Progress in Applying a Multi-Model Ensemble Approach to Soil Carbon

By David I Gustafson, Adjunct Research Faculty at Washington State University

Flowering potato crop, with center pivot across the background

Potatoes are an important crop in the Pacific Northwest, that could benefit from more accurate estimates of carbon sequestration under different practices. Photo: WSDA under CC BY-NC 2.0.

When it comes to climate adaptation and mitigation opportunities in agriculture, few (if any) are of greater importance than practices that sequester more soil carbon, which can directly reduce the heat-trapping effects of atmospheric CO₂. Boosting soil carbon also has multiple direct benefits for growers, such as increasing yield potential and resilience to both drought and heavy rainstorms.

This is a global challenge, including all producers across the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Its sheer size and scope mandates coordinated action across multiple sectors, including grower groups, the research community, industry, and government scientists. I serve on two such multi-sector groups: Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) and Field to Market. 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 →

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

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By Doug Finkelnburg, University of Idaho Extension

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 →

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.

Profitability Tool for Growers Considering Alternative Rotations in Dryland Systems

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

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 →

Check it out: Grazing Lands in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington

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By Janelle Christensen, USDA Northwest Climate Hub

Cattle graze in a small pasture near Wendell, Idaho. Photo: USDA/Kirsten Strough

Grazing lands in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington—from state, tribal and federally managed rangelands and forests to privately owned pasturelands—are an important part of each state. Livestock are a critical part of each state’s economy and contributed about $8.4 billion in sales in 2017. They are also important to the livelihoods of people who live in these states, many of whom come from families who have taken care of these lands for generations.

To understand how climate change is impacting the grazing season, I looked into some of the changes that will affect ranchers’ and managers’ ability to graze sustainably in the future. With warmer temperatures earlier in the year, springtime and grass emergence will happen earlier. Livestock may have reduced access to forage on federally managed grazing lands, where permits are set to open at the same date each year. Temperatures may also affect plant germination. Some plants require a certain number of chilling hours to reproduce and others become less productive in temperatures that exceed their optimal growth temperature. Additionally, changes to precipitation will affect the amount of forage available each year, which could negatively impact herds.

These are among the changes that are happening with climate change in this region. Check out the article I wrote for the Northwest Climate Hub to learn more about the effects of climate change on grazing lands in the Northwest.

Large-scale Solar Developments and Protected Lands – Can We Have Them Both?

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By Karen Janowitz, Washington State University Energy Program

View of shrubsteppe lands in the Columbia Plateau in Washington

The Columbia Plateau boasts important ranchlands and are important to many endangered and threatened species and habitats as well as Tribal cultural resources. Photo: Ferdi Businger.

The passage of Washington State’s Clean Energy Transformation Act in 2019 mandates an electricity supply free of greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Large-scale renewable energy projects are one way to achieve this mandate. Solar companies see this as an opportunity and are pursuing projects in the sunniest, least developed part of the state—the Columbia Plateau region. As many of you know, the area boasts some of the most productive farmland and ranchland in the state, as well as many endangered and threatened species and habitats, and Tribal cultural resources.

Concerned about losing these values to large renewable energy developments while acknowledging the need for renewables, the 2019 Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State University Energy Program (WSUEP) to pursue a Least-Conflict Solar Siting project for the Columbia Plateau. The project must be completed by June 30, 2023, and we are in the midst of working with a wide-ranging and diverse set of interests to produce maps that can help us balance the need for renewable energy with protecting Washington State’s productive farmland and ranchland, Tribal rights and resources, and species and habitats. You can assist with the project by reviewing draft maps, which will be available soon. Read on to gain an understanding of this novel and important process. Continue reading →

ANNOUNCEMENT: Taking Soil Health Principles to Practice: SoilCon 2023

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SoicCon banner with dates: February 14, 14, 2023 Soil health is a trending topic in agricultural production and environmental resilience to climate change, but what does the latest research tell us and how can we put it into practice for regional agricultural systems?

SoilCon, an annual conference hosted by the Washington State Soil Health Initiative (WaSHI), aims to address these questions and more. Speakers at the conference will explain what metrics are used when assessing soil health, how these may change by production system and region, and explore management practices to support a resilient soil system. The topics will be relevant to agriculture or natural resource professionals, producers, consultants, University faculty and students, and interested members of the public. This free, virtual conference will bring research, extension, and production together to move soil health principles into practice.

SoilCon 2023 will be held February 14^th & 15^th, with sessions running from 8:00am-12:00pm PST each day. For more information and to register for SoilCon 2023, visit the event site. Attendance is free and open to all. SoilCon is possible with support from Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (WESARE).

Stay updated with SoilCon through Twitter and Instagram @WSU_SoilHealth.

SoilCon Event & Registration Link: https://pheedloop.com/wasoilcon23/site/home/

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

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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 →

Agriculture Climate Network

agriculture and climate change research in the Pacific Northwest

Progress in Applying a Multi-Model Ensemble Approach to Soil Carbon

Check it out: Atmospheric Rivers in the Northwest

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

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

Profitability Tool for Growers Considering Alternative Rotations in Dryland Systems

Check it out: Grazing Lands in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington

Large-scale Solar Developments and Protected Lands – Can We Have Them Both?

ANNOUNCEMENT: Taking Soil Health Principles to Practice: SoilCon 2023

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

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