Biodiversity

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. […]

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 […]

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. […]

WSARE Quick Guide: Welcome in Barn Owls to Provide Rodent Control

Quick guide to encouraging barn owls to provide rodent control.

Conservation Buffers in Organic Systems: Nevada

This is a collaborative project to build the capacity of conservation professionals to assist organic and transitional farmers in planning and implementing conservation practices through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program Organic Initiative. This guide is part of a series of guides created by Oregon Tilth for use by NRCS staff in the Western Region. Conservation Buffers provides […]

Conservation Buffers in Organic Systems: Oregon

This is a collaborative project to build the capacity of conservation professionals to assist organic and transitional farmers in planning and implementing conservation practices through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program Organic Initiative. This guide is part of a series of guides created by Oregon Tilth for use by NRCS staff in the Western Region. Conservation Buffers provides […]

A Guide for Hawai’i’s Farmers

This guide was developed to assist new farmers in tropical small-island settings by providing a distillation of expert information on sustainable agriculture principles, agroecology, crop production, animal production, agroforestry and marketing.

Collaborative Grazing for Sage-Grouse: Centennial Valley

This video portrays the Collaborative Grazing for Sage-Grouse Project in the Centennial Valley focusing on understanding how grazing management affects sage-grouse survival. Better understanding will be important to increasing sage-grouse populations.

Conservation Buffers in Organic Systems: Idaho

Conservation Buffers provides guidance on installing buffers in organic production systems to meet the USDA National Organic Program NOP regulations.

Conservation Buffers in Organic Systems: California

This is a collaborative project to build the capacity of conservation professionals to assist organic and transitional farmers in planning and implementing conservation practices through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program Organic Initiative. This guide is part of a series of guides created by Oregon Tilth for use by NRCS staff in the Western Region. Conservation Buffers provides […]

Resources for Conservation Planning on Organic and Transitioning-to-Organic Operations

This document discusses existing tools and resources that support successful conservation planning on organic and transitioning to organic operations.

Conservation Buffers in Organic Systems: Western States Implementation Guide

Conservation Buffers provides guidance on installing buffers in organic production systems to meet the USDA National Organic Program NOP regulations.

Fresh Growth Podcast

Fresh Growth: Approaches to a More Sustainable Future from Western Ag Practitioners introduces you to farmers and ranchers from around the western United States who are finding innovative sustainable practices that enrich the natural resources we all care about. These successful multi-generational operations experiment with new ideas and are making it pay. Listen in as […]

Using Beneficial Insects to Combat Pests and Engage Growers

Sustainable Agriculture Fact Sheet                     July 2020 State: California                                Commodity: Wine grapes Need: An economical way to control leafroll virus, which is spread by vine mealybugs Summary: Leafroll virus is infecting California grapevines at an alarming rate due to an aggressive insect vector, the vine mealybug.  Leafroll virus infections reduce crop yield and quality, decrease a […]

Pueo are Much More than Pest-Management

If you can encourage a threatened native species, help control non-native pests, benefit the state’s farmers and preserve a culturally important icon, you’ve hit an ecological grand slam.  That’s exactly what the University of Hawaii’s Melissa Price is trying to do with the islands’ pueo owls. The striking, dark birds are a species of short-eared, […]

Living on the Land

One of the most comprehensive and adaptable curricula in the country for training natural resource professionals to, in turn, teach small-acreage landowners how to care for their soil, air and water while maximizing the land’s value.