Nature ≠ Farming
CSANR's Andrew McGuire argues that romantic ideas about nature don't work for crop production. Growers must navigate tradeoffs in nutrients, biodiversity, and pest management.
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/pop-ecology
#PopEcology #AgReality #NoEasyAnswers #WSU
CSANR researchers helped advance biochar science and waste-to-energy systems through this 20-year partnership.
17.02.2026 17:54 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Woman stands in front of display table.
Woman digs in the soil of a field.
Woman sits at a conference table.
Each year, CSANR sponsors undergraduate students to attend the Tilth Conference. Student reflections show how attending Tilth helps students build networks and encourage critical thinking about sustainable agriculture.
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/tilth-takeaw...
#Organic #Tilth #WSU
Agriculture professionals: get help understanding how artificial intelligence is shaping agricultural technologies. @wsucsanr.bsky.social has a newly launched online training series made up of an 11-video lecture series. CEU credits available. #GoCougs
csanr.wsu.edu/resources/ai...
A fire smolders in a forest with overlay text: Perspectives. Can sticks and small trees power planes?
We asked landowners, foresters, tribal members, and agency staff: can forest residues be used as fuel feedstock at scale?
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/can-sticks-p...
#SAF #ItsComplicated #WSU
Image of Palouse hills with overlay text that says 'BIOAG-FUNDED BIOAG -FUNDED RESEARCH Focusing Agricultural Conservation Where the Land Needs It Most' .
With support from CSANR’s BIOAg Program, WSU grad student Burke Parham is using erosion modeling to identify soil-loss “hotspots” in eastern Washington—helping target conservation where it matters most.
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/focusing-ag-...
#EngineeringDirt #WEPP #WSU
Congrats to CSANR Director Chad Kruger on his new WSU research leadership role. He leads by getting on the road and meeting researchers and stakeholders face-to-face.
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/news
#ChadShowsUp #WSU
Digital illustration of eastern Washington landscape with header text: New! Extension Publication, Anticipated Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture in Washington State.
CSANR and @wsdagov.bsky.social review anticipated climate change impacts on Washington ag in a new Extension publication.
🔗 bit.ly/ClimateChangeImpactsWA
#WSU #ClimateAdaptation
Dairy cows in a barn.
New Dairy Climate Roadmap shares practical options for Washington dairies to reduce emissions.
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/dairy-roadmap
#ClimateSmartDairy #WADairy #WSU
Woman presenting slideshow at a conference; slide says "Roadmap Background."
CSANR’s Georgine Yorgey and Allie Higginbotham attended the Washington Dairy Conference, where Georgine presented key recommendations for eastside, westside, and organic dairies. More about the dairy roadmap next week...
#WADairyConference #WSU
Map of Washington state indicating locations of eligible compost facilities and participating fields. Facilities and fields are clustered in Kitsap Peninsula, I-5 corridor, central WA, along WA/OR border, with a few in eastern WA.
New CSANR Perspectives piece breaks down Washington’s compost reimbursement pilot: who used it, what changed, and what the data show.
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/compost-incentives
#GrowWithData #WSU
#WSU researchers will continue developing new crop varieties for farmers, fueling efforts to bring more whole grains to the public, thanks to a $19M public-private partnership. The funding includes $10M from the Washington Research Foundation. #GoCougs news.wsu.edu/press-releas...
14.11.2025 15:51 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Generator occupies large indoor space.
Dairy calf looks out of enclosure.
CSANR’s Georgine Yorgey and Allie Higginbotham visited the Qualco Digester and Werkhoven Dairy with the Washington State Dairy Federation.
🐄⚡ The digester turns manure into methane to power a generator that produces electricity for Snohomish PUD.
#WasteToFuels #RenewableEnergy #WSU
Screenshot of Fox news anchor at left and Chad at right.
🎥WSU’s Chad Kruger joined Fox News Seattle to talk about how solar panels and farms could share land.
Chad appears ~13:52:
🔗 www.fox13seattle.com/video/1736991
#Agrivoltaics #CleanEnergy #FutureOfFarming #WSU
Take the guesswork out of grazing.
Our meetups teach you how to use StockSmart, a free online tool. Bring your questions and find out how others are putting the data to work.
🗓 First Wednesdays , 10–11 a.m. PT
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/stocksmart
#Rangelands #Ranching #StockSmart #WSU
Two participants share a laugh.
Speaker with microphone and safety vest in a compost facility.
Two participants smile in front of a white barn.
Participants in class look at a laptop and their notes.
Participants from across WA and beyond are building piles, learning from CSANR’s Doug Collins and other experts, and touring sites like Silver Springs Organics at the Compost Facility Operator Training with WSU and WORC.
#HotCompost #WSU
SEAS+ lab members making bouquets from dry rangeland flora.
Curious black and brown beef cattle.
Rangelands expert Tip Hudson describes grass to researchers.
Brush and grass in eastern WA rangelands.
Rangelands field trip > spreadsheet
Last week, students, postdocs, faculty, and staff from SEAS⁺ and CSANR saw the system behind the models.
Swipe to see the view.
#KnowYourGrasses #Rangelands #WSU
Sign on board in front of school gym says Youth Farmers Market 2024.
Kid adds fresh produce to bag.
Kid inspects inside of fresh red bell pepper.
Kid peruses fresh produce in baskets on table with black WSU logo tablecloth inside school gym.
What happens when kids shop for their own produce? 🥕🍎
Researchers Annie Salafsky & Amanda Musser created a Youth Farmers Market with BIOAg funding—students chose local veggies over sweets!
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/youth-farmer...
#FarmToSchool #LocalFood #WSU
Montage of recent and upcoming editions of CSANR e-newsletter, featuring stories about BIOAg projects, gardening books, and a call for proposals.
Get CSANR’s latest news and insights. Subscribe to News & Perspectives:
🔗 bit.ly/CSANRnewslet...
#OnceMonthlyAtMost #WSU
📸 Molly Sayles presents on IPM at the WSU Tree Fruit Extension Field Day, Sunrise Research Orchard (Photo: Scott Weybright).
🪰Why hesitate on IPM?
WSU PhD student Molly Sayles studies how people—not just insects—shape pear psylla management in Wenatchee Valley orchards.
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/why-growers-...
#WSU #NeighborEffect #Wenatchee
📸CSANR's Teal Potter and Doug Collins in front of a triticale plot at the Puyallup research site. (Photo credit: Chad Kruger)
From fields to fuel: Cover crops like triticale + hairy vetch could become biofuel, cutting emissions 70%+.
🔗 Open access: bit.ly/CoverCropBio...
#WSU #VeryHairyVetch
WSU Extension's Rachel Wieme leads a demonstration in Tenino. Photo credit: Sarah Lemon (WSDA)
🐄 Bad Guts → Good Compost 🌱
With rendering plants closing and costs rising, slaughter byproducts are a problem. CSANR-funded research offers a solution.
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/composting-o...
#GutFeeling #OffalNotAwful #WSU
Students gather for awards and a career discussion during the 2024 Whitman County Soil and Land Evaluation Day, hosted by the Pine Creek Conservation District, Palouse Conservation District, and other Whitman County Conservation partners. Photo credit: Palouse Conservation District
🌨️💰Get up to $5K for projects that teach soil conservation to K–college students in the Palouse & Inland Empire region.
WA/ID colleges, NRCS, and Conservation Districts: apply by Oct. 31.
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/kaiser
#Palouse #Spokane #Moscow #Pullman #NiceDirt
Close-up of seedcorn maggot nestled in a root.
CSANR announces BIOAg awards!
Since 2020, researchers have turned $1.46M in investments from BIOAg grants into $20M+ in extramural funding.
Projects:🔗https://csanr.wsu.edu/news
#KillerROI #BIOAg #WSU
📸 Seedcorn maggot: Whitney Cranshaw, CSU, bugwood dot org
Dramatic scene from the confines of a truck cab: two-lane highway, lake with lighting, and steep mountains.
🚛 Transport, diet & food waste. Ag’s climate impact goes beyond the field.
A report from CSANR, @scc_gov & KR Creative Strategies calls for whole-system thinking.
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/organic-clim...
#DontAskMeToPullOverSoYouCanTakeAPicture #WSU
Cover crops in Douglas County. Photo by Leslie Michel.
🌱 Ag tools for climate resilience:
✅Cover crops
✅ Compost & manure
✅ No/reduced tillage
✅ Perennial crops
✅ Biochar/soil amendments
✅ Double cropping/no fallow
🔗 csanr.wsu.edu/organic-climate-smart-report
📸 Leslie Michel #CoverCrops #SoilHealth #WSU
Pacific Northwest Gardener's Handbook cover image.
This free WSU Extension book now features a new chapter on Climate Change & Gardening, brought to you by CSANR.
#MyGardenIsOnFire #WSU
1999–2022: Nutrient Source Early studies explore how compost enhances soil fertility; nitrogen availability from compost is quantified. 2000–2003: Tackling Contamination Early work responds to concerns about clopyralid, a persistent herbicide affecting municipal compost. 2003–2010: Scaling Up Research on managing farm’s waste streams to improve soil health continues. 2011–2025 Resources Recovery Waste to Fuels Technology partnership shows compost is viewed as part of integrated organics management strategy. 2022–now: CSANR explores compost’s role in carbon sequestration, evaluates compost’s footprint, and informs legislative decisions.
On the compost scene since before compost was cool.
🔗https://csanr.wsu.edu/the-dirt-on-compost
#DecadesOfDirty #HotCompost #WSU
