Sustainable Practices and Technology

As I wrote in my last post, the focus and excitement around soil biology leads many to believe that they have a soil biology problem. To fix this perceived problem, some recommend trying various types of soil amendments or inoculants to enhance the soil’s microbial community. This includes compost, manure, and their extracts and teas. There is a problem with this strategy though; the microbes at home in manure, compost, or in their extracts, tend to die off in the soil.

In the Columbia River Basin, as in other basins across the western United States, water allocation decisions and processes are important for making the most of naturally variable water resources for diverse instream and out-of-stream purposes. Tradeoffs inherently exist with so many competing uses for water, especially during drought years when available water is limited.

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.

I am not sure of the causes. Perhaps it’s the demand for soil health information which far surpasses the supply of science-based content? Or maybe the speculation and exaggeration that this high demand produces? The intense focus on soil biology for soil health (Coyne et al. 2022) is surely a factor. And the excitement that comes with learning about the new discoveries in soil microbiology. Whatever it is, the results are clear.

Healthy soils produce healthy crops. right? Nope. Although it would seem the very definition of soil health, this popular thinking does not match what plant pathologists find (Janvier et al., 2007). It’s not true.

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

In my last post, we found that soil health was not a major factor for crop yield but is useful in fine-tuning crop nutrient supply. Here, we will look at soil health fine-tuning of soil water use

Farming requires a lot of knowledge and skill. You have limited time and resources. It pays to know where your efforts will return the most benefits, your ROI. What is the ROI for investing in soil health?

As a child of the sixties, I can still remember our family sitting together to watch the coolest show on television, Star Trek (Figure 1). Every episode began with these poetic words…

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