Our Organic Northwest

Tree Farmers May Profit From Climate Regulation

(Photo: Small woodland owner Ken Falk hopes to sell carbon offsets tied to these trees in Monroe, Oregon.)

MONROE, OR - Some airlines are starting to do it. Some Northwest ski resorts, too. They’re inviting people like you to pay a little bit extra to offset the global warming pollution resulting from an activity such as a trip. A carbon offset is a bit like an indulgence... a polluter pays someone else to remove an equivalent amount of global warming gases from the atmosphere. In our region, private timberland owners, farmers, and some tribal governments are dreaming dollar signs.

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UI Agriculture Funding Plan Deadline Looming

MOSCOW, ID - The University of Idaho says early November is the deadline to have a funding plan in place for its agriculture and extension services. The problem facing the UI and the agriculture industry in the state is the $4.7 million cut in the university’s agricultural research and extension budget, stemming from two state budget cuts. The proposed closure of research centers in the state, including one at Parma, raised alarms earlier this year.

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Northwest Apple Harvest is Underway

In Northwest farm country, apple harvest is in full swing. Huge trucks loaded down with fruit can be seen on the highways headed for market. Farmers say they expect to haul in about the same amount of fruit this year as usual, but the apples will be larger than last year. Richland Correspondent Anna King reports.

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This Year’s Northwest Cherry Harvest Could Set Records

(Flickr photograph by jen maiser)

Cherry farmers across the Northwest are probably going to churn out a record crop this summer. That’s as long as it doesn’t rain as Richland Correspondent Anna King explains.

In the next month Northwest cherry farmers could make millions, or lose their entire crop. It all depends on Mother Nature. If it gets too hot, cherries ripen cherries faster than workers can pick. Even a small amount of rain can get absorbed into the cherry’s tender flesh and split the fruit. (Full Story)

New Pesticide Restrictions

November 20, 2008, Kennewick, WA

Farmers worry that new restrictions on the pesticides Chlorpyrifos, Malathion, and Diazinon will hinder their productivity. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is recommending the restrictions in order to protect salmon populations. Northwest Public Radio's Anna King reports.

Northwest Regional Office of NMFS

Northwest Fisheries Science Center

KWSU Media Presents: Plant Breeding

				Episode 114
	3:11 min.
	Kim Kidwell
	Professor, Crop & Soil Sciences, WSU
	Most people don’t understand Dr. Kidwell’s profession even though they are familiar with the results. As a plant breeder, she is responsible for improving the quality of crops that people eat every day. By looking at the genes inside of wheat, she uses modern technology to help support the oldest industry in the country. The next time you notice a wheat field while driving in Washington, odds are that Dr. Kidwell has had a hand in making it grow Watch additional videos at KWSU Media .

NW Farmers Growing More Wheat in Response to High Prices

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Northwest farmers are expected to harvest a half million more acres of wheat this year than last. They’re hoping for continued record high prices brought on by a world-wide shortage of the grain. 

The global wheat shortage is a classic supply and demand story. The demand: India and China’s growing economies mean more people there can afford to gobble up increasing amounts of grain and meat. The supply shortage: A nearly decade-long drought in Australia. And in the U.S., high demand for bio-fuel has pushed food crops aside. It’s all contributed to a wheat boom in the Pacific Northwest. Jeffrey LaFrance, is a professor of economics at Washington State University. He says with more farmers growing wheat, less corn, barley, beans and hay will be harvested. But that’s not necessarily bad news.

Anna King reports.

Grass Farmers Put Burning on Hold For Olympic Trials

June 20, 2008

EUGENE, OR/During the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Willamette Valley grass seed farmers have agreed not to burn their fields. The Western Environmental Law Center is asking: why not ban it altogether? KLCC’s Rachael McDonald explains.
 
The temporary ban on field burning is to protect athletes’ health and keep the air smoke-free for visitors from around the world. Attorney Charlie Tebbutt has sent a letter to Governor Kulongoski asking him to use his authority to ban the practice outright for the sake of residents, whether they’re athletes or not. He says legendary runner Steve Prefontaine himself asked for a ban in 1975 after getting sick from the smoke at Eugene’s Hayward Field.
 

Soil Erosion and Direct Seeding: A WSU Student Production

Students Ben Herndon and Jordann Byrd of Washington State University's Edward R. Murrow School of Communication composed this video about direct seeding on the Palouse:

Palouse Soil Erosion

The following is an interview between correspondent, Glenn Mosley and WSU Organic Farm Manager, Brad Jaekel:

(photo by Sergeant) June 16, 2008

PULLMAN/Maybe it’s because it’s all around us, and we walk all over it, but the fact is we don’t always pay enough attention to our soil, which scientists describe as a fragile resource.

In fact, we are running out of soil in certain parts of the country that are experiencing erosion loss. Even the Palouse region of Washington and Idaho is one of the top ten erodable areas in the country.

Brad Jaeckel, project manager of the organic farm at Washington State University, says we’re losing our soil to wind, water, and certain tillage practices. But he says there’s hope:

“There’s all kinds of great work that farmers are doing across the country and the world to develop better practices to preserve their soil. There are folks on the Palouse doing no- till farming and their primary goal in those systems is to preserve the soil and build soil.”

Jaeckel says another concern is the overall health of the soil that remains. He says relying on intense chemical fertilizers does not address the issue of soil loss.

Scientists say managing and maintaining soil is an important part of our future. Once soil is gone, it’s gone, they say, and it takes a long time to build it back up.