Careless management of pig manure and vegetative waste is degrading water and air quality on Tutuila, American Samoa's main island. Futi Semanu plans to use his Western SARE Farmer/Rancher grant to turn these two waste streams into a useful product through earthworm composting, or vermiculture. This sustainable technology optimizes the natural soil-building biology and properties of earthworms to convert raw wastes into stable and valuable commercial products called vermicompost and earthworm castings. Semanu grows beans and cucumbers on 2 acres and is clearing 20 acres for increased vegetable production. He also plans to start a small pig farm. By both marketing the vermicompost and applying it to his land he can show others how to turn pollutants into profit.
Project Title: Vermicomposting of Animal and Organic Wastes
Project
Number: FW03-005 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded: $5,500
Project Coordinator: Futi Semanu, vegetable farmer, Pago Pago, American
Samoa, (684) 733-6559, hamotama@samoatelco.com
Black leaf streak disease has cut deeply into banana production in American Samoa. This fungal disease, which infects all cultivars, attacks newly emerged suckers up to the fruiting stage. Leaves drop and trunks eventually die. Spread of the disease can be curbed with copper-based fungicides. But project coordinator Alatise Fonoti is concerned that chemical sprays on his farm might contaminate streams, wells and water catchments. His solution is to test a variety called Gold Finger, found to be resistant to black leaf streak in banana plantations in Guam, Hawaii and Western Samoa. Fonoti has arranged for at least 100 tissue-cultured Gold Finger bananas, which he will acclimate in a greenhouse and plant when three to four suckers appear on each.
Project Title: Growing Future Banana for Samoa
Project
Number:
FW03-026 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded: $2,951
Project Coordinator: Alatise Fonoti, banana and pig farmer, Pago Pago, American
Samoa, (684) 699-8392
Rehabilitating the riparian zone
Improper livestock management along a 2.5-mile section of Nutrioso Creek in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona has caused erosion and impaired water quality. In 1996, rancher James Crosswhite purchased 275 acres that include 1.5 miles of the creek and associated riparian area. His project goal is to rehabilitate the riparian area by fencing out livestock and elk, mowing the rabbit brush and cutting its roots below the terminal bud and broadcasting native grass seed, applying sprinkler irrigation to help the grass establish. He will monitor the grass through September 2004 and then rotate livestock through the pasture to assess forage use. He anticipates that project will improve the riparian zone, which will improve water quality, and at the same time allow him to economically harvest the streamside forage without polluting the water.
Project Title: EC Bar Ranch Riparian Grazing Management Project
Project
Number: FW03-002 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded: $7,500
Project Coordinator: James Crosswhite, EC Bar Ranch, Nutrioso, Arizona,
(928) 339-4840, jim@ecbarranch.com
The Navajo, or Dine, of Black Mesa in northeastern Arizona, among the most traditional indigenous populations in the United States, continue their struggle to preserve their culture, land, water and way of life. In 1998, a nonprofit Dine enterprise called Black Mesa Weavers for Life and Land was formed. Its goal: to improve the economic and social conditions of Black Mesa Dine by preserving the traditions, namely through the shepherding and sale of wool and weavings. Carol Halberstadt of Newton, Mass., coordinator of the Western SARE marketing project and founder of the nonprofit enterprise, seeks to enhance the sales begun five years ago through a print and outreach advertising campaign. Included will be advertising in spinning and knitting magazines and Web sites, direct mail and visits to key sheep and wool festivals.
Project Title: Wool and Weavings Fair Traded from the Source
Project
Number: FW03-104 (Farmer/Rancher grant with marketing emphasis)
Amount Funded: $15,000
Project Coordinator: Carol Halberstadt, Newton,
Massachusetts, (617) 332-0290, carol@migrations.com
Traditional livestock grazing on Western rangelands has raised concern over impacts on water quality, riparian vegetation and the stability of stream channels. However, the participants in this Western SARE grant contend that these areas can be grazed successfully through a partnership that employs producer knowledge of feasible grazing management combined with scientists' knowledge of riparian health. This grant builds on a previous SARE project in which the participants correlated several site-specific grazing practices with riparian health at nearly 300 grazed riparian areas in California. They plan to confirm their previous research, develop grazing recommendations and share those recommendations with ranchers, public land managers and others involved with the state's natural resources.
Project Title: Confirmation of Riparian Friendly Grazing Project Results
and Development of Achievable Site-specific Reference Conditions for Grazed
Riparian Areas
Project
Number: SW03-037 (Research and Education grant)
Amount Funded: $93,184
Principle Investigator: Kenneth Tate,
Rangeland Watershed Specialist, University of California Davis, (530) 754-8988,
kwtate@ucdavis.edu
Agricultural practices over the years have affected natural habitats. But many farmers and ranchers are trying to expand biodiversity, reduce erosion and improve water quality through a variety of on-farm improvements. In this project, Community Alliance with Family Farmers will team with several project partners to hold workshops in four regions of California to train ag professionals in creating on-farm habitat using native plant hedgerows in areas of California where hedgerows are not commonly used. Regional teams for the North Coast, Central Coast, Central San Joaquin Valley and Northern San Joaquin Valley will be formed to conduct the training. It will include visits to hedgerow demonstration sites, electronic and paper resources on the subject and materials the Community Alliance with Family Farmers will develop listing hedgerow options.
Project Title: Extending Hedgerow Systems in California Agriculture
Project
Number: EW03-007 (Professional Development Program grant)
Amount Funded: $60,000
Principle Investigator: Molly Johnson,
Project Director, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, (530) 756-8518, ext.
30, molly@caff.org
This project will continue an integrated pest management program (IPM) that Sonoma County Grape Growers started in 2000 to increase grower understanding of IPM and reduce the use of pesticides being reviewed under the Food Quality Protection Act. A team comprising growers, extension specialists and crop advisors will monitor pests and pest predators each week from bud break in April through August at four demonstration sites that employ low-risk management strategies. The data will be recorded, evaluated and shared with other growers during an integrated pest management field day in August. Information on pests, predators and pesticides will be summarized and reported in December so wine grape growers in Sonoma County and around the West can reduce pesticides and still economically control pests.
Project Title: Integrated Pest Management and Sustainable Grape Production
in Sonoma County
Project
Number: FW03-007 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded: $13,000
Project Coordinator: Nick Frey, Executive
Director, Sonoma County Grape Growers Association, Rohnert Park, California,
(707) 206-0603, frey@scgga.org
The 100-year-old practice of growing citrus and avocado in Ventura County is being eroded by foreign competition, degraded topsoil and increasingly scarce water. Citrus and avocado orchards are giving way to nurseries, row crops and development. Project coordinator Zachary Griffin proposes to depart from the traditional monoculture, pesticide-reliant system. He will open up alleys between orange trees; plant leguminous trees to feed the soil with nitrogen and organic matter; plant a border of deciduous trees to protect against wind, frost and heat; and sow seasonal vegetables for market – carrots, dill, onions, parsley, squash and sunflower – along with cover crops like clover and vetch. At the end of the grant, he will analyze the soil to assess soil-building progress and share his results with other farmers.
Project Title: Unconventional Conversion: Cultivating Sustainability
in Citrus and Avocado Orchards
Project
Number: FW03-009 (Farmer/Rancher
grant)
Amount Funded: $7,500
Project Coordinator: Zachary
Griffin, citrus producer, Ventura, California, (805) 641-1142, zgrif3@aol.com
Agricultural production on California's Central Coast occurs on slopes susceptible to erosion and in watersheds that drain into Monterey and Morro bay estuaries or rivers listed for salmon and steelhead protection. To reduce reliance on insecticides and herbicides that might find their way into runoff that would contaminate these water bodies, many Central Coast vineyard operators have adopted integrated farming practices. Still, because growers rarely have the time to access and learn about new techniques, the Central Coast Vineyard Team plans to develop user-friendly, themed quarterly “tailgate” meetings targeting growers, owners, managers and, where appropriate, Spanish speaking workers. The team will also develop and distribute educational materials on sustainable practices to local and statewide audiences.
Project Title: Increasing Adoption of Sustainable Practices in Central
Coast Vineyards
Project
Number: FW03-010 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded: $13,000
Project Coordinator: Kris O'Connor,
Director, Central Coast Vineyard Team, Templeton, California, (805) 434-4848,
info@vineyardteam.org
Sheep once flourished in the Humboldt County of Northern California, numbering around 150,000 ewes. By the early 1990s, losses to coyotes and economic doldrums had virtually wiped out the sheep industry, and most producers switched to cattle. Jill Hackett of Howe Creek Ranch wants to rejuvenate the sheep industry using llamas as non-lethal protection against coyote predation. Bringing back sheep to graze with cattle and goats may offer several benefits. Because cattle prefer grass, sheep prefer broadleaves and goats prefer brush, grazing on diverse pastures should control weeds and brush, allow grasses to thrive and yield more pounds of animal gain per acre than with single-species grazing. Hackett will test the system using 60 ewes, two rams and a single llama, monitoring the results and sharing successes with other producers.
Project Title: Can Llamas Be an Effective Tool for Predator Control?
Project
Number: FW03-013 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded:
$6,500
Project Coordinator: Jill Hackett, Howe Creek Ranch, Ferndale,
California, (707) 786-4045, jill@northcoast.com
This project will test the viability of producing pork on pastures, bucking a national trend toward corporate pork production. John Currey, co-owner of family-owned CR Pigs, says the project team will test stocking rates and supplemental feed consumption of pigs grown on rotated pastures at different stages of growth. This will provide key pasture production data for irrigation cycles, grazing cycles, feed values and manure decomposition at different times of the year. The resulting data will provide the groundwork to establish stocking rates and intensive grazing rotations throughout the Western region. Properly managed, the pastured pork operation will be profitable and, at the same time, reduce the threat of off-farm impacts on surface waters and the odors typically associated with large commercial hog farms.
Project Title: Pastured Pork: Economics of Intensive Grazing in the Western
United States
Project
Number: FW03-015 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded: $6,550
Project Coordinator: John Currey, co-owner,
CR Pigs, Dixon, California, (707) 678-5958, crpigs@hotmail.com
Participants in this project formed the Bay Area Agricultural Cooperative to capitalize on the newly restored Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, operated by the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture at the historic Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street in downtown San Francisco. The cooperative, formed in response to California's direct marketing laws, will hire workers to help with market sales, releasing the farmers to raise their crops. Members will pool resources to transport farm produce and, if economically feasible, develop dry and refrigerated overnight storage facilities. The market will enable them to sell more produce directly to consumers, more lucrative than selling wholesale, which rarely covers production costs. Participants also plan to expand their overall customer base in downtown San Francisco and nearby neighborhoods by developing a community supported agriculture entity, patterned after the Pikes Place CSA in Seattle.
Project Title: Bay Area Agricultural Cooperative
Project
Number:
FW03-105 (Farmer/Rancher grant with marketing emphasis)
Amount Funded:
$13,000
Project Coordinator: John Lagier, Lagier Ranches, Escalon,
California, (209) 982-5618, jelagier@pacbell.net
The recent advent of “industrial organic” agriculture has placed small organic farmers at a competitive disadvantage. In addition to competing with these heavily capitalized operations, the small farmers still face rising costs for certification, advertising, promotion and labeling. Marin Organics, a cooperative that includes 18 of Marin County's 23 organic farmers, will use the Western SARE marketing grant to launch its Marin Organic labels as a way to compete with the big boys. Members, with the help of part-time staff, will continue to produce marketing and advertising tools like banners, brochures and point-of-purchase consumer information as well as implement an outreach program targeting independent and natural food retailers. They will also design consumer pieces on the advantages of locally grown and processed food, sponsor farmer-to-farmer educational workshops and reach out to conventional farmers.
Project Title: Marin Organics Cooperative Marketing Program
Project
Number: FW03-107 (Farmer/Rancher grant with marketing emphasis)
Amount Funded: $13,500
Project Coordinator: Warren Weber, Star Route
Farms, Point Reyes Station, California, (415) 663-9667, warrenweber@earthlink.net
The growing complexities of agricultural production are compounded for beef operations that grow their own feed. To improve profit opportunities, Jack Rice, a beef producer in Fortuna, California, wants to gauge interest in organic dairy cows that must be sifted from the milking herd. The time and money spent to raise these cows is often foregone at sale. But if they're marketed as organic, the dairies may be able to command a premium over sellers of butcher cows. Using his marketing grant, Rice will conduct a survey of restaurants and supermarkets to gauge their interest. Then he will conduct a trial marketing organic hamburger and jerky to those interested in participating. He hopes to answer whether consumers are interested in organic beef products and whether demand is high enough for producers to adopt more expensive, labor-intensive and environmentally friendly practices.
Project Title: Organic Beef Survey and Marketing Trial
Project
Number: FW03-113 (Farmer/Rancher grant with marketing emphasis)
Amount Funded: $4,068
Project Coordinator: Jack Rice, Larabee Hay Ranch,
Fortuna, California, (707) 499-7423, ricejl@prodigy.net
Development and agriculture are clashing over water on the Mojave High Desert of Southern California. Agriculture has thrived for 100 years, producing alfalfa, tree fruit and vegetable crops. Now people are thriving, moving to the less expensive High Desert from Los Angeles. High Desert towns like Palmsdale and Victorville have nearly doubled in the last 20 years. Lawsuits have resulted in the curtailment of producer irrigation water, mostly drawn from poorly recharged groundwater systems. The dozen farmers in this Western SARE project are working with ag advisor Grant Poole to efficiently apply scarce water with the aid of soil sensors to monitor soil moisture. Their goals are to conserve the groundwater, reducing runoff and leaching with more careful irrigation, increase productivity, optimize irrigation, educate others on water conservation techniques and promote water conservation.
Project Title: Conservation of Groundwater Resources in the Mojave High Desert
Region through Producer Education of Irrigation Management
Project Number: FW03-318 (Ag Professional + Producer grant)
Amount Funded: $6,285
Ag Professional: Grant Poole, agricultural and environmental issues advisor,
University of California Cooperative Extension, (661) 723-4483, gjpoole@ucdavis.edu
Producers: Joe Harter, Allen DeJong, John Meritorena, Scott Harter, Richard
Miner, Craig Van Dam, Gailen Kyle, Luis Scattaglia, John Tenerelli, Casey Alesso,
Gene Nebeker and Bill Cole
Changes in the farm bills of 1996 and 2002, coupled with the recent drought, punctuate the need for farmers and ranchers to understand and manage risk. The concepts of risk management can be difficult to understand and teach, and the array of problems and solutions are many and complex. To allay producer concern over dealing with risk, this project will develop an educational program based on a simulation program called RightRisk. It lets farmers and ranchers try to manage risk using realistic scenarios that won't leave them broke if they make mistakes. A paper version of the game has been tried with success in Colorado, and this project will build on efforts to computerize the game, with pilot training for agricultural professionals in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Arizona.
Project Title: Education, Training and Outreach for Risky Decisions
Project
Number: EW03-011 (Professional Development Program grant)
Amount Funded: $99,600
Principle Investigator: Dana Hoag,
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University,
(970) 491-5549, dhoag@lamar.colostate.edu
El Ranch del Cielo, a dryland goat farm in southwestern Colorado, is establishing a goat dairy for the production of farmstead cheeses. But the five-year drought and recent wildfires have suppressed production. Long periods of unseasonable heat, smoke and dust in the air and evacuation of the animals have compromised the goats' immune systems, retarded kid growth and decreased the does' milk production. Ranch owner Denise Bohemier will use her SARE grant to build a greenhouse to produce herbs that have medicinal and nutritive value for her goats. The greenhouse will be built from unconventional materials like straw bales. Herbs will be produced on garden beds and in the greenhouse using waste streams from the goat dairy, including manure, gray water and whey.
Project Title: Production of Medicinal Herbs as an Integral Part of On-farm
Cheese Production and the Use of Medicinals for Immuno-stimulation and Enhanced
Milk Production
Project
Number: FW03-016 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded: $5,455
Project Coordinator: Denise Bohemier,
El Rancho del Cielo, Hesperus, Colorado, (970) 247-4355, dbodhemier@netscape.net
Despite occasional price spikes, commodities produced in western Colorado are typically high in volume and low in price. The situation presents producers with the options of selling for development, seeking alternative employment or trying alternative crops and marketing. Phil Knob of Delta, Colorado, plans to pursue the last option with his Western SARE marketing grant by determining the production and market potential for edamame beans, typically sold through Asian food markets. The Colorado State University research station at Fruita has conducted four years of trials on the bean, information Knob plans to apply when he plants 6 acres of beans, 2 acres each week, to extend his harvest and marketing window. He will assess the economics of production and marketing success to project future production.
Project Title: Edamame Bean Production and Marketing
Project
Number:
FW03-109 (Farmer/Rancher grant with marketing emphasis)
Amount Funded:
$5,000
Project Coordinator: Phil Knob, farmer, Delta, Colorado, (970)
874-4095
Growers of edible beans face price uncertainties every year. Prices for some market classes offer an attractive return while other classes may offer only dismal returns. What's more, bean producers have no futures markets on a board of trade through which they can hedge production in profitable markets. To help ensure steady high prices, Shane Atchley plans to investigate and develop a “ten-bean soup” package, which he estimates could increase his beans' value by 80 cents a pound. The project will involve contacting a food industry consultant to learn about food industry contacts, then working with each to collaboratively develop a high-quality packaged bean product. The marketing project will assess regulatory requirements, design and create an attractive package and assess costs for production, packaging, warehousing and shipping.
Project Title: Market Development for an Edible Bean Food Business
Project
Number: FW03-111 (Farmer/Rancher grant with marketing emphasis)
Amount Funded: $5,000
Project Coordinator: Shane Atchley,
farmer, Delta, Colorado, (970) 874-8306
Green manure protection for taro
To protect against crop-damaging nematodes and fungal diseases, many Hawaii taro farmers apply soil fumigants like methyl bromide. However, because methyl bromide will be banned by 2005 and because many farmers prefer not use such products because of food and safety issues, taro producers need alternative control measures. Without such measures, root-knot nematodes could cause crop losses as high as 90%, while losses to fungal pathogens could reach 25-36%. In this Research and Education grant, University of Hawaii agronomist Susan Miyasaka plans to develop and demonstrate economically feasible green manure cropping systems to control nematodes and fungal diseases in dryland taro in Hawaii. The ultimate goal is to increase Hawaii production of dryland taro, a food shown to help reduce health risks.
Project Title: Cropping Systems to Control Tropical Soil-borne Pests
in Dryland-grown Taro
Project
Number: SW03-003 (Research and Education
grant)
Amount Funded: $257,827
Principle Investigator:
Susan Miyasaka, Agronomist, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences,
University of Hawaii, Hilo, (808) 935-2885, miyasaka@hawaii.edu
This project will test neem and papaya fruit extracts to control the golden apple snail, introduced into Hawaii as a potential food source in the early 1980s. The snails, which grow fast, have voracious appetites, reproduce prodigiously and have contributed to a decline in Hawaii's taro production. The snails withstand biological controls like predatory animals and parasites, and conventional pesticides pose an environmental threat. The researchers in this Western SARE-funded project hope to confirm the laboratory evidence in a field trial to show that neem and papaya extracts can thwart the snail and its attack on island taro.
Project Title: Neem and Papaya Fruit Extracts for Control of Golden Apple
Snail in Wetlands: Efficacy Testing
Project
Number: SW03-010 (Research
and Education grant)
Amount Funded: $31,831
Principle Investigator:
Mel Jackson, Biologist, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, (808) 486-5421,
mjackson@harc-hspa.com
High costs, especially for labor, handicap the ability of Hawaii farmers to compete globally against low-cost producers. Sugar cane and pineapple failed to withstand the competition, and newer commodities like coffee and macadamia nuts are following suit. This Western SARE project seeks to help Hawaii farmers, who often grow just one or two crops, develop new opportunities that require less outside labor. It focuses on the Kona District of the Big Island, which contains more than 120 different species of fruit, including bilimbi, lychee, white sapote, loquat, jackfruit, tropical apricot and Surinam cherries. The production and marketing demonstration project will select 12 species of exotic fruit, marketing them in fresh and processed form and adding agri-tourism into the enterprise.
Project Title: Development of Sustainable Polyculture Production and
Marketing for Exotic Tropical Fruits
Project Number: SW03-055 (Research and Education grant)
Amount Funded: $156,800
Principle Investigator: Richard Bowen, Specialist in Natural Resource Economics,
University of Hawaii, (808) 956-8419, rbowen@hawaii.edu
Producing a primer for beginning farmers
As large tracts of farmland previously used for plantation-style agriculture open up on Hawaii and other Pacific islands, a new breed of farmers is emerging. Variously described as gentleman, immigrant, small or part-time farmers, they typically have little training or experience in farming. At the same time, chefs at local restaurants, hotels and resorts as well as local residents are finding value in locally and sustainably grown vegetables, fruits and herbs. To help the emerging ag entrepreneurs successfully produce and market their crops, the project partners will develop training materials – a trainer workbook and CD, Web site and manual for beginning farmers – that ag-support professionals, especially those in Cooperative Extension and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, can use to educate the new farmers.Project Title: New Farmers: Choosing the Road Less Traveled
Project
Number: EW03-002 (Professional Development Program grant)
Amount Funded: $90,000
Principle Investigator: Samir El-Swaify, Department
of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawaii, (808)
956-8708, elswaify@hawaii.edu
Abandonment of sugar cane in Hawaii left nutrient-depleted soils exposed to wind and soil erosion that threatened nearby coastal areas and streams. Cattle producer Dwayne Cypriano, who raises 47 breeding cows on 100 acres on the Hamakua Coast of the Island of Hawaii, plans to use his Western SARE grant to assess nutrient cycling. He will incorporate nitrogen-fixing legumes, plant grass and graze cattle in a rotation system. Cypriano will evaluate plant and cattle performance as well as the economics of the system comparing two parcels of former sugar cane land, control and improved, each fenced into three paddocks. The project is designed to reinforce the holistic resource management concepts of nutrient-mineral cycling, soil conservation and water cycling and conservation.
Project Title: Recovery of Tropical Pasture Systems
Project
Number:
FW03-018 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded: $6,875
Project Coordinator: Dwayne Cypriano, cattle producer, Honokaa, Hawaii, (808) 322-4892,
dwayneandtammie.cypriano@verizon.net
DDT, an agricultural chemical banned in 1973, persists in varying levels in many soils where it can be accumulated in certain crops like cucurbits and biennial root crops. To help producers provide pesticide-free produce for consumers, the researchers in this Western SARE project hope to use biodynamic methods to improve both the quality and fertility of agricultural soils. Biodynamic methods employ specially prepared compost and soil amendments typically made from common herbs and materials – chamomile, dandelion, yarrow, nettles, oak bark, horsetail, silica and cow manure – along with cover crops, crop rotation and appropriate cultivation. The goal is to reduce the bioaccumulation of DDT through reduced bioavailability or degradation of the pesticide as well as to show others any successful methods used.
Project Title: DDT Removal Using Biodynamic Agricultural Methods
Project
Number: FW03-025 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded:
$6,932
Project Coordinator: Marie Mauger, Anahola, Hawaii, (808)
635-4222
In the 1980s, Hawaii's beef industry took a turn when locally bred cattle began to be shipped by air or sea to pastures and feedlots on the U.S. Mainland, returning to the islands as finished products. Richard Habein of Habein Livestock Co. on the Big Island of Hawaii believes that finishing beef on Hawaii's year-round grass comprises a viable marketing alternative. Collaborating with Hawaii Natural Meats, a wholesaler of grass-fed beef and lamb products, Habein will create an educational campaign on the quality and benefits of Hawaii grass-fed beef. The project will target cattle producers, the food service industry, beef processing personnel and the Hawaii Community College food service program. The goal is to increase demand for local beef, keeping dollars at home and stimulating production, which could reclaim old sugar cane fields for pasture.
Project Title: Grass-fed Beef Education Program for Food Service Professionals
Project
Number: FW03-114 (Farmer/Rancher grant with marketing emphasis)
Amount Funded: $6,800
Project Coordinator: Richard Habein,
Habein Livestock Co., Kamuela, Hawaii, (808) 887-6900, mail@kamuelapride.com
In tropical regions, huge volumes of biomass are generated year round. Mowing this biomass can be expensive and time consuming, but chopping and collecting the product with a crop chopper and using it as mulch increases its potential as a multi-use resource. Fernand Severi, who operates a diverse biodynamic farming operation on 16 acres of northeast Kauai, will use his Western SARE organic grant to evaluate the health of two fields and a garden plot using harvested biomass as mulch, cover crops and a biodynamic treatment. He plans to measure the soil fertility, crop productivity and general health under each treatment. Successful chopping and use of the biomass will preclude treatment with Roundup, a common method of dealing with biomass in tropical regions.
Project Title: Field Management/Mulch Project
Project
Number:
FW03-205 (Farmer/Rancher grant with organic emphasis)
Amount Funded:
$5,232
Project Coordinator: Fernand Severi, farmer, Kilauea, Kauai,
(808) 635-2026
Grow a tree, build a barn. That's the idea behind this Western SARE grant on the island of Kauai. Project coordinator Robert Layer says the project will demonstrate the use of locally available, sustainable materials for low-cost construction. A quarter acre of trees and bamboo – a renewable woodlot – will be planted for building a 400-square-foot barn. The woodlot will include six species of fast-growing timber trees suitable for upright posts, beams, rafters and flooring. Two are toxic to termites and won't rot. Workshops will be held at each phase (soil preparation, tree propagation, planting and mulching and barn construction). Inspired by Hawaiian architecture, the energy-efficient, simple barn will include solar-generated electricity and a water catchment system for irrigation and production of bio-fuel. The project will be documented with a video and displayed on a Web site.
Project Title: Grow Your Own Sustainable Barn
Project
Number:
FW03-206 (Farmer/Rancher grant with organic emphasis)
Amount Funded:
$7,396
Project Coordinator: Robert Layer, farmer, Kilauea, Kauai,
(808) 828-1989, lokahi7@aloha.net
Each year, Idaho farmers grow more than 30 million pounds of Kentucky bluegrass seed valued at $45 million, 50% of the nation's supply, ranking Idaho No. 1 in bluegrass seed production. While bluegrass stands retard erosion and nutrient loss to ground and surface water, the practice of burning post-harvest residues raises air quality and health concerns, prompting the potential for regulated restrictions. This Western SARE project seeks alternative residue-management practices that don't depend on farm equipment, fossil fuels and herbicides. To that end, the project is developing a large-scale experiment on a producer's field near Lewis to develop livestock grazing and emerging biotechnology to manage residue, comparing it with burning and mechanical methods. They will also examine the economics and monitor nutrients, insects and diseases.
Project Title: Integrated Residue Management Systems for Sustained Seed
Yield of Kentucky Bluegrass Without Burning
Project
Number: SW03-021
(Research and Education grant)
Amount Funded: $294,243
Principle Investigator: Donald Thill, Professor of Weed Science, University of Idaho,
(208) 885-6214, dthill@uidaho.edu
Nearly three-fourths of Washington farms and two-thirds of those in Idaho are classified as small – from 1 to 179 acres – and many new small farmers are emerging. Yet traditional Washington and Idaho extension and academic programs for these audiences are lacking. Project coordinator Cinda Williams of the University of Idaho says experience shows that small and new farmers and ranchers need help with things like goal planning, resource evaluation, farming and ranching options and a ‘real life' look at what other farmers and ranchers are doing. This Western SARE educational project seeks to fill that education gap by developing a complete and easy-to-use curriculum that ag-support professionals can use to train and mentor small farmers using a community-based, participatory and experiential learning program.
Project Title: Expanding Opportunities for Community-based Educational
Program in Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching
Project
Number:
EW03-009 (Professional Development Program grant)
Amount Funded:
$98,143
Principle Investigator: Cinda Williams, Extension Support
Scientist in Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, (208)
885-7499, cindaw@uidaho.edu
The forest industry, like much of agriculture, has come to rely on the quick fix of chemical herbicides, which can reduce soil productivity and habituate dependence. In this Western SARE grant, ranchers Ray and Marianne Holes of the Lazy H Ranch near White Bird, Idaho, want to demonstrate that goat browsing can be an effective means of treating brush encroachment without the use of chemicals. Working with Jeff Nauman of the Idaho Department of Lands, the Holes will test three protocols for reducing the heavy brush canopy in harvested areas – burning only, burning followed by goat browsing and browsing only. They'll also test the effect of browsing only on recently planted tree plantations. Success will provide education for large owners of Idaho timberlands about the benefits of browsing over herbicides.
Project Title: Ovine Browsing for Brush Control of Forested Environments
Project
Number: FW03-307 (Ag Professional + Producer grant)
Amount Funded: $7,500
Ag Professional: Jeff Nauman, Lands Coordinator,
Idaho Department of Lands, (208) 476-4587, jnauman@idl.state.id.us
Producers: Ray and Marianne Holes, Lazy H Livestock, White Bird, Idaho, (208)
839-2356, ihl@ctcweb.net
Noxious weeds have spread like wildfire on Western rangelands. This SARE-funded project will test several integrated approaches that address the cause of the invasions rather than treating the symptoms. Two ranches, one in the Bitterroot Valley of southwestern Montana and the other in the south central part of the state, will test several combinations of strategies to attack spotted and diffuse knapweeds, including biological control with a flightless weevil, grazing the knapweeds with sheep and broadcast seeding of desirable native species. Their goal is to use these on-farm resources and biological controls to restore healthy, diverse plant communities that are resistant to reinvasion by weeds.
Project Title: Ecologically Based Integrated Weed Management to Restore
Plant Diversity
Project
Number: SW03-056 (Research and Education
grant)
Amount Funded: $121,750
Principle Investigator:
James Jacobs, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Land Resources and
Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, (406) 994-6749,
jsjacobs@montana.edu
Alfalfa hay is critical to Montana's agricultural economy, underpinning the state's $2 billion livestock industry with forage valued at nearly $300 million. Pests, diseases and harvesting inefficiencies often curtail the life of alfalfa stands, crimping its productivity. The researchers in this Western SARE project will survey alfalfa pests and production practices to assess those with the greatest impact on stand life, including the clover root curculio and other insect pests and diseases. They will also evaluate how the timing of fall harvesting affects stand life and whether a nurse crop of oats or barley helps or hinders the crop. The research team will then calculate the economics of each recommended practice and disseminate the results to producers.
Project Title: Factors Affecting Alfalfa Stand Longevity in Montana
Project
Number: SW03-063 (Research and Education grant)
Amount Funded: $139,397
Principle Investigator: Sue Blodgett, Department
of Entomology, Montana State University, (406) 994-2402, blodgett@montana.edu
To help interested farmers and ranchers understand and use USDA's new National Organic Standards, this Western SARE project will train agricultural professionals in the organic standards and their relationship to resource conservation programs in specific watersheds in California and the Western region. A field course will educate the professionals on components of the standards along with organic production standards and certification. In addition, new training tools will be developed, including a cross-compliance checklist and practical reference materials. And the professionals will be guided to key existing resources, including information services, Web sites and toll-free hotlines. The project partners say that agriculture and the public will be better served when ag-support professionals are better trained in organic certification and its relationship to resource conservation programs.
Project Title: Field Course for Agricultural Professionals on the Common
Goals and Strategies of USDA's National Organic Standards and Resource
Conservation Programs
Project
Number: EW03-004 (Professional Development
Program grant)
Amount Funded: $60,000
Principle Investigator:
Rex Dufour, National Center for Appropriate Technology, (530) 792-7338, rexd@ncat.org
Despite the erosion of Pacific island culture and tradition, the practice of using herbal medicines has endured. This Western SARE grant seeks to preserve the island-grown plants used in herbal medicines and the local knowledge of their use, a critical task in the face of worldwide interest in commercializing tradition medicinal plants. The preservation will give island farmers alternative crops that withstand pests and diseases and require fewer inputs than introduced crops. The SARE project team will identify and collect plants used locally for medicinal and cultural purposes and create both a botanical garden and a laminated herbarium. The team will develop crop profiles and promote the medicinal plants as commercial crops for each of the U.S. Trust Territories in the Pacific.
Project Title: Commercial Uses of Traditional and Medicinal Plants in
the Pacific Tropical Island Territories of the United States
Project
Number: SW03-120 (Research and Education grant)
Amount Funded:
$90,984
Principle Investigator: James Currie, Agricultural Agent,
Northern Marianas College Cooperative Research, Extension and Education Service,
(671) 735-2080, wjcurrie@yahoo.com
The pineapples Lino Mendiola grows on his Rota farm are noted for their sweetness, providing a valuable edge for marketing his pineapple jam. But the sweetness has a drawback: local rats have acquired a taste. When snare traps failed to control the rats, he turned to commercial rat bait. The bait kills the rats, but land-based coconut crabs that scavenge on the rats are also killed by the poison. His pineapples also suffer from wind damage. Mendiola plans to attack both problems by planting a double windrow of trees around his property. The taller row will be a locally grown tree that produces a nut from which valuable oil is extracted. The inside row, which will also be planted as interior plot-dividing hedges, will be Gliricidia sepium, said to have rodenticidal properties, providing a natural rat bait.
Project Title: Rat Control in Pineapples on Rota
Project
Number:
FW03-017 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded: $5,969
Project Coordinator: Lino Mendiola, pineapple producer, Rota, CNMI, (670) 532-9511
Slug populations have surged on the island of Rota in the Northern Marianas, threatening both crops and people. The slugs cause extensive damage to yards, ornamental products and commercial and garden vegetables. And they carry diseases transmitted to humans through the slime left on fresh vegetables. The chemicals used to control these pests deteriorate rapidly and sometimes are unavailable. In his Western SARE project, Francisco Calvo plans to test a new product called Nemaslug, a biological control method that uses parasitic nematodes. Calvo, an advocate of integrated pest management, will design a series of field plots with a variety of vegetables on which Nemaslug will be applied after transplanting. Should the product prove effective, Calvo hopes to demonstrate its use to producers in the Northern Mariana Islands and throughout the Pacific.
Project Title: Sustainable Slug Control for Vegetable Growers and Gardeners
on Rota, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Project
Number:
FW03-020 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded: $6,000
Project Coordinator: Francisco Calvo, F.J. Calvo Enterprises, Rota, MP, (670) 532-3465
Project Title: Management of Garden Symphylans with Crop Rotation Tactics
and Improved Soil Sampling Methods
Project
Number: SW03-033 (Research
and Education grant)
Amount Funded: $160,132
Principle Investigator:
Jon Umble, Department of Entomology, Oregon State University, (541) 752-9469,
umblej@bcc.orst.edu
The three farmers in this project are seeking ways to reduce tillage and protect against erosion in their garlic crops. Typically, the farmers plant a summer cover crop or cash crop and till it into the soil a month before planting the garlic. Heavy rains usually begin at planting time, subjecting the land to erosion, a problem compounded by garlic's skimpy root system. While mulching can stem erosion, it is too expensive to use on large fields. The farmers will plant in June a summer cover crop of Sudan grass, which relieves compaction, inhibits weeds and suppresses nematodes. The Sudan grass will be mowed mid season and again in September, after which the garlic will be planted directly into the Sudan sod. That should cut tillage costs and prevent winter erosion.
Project Title: Can a Summer Cover Crop of Sudan-sorghum Reduce the Detrimental
Effects of Tillage in Fall-planted Garlic?
Project Number: FW03-023 (Farmer/Rancher grant)
Amount Funded:
$9,629
Project Coordinator: Laura Masterson, 47th Avenue
Farm, Portland, Oregon, (503) 777-4213, 47thAveFarm@aol.com
For organic producers, growing cover crops over the winter has become an important way to supply nitrogen, inhibit weed growth, break up soil and stem erosion. Aviva Maller, who raises more than 100 varieties of organic vegetables and flowers on an acre of land in Springdale, Utah, plans to use her Western SARE organic grant to experiment with drought-tolerant cover crops to see which work best for his southern Utah climate. Dividing her field into four sections, she will plant crimson clover, Austrian winter peas and a mixture of hairy vetch and winter rye in each section with three replications of each. Finding a good cover crop would not only help her exercise good land stewardship, the added fertility may help reduce the amount of compost applied, reducing farming costs.
Project Title: Winter Cover Crop Experiment
Project
Number:
FW03-201 (Farmer/Rancher grant with organic emphasis)
Amount Funded:
$1,120
Project Coordinator: Aviva Maller, organic farmer, Springdale,
Utah, (435) 652-5870, mtnsugarpine@hotmail.com
Extending the growing season can benefit crops, especially in the southern Utah desert, where springtime temperature extremes keep farmers guessing. Aviva Maller, an organic farmer near Springdale, Utah, will work with extension horticulturist Rick Heflebower to extend the growing season for tomatoes and summer squash. For spring heating and frost prevention, they'll lay plastic and paper mulch, poking holes for transplanting tomatoes and squash Maller grows from seed in his greenhouse. They'll lay two types of row cover along with mulch for comparison. Similar experiments will be done with row cover and shade cloth to extend the season for Maller's salad mix in the heat of summer. Notes on daily high and low temperatures, seeding dates, germination dates, transplanting dates, irrigation and weeding schedules, harvest dates and yields will provide a model for other growers.
Project Title: Season Extension Experiment
Project
Number:
FW03-306 (Ag Professional + Producer grant)
Amount Funded: $1,250
Ag Professional: Rick Heflebower, Washington County horticulture extension
agent, Utah State University, (435) 652-5815, rickh@ext.usu.edu
Producer: Aviva Maller, organic farmer, Springdale, Utah, (435) 772-0793,
mtnsugarpine@hotmail.com
The project will use goats, sheep and cattle, along with selected herbicides, to control invasive plants to determine which combinations are the most effective from economic, environmental and social perspectives. On two ranches involving 2,600 acres the animals and herbicides will be used to control such non-native invasive plants as Russian olive, Scotch thistle, perennial pepperweed and knapweeds. The goal of the project is to show how the techniques can reduce herbicide costs and the economic and environmental losses from invasive plants. In addition, the weeds will provide forage not typically used to produce animals for meat and fiber.
Project Title: Implementing Weed Control through Multi-species Grazing
Project
Number: SW03-006 (Research and Education grant)
Amount Funded: $187,935
Principle Investigator: Don Nelson, Washington
State University Department of Animal Sciences, (509) 335-2952, nelsond@wsu.edu
In the wake of rapid urbanization of King County and the aging population of traditional farmers, a new breed of farmers is succeeding on small tracts of land by selling directly to urban consumers through farmers markets, farm stands and consumer supported agriculture, known as CSAs. While many professionals who support producers are adapting to this emerging trend, few of the new-breed farmers grew up on farms or attended an agricultural university, resulting in a gap in their farming know-how. Responding to results of a farmer survey, the project team is developing a model program called “Cultivating Success” to train beginning and transition farmers in understanding the essentials of farm planning, production, stewardship and marketing.
Project Title: Farming the Future: Cultivating the Next Generation of
Farmers
Project
Number: SW03-016 (Research and Education grant)
Amount Funded: $145,800
Principle Investigator: Brad Gaolach,
Washington State University Extension Agent in Renton, (206) 205-3135, gaolach@wsu.edu
Falling prices and rising costs have squeezed Washington potato growers' finances. Improving markets would help, but individual growers have more control over costs for things like seed, fertilizer and soil fumigant. Most Washington growers apply fumigants, at around $250 an acre or $20 million total, to thwart diseases that trim potato yield and quality. Several fresh-market potato growers have shown that growing and plowing down a mustard crop as a “green manure” works as well as fumigants in fighting the diseases, and at much less cost. This Western SARE project will try to ascertain whether a green manure mustard crop will work as well in the longer rotations typical of potatoes grown for processing markets, about 85% of Washington's spud acres.
Project Title: Mustard Green Manures for Potatoes
Project
Number:
SW03-018 (Research and Education grant)
Amount Funded: $45,653
Principle Investigator: Andy McGuire, Lauzier Agricultural Systems Educator,
Washington State University, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources,
(509) 754-2011, amcguire@wsu.edu
The USDA National Organic Standards issued in 2002 require organic producers to choose tools and practices that maintain or improve soil quality. Indeed, organic farmers around the nation identified soil quality and fertility as one of their top priorities for research. Small acreage farmers in western Washington, both organic and conventional, agreed they want more information on practical approaches to build soil quality under intensive farming. In this Western SARE project, the research team plans to compare the effects of organic row crops and orchards on soil quality as well as assess the tools used to measure that quality. They will also test several cover crops for their effects on soil quality in organic vegetables and orchards.
Project Title: Assessing Soil Quality in Intensive Organic Management
Systems
Project
Number: SW03-040 (Research and Education grant)
Amount Funded: $107,696
Principle Investigator: Craig Cogger,
Soil Scientist, Washington State University Puyallup Research and Extension
Center, (253) 445-4569, cogger@wsu.edu
The reasons are unknown, but since the 1940s two indigenous species of burrowing shrimp have devastated Washington's oyster production and the mudflat biological community in general. The ghost shrimp and mud shrimp, both filter feeders, compete for plankton, and their burrowing stirs up suspended fine sediments that cause surface-dwelling organisms to sink in the mud. Estimates show these tenacious pests have eliminated 3,000 acres from oyster production, about 25% of the historically farmed acreage. Regulatory pressures on the traditional control, a pesticide called carbaryl, have spawned efforts to find alternative controls. This Western SARE grant will bolster those efforts by testing all known alternatives and provide oyster producers with the results as a plan for integrated pest management.
Project Title: Development and Implementation of Integrated Pest Management
of Burrowing Shrimp in Washington State Commercial Oyster Beds
Project
Number: SW03-046 (Research and Education grant)
Amount Funded:
$179,064
Principle Investigator: Daniel Cheney, Executive Director,
Pacific Shellfish Institute, (360) 754-2741, cheney@pacshell.org
Cole crops like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage have flourished in western Washington, yielding seed for other farmers and produce for fresh and processing markets. But cole-crop producers, whether organic or conventional, must deal with crop damage from root maggots. To help producers quell this major cole-crop pest, researchers in this Western SARE project will try to enhance the natural predators that feed on root maggots and their eggs. Success would help organic producers increase farm income, especially with early-season crops like radishes. For conventional producers, these biological controls could reduce or eliminate their need for organophosphate insecticides, which have been targeted as dangers to salmon from chemical runoff and which may soon be phased out.
Project Title: Integrating Biological Control into Cole Crop Production
in the Pacific Northwest
Project
Number: SW03-101 (Research and Education
grant)
Amount Funded: $63,841
Principle Investigator:
William Snyder, Department of Entomology, Washington State University, (509)
335-3724, wesnyder@wsu.edu
This Western SARE grant seeks to help ameliorate tension over proposals to widen riparian buffers as a way to protect endangered salmon from agricultural runoff. Skagit County is revising its critical areas ordinance to protect habitat and water quality on waterways that cross agricultural land. One proposal would place 12,000 acres into no-touch buffers, 11% of Skagit County's 115,000 farm acres. While environmentalists support such protection, farmers don't like the bite such buffers would take out of productive farmland. Given the dearth of information on managing these areas, the SARE research team will explore how different buffer widths and species composition affect buffer function, farm budgets and land values, helping farmers design buffers that are both functional and economically viable.
Project Title: Riparian Buffers: Function, Management and Economic Implications
for Agriculture
Project
Number: SW03-115 (Research and Education
grant)
Amount Funded: $242,035
Principle Investigator:
Jon Johnson, Associate Professor of Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State
University, (253) 445-4522, poplar@wsu.edu
As EPA shines the spotlight on animal feeding operations, especially concentrated facilities, owners and operators must be increasingly vigilant to prevent nutrient escapes. This Western SARE education project will equip agricultural professionals with the tools they need to teach feeding operators how to better understand, manage and record the feeds and nutrients they use. They will train ag professionals in concepts and practices that minimize nutrients imported into feeding operations in ways that encourage both environmental and economic sustainability. The training will involve computer models and software to balance rations and provide nutrient balance and economic analysis for the whole operation. While the project is targeted at the Pacific Northwest, the partners plan to develop manuals, PowerPoint presentations and other materials that can be used throughout the region.
Project Title: Feed Management Education in Nutrition and Nutrient Management
for Livestock and Poultry Professionals
Project
Number: EW03-003
(Professional Development Program grant)
Amount Funded: $99,635
Principle Investigator: Joe Harrison, Nutrient Management Specialist, Washington State
University, (253) 445-4638, harrison@puyallup.wsu.edu
More and more agricultural producers are selling directly to retailers, restaurants and consumers, creating new, more profitable markets. Despite such success, meat producers in Okanogan County, Washington, have found that the lack of a nearby USDA-inspected slaughter facility has prevented them from selling their products in similar fashion. The five livestock producers involved in this marketing grant are developing a business plan to buy and operate a USDA-certified mobile processing unit. They believe it will help them command a higher price for their product and give consumers direct access to safer, healthier food. On-farm slaughter reduces the stress and trauma of transporting the animals, providing a better, more humanely handled product. Twenty additional producers have expressed interest, and most consumers polled said they would pay up to 25% more for such a product.
Project Title: Application to Develop a Business Plan for a USDA-certified
Mobile Livestock Unit
Project
Number: FW03-106 (Farmer/Rancher grant
with marketing emphasis)
Amount Funded: $14,988
Project Coordinator:
Karla Christianson, Christianson Ranch, Twisp, Washington, (509) 997-3767
Arugula, a high value crop for organic growers in the Puget Sound region, has a low tolerance for damage, especially cosmetic damage caused by foraging adult flea beetles. Beetle control options for organic growers are typically broad-spectrum, making them less desirable than encouraging natural enemies. Andrew Stout of Full Circle Farm, which grows 50 different crops for wholesale and direct markets, plans to test three treatments for controlling flea beetles. The first is a trap crop called Green Wave Mustard, which research has shown to be an effective trap for flea beetles. The second, a commercial garlic spray used as a repellent, will be applied directly to the arugula plants. And Surround WP, a kaolin clay product that acts as a physical deterrent to foraging, will be applied. For comparison, one plot will remain untreated.
Project Title: Controlling Flea Beetles in Arugula Using Traps and Sprays
Project
Number: FW03-202 (Farmer/Rancher grant with organic emphasis)
Amount Funded: $7,500
Project Coordinator: Andrew Stout, Full
Circle Farm, Carnation, Washington, (425) 333-4677, fcorganics@earthlink.net
The Werkhoven Dairy in western Washington is a leader in nutrient management planning, and it wants to stay that way. Andy and Jim Werkhoven's nutrient management plan, as required by the state's Dairy Nutrient Management Act of 1998, was approved and certified on April 9, 2002, well ahead of the approval deadline of July 2002 and the certification deadline of December 2003. In this Western SARE project, they will harness the expertise of nutrient management specialist Joe Harrison and in-line flow meters to determine the concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the liquid manure, manure solids and manure-laden sand used as bedding material. Coupled with soil tests, the measure of nutrient flows within and off the dairy will guide the Werkhovens and other dairy operators in long-term strategies to achieve whole farm nutrient balance.
Project Title: Determination of Whole Farm Nutrient Flows on a Dairy Operation
Project Number: FW03-302 (Ag Professional + Producer grant)
Amount Funded: $6,000
Ag Professional: Joe Harrison, Nutrient Management Specialist, Washington State
University Puyallup Research and Extension Center, (253) 445-4638, Harrison@Puyallup.wsu.edu
Producers: Andy and Jim Werkhoven, Werkhoven Dairy, Monroe, Washington, (425)
508-1881, AGWERK@aol.com
Low-input rangeland renovation
On shrub-steppe rangelands of central Washington, excessive livestock grazing followed by 30 years of total rest have left the range in poor biological health. Rancher Scott Gress will release 500 acres for a “planned grazing” experiment. Cattle will be employed to partially remove forage tissue in one annual spring grazing, allowing time for adequate plant recovery before the area is exposed to dormant-season elk grazing. The short, high-intensity grazing will be managed with temporary electric fencing. Doug Warnock, a range scientist with Solar $, will monitor the rangeland before grazing to determine species and forage availability and after grazing to assess species preference, animal impact and forage use. The impacts of elk grazing will also be monitored. The project will illustrate rangeland renovation using grazing without costly inputs.
Project Title: Planned Grazing as a Means of Enhancing the Ecosystem
and Improving Range for Big Game and Livestock
Project
Number: FW03-308
(Ag Professional + Producer grant)
Amount Funded: $5,000
Ag Professional: Doug Warnock, Solar $, a nonprofit corporation, Ellensburg,
Washington, (509) 925-1070, warnockd@elltel.net
Producer: Scott Gress, rancher, Thorp, Washington, (509) 929-2376
This project seeks to determine whether interseeding grass can be an option to reseeding grass as a way to reduce tillage and the nitrate content of grass silage. Reseeding involves tilling under the current crop or tilling up sod that has roots and stems remaining after harvest and then planting a new crop. Interseeding, on the other hand, adds new seed to an established crop. Veenhuizen Farm currently reseeds its grass every five to seven years to maintain quality and high yields. However, data from another dairy suggest reseeded grass silage tends to have higher nitrates, which can make ration balancing difficult, cause health problems and reduce milk production. Working with nutrient management specialist Joe Harrison, the Veenhuizen Farm will test interseeding on 10 acres, followed by forage and economic analysis and comparison with reseeded plots.
Project Title: Use of Interseeding Grass Technology to Reduce Nitrate Concentration
in New Seeding Grass Silage
Project Number: FW03-317 (Ag Professional + Producer grant)
Amount Funded: $6,000
Ag Professional: Joe Harrison, Nutrient Management Specialist, Washington State
University Puyallup Research and Extension Center, (253) 445-4638, Harrison@Puyallup.wsu.edu
Producers: Jason and Debbie Vanderveen and Dave and Becky VanWeerdhuizen, Veenhuizen
Farm, Everson, Washington, (360) 354-4014, veanteam@az.com
This project seeks to intensify crop rotations on the central High Plains by adding nitrogen-fixing legumes into the traditional wheat-fallow systems. The research team has been inspired by successful Australian dryland systems called ley farming that integrate pasture and grass legumes – namely medic pastures and winter peas – into cereal and livestock production. Success on the U.S. High Plains would help conserve moisture, retard erosion during the fallow season and provide producers with an added source of income. This Western SARE grant continues previously funded work to find successful alternatives to winter wheat-fallow systems.
Project Title: Annual Legume-based Systems for Sustainable Integrated
Crop/Livestock Enterprise Diversification on the Central High Plains
Project
Number: SW03-008 (Research and Education grant)
Amount Funded:
$200,000
Principle Investigator: James Krall, Professor of Agronomy,
University of Wyoming, (307) 532-7194, jkrall@uwyo.edu
On the high plains near Buffalo, Wyo., grass quickly dries up when rain is scarce. But there's no shortage of wind. Betty Rodriguez plans to use her Western SARE grant to drill two wells and build old-style windmills, harnessing her daily supply of wind to draw irrigation water for a pasture of nearly 10 acres. She will cross fence the pasture, part of a 913-acre ranch, to control the pasture's grazing use. Her project, she says, is a way of using Mother Nature's wind to make the land more productive by irrigating with groundwater that was previously unavailable. Given that her only continuing costs are maintenance of the windmills, she should be able to produce winter feed for cattle and sheep more economically.
Project Title: Wind and water
Project
Number: FW03-004 (Farmer/Rancher
grant)
Amount Funded: $6,000
Project Coordinator: Betty
Rodriguez, Buffalo, Wyoming, (307) 684-9076
