Oregon State University (OSU) to study farming methods to adapt to climate change

Oregon State University has been named a partner on a US$20 million grant to ensure the long term viability of cereal based farming in the inland Pacific Northwest amid a changing climate.

OSU will receive US$4 million of the total award, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today in Washington, D.C. The other participants are the University of Idaho, Washington State University and the USDA's Agricultural Research Service.

The five-year grant will take a holistic approach to study the relationship between climate change and cereal crops, primarily winter wheat. Researchers will study how climate change might affect cereal crops; how production practices might contribute to or help curb climate change; what farming methods might help these crops withstand climate change; and which factors influence decisions about crop management.

"As a result of this project, the people who produce our food will be better equipped to reduce their carbon footprint and to face the challenges associated with climate change," said Sonny Ramaswamy, the dean of OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine from Perendale Publishers.