett, BECU’s senior manager of Marketing Strategy. “The annual crop mural also serves as an emphatic welcome to students traveling to Pullman for the first time as well as those returning this fall.”
Turning computer renderings of Butch into acre-sized earthworks requires planning, patience, and truckloads of natural materials. Based out of Lawrence, Kansas, Herd has been tasked with carrying out WSU and BECU’s proposals each of the last five years, initially driving back and forth between Pullman and Colfax looking for the perfect hillside for this massive art.
“We couldn’t have found better hosts with Jack and Linda Fulfs,” Herd said, referring to the couple that owns the land where the mural is created each year. “Their beautiful farm on the outskirts of Pullman has been a great place to work and stay and has given us a massive opportunity to engage with this community and learn what they’re all about.”
Three different kinds of red mulch, sourced from the university, were needed to punctuate this year’s design. A sprayed limestone bringing much-needed phosphorus into the soil also made its debut on the mural this year, with previous murals utilizing other natural materials like garbanzo beans.
To construct the massive crop murals, Herd and the creative leads get together months ahead of time to sketch out a design. That design has a corresponding scale — approximately one inch on paper equals 20 feet of actual mural — that is then outlined by Herd and his crew on the field. The outline is filled in with the necessary mulch, and other materials, with wooden frames being moved around to establish clear borders and lines.
Two hillsides on Fulfs’ farm are used for the murals, alternating each year based on the conditions and what’s been planted.
“It gets a lot of attention from passersby,” Fulfs said. “A former classmate wrote me an email and asked, ‘Do you know how many smiles you bring to people coming into Pullman?’”
The creative artistry also has drawn attention from well outside just Cougar Nation.
A 60-second advertisement for BECU featuring Herd and his work was recognized earlier this year by the American Advertising Federation at its annual National ADDY awards. Resonate Pictures and its President Marc Havener won a gold medal in cinematography and a silver for editing. It was the first year an advertisement featuring the mural was entered into the competition.
“BECU congratulates Marc Havener and Resonate Pictures on winning a National ADDY award. Not only does this incredible honor reflect the collaborative efforts of everyone involved, but the passion Marc and his team have for this unique project,” said Jarrett. “BECU’s members, employees, and communities have expressed ongoing interest in our crop mural with WSU. Together with Stan Herd, it’s been a joy keeping this tradition alive and watching it come to life each year.”
