Our Organic Northwest

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.

NWPR Series Part 2: Addressing Listener Questions re. Gardening and Sustainability

This is the transcript of an interview that aired on NWPR the week of June 4th, 2008.

Intro (Gillian Coldsnow):

This is Gillian Coldsnow with "Our Organic Northwest" a series of conversations on-air and online about organic farming and organic home gardening. Today: a conversation about the importance of soil and soil amendments to organic gardening.

Today, correspondent Glenn Mosely and Project Manager of WSU's Organic Farm, Brad Jaeckel (JAY-k'l) address questions we recieved from listeners after last week's interview:

Story (2:47):

Mosley:
Brad, this is the second in our series and in response to our first discussion a week ago we had a question from a listener who called in and asked about growing vegetables in pots for a small, 2 person family and how best she could do that inside a house, in a green house...interested in lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, things like that.

Jaeckel:
That’s definitely doable on a small scale for folks that don’t have garden space outside and, I actually have a lot of my students that do container gardening and that’s something that you can do even on your porch, which is really handy.  Once the out-time temperatures are above freezing you can move plants in those containers outside. Tomatoes are real a common vegetable that’s grown in containers and they just need to be given enough space to grow throughout the season.  So up to a 5 gallon bucket would be a good size for the tomato.  But you can also grow lettuces, peppers... carrots I haven’t grown in containers, we've had a few people experiment with that this year but... really you could experiment with many different vegetables in containers and doing those indoors, and outdoors.

Mosley:
We also had another listener with a question concerned about the sustainability of organic agriculture.  What do you say to that?

Jaeckel:
Well it’s a big question.  When you talk about sustainability in any area you really want to address three main issues and that includes:
Is whatever your doing sustainable for the environment? 
Is it sustainable economically? 
And is it sustainable socially? 
So when we try to address the sustainability in organic Ag, those are really the three big areas that we're trying to look at, and largely organic Ag has been addressing environmental sustainability concerns.  But also, were concerned about farmers receiving fair wages for there work, and farmers do receive a premium for organic fruits and vegetables so, that’s good.  But also we need to be concerned about wages that laborers are receiving. And is that food staying in the community or is it being transported long distances?  Its really a complex issue, and I think its something you have to take case by case, but really try to address those three key topics when your looking at a certain issue is going to be important.  I think largely organic Ag is working toward being sustainable, but it is a big issue.

outro:

For more information on organic gardening, go to N-W-P-R dot org and click on "Our Northwest". Ask questions about gardening or any agriculture issue that interests you and we'll connect you with an expert. There are also links to resources such as the Master Gardening Program, a comprehensive resource founded here at WSU.

Organic Farm Conversion: On-Air to Online

After last week's interview with Brad Jaeckel, listener Donna Zuba e-mailed with this question:
"Is organic agriculture sustainable for the commercial farmer?"

Here's what Brad had to say:

When you talk about sustainability in any area you really want to address three main issues and that includes:

• Is whatever you're doing sustainable for the environment? 
• Is it sustainable economically?  And,
• Is it sustainable socially? 

So when we try to address the sustainability in organic Ag, those are really the three big areas that we're trying to look at, and largely organic Ag has been addressing environmental sustainability concerns.  But also, we're concerned about farmers receiving fair wages for their work, and farmers do receive a premium for organic fruits and vegetables so, that’s good. 

But also we need to be concerned about wages that laborers are receiving. And is that food staying in the community or is it being transported long distances?  Its really a complex issue, and I think its something you have to take case by case, but really try to address those three key topics when you're looking at a certain issue is going to be important.

John Reganold, Regents Professor of Soil Science, took the conversation further:

Is it possible to replace current farm practices with organic farm practices and make operations financially feasible?  

Organic Gardening - A Moneysaver?

Posted to Northwest News Network Wednesday, June 4, 2008

As increasing fuel prices continue to drive up the cost of groceries, some experts are suggesting that home gardening would help many people save on food costs. Others aren’t so sure. Glenn Mosley reports.

The line of thought from many experts goes something like this—prices are going higher in the grocery store, and so to save money the thing to do is grow your own food, in your yard. You’ll save money that way.

Not so fast, say others. Gardening also takes time, resources, and money and may not, in the end, provide an economic alternative to those prices in the supermarket. A fairly significant garden space is needed, they say, to really have an economic impact. <> It’s s topic that has people on both sides talking.

A Trip to WSU's Organic Farm

Tuesday, May 27th, two trusty associates and I took a field trip to the WSU Organic Farm to visit "Our Organic Northwest" partner and WSU Organic Farm Manager, Brad Jaeckel.  Brad is also an instructor for WSU's academic major in organic agriculture (WSU also offers the nation’s first online certificate in organic agriculture).

When we arrived at the three acre farm, the crew had just finished boxing up produce to deliver to Moscow, Idaho for the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. They have 100 members now, individuals and families who pay a little each month in exchange for fresh, organic produce.

That muggy day they had harvested greens and rhubarb to the sounds of jazz over the truck radio (Miles Davis was playing in the background when we got there). It was obviously early in the season. Neat, bare rows of soil were in evidence everywhere, with the occasional row of greens and some covered crops that bulged from their long, white blankets.

Red Delicious Apples Lose Their Shine

October 5, 2007

RICHLAND/Ask a kid to draw an apple and chances are the depiction will look something like a Red Delicious. The image of the bright red glossy fruit has been burned into the collective Northwest memory. But lately, farmers are growing less of the once popular reds. Instead they are planting more profitable varieties.

Anna King reports.

Wheat Goes Up, Must Come Down

September 27, 2007

Does this market tale sound familiar? Skyrocketing prices entice would-be investors to plant their stakes in the fertile ground. We're not talking about home prices. This is about wheat.

Elizabeth Wynne Johnson has more.

Wheat Prices Soar: Farmers Happy, Traders Nervous

August 27, 2007

Image taken by Richard Saxon.

Wheat prices last week hit an all time high. Northwest farmers are reaping the benefit, and traders are busy. Anna King reports.

Read the article.