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STEEP: Helping Northwest Farmers with Profitable Conservation Technologies 2009
SUMMARY
- STEEP (Solutions to Environmental and Economic Problems), a multi-state research program, has developed and facilitated the adoption of new technologies and management systems that have helped reduce soil erosion in the Palouse region of eastern Washington, northern Idaho and northwest Washington from an average of 20 tons per acre in 1975 to an average of five tons per acre in 2005.
Measuring Progress in Soil Conservation by Satellite 2009
SUMMARY
- Satellite imagery may soon help scientists and farmers monitor how well soil-saving technology is working in the low-rainfall wheat region of eastern Washington where dust storms blow away topsoil and create air quality problems.
Extension Intervention Program Saves Families and Money 2009
SUMMARY
- Washington State University Extension's Strengthening Families Program, a family-based intervention program, reduces substance abuse by improving parenting skills and family communication. The program has served more than 1,800 youth statewide. In dollars alone, according to an independent analysis, the effort is expected to save the state $10.6 million in such areas as arrests, adjudication and victims' costs.
Cattle Could Provide Options for Palouse Grain Growers 2009
SUMMARY
- A two-year on-farm pilot project in Adams County is testing the feasibility and reliability of converting land coming out of the Conservation Reserve Program into a vertically integrated grass-fed beef production system. The pilot -- if successful -- could provide farmers with an alternative to CRP that could not only protect the environment, but also provide them with a source of income.
Genetic Link to Infertility Found in Dairy Cattle 2009
SUMMARY
- Scientists at Washington State University have identified a gene and four regions of the dairy cattle genome that are associated with fertility. The finding could help solve a multi-billion dollar problem for the U.S. dairy industry: declining fertility of dairy cows. The research could help improve human fertility as well.
Simple Pest Control Solution Saves Grape Growers Money, Reduces Pesticide Load 2009
SUMMARY
- An integrated pest management solution developed by Washington State University researchers is making Washington's grape growers about $5.5 million a year by reducing pesticide application costs to control cutworms and by increasing yields. Insecticide use has dropped by 84 percent and pest control has improved.
Raising Awareness of Grapevine Leafroll Disease 2009
SUMMARY
- A team of researchers and extension educators at Washington State University are collaborating with colleagues in Oregon and Idaho to help grape growers manage virus diseases of wine grapes, particularly grapevine leaf roll disease.
Early Warning System Protects Potato Industry from Late Blight 2009
SUMMARY
- A telephone hotline at Washington State University helps the state's $685 million potato industry battle late blight, a fungal disease that is both expensive to control and costly to yields.
Finding Could Reduce Costly Fruit Rot 2009
SUMMARY
- A plant pathologist at the Washington State University Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center has discovered three previously unknown fungal pathogens in the United States that cause apples and pears to rot in storage. Post-harvest fruit rots of apples and pears cost the tree fruit industry in Washington state millions of dollars in losses every year.