Agriculture

  September 2023

Wireworms Pester New Farmers – Part 2

Editor’s Note: Whatcom Watch has entered a cooperative agreement with Salish Current. When possible, we will share each other’s content. Salish Current, an online-only news organization, covers the North Sound area and Whatcom Watch mainly covers Whatcom County issues. This … Continue reading

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  August 2023

Wireworms Pester New Farmers

Editor’s Note: Whatcom Watch has entered a cooperative agreement with Salish Current. When possible, we will share each other’s content. Salish Current, an online-only news organization, covers the North Sound area and Whatcom Watch mainly covers Whatcom County issues. This … Continue reading

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  March 2023

Water Rights, Adjudication, and Whatcom County Agriculture

by Craig MacConnell Our maritime region accumulates the most biomass (accumulated living and dead lifeforms) per square foot as any place on Earth. This is due to several factors centered around temperature, precipitation and daylength coupled with productive soils and … Continue reading

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  January 2023

Consumer Food Choices and Voices Matter

by Judy Hopkinson One of the most powerful tools available for combatting climate change is the opportunity to transform current agricultural practices. Agriculture accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than several forms of transportation combined. (1) Yet, farmland could become a … Continue reading

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  April 2021

USA/Canada Team Up to Eliminate Giant Hornets

USA/Canada Team Up to Eliminate Giant Hornets The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), an invasive pest that threatens pollinators and ignores international borders, is the focus of an international effort to eradicate it in the Pacific Northwest. That’s why, in … Continue reading

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  March 2018

A Paradigm Shift From Industrial Agriculture to Diversified Agroecological Systems

Lead Author: Emile A. Frison The following excepts were obtained from a report by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food).The complete 96 page report can be acquired at www.ipes-food.org/images/Reports/UniformityToDiversity_FullReport.pdf. Key Messages • Today’s food and farming systems … Continue reading

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  June 2017

Our Environmental Future Depends on Viable Local Farms

by Fred Likkel and Brad Rader In the April 2017 issue of Whatcom Watch, one of the leaders of RE Sources effectively presented the environmental group’s position on dairy farming. Simply put, their position is that most of our 90-some … Continue reading

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  February 2017

State Water Quality Permit Sacrifices Public Health

The coalition backing the following statement includes Citizens for a Healthy Bay, Friends of the Earth, Sierra Club, the Center for Food Safety, Snake River Waterkeeper, OneAmerica, the Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, Aqua Permanenté, the Waterkeeper Alliance, the Center for … Continue reading

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  July 2016

Irrigation Dominates Whatcom Water Use

Whatcom County faces a variety of water supply, water quality and fish habitat problems. Understanding and resolving these problems require a detailed and accurate knowledge of who uses water, for what purposes and when. Irrigation is the largest – and … Continue reading

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  April 2016

Organic Commodities Less Risky than Conventional

by Bill Davison Editor’s Note: The following was originally published under Local Food Frontier, Local Food Systems and Small Farms, “Ag Lender Cites Organic Commodities as Less Risky than Conventional” http://web. extension.illinois.edu/lmw/eb343/ entry_10550/ Reprinted with per­mission. by Bill Davison Changes … Continue reading

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