West

Domes: Bridging Agriculture in Wyoming & the Pacific

At first glance, agriculture in Wyoming and agriculture on Hawaii or Guam don’t have much in common. But growers in both the tropical Pacific and the northern prairie can benefit from enclosed production spaces – structures like hoop houses, high tunnels or geodesic domes – which is why Wyoming-developed domes will soon be popping up […]

Agritourism: Montana Conference Builds Stronger Collaborations

The Montana Agritourism Association (MAA) hosted their successful two-day 2nd annual conference, “Opening the Gate: Unlocking Agritourism Opportunities to Connect, Collaborate, and Innovate” in November with over 160 attendees. The conference met its stated goal of bringing together farmers, ranchers, tourism partners, educators, and community leaders and in creating a space to connect, learn, and […]

Can Less Fertilizer Create Higher Sugar Yields? Testing a Win-Win Hypothesis

For a sugarbeet grower, when someone tells you that you can reduce your nitrogen fertilizer inputs and costs by 20 percent and increase your crop quality and sugar yield, there’s only one logical response. Prove it. That’s just what the Western Sugar Cooperative set out to do with a Western SARE Professional + Producer grant […]

Farmstay Website Helps Producers Profit

Fifteen years ago, Western SARE awarded Oregon farmer Scottie Jones to develop a Northwestern Farmstay USA website. Today, the website highlights farms in 16 regions around the country and protectorates and includes 306 farms and ranches. What’s a farm stay? As part of her Farmer/Rancher project, Scottie defined a farm stay as overnight lodging on […]

Reducing Predation in Multi-Species Grazing

New Mexico rancher Sydney Franz tested two approaches to kidding goats for economics and safety and found a clear winner. Sydney Franz moved her goat ranch, K&C Boer Goats, from central Texas to Mora County, N.M. to partner with Turner Ranches. Their dream was to establish multi-species grazing for land restoration and improved profitability. “In […]

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 […]

Range Riders

Most Western SARE research projects use science to develop new knowledge, insights or practices to help farmers and ranchers in their quest to be more successful and sustainable. Some, though, rediscover and refine old knowledge – like the effectiveness of range riding to protect livestock from predators like wolves, mountain lions and bears. “It’s fascinating […]

Dr. Darrell Donahue Joins as Regional Coordinator

Montana State University (MSU) is pleased to announce that Dr. Darrell Donahue has been hired as the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (Western SARE) Regional Coordinator, effective September 1. Dr. Donahue comes to MSU most recently from West Virginia University, where he served as Special Assistant to the Provost and President, following four years […]

Growing Green in the Nevada Desert

When outsiders think of Nevada, they picture the garish lights of Las Vegas or perhaps red desert sands. But Nevada has a green side, too.

Sustainable Agriculture Action Plans Funded

Western SARE funded two Sustainable Agriculture Action Plan (SAAP) grants for a total of $50,000. The funding is intended for projects leading a consultative process and creating a Sustainable Agriculture Action Plan that documents the research, regulatory, infrastructure, and educational needs and priorities required to increase sustainable agriculture practices in a specific industry/commodity or geographical […]

Learning How Bison Grazing Impacts Rangelands and Invasive Grasses

The 19,000-acre Bison Range on the Flathead Indian Reservation is the traditional homeland of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Here, the Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d’Oreilles tribes have focused on land restoration, soil health improvement, and invasive species containment in response to climate change. Invasive annual grasses, particularly Ventenata dubia, pose significant threats to […]

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 […]

Training for the Future of Arizona’s Small-Scale Agriculture

When supply chains collapsed and grocery shelves sat empty in the first years of the COVID pandemic, many people got interested in growing their own food. Most of those didn’t have access to dozens or hundreds of acres of land. What land they could find were small urban plots, or suburban backyards, or maybe a […]

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.

Creating Fungal Compost

A former Chicago science teacher turned Colorado farmer, Rick Bieterman isn’t afraid of a challenge. Start with the location of his Watershed Ranch near Buena Vista in central Colorado. “Soil quality out here is pretty terrible,” he said. “Organics are way low. We’re right next to the Arkansas River, so most of our fields are […]

Light it Up! Using UV Light to Kill Powdery Mildew in Grapes

Instead of relying solely on fungicides to control powdery mildew on winegrapes, growers may one day – and one day reasonably soon – have an effective non-chemical option: light. Specifically, light in the form of spore-killing ultraviolet UV-C radiation, delivered directly to the plant by a self-driving tractor moving through vineyard rows autonomously at night. […]