I previously covered reasons why the results of many biodiversity studies do not apply to agriculture. Here, I want to emphasize a related issue: how ecological biodiversity research has distracted us from figuring out the actual causes of benefits in crop mixtures.
I explored opportunities to reduce environmental impact related to food preparation and food waste in previous Perspectives on Sustainability articles. However, transportation in the food supply chain is a significant contributor to carbon emissions: all the transportation and miles in between the farm and your plate are part of …
Washington State House Bill 1543 was signed into law in 2019 by Governor Jay Inslee in an attempt to avert a complete collapse of recycling programs across the state. Prior to 2019, recycling programs…
“Dependent on off-farm inputs…” Can it be otherwise? People inside and outside of science like to point to how nature needs no inputs, yet still produces. Then, as above, they wonder…
What do you call the worm that ate Mozart? A DECOMPOSER! But for one central Washington dairy, a treatment system is using worms, not to decompose manure but to address the knotty and chronic issue of excessive nutrient levels. And now WSU researchers are studying just how helpful those worms might be to the Washington dairy industry.
Ecologists, agroecologists, and regenerative agriculture advocates are promoting biodiversity to solve many of agriculture’s problems. They often base this on evidence of the benefits of plant biodiversity from ecological research…
Manure can play a valuable role in crop production because of its ability to build soil fertility and soil health. Ironically, manure can pose a waste disposal issue for livestock producers. Why does this situation…
It used to be that livestock and crops were integrated on a single farm and manure provided an important source of fertility for crop production. However, the advent of commercial fertilizer, increased specialization on farms…
Here is an ammonia joke for you: Why do chemistry students like studying ammonia? Because it’s pretty basic stuff! So basic, in fact, that high levels of ammonia in dairy wastewater inhibit algal growth. For researchers at WSU looking to use algae as a natural way to extract high levels of nitrogen…
Composting rather than landfilling organic waste, such as food waste and yard trimmings, has several benefits from a climate perspective. A recent study in Washington concluded that composting organic waste…
