Category Archives: Agricultural Practices

Does Pacific Northwest-Sourced Biochar Have a Future as a Soil Amendment in Annual Cropping Systems?

By Doug Finkelnburg, University of Idaho Extension

Workers removing charcoal-like material from a trailer with a large, covered metal container

Biochar production is demonstrated at UI (University of Idaho) Extension workshop. Photo: Chris Schnepf.

I recently had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the “Making and Using Biochar” workshop hosted by my colleague and Area Forestry Extension Educator Chris Schnepf in Sandpoint, Idaho. The program was designed to give foresters, forest owners, and agriculturists an introduction to biochar in forestry and agriculture and was an opportunity to see demonstrations of biochar production. The audience packed a large room at the Sandpoint Organic Agriculture Center and heard from experts on biochar production and use in USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Forest Service funded projects.

The arguments for biochar use are compelling. Continue reading

Check It Out: Cooling Queens Helps Them Survive the Hot Summers

By Lulu Chen, Intern at the AgAID Institute, Washington State University

 

Bee flying towards a white flower.

Climate change poses a unique difficulty for beekeepers banking queen bees over the summer. Photo: Dirk Gently under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Warmer summers brought on by climate change pose a unique difficulty for beekeepers. However, a recent study by Washington State University suggests a viable remedy. The study looks into the practice of “queen banking,” which involves keeping extra queens for use in the future. The researchers found that by keeping queen bees in controlled indoor situations over the summer, beekeepers may increase honey bee survivorship and take proactive steps to address climate change. It is important to note that there are a few factors, which should be covered in more detail, that make it necessary to bank queens during the summer. Continue reading

Climate Smart Commodities for Idaho – A Public-Private-Tribal Partnership

By Doug Finkelnburg, University of Idaho Extension

Cattle graze swathed cover-crops in annually cropped field in North Idaho

Cattle graze swathed cover-crops in annually cropped field in North Idaho, an example of crop and livestock practices that will be supported by the Climate Smart Commodities for Idaho grant. Photo: Doug Finkelnburg.

The largest grant ever awarded in the history of the University of Idaho will explore how Idaho’s agriculture can address climate change. Over the next five years, $55 million will be spent to research and implement greenhouse gas (GHG) reducing practices in Idaho’s farming and ranching systems. The goal of this effort is to reduce the emission of up to 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year in Idaho alone, roughly equivalent to preventing the consumption of 7 million gallons of gasoline (I calculated this with the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator—a pretty neat tool). This is one of 70 projects USDA selected to receive $2.8 billion to better characterize GHG emissions related to agricultural production and develop mitigation strategies.

What sets this effort apart from previous climate-change and agriculture focused grants, other than the sheer scale of the effort, is its focus on implementation first and research second. Continue reading

Profitability Tool for Growers Considering Alternative Rotations in Dryland Systems

By Karie Boone, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University, and Clark Seavert, Oregon State University

Wheat field ready for harvest

Climate change could bring changes in practices for small grain dryland systems. Photo: Erin Brooks

For the inland Pacific Northwest, climate change predictions including wetter springs and drier, hotter summers leads to production system uncertainties and risks for dryland, small grain farmers. Annual precipitation is projected to increase by about 5-15% by 2050 except during the summer months where precipitation is projected to decrease, resulting in decreased soil moisture during the late summer months. We have seen conditions similar to these projections in recent years, such as the droughts in 2015 and 2021 and a wet spring in 2019 that prevented planting almost 53,000 acres across Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

These changes are expected to increase reliance on fallow for small grain dryland systems. Fallowing strategies can lead to further declines in organic matter inputs, soil health, and reduced production capacity in the future. Potential alternatives attractive to producers include incorporating winter pea into rotations and planting cover crops coupled with livestock grazing. But will they be profitable? Continue reading

Producers are the Best Ambassadors for Adoption of Climate-Smart Practices

By Tyler Harris, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Oregon State University

A cayuse oat cover crop interseeded into a brassica field in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Cover crops are just one example of a climate-smart practice that can help growers adapt to unpredictable weather patterns. Photo: Andrew Donaldson, Soil Conservationist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

With climate change, growers in the Pacific Northwest are facing a myriad of new challenges. These include a longer fire season and more frequent fires, warmer and drier summers, and increased drought potential in summer. A question that is becoming more pertinent every day for agronomists, rangeland managers, soil scientists, water quality specialists, and other service providers in agriculture is: How do we help producers adapt to climate change by adopting climate-smart practices? This is something a panel of agricultural professionals considered as part of a recent online climate resilience training hosted by the Oregon Climate and Agriculture Network (OrCAN). Continue reading

Top Articles from 2022 Show the Breadth and Diversity of Topics in AgClimate.net

By Sonia A. Hall, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University, and AgClimate Lead Editor

Word cloud from 2022 article titles, with 2022 Top Reads! overlaid2022 has come to a close, and 2023 seems to have revved up and is roaring along. We are still early enough in the year, though, to look back on 2022 and reflect on what you, our readers, found worthy of your time and attention. Here are the three most read 2022 articles, and three still-popular articles from earlier years. It is worth taking a look. I was struck by the breadth of topics and production systems these articles discuss, which is reflective of the variety in the Pacific Northwest that we explicitly try to cover in AgClimate.net. All these articles also have something in common: they discuss science-based resources that can help agricultural and natural resource professionals understand the implications of a changing climate, and explore options to be better prepared for the future. That is what AgClimate.net is about. Enjoy these top reads in 2022! Continue reading

Deficit Irrigation Can Improve Fruit Quality for Hard Cider Producers

By Sarah Davis, Intern at Washington State University’s Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center and the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources

Apple trees with fruit on the branches, green foliage

Cider apples in mid August under RDI treatment. Photo: Sarah Davis.

Growing up, I remember my grandfather bringing my family fresh Honeycrisp apples from his orchard in the Chelan area, describing the qualities that made them special. As an orchardist, my grandfather always strived to have delicious, high-quality produce coming from his orchards. My grandfather is not alone in this quest; growers across the state are looking for ways to enhance the quality of their crops. As climate change progresses and temperatures rise, fruit quality could be affected: climate change has been linked to delayed fruit ripening, low fruit quality, low fruit yield, sunburn, and more.  Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is one possible way to combat some of these impacts. Continue reading

The Climate Commitment Act is Coming. How Will it Impact Washington Agriculture?

Dani Gelardi, Washington State Department of Agriculture

A new mandate

WEED-IT infrared spray equipment being used as a demostration in stubble that has not been tilled in Douglas County.

Agriculture accounts for an estimated 6.7% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in Washington. Could the Climate Commitment Act pose opportunities to help reduce or offset those emissions? Photo: Leslie Michel.

On January 1st, 2023, major portions of the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) will launch in Washington State. This ambitious law is part of Washington’s plan to eliminate or offset all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. The Washington State Department of Ecology estimates that agriculture accounts for 6.7% of the total emissions in Washington. Despite this sizable GHG contribution, agriculture is exempt from CCA mandates, due to existing laws that already regulate this sector. While it remains uncertain how regulations facing the food manufacturing sector may eventually impact agricultural producers, the CCA will not cap emissions from the production of unprocessed livestock and crops. Does this mean these activities will be entirely unaffected? Continue reading

What We Know and Don’t Know to Effectively Breed Potatoes for Future Climates

Q&A with Potato Breeder Dr. Sagar Sathuvalli

By Sonia A. Hall, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University

 

This article is part of a series where we share insights from conversations that I had with public plant breeders across the Pacific Northwest about their breeding programs and how climate change considerations intersect with their work. Through these conversations, I wanted to better understand the complexities of the plant breeders’ world, where there are elements that already provide useful information about adapting to future climates, and where there are questions—about the climate in the future, or the plants’ responses, or production, market, or other factors affecting a particular crops’ future—that intersect or even overshadow questions about how to prepare for future climates.

head shot of person holding an uprooted potato plant

Vidyasagar (Sagar) Sathuvalli, Oregon State University potato breeder, in a test plot at the OSU Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center.

Potato is a high-value, irrigated crop grown across Pacific Northwest states. It is affected by a range of pests and diseases, including many soil-borne pathogens. The need to break the cycle of some of these pathogens is a driver of crop rotation decisions. In my conversation with Dr. Sagar Sathuvalli, Associate Professor, Potato Breeding and Genetics at Oregon State University, it was clear that plant breeding had an important role to play in resistance to a wide range of pests and pathogens. He described a two-fold challenge to breeding for future climates. First, potato breeders don’t yet have good data on how climate change might change the dynamics of different pests and pathogens, and which might become greater threats in the future. And second, breeders must meet high expectations: neither yield nor quality can be compromised in pursuit of tolerance to climate-driven biotic or abiotic stresses. So here is how Dr. Sathuvalli is approaching these issues.

Continue reading

How What We Don’t Know Affects Our Ability to Prepare for Future Climates

Q&A with Aroma Hops Breeder Dr. Shaun Townsend

By Sonia A. Hall, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University

 

This article is part of a series where we share insights from conversations that I had with public plant breeders across the Pacific Northwest about their breeding programs and how climate change considerations intersect with their work. Through these conversations, I wanted to better understand the complexities of the plant breeders’ world, where there are elements that already provide useful information about adapting to future climates, and where there are questions—about the climate in the future, or the plants’ responses, or production, market, or other factors affecting a particular crops’ future—that intersect or even overshadow questions about how to prepare for future climates.

Hop plant with stunted leaves and stems

Hop plant infected by downy mildew, a “tough nut to crack” for breeding tolerance to diseases. Photo: Shaun Townsend.

Maintaining yields under stressful climate-driven conditions is important in Oregon State University’s aroma hop breeding program, as in most breeding programs. However, two other aspects drive the work of Dr. Shaun Townsend, Associate Professor, Crop and Soil Science at Oregon State University. The first is how warmer (and maybe drier) springs could, maybe, help reduce the impacts of downy mildew, a “tough nut to crack” for breeding tolerance to diseases. Before I discuss my second take-away (it is about beer), see what Dr. Townsend had to say about breeding aroma hops for future climates.

  Continue reading