In the comment string of my original post Reflections on Savory, reader Rondi Lightmark asked a very legitimate set of questions: How much closer are we going to get to catastrophes far worse than the Dust…
USDA recently released a report that provides a comprehensive interpretive review of the scientific literature on the impacts of climate change on agriculture in the U.S. This report was undertaken in response to the soon to be released 2nd National Climate Assessment – an effort that reviews the impact of climate change on several sectors […]
A recent paper (Olson, 2013) finds a number of long-term studies were wrong about no-till practices building soil organic matter and thus sequestering carbon. The problem, says Kenneth Olson, soil scientist at the University of Illinois, is how the studies in question measured the gains or losses in soil organic carbon (SOC; organic carbon is about 50% of soil organic matter by weight).
If you pay any attention to the climate change topic, you are likely seeing an increasing number of headlines and announcements related to various climate change reports. In the absence of context, this seeming proliferation…
Soil is often called the “living skin” of planet Earth; an essential but fragile part of the biosphere. Attention to soil health (or soil quality) has waxed and waned over the years, but it appears to be making a comeback. In the past few months I have been to two exceptional meetings on soil health […]
A flurry of studies in recent years has reported that organic fruits and vegetables are, on average, more nutritious than conventional foods, while another flurry has reported little or no nutritional difference. While most review articles and meta-analysis conclude that Vitamin C, phenolic acids, antioxidant, and some mineral levels are typically higher in organically grown […]
The U. S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology list of the top scientific challenges facing agriculture includes “the need to manage new pests, pathogens, and invasive plants; increase the efficiency of water use; reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture; adapt to a changing climate; and accommodate demands for bioenergy – all while […]
Last summer, I visited an organic farm in the area. The farmer showed me various parts of his operation, one of which was a field that he had planted to a species of perennial grass…
As several CSANR faculty members have agreed to do, including Andy McGuire and David Granatstein, I am responding to the question posed by Center Director Chad Kruger on September 18: Achieving farm and food system…
Managing Change Northwest recently brought Allan Savory of the Savory Institute to the Pacific Northwest to speak to the Washington Cattleman’s Association, the Tilth Producers of Washington, and a special workshop and keynote in Seattle…