Truffle Hunting in Eagle, Idaho

In addition to years of patience, truffles also take a specially trained nose to locate — one of the canine variety.

Paul Beckman planted a 13-acre orchard in 2007 to produce truffles in Eagle. He planted five different varieties, but so far just one kind has produced. In February 2012, a dog trained to locate the truffles found Italian Bianchetto truffles in the orchard, which Beckman learned from members of the truffle community was the first time the variety had been found in the western hemisphere.

Last year, five truffles were sniffed out in Beckman’s orchard and this year his two Australian shepherds have found about 50.