Ag/Climate Blog
Around the Web: Producers respond to climate challenges
The Farm Journal recently covered the precautions some producers are taking for variable weather, especially extreme weather events, in "... more
Exploring Field Scale Variability with Remote Sensing and EMI Sensors
Soil Cores
Precision agriculture utilizes information technologies to modify land management practices in a site-specific manner as conditions change spatially and temporally for optimum profitability, sustainability, and protection of the environment.
Precision agriculture deals with 5 “R’s”:
- Right input
- Right amount
- Right place
- Right time
- Right... more
Cover Crops, Soil Conservation, and Prevented Planting Acres
Each ton of soil eroded in the Pacific farm production region has a negative economic impact of $0.53. —David Steury
As many of you and your clients consider crop insurance purchases before the sales closing date, here is some REACCH research, conducted by Professor of Agricultural Economics Kate Painter and her 2013 University... more
Analyzing Regional Climate Models for the PNW
GCM model at 200km
Climate models are the most sophisticated tool we have to better our understanding of how our climate will change.
Climate models have proven their utility in accurately reproducing past, observed changes in our climate. They have also shown the ability to pick up on key physical and human influences on our climate, improving confidence in their accuracy.
The most widely... more
U.S. Northwest feels the heat
REACCH scientist John Abatzoglou explains why July and August were so hot.
Aside from a few locations in mid-latitudes, July and August are the warmest months of the year. However, the northwestern US experienced extraordinary warmth over the past 6-8 weeks with most locations 2-3 degrees C (3-5 F) above normal adding to the crescendo of the hottest time of the year.
Visit his blog... more
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard
Renewable Identification Numbers
"This Low Carbon Fuel Standard has the ability to increase the use of renewable fuels with the 'first-of-its-kind' regulation. In order to work properly and efficiently, a cost containment strategy would have to be implemented. My internship with REACCH has led me to explore the history and future of renewable and fuel standards and markets, with the hopes of decreasing fossil fuel use."
... morePrecision Agriculture Resources for Farmers
REACCH Intern River Rafting Trip 2014 (Photo credit: Carolyn McCotter)
I had an amazing experience this summer! I had the chance to work as an undergraduate intern with REACCH Extension Specialist, Kristy Borrelli. Coming from the city of Chicago, I was in awe of the rolling hills in the Palouse but did not know much about grower practices, much less precision agriculture. Over the nine-week period, I researched precision agriculture equipment and practices... more
Drought and Cereal Pests Research
Palouse Ag System
If we go back in time twelve thousand years from the present, to a period marking the formation of the Puget Sound within the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of North America, we see geo-climatic conditions drastically different from those predominating on Earth today. With one half of Earth's surface covered in ice, extensive glaciation drove massive landscape alteration and mass... more
Integrating Environmental Accounting into AgTools
If you’re interested in climate and agriculture, continue reading articles at the blog aggregator, AgClimate.net
The AgToolsTM software uses a suite of programs to evaluate the profitability and feasibility at the individual farm level of different management decisions and cropping systems. Integrating environmental accounting into AgToolsTM aims to take into consideration the economic and environmental impacts of agricultural practices at the... more
How climate change affects ecological interactions
Figure 1. Effects of wireworms on wheat.
Agriculture has been relied upon as a food source for humans for thousands of years. For much of that time, wheat has been one of the most important crops that people have grown. Wheat, like most crops, is reliant upon certain quantities of water to grow properly.
According to climate change projections for the Pacific Northwest, water availability will change drastically both in timing... more