Showing 41-60 of 65 results
western.sare.org news playing-pest-friends Playing Pest Friends
At their annual meeting this summer, Western SARE state coordinators came together and played an educational board game about managing pests. Their experience was similar to other groups who indicate that they learn more by doing than listening. Jason Thomas and Grant Loomis, extension educators at the University of Idaho, received a Western SARE grant […]
western.sare.org news farmers-test-whether-cardboard-can-keep-bindweed-at-bay Farmers Test Whether Cardboard Can Keep Bindweed at Bay
Bindweed can be the bane of farmers’ existence. The climbing vine spreads easily by seed and rigorous root system, choking off crops and other plants along the way. “Even when we till in the spring, we spend a huge amount of time hand weeding throughout the season to manage bindweed,” explained Jonah Sloven, who grows […]
western.sare.org news reasons-to-like-wine Reasons to Like Wine
Reasons to like wine Number 462: It can be good for New Mexico’s native bees and other pollinators. Even though grapevines are largely self pollinating and don’t need insects like bees or butterflies to produce fruit, vineyards themselves can provide habitat for native pollinators and other insect species, benefiting both the grower and the environment. […]
Video: Testing Cover Crops in New Mexico Vineyards
Watch our newest video describing this Western SARE funded work - Miranda Kersten, IPM Program and Gill Giese, Viticulture of New Mexico State University describe their work promoting putting cover crops in vineyards. The research will demonstrate how to ensure the cover crops successfully grow and flower so that they attract pollinators and provide additional […]
western.sare.org news cheatgrass-eating-sheep Cheatgrass-Eating Sheep
Wildfires in the West are inevitable and part of a natural, necessary ecological cycle, but invasive grasses like cheatgrass can make fires burn hotter, spread farther and cause more destruction. So, across the West, researchers, range managers, cattle ranchers and others are looking for ways to economically control cheatgrass and other invasive grasses on millions […]
western.sare.org news in-northern-colorado-building-soil-takes-time In Northern Colorado, Building Soil Takes Time
For anyone focused on building or rebuilding healthy soils, it’s worth remembering that soil took eons to develop initially. Improving it doesn’t happen overnight. That’s a lesson farmers and ranchers are learning in northern Colorado through a Citizen Science Soil Health Project funded by Western SARE. The three-year, three-county project provides free soil testing and […]
western.sare.org news economist-seeks-to-quantify-impact-of-wolf-cattle-interactions Economist Seeks to Quantify Impact of Wolf, Cattle Interactions
Native gray wolves are returning to rugged rangelands throughout the west, raising risk for the millions of cattle who graze there. In the California counties of Lassen, Plumas and Siskiyou, many ranchers say their cattle are being stalked by wolves and show signs of stress, such as fewer pregnancies and lower birth and weaning weights. […]
western.sare.org news grassland-restoration-in-the-desert-southwest Grassland Restoration in the Desert Southwest
Early settlers’ descriptions of southeast Arizona told of uninterrupted grassland stretching from one mountain range to another. That’s changed. Today much of that land has been invaded by mesquite and other woody shrubs and the ecological services provided by the grassland – including water recharge into the underground aquifers – has been diminished. One reason […]
western.sare.org news creating-community-partnerships-to-improve-oregon-pest-management Creating Community Partnerships to Improve Oregon Pest Management
A few recent IPM extension projects in Oregon didn’t begin the way so many extension efforts do. They didn’t start with a workshop. They didn’t start with a field day. They didn’t start with teaching or any sort of telling. They started with a question. “We’d ask, ‘If Oregon State University was doing all the […]
western.sare.org news getting-the-diagnosis-right-guam-workshop-focuses-on-foliar-fungal-diseases Getting the Diagnosis Right: Guam Workshop Focuses on Foliar Fungal Diseases
In farming, as in medicine, an accurate diagnosis is critical. For a doctor to prescribe the correct treatment, they need to know the specific disease causing a patient’s symptoms. The same is true for growers. When they see disease symptoms in a field, they need to know the underlying cause in order to correctly treat […]
western.sare.org news pasture-calendars-help-preserve-rangeland Pasture Calendars Help Preserve Rangeland
Forages – a diverse group of plants providing both livestock feed and important bio-products – are critical for the success of Western agriculture. That’s why Washington State University’s Dr. Steve Fransen helps develop best pasture management practices to benefit the land, environment, animals, and producers’ bottom lines. “I love going out to the field, pulling […]
western.sare.org news highlighting-innovations-in-soil-health Highlighting Innovations in Soil Health
On March 8-9, 2021, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) held the first Soil Health Innovations conference. Originally scheduled last year as an in-person conference in Montana, the conference was postponed due to COVID and expanded as a nationwide virtual conference with 675 participants. The live stream event included speakers and panels, as well […]
western.sare.org news can-cover-cropping-and-grazing-work-with-dryland-grain-farming Can Cover-cropping and Grazing Work with Dryland Grain Farming?
Farmers know that planting one crop year after year is asking for trouble. It depletes the soil and leads to increased insect, weed and disease pressures. But in certain places, it’s also been the major agricultural system for decades. In north-central Washington, along the Canadian border, dryland wheat production has been the dominate production system […]
western.sare.org news wireworms-in-western-washington Wireworms in Western Washington
Christine Langley has successfully run Lopez Harvest organic farm on Lopez Island in Washington state’s famed San Juan Islands for more than two decades. But for most of that, she wasn’t fighting wireworms. Those showed up about a dozen years ago, and have made her job a lot harder. “I grow a lot of lettuce […]
western.sare.org news putting-the-winter-back-in-winter-squash Putting the Winter Back in Winter Squash
For growers, it doesn’t matter how much you harvest. What matters is what you sell! A good example of that came out of Oregon recently, but applies broadly. Growers were having trouble producing and storing a crop they for sale in the winter into the early spring. “We heard from farmers that they weren't making […]
western.sare.org news building-agricultural-capacity-in-alaskas-kenai-peninsula-one-row-of-potatoes-at-a-time Building Agricultural Capacity in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula One Row of Potatoes at a Time
The Kenai Peninsula is the fastest-growing agricultural region in Alaska, with the number of farms increasing at nearly three times the rate of the rest of the state. But most of those farms are small – less than five acres – and selling direct to consumers at farmers markets or to local restaurants. The Kenai […]
western.sare.org news regenerative-agriculture-the-next-evolution-of-sustainable-farming Regenerative Agriculture – The Next Evolution of Sustainable Farming?
Looking through all the projects funded by Western SARE since 1988, you’ll find 173 with the word “sustainable” in the title, including 11 projects funded in 2019. That’s not surprising. What might be surprising is that same 31-year period, there have been only four projects with “regenerative” in their titles – and all four of […]
western.sare.org news turning-the-tide-on-overfishing Turning the Tide on Overfishing
According to Simon Ellis, director of MERIP Micronesia, over-fishing is depleting natural resources in Micronesia and other parts of the Pacific, creating a clear need to develop alternatives for the economy and food security for fishing communities. Sustainable, capture-based aquaculture and hatchery rearing methods of Rabbitfish hold promise not only for fisheries management and coral […]
En Espanol
Western SARE promueve la protección los recursos naturales y biológicos sobre los cuáles se basa la agricultura, la mejoría de la calidad de vida en comunidades rurales, y el incremento en las ganancias de las operaciones agrícolas, invirtiendo en proyectos innovativos de investigación y educación en agricultura sustentable. Western SARE apoya proyectos generados por productores, […]
western.sare.org news ipm-for-coffee-berry-borer IPM for Coffee Berry Borer
When the coffee berry borer arrived in Hawaii 2010, Suzanne Shriner had a hard conversation with her parents. “I sat down with them at the kitchen table and told them we might have to get out of the coffee business,” she remembered. “It was a pretty sober moment, and it wouldn’t have been a good […]