Spudman November/December 2022 - 14
Pacific Northwest
Climate-Smart
Potato Program
By Wes Crandall
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Digging up potatoes by hand
during research projects.
Photos: Oregon State University
O
regon State University (OSU) was
recently awarded a $50 million
grant from USDA in order to
track the benefits of climate-smart
practices within the Pacific Northwest
potato industry.
With the collaboration of University
of Idaho (U of I) and Washington State
University (WSU), tribal nations,
commodity groups and potato
processing businesses, OSU embarks
on a five-year project that is funded by
USDA's Partnerships for Climate-Smart
Commodities program.
While the potato industry is
specifically targeted, other crops, either
through rotation or used as cover crops,
will also be tracked for their benefits.
The key is to look at soil health from a
systems agricultural approach.
" We're looking at the whole package
of the system of what are the typical
crops that are rotated with potatoes, "
said Jeff Steiner, project lead and
director of the OSU Hemp Innovation
Center. " And then, how can that
combination of rotation crops and
additional climate-smart practices be
incorporated to enhance the amount
of organic matter that gets in the
soil, improve the tilth, the nutrient
availability, and reduce water stress. "
Hemp, being a relatively new
crop in the country, is of particular
interest to the project. There still
isn't a lot of information on hemp's
purported conservation value and
equally purported way to sequester
carbon in the soil. It's for this reason
that the team is looking at hemp as
another potential rotation crop, along
with crops - like alfalfa, wheat and
corn - that could fit with potatoes.
Industrial hemp is a burgeoning
market to explore, which is why the
Hemp Innovation Center is leading
the study, partnering with the Hemp
Association of Washington.
There are a few other practices that
the project is researching during the
five-year study, and may include the
augmentation of soils with manures
for compost, using less disturbing
cultural practices, strip cropping, etc.
" When you're putting the cereals
in, instead of tilling, if you're able
to, go in with no till or minimal till, "
said Steiner.
14
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Spudman November/December 2022
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spudman November/December 2022
Spudman November/December 2022 - 1
Spudman November/December 2022 - 1A
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