Perspectives
Dominant Factors: What Actually Builds Soil Organic Matter
Organic and conventional systems can build soil when their practices support the dominant drivers of…
Why Soil Inoculants Fail
Research shows why most soil inoculants struggle to establish in field soils and rarely deliver cons…
How Pop Ecology Misleads Agriculture
Romanticized “pop ecology” oversimplifies nature and leads to costly mistakes in real-world crop…
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Can Sticks and Small Trees Power Planes?
Forest residues could support sustainable aviation fuel production, but scaling up depends on long-t…
Encouraging Compost Use Through Incentives
A statewide reimbursement program boosted compost use on farms, improving soils, reducing waste, and…
The Dirt on Compost: How CSANR Has Helped Washington Waste Less and Grow More
CSANR has been advancing compost knowledge for decades.
Cash Crops, and their Residues, Are the Best Cover Crops
Many cash crops outperform conventional cover crops in key services.
Common Ground: A Narrow Organic Vision of Regenerative Agriculture
The film “Common Ground” promotes a narrow, organic-only vision of regenerative agriculture, relying…
Rhizophagy and Quorum Sensing: Don’t Fall for the Merely Fascinating
Rhizophagy and quorum sensing are fascinating soil processes, but evidence does not show they meanin…
Cover Crop Benefits Depend on Biomass: How Much do You Need?
Cover crop benefits depend on biomass, with higher biomass needed for soil improvement and effective…
Soil Organic Matter in Natural Ecosystems vs. Cropped Fields: A Misleading Comparison
Comparing cropped soils to natural ecosystems is misleading; food production exports biomass, fundam…
Why Buckwheat? A Partnership Effort of Researchers, Farmers, and Chefs
Researchers, farmers, and chefs are collaborating to expand buckwheat breeding, production, and culi…
The Flawed Thinking Behind “Mimic Nature” in Crop Production
Efforts to “mimic nature” in farming often fail because natural ecosystems and crop production o…
The Columbia Basin Irrigation Project: As Drought-Proof and Sustainable as it Gets
The Columbia Basin Irrigation Project (CBP) in Washington State has been producing food for over 70…
Soil Bio-Products are Risky; Ask Questions
Soil bio-products often fail or perform inconsistently; farmers should ask tough questions about ing…
Beyond the Biochar Hype—How to Decide if It’s Right for You
Biochar isn’t a cure-all; its benefits depend on feedstock, soils, goals, and careful planning to …
Choose Soil-building Practices Over Soil Health Products
Rely on proven soil-building practices such as cover crops and reduced tillage instead of untested s…
The Origin of the Climate Analogs Academy
How real-world climate analogs transformed abstract forecasts into practical, hopeful adaptation pla…
What is the Climate Analogs Academy?
How do you work to address climate change in your job? I feel my body’s stress response when I thi…