Western Region

June 2014

The Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center

Waste to Worth 2015 Conference:

Advancing Sustainability in Animal Agriculture

Find more info, register and submit an abstract at:

www.wastetoworth.org

Welcome to the Animal Agriculture in a Changing Climate Western Region e-newsletter containing current news and relevant information regarding agriculture and climate change that you might have missed.

Be sure to visit www.animalagclimatechange.org for new information and resources including current videos, fact sheets and new blog posts from our friends in the Midwest and Southeast.

If you haven't done so already, register for the free Animal Agriculture and Climate Change online course! Scroll to the bottom of the page or visit the website to find more information.

Insight and Action Straight From the Field

Ask a California Farmer About Climate Change (ContraCostaTimes.com article) If there's any group that doesn't have to be sold on the idea that government must address the effects of climate change, it's farmers." Anybody who's paying attention knows the climate has already changed," says Daniel Sumner, director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center at UC Davis. And farmers, of course, pay excruciatingly close attention to the weather.

Agriculture and Climate Change in Iowa (NRDC, YouTube video) Matt Russell is a 5th generation farmer based in Lacona, Iowa, where he raises organic cattle and produces eggs, poultry and produce. He is the State Food Policy Project Coordinator at Drake University Agricultural Law School in Des Moines.

Soil Carbon Cowboys

Excellent documentary video on ranchers managing their land and cattle through rotating pastures and soil health. (Vimeo video)

Meet Allen Williams, Gabe Brown and Neil Dennis - heroes and innovators! These ranchers now know how to regenerate their soils while making their animals healthier and their operations more profitable. They are turning ON their soils, enabling rainwater to sink into the earth rather than run off. And these turned ON soils retain that water, so the ranches are much more resilient in drought. It's an amazing story that has just begun.

Whom Will Heat Stress Hit Hardest?

Researchers at the University of Washington have been working with a model that allows them to predict changes in temperature in various locations across the U.S. (Hoards Dairymen Magazine, article by Tamilee Nennich, Guillaume Mauger, Yoram Bauman and Eric Salathe) Climate prediction models can help farmers plan ahead and work to reduce the potential impacts a changing environment will have on the dairy industry. Understanding the projected changes in climate can help farmers be more proactive in planning for the future needs of their herd.

Animal Agriculture and Climate Change Online Course

Know of anyone who should receive this email? Please contact:

Liz Whitefield
Washington State University
Livestock Nutrient Management Program
e.whitefield@wsu.edu

253.445.4562