REACCH Annual Report | Year 3 Regional Approaches to Climate Change for Pacific Northwest Agriculture Climate Science Northwest Farmers Can Use www.reacchpna.org February 15, 2013 - February 14, 2014 1 REACCH Annual Report | Year 3 Cover photos by Alison Meyer, AlisonMeyerPhotography.com Report design by Melissa Rockwood/Rdesign, Moscow Idaho Photo by Brad Stokes Edited by Kristy Borrelli, Dianne Daley Laursen, Sanford Eigenbrode, Bob Mahler, and Brad Stokes B REACCH Annual Report | Year 3 Welcome to REACCH: Project overview Sanford Eigenbrode, Project Director ([email protected]) UI ome of the most productive wheat land in the world can cereal farmers and their associates. Our aim is to conduct the best Sbe found in the inland Pacific Northwest (IPNW) region, agricultural science relevant to regional climate projections and which includes northern Idaho, north central Oregon, and east- the needs for adaptation and mitigation, and extend this science ern Washington. The tremendous importance of cereal-based ag- to stakeholders. riculture greatly impacts local economies, and influences regional Our third annual report provides a compendium of 41 short culture and communities. The REACCH project is designed to reports representative of activity underway across all of our project enhance the sustainability of cereal production systems in the areas. It is designed to convey the breadth and depth of the project, IPNW under ongoing and projected climate change, while con- and to emphasize the immediate or near term impacts this work tributing to climate change mitigation by reducing emissions of can have or is having for our region’s producers, educators and greenhouse gases. REACCH is a comprehensive response to the other stakeholders. The report is also intended to initiate the nec- implications of climate change for the already challenging task of essary two-way conversation between scientists, extension educa- managing cereal production systems for long-term profitability. tors, producers, teachers and other users of our information. We Scientists from many disciplines including engineering, climate invite you to follow up with ideas or other responses you may have science, agronomy, sociology and economics, are working to- to these articles through our website (www.reacchpna.org), or by gether to ensure greater relevance of the information to regional talking with REACCH researchers and students or our stakeholder advisory group mem- bers. We are proud of what REACCH is accom- plishing and are deeply committed to producing results that will be use- ful to Pacific Northwest agriculture. New Systems GHG Emissions Soil Carbon Resilience Sustainability The REACCH project in overview. If the REACCH project in our region before. How will wheat production systems could be represented in a single figure, it might look like need to change to adapt to this shift? The project is using this. The maps at the top show the climatically determined a transdisciplinary approach (involving social and biological production zones of the REACCH region in their approximate sciences, stakeholder involvement, Extension and education) distribution in 1990 (on the left) and in 2050 (on the right). to help this happen in a way that remains profitable, Warmer summers and wetter winters cause these zones to conserves the soil resource, increases resilience, and reduces shift, and create a new zone (in red) that has not existed emissions that can exacerbate climate change. i REACCH Annual Report | Year 3 REACCH goals Project Goal: Enhance sustainability of cereal production systems in the inland Pacific Northwest under ongoing and projected climate change, while contributing to climate change mitigation by reducing emissions of greenhouse gasses. Supporting Goals: • Adaptation: Develop and implement sustainable agricultural practices for cereal production within existing and projected agroecological zones throughout the IPNW. • Mitigation: Contribute to climate change mitigation through improved fertilizer, fuel, and pesticide use efficiency, increased sequestration of soil carbon, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions consistent with NIFA’s 2030 targets. • Participation: Work with producers, stakeholders and policymakers to promote practical, science-based agricultural approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation. • Education: Increase the number of scientists, educators and extension professionals with the skills and knowledge to address climate change and its interactions with agriculture. Partners and collaborators • 4 Institutions • 3 States • 25 Project investigators, • 30 Graduate students and postdocs • 12 Academic departments at three land-grant universities, and the USDA-ARS. Scientific Advisory Panel members: Karen Garrett, Kansas State University; Matt Baker, Texas Tech University; Phil Robertson, REACCH team and stakeholders at WSU Cook Farm Michigan State University; Richard Howitt, UC Davis; Rich Jones, Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Company; Senthold Asseng, University of Florida Full Biographies can be found at: https://www.reacchpna.org/ about-reacch/ Stakeholder Advisory Committee members: A diverse group of local producers and people involved in climate and sustainable Contact us at: [email protected] agriculture NGO’s, grower support industries and associations, supply companies and cooperatives, state agencies, tribal associations, federal agencies and K-12 teachers. REACCH Research Areas: Modeling Framework, Greenhouse Gas Monitoring, Cropping Systems, Economic and Social Factors, Biotic Factors, Education (K-12, undergraduate, graduate), Extension, Cyberinfrastructure, Data Management and Technology, Agroecozone Modeling and Life Cycle Analyses. ii REACCH Annual Report | Year 3 he most important and impactful period for the REACCH Tproject is just beginning. This report highlights our transition from project establishment to our next phase: generating and communicating research results useful for our stakeholders in managing risks and opportunities in the context of climate change. Collaboration with multiple stakeholders with diverse backgrounds, interests and experiences helps us meet the needs of our agricultural communities. We are always interested in hearing your questions, concerns and ideas. Contact us anytime! To get involved or for more information visit: www.reacchpna.org Highlights of impacts, outcomes of REACCH Goals key for this list: • Increased regional use of stripper headers due to the Ralston high residue farming project (A,P) Adaptation • Increased interest in growing winter legumes in the drier AEZs (A,P) • Increased grower awareness of specific diseases, pathogens, Mitigation and insect pests of wheat and their potential responses to cli- mate change (A,P) Education • Increased grower awareness of herbicide resistance in downy brome (A,P) • Increased understanding of agriculture and climate change Participation science among extension and other agricultural professionals who interact locally with producers and land managers, based • Improved knowledge among producers of historical and pro- on post-training evaluations (A,M,P) jected changes in PNW climate and implications for agricul- • Increased awareness among teacher participants of the role of ture (A, M, E, P) agriculture and the need for sustainable agricultural systems • Improved understanding by scientists and producers of agro- and better methods to understand and study agricultural sus- ecological zone (AEZ) concepts as an indicator of agriculture’s tainability, based on region-wide survey (E) responses to climate and other factors that influence cropping • Increased skills among these teachers in integrating climate system design and management (A,M,P) change into classroom lessons concerning environmental • Improved understanding by producers of the effects of AEZ factors affecting agroecosystems, resulting from teacher work- on costs of production, profitability and potential for cropping shops (E) systems intensification based on regionwide enterprise budget • Increased capacity of graduate and undergraduate students as- surveys (A,P) sociated with REACCH to work in transdisciplinary research, • Improved knowledge of the integration of oilseed crops into education and extension teams (E) wheat production rotations, as a result of education by the Washington Biofuels Cropping Systems (WBCS) and REACCH (A,P) iii REACCH Annual Report | Year 3 Table of contents Welcome to REACCH: Project overview i REACCH goals ii Partners and collaborators ii Highlight of impacts, outcomes of REACCH iii The big picture Integration is the future 2 Defining agroecological classes for assessing land use dynamics 4 Engagement Climate change and agriculture: What do stakeholders need? 8 Developing resources for farmers, with farmers 10 Cropping systems REACCH long-term research sites 12 Win-win scenarios for farm and climate 14 Conservation management effects on soil organic matter 16 Intensifying grain legume production in dryland cropping systems 18 Nitrogen cycling in crop rotations 20 Precision nitrogen management: Developing science-based practices 22 Socio-economics Cover crops, soil conservation, and prevented planting acres 24 Strategies for wheat producers facing climate change 26 Wheat production challenges and opportunities: Creating a baseline 28 iv REACCH Annual Report | Year 3 Plant protection Climate change loads the dice for Cereal leaf beetle under projected Pacific hot summers 62 Northwest climates 30 Mountain snow and inland