Livestock

Comparison of disease resistance among heritage chicken breeds

Organic poultry farming is uniquely threatened by infectious disease, because organic farming practices increase chicken exposure to parasites and pathogens while simultaneously restricting the use of drugs and chemicals that control infections. “Heritage” chicken breeds, which are commonly used in organic farming, may possess endogenous disease resistance. However, it is unclear how resistance to infection […]

Improving Forage Quantity and Quality through Organic Fertilizer and No-Till Seeding in Western Washington

Forage production is the largest agricultural land use in western Washington supporting a diverse livestock industry. Poor grazing management and repeated hay removal, without amendment contribute to reduced productivity, encroachment of weeds, erosion, and inadequate forage quality to support animal health. This integrated research and extension project will address the WSU Sustaining Resources Grand Challenge. […]

High-throughput screening of forage crops for environmentally sustainable crop production

Improving the sustainability of agriculture requires a wide range of research from the basic to the applied, from molecular to whole organism, and from field to system level. In-field studies are irreplaceable for gaining knowledge of best practices, varieties, rotations, crop mixtures, and other factors that will make real differences in agricultural productivity and environmental […]

Tallgrass Prairie in Central Washington: Establishing Warm-Season Perennial Grasses on Irrigated Pasture

Warm-season perennial grasses (WSG) native to the American tallgrass prairie have tremendous production potential under irrigation. Central Washington irrigated pastures occupied by cool-season grasses exhibit dramatically slower growth during meteorological summer. Grazing land is a scarce resource in Washington State for which there is high demand. Further, many ranchers’ business growth is limited by unavailability […]

Sustainable Crop-Livestock Integration for System Health in the Dryland Inland Pacific Northwest

Dryland wheat-fallow producers have begun switching to a direct seed tillage system for soil health benefits such as reduced runoff, increased water infiltration, increased consistency of crop stands, more and longer period of surface cover from crop residue, better soil moisture, and fewer dust clouds at planting time. However, this practice often requires increased pesticide […]

Integrating manure-based amendments with pest control: Potential of predatory flies (Scathophagidae) as a secondary benefit of manure amendments, for early season control of spotted wing drosophila in red raspberry

Yellow dung flies, Scathophaga stercoraria are associated with dung of large mammals. They are predatory on other flies particularly drosophila and are attracted to red raspberry fields following manure applications in early spring. We investigated their potential to provide season-long impact on spotted wing drosophila populations (Drosophila suzukii, SWD) in red raspberry by feeding on […]

Flexible Farming (FlexFarm) Production Systems: Integrating Crops and Livestock for Diverse, Resilient, and Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes

Our overall research goal is to contribute to global, national, and regional food security and the ecological and economic sustainability of the inland Pacific Northwest’s (iPNW) agricultural landscape. Specifically, the project aimed to study the potential of integrated crop-livestock (ICL) production systems as resilient and sustainable alternatives to the iPNW’s existing, rainfed agricultural landscape dominated […]

Bovine-avian interactions on dairies: improving cow welfare and farm economic stability by implementing effective and sustainable bird deterrence methods

Pest bird damage to vineyard, orchard, and berry acreage has been a focus of recent research; however, much less is known about how pest birds affect dairies. In other areas of the U.S., the impact of the non-native European starling on dairies has been linked to significant economic damages and disease transmission concerns. The pest […]

Soil health and pasture productivity under mob grazing and fertility management

Grazing cattle may be managed in such a way to improve the productive capacity and/or health of the land that supports them. This study assessed and continues to assess the soil health and productivity of a certified organic ranch pasture under a variety of grazing and fertility treatments. Two different strategies of planned grazing management […]