Category Archives: Variability, Weather, & Extreme Events

Implications of Shifting Timing in Water Availability in Eastern Washington

By Aaron Whittemore, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University

Side of irrigation canal with intake to the pump, dry above the level of the water

The Roza-Moxee pump station during the 2015 drought. Photo: Tim Poppleton/OCR

The Columbia River Basin has grappled with limited water supplies for decades. This was most noticeable during 2015, when we experienced severe summertime drought across large areas of Washington State, which reduced the amount of water available to meet the region’s demands. The 2015 drought and other recent occurrences of lower water availability are representative of a warmer future with lessening snowpack and earlier snowmelt. In fact, Washington is expected to experience drought again this summer due to rapidly melting snowpack and low precipitation forecasts, underscoring the prevalence of water supply issues for the state. Continue reading →

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

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

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 →

Check it out: Atmospheric Rivers in the Northwest

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By Janelle Christensen, USDA Northwest Climate Hub

Colored image of the North Atlantic, showing the river of moisture in warm colors

An atmospheric river noted in green and yellow band going into the West Coast, February 2004. Image: NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory Advanced Quantitative Precipitation Information.

Atmospheric rivers are a buzzword right now. A few years ago, I had never heard the term, and now I hear it on the news and tossed about in everyday conversation with colleagues and friends. Although atmospheric rivers are not a new phenomenon, they were only given a name in the 1990s. I grew up knowing about the Pineapple Express, one of the largest ones that hits the West Coast every year, but like many people, I did not know that this was a common atmospheric event. Because I’m hearing the term more and more, I decided to look into the current research about atmospheric rivers and what impacts climate change will have on them. Continue reading →

Check It Out: Ensuring that Hazelnuts in Oregon and Washington Stay Resilient

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Morgan Lawrence, USDA Northwest Climate Hub

Mowed vegetation between rows of hazelnut trees

Cover crops grow between rows of hazelnut trees on Ioka Farms in the Willamette Valley. Photo: Robert Hathorne, NRCS Oregon.

You may know hazelnuts (also called filberts) for their starring role in everyone’s favorite hazelnut-chocolate spread. Or perhaps you’ve enjoyed a delicious hazelnut latte while eating a hazelnut-filled truffle. But did you know that Oregon produces 99% of U.S. hazelnuts, and Washington produces the other 1%? Under the right conditions, hazelnuts are a climate-resilient crop that can be used for food products, cooking oils, livestock feed, and even bioenergy. With the development of pathogen-resistant cultivars, the hazelnut market in Oregon and Washington has the potential to expand. However, expansion will require some climate-smart management.

Because reliable hazelnut crops can only be produced under moderate climatic conditions, they will need some help in adapting to the challenges of climate change. Hazelnut trees do not grow well under extremely hot or cold temperatures, high winds, or with pathogens like eastern filbert blight. However, they are drought-resistant trees, and they can be grown in soils not suitable for a lot of other crops, like hilly or sloping soils. Hazelnut trees also provide many benefits, including storing carbon, reducing soil erosion, improving water quality, and providing wildlife habitat. There are methods to ensure the resilience and growth of the hazelnut industry under climate change in our region. For example, producers can choose a planting site with soils that have good drainage and are not south-facing. To learn more about this delicious Northwest crop and considerations for keeping it resilient, check out this article I wrote for the Northwest Climate Hub.

Water Markets in Washington State: What if Leasing Part of a Water Right Was Allowed?

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By Rajendra Khanal, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah

Top: corn crop under center pivot, with arid slopes in background. Bottom: green irrigated wheat crop

Farmers growing crops such as wheat and corn might be more interested in leasing some – rather than all – of their water to support instream flows in times of water scarcity, which are likely to occur more frequently as the climate changes. Photo: WSDA under CC BY-NC 2.0 (corn) and Rajendra Khanal (wheat).

If you are a Washington agricultural producer who has a water right and wants to lease your water to another user, you are currently allowed to either lease your entire water right and fallow your land (that is, not use any of the water yourself) or not lease and use your full water right for crop production. The option of leasing a part of your water right (partial leasing) does not exist.

Introducing an option for partial leasing could make more farmers willing to participate in water markets, and thus expand markets’ potential as a tool for meeting diverse water needs, especially as climate change increases the likelihood that water supplies won’t be sufficient to meet all demands, all the time. For example, farmers might lease some of their water to support instream flows in times of water scarcity, which are likely to occur more frequently as the climate changes. Although there are a number of challenges that would need to be overcome to make partial leasing a reality (I discuss those later), we started by asking the question of whether the potential benefits of partial leasing are big enough to make it worth bothering to invest the time and money it would take to overcome those challenges. Continue reading →

ANNOUNCEMENT: Water Year Impacts Survey

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Evening sky, with a center pivot over an agricultural field in the foreground Happy 2023 Water Year! Now that the wet and dry swings of water year 2022 are complete, we want to hear from you! How was the Pacific Northwest Impacted?

We encourage you to fill out the Water Year Impact Survey. The goal of this survey is to gather information about impacts and response actions that were implemented during the 2022 water year (October 1, 2021 – September 30, 2022) due to either abnormally dry or abnormally wet conditions.

The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete and your responses are vital for informing both the Water Year meeting and PNW Water Year Impacts Assessment.

We greatly appreciate your contributions!

If you are interested in learning more about the Water Year and the results from this survey, we encourage you to register for this year’s virtual Water Year meeting on October 25th and 26th.
Full Survey Link: https://forms.gle/U6NsdVsEYGygGhYw7

Deficit Irrigation Conserves Water in Agriculture to Aid in Combating Water Stress

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

A group of red apples, showing a sticker labeling them from Chelan

Washington state produce can be found in supermarkets across the world. These Chelan apples were found in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Flickr user Dennis Sylvester Hurd, under CC0 1.0 Universal

Washington State has nearly 15 million acres of farmland with around 39,000 operating farms, each producing necessary agricultural commodities. A few of the most well-known crops that are produced and distributed from Washington State are apples, cherries, hops, raspberries, and pears. Even when traveling across the country, I can find Chelan apples, which shows just how productive the state is in their cultivation of high value foods. Many of the 39,000 operating farms require irrigation to produce much of the aforementioned fruit that get distributed far and wide, which consumes a large portion of water resources. Continue reading →

Check it out: High Temperatures are Threatening Pollination of Crops in the Pacific Northwest

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

Pollination is key for all crops to survive and produce seeds, fruit, and grains. Photo: Flickr user Conall under CC BY 2.0

Throughout the last year, I have spent hours researching and writing about molecular techniques to combat heat and drought stress in agricultural crops while completing my undergraduate capstone project. So, when I found an article describing how the integrity of pollen is threatened by increasing temperatures, it seemed extremely relevant to both my project as well as my new internship at Washington State University where I am researching sustainable ways to address climate change impacts on tree fruit.

Continue reading →

Water Markets’ Potential for Addressing Drought, Water Availability

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

sockeye fish in river, center pivot irrigating field, mostly dry river bed with narrow flow of water at the bottom

Water markets is one potential tool for moving water between uses such as instream water for sockeye in the Yakima Basin (top left; photo: WA Dept. of Ecology) or irrigating crop fields (top right; photo: Aspect Consulting). Such movement can be particularly important when flows are low (Walla Walla River runs low late in the irrigation season (bottom; photo: WA Dept. of Ecology).

As climate change increases the likelihood of a mismatch in the timing of when water is needed and when it is available, policymakers, water managers, and water users are exploring water markets as one potential tool to move water between uses. Water markets facilitate the voluntary transfer of water between sellers and buyers, on either a temporary (lease) or permanent (sale) basis. To some this has meant water is accessible for crops during drought or for new housing developments. For fish, it may mean more water instream that enhances survival.

And yet, water markets are not quite as simple as other markets (say, the grocery store). There are lots of features of water that make purchasing it different than buying a loaf of bread. Continue reading →

Agriculture Climate Network

agriculture and climate change research in the Pacific Northwest

Category Archives: Variability, Weather, & Extreme Events

Implications of Shifting Timing in Water Availability in Eastern Washington

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

Check it out: Atmospheric Rivers in the Northwest

Check It Out: Ensuring that Hazelnuts in Oregon and Washington Stay Resilient

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

Water Markets in Washington State: What if Leasing Part of a Water Right Was Allowed?

ANNOUNCEMENT: Water Year Impacts Survey

Deficit Irrigation Conserves Water in Agriculture to Aid in Combating Water Stress

Check it out: High Temperatures are Threatening Pollination of Crops in the Pacific Northwest

Water Markets’ Potential for Addressing Drought, Water Availability