Those of us who have been watching the drought conditions in the Yakima Watershed of Eastern Washington got a welcome bit of news on Wednesday: significant precipitation. Cliff Mass, from the University of Washington, did a nice job of summarizing the latest, and explaining why it’s such a lucky break, in this blog post. For […]
In a previous post, I explained that available evidence currently indicates nitrous oxide emissions may be fairly low in the inland Pacific Northwest, compared to other cropland agricultural systems in the U.S. and world. If…
There are a number of sustainability issues getting a fair amount of attention these days: climate change, regional and local food systems, and soil health, to name a few. While this is obviously good, there are also issues that may be getting somewhat less attention than they deserve. And closing the nutrient loop is one […]
If you are interested in ensuring that farming is climate friendly you are likely to start thinking about nitrous oxide (N2O). Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas (298 times as powerful as carbon dioxide,…
Agriculture is a seasonal endeavor. And so the weather during each season can profoundly impact farmers and the crops they produce. Now, researchers at University of Idaho and Oregon State University are providing some new…
Over the last several months, the idyllic weather we’ve had in western Washington has contrasted sharply with reports of heat waves in the Northeast, drought in the Midwest, and wildfires in the Western U.S. (including…