Andrew Shirk, Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington, co-authored this post with Sonia A. Hall, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University. Healthy ecosystems provide us with clean water, clean air, and rich soils, resources that help meet our needs and fuel our economies. They also support many wildlife species. If we can […]
Dryland crops are a common sight east of the Cascades, and cover a LOT of acreage in the Pacific Northwest – more than 5.8 million acres according to recent statistics. Over the last three years, a group of us at CSANR have had the privilege of working with more than 40 co-authors (!) from our […]
Organic hops, research trial of cover crops. Yakima Valley. Photo: D. Granatstein. It’s hard for much to make the news other than politics these days. But the world keeps on turning, we keep on eating,…
The conditions the Northwest experienced in 2015 have received a lot of attention, because we saw drought even though precipitation was close to normal. So the drought was due to higher temperatures, which meant snow didn’t accumulate anywhere near as much as it does on average. With less water available for irrigation in summer (see […]
Successful farmers are skilled at coping with risk, from weather to markets, and a variety of other factors. So to answer the question, “what practices might best help our region’s farmers adapt to climate change?” we went straight to the source. Our region is home to many accomplished farmers who are pioneering a range of […]
Featured BIOAg research: Spatial and temporal dynamics of attracting green lacewings to synthetic lures in apple orchards for pest suppression This BIOAg funded project focused on critical knowledge gaps in the use of plant volatiles as attractants for two different beneficial lacewing species (Chrysopa nigricornis and Chrysoperla plorabunda). The purpose was to investigate whether it was […]
We’ve arrived at the 10th year that CSANR has held a competitive process to select seed projects under the BIOAg Grant Program. This year’s selections bring us to a total of 91 funded project proposals, standard and integrated. The program is one key way that the Center achieves its goal of incubating research and educational […]
Featured BIOAg research: Potential for early season control of spotted wing drosophila by predatory flies (Scathophagidae) as a secondary benefit of manure amendments in red raspberry Spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, is considered the most important pest of soft fruit in Washington State. Current control methods require weekly insecticide applications, which are unsustainable. So far […]
Researchers: Serena Chung, John Harrison, Brian Lamb, and Tsengel Nergui Widespread use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and fossil fuel combustion have led to significant increases in reactive nitrogen emissions and deposition globally. Emissions are any transfer of nitrogen compounds from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere, while deposition describes transfer from the atmosphere back to […]
This year CSANR sponsored registration for several WSU students to attend the Tilth Conference. We have posted reflections written by the students over the past several months. Please feel free to comment and give these students your feedback. 2016 was an historic year for the annual Tilth Conference; for the first time this region-wide event was […]