CSANR Programs
CSANR has worked on many issues and projects since it's inception in 1991, including pesticide reduction, food systems and marketing, organic production, conservation practices, sustainable agrciulture policy, farm energy, climate change, limited resource farmers, and natural resource issues. We are an "opportunistic" entity -- always seeking resources to address critical, emerging issues that affect teh sustainability of agriculture, food and natural resource systems. Our current Programs are focused on Small Farms, Organic Agriculture, Biologically Intensive Agriculture (BIOAg), and Climate Friendly Farming.
Small Farms Program
WSU’s Small Farms Program offers a course and certificate program for family farmers and offers courses targeted to Latino and Southeast Asian new immigrant farmers. The Small Farms staff supports farmers’ market managers in building strong retail outlets for our state’s growers, so they can keep more of the food dollar. The Small Farms Program is currently working on a Community Food Assessment. The overall purpose of a CFA is a participatory, community-based strategic planning process used to engage residents in collecting data to develop a community food and farming profile and develop and implement a vision for change.
Organic Agriculture Research
The Washington State University Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources has launched an organic farming research program to serve the Pacific Northwest. This Federally supported research program will support the expansion of crop production research and initiate economic and market research of organic foods. The grant program is currently in its second 5-year funding cycle, and for each cycle, research priorities were identified by organic growers, consumers, suppliers, and researchers in the region and results will continue to be disseminated to these stakeholders.
Biologically Intensive Agriculture and Organic Farming Program (BIOAg)
CSANR’s flagship initiative, Biologically Intensive Agriculture & Organic Farming (BIOAg), encompasses a range of new research, education and extension projects. These include development of mustard cover crops as alternatives to fumigation, new applications of direct seeding to reduce erosion, and the use of beneficial nematodes for pest control. BIOAg promotes strong linkages between sustainable agriculture, communities and human nutrition, with the goal of promoting access to fresh, healthful Washington-grown food. A federal grant for organic agriculture is helping WSU develop certified organic experimental land, enhance organic seed production, and research the effects of new methods of organic weed control.
Climate Friendly Farming
CSANR’s Climate Friendly Farming Research & Demonstration Project showcases interdisciplinary cooperation in a comprehensive research project. Climate Friendly Farming research aims to reduce farm-produced greenhouse gases, increase soil carbon sequestration, and replace fossil fuel derived products with biomass derived products. Researchers are assessing dairy, irrigated crop, and dryland grain farming systems to determine how each could move from contributing to climate change to becoming part of the solution. The research could soon make it possible to compensate farmers for offsetting the pollution caused by urbanization and industries.
New Resources
CSANR Climate Friendly Farming Team Wins National Innovation Award
No-till Organic Vegetable Production Workshop
WSDA Organic Food Program Manager Position Open
Omnivore's Dilemma: WSU Common Reading Program
Final Report: Use of Biochar from the Pyrolysis of Waste Organic Material
as a Soil Amendment
Beyond Waste Workshop Proceedings
2008 Washington Organic Statistics
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