Soil Microbes in Organic Farming Systems Are Under Researchers’ Microscope

One of the goals of organic agriculture is to improve soil quality over time by increasing the amount of organic matter in the soil. This is done by various means, including adding animal manure, leaving plant matter behind after vegetables and grains have been harvested, growing cover crops, or by adding compost. These materials are recycled by microorganisms that live in the soil, releasing from the organic matter the nutritional building blocks the next generation of plants need to grow and thrive. Those building blocks include nitrogen, carbon, phosphorous, and various micronutrients.

But as organic matter builds up in the soil, there is the potential for loss of those precious nutrients (particularly nitrogen) as they are released as gases from the soil or as they dissolve in water and are carried away by stormwater run off, as well as by other processes. For farmers, that loss of valuable nutrients affects their bottom line because those nutrients need to be replaced with costly inputs. For the environment, escaping nutrients could be a source of pollution in streams and other bodies of water. Even more ominously, those escaping nutrients could be greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

Ann-Marie Fortuna

That’s why Washington State University scientists Ann-Marie Fortuna, Craig Cogger and Doug Collins are developing a series of experiments to determine the types and amounts of gases emitted by organic cropping systems. Research plots in Puyallup include a long-term organic farming experiment initiated in 2003. Because soil properties have been influenced by 9 years of differing organic practices, the researchers expect to see differences in gas exchange from the soils over the next three years. Together with their colleague Ron Turco at Purdue University, who is studying the same thing in plots transitioning to organic status, they will not only measure emissions but also develop a series of “best practices” that farmers can use to minimize nutrient loss from their soils.

Craig Cogger

“Long-term data sets are few and far between in organic agriculture but are very much needed,” said Fortuna, an assistant professor of soil science at WSU and the director of the project. Fortuna and her colleagues plan to measure the cycling of gases through the soil over several years because, as she pointed out, a single measurement is just a snap shot of the system at a given moment, and not an accurate inventory of its behavior over the year-long cycle of growth, decay and renewal.

“All systems are leaky,” Fortuna said. “Any time you are adding nutrients to a system and building them up, you need to be concerned about where the nutrients are going. But just because you have more organic inputs doesn’t mean you are creating more greenhouse gases. There is probably a difference in the way the gases cycle, but you do need to have proper cropping and management systems in place to keep nutrients from escaping and becoming pollutants or contributors to greenhouse emissions.”

Doug Collins

Fortuna said that while a great deal is known about crop production and nitrogen fertilizers, knowledge of the way soil microorganisms regulate the cycling of nutrients is limited. “We need to learn how agronomic management practices alter the microbiology controlling these reactions.”

“We are going to work out a set of practices that give growers a way to manage inputs that give plants the nutrition they need while not creating pollution,” said Craig Cogger, a soil scientist and Extension specialist based at WSU’s Research and Extension Center in Puyallup. “To that end, we are comparing how different organic farming systems with a history of different amendments and tillage frequency affect releases of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, two major greenhouse gases. We know that both tillage and type of amendment affect the soil ecosystem, but we now want to know how the microbes in these different ecosystems affect the release of greenhouse gases from the soil.”

Fortuna said that the direct impact of their research would be a set of management practices for farmers, as well as information about the availability of nutrients in soils. Soil is a complex, living system, so its fertility ebbs and flows with the rise and fall of temperature, the availability of moisture, and other factors. The team’s research has an additional potential bonus in that they may be able to quantify a way to tell growers what their carbon footprint is, which growers could use in marketing.

“This research will improve our understanding of how carbon and nitrogen cycle between land, air and water in vegetable and row crop farming systems in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest,” Fortuna said. The team plans on communicating their research results to growers via a video on climate change and soil microbiology.

–Brian Clark

Photos courtesy Ann-Marie Fortuna, Craig Cogger, and Doug Collins/Washington State University

Irrigation Info Goes Digital

Water management is a key issue for all agricultural producers, said Andy McGuire, a WSU Extension educator based in Grant County. Wise use of this precious resource not only improves producers’ economic bottom lines, but also reduces dust in cities and the loss of valuable soil.

Drip irrigation system in a vineyard.

That’s why a team of WSU Extension experts launched the Irrigated Agriculture Information Service. The new digital information emails alerts and other customized information to subscribers based on their specified topics of interest. Subscribers can now choose from more than 35 topic areas ranging from apples to cattle production and from drip irrigation to wine grape growing. Once subscribers create an account and choose their topic preferences, they can log back in at any time and change their options.

“We want to provide members of the irrigated agriculture industry with only the information they want, when and where they need it,” said Andy McGuire. “We want to get research results and other information out as quickly as possible to those that use it on a daily basis. This system replaces an older print-based information-delivery system. That not only saves money, it expedites the delivery of specific information to specific audiences. Email gives users the ability to receive timely water management information at home, in the office, or on a smart phone.”

“We want to provide members of the irrigated agriculture industry with only the information they want, when and where they need it,” said Andy McGuire. “We want to get research results and other information out as quickly as possible to those who use it on a daily basis. This system replaces an older print-based information-delivery system. That not only saves money, it expedites the delivery of specific information to specific audiences. Email gives users the ability to receive timely water management information at home, in the office, or on a smart phone.”

Alerts will be topic specific, McGuire said. For instance, WSU’s pest-monitoring team will quickly notify potato growers when crop-damaging insects are spotted in potato fields. “Timely information helps growers be judicious about pesticide use, thus improving overall water quality.”

–Brian Clark

The new system is available at http://extension.wsu.edu/irrigatedag.

Cougars Expand Homemade Hummus Business

Heath and Tish Barnes

May 2010 wasn’t the best time for Heath and Tish Barnes to launch their new hummus business. The bad economy aside, Bronzestone Hummus was competing with not only big-name U.S. labels like Sabra and Tribe, but also with other companies introducing their brands at the same time. But the Barneses had a huge advantage: Washingtonians, especially on the west side of the state, want locally grown food, and Bronzestone is the only hummus manufacturer that uses chickpeas directly from the family farm, located 60 miles from its Clarkston, Wash., plant.

“Many of our other ingredients are also sourced locally, making us the only hummus company that uses Pacific Northwest-grown products and 100 percent Washington-grown chickpeas,” said Heath, who graduated from Washington State University in 2000 with a degree in agricultural marketing. “We believe in the smaller farm-to-table concept, so people know where their food is coming from. I think this is one thing that small companies can do that the big-name brands just can’t match.”

Now more than a year later, Bronzestone Hummus, named for the rich color and smooth texture of its product, has expanded its market presence to stores and cooperatives in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana. Not bad for a pair who initially started with a few hummus recipes they shared with only family and friends.

Getting to where they are today hasn’t come without its challenges, Heath said. He and Tish work seven days a week with help from their children on every aspect of Bronzestone’s operation, from hand-selecting producers, soaking and cooking garbanzo beans, roasting red bell peppers, garlic and onions, and blending the hummus to sealing it in 10-ounce tubs, packing them in boxes and delivering them to their buyers.

“We thought because we had a product that was better in flavor and local, using only the finest ingredients, that we could command somewhat of a premium for our product,” Heath said. “We were wrong. We have spent countless hours doing in-store demos and free samplings of every kind. Probably the biggest battle is trying to secure shelf space and, once on the shelf, keeping that shelf space. We work with farmers who employ sustainable practices that take care of the ground in a way that will leave future production possible for generations to come. We will not sacrifice quality for a profit. That is, in my opinion, the difference between the small guy and the big names.”

–Nella Letizia

Learn more about Trish and Heath at http://bit.ly/zrLSFh.

What’s Your Zone?

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree Fahrenheit zones. For the first time, the newly revised map is available as an interactive GIS-based map, for which a broadband Internet connection is recommended, and as static images for those with slower Internet access. Users may also simply type in a ZIP Code and find the hardiness zone for that area.

Find out where you stand by checking out http://bit.ly/ACgTdh.

People

Ken Eastwell Helps Growers Keep It Clean

WSU plant pathologist is the director of the Clean Plant Center of the Northwest. Photo: Washington State University.

Ken Eastwell, a professor in the Washington State University Department of Plant Pathology based at WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser, has been appointed director of the Clean Plant Center of the Northwest. As director of CPCNW, Eastwell provides leadership for the development and distribution of deciduous fruit trees, grapevines and hops that are free of viruses and virus-like agents.

“Viruses are particularly devastating to specialty crops such as tree fruits, grapes and hops,” said Eastwell. “Because these crops are perennial, annual losses caused by viruses occur every year and can ruin the economic outlook of a farming operation.”

“The National Clean Plant Network has provided a critical focal point for researchers, regulatory agencies and industry to share ideas and advance the production of virus-tested foundation planting stock to meet the nation’s needs,” Eastwell said.

The National Clean Plant Network is an industry-driven program designed to provide virus-tested propagation material to improve productivity and help growers and nurseries be more competitive in global markets. Domestic and international sales are negatively impacted by increased production costs and lower quality of fruits, nuts, hops and grapes, and their products. Programs to provide disease-free foundation plant material were established in the 1950s and 1960s torelieve  to the economic burden that growers at the time by diseases caused by virus-like agents. In 2009, producers of perennial specialty crops united to help create the National Clean Plant Network, with initial funding through the 2008 Farm Bill. The National Clean Plant Network now supports 15 centers across the U.S. representing five perennial specialty crops.

The Clean Plant Center of the Northwest is online at http://bit.ly/cpcnwwsu.

Events Calendar

Feb. 11: Women in Agriculture Conference. Women face unique challenges in growing viable businesses in farming and ranching. They also learn differently than men and like to connect with other women farmers in sharing experiences, knowledge and resources. At this conference, keynote presentations will be broadcast across the state to multiple county sites, and local presenters will reflect the needs of those regions. Save the date of Feb. 11 for this wonderful opportunity to learn and grow. If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, please send your contact information to Debra Hansen Kollock at dkollock@wsu.edu and you will be notified of all upcoming news and details. Please type “Women in Ag” in the subject line. Or call (509) 684-2588. Learn more »

Feb. 24 – 25: Specialty Cut Flower School. Washington State University and the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market are offering a Specialty Cut Flower Growers School focusing on sustainable flower growing techniques for the Pacific Northwest. Topics to be covered include business planning basics; plant selection; growing techniques; pest-management strategies; specialized equipment; quality postharvest care; season extension; and marketing opportunities. Learn more »

Find more upcoming events on the Green Times blog »

Apple orchards are intricate webs involving a delicate balance between trees, soils, water, insects and more. To manage the pests that can potentially damage a crop of apples, a grower might apply a pesticide. There are several problems associated with pesticide use, though, including risks to environmental and human health; the costs of the chemicals; and the equipment, labor and expense needed to apply them. That’s why Washington State University researchers have been pioneering alternatives to pesticide use for managing pests.

WSU researchers are giving apple orchards a sweet treatment... Sweet Alyssum, that is. Here, the flowers are grown in the lane between rows of trees in an effort to attract syrphids.

One of the effects of using a particular pesticide is that, in addition to controlling a target insect, it may also kill populations of insects beneficial to orchard health. WSU researchers have countered that problem by developing and advocating for a broad group of strategies called Integrated Pest Management. IPM tries to minimize the use of harsh chemicals in favor of ones that are highly selective for target pests. WSU scientists have also helped develop methods of biocontrol, in which a good insect is encouraged by various means to prey upon the bad insects that cause damage to trees and fruit.

The sensitive balance of orchard ecology is such that, if one thing is changed (for instance, a pest-control regime), other things may change as well (like the proportion of bad pests to their good natural enemies). For the last decade, one of those changes in Washington apple orcahrds has been an expanding woolly aphid population.

“Growers began noticing an increase in the number of woolly aphids in apple orchards starting in the early 2000s,” said WSU entomologist Betsy Beers. Beers is based at WSU’s Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee. “There is some evidence that suggests it was a change in pesticide programs that led to an increase in woolly aphids. The question became, what could we do about it?”

Syrphid on alyssum

Beers said that woolly aphid debilitates trees over the long term by sucking the sugar out of plants. “They are pernicious little beasts. They use the plant’s sap (phloem) as food. They not only suck sap from leaves, but also from the plant’s woody parts. They also infect the roots, reducing the plant’s ability to take in nutrients and water. They cause hypertrophic galls, which are tumor-like protuberances that can kill fruit buds. Dead fruit buds mean lowered productivity, a serious concern for apple growers. “This is one of the meaner aphids.”

Beers said that a survey of woolly aphid’s natural enemies indicated that syrphids are the most commonly seen predator in woolly apple aphid colonies. “We predicted syrphids could control the aphids–the trick is getting more syrphids into the orchard, and making sure they are happy there.”

Surfing for syrphids: graduate student Lessando Gontijo nets syrphids to quantify their attraction to Sweet Alyssum.

Syrphids are more commonly known as flower flies or hoverflies. As their name suggests, they like to hang out among flowers, as the adult syrphid’s primary food is nectar. The syrphid larvae, however, grow and thrive on a diet of aphids–and woolly aphids are just dandy for maturing syrphid larvae. “It’s wonderful to watch them chew their way through an aphid colony,” said Beers.

Enter doctoral student Lessando Gontijo, who came to WSU from his native Brazil to study biocontrol. Working with his mentors, Beers and WSU biocontrol expert Bill Snyder, Gontijo set up a series of experiments to test the idea that syrphids could be used to control woolly aphid populations. The team first examined six different flowering plants for attractiveness to syrphids, and sweet alyssum won hands down. This plant is low-growing and flowers from a few weeks after planting until frost, making it an ideal planting for use in orchards. The next step was to plant small plots in orchards, in the lanes between rows of apple trees (normally occupied by grass sod). While all the details aren’t sorted out, the aphids disappeared faster next to the alyssum plots than they did in the grassy control plots. Gontijo used a sophisticated method known as “immunomarking” to prove that the syrphids found in the apple trees had visited the alyssum flowers, further evidence that alyssum could promote biological control.

The results of the small-scale experiments are promising, Beers said. “These experiment are the first steps in a much longer process,” she said. “We needed to pass the initial proof-of-concept tests: do these flowers attract beneficial insects, are they manageable in an orchard, and do we see a decrease in the pest populations. We passed all those tests.”

The next step will be to run experiments in commercial orchards. Beers said she is looking for funding to expand the project, adding “It’ll be a great opportunity for future graduate students to do good science that has a real-world impact on the way apple growers manage pests.”

–Brian Clark

Photos courtesy Betsy Beers/Washington State University

Learn more about WSU’s world-class leadership role in tree fruit research and extension, including in organic apple production, at the tree fruit web portal »

Small Bites: Research News in Brief

Feeding the World

Cassava mosaic is a severe disease impacting sustainability of cassava production in sub-Saharan Africa. Cassava affected with the disease (left) produce severely deformed leaves with mosaic symptoms and the plants produce a few small or no tubers when compared to a healthy plant (right).

The Nigerian poet and novelist Flora Nwapa calls it “Mother Cassava.” A fundamental staple in the diet of nearly a billion people, the cassava plant produces a root that is processed in a wide variety of ways to produce foods and beverages. After rice and beans, cassava is the most important subsistence crop grown in the tropical regions of South America, Asia, and Africa.

In many parts of Africa, cassava’s hardiness allows it to be grown on land unsuitable to the cultivation of cereals or other staple crops. African farmers like cassava because, on a per acre basis, it produces higher yields than other crops, thus assuring that their families have food and income.

Unfortunately, cassava mosaic disease, or CMD, threatens the crop. The disease has resulted in at least one serious famine in Africa already. CMD causes leaves to become twisted, misshapen, or not to develop at all. Reduced leaf area in turn reduces the size of tubers. Reduced yields mean less food for families. In Africa, seven distinct viruses spread by whiteflies and via vegetative cuttings cause CMD.

“Part of the problem with managing CMD has been in accurately detecting these viruses,” said Naidu Rayapati, a plant virologist based at WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser. “If these viruses can be detected in vegetative cuttings, it should be possible to quarantine contaminated plant material and supply farmers with clean cuttings for new plantings.”

Cassava is propagated via cuttings from existing plants, so if the parent plant has CMD, so too will the daughter plants. Rayapati has long been involved in the business of insuring that growers use clean, healthy planting stock. “Previous methods of virus detection in plant tissue required commercial kits that were expensive and involved handling toxic or carcinogenic materials,” Rayapati explained. The special training and facilities required to handle the materials, coupled with the expense, made it extremely impractical to use on a wide enough basis to effectively help manage CMD in African countries. “What we did is replace the dangerous materials used in the extraction of plant tissue with safe ones which are also cheaper. When you don’t have facilities or protocols for handling the dangerous stuff, you really need this sort of alternative.” Read more »

Papaver somniferum

Unlocking the Genetic Secrets of Medicinal Plants

Why study medicinal plants? Many of the most valued medicines from plants have very complex chemical structures, and are often only found in tiny amounts in nature, sometimes in remote parts of the world, and sometimes in endangered plant species. Frequently, far too little is known about how the medicinal properties of plants are formed or how this knowledge can be used for humanity’s benefit. Remarkable advances in technology are helping change that. Learn more »

Strawberries

Strawberries Compared

Side-by-side comparisons of organic and conventional strawberry farms and their fruit revealed found that organic farms produced more flavorful and nutritious berries while leaving the soil healthier and more genetically diverse. “Our findings have global implications and advance what we know about the benefits of organic farming systems,” said John Reganold, WSU Regents professor of soil science and lead author of a paper published in the peer-reviewed online journal PLoS ONE. Watch a video in which Reganold explains his research »

People

David James, The Butterfly Man

WSU entomologist David James. Photo: Nella Letizia/WSU.

Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies, just published by the Oregon State University Press, was coauthored by Washington State University entomologist David James with Seattle-area naturalist David Nunnallee. Life Histories describes and illustrates the immature stages of butterfly species found in Washington state, northern Oregon, southern British Columbia and the Idaho Panhandle. James and Nunnallee collected fertile female butterflies and raised individual species from eggs, usually several times, to document and photograph each step of their development, from hatching through larval evolution to pupation and adulthood.

In the book’s introduction, James and Nunnallee explain that among the reasons for writing Life Histories was the need to raise awareness of how human activity has threatened many of the region’s butterfly species. Several are endangered, with more on lists waiting to be added. “Such listings typically require recovery plans, which in turn may include captive rearing programs,” they wrote. “State agencies, zoos, universities and conservation organizations are currently cooperating to rear some of the listed species for reintroduction to the wild. We cannot protect what we do not understand. We hope this book will increase our understanding of butterfly life histories and that this will lead to more effective preservation programs.”

For James, the book represents his lifelong dream to detail butterfly life histories, which started in England in the 1960s when he was 8, rearing butterflies in the family home. (He dedicated the book in part to his parents, Alan and Doreen, for supporting and encouraging that early fascination.) After receiving his bachelor’s degree in zoology in 1975 from the University of Salford in Manchester, England, James immigrated to Australia to work and pursue his doctorate in entomology, which he earned in 1984 from Macquarie University in Sydney. His doctoral research focused on Danaus plexippus, or the Monarch butterfly.

James stayed in Australia for 23 years, serving as a research entomologist for the New South Wales Department of Agriculture before coming to WSU’s research and extension center in Prosser in 1999. Today, his research centers on biological control to reduce pesticide use in irrigated crops, particularly vineyards. He directs WSU’s Vineyard Beauty with Benefits project, which seeks to use native plants to beautify vineyards and attract beneficial insects like native bees and butterflies as well as predators for pest control.

One of James’s favorite butterfly species, the Monarch, also described in Life Histories, is the world’s best-known butterfly, noted for its long-distance migrations from Canada to Mexico. Regular visitors to the Cascadia region, Monarchs, whether larval or adult, make an unpalatable and toxic meal for birds and other potential predators because their bodies store cardenolides, a type of steroid, from the milkweed they eat. The blue-green pupae are familiar teaching tools in classrooms because they are so easily raised. James admires this species for its tenacity and charisma.

“The Monarch is critical to me being where I am today,” he said. “My fascination with butterflies, specifically their biology and how they adapt to their habitats and live, figured into my future work. I’ll likely finish my career with butterflies, as I started it. They are a symbol of purity, freedom and organicness. A world without butterflies would be a very sad place.”

–Nella Letizia

The 448-page Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies is available from Oregon State University Press. For details, visit the publisher’s website.

For background on Vineyard Beauty with Benefits, a research project conducted by James involving insects and flowering plants, see WSU’s wine science publication, Voice of the Vine (middle of the page).

Gone Social!

Please give a big thumbs up to our friends and colleagues in the WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources by visiting their new Facebook page »

The WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences is on Facebook, as well. We’d love it if you stopped by and wrote on our wall!

Events Calendar

Jan. 17: Get your entrepreneurship on! Washington State University Snohomish County Extension is offering a 12-week “Cultivating Success: Agricultural Entrepreneurship and Farm Business Planning” course to help new and existing farmers gain skills in business planning and direct marketing. The course runs on Tuesday evenings starting January 17 through April 17 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at WSU Snohomish County Extension’s Cougar Auditorium in McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE, Everett, Washington. Learn more »

Feb. 1: The deadline to apply for a Center for Environmental Farming Systems Summer Sustainable Agriculture Internship is Feb. 1. The program, based in Goldsboro, North Carolina, is an eight-week internship program (June 4–July 27, 2012) providing undergraduates with experience in hands-on field production, local community food systems, sustainable agriculture, and research that promotes agricultural sustainability. The goal of the internship program is to provide learning opportunities through collaboration with faculty from North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, and farm staff from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Learn more »

Feb. 11: The Women in Agriculture Conference will address the unique challenges women face in growing viable farming and ranching businesses because they learn differently than men and like to connect with other women farmers to share experiences, knowledge, and resources. Keynote speakers will be broadcast across the state to 16 locations; and local presenters will reflect the needs of those regions. Save Feb. 11 for this wonderful opportunity to learn and grow. If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, please send your contact information to Debra Hansen Kollock at dkollock@wsu.edu and you will be notified of all upcoming news and details. Please type “Women in Ag” in the subject line. Or call (509) 684-2588. Learn more »

Find more upcoming events on the Green Times blog »

Wheat growers west of the Cascades could bring in more profit by supplying wheat to local bakers, according to the results of a recent survey conducted by Washington State University graduate researcher Karen Hills. Sixty percent of western Washington commercial bakers said they are interested in purchasing locally sourced wheat and flour for their products. Those bakers presently use 5 million pounds of non-local flour annually.

“For the world of grain on the west side, that’s a significant number,” said Hills, based at the WSU Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center. “As the local grain movement goes forward, it will be useful for growers to know what bakers are looking for. I want this information to further the local grain movement on this side of the state.”

WSU graduate researcher Karen Hills. Photo: Brian Clark/Washington State University.

In Washington, agricultural communities usually rely on large commodity supply chains for marketing their crops, especially small grains, Hills said. In addition, wheat is primarily grown as a rotation crop in northwestern Washington counties, with little economic return for growers. Yet the region’s consumers are passionate about eating locally grown food. West side commercial bakers not only supply a means for getting local grain to consumers, but they also serve as one measure of consumer interest. Ironically, most of these bakers must order organic wheat and flour from outside their region.

“The local food movement here made sense to study, but so much of the research on local foods was geared toward produce and livestock,” she said. “Local grain production and bakers’ perspectives about it hadn’t been explored. So I thought they would be a good addition.”

Hills said she also wanted to learn what bakers were most concerned about when considering future purchases of regionally produced flour, what the barriers would be for using it, and what they considered “local.” She and Jessica Goldberger, a WSU rural sociologist in Pullman, developed a questionnaire to obtain that information, as well as demographics about bakery locations, distribution, percentage of sales direct to customers, and whether flour was milled on-site.

Last March, Hills surveyed more than 250 commercial bakers from 19 counties west of the Cascade Mountains, with 73 completing the questionnaire. Surveyed bakers were required to live in western Washington, purchase flour or wheat berries, and produce a broad range of bread and pastries. Eliminated from the pool were bakeries that are part of large national chains or that sell cakes, cupcakes, donuts, or pies exclusively.

While 60 percent of the respondents were interested in purchasing wheat or flour from western Washington, 36 percent indicated they didn’t know, which Hills said she wasn’t surprised to see. Only 3 percent answered no.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty because (local) wheat and flour are not widely available at this point,” she said. “That came through in other parts of the survey.”

Surveyed bakers listed flour quality, the consistency of that quality, a reliable supply, price, and flavor as their top five factors in purchasing regionally produced wheat and flour in the future. The top five barriers that would prevent them from doing so were cost, availability/quantity, suppliers/delivery, quality (gluten and protein content), and climate.

“Some of these factors would be greatly affected by the scale of flour processing and become more favorable for the bakers as the volume of western Washington flour processing increased,” Hills noted.

Wheat trial plots growing at the WSU Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center. Photo: Brian Clark/Washington State University

Asked to define “local” wheat, 43 percent of bakers answered wheat grown within state boundaries, but Hills said she also received a wide spectrum of responses, ranging from within the Pacific Northwest to a specific county.

Hills’s research also ties in with the work of her adviser, Stephen Jones, a wheat geneticist at and director of the WSU NWREC. He is working with local growers to bring back a once-prolific west-side wheat growing heritage. Jones and others have identified 163 wheat varieties grown in the Pacific Northwest between the 1840s and 1955. They are crossing these historical varieties with modern ones to come up with wheat breeds best suited for growing in wet, cool coastal climates and conditions that can also resist diseases, compete with weeds and produce high yields.

To showcase these efforts and spark more interest in local grain systems, WSU NWREC hosted the inaugural Kneading Conference West, drawing 250 participants from 15 states and two Canadian provinces for workshops on baking, milling, farming, and malting. Jones and Hills were presenters at the conference, and Hills discussed her survey findings on a panel for small-scale grain growing that also included bakery owners.

“It’s not that we can’t grow grains here,” Hills said. “We have so many options for growing food here. There’s an excitement around rejuvenating a tradition that was important here 100 years ago and reclaiming something that was lost.”

–Nella Letizia

For more information about the WSU NWREC plant breeding program, visit plantbreeding.wsu.edu.

Small Bites

Devin Drennen (left with glasses) and Vincent Fefe measure plants growing in a garden at Edison Elementary School in Tacoma, Wash.

Little Kids Make Big Changes through WSU Extension Food $ense Program

When Devin Drennen’s mother, Susan, offered her son ice cream for dessert, he asked for carrots instead. Why? The fifth-grader at Edison Elementary School in Tacoma learned through a nutrition class about the importance of eating fiber foods to maintain the health of the body’s digestive system. Students made carrot juice with a juicer and handled the fiber to see how it looked and felt. The hands-on lesson stuck.

“You know how ice cream is kind of healthy and kind of not? It has calcium, but it also has sugar,” Drennen said. “I asked for carrots because they are healthier. Fiber clears out the intestines.” Read more »

Taking a Team Approach to Environmental Challenges

A new Earth, Ecosystems and Society (EES) Fellows program has been formed at Washington State University to develop interdisciplinary teams of WSU faculty members to work on complex, strategically selected environmental challenges. The plan is to form teams of three to six members to work collaboratively for one to two years on particular themes. The EES is soliciting applications for the first theme–Water, Sustainability, and Climate–timed to coincide with the renegotiation of the Columbia River Treaty. For more information and to apply, please visit http://bit.ly/cereoees. Applications are due Dec. 5, 2011. Fellows will work to generate new concepts and produce grant proposals addressing themes strategically chosen for their timeliness, funding prospects and connections to WSU’s mission, capacities and emphases. Learn more »

A Malawi woman uses a treadle pump for small-scale irrigation.

Sustainable Resource Development Project in Malawi

The southeastern African nation of Malawi faces many challenges, including deforestation; frequent food shortages; environmental degradation; limited access to inputs; credit and capital; acute shortages of energy and safe water; poor knowledge and skills to adopt productivity-enhancing technologies; weak extension services; and lack of market information.

SURELIVES is an ongoing project with the goal of increasing production and income of small-scale farmers through improved agricultural practices coupled with sustainable conservation and management of the area’s natural resource base. Since its start, SURELIVES has served almost 555 villages and more than 25,000 households in this impoverished region of Malawi. Read more »

Carpenter-Boggs

Helping Sustain African Agriculture

WSU scientist Lynne Carpenter-Boggs is working with an international group of scientists to help find bean varieties and microbial inoculants that will improve yields of crops grown on the ancient soils so common in many parts of Africa. Dr. Carpenter-Boggs took a Flip camera to Africa and shot some wonderful footage of farms, people, and animals. Watch the video »

Ripple Effect

Ripple Effect is an Africa-based empowerment program created by Washington State University and Total Land Care, a now-independent non-profit organization conceptualized by WSU faculty members. Ripple Effect partners with the people of Malawi to empower individuals and communities. The true success of Ripple Effect lies in its sustainability. Ripple Effect provide a “hand up” not a “hand out” to Malawians, establishing partnerships with lasting positive impact to support people of this African nation lift themselves out of poverty. Your contributions are added to those of working Malawians to establish a pool of capital and technology that enlarges the circle of prosperity in one of the poorest parts of the planet. Learn more about Ripple Effect »

People

An alpaca on the Parsley's farm just outside of Pullman, Wash.

Turning Education into Entrepreneurship

Meet Margaret and Jason Parsley. 2010 graduates of, respectively, WSU’s programs in animal sciences and organic agriculture, they are now putting their educations to the real test: starting a new organic farm from the soil up. Margaret and Jason grow organic vegetables and raise a heritage breed of sheep–and a couple of camera-hogging alpaca. As they say in a video recently produced by Green Times, it was the network of friends, mentors, and like-minded farmers that led them to the piece of land they are now working… and gave them the confidence to dig in and strike out on their own. Watch the video »

Learn more about WSU’s programs in organic agriculture » and animal sciences »

CSANR Is Going Social!

Please give a big thumbs-up to our friends and colleagues in the WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources by visiting their new Facebook page »

Creating Sustainable Connections

Green Times is pleased to be able to trade links with like-minded publications. Interested? Contact the editor for more info. Here’s a note from Sara Southerland, the outreach coordinator at Sustainable Connections:

In Whatcom County, Sustainable Connections’ Food & Farming program helps to support new farmers and to connect consumers to local farms and fishers. Home of the “Eat Local First” campaign, the program produces a monthly e-newsletter that’s a great resource for eating locally, and features farmer and restaurant profiles, links to important food issues, recipe ideas, and more. Get connected with Northwest Washington’s ag and local food scene! Click here to subscribe, go to the bottom right hand corner and click on Food & Farming News. See the current newsletter here. For the Whatcom Food & Farm Finder map and guide, click here.

Notes from the Tilth Producers Conference

Green Times staff attended the Dryland Agriculture Symposium at the recent Tilth Producers annual conference in Yakima, Wash. The keynote address by Bob Quinn was eye-opening and full of surprises. Quinn is a pioneer in growing native grains, diversified farming, and dryland vegetable production.

Farming around Big Sandy, Montana, at 5,000 feet, and with only 12 to 14 inches of precipitation a year, he was still getting decent yields of spuds, squash, corn and onions. His secret? Reduce plant density by one-third, and be happy with yields about one-third of those for irrigated crops. The lower density reduces competition and allows for more massive root systems to develop.

Quinn also advocated for a home-grown, science-based approach to farming. “Keep records and look for trends. Don’t be afraid to experiment in order to find what works for you in your situation, but use controls so you have a baseline for comparisons. Incorporate animals whenever possible.”

Quinn said he is an organic farmer because “it’s scientifically sound, emotionally fulfilling because it addresses global issues… and it’s fun!”

Farmers Market Advocate of the Year

The Tilth Producers of Washington honored WSU Extension Educator Colleen Donovan for her critical role in developing and supporting Washington’s sustainable agriculture community by naming her their Farmers Market Advocate of the Year. Donovan currently leads the Farmers Market Research Project at WSU’s Small Farms Program, analyzing data which will contribute to the local and national discourse on the success of farmers markets. Whether managing the regional Heifer Project, updating the WSDA Green Book, facilitating sessions for women farmers, or teaching poultry processing workshops, Colleen has a wealth of knowledge on food systems that she shares freely in an upbeat, focused, and inclusive manner. Her dedication and enthusiasm for projects that support small farms is a great benefit to farmers across the state.

Events Calendar

Feb. 11: Women in Agriculture Conference. Women face unique challenges in growing viable businesses in farming and ranching. They also learn differently than men and like to connect with other women farmers in sharing experiences, knowledge, and resources. Keynote addresses will be broadcast to 16 locations across the state; and local presenters have been chosen to address the needs of those regions. Save the date of February 11, 2012, for this wonderful opportunity to learn and grow. If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, please send your contact information to Debra Hansen Kollock at dkollock@wsu.edu and you will be notified of all upcoming news and details. Please type “Women in Ag” in the subject line. Or call (509) 684-2588. Learn more »

Find more upcoming events on the Green Times blog »

Masthead

Green Times is archived at http://organicfarms.wsu.edu/category/green-times/.

The Green Times blog is located at http://organicfarms.wsu.edu/category/blog/.

The Green Times Event calendar is located at http://organicfarms.wsu.edu/tag/event/.

Green Times is edited by Brian Clark and the staff of Marketing, News, and Educational Communications in the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. Send news tips, story ideas, and items for the events calendar to the editor at bcclark@wsu.edu.

You may want to subscribe to our other e-newsletters:

• On Solid Ground is a bi-weekly, electronic newsletter for the friends and stakeholders of the Washington State University College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS), WSU Extension, and the Agricultural Research Center. Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/sNFU3c.
• Voice of the Vine is a monthly e-newsletter covering viticulture and enology at Washington State University. Each issue brings you one or two short articles featuring profiles of researchers, students, and alumni working in Washington’s world-class wine industry. Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/aJeDG9.

WSU students get hands-on training in the science of organic agriculture at the Organic Teaching Farm near the WSU Pullman campus.

For over 30 years, Washington State University has been at the forefront of sustainable and organic agriculture education, innovation, and research.

WSU scientists provided some of the first direct evidence of the nutritional value of organically grown food and are leaders in calling for changes in the way Americans practice agriculture. WSU Extension educators have developed valuable new methods of weed and pest control that promise to be not only environmentally sustainable but economically viable as well.

WSU was the first university in the United States to offer a science-based, four-year major in organic agriculture. WSU also developed the first online certificate program in organic ag, enabling food-system professionals to retool their skills to meet the demands of a changing and growing market for organic food. And every year, WSU educators conduct dozens of workshops and seminars in sustainable and organic production methods all over the state.

Here’s the really cool part: all of our researchers’ and educators’ work has been done in collaboration with the region’s growers, retailers, and environmentally concerned residents. With you, in other words. And, without your support and suggestions, we could not be where we are today. That’s why we’ve launched this new e-newsletter, Green Times.

The first week of each month, you’ll receive an issue full of useful news, inspiring profiles, and fascinating science. You, in turn, can write us to let us know of upcoming events in your area, people you think we should profile, or exciting innovations in sustainable and organic ag. Just follow the links below to contact the Green Times editor, to leave comments on the Green Times blog and manage your subscription preferences.

I hope you’ll forward this news on to others you know who are as concerned as we are about the future of food and the sustainability of agriculture in the Pacific Northwest.

Go Cougs! –Dan Bernardo, dean, WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences

Sustainable Farming Studied as One Solution to Climate Change’s Effects on Insect Biodiversity

Can sustainable agriculture help mitigate the effects of climate change on insect biodiversity? Washington State University entomologist David Crowder and other WSU researchers are conducting a new study to find out. With the support of a $130,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture Fellowships Grant Program, the researchers are investigating how regional changes in temperature and precipitation affect Columbia Basin insect communities and whether organic farming practices maintain balance among those communities.

“The Columbia Basin is a perfect living laboratory to investigate the potential effects of climate change on insect biodiversity,” Crowder said.

The Columbia Basin region is unusual for its wide range of climatic conditions yet similar insect communities, including such pests as the Colorado potato beetle and green peach aphid, along with their predators. These predators, called “natural enemies” by entomologists, include the convergent and seven-spotted ladybugs, big-eyed bugs, damsel bugs, parasitoids, nematodes, and fungi.

“In areas with higher temperatures and somewhat higher precipitation, the natural enemy communities tend to be not as balanced,” Crowder said. The imbalance results in higher pest populations. “Our study will look at the effects of this broad climatic variation on these insect populations.”

Entomologist David Crowder

Since 2009, Crowder and the research team–including entomology professor William Snyder, graduate student Christine Lynch, and soil science professor John Reganold–have worked with Columbia Basin potato farmers to sample crops and collect native insect specimens. Sampling areas ranged from north of Moses Lake down to the Oregon border, the Columbia Basin region of central Washington where most of the state’s potato production occurs.

Potatoes are one of many high-value crops grown in the Columbia Basin, but they require insecticides to control several devastating pests, according to Crowder. With McDonald’s, Sysco, and other major corporate potato buyers now requiring that growers pass audits to justify each insecticide application, use of broad-spectrum insecticides is falling out of favor, and organic potato production is increasing. Crowder hopes more research into biological control will help farmers practice more insect-friendly growing methods and still produce a robust potato crop. Biological control is a pest-management strategy that uses pests’ natural insect enemies to control problematic bugs.

“Biological control by naturally occurring predatory insects and spiders is an ecologically friendly and sustainable approach to pest management,” Crowder said. “However, biological control in potatoes is underutilized, in part because we know very little about how to successfully encourage predators and maximize their impacts on pests.”

A previous study by Crowder, Snyder, and two other colleagues from WSU and University of Georgia at Athens, published in Nature in July 2010, presented an impressive step in describing biological pest control in potatoes. The authors suggested that organic potato fields have significantly more natural insect enemies and, thus, a better balance among pest (Colorado potato beetles and aphids, in this case) and predator communities than conventionally grown potato fields do. In more recent work, the researchers found that planting crops such as alfalfa and peas close to the potato fields can aid natural potato pest management by increasing the populations of natural enemies and decreasing the densities of pests.

Good bug! Lady beetles prey upon insects that damage crops.

What isn’t well understood is how regional climatic variation affects insect communities in the Columbia Basin potato-growing region, or whether sustainable farming can mitigate resulting harm to beneficial bug populations. From north to south, average temperatures can vary from 3 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit, while precipitation ranges from 3 to 15 inches a year. Since Columbia Basin potato growers raise a mix of conventional and organic crops, Crowder and his colleagues can observe how different cropping systems affect insect communities amid the region’s various climates.

Crowder said he wants to see if promoting biodiversity in insect communities helps insects withstand the effects of a warming climate. “The hypothesis is called the ‘insurance effect,” he said. “Greater diversity of species results in ‘niche overlap.’ If one species is knocked out of a particular niche–for instance, the role of Colorado potato beetle predator–another can step in to fill that niche. There really isn’t much research being done on biodiversity and how it can help make communities continue to function in climate change. This field is still fairly new.”

For farmers, results from the study could point to better ways of implementing biological control to help make their systems more adaptable to climate change, Crowder added. One way is by considering the composition of landscapes around potato fields and planting adjacent crops that encourage the movement of natural insect enemies into those fields. Another way is to monitor local temperatures and precipitation and then promote insect biodiversity by knowing which insects do well in those specific climate conditions. Still another way is by adopting soil management practices that promote biodiversity, such as controlling fertilization.

“There is a transition to biocontrol, and this research could help farmers make that transition more easily,” he said.

by Nella Letizia
Photos courtesy of David Crowder

People

John Reganold, Washington State University Regents Professor of Soil Science and Agroecology

Experts to Guide Scientific Analysis on Food and Ag Policy Issues

John Reganold, Washington State University Regents Professor of Soil Science and Agroecology, is one of nine experts invited to provide advice on research and analysis needed to better understand food and agriculture systems in order to help develop effective policy solutions. Together, these experts are the Research Committee for AGree, whose mission is to transform food and agriculture policy to address global challenges, including feeding an ever-increasing population, enhancing environmental sustainability, and ensuring that farmers and rural communities have a bright future.

Read more about AGree on the Green Times blog »

Happy Birthday, Cultivating Success!

Rick and Lora Lee Misterly

There’s never been a greater need for interest in sustainable farming, according to Marcy Ostrom, Small Farms Program director at the WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources in Wenatchee. Over the past several decades, more small and mid-sized farms are disappearing—farms that could have generated household income in Washington and Idaho.

Like other small businesses, small farms are valuable community assets, generating revenue and employment opportunities. These farms also serve critical environmental, aesthetic, cultural, and social functions that benefit everyone. Finally, a diverse array of productive, independently owned farms operating across the state helps insure a healthy, dependable, and accessible local food supply and preserves farmland for future needs.

“The vision of the Cultivating Success program is to increase producer and consumer understanding, value, and support of sustainable local farming systems in Washington and Idaho through educational and experiential opportunities,” Ostrom said. “Partners in this program strive to create strong communities with infrastructures that provide the resources and skills needed to produce local and sustainable food and agricultural products for the residents of the Pacific and Inland Northwest.”

Read more about the Cultivating Success program, including a profile of Rick and Lora Lee Misterly, two farmer-entrepreneurs in Rice, Wash., who have spun their Cultivating Success education into gold. Be sure to check out the short video below about Cultivating Success, and featuring interviews with and scenes from the Misterly’s farm.

Events Calendar

Nov. 2: “Can we grow more nutritious fruits and vegetables using organic farming methods?” Webinar beginning at 10 a.m. Learn more about this free public webinar »

Nov. 10 & 17: Climate Change Webinar. Join WSU soil scientist Craig Cogger for a two-part webinar that cuts through the confusion and gets to the science of climate change. Learn more about this free public webinar »

Nov. 11: Organic Dryland Agriculture. A special WSU symposium presented in conjunction with the annual Tilth Producers of Washington Conference. Learn more and register »

Nov. 11 – 13: Tilth Producers of Washington Annual Conference. Yakima Convention Center. Learn more and register for the conference »

Nov. 15: Deadline to submit a proposal for funding from the Organic Farming Research Foundation. Learn more »

Dec. 5 – 7: Washington State Horticulture Association Annual Meeting, Wenatchee.  Agenda includes a half–day session on organic tree fruit production and marketing. Learn more and register for the meeting »

Find more upcoming events on the Green Times blog »

Masthead

Green Times is archived at http://organicfarms.wsu.edu/category/green-times/.

The Green Times blog is located at http://organicfarms.wsu.edu/category/blog/.

The Green Times Event calendar is located at http://organicfarms.wsu.edu/tag/event/.

You may want to consider subscribing to our other e-newsletters:

• On Solid Ground is a bi-weekly, electronic newsletter for the friends and stakeholders of the Washington State University College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS), WSU Extension and the Agricultural Research Center. Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/sNFU3c.
• Voice of the Vine is a monthly e-newsletter covering viticulture and enology at Washington State University. Each issue brings you one or two short articles featuring profiles of researchers, students, and alumni working in Washington’s world-class wine industry. Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/aJeDG9.

Green Times is edited by Brian Clark and the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences Marketing, News, and Educaitonal Communications team. Find the news writing team on the web at www.cahnrsnews.wsu.edu or via the Green Times blog.