West

Guide to Honey Bee Queen Banking

A healthy and productive queen is an essential part of a successful colony. Access to and replacement of queens has become a key part of beekeepers' economics and management decisions, and this guide addresses the handling and storage of valuable, highly perishable honey queen bees. Listen to the podcast episode "The Holy Grail: Banking Queens […]

Cut Flower Production Fact Sheets

Cut flowers represent a fast-evolving market with lucrative opportunities for producers. However, cut flowers require a high level of expertise to produce and are challenging to grow especially in Utah’s high-elevation and arid to semi-arid climate. These fact sheets are designed to support cut flower growers in Utah.

Biological Control Video Series

This videos series explains the basics of biological control– using natural enemies to manage invasive pests. Learn how to effectively integrate weed biocontrol agents into your management strategy—covering everything from initial collection to long-term monitoring. The management tactics covered in the videos apply to the following weeds: bindweed, yellow toadflax, Dalmatian toadflax, diffuse and spotted […]

Range Riding Producer Toolkit

Range riding is a flexible, time-tested way to protect livestock in the West. Its main goal is to monitor livestock and predator activity so you can act quickly to prevent trouble before it starts. Since every ranch and landscape is different, range riding can be customized to fit your specific needs. This toolkit uses the […]

Farmer-Rancher Research in the West

Making changes on the farm or ranch involves taking risks. One or two years spent experimenting can lead to a financial hit too difficult to recover from. That’s where Western SARE’s Farmer/Rancher and Professional + Producer grants help out. Grantees, like the ones highlighted in this report, come up with the possible solution to a […]

Equipment and Tools for Small-Scale Intensive Crop Production Guide and Videos

This publication focuses on equipment and tools for intensive crop production on a small-scale commercial farm. It details equipment and hand tools for soil preparation, planting, weed management, and harvesting. The use of appropriate equipment and tools, both in terms of size and practicality, can increase production efficiency and profits while minimizing disturbance to soil […]

Maquinaria y Herramientas Para la Producción De Cultivos Intensivos a Pequeña Escala

Resumen Esta publicación se centra en equipos y herramientas para la producción intensiva de cultivos en una granja comercial a pequeña escala. Detalla equipos y herramientas manuales para la preparación del suelo, la siembra, el manejo de malezas y la cosecha. El uso de equipos y herramientas apropiados, tanto en términos de tamaño como de […]

Landmapper

Landmapper is an open-source app that was created by Ecotrust to provide basic property summaries and maps involved with the preparation of forest stewardship plans. Landmapper How-To Video This short video walks potential users of Landmapper through the process of selecting a parcel within Oregon or Washington and creating a series of maps to help […]

Business Tools for Ag Video Series

This seven-part video series was produced by Utah's Master Stockman Consulting to teach new and beginning producers about valuable tools for making economically sustainable decisions. This includes discussion of basic economic principles and tools, as well as how to conduct on-farm research and apply existing research to your operation. Basic Farm and Ranch Economics This […]

Virtual Fence User Guide

The virtual fence webpage on Rangelands Gateway allows potential users to access resources, tools, workshop materials, webinar information, and multimedia resources. Virtual fencing (VF) has the potential to change grazing systems by allowing unprecedented impact over livestock distribution. The systems use invisible barriers, established by GPS coordinates, to influence livestock movement with a combination of […]

Soil Invertebrates as Bioindicators Pocket Guide and Soil Life Website

Informative pocket guide explaining the importance and identification of soil invertebrates. Soil Life Website Informational webpage serving as a centralized location for Soil Life topics.

Studying the Ecology of Fear to Protect Chile in Colorado

Tiny aphids are causing outsized losses for chile pepper growers in Colorado, even though the insects don’t feed on that particular crop and don’t linger in it. Instead, aphids move through chile fields, especially after nearby alfalfa fields are cut. That wasn’t a problem until 2019 when alfalfa mosaic virus appeared in southern Colorado. Aphids […]

Targeted Grazing

Wildfires throughout the West are growing more severe. Fire season starts earlier, lasts longer and claims more lives and property along the way. Grazing is one of the most effective, cost-efficient tools available to lessen fire spread and severity. And now, thanks to a recent Western SARE-supported project, grazing has become even more useful to […]

Boosting Beneficial Insects in Oregon’s Cherry Orchards

Eighty percent of Oregon’s cherries are produced in the Mid-Columbia Basin. Typically, when new orchards are planted, farmers leave the ground under the trees bare or plant grass. Farmers also regularly apply chemicals to control insect pests such as spotted wing drosophila, thrips, and leafhoppers, among others. However, planting mixed cover crops that include flowering […]

Training Ag Leaders in the Bering Strait

A large nonprofit with a long history in Alaska, the Rural Alaska Community Action Program (CAP) is well-known for its work addressing housing, workforce development, and health challenges. When COVID hit, the organization added food security work to their priorities. With the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding, they initiated ten food […]

Graduate Student Research in the West

The Western SARE Graduate Student program invests in graduate students to conduct innovative research and outreach for advancing sustainable agriculture knowledge and practices in the West. This grant program provides graduate students the opportunity to conduct research and outreach alongside producers and educators to prepare students to understand the challenges and nuances of agricultural production. […]

Simply Sustainable Spring 2025

Western SARE's Bi-Annual Magazine

How to Get Your Message Out

This Online Communication Roadmap for Rangeland Professionals by the University of Arizona will help improve your skills and knowledge of online communication by outlining key strategies for communicating your rangeland or natural resources work to the right audiences. The authors suggestion you consider this the communication roadmap for when you want people to read a […]

Can Introducing Mason Bees Boost Berry Pollination?

When it comes to berry pollination throughout the West, honeybees are the biggest show in town. That can be a problem for pollination diversity and for farmers because honeybees aren’t always the best option for some crops. “That’s especially true with blueberries,” said Miranda Jones, a graduate student in biology at Utah State University. “Blueberries […]