On Solid Ground

New Director, Range Transition, Organic Expands

Stark Assumes Directorship of WSU Puyallup Washington State University entomologist and eco-toxicologist John Stark has been named the new director of the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center. WSU Dean of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences Dan Bernardo praised outgoing director Jon Newkirk for helping to set a new course for […]

Nitrogen, Phytochemicals, BIOAg

Getting the Fix on Nitrogen Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth, but not all forms of nitrogen are usable by plants. Although Earth’s atmosphere is rich in nitrogen, the inert atmospheric gas is useless to most organisms. Some plants, though, form symbiotic relationships with bacteria called rhizobia. In a complicated exchange of nutrients, […]

Specialty Crops, Economic Development Tool

WSU Researchers Receive $3.3 Million in USDA Specialty Crop Grants Researchers at Washington State University were among the most successful nationwide in winning competitive grants through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Specialty Crop Research Initiative. This new program targets research funding to “specialty crops,” which include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and […]

New V&E Director, New Leadership for Crops and Soils

International Wine Expert to Lead WSU Viticulture, Enology Program Thomas Henick-Kling, an international leader in wine research and education, is the new director of WSU’s viticulture and enology program. He will assume his new responsibilities in March 2009 and will be located at WSU Tri-Cities. “Dr. Henick-Kling is a scientist, educator and advocate of the […]

Research Winery, Rural Transportation, Log Trucking

WSU Wine Research Leaps Forward WSU now features the largest experimental, non-commercial winemaking facility in the Pacific Northwest. The research winery, which is located at the WSU Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser, has a production capacity of about 5,000 gallons. The new facility was designed by enologists James Harbertson and Kerry Ringer, […]

Ferdinand’s Is 60!, Water Buffalo

Happy Birthday, Ferdinand’s Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe at Washington State University will commemorate its 60th anniversary on Wednesday, Sept. 24, with a ribbon cutting at 9:30 a.m. and promotions throughout the day. All events are open to the public. WSU President Elson S. Floyd; Dan Bernardo, dean of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural […]

Xerpha, Weather

You’re on Xerpha Turf For the third year in a row, the soft white winter wheat variety known as Xerpha has produced the highest yield of winter wheat in the state. With wheat prices at record highs, the significant increase in yield could amount to a multi-million-dollar increase for the Washington wheat industry. WSU Professor […]

Sediment Contamination, Legume Viruses

Getting the Dirt on Sediment Contamination According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, more than 80 percent of sediments in the Pacific Northwest are contaminated, posing potential health risks to humans and animals. In order to better understand the effects of contaminated lake and river sediments on human and environmental health, a group of WSU […]

New R&E Center Director, International Collaboration

New Director for Northwestern Washington R&E Center Stephen S. Jones, whose wheat breeding program at WSU has been recognized nationally and internationally, is the new director of WSU’s Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center at Mount Vernon. “Steve is a veteran researcher with a proven track record and an innate curiosity in agriculture that will […]

Farm Walk, Martin Professorship

Farm Walk, Seed-saving Workshop, Sept. 8 Join Nash Huber on a tour of his farm Sept. 8 and discover how growing on-farm seed is a viable diversification strategy that can build a farm’s financial and environmental sustainability. Nash’s Organic Produce began maintaining their signature carrot variety “Nash’s Best” ten years ago and since then has […]