nrcs

After such a strong start to the snow season, things have turned quiet, and a little discouraging when it comes to Washington’s snowpack.   “Statewide we're sitting at 92% of normal; that is down from 106% just one month ago.  And that's jus...

What are the unique challenges when studying soil, and how difficult is it to determine cause and affect when addressing so many variables at once?  USDA's Devin A. Rippner talks about the unique challenges he's facing in today's PNW Ag Network Wine Minute.  ...

The Idaho snowpack is looking really good for the mid-way portion in the 2022-2023 snow year.  Erin Whorton, NRCS Idaho, said most of the basins are at or above normal for this time of year.  The only three basins not at average are in the northern portion of the state, where the Northern Panhandle, Spokane, and Clearwater are all below 100% for mid-January.   With these...

Some basins have seen a drop, percentage wise, in their snowpack from December to this month.  Most of that decrease occurring in western Oregon.   So, why the drop?   “So, we have been seeing some warmer temperatures in comparison to what we had in November and December," noted Matt Warbritton is with NRCS Oregon. "But we're just getting ...

The next deadline for Conservation Stewardship Program applications to be considered for funding this year is February 10th.  Through CSP, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service helps farmers, ranchers and forest landowners earn payments for expanding conservation activities while maintaining agricultural production on their land.  The Departmen...

The Washington snowpack is looking good for this time of year.   But good is not great.   Scott Pattee with NRCS Washington said December was a bit of a letdown after such as strong start to the snow year in November.   “Quite a bit less than it was last month.  But surprisingly, ...

The Oregon snowpack is looking very good for this time of year, that according to Matt Warbritton with NRCS-Oregon.  He noted that all basins across the state right now are reporting averages well above 100% for this time of year, with the basins in the southeastern corner of the state, Lake County-Goose Lake, Harney and Owyhee nearing 200% of average.  Warbrit...

Thanks to several back-to-back systems rolling across the state, Washington’s snowpack is off to a great start.  Scott Pattee with NRCS Washington said the current snowpack is 132% of average, and those figures are fairly evenly distributed across the state.   "The h...

NRCS is encouraging Idaho farmers to participate in no-till November.   “We're excited to borrow from the no shave November, because in agriculture we have our own version of stubble, after harvest," said Mindi Rambo with NRCS-Idaho.  "And so ...

Many in farm country know the type, and extent of, conservation practices being employed by farmers.   “But the next logical step is to understand why producers are adopting or not adopting conservation practices.”   Dan Mullarkey with NRCS said to try to answer that question, USDA surveyed 34,000 crop producers as well as livestock confinement operators this spring and summer.  And the USDA has j