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Just like his dad, my three-and-a-half-year-old boy loves the garden and all the things we grow in it. A favorite part of my job is the opportunity to put my boots in the fields of my home area and when I get to bring my boy Jack along for an “aventure,” as he would say.
As written, the CCA exempts agriculture from many of its rules. This includes the requirements to report GHG emissions, and to participate in the quarterly cap-and-invest auctions in which Washington businesses must purchase the right to emit GHGs. Nevertheless, agriculture is still substantially impacted by the law’s economic and environmental effects. In fact, the CCA has ushered in many benefits and challenges to Washington agriculture since its launch on January 1st, 2023.
Who will you be sitting next to?
You may know that it is difficult to increase soil organic matter, but how difficult is it, with numbers? Let’s do some rough calculations so you know what to expect. The task is difficult, but the math is easy, I promise.
This is one of only a handful of state programs in the U.S. helping agricultural producers be part of the climate solution and achieve co-benefits such as improving soil health.
Bale grazing is a method of feeding livestock during the winter. Bales are placed across a pasture or paddock rather than in one location
With soil acidification, the aluminum within the soil complex is released into the soil solution, where it affects plant health.
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has launched a new program that reimburses farmers for compost-related expenses.
The Washington legislature has funded a new program at WSDA intended to generate economic valuation for on-farm soil health management. Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources (STAR) was created by Illinois farmers in 2017. It is now used in four states, with an additional seven receiving STAR funding through the USDA Climate Smart Commodities Program.
Soil carbon was historically the subject of niche curiosity, with only soil scientists and growers aware of its existence. The urgency of climate change, however, has sparked intensive public interest in managing farmland to build soil carbon.