WERA_OLD103: Nutrient Management and Water Quality

(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)

Status: Inactive/Terminating

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[04/15/2011] [05/07/2012] [03/27/2013] [05/07/2014] [03/31/2015]

Date of Annual Report: 04/15/2011

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 03/02/2011 - 03/04/2011
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2010 - 09/01/2010

Participants

Robert Flynn, NMSU, Amber Moore, UI, Rob Mikkelsen, IPNI, Jim Walworth, UA, Joan Davenport, WSU, Robert Miller, ALP-MAP, Dan Sullivan, OSU, Troy Bauder, CSUE, Jim Ippolito, USDA-ARS Kimberly, Idaho, Grant Cardon, USU, Gary Peterson, CSUE, Kelli Belden, U-Wyoming, Stuart Pettygrove, U-California, Bryan Hopkins, BYU, Alan Blaylock, Agrium AT, Nat Dellavalle, Dellavalle Lab, Inc., Jonathan Deenik, Univ. of Hawaii, Terry Tindall, J.R. Simplot, Dan Nelson, Soiltest Labs, Jason Ellsworth, Wilbur-Ellis Co., Clain Jones, MSU, Sebastian Braum, Yara, Don Horneck, OSU

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

ALP-MAP-CAP Proficiency Programs The 2011 Agricultural Laboratory Proficiency (ALP) program enrollment has increase 12% over 2011, with 68 laboratories. The scope of analytical methods have increased to 128 analytical test methods with the inclusion of two new soil test methods. The ALP program has procured sixty-nine soils for future program cycles over the next four years. This includes new soil collections from Alaska, Montana, Michigan, Connecticut, and Maine. Since 2006 the program has collected and/or utilized soils from forty-six states and Canadian provinces. For 2011 ALP will be shipping five soils with one each representing the western, midwest, southeast and northeastern United States, with the fifth designated based on soil chemical properties. A test method for soil nematode analysis has been drafted for development of a future lab proficiency program. In conjunction with the Soil and Plant Analysis Council two laboratory workshops were conducted in the past year. The Manure Analysis Proficiency program has an enrollment of 65 labs enrolled and is administered by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). The program is required for laboratories seeking formal certification of manure testing by MDA, and a requirement of NRCS Nutrient Management Code 590 and labs testing dairy manure in California. In 2009 the MAP program added electrical conductivity 1:5, nitrate analysis, extractable chloride and sulfate sulfur. These methods have been included to meet California Water Quality Control Board Requirements for Dairy Regulations. With support of the California Water Quality Control Board, the dairy manure nutrient management methods manual covering, soil and botanical analysis has been published, listed at: http://anlab.ucdavis.edu/docs/uc_analytical_methods.pdf. Authors are Holstege, Miller Meyer, and Price. Methods include: manure total nitrogen (two methods), P, K, NH4-N, Cl and SO4-S; soil NO3-N, total phosphorus, electrical conductivity and pH; and botanical total N, P, K and NO3-N. Each method is described in twelve sections, covering the scope of analysis, equipment, reagents, procedure, quality control, accuracy, safety and literature references. Arizona Research: A soil-applied zinc fertilization program for Arizona pecans. James Walworth. Assessing and managing the health risks of irrigation water in the lower Colorado River basin. Charles Sanchez, Jorge Fonseca and Sadhana Ravishankar. Assessing the dynamics of microbial populations in irrigation water within the Yuma Valley. Kurt D. Nolte and Jorge Fonseca. Biochar as a soil amendment in semi-arid soils. Janick Artiola, Bob Freitas, and Craig Rasmussen. Determination of ET for durum wheat using weighing lysimeters. Charles Sanchez and Paul Brown. Determining growth characteristics and yield potential of Round-Up Ready alfalfa varieties for desert production schemes. Kurt Nolte. Determining the soil sampling procedures for preplant phosphorus applications in desert lettuce production. Kurt Nolte and Charles Sanchez. Development of forage sorghum tissue testing for efficient fertilization. Mike Ottman and James Walworth. Deficit Irrigation of seashore paspalum and bermudagrass for golf course turf. James Walworth, David Kopec, and Paul Brown. Characterization of spatial variation in wheat yield and protein using soil and plant sensors. Pedro Andrade Sanchez and Michael Ottman. Cotton seed size and nitrogen use. Guangyao (Sam) Wang. Determination of optimal nitrogen requirements and leaf tissue nutrient levels for Medjool date palm. Glenn Wright. Effects of N stabilizing products on protein and yields of desert durum wheat. Charles Sanchez. Evaluating heat treated manure in Yuma vegetable production. Kurt D. Nolte. Evaluation of nitrogen fertilization practices for surface-irrigated lemon trees. Glenn Wright. Evaluation of efficient irrigation strategies for alfalfa in the lower Colorado River region. Charles Sanchez and Michael Ottman. Evaluation of EarthStone foamed glass crop substrate. Gene A Giacomelli, Pete Waller, Markus Tuller, Paula Costa, Pat Rorabaugh, and Merle Jensen Field distribution of soil and plant variables affecting wheat grain protein content and yield: A field-scale study to improve farm management. Pedro Andrade Sanchez and Michael Ottman. Growth responses and nitrogen uptake of saltgrass (Distichlis spicata L.), a true halophyte, under salinity stress conditions using 15N technique. Mohammad Pessarakli and David Kopec. Improved P fertilization practices for cool season vegetables. Charles Sanchez. Influence of inorganic nitrogenfertilization on petroleum biodegradation in a contaminated sub-antarctic soil. James Walworth, Ian Snape (Australian Antarctic Division), and John Rayner (Australian Antarctic Division). Integrating organic production with subsurfacedrip irrigation: Meeting the challenge. James Walworth and Russell Tronstad. Managing N application for desirable grain protein content in durum wheat using image processing and canopy reflectance. Guangyao (Sam) Wang, Mario Gutierrez, Michael Ottman, and KellyThorp. Manure-Nitrogen-Zinc Interaction in Pecans. James Walworth. Modeling soil erosion and sediment yield in rangeland environments. Phil Guertin. Non-destructive estimation of cotton plant growth and Nitrogen status. Pedro Andrade Sanchez, Edward Martin, and Guangyao (Sam) Wang. Novel measurement techniques for continuous monitoring of greenhouse gasemissions from agricultural feeding operations in the Western U.S.. Scott Jones (Utah State University), Rhona Miller (Utah State University), Markus Tuller, and James Walworth. Precision canopy and water management of specialty crops through sensor-based decision making. Pedro Andrade Sanchez, Edward Martin, Murat Kacira, James Walworth, and Trent Teegerstrom Quantifying Evaporation & Wind Drift from Desert Turf Irrigation Systems. Paul Brown. Quantifying Water Losses Due to Spray Evaporation from Desert Turf Irrigation Systems. Paul Brown. Reducing cadmium accumulation in durum wheat grown in Arizona. Guangyao (Sam) Wang, Michael Ottman, R. Chaney, Charles Sanchez, and M. Spiller. Relating spatial patterns of vegetation and soil properties with runoff and erosion on ecological sites in Southeastern Arizona. Phil Guertin Response of wheat and barley varieties to phosphorus fertilizer. Michael Ottman. Roles of salinity stress and pathogen population diversity in development of rapid blight disease of turfgrass in the southwestern United States. Mary Olsen, F.P. Wong (University of California Riverside), G. W. Douhan, (University of California Riverside), David Kopec, and Natalie Goldberg (New Mexico State University). Sampling methods for optimizing soil test based phosphorus fertilizer recommendations for lettuce. Charles Sanchez and Kurt Nolte. Soil compaction reduction of date yields. Pedro Andrade Sanchez and Glenn Wright. Soil test calibration and fertility management for chiles. Jeffrey Silvertooth. Soil Zinc fertilization in young pecan trees in a newly-planted orchard. James Walworth. Suboptimal irrigation strategies for alfalfa in the lower Colorado region. Michael Ottman. Using weighing lysimeters for determination of evapotranspiration for vegetable crops in the lower Colorado River region. Paul Brown and Charles Sanchez. Water use efficiency of forage sorghum grown with sub-optimal irrigation. Michael Ottmann Zinc Fertigation in Pecan Trees in Calcareous Soil. James Walworth. Brigham Young University Ongoing Research: Improving N use efficiency with various slow and control release fertilizers and impacts on yield, crop quality, N2O and NH3 gas loss, NO3 leaching: potato, corn, turfgrass Improving P use efficiency with organic acids and dicarboxylic acid polymer and impacts on yield and crop quality: potato, sugarbeet, bean, corn, turfgrass, alfalfa, peach, apple, cherry Utilization of NDVI to identify water and nutrient stress in turfgrass Degradation of munitions constituents as a function of soil fertility factors California Accomplishments for multi-state CSREES report: 1. The California Certified Crop Adviser program offered an exam to CCAs in support of the newly established Specialty Certification in Manure Management. Performance objectives are posted at http://manuremanagement.ucdavis.edu. The exam was offered in February 2010 and taken by 26 CCAs and again in August 2010 and taken by 7 CCAs. 2. Material continues to be posted on a searchable website, Nutrient Management for Vegetable, Fruit & Nut Crops (http://groups.ucanr.org/nutrientmanagement/index.cfm.). This website was produced by Tim Hartz, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis. Literature includes peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed extension materials, journal papers, and conference proceedings, e.g., a link to the Western Nutrient Management Conference Proceedings is included. Materials may be searched by crop category and by topic. Topics include fertilizer management, fertilizer technology, soil fertility, and soil & plant testing. 3. A bibliography of extension literature in the Western US that provides soil and plant tissue testing interpretive guidelines has been compiled and will be presented by Stu Pettygrove at the March 2, 2011 WERA-103 meeting. Ongoing Research Nitrate in Drinking Water in the Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley (2010-2012, Thomas Harter, Principal Investigatory. Funded by State Water Resources Control Board). Potassium nutrition of wine grapes (S. Pettygrove, A.T. OGeen, R.J. Southard, P.S. Verdegaal, and C. Ingels, UCD Dept. of Land, Air & Water Resources and UC Cooperative Extension) Funded by Lodi Winegrape Commission Relationship of soil K fixation and other soil properties to fertilizer K rate requirement. (2011-13, S. Pettygrove and R.J. Southard. LAWR. Funded by California Dept of Food & Agriculture FREP) Colorado Active remote sensing for rapid evaluation of apparent nitrogen use efficiency in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes Personnel: Raj Khosla, M. Nasser, L. Longchamps, M. Moragues, S. Haley and R. Reich. Contact: Raj.Khosla@Colostate.Edu Active remote sensing has been documented as a means to improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by improving rate and timing of N-fertilizer application. Recent literature discusses another promising way of enhancing global NUE by selecting crop genotypes that exhibit superior traits for NUE. The main objective of this on-going research study is to investigate the possibility of using active remote sensing to screen winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes based on NUE. Our study demonstrated that normalized difference vegetation index, as measured by GreenSeeker", allowed classification and identification of winter wheat genotypes that are superior in nitrogen use efficiency. Future research in varied environments would be needed to confirm the results of this study. Nevertheless this study demonstrates the potential for a new application of active remote sensing technology for screening crop genotypes exhibiting superior nitrogen use efficiency. Nutrients and Water Quality: A Region 8 Collaborative Workshop Salt Lake City, Utah February 15-17, 2011 R. Waskom, J. Kallenberger, M.L. Smith, N. Mesner, G. Paige, J. Bauder, A. Sigler, R. Johnson and T. Bauder Contact: reagan.waskom@colostate.edu Agencies and land grant universities in the six states of EPA Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY) hosted a three-day workshop on February 15 -17, 2011 to explore the science and institutional context regarding nutrients and water quality. The goal of the workshop was to build a better informed and more tightly linked community of nutrient researchers, regulators, managers, policy makers and stakeholders leading to collaborative approaches for developing and achieving nutrient controls and management. An online survey of workshop participants is being conducted to measure the impact of this program. Survey results, presentations, and a workshop report will be available at the workshop website: www.cwi.colostate.edu/nutrients. Organic Forage Management T. Hurisso, M. Booher, D. Goldhamer, D. Widiastuti, J. Brummer, F. Stonaker, M. Mikha, M. Stromberger, and J. Davis Contact: Jessica.davis@colostate.edu There are a limited number of organic forage producers in Colorado, thus organic dairies are faced with a shortage of high-quality, locally-produced organic forage. This study was conducted to determine how to optimize manure and compost use in organic forage production systems. The effect of raw and composted dairy manure on soil quality including soil aggregation, C and N pools, and earthworm abundance and distribution was evaluated within both annual and perennial production systems. A warm-season annual forage production system may provide growers with an opportunity to expand their markets while also providing dairies with a local source of organic forage; however, the issues of weed control and legume establishment must be rectified. Overall, the inclusion of manure or compost application can improve soil quality; however, tillage must be minimized in order for significant gains to be realized. The results highlight the importance of high quality (low C/N ratio) dairy manure in supporting higher abundance of endogeic earthworms; results also emphasize the importance of soil salinity as a potential limiting factor for endogeic earthworms when composted dairy manure is topdressed at higher rates on perennial forage. Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI) in Grand Valley Peach Orchards to reduce salt and selenium loading to the Colorado River. Denis Reich, Colorado Water Institute / CSU Extension Denis.Reich@Colostate.edu; Wayne Guccini, Mesa Conservation District. The Grand Valley of Western Colorado has been a focus area for reducing salt loading to waterways. Salts or Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) are flushed out of alkaline Mancos Shale soils by irrigation return flows. Salinity (the presence of salt) impacts the quality of downstream irrigation water and remediation of this problem has typically focused on improved irrigation efficiency through technology upgrades and improved Irrigation Water Management (IWM). These efforts have recently expanded to include selenium control, a contaminant that coexists with salt in soils but impacts aquatic life rather than downstream irrigators. Effect of Irrigation Water Salinity on the Yield and Quality of Watermelon and Muskmelon in the Arkansas River Valley. Michael E. Bartolo. Arkansas Valley Research Center, CSU Arkansas Valley Research Center. Contact: michael.bartolo@colostate.edu Watermelons and muskmelons are important fresh market crops in the Arkansas Valley of Colorado. Growers are increasingly using drip irrigation to produce these crops as a means to improve overall production. Concurrent with the conversion to drip irrigation, growers have switched to ground water for irrigation instead of the traditional surface water sources. Ground water is temporally more reliable than surface water and is relative free of particulates. Both characteristics make ground water more amenable for use in drip systems. Unfortunately, ground water sources contain 2 to 3 times the amount of soluble salts than surface waters. Our studies suggest that watermelon and muskmelon response to relatively saline irrigation water in the Arkansas Valley of Colorado may not be as detrimental as that predicted by other studies using waters that were more influenced by the presence of sodium salts. Idaho Ongoing Research: Corn Dr. Amber Moore, Steve Hines, and Christi Falen will continue to evaluate Nutri-Sphere N utilization by field corn, expanding to two Idaho locations (Parma and Kimberly) in 2011. Dr. Rick Lentz and Dr. Jim Ippolito are continuing to investigate the effect of biochar and other organic amendments on soil properties and nutrient uptake for corn and other crops. Potatoes Dr. Amber Moore and Dr. Jim Ippolito will evaluate the copper toxicity potential for potatoes grown on Idaho soils receiving dairy lagoon water applications through a greenhouse study. Sugar beets Dr. Amber Moore, Dr. Don Morishita, and Dr. Oliver Neher will continue to evaluate varying degrees of small grain residue level coverage and nitrogen placement (broadcast vs. shank) on sugar beet yield, quality, and nutrient uptake. Cover crops Dr. Amber Moore, Dr. Glenn Shewmaker, Christi Falen, and Lauren Hunter are conducting incubation studies to validate the Oregon State Universitys Cover Crop Calculator. This project is being conducted in cooperation with Dan Sullivan from OSU. Montana Ongoing Research Urea Volatilization Drs. Rick Engel and Clain Jones are continuing to study ammonia volatilization from urea fertilizer and Agrotain. Preliminary results suggest that substantial urea volatilization occurs on soils near freezing (~20% loss) and losses are prolonged by Montanas lack of substantial precipitation following major urea application times (mid fall and early spring). A survey in MT, WY, and ID has been distributed to learn growers current N management practices that can affect volatilization, as well as learn current knowledge on the topic. WERA-103 participants, Drs. Amber Moore (ID) and Jay Norton (WY), assisted with this survey. This is a potential water quality issue depending on where ammonia deposition occurs. Overwinter Soil Nitrate-N Changes Drs. Jones, Robert Stougaard, Grant Jackson, Mal Westcott, Kent McVay, Chengci Chen, Joyce Eckhoff, Andy Lenssen, Perry Miller and Ms. Peggy Lamb finished up their 3-year study. The results from this research will allow those who fall soil sample to adjust soil N values in determining spring N fertilizer rates. On average soil nitrate-N increased overwinter suggesting using fall soil test levels will overestimate true N needs, yet nitrate losses of up to 60 lb N/ac were found suggesting N leaching. Cropping Systems Drs. Miller, Chen, Buschena and Jones are studying the energetics of N fertilizer use compared to legume N contributions for a USDA-NRI grant. Drs. Perry Miller and Chengci Chen continue to investigate the effect of previous crop (legumes, brassicas, small grains) and crop rotation on N requirements and availability. Dr. Miller, Clain Jones, and Rick Engel are investigating N availability following pea and lentil green manures as part of USDA and state-level grants. Drs. Chen and Jones are studying the effects of tillage on N availability. Nitrogen fixation Dr. Jones is finishing a study on the effects of legume green manure seeding and termination timing on N fixation in a field study. He is also evaluating the effects of phosphorus and mycorrhizae inoculation on N fixation in a greenhouse study. Precision Nutrient Management Dr. Olga Walsh is investigating the effectiveness of optical sensors in assessing the need for topdress applications on small grains. Drs. Westcott and Ken Kephart are studying use of optical sensors for irrigated corn. Nitrogen Use Efficiency Drs. Jones and Miller have been recently funded to measure nitrogen use efficiency for a range of MT cropping systems. Fertilizer source Dr. Jackson evaluated effects of NSN and Avail on irrigated spring wheat and irrigated barley yield and quality. Nutrient insect interactions Drs. David Weaver, Jackson, and Jones evaluated effects of N and P on wheatstem sawfly cutting. New Mexico State University Accomplishments for multi-state NIFA report: Program development chaired by NMSUs Robert Flynn for the 2011 Western Nutrient Management Conference. Ongoing Research: Chile: Boron nutrition for chile. Correlating soil test boron levels with plant response to boron applications. Correlating soil analysis, plant tissue testing, and chile yield to on-farm management practices. Slow Release Nitrogen: Slow Release N product effects on corn and cotton yield and quality Alfalfa: Deficit Irrigation effects on leaf to stem ratio: Variety differences. Canola: Canola response to spring / fall nitrogen application rates Rosemary: Nitrogen and micronutrient effects on Rosemary production and antioxidant value. Oregon New and Current Projects: Nutrient management guides in preparation or revision Crop Topic Project Leader(s) Perennial ryegrass Nutrient management guide for perennial ryegrass Hart Kentucky bluegrass Nutrient management for Kentucky Bluegrass (eastern Oregon) Horneck Green beans Nutrient management guide for green beans Hart Forages Revise eastern Oregon wet meadow guide to reflect data collected by Jay Carr. Other OSU faculty authors: Mike Gamroth, Dustin Johnson and David Bohnert. Hart Wheat Soft white wheat nutrient management guide (western Oregon) Anderson/Hart All Soil test interpretation guide Sullivan/Hart All pH and soil acidity concepts in western Oregon Anderson/Hart Washington State University Accomplishments for multi-state CSREES report: " (Koenig) We completed a research project on production of leafy green vegetables in Washington State (with extensions of the research in Alaska and Idaho). Results have been/are being published in 3 peer-reviewed articles (with 1 in review and 2 in preparation). This research focused on practices for winter production as well as implications of light intensity and duration, species, and fertility management on nitrate concentration in edible tissue. Two MS students have received their degrees in this project. " (Koenig) This will probably be reported on by Idaho but Glen Shewmaker completed a comprehensive and outstanding publication titled Pasture and Grazing Management in the Northwest (PNW Bulletin 0614). Many WERA members contributed chapters or parts of chapters. Ongoing Research: " (Cogger) Nitrogen availability from heat-dried biosolids. Field study completed and manuscript submitted. We found that heat-dried biosolids had higher N availability than other types of biosolids, and higher than reported in previous studies. " (Cogger) Cover crops as a source of nitrogen in organic vegetable production systems. MS thesis completed by Andrew Lawson; manuscripts in preparation. This project evaluated effects of blend ratio and planting date of rye-hairy vetch blends on available N to sweet corn crop. " (Cogger) Cover crops in reduced tillage organic vegetable production. New project. Preliminary field work in 2010 identified flailing as a possible alternative to rolling/crushing for terminating cover crops without herbicides or tillage west of Cascades. A joint WSU-OSU team submitted a proposal to the OREI (second submission). " (Cogger) Long-term effects of biosolids applications on available N, C sequestration, and soil quality. Sites are include dryland wheat-fallow in Douglas County (started 1994) and irrigated tall fescue in Puyallup (started 1993). Both sites show long-term increased soil C and N and increased available N compared with plots that received only inorganic N. " (Davenport) Nitrogen Rates for Concord Grape Production. Second year of multi-year proposal looking to optimize N rates in Concord. To date data suggest productivity at 12 T/A (state average 8T/A) can be sustained on between 40-60 lbs/A N per year. " (Davenport) Winegrape Nutrition: Deficiency Symptoms and Micronutrient Response Third year of four year study inducing nutrient deficiencies in red (Cab Sauv) and white (Semillion) wine grapes. Ca deficiency was the first to be visible, and N, P, S and Zn were visible by the end of the third season. Red grapes tended to show more red in the leaf tissue in response to nutrient stress. " (Davenport) Micronutrient supplements for Concord Grape Completed project which evaluatede granular vs foliar applications of B, Zn, and Cu in Concord grape. Results suggest only foliar B was of advantage and that combining all three elements was not og benefit. " (Davenport) Examination of Late Season Applications of Organic or Conventional Nitrogen Sources Foliar application late in the season on two commercial grape vineyards (Merlot and Riesling) with a history of low N. The late season applications did not increase vine vigor but did influence wine flavor. Low N in Washington wine grapes often leads to stuck fermentation and off flavors in wines. " (Davenport) Developing a Grape Site Selection Tool Using GIS This model will be completed by August 2011. " (Davenport) Direct-seeding legumes into orchards alleys for nitrogen production A two year study with Kura, White, and Ladino clovers, alfalfa and grass. Covers were blown into row alleys and in-season N monitored. Maintaining stand may be a problem with alfalfa for long term production. " (Davenport) Developing irrigation management strategies for vineyards with limited or impaired water sources. New project funded through SCRI grant. Working collaboratively with colleagues in California to evaluate reducing water inputs and the potential impact of saline water on juice, raisin, talbe, and wine grapes. " (Koenig) Soil acidity and implications for nutrient management in the inland Pacific Northwest. Soil pH continues to decline across the dryland/rainfed production areas of eastern Washington-northern Idaho. This ongoing research is focused on understanding the implications of pH decline in terms of crop growth and nutrient cycling and management, primarily in cereal and grain legume rotations. Wyoming Ongoing Research Funded Projects Soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in organic crop and forage production of the Northern High Plains Ecoregion, Wyoming and Nebraska (Co-PI). USDA-NIFA Organic Transitions Program, 2010-2012, PD: Urszula Norton, Plant Sciences, Co-PIs: John Ritten, Ag & Applied Econ; Axel Garcia y Garcia, Plant Sciences; Stephen Del Grosso, USDA-ARS Ft. Collins; Gary Hergert, University of Nebraska, Scotts Bluff Research Station. Legume adoption practices in western central United States: economic and environmental benefits in face of increased climatic variability: Planning grant for Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP) proposal, (Co-PI). USDA-AFRI Climate Change Program, 2010-2011. Carbon-rich soil amendments for ecological restoration of drastically disturbed rangeland sites (PD), University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station Competitive Grant, 2011-2012, Co-PIs: Brian Mealor, Plant Sciences, Peter Stahl, Renewable Resources, Matt Andersen, Ag & Applied Econ, Jennifer Faulkner, MS student. Development and transfer of conservation agriculture production systems for small-holder farms in eastern Uganda and western Kenya (PD), USAID Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program, 2009-2014, UW Co-PIs: Eric Arnould and Melea, UW Sustainable Business Practices Program; Dannele Peck, Ag & Applied Economics Dept., Urszula Norton, Plant Sciences Department. African Partners: Bernard Bashasha, Makerere University; J.R. Okalebo, Moi University; NGOs: AT Uganda, SACRED Africa, Manor House Agricultural Center. Understanding disruption and recovery of ecological structure and functioning for restoration of disturbed Wyoming ecosystems. UW School of Energy Resources Graduate Assistantship Grant Program, two-year PhD assistantship, 2009-2012, Jay Norton (PD), Matt Andersen, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics; Jeff Beck, Ren. Res. Dept. Reclaiming Wyoming: Reclamation 101 and 102 Workshops for Professionals. UW Cooperative Extension Service Competitive Grant, 2008-2011, Jay Norton (PD), Lachy Ingram, former WRRC research associate, Calvin Strom, & Peter Stahl,. Benchmark Soilscapes to Predict Effects of Climatic Change in the Western USA: A collaborative project among western soil scientists and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, CRIS Multi-state research funds, UW-AES, and USDA-NRCS, 2008 ongoing, Jay Norton and Larry Munn. Marketing opportunities and constraints confronting organic farming operations in the semiarid Northern High Plains and Intermountain region in Wyoming and Western Nebraska (Co-PI), USDA Organic Research and Extension Initiative, PD: Eric Arnould, Co-PIs: Melea Press, John Ritten; Transition to organic and reduced input crop-range-livestock systems in the High Plains, USDA-NRI Managed Ecosystems Program, December 19, 2007, 2008-2012, Co-PIs/collaborators: Jay Norton (PD), Gary Franc, Plant Sciences Dept; Bret Hess, Anim. Sci. Dept.; John Hewlett, Agric. & Appl. Econ. Dept.; Thijs Kelleners, Ren. Res. Dept.; Andrew Kniss, Plant Sci. Dept.; James Krall, Plant Sci. Dept.; Alex Latchininsky, Ren. Res. Dept.; Dallas Mount, CES; Ginger Paige, Ren. Res. Dept.; Steven Paisley, Anim. Sci. Dept.; Dannele Peck & Ben Rashford, Agric. & Appl. Econ. Dept.; Mike Smith, Ren. Res. Dept.; Rik Smith, Plant Sci. Dept.; Peter Stahl, Ren. Res. Dept.; Calvin Strom, CES; Naomi Ward, Molecular Biology Dept.; and Southeastern Wyoming Producers Tim Bartel, David Hinman, and Byron Yeik; Effects of cropping-system, irrigation method, and soil properties on soil nitrogen and organic matter dynamics in the Big Horn Basin, University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station Competitive Grants Program, 2008-2010, Co-PIs: Jay Norton (PD) Abdel Mesbah, Director, Powell REC; Dannele Peck, Agric. & Appl. Econ. Dept.; Gary Franc, Plant Sci. Dept.; K.J. Reddy, Ren. Res. Dept.; Urszula Norton, Ren. Res. Dept.; Sandra Frost and James Gill, Big Horn Basin CES Educators; Effects of cropping-system-related soil moisture and nutrient dynamics on the sustainability of semiarid dryland agriculture, USDA-NRI Soil Processes Program Seed Grant, 2008-2009, Co-PIs: Jay Norton (PD), Peter Stahl, Thijs Kelleners, James Krall, Dannele Peck, Dallas Mount, and Sandra Frost;

Publications

Publications Attachment:

Attachment

Impact Statements

Conducted the biennial Western Nutrient Management Conference in Reno NV. This conference brought agricultural professionals and industry members from the Western Region together for training and communication on nutrient management. There were 85 persons in attendance, which was an increase of 20 persons relative to 2009.
The extensive 2010-2011 publication list indicates that the research on nutrient management recommendations in the Western region is progressing and the information is available to the public.

Date of Annual Report: 05/07/2012

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 03/13/2012 - 03/15/2012
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2011 - 09/01/2012

Participants

Bauder, Troy (troy.bauder@colostate.edu), Colorado State University;
Blaylock, Alan (ablaylock@agriumat.com), Agrium U.S. Inc.;
Cardon, Grant (grant.cardon@usu.edu), Utah State University;
Deenik, Jonathan (jdeenik@hawaii.edu), University of Hawaii;
Dellavalle, Nat (ndellavalle@dellavallelab.com), Dellavalle Laboratroy, Inc.;
Desta, Kefy (desta@wsu.edu), Washington State University;
Ellsworth, Jason (jellsworth@wilburellis.com), Wilbur-Ellis Company;
Flynn, Robert (rflynn@nmsu.edu), New Mexico State University;
Koenig, Richard (richk@wsu.edu), Washington State University;
Pettygrove, Stu - University of California Davis;
Miller, Robert (rmiller@lamar.colostate.edu), CO State Univ. Compost and USGAPT Proficiency Programs;
Moore, Amber (amberm@uidaho.edu), University of Idaho;
Mooso, Galen (galen.mooso@simplot.com), JR Simplot Company;
Pettygrove, Stuart (gspettygrove@ucdavis.edu), University of California Extension;
Sullivan, Dan (dan.sullivan@oregonstate.edu), Oregon State University;
Tarkalson, David (david.tarkalson@ars.usda.gov), USDA-ARS Kimberly Idaho;
Walworth, Jim (walworth@ag.arizona.edu), Univ. of Arizona;

Brief Summary of Minutes

Complete meeting minutes are attached.

All state reports can be viewed in the Additional Documents section on the project's Homepage at: http://lgu.umd.edu/lgu_v2/homepages/attachs.cfm?trackID=12156

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

Short-Term Outcomes WERA-103 successfully hosted the 2011 Western Nutrient Management Conference in Salt Lake City in March. Approximately 110 professionals from universities, industry and federal agencies attended the conference. Over 35 poster and oral presentations were made on topics related to nutrient management, cropping systems and water and air quality interactions. A large proportion of the presentations were made by graduate students, and awards were made for the top student presentations. In 2011, committee representatives wrote two nutrient management digest newsletters. These were widely distributed among nutrient management professionals in the western U.S. via an e-mail list serve. Outputs Collectively, committee representatives reported publication of 77 refereed journal articles; 52 Extension publications; 38 proceedings and abstracts; 1 book chapter; 3 web sites; and 3 theses for a total of 174 publications focused on various aspects of nutrient management. A complete list of publications is included in the state report attachment. Activities The main activity of the group was organization of the Western Nutrient Management Conference in Reno, Nevada. The conference occurred on March 3-4. The conference featured over 35 speakers and over 90 attending, including university, state and federal agency personnel and agriculture industry professionals. WERA 103 members worked with the International Plant Nutrition Institute to host the WERA 103 web site and archive minutes of meetings, proceedings documents, and other products of the committee. The site is currently under construction but will be located at: https://community.ipni.net/site/wera.nsf/events.xsp Members of the Committee agreed to write four articles for the American Society of Agronomys Crops and Soils magazine in 2012. This publication targets certified crop advisors and other agriculture professionals with timely information and recertification study/exam opportunities. The CSA News reaches 15,000 professionals across North America. Committee members Amber Moore and Brad Brown of the University of Idaho developed the Western Nutrient Digest newsletter with contributions from WERA 103 members on nutrient management issues important to western U.S. agricultural systems. Two editions of the newsletter were published in 2011: http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/nutrient/newsletter.html http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/nutrient/pdf/Nutrient%20Digest_Fall2011.pdf The Committee continues to update the Western States Soil Testing Manual and makes this manual available in electronic or hard copy form at www.spcouncil.com. Milestones WERA-103 members generated a master list of nutrient management extension bulletins in the western U.S. These publications address interpretation of soil and tissue tests for the purpose of making nutrient recommendations. The list serves as a reference and resource for committee members and agriculture professionals to seek out information on nutrient management practices. The list also ensures duplication is reduced and gaps in publications can be identified. Committee members split into three groups to discuss progress since the last meeting toward each of the broad objectives outlined below. 1) Develop and/or improve nutrient recommendations for diverse cropping systems based on soil, water and plant analysis results and management strategies in the Western Region. a. Procedures for Objective 1: i. Provide nutrient correlation and calibration data for crops in the region. ii. Work toward uniformity of nutrient use recommendations for similar crop production systems in the region. iii. Evaluate and apply new nutrient analytical and interpretive methodologies. iv. Evaluate the efficacy of new fertilizers and formulations. Report Discussion Topic: What is the process of adopting new methodologies? Do emerging method must have some validity/repeatability prior to being placed on evaluation list? 2012-2013 Objectives: - New model for nutrient recommendations: observational analysis. We need to evaluate how we come up with revised nutrient recommendations with past and limited or no new data, using spatially separated plots. o Partner with private organizations - Recommending new methodologies for testing in seven labs (NAPT program). How do we as a regional committee recommend proficiency validation? We are not promoting the method; we just are saying there is sufficient interest that a method be evaluated. - Western Ag Labs nutrient availability probe method is recommended for evaluation by NAPT for proficiency validation with seven laboratories. Joan Davenport will recommend to NAPT. 2) Promote effective use of soil, water, plant, manure, and compost analytical information. a. Procedures for Objective 1: i. Integrate analytical test results into nutrient management software ii. Maintain and update the Western States Soil etc Testing Manual iii. Review status of soil/plant/water analysis Extension guides and summarize interpretive guidance iv. Explore method for internet distribution of methods manual, analytical interpretation guides etc. Website would be for clientele outreach. Report Need to make the Western States Soil Testing Manual more accessible to a wider audience o Entire manual available on-line: www.spcouncil.com (pdf or hardcopy) o Key methods (limited) for the West available for free WERA-103 site. o Joan Davenport to run WERA-103 website, update. Current WERA 103 website is community.ipni.net/site/wera.nsf/home.xsp 2012-2013 Objectives: Promote effective use of soil plant testing information - Integrate results into nutrient management software Dan Sullivan regional nutrient management software - Maintain Western Regional soil Testing manual -Review status soil water nutrient guides and publications. Develop one searchable database on WERA-103 website for all regional publications. 3) Provide education on the principles of soil-plant-animal-water system management and the tools and practices that lead to sustainable agricultural production. a. Procedures for Objective 3 i. Facilitate regional education among government agencies, private industry and universities through conferences, websites, extension publications, newsletters, and other appropriate media. ii. Disseminate information within the Western Region to extension educators, private agencies (e.g., Certified Crop Advisors) and other interested parties (e.g., K-12 teachers) through conferences, training the trainer opportunities, and access to published interpretive materials. iii. Conduct direct education to agricultural producers through conferences, grower meetings, and published interpretive materials. Report - Discussion: How do we distribute the newsletter? WERA-103 Logo, Information about the committee and list of editors. - Location: Univ. of Idaho website, WERA-103. 2012-2013 Objectives: - Facilitate website transition of WERA-103 website from OSU to WSU Joan Davenport. o Update content on website o Increase visible - Niche articles inclusion in Newsletter? Can be included in one per Newsletter - Take proceedings authors to boil them down to have better readability for a wider audience. - What is our role for K-12 education? There are many organizations who have information on nutrient management. Provide links on website (e.g. Nutrient for life, ag in the classroom). If members have content, send to Joan for inclusion on website.

Publications

2011-2012 publication list adapted from WERA 103 State Reports - March, 2012 Arizona - Research Babcock, E.L. and J.C. Silvertooth. 2011. Soil Testing and Plant Analysis Relationships for Irrigated Chile Production. Soil Testing and Plant Analysis Relationships for Irrigated Chile Production. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis (in press). Bañuelos, J., J.L. Walworth, P.W. Brown, and D.M. Kopec. Deficit Irrigation of Seashore Paspalum and Bermudagrass. 2011. Agronomy Journal 103:1567-1577. Hafsteinsdottira, E.G., D.B. Gore, A.L. Rocavert, and J.L Walworth. Fixation of metals and metalloids by orthophosphate solutions. 2012. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology (in press). Gutierrez M., R. Norton, K.R. Thorp, and G. Wang. 2012. Association of Spectral Reflectance Indices with Plant Growth and Lint Yield in Upland Cotton. Crop Science (in press). Núñez-Moreno, H., J.L. Walworth, and A.P. Pond. 2011. Field Identification and Characterization of Manganese Toxicity in Western Schley Pecan Trees. Acta Horticulturae of the Mineral Nutrition Session (Lisboa 2010 IHC Congress). Silvertooth, J.C., K.F. Bronson, E.R. Norton, and R. Mikkelsen. 2011. Nitrogen Utilization by Western U.S. Cotton. Nitrogen Utilization by Western U.S. Cotton. Better Crops, International Plant Nutrition Institute, 2011(2): 21-23. Soliz, D., E.P. Glenn, R. Seaman, M. Yoklic, S.G. Nelson and P. Brown. 2011. Water Consumption, Irrigation Efficiency and Nutritional Value of Atriplex Lentiformis Grown On Reverse Osmosis Brine in a Desert Irrigation District. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment , 140(34):473-483. Arizona - Extension and popular press Artiola, J.F. 2011. Biosolids Land Use in Arizona. Arizona Cooperative Extension Bulletin. Silvertooth, J.C., E. R. Norton. 2011. Management of Fertilizer Nitrogen in Arizona Cotton Production. Arizona Cooperative Extension Bulletin 1243. Uhlman, K. and J.F. Artiola. 2011. Nitrate Contamination Potential: Implications for Drinking water wells. Arizona Cooperative Extension Bulletin EZ1536. Walworth, J.L. 2011. Salinity Management and Soil Amendments for Southwestern Pecan Orchards. Arizona Cooperative Extension Bulletin AZ1411. Walworth, J.L., A.P. Pond, and M. W. Kilby. 2011. Leaf Sampling Guide with Interpretation and Evaluation for Arizona Pecan Orchards. Arizona Cooperative Extension Bulletin AZ1410. Walworth, J.L. 2011. Soil Structure: The Roles of Sodium and Salts. Soil Structure: The Roles of Sodium and Salts. Arizona Cooperative Extension Bulletin AZ1414. Wang, G., S. Loper, M. Ottman, and J. Walworth. 2011. Pre-plant soil testing for small grains. http://ag.arizona.edu/crops/cotton/files/Pre-plant%20soil%20testing-small%20grains-Final.pptx.pdf Wang, G., M. Ottman, and R.L. Chaney. 2011. Effects of Zn fertilizer on cadmium accumulation in durum wheat. Forage and Grain Report 2011, 58-64. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1559/az1559g.pdf. Wang, G., M. Ottman, and K. Thorp. 2011. Late N management in durum wheat using crop models and canopy reflectance. Forage and Grain Report 2011, 65-72. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1559/az1559h.pdf Walworth, J.L.. 2011. Soil Sampling and Analysis. Soil Sampling and Analysis. Arizona Cooperative Extension publication AZ1412. Banuelos, J.B., J.L. Walworth, P. W. Brown, and D.M. Kopec. 2011. Deficit Irrigation of Seashore Paspalum and Bermudagrass. Deficit Irrigation of Seashore Paspalum and Bermudagrass. Golf Course Management 79(10):98-104. http://digitalgcm.gcsaa.org Walworth, J.L. 2011. Yield and Nut Quality of Hedge Pruned Pecans in Arizona. Yield and Nut Quality of Hedge Pruned Pecans in Arizona. Proceedings of XII Simposio Internacional de Nogal Pecanero - 2011. Hermosillo, MX. September 29-30,2011. Walworth, J.L. 2011. Gypsum and Other Calcium Sources. Gypsum and Other Calcium Sources. United States Golf Association, Green Section Record. California - Research Coates, R. W., P. K. Sahoo, L. J. Schwankl, and M. J. Delwiche. 2012. Fertigation techniques for use with multiple hydro-zones in simultaneous operation. Precision Agriculture 13(2):219-235. Heinrich, A. and G.S. Pettygrove. 2012. Influence of dissolved carbon and nitrogen on mineralization of dilute liquid dairy manure. 76:2012. doi:10.2136/sssaj11.0015 California - Extension Hanson, B., L. Schwankl, and S. Orloff. 2011. Sprinkle irrigation of row and field crops. Pub. 3527 ANR, University of California, Davis. 87 pages. $25, order from anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/Items/3527.aspx S. Pettygrove, Toby OGeen, and R. Southard. 2011. Potassium fixation and its significance for California crop production. Better Crops 95(4):16-18. California - Proceeding and Abstracts 19th Annual Fertilizer Research and Education Program Conference Proceedings. California Dept. of Food & Agriculture. November 16-17, 2011. Tulare, CA. 117 pages. www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/frep.html California Plant and Soil Conference, 2012 Conference Proceedings, Feb. 7-8, 2012, Visalia, CA. 181 pages. California Chapter American Society of Agronomy. Calasa.ucdavis.edu. 181 pages. calasa.ucdavis.edu Californai - Reports Harter, Thomas and Jay Lund. 2012. Addressing Nitrate in Californias Drinking Water with a focus on Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley Groundwater. 92 pages. Center for Watershed Sciences, UC Davis. Groundwaternitrate.ucdavis.edu California - Websites: Nutrient Management for Vegetable, Fruit & Nut Crops, ucanr.org/sites/nm (crop- and topic-searchable literature list that includes Western Nutrient Management Conference proceedings; educational modules created by Tim Hartz on a range of nutrient related topics) Manure Nutrient Management, manure.ucdavis.edu (focus on dairy lagoon water nutrient budgeting) Manure Management for California Certified Crop Advisers, manuremanagement.ucdavis.edu (includes performance objectives for Californias CCA manure specialty certification) Colorado - All Brummer, J.E., Davis, J.G., and Booher, M.R. 2011. Fertilizing cool season grasses and grass/legume mixtures. Colorado State University Extension factsheet 0.522. Cao, Q., Zhenling, C., Chen, X., Khosla, R., Dao, T.H., and Miao, Y. 2011. Quantifying spatial variability of indigenous nitrogen supply for precision nitrogen management in small scale farming. Intl J. of Preci. Ag. DOI 10.1007/s11119-011-9244-3. Delgado, J., Khosla, R., and Mueller, T. 2011. Recent Advances in Precision (Target) Conservation. Featured Article, J. of Soil & Water Consrv. (66) 6 167-170. Hurisso, T.T., Davis, J.G., Brummer, J.E., Stonaker, F.H., Booher, M.R., Goldhamer, D.A., Stromberger, M.E., and Kondratieff, B.C. 2011. Earthworm abundance and species composition in organic forage production systems of northern Colorado receiving different soil amendments. Applied Soil Ecology 47:45-50. Hurisso, T.T. 2011. Evaluation of Soil Fertility and Soil Quality Aspects of Organic Perennial Pastures and Annual Forage Crops. PhD dissertation. Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO. Jat, M.L., Gupta, R., Sahrawat, Y.S., and Khosla, R. 2011. Layering Precision Land Leveling and Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed Planting: Productivity and Input Use Efficiency of Irrigated Bread Wheat in Indo-Gangetic Plains. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2011, 2, **-**. Keske, M.H, Bauder, T. and A. Irrer. 2012. Colorado Nutrient Management Practices 1997-2011: Costs and Technological Advances. Available at: http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/op/wqcc/Hearings/Rulemaking/31_85nutrients/PPHS/31_85pphsWQCDex9.pdf Shaver, T.M., Khosla, R., and Westfall, D. G. 2011. Evaluation of two crop canopy sensors for nitrogen variability determination in irrigated maize. Intl J. of Preci. Ag. DOI 10.1007/s11119-011-9229-2. Hawaii - Research publications Deenik, J. L., A. Diarra, G. Uehara, S. Campbell, Y. Sumiyoshi and M. J. Antal. 2011. Charcoal Ash and Volatile Matter Effects on Soil Properties and Plant Growth in an Acid Ultisol. Soil Science 176(7): 336-345. Habte, M., G. Diarra, and P.G. Scowcroft. 2011. Post-transplant reactions of mycorrhizal and mycorrhiza-free seedlings of Leucaena leucocephala to pH changes in an Oxisol and Ultisol of Hawaii. Botany 89:1-9. Hue, N.V. 2011. Alleviating Soil Acidity with Crop Residues. Soil Sci. DOI: 10.1097/SS.0b013e31822b30f1 (vol. 176:543-549). Ortiz-Escobar, M.E. and N.V. Hue. 2011. Changes in properties of a Hawaiian Oxisol and of vegetable growth during the transition toward organic farming. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal.42:2064-2071. Pant A., T.J.K. Radovich, N.V. Hue, and N. Q. Arancon. 2011.Effects of Vermicompost Tea (Aqueous Extract) on Pak-choi Yield, Quality, and on Soil Biological Properties. Compost Science & Utilization vol.19(4):279-292. Porter, G.S., Laura Delisle, Rowena Valencia-Gica, and Russell Yost. 2011. Use of Secondary-treated Wastewater on an Island Golf Course. Pacific Agriculture and Natural Resources (3):8-13. Shuai, X. R.S. Yost, and T.J. Smyth. 2011. Predicting Soil Phosphorus Fertilizer Rate Using Hierarchical Segmented Regression Models. Soil Sci. 176:303-306. Yost, R.S., Tasnee Attanandana, Carol Colfer, and Stephen Itoga. 2011. Decision-support Systems in Agriculture: Some Successes and a Bright Future. In Spalj (ed.) Efficient Decision Support Systems: Practice and Challenges From Current to Future. Intech Open Access Publisher, Rijeka, Croatia. Porter, G.S., Laura Delisle, Rowena Valencia-Gica, and Russell Yost. 2011. Use of Secondary-treated Wastewater on an Island Golf Course. Pacific Agriculture and Natural Resources (3):8-13. Shuai, X. R.S. Yost, and T.J. Smyth. 2011. Predicting Soil Phosphorus Fertilizer Rate Using Hierarchical Segmented Regression Models. Soil Sci. 176:303-306. Yost, R.S., Tasnee Attanandana, Carol Colfer, and Stephen Itoga. 2011. Decision-support Systems in Agriculture: Some Successes and a Bright Future. In Spalj (ed.) Efficient Decision Support Systems: Practice and Challenges From Current to Future. Intech Open Access Publisher, Rijeka, Croatia. Porter, G.S., Laura Delisle, Rowena Valencia-Gica, and Russell Yost. 2011. Use of Secondary-treated Wastewater on an Island Golf Course. Pacific Agriculture and Natural Resources (3):8-13. Shuai, X. R.S. Yost, and T.J. Smyth. 2011. Predicting Soil Phosphorus Fertilizer Rate Using Hierarchical Segmented Regression Models. Soil Sci. 176:303-306. Yost, R.S., Tasnee Attanandana, Carol Colfer, and Stephen Itoga. 2011. Decision-support Systems in Agriculture: Some Successes and a Bright Future. In Spalj (ed.) Efficient Decision Support Systems: Practice and Challenges From Current to Future. Intech Open Access Publisher, Rijeka, Croatia. Kawamoto, I. and M. Habte. 2011. Enhancement of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus status of an established ginger crop through a mycorrhizal onion companion crop. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 57:659-662. Hawaii - Extension publications Kawabata, A.F., J.L. Deenik, R.T. Hamasaki, J. Lichty, and S.T. Nakamoto. 2011. Acidification of volcanic ash soils from Maui and Hawaii Island for blueberry and tea production. Cooperative Extension Service Publication, CTAHR, AS5 , pp. 7. Cox, L., T. Radovich and J. Sugano. 2011. The Costs of Organic Insecticides. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii. SA-4. Uyeda, J., L. Cox and T. Radovich. 2011. An Economic Comparison of Commercially Available Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers for Hydroponic Lettuce Production. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii. SA-5. Hawaii - Book Chapters Habte, M. 2006. Arbuscular mycorrhizas in plant and soil health. In: Uphoff et al. (Eds). Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil systems. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. Idaho - Research Alva, A., A. Moore, and H. Collins. 2011. Impact of deficit irrigation on tuber yield and quality of potato cultivars. Journal of Crop Improvement. 26:211-227. Chen, J., E.J. Souza, M.J. Guttieri, K. OBrien, J. Wheeler, L. Sorensen, J. Clayton, X.M. Chen, D. Hole, B.D. Brown, J.M. Marshall, and R. Zemetra. 2011. Registration of SRG Wheat. Journal of Plant Registrations, 6:66-70. Hines, S., A. Moore, B. Brown, M. Chahine, R. Norell, M. de Haro Marti, C. Falen, T. Fife, S. Parkinson, and J. Ippolito. 2012. Using Extension Phosphorus Uptake Research to Improve Idahos Nutrient Management Planning Program. Journal of Extension. Accepted. Ippolito, J.A. and Ducey, Tom and Tarkalson, D.D. 2011. Interactive Effects of Copper on Alfalfa Growth, Soil Copper, and Soil Bacteria. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 3(2):138-148. Ippolito, J.A. and Tarkalson, D.D. and Lehrsch, G.A. 2011. Zeolite Soil Application Method Affects Inorganic Nitrogen, Moisture, and Corn Growth. Soil Science. 176(3):136-142. Ippolito, J.A., J.M. Novak, W.J. Busscher, M. Ahmedna, D. Rehrah, and D.W. Watts. 2011. Switchgrass biochar effects two Aridisols. Accepted to J. Environ. Qual. King, B.A. and Tarkalson, D.D. and Bjorneberg, D.L. and Taberna, J.P, Jr.. 2011. Planting System Effect on Yield Response of Russet Norkotah to Irrigation and Nitrogen under High Intensity Sprinkler Irrigation. American Journal of Potato Research. 88:121-134. Lentz, R.D., and J.A. Ippolito. 2011. Biochar and manure affects calcareous soil and corn silage nutrients concentrations and uptake. Accepted to J. Environ. Qual. Lentz, R.D. and Lehrsch, G.A. and Brown, Bradford and Johnson-Maynard, J. and Leytem, A.B. (2011) Dairy Manure Nitrogen Availability in Eroded and Noneroded Soil for Sugarbeet Followed by Small Grains. Agronomy Journal. 103(3):628-642. 09 May 2011. Leytem, A.B., R.S. Dungan, and A. Moore. 2011. Nutrient Availability to Corn From Dairy Manures and Fertilizer in a Calcareous Soil. Soil Science. 176(9):426-434. Moore, A. 2011. Fertilizer potential of biofuel byproducts. In Biofuel Production Recent Developments and Prospects. Ed. M.A. dos Santos Bernades. InTech Open Access Publisher. Rijeka, Croatia. pp. 437-450. http://www.intechopen.com/books/show/title/biofuel-production-recent-developments-and-prospects Moore, A.D., N.L. Olsen, A.M. Carey, and A.B. Leytem. 2011. Residual effects of fresh and composted dairy manure application on potato production. American Potato Journal of Research. 88:324-332. Shellie, Krista and Brad Brown. 2011. Influence of deficit irrigation on nutrient indices in wine grape (Vitis vinifera L.). Agricultural Sciences xx:xx-xx doi:10.4236/as.2012.***** Received 08 December 2011. Agricultural Sciences 3(2): Spokas, K.A, K.B. Cantrell, J.M. Novak, D.A. Archer, J.A. Ippolito, H.P. Collins, A.A., oatang, I.M. Lima, M.C. Lamb, A.J. McAloon, R.D. Lentz, and K. Nichols. 2011. Biochar: A synthesis of its agronomic potential beyond carbon sequestration. Acepted to J. Environ. Qual. Tarkalson, D.D. and Ippolito, J.A. (2011) Clinoptilolite Zeolite Influence on Nitrogen in a Manure-Amended Sandy Agricultural Soil. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 42(19):2370-2378. 06 October 2011. Idaho - Extension Carey, A., A. Moore, and A. Leytem. 2011. Phosphorus in the Calcareous Soils of Southern Idaho: A Literature Review with Implications for Crop Production, Manure Management, and Water Quality. BUL 877. Moore, A., M. Bauer, A. Agenbroad, and S. Bell. 2011. Using soil test results for garden fertilization. CIS 1186. Chen, L., M. de Haro Marti, A. Moore, and C. Falen. 2011. Dairy compost production and use in Idaho: The composting process. CIS 1179. Idaho - Proceedings and Abstracts Brown, B., S. Norberg, A. Ross, P. Hayes, and K. Huber. 2012. Nitrogen management for enhanced value of irrigated barley. Proceedings of the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference. March 6, 2012. Jerome, Idaho. pp. 39-42. Brown, B., J. Dalton, M. Chahine, B. Hazen, S. Jensen, and S. Etter. 2012. Triticale boot-stage forage K, Mg, Ca, S, and micronutrient content. Proceedings of the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference. March 6, 2012. Jerome, Idaho. pp. 43-47. Chen, L. and S. Hoff. 2012. Reducing odorous compound emissions from animal facilities using wood-chip based biofilters. Proceedings of the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference. March 6, 2012. Jerome, Idaho. pp. 26-31. Chen, L. and S. Hoff. 2012. Mitigating odors from animal facilities using wood-chip based biofilters. Proceedings of the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference. March 6, 2012. Jerome, Idaho. pp. 32-38. Hunter, L. and C. Falen. 2012. Green manure for soil nutrient management in a high-desert (3700-5100 elevation) farming system. Proceedings of the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference. March 6, 2012. Jerome, Idaho. pp. 20-26. Lentz, R. and G. Lehrsch. 2012. Nitrogen availability from manure in years following a one-time application Rick. Proceedings of the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference. March 6, 2012. Jerome, Idaho. pp. 61-67. Leytem, A., R. Dungan, A. Moore, and M. Miller. 2012. Nutrient availability to corn from dairy manures and fertilizer in a calcareous soil. Proceedings of the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference. March 6, 2012. Jerome, Idaho. pp. 7-15. Moore, A., D. Morishita, O. Neher, and D. Tarkalson. 2012. Managing chaff trails and nitrogen fertilizer applications in strip-till sugar beet production. Proceedings of the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference. March 6, 2012. Jerome, Idaho. pp. 1- 6. Moore, A. and N. Olsen. 2011. Organic potato production: Nitrogen management and variety trials. Proceedings of the Winter Commodity Schools 2011. (in press) Moore, A., S. Zglobicki, and N. Olsen. 2011. Manure management in potatoes: Salt accumulations in Idaho soils. Proceedings of the Winter Commodity Schools 2011. (in press) Moore, A., D. Morishita, and O. Neher. 2011. Impact of residue cover and nitrogen applications on strip tilled sugar beet production: Year 2. Proceedings of the Winter Commodity Schools 2011. (in press) Moore, A., B. Brown, M. de Haro Marti, C. Falen, M. Chahine, T. Fife, R. Norell, and J. Ippolito. 2011. Influence of dairy manure applications on corn nutrient uptake. Western Nutrient Management Conference Proceedings. Reno, Nevada, March 3-4, 2011. Vol. 9:49-54. Neibling, H. 2012. Growing season water management on fields receiving manure. Proceedings of the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference. March 6, 2012. Jerome, Idaho. pp. 48-53. Norell, R., M. Chahine, and M. de Haro Marti. 2012. Designer manures: managing manure production and nutrient quality. Proceedings of the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference. March 6, 2012. Jerome, Idaho. pp. 54-60. Tarkalson, D. 2012. Nitrogen requirement for sugar beets: a summary of past and present research findings. Proceedings of the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference. March 6, 2012. Jerome, Idaho. pp. 16-20. Winger, M., A. Moore, C. Falen, G. Shewmaker, K. Beckmann, S. Hanks, L. St. John, D. Ogle, and R. Johnson. 2011. Idaho Natural Resources Conservation Service partners expand cover crop technology in Idaho. ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings Abstracts, San Antonio, Texas. (in press) Montana - Journal publications Chen,C., G. Han, H. He, and M. Westcott. 2011. Yield, protein, and remobilization of water soluble carbohydrate and nitrogen of three spring wheat cultivars as influenced by nitrogen input. Agron. J. Engel, R., C. Jones, and R. Wallander. 2011. Ammonia volatilization from urea and mitigation by NBPT following surface application to cold soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J. 75:2348-2357. Miller, P.R., E.J. Lighthiser, J.A. Holmes, C.A. Jones, T.L. Rick, and J.M. Wraith. 2011. Effect of pea green manures and termination timing on organic winter wheat. Can J Plant Sci. 91:497-508. doi:10.4141/CJPS10109. Rick, T., C. Jones, R. Engel, and P. Miller. 2011. Green manure and phosphate rock effects on phosphorus availability in northern Great Plains dryland organic cropping systems. Org. Agr. 1:81-90. doi:10.1007/s13165-011-0007-2. Montana - Extension publications Jones, C., Olson-Rutz, K., and C.P. Dinkins. 2011. Nutrient Uptake Timing by Crops. EB0191. Revision. MSU Extension. 8 p. Jones, C. and K. Olson-Rutz. 2011. Crop and Nutrient Management Practices to Minimize Nitrate Leaching. Montguide. MT201103AG. MSU Extension. 4 p. Jones, C., C. Chen, J. Eckhoff, M. Greenwood, P. Lamb, A. Lenssen, K. McVay, P. Miller, B. Stougaard, J. Weeding and M. Westcott. 2011. Fertilizer Fact No. 55. Changes in Soil Nitrate-N Levels from late Summer to Early Spring in Montana. C. Jones and K. Olson-Rutz [Eds.]. Montana State University Extension, Bozeman, MT. 2 pp. McCauley, A., C. Jones, and J. Jacobsen. 2011. Nutrient Management Module 9: Plant Nutrient Functions and Deficiency and Toxicity Symptoms. 4449-9. Revision. MSU Extension. 16 p. Montana - Proceedings and Abstracts Jones, C., T. Rick, R. Engel, P. Miller, A. Moore, K.Olson-Rutz and S. Arnold. 2011. Comparison between online and hardcopy responses from a grower survey on urea volatilization. In American Society of Agronomy Annual Conference Abstracts. October 16-19, 2011. San Antonio, TX. Jones, C. C. Chen, K. McVay, B. Stougaard, M. Westcott, J. Eckhoff, A. Lenssen, J. Weeding, and M. Greenwood. 2011. Measured and predicted temporal changes in soil nitrate-N levels from late summer to early spring in Montana. In Western Nutrient Management Conference Proceedings. Mar 3-4, 2011. Reno, NV. 8:77-82. [Invited] McCauley, A., C. Jones, C. Zabinski and P. Miller. 2011. Arbuscular mycorrhizae and fertilizer phosphorus effects on symbiotic nitrogen fixation and phosphorus availability in pulse crops. In American Society of Agronomy Annual Conference Abstracts. October 16-19, 2011. San Antonio, TX. O'Dea, J., C. Jones, C. Zabinski, I. Keren and P. Miller. 2011. Legume and cropping intensity effects on soil quality: after seven years in dryland wheat agroecosystem. In American Society of Agronomy Annual Conference Abstracts. October 16-19, 2011. San Antonio, TX. Walsh, O.S. 2011. Effect of Nitrogen Sources, Rates, and Application Time on Spring Wheat Yield and Grain Protein. In American Society of Agronomy Annual Conference Abstracts. October 16-19, 2011. San Antonio, TX. Walsh, O.S. and M.P. Westcott. 2011. Evaluation of Sensor-Based Technologies and Nitrogen Sources for Improved Recommendations for Dryland and Irrigated Spring Wheat Production in Montana. In American Society of Agronomy Annual Conference Abstracts. October 16-19, 2011. San Antonio, TX. Montana - Theses McCauley, A. 2011. Nitrogen fixation of annual legumes in a semi-arid cropping system. July 2011. Montana State University, Bozeman, MT. 119 pp. New Mexico - Research: Composted biosolids as a source of iron for hybrid poplars (Populus sp.) grown in northwest New Mexico [electronic resource]. 2011. Lombard, Kevin , Agroforestry systems, 2011 Jan., v. 81, no. 1, p. 45-56., Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands Huez-Lopez, M. A., Ulery, A. L., Samani, Z. A., Picchioni, G., Flynn, R. P. (2011). Response of Chile Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) To Salt Stress and Organic and Inorganic Nitrogen Sources: I. Growth and Yield. Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems, 14, 137-147. Huez-Lopez, M. A., Ulery, A. L., Samani, Z. A., Picchioni, G., Flynn, R. P. (2011). Response of Chile Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to Salt Stress and Organic and Inorganic Nitrogen Sources: II. Nitrogen and Water Use Efficiencies, and Salt Tolerance. Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems, 14, 757-763. Huez-López, M. A., Ulery, A. L., Samani, Z. A., Picchioni, G., Flynn, R. P. (2011). Response of Chile Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to Salt Stress and Organic and Inorganic Nitrogen Sources: III. Ion Uptake and Translocation.. Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems, 14, 765-776. New Mexico - Extension: Circular 656. An Introduction to Soil Salinity and Sodium Issues in New Mexico. R. Flynn and A. Ulery. 2011 Circular 661, "Soil Sampling With Respect to Salinity in New Mexico Vineyards," by John Idowu, Bernd Maier, and Robert Flynn. 2011 New Mexico - Conference Proceedings and Abstracts Heerema, R., Flynn, R. P. (2011). Evaluation of Soil-applied EDDHA-Chelated Iron Fertilizer for Use in Correcting Ion Deficiency Symptoms in Mature Pecan Tress in the Pecos Basin, New Mexico (vol. 9, pp. 141-145). WERA 103 Committee. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx3ZXN0ZXJucmVnaW9uMTAzfGd4OjQ3ZGM1M2E4ZjY4MTY1NTI Flynn, R. P. (2011). An EXCEL Based Workbook for Assisting with Water Quality Interpretations (vol. 9, pp. 152-154). WERA103 Committee: 2011 Western Nutrient Management Proceedings. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx3ZXN0ZXJucmVnaW9uMTAzfGd4OjU5MTc5MTZiOTA2ODc4OWI Oregon - Research Holcomb III., J.C., D.A. Horneck, D.M. Sullivan, and G.H. Clough. 2011. Effect of Irrigation Rate on Ammonia Volatilization. Soil Science Soc. Am J. 75: 2341-2347. Kaiser, C., Hamm, P., Gieck, S., David, N., Long, L.E., Meland, M. and Christensen, J.M., 2011. In vitrofungicidal activity of calcium and potassium salts on several commercially significant plant pathogens.HortScience 46(6), 913-916. Barbercheck, M.E., N.E. Kiernan, A.G. Hulting, S. Duiker, J. Hyde, H. Karsten, and E. Sanchez. 2011. Meeting the "multi-" requirements in organic agriculture research:successes, challenges, and recommendations for multifunctional, multidisciplinary, participatory projects. Renew. Agr. Food Syst. (In Press) Oregon - Extension Affeldt, R.P., D.A. Horneck, D.L. Walenta, G.L. Kiemnec, and J.M. Hart. 2011. Nutrient management guide, irrigated Kentucky Bluegrass, eastern Oregon. Oregon State University Extension Service EM-9029, Corvallis, OR. 6 pages. Hart, J.M., M.E. Mellbye, W.C. Young III, and T.B. Silberstein. 2011. Annual ryegrass nutrient management guide for western Oregon, revised. Oregon State University Extension Service EM 8854, Corvallis, OR. 11 pages. Hart, J.M., M.D. Flowers, N. P. Anderson, R.J. Roseberg, N.W. Christensen, and M.E. Mellbye. 2011. Nutrient management guide, soft white winter wheat, western Oregon (Revised). Oregon State University Extension Service EM-8963-E, Corvallis, OR. 18 Pages. Horneck, D.A., D.M. Sullivan, J.S. Owen, and J.M. Hart. 2011. Soil test interpretation guide (revised). Oregon State University Extension Service EC 1478, Corvallis, OR. 12 pages. Oregon - Experiment Station Reports Shock, C.C., C.A. Parris, S. Monsen, and D. Mann. 2011. Possible Key Role of Calcium for the Future Cultivation of Corn Lily (Veratrum californicum). p. 208-215. In: Shock C.C. (Ed.) Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2010, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 132. Oregon - Proceedings and Abstracts Butler, M.D. D.A. Horneck and R.T. Koenig. 2011. Ammonia Volatilization from Urea and Alternative N Sources in the U.S. Pacific Northwest Region. Online Proceedings. American Society of Agronomy. Horneck, D.A. and GC Clough. Potassium in potato production. 2011. 13th International symposium on soil and plant analysis, Chania Greece 6-2-11. Andrews, N., D.M. Sullivan, J.W. Julian and K.E. Pool. 2011. Development and Use of the OSU Organic Fertilizer and Cover Crop Calculator. p. 61-66. In: Vol. 9, Proc. Western Nutrient Management Conference, 3-4 Mar 2011. Reno, NV. Costello, R.C., D.M. Sullivan, D.R. Bryla, B.C. Strik and J. Owen. 2011. Highbush blueberry response to compost and sulfur. p. 67-72. In: Proc. Western Nutrient Mgmt. Conf., 3-4 Mar 2011. Reno, NV. Online at: https://sites.google.com/site/westernregion103/committee-output/conference-proceedings-2011 Costello, R.C., S.B. Andrews, and D.M. Sullivan. 2011. Laboratory titration to predict elemental sulfur required for compost acidification. SSSA Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX. 16-20 Oct. 2011. http://a-c-s.confex.com/crops/2011am/webprogram/Paper66759.html Costello R.C. and D.M. Sullivan. 2011. Effects of Acidified and Non-Acidified Composts on Highbush Blueberry Growth and Nutrient Uptake. SSSA Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX. 16-20 Oct. 2011. http://a-c-s.confex.com/crops/2011am/webprogram/Paper66746.html Larco, H., D.M. Sullivan, B. Strik, and D. Bryla. 2011. Mulch effects on highbush blueberry under organic management. p. 53. In: Abstracts, ISHS Intl. Symposium Organic Matter & Compost Use in Horticulture. 4-7 Apr. 2011. Adelaide, Australia. Sullivan, D.M., R. Datta, N. Andrews and K. E. Pool. 2011. Predicting plant-available nitrogen release from cover crop residues. p. 55-60. In: Proc. Western Nutrient Management Conference, 3-4 March 2011. Reno, NV. https://sites.google.com/site/westernregion103/home Valenzuela-Estrada, L., D.R. Bryla, D.M. Sullivan, and B.C. Strik. 2011. Influence of weed mat and surface sawdust mulch on soil nutrient availability and soil chemical properties under organic blueberry production. HortScience 46(9):S285-S286. (Abstr.) Oregon - Newsletter/Trade Journals/Popular Press Sullivan, D., J. Owen, N. Bell, and J. Kowalski. No water, no problem: In low-water landscapes, Mediterranean plants may be the answer, especially with compost added. Digger (May 2011): 49-53. Hart, Donaldson, Davenport, White, and Roper. 2011. Answers to common cranberry nutrition questions. OSU Scholars Archive. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/20507 Oregon - Experiment Station or Project Reports Sullivan, D.M., E. Peachey and J. Hart. 2011. Efficiency of the Pre-sidedress Nitrogen Soil Test in Sweet Corn. Report to Oregon Processed Veg. Commission, Jan 2011. Butler M., D. Horneck, R. Koenig, J. Holcomb and R. Simmons. 2011. Quantifying Ammonia Volatilization from Surface-Applied Fertilizers in Kentucky Bluegrass Grown for Seed. Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center 2010 Annual Reports. pp. 1-7. Oregon - Thesis Costello, Ryan. 2011. Suitability of diverse composts as soil amendments for highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.). M.S. Thesis. Oregon State University. Corvallis, OR. USA. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/26590 Washington - Research Bair, K. E., and J. R. Davenport. Influence of recent acidification on available phosphorus indices and sorption in Washington state soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.: In Press. Brown, S. K. Kurtz, A. Bary, and C. Cogger. 2011. Quantifying benefits associated with land application of residuals in Washington State. Env. Sci. Tech. 45:74517458. Cogger, C.G., Bary, A.I., and Myhre, E.A. 2011. Estimating nitrogen availability of heat-dried biosolids. Applied Environ. Soil Sci. doi:10.1155/2011/190731 Collins, D.P., C.G. Cogger, A.C. Kennedy, T. Forge, H.P. Collins, A.I. Bary, and R. Rossi. 2011. Farm-scale variation of soil quality indices and association with edaphic properties. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 75:580-890. Davenport, J. R., K. E. Bair, and R. G. Stevens The Relationship Between Soil Temperature and N Release in Organic and Conventionally Managed Vineyards. Commun. Soil Sci Plant Anal. 43: 464-470. Davenport, J. R., J. D. Lunden and T. Winkler. Wine Grape Tissue Nutrient Concentrations in the Inland Pacific Northwest. Commun. Soil Sci Plant Anal. 43: 21-27. Davenport, J. R., R. G. Stevens, K. M. Whitley, and T. Winkler. 2011. Spatial and temporal nutrient distribution in deficit-drip irrigated wine grape vineyards using bromide as a tracer. HortScience 46:291295. Hammac, W.A., W. Pan, R. Bolton and R.T. Koenig. 2011. High resolution imaging to assess oilseed species' root hair responses to soil water stress. Plant and Soil 339:125-135. Koenig R.T., C. Cogger, A. Bary. 2011. Dryland winter wheat yield, grain protein and soil nitrogen responses to fertilizer and biosolids applications. Applied and Environmental Soil Science. Vol 2011, #925462, doi:10.1155/2011/925462. Lawson, A., Fortuna, A., Cogger, C.G., Bary, A.I., and Stubbs, T.L. Nitrogen contribution of rye-hairy vetch cover crop blends to organically grown sweet corn. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. In press. Ott-Borrelli, K., R.T. Koenig, R. Gallagher, D. Pittman, A. Snyder, E. P. Fuerst, I.C. Burke and L. Hoagland. Alternative Strategies for Transitioning to Organic Production in Direct-Seeded Grain Systems in Eastern Washington II: Nitrogen Fertility. J. Sustain. Agr. Accepted. Saunders, O., A. Fortuna, J.H. Harrison, E. Whitefield, C. Cogger, A. Kennedy, and A.I. Bary. Comparison of raw dairy manure slurry and anaerobically digested slurry as N sources for grass forage production," Internat. J. Agron. In press. Pradubsuk, S., and J. R. Davenport. 2011. Seasonal Distribution of Micronutrients in Mature Concord Grape: Boron, Iron, Manganese, Copper, and Zinc. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 136:69-77. Pritchett, K., A.C. Kennedy, and C.G. Cogger. 2011. Management effects on soil quality in organic vegetable systems in western Washington. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 75:605-615. Washington - Book chapters Brown, S., Miltner, E., and C. Cogger. 2012. Carbon sequestration potential in urban soils. p. 173-196. In: R. Lal (ed.). Carbon Sequestration in Urban Ecosystems. Springer. Washington - Extension Koenig, R., K. Schroeder, A. Carter, M. Pumphrey, T. Paulitz, K. Campbell and Dave Huggins. 2011. Soil acidity and aluminum toxicity in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. WSU Extension Fact Sheet FS050E. Koenig, R.T., A.W. Hammac and W.L. Pan. 2011. Canola growth, development and fertility. WSU Extension Fact Sheet FS045E. Stahnke, G.K., Miltner, D., Cogger, C.G., Collman, S.J., Glass, J.R., Ophardt, M.C., and Tillery, M.M. 2011. Phosphorus and home lawns: Quick facts and recommendations. WSU Extension Fact Sheet FS058E. Wyoming - Research Ghimire*, R., J.B. Norton, U. Norton, J.P. Ritten, P.D. Stahl, and J.M. Krall. 2012. Long-term farming systems research in the Northern High Plains. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems: Accepted. Norton, J.B., E.J. Mukhwana*, and U. Norton. 2012. Loss and recovery of soil organic carbon and nitrogen in a semiarid agroecosystem. Soil Science Society of America Journal: 76:505-514. Kelleners, T.J., and J.B. Norton. 2012. Determining water retention in seasonally frozen soils using Hydra impedance sensors. Soil Science Society of America Journal 76:30-50. Norton, J.B., L.J. Jungst*, U. Norton, H.R. Olsen*, K.W. Tate, W.R. Horwath. 2011. Soil carbon and nitrogen storage in upper montane riparian meadows. Ecosystems14:1217-1231. Norton, J.B. 2011. Nitrogen source, timing, and rate alternatives for furrow-irrigated sugarbeet. Crop Management:10.1094/CM-2011-0829-1001-RS. Blank, R.R., D. Board, J. Chambers, J.B. Norton, D. Pyke, G. Schupp, and S. Shaff. 2011.Nutrient availability of Intermountain West soils invaded by Bromus tectorum L.: Influence of herbicide application, sucrose addition, and rehabilitation plant species. Soil Science Society of America Journal. Driessen*, C.A., J.B. Norton, and C. Strom. 2011. Effects of natural gas well development, reclamation, and controlled livestock impact on topsoil properties. Soil Use and Management Mukhwana*, E.M., J.B. Norton, and U. Norton. 2011. Soil organic carbon, nitrogen and microbial functional groups under furrow-irrigated cropping systems. Journal of Sugarbeet Research. Norton J.B., C. Strom, C.A. Driessen*, and A.M. Mason*. 2011. Soil organic matter dynamics in salvaged topsoil after reclamation. Journal of Environmental Quality. Wyoming - Extension Strom, C., and J.B. Norton. In Press. Successful restoration of severely disturbed Wyoming lands: Reclamation on salt-affected soils. University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Bulletin. Norton, J.B. and C. Strom. In Press. Reclamation considerations for oil and gas leases on private lands. University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Bulletin. Norton, J.B., and C. Strom. 2011. Successful restoration of severely disturbed Wyoming lands: Identifying Suitable Soil for Salvage. University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Bulletin 1222. Bass, T., D. Colburn, J. Davis, J. Deering, M. Fisher, R. Flynn, S. Lupis, J.B. Norton, and N. Schauermann. 2011. Livestock mortality composting for large and small operations in the semi-arid west. Montana State University: Bozeman. 28pp. Meeks, J., J.B. Norton, T. Kelleners, J. Krall, A. Kniss, U. Norton, D. Peck, J. Ritten, B. Hess, S. Paisley, and N. Ward. 2011. Economic and environmental sustainability of conventional, reduced;input, and organic approaches on western croprangelivestock farms. 2011 Field Days Bulletin, University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station. Bista*, P., U. Norton, R. Ghimire*, and J.B. Norton. 2011. Greenhouse gas emissions from dryland winter wheat fallow system under conventional, notill, organic and transition to organic management. 2011 Field Days Bulletin, University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station. Ghimire*, R., J.B. Norton, J. Meeks, and R. Gebault-King*. 2011. Soil organic matter and microbial dynamics of the sustainable agriculture systems project. 2011 Field Days Bulletin, University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station. Ghimire*, R., P. Bista*, U. Norton, and J.B. Norton. 2011. Trace gas emissions from conventional, reducedinput, and organic approaches of croprangelivestock farming In Wyoming. 2011 Field Days Bulletin, University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station. Gebault-King*, R., J.B. Norton, J. Ritten, E. Arnould, M. Press, R. Ghimire, J. Meeks. 2011. Soil fertility challenges in Northern High Plains organic farming operations. 2011 Field Days Bulletin, University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station. Norton, J.B. 2011. Nitrogen source, timing, and rate alternatives for furrow-irrigated sugarbeet. University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Bulletin.

Impact Statements

The purpose of a WERA (Western Education/Extension and Research Activities) is to bring researchers together to coordinate related research without the need for a formal multi-state research plan, to organize technical conferences, work groups, task forces, or symposia for exchange of experience and opinions.
The primary impact of the WERA-103 Committee has been to disseminate knowledge through the Western Nutrient Management Conference (biennial basis) for over 20 years. This conference brings agricultural professionals and industry members from the western region together to provide training and communication regarding nutrient management.
The work of the WERA-103 committee has: 1) improved fertilizer use efficiency in the Western Region; 2) improved use of animal waste in environmentally safe ways; and 3)provided information to consultants and governmental agencies that can lead to less nutrient contamination of ground and surface water resources.

Date of Annual Report: 03/27/2013

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 03/06/2013 - 03/08/2013
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2012 - 09/01/2013

Participants

Troy Bauder;
Alan Blaylock;
Sebastian Braum;
Eric Bremer;
Joan Davenport;
Marko Davinic;
Jonathan Deenik;
Nat Dellavalle;
Jason Ellsworth;
Robert Flynn;
Tim Hartz;
Donald Horneck;
Jim Ippolito;
Clain Jones;
Richard Koenig;
Rob Mikkelsen;
Bob Miller;
Amber Moore (Vice Chair);
Galen Mooso (Secretary);
Dan Nelson;
Stu Pettygrove;
Dan Sullivan;
Olga Walsh;
Jim Walworth;
Greg Binford (Visitor)

Brief Summary of Minutes

2013 WERA-103 Committee Meeting Minutes

March 6, 2013, 9 am - 5 pm

WERA-103 Committee meeting opened with opening remarks by David Tarkalson, WERA-03 Committee Chair and committee member introductions. The following committee members were in attendance:

Troy Bauder, Alan Blaylock, Sebastian Braum, Eric Bremer, Joan Davenport, Marko Davinic, Jonathan Deenik, Nat Dellavalle, Jason Ellsworth, Robert Flynn, Tim Hartz, Donald Horneck, Jim Ippolito, Clain Jones, Richard Koenig, Rob Mikkelsen, Bob Miller, Amber Moore (Vice Chair), Galen Mooso (Secretary), Dan Nelson, Stu Pettygrove, Dan Sullivan, Olga Walsh, Jim Walworth and Greg Binford (Visitor).

The following WERA-103 business items were discussed:

Galen Mooso, Secretary reported that all of the state reports except for Utah and Wyoming had been received and were printed for committee members and distributed to committee members in attendance.
Phyllis Pates was introduced as meeting site coordinator. Pre-registrations for 2013 Western Nutrient Management Conference (WNMC) were up for this conference compared to 2 years ago with 120 participants pre-registering. University attendance was about the same but industry participation was up with most of the increase coming from California. A copy of the WERA-103 financial statement with a proposed 2013 budget was provided. The 2011 ending balance was $11,465. The estimated revenue generated from the 2013 WNMC was estimated to be $2350. Logistics of the conference were discussed. A group of students from Fresno State University were in route with the poster boards for the poster session. Laptop computers and projector logistics for the sessions were finalized. It was suggested that because we will have two screens available that we should use both screens for the general session.
Stu Pettygrove, conference Chair, discussed some last minute details regarding the conference. Session Chairs are Alan Blaylock, David Tarkalson, Troy Bauder, Rob Mikkelsen and Jason Ellsworth. There are 32 presentations presented by 30 speakers and 19 posters on the conference agenda. Eight of the posters will be presented by students and will be in a student competition with cash prizes being presented during the luncheon on Thursday. Cash award money is provided by industry partners. CCA CEU credits will be available for each session with signup sheets are already prepared. Stu Pettygrove was thanked for putting together an outstanding conference.

Rich Koenig WERA-103 Administrative Advisor gave an update to the committee. Rich explained that he represents the western region Experiment Station and Extension Directors. One of his responsibilities is to make sure funds are being spent wisely. He updated the committee on how experiment station and extension funds are being reduced. He also reminded the committee that WERA-103 committee will need to resubmit a proposal in 2015 for continued existence. He recommended that a sub-committee be appointed at the 2014 committee meeting to prepare the resubmission necessary for continuing WERA-103 for another 5 years. He commended the committee for putting together an outstanding program for the 2013 WNMC which is the flagship activity of the committee. He said that he had been part of the committee since 1995. He said that he attended the very first WERA-103 committee meeting in 1993 in SLC, UT. Many of the faces have changed but there are a few people left from that original meeting. He noted that 2013 is the 10th WNMC organized by the committee. It is the desire to the western directors that this committee will continue to facilitate collaboration in the western region between university personnel and industry participants. The western directors have a competitive directors award ($10,000) that the give to committees to encourage collaboration in the region and suggested that the committee consider applying in 2014. There are some restrictions on the award money can be used. Award money cannot be used to fund speaker honorariums but can be used to fund other components of educational events and for someone to travel to the directors meeting to receive the award. Rich covered the following topic with discussion from the committee:

Ag research funding faces significant cuts. Some of the capacity funds may become more competitive in the future
Some discussion about extending the current farm bill beyond 2013.
The National Research Council will be reviewing Agricultural Food and Research Initiative (AFRI). There is some question about formula funding the future.

David Tarkalson led a discussion on Crops and Soils Magazine. Crops & Soils audience is 15,000 certified professionals. Article length: 1500 words or less. Images are encouraged in .jpg or .tif format, high resolution (at least 300 dpi); size = at least 3.5" wide. Images cannot be in Word and no copies from a web site. Deadlines: The magazine is published every 2 months, Jan-Feb, Mar-Apr. The articles for the next year are due to ASA on Apr 1, Jun 1, Aug 1, Oct 1, Dec 1, and Feb 1. The publication board relies on volunteer articles. A recent article from Montana State Univ. Minimizing urea volatilization in cool semi-arid regions was discussed as an example from the western region. The committee was asked who might like to submit article during the next year. The following volunteered articles of Crops and Soils:

1) April 1- Alan Blaylock controlled release fertilizers based on information presented at 2013 WNMC
2) June 1- Nat Dellavalle on fertilizer recommendations
3) August 1 -Amber Moore work with an author out of a previous issue Nutrient Digest
4) October 1- Bob Miller on effect of number of soil cores on soil sample analysis results
5) December 1-Eric Bremer on correlation of resin probes to soil testing
6) Feb 1- Amber Moore work with an author out of a previous issue Nutrient Digest

David Tarkalson said he will be responsible to follow-up with volunteers to remind them of the deadlines.

Bob Miller led a discussion regarding the poster session. There are 9 student posters (out of 17 total). The student posters will be judged in a competition by Bob Miller, Jim Ippolito, and Tim Hartz. Judges will be using the same form used for ASA student poster competitions. No specific time was scheduled to view the posters so time will be allotted during breaks and after the luncheon. Thanks to Fresno State students for delivering the poster boards for the poster competition.

David Tarkalson led a discussion to identify 2014 off year committee meeting location. Three possible locations were discussed:

Hawaii (2006 was the last time the WERA-103 committee meeting met there)
Columbia basin Washington
Ft. Collins Colorado (would probably need to be later than March)

After discussion regarding the 2014 WERA-103 committee location, a motion was made by Nat Dellavalle and seconded by Joan Davenport to meet in Hawaii during the 3rd week of March 2014. Jonathan Deenik agreed to host the committee meeting and recommended that we meet on the big island and he would put together an agriculture tour following the committee meeting.

Rich Koenig led a discussion on NRCS reliance on land grant university guidance for their 590 standard land grant university information. Rich expressed his concern that some of the information that the NRCS has included in their data base of nutrient recommendations is very dated and is no longer valid but is still being used. He indicated that NRCS and EPA have teamed up to put together a list of nutrient recommendations from all states. He expressed concern that if the list is not tied to a document that is current that the incorrect information could be used in nutrient recommendations. If documents are posted in a form like a .pdf document that information is not being updated but should be linked to a website where the information is being updated and is current data. He also has a concern that land grant universities may not have the data to support the 590 standards. He has heard from agronomists in the field that the recommendations are being misinterpreted in the field. There is an opportunity for the WERA-103 committee to work together to identify guidelines that work regionally. Need to identify gaps in the recommendations and determine if other adjacent states have the data to fill in the data gaps. There was discussion regarding the list of nutrient recommendations that Stu Pettygrove has complied for CA. Stu will pass on the information that he has collected on nutrient management in CA to Tim Hartz before he retires. Rich will report to the committee what WA decides to do with the request.

Amber Moore led a discussion on the Nutrient Digest, a quarterly WERA-103 publication regarding nutrient management issues. It covers research and extension subjects on nutrient management in the western region. Amber reported that the Nutrient Digest had received a $2000 grant from IPNI to help support the Nutrient Digest. Amber uses Susan to do the formatting and it usually takes about 10-11 hours per issue to formatting. A motion was made by Bob Miller that when the IPNI grant has been exhausted that the formatting costs be paid by WERA-103 funds. The motion was seconded by Joan Davenport. The motion passed. Amber thanked guest editors for their contribution to the newsletter. It is the responsibility of the guest editor to collect 4 nutrient management related articles and then edit them before submitting to Amber and Susan of formatting. Amber suggested that the guest editors branch out and include articles from other authors outside the WERA-103 committee. There are currently approximately 800 people on the email list. She encouraged those receive the newsletter to forward it on to others. The target audience is anyone interested in nutrient management which include CCA's in the western region. It was also discussed that it might be time for a facelift for the Nutrient Digest. Rob Mikkelsen indicated that IPNI can help with the facelift. Jason Ellsworth indicated that he also has graphic design resources to help with the face lift. It was determined that the WERA-103 committee site on the IPNI homepage also serves as a repository for the Nutrient Digest.

David Tarkalson led a discussion regarding the WERA-103 Website. IPNI is now housing website for WERA-103 committee. When you Google "Western Nutrient Management Conference" it links you to the following https://community.ipni.net/wera . Phyllis Pates has access to upload information to the website. Currently previous state reports, meeting minutes, and WMNC proceedings are on the website. Information regarding the 2013 WNMC meeting was also posted on the website. Joan Davenport and Allison were involved in getting the previous proceedings prepared to go onto the website. It was acknowledged that IPNI is a gold sponsor of the WERA-103 committee and they make their payment in kind through providing services to the committee by supporting the operation of the committee with Phyllis Pates time and talents. Thank you IPNI for all of your support.

Rob Mikkelsen led a discussion on "Agronomic data access: on-Farm/company database use and availability." There is currently in California legislation under consideration that will require California central valley growers to have nutrient management plans for their farms and the crops that they grow. Rob is aware of some companies that have services that track fertilizer applications for growers that may fulfill some of the reporting requirements. Jason Ellsworth indicated that Wilbur-Ellis has some data management ability that is part of their farmer services that will help track nutrient applications under a program called Ag Verdict. Galen Mooso indicated that Simplot has the ability to tract nutrient applications that is called Simplot Smart Farm. Rob indicated that these services will become more important to California growers in the futures at legislative mandates are finalized. This may be a topic for a future WMNC session.

Troy Bauder reported to the committee that funding for the old 406 Water Quality Committee has been slashed. A WERA group for water resources has been formed and will be meeting at Lake Tahoe June 14-15.

From 2:30 to 4 pm the committee was divided in to 3 breakout groups to review past tasks and identify specific tasks / projects that address WERA-103 Project objectives and procedures.

1) Develop and/or improve nutrient recommendations for diverse cropping systems based on soil, water and plant analysis results and management strategies in the Western Region.

a. Procedures for Objective 1:
- i. Provide nutrient correlation and calibration data for crops in the region.
- ii. Work toward uniformity of nutrient use recommendations for similar crop production systems in the region.
- iii. Evaluate and apply new nutrient analytical and interpretive methodologies.
- iv. Evaluate the efficacy of new fertilizers and formulations.

A new model for making nutrient recommendations using boundary analysis was discussed. This methodology can utilize survey data as opposed to replicated controlled experiments. A concern was expressed that there is no funding for the traditional calibration and correlation studies that have traditionally been used to make nutrient recommendations. Some corporate farms are so large that they are creating their own observational data sets. There was discussion about how can we use observational data improve existing fertility recommendations. To make good recommendations you need yield data that is related to environmental information. It may be useful to like yield data with plant tissue analysis. As possible topic for the 2015 WNMC is "How can we use observational data to improve nutrient management." Jim Walworth expressed interest in moderating this session. Bob Miller also expressed interest in being involved in this session. Prior to the meeting, Rich Koenig had emailed a master list for the western region on past and present fertilizer recommendations (see previous discussion item). There was discussion about a current emphasis with in NRCS on improving soil health. NRCS agronomist by the name of Ray Archuleta is making visits to western states talking about improving soil health by reducing tillage. He has several presentations on YouTube. There was also discussion about evaluating the efficiency of new fertilizer products and technologies. There is confusion about how products get approved for incentive NRCS/USDA programs. NRCS seems to rely heavily on land grant university data when land grant universities are not necessarily testing all products. There is no minimum performance level. There is no consistency form state to state. Who's job is it to evaluate the efficiency of fertilizer products for efficiency? Does there need to be a clearing house for non-traditional soil amendments? There was also some discussion about a new Solvita test for soil health which measures soil respiration and there was concern that on western soils that it may not correlate to N mineralization.

2) Promote effective use of soil, water, plant, manure, and compost analytical information.

a. Procedures for Objective 1:
- i. Integrate analytical test results into nutrient management software
- ii. Maintain and update the Western States Soil etc. Testing Manual
- iii. Review status of soil/plant/water analysis Extension guides and summarize interpretive guidance
- iv. Explore method for internet distribution of methods manual, analytical interpretation guides etc. Website would be for clientele outreach.

This group discussed the question "How do you integrate analytical data into fertilizer recommendations?" They discussed Biological Nutrient Program developed by OSU to predict N mineralization by organic N sources. Crop Manager is a program developed by the California system to schedule irrigation applications and N applications. Crop Time is another tool developed by OSU to predict growing degree days. Western Labs out of Canada has commercialized resin probes to predict nutrient availability. Tim Hartz will be the keeper of Stu Pettygroves data base that he has developed over the years. Bob Miller indicated that the revision of the 2005 Methods Manual is complete and under review. Meleich 1 and 3 methods were removed from the new edition.

3) Provide education on the principles of soil-plant-animal-water system management and the tools and practices that lead to sustainable agricultural production.

a. Procedures for Objective 3
- i. Facilitate regional education among government agencies, private industry and universities through conferences, websites, extension publications, newsletters, and other appropriate media.
- ii. Disseminate information within the Western Region to extension educators, private agencies (e.g., Certified Crop Advisors) and other interested parties (e.g., K-12 teachers) through conferences, training the trainer opportunities, and access to published interpretive materials.
- iii. Conduct direct education to agricultural producers through conferences, grower meetings, and published interpretive materials.

Present- Robert Flynn, Markova Davinich, Troy Bauder, Joan Davenport, Clain Jones, Rob Mikkelsen, Amber Moore.

Ongoing efforts: Nutrient Digest. Follow up to make certain that it gets onto website front page (Amber follows up)

Web Site: fix home page setting, also hot link to the objectives under Western Director/NIMSS page (Clain will follow up).

There will be hot link the PDFs from the conference proceedings to the paper titles (Robert Flynn follows up)

Develop a section of photos from past meeting tours. Joan will send out request of annotated photos and strive to have gathered for next meeting (2014).

Add news flashes, as a blog, to have pertinent soil nutrient issues highlighted (Marko follows up)

K-12 and other Education: Our target is STEM teachers, FFA, Master Gardeners. We have a long laundry list of potential ideas for education. We would like to have a Western States spin on this. To facilitate this, we are proposing developing lesson plans and video record the demonstrations at the next meeting (2014). To do items are send out request for lesson plans/ideas in Sept (Rob M.) and indicate what people are bringing for taping during the 2014 meeting ( commit by Mid Jan 2014).Topics mentioned are:

Soil Quality Test Kit
Sponge Demo
2 L bottle soil erosion
Effervescence
CEC with Dixie cups and Kool Aid
CEC with balloons and colored paper
Soil biology candy lab

4:00-5:00pm WERA 103 Member Reports were presented. See state reports for details.

Action Items

1) WERA-103 Secretary will submits an annual report on the committee activities to NIMS within 60 days of the committee meeting which will include a list of participants, state reports, committee meeting and an executive summary. Rich will send Galen the information necessary to make sure that the report can be submitted in a timely manner.

2) At the 2014 committee meeting a sub-committee needs to be appointed that will revise the WERA-103 proposal for submission in 2015 to continue the committee activities for another 5 years.

3) 2014 Directors Award applications are due by March 10, 2014. A sub-committee of Amber Moore and Rob Mikkelsen was decided. This sub-committee will need a reminder on approximately January 1, 2014.

4) Discussion item for the 2014 committee meeting "Where does the committee draw the line of presentation of information on proprietary productions and information?" The question was prompted by a poster submitted by Solivta which has a test that they are selling for biologically active carbon. The poster ended up being not presented because he author is no longer with the company. Guidelines should the recommended for the presentation of information that may not have a scientific component.

5) 2015 WNMC committee needs to make sure there is a time slot scheduled for viewing posters.

6) Item for discussion at the 2014 committee meeting is "What kind of presentations should be expected to provide a manuscript for the proceedings?" Should we expect a manuscript when the presenter is part of the CCA presentations?

To view State Reports in their entirety, they can be found at the WERA-103 Homepage under the Additional Documents tab using the following link: http://lgu.umd.edu/lgu_v2/homepages/attachs.cfm?trackID=12156

Accomplishments

Activities Western Nutrient Management Conference Pre-registrations for 2013 Western Nutrient Management Conference (WNMC) were up for this conference compared to 2 years ago with 120 participants pre-registering. There were 32 presentations presented by 30 speakers and 19 posters on the conference agenda. Rick Koenig noted that 2013 was the 10th WNMC organized by the WERA-103 committee. WERA 103 website David Tarkalson led a discussion regarding the WERA-103 Website. IPNI is now housing website for the WERA-103 committee. When you Google "Western Nutrient Management Conference" it links you to the following https://community.ipni.net/wera. Phyllis Pates has access to upload information to the website. Currently previous state reports, meeting minutes, and WMNC proceedings are on the website. Information regarding the 2013 WNMC meeting was also posted on the website. Joan Davenport and Allison were involved in getting the previous proceedings prepared to go onto the website. It was acknowledged that IPNI is a gold sponsor of the WERA-103 committee and they make their payment in kind through providing services to the committee by supporting the operation of the committee with Phyllis Pates time and talents. Thank you IPNI for all of your support. Nutrient Digest Newsletter Amber Moore led a discussion on the Nutrient Digest, a quarterly WERA-103 publication regarding nutrient management issues. It covers research and extension subjects on nutrient management in the western region. Amber reported that the Nutrient Digest had received a $2000 grant from IPNI to help support the Nutrient Digest. Amber uses Susan Kelly (UI administrative staff) to do the formatting and it usually takes about 10-11 hours per issue to formatting. A motion was made by Bob Miller that when the IPNI grant has been exhausted that the formatting costs be paid by WERA-103 funds. The motion was seconded by Joan Davenport. The motion passed. Amber thanked guest editors for their contribution to the newsletter. It is the responsibility of the guest editor to collect 4 nutrient management related articles and then edit them before submitting to Amber and Susan of formatting. Amber suggested that the guest editors branch out and include articles from other authors outside the WERA-103 committee. There are currently approximately 800 people on the email list. She encouraged those receive the newsletter to forward it on to others. The target audience is anyone interested in nutrient management which include CCA's in the western region. It was also discussed that it might be time for a facelift for the Nutrient Digest. Rob Mikkelsen indicated that IPNI can help with the facelift. Jason Ellsworth indicated that he also has graphic design resources to help with the face lift. It was determined that the WERA-103 committee site on the IPNI homepage also serves as a repository for the Nutrient Digest. Crop and Science articles David Tarkalson led a discussion on Crops and Soils Magazine. Crops & Soils audience is 15,000 certified professionals. Article length: 1500 words or less. Images are encouraged in .jpg or .tif format, high resolution (at least 300 dpi); size = at least 3.5" wide. Images cannot be in Word and no copies from a web site. Deadlines: The magazine is published every 2 months, Jan-Feb, Mar-Apr... The articles for the next year are due to ASA on Apr 1, Jun 1, Aug 1, Oct 1, Dec 1, and Feb 1. The publication board relies on volunteer articles. A recent article from Montana State Univ. Minimizing urea volatilization in cool semi-arid regions was discussed as an example from the western region. David Tarkalson said he will be responsible to follow-up with volunteers to remind them of the deadlines. Tracking fertilizer applications in the Western U.S. Rob Mikkelsen led a discussion on "Agronomic data access: on-Farm/company database use and availability." There is currently in California legislation under consideration that will require California central valley growers to have nutrient management plans for their farms and the crops that they grow. Rob is aware of some companies that have services that track fertilizer applications for growers that may fulfill some of the reporting requirements. Jason Ellsworth indicated that Wilbur-Ellis has some data management ability that is part of their farmer services that will help track nutrient applications under a program called Ag Verdict. Galen Mooso indicated that Simplot has the ability to tract nutrient applications that is called Simplot Smart Farm. Rob indicated that these services will become more important to California growers in the futures at legislative mandates are finalized. This may be a topic for a future WMNC session. Western Director Award The western directors have a competitive directors award ($10,000) that they give to committees to encourage collaboration in the region and suggested that the committee consider applying in 2014. There are some restrictions on the award money can be used. Award money cannot be used to fund speaker honorariums but can be used to fund other components of educational events and for someone to travel to the directors meeting to receive the award. Updated fertilizer guides for the Western U.S. Rich Koenig led a discussion on NRCS reliance on land grant university guidance for their 590 standard land grant university information. Rich expressed his concern that some of the information that the NRCS has included in their data base of nutrient recommendations is very dated and is no longer valid but is still being used. He indicated that NRCS and EPA have teamed up to put together a list of nutrient recommendations from all states. He expressed concern that if the list is not tied to a document that is current that the incorrect information could be used in nutrient recommendations. If documents are posted in a form like a .pdf document that information is not being updated but should be linked to a website where the information is being updated and is current data. He also has a concern that land grant universities may not have the data to support the 590 standards. He has heard from agronomists in the field that the recommendations are being misinterpreted in the field. There is an opportunity for the WERA-103 committee to work together to identify guidelines that work regionally. Need to identify gaps in the recommendations and determine if other adjacent states have the data to fill in the data gaps. There was discussion regarding the list of nutrient recommendations that Stu Pettygrove has complied for CA. Stu will pass on the information that he has collected on nutrient management in CA to Tim Hartz before he retires. Rich will report to the committee what WA decides to do with the request. Outputs Collectively, committee representatives reported publication of 62 refereed journal articles; 26 extension publications; 43 proceedings and abstracts; 1 short course; and 2 web sites, all focused on various aspects of nutrient management. A complete list of publications is included in the state report attachment. WERA-103 objectives The WERA-103 committee divided into three groups to discuss how we are addressing the three core objectives that have been established for our committee: Objective 1: Develop and/or improve nutrient recommendations for diverse cropping systems based on soil, water and plant analysis results and management strategies in the Western Region. A new model for making nutrient recommendations using boundary analysis was discussed. This methodology can utilize survey data as opposed to replicated controlled experiments. A concern was expressed that there is no funding for the traditional calibration and correlation studies that have traditionally been used to make nutrient recommendations. Some corporate farms are so large that they are creating their own observational data sets. There was discussion about how can we use observational data improve existing fertility recommendations. To make good recommendations you need yield data that is related to environmental information. It may be useful to like yield data with plant tissue analysis. As possible topic for the 2015 WNMC is How can we use observational data to improve nutrient management. Jim Walworth expressed interest in moderating this session. Bob Miller also expressed interest in being involved in this session. Prior to the meeting, Rich Koenig had emailed a master list for the western region on past and present fertilizer recommendations (see previous discussion item). There was discussion about a current emphasis with in NRCS on improving soil health. NRCS agronomist by the name of Ray Archuleta is making visits to western states talking about improving soil health by reducing tillage. He has several presentations on YouTube. There was also discussion about evaluating the efficiency of new fertilizer products and technologies. There is confusion about how products get approved for incentive NRCS/USDA programs. NRCS seems to rely heavily on land grant university data when land grant universities are not necessarily testing all products. There is no minimum performance level. There is no consistency form state to state. Who's job is it to evaluate the efficiency of fertilizer products for efficiency? Does there need to be a clearing house for non-traditional soil amendments? There was also some discussion about a new Solvita test for soil health which measures soil respiration and there was concern that on western soils that it may not correlate to N mineralization. Objective 2: Promote effective use of soil plant testing information This group discussed the question "How do you integrate analytical data into fertilizer recommendations?" They discussed Biological Nutrient Program developed by OSU to predict N mineralization by organic N sources. Crop Manager is a program developed by the California system to schedule irrigation applications and N applications. Crop Time is another tool developed by OSU to predict growing degree days. Western Labs out of Canada has commercialized resin probes to predict nutrient availability. Tim Hartz will be the keeper of Stu Pettygroves data base that he has developed over the years. Bob Miller indicated that the revision of the 2005 Methods Manual is complete and under review. Meleich 1 and 3 methods were removed from the new edition. Objective 3: Provide education on the principles of soil-plant-animal-water system management and the tools and practices that lead to sustainable agricultural production. Present- Robert Flynn, Markova Davinich, Troy Bauder, Joan Davenport, Clain Jones, Rob Mikkelsen, Amber Moore. Ongoing efforts: Nutrient Digest. Follow up to make certain that it gets onto website front page (Amber follows up) Web Site: fix home page setting, also hot link to the objectives under Western Director/NIMSS page (Clain will follow up). There will be hot link the PDFs from the conference proceedings to the paper titles (Robert Flynn follows up). Develop a section of photos from past meeting tours. Joan will send out request of annotated photos and strive to have gathered for next meeting (2014) Add news flashes, as a blog, to have pertinent soil nutrient issues highlighted (Marko follows up) K-12 and other Education: Our target is STEM teachers, FFA, Master Gardeners. We have a long laundry list of potential ideas for education. We would like to have a Western States spin on this. To facilitate this, we are proposing developing lesson plans and video record the demonstrations at the next meeting (2014). To do items are send out request for lesson plans/ideas in Sept (Rob M.) and indicate what people are bringing for taping during the 2014 meeting ( commit by Mid Jan 2014).Topics mentioned are: <ul> <li>Soil Quality Test Kit <li>Sponge Demo <li>2 L bottle soil erosion <li>Effervescence <li>CEC with Dixie cups and Kool Aid <li>CEC with balloons and colored paper <li>Soil biology candy lab</ul>

Publications

University of Arizona An Introduction to the Use of Reference Strips for N Management in Durum Wheat. 2012. Wang, G., University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. AZ1571. URL: http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1571.pdf Enhanced H+-PPase Activity Improves Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Romaine Lettuce. 2013. Valencia, J.P., Lares-Sanchez, J., Marsh, E., Dorneles, L.T., Santos, M.P., Sanchez, D., Winter, A., Murphy, S., Cox, J., Trzaska, M., Metler, J., Kozic, A., Facanha, A.R., Schachtman, D., Sanchez, C.A., and Gaxiola, R.A. Plant Physiology (in press). Fixation of Metals and Metalloids by Orthophosphate Solutions. 2013. Hafsteinsdottira, Erla G., Gore, Damian B., Rocavert, Amy L. and Walworth, James L. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology. In press. Guidelines for Using Non-traditional Soil Additives. 2012. Wang, G. S., Loper, S., Nolte, K., and Ottman, M. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1582.pdf Manure in the Home Garden. 2012. Walworth, J.L. Manure in the Home Garden. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. AZ1590. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1590.pdf Nitrogen in Soil and the Environment. 2012. Walworth, J.L. Nitrogen in soil and the environment. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. AZ1591. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1591.pdf Nutrient Leaching During Establishment of Simulated Residential Landscapes. 2013. Loper, S. J., Shober, A. L., Wiese, C., Denny, G. C., & Stanley, C. D. Journal of Environmental Quality, 42(1), 260-270. Recognizing and Treating Iron Deficiency in the Home Yard. 2012. Walworth, J.L. Recognizing and Treating Iron Deficiency in the Home Yard. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. AZ1415. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1415.pdf Response of SPAD Readings to Cotton Variety and N Rate. 2012. Wang, G. Cotton Research & Outreach 2011-2012. Field Identification and Characterization of Manganese Toxicity in Western Schley Pecan Trees Núñez-Moreno, H., Walworth, J.L., and Pond, A.P. 2011. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 938:291-298. http://actahort.org/books/938/938_38.htm. Using Gypsum and other Calcium Amendments in Southwestern Soils. 2012. Walworth, J.L. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. AZ1413. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1413.pdf University of California Pittelkow, C.M., A.J. Fischer, M.J. Moechnig, J.E. Hill, K.B. Koffler, R.G. Mutters, C.A. Greer, Y.S. Cho, C. van Kessel, C. and B.A. Linquist. 2012. Agronomic productivity and nitrogen requirements of alternative tillage and crop establishment systems for improved weed control in direct-seeded rice. Field Crops Research 130:128-137. Lundy, M.E., D.F. Spencer, C. van Kessel, J.E. Hill and B.A. Linquist. 2012. Managing phosphorus fertilizer to reduce algae, maintain water quality, and sustain yields in water-seeded rice. Field Crops Research 131:81-87. Linquist, B.A., M.A. Adviento-Borbe, C.M. Pittelkow, C. van Kessel and K.J. van Groenigen. 2012. Fertilizer management practices and greenhouse gas emissions from rice systems: A quantitative review and analysis. Field Crops Research 135:10-21. Van Kessel, C., R. Venterea, J. Six, M.A. Adviento-Borbe, B. Linquist and K.J. van Groenigen. 2012. Climate, duration and N placement determine N2O emissions in reduced tillage systems: a meta-analysis. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02779.x Pedroso, G.M., R.B. Hutmacher, D. Putnam, J. Six, C. Kessel and B.A. Linquist (In Press 2012) Yield and nitrogen management of irrigated switchgrass systems in diverse ecoregions. Agronomy Journal. Rosenstock, T., D. Liptzin, J. Six, and T.P. Tomich. 2013. Nitrogen fertilizer use in California: Assessing the data, trends and a way forward. California Agriculture 67(1):62. Bottoms, T.G., R.F. Smith, M.D. Cahn, and T.K. Hartz. 2012. Nitrogen requirements and N status determination of lettuce. HortScience 47(12):1768-1774. Schellenberg DL, MM Alsina, S Muhammad, CM Stockert, MW Wolff, BL Sanden, PH Brown and DR Smart. 2012. Yield-scaled global warming potential from N2O emissions and CH4 oxidation for almond irrigated with N fertilizers on arid land. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 155: 7-15. Valdez Zarate, J, .L., M.L. Whiting, B.D. Lampinen, S. Metcalf, S.L. Ustin, and P.H. Brown (20112012) Prediction of leaf area index in almonds by vegetation indexes. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 85:24-32. Fernandez, Victoria, Thomas Sotiropoulos, Patrick H. Brown 2013, Foliar Fertilization: Scientific Principles and Field Practices. IFA, Paris. 144pp. http://www.fertilizer.org/ifa/HomePage/LIBRARY/Publication-database.html/Foliar-Fertilization-Scientific-Principles-and-Field-Practices.html Coates, R.W., Michael J. Delwiche, Patrick H. Brown. 2012. Control of individual microsprinklers and fault detection strategies. Precision Agriculture 7(2):85-99. 2012 Youseffi, Farbod , Steven A. Weinbaum, Patrick H. Brown. 2012. Regulation of nitrogen partitioning in field-grown almond trees: Effects of fruit load and foliar nitrogen applications. Plant and Soil 2012; 227(1):273-281. Colorado Delgado, J., Khosla, R., and Mueller, T. 2011. Recent Advances in Precision (Target) Conservation. Featured Article, J. of Soil & Water Consrv. (66) 6 167-170. Jat, M.L., Gupta, R., Sahrawat, Y.S., and Khosla, R. 2011. Layering Precision Land Leveling and Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed Planting: Productivity and Input Use Efficiency of Irrigated Bread Wheat in Indo-Gangetic Plains. American Journal of Plant Sciences. Vol.2 No.4, October 2011, pages 578-588. Cao, Q., Zhenling, C., Chen, X., Khosla, R., Dao, T.H., and Miao, Y. 2011. Quantifying spatial variability of indigenous nitrogen supply for precision nitrogen management in small scale farming. J. of Preci. Ag. DOI 10.1007/s11119-011-9244-3 Shaner, D., Stromberger, M., Khosla, R., Helm, A., Bosley, B., and Hansen, N. 2011. Spatial Distribution of Enhanced Atrazine Degradation across Northeastern Colorado Cropping Systems. J. of Env. Qual. 40:46-56 Shaver, T.M., Khosla, R., and Westfall, D. G. 2011. Evaluation of two crop canopy sensors for nitrogen variability determination in irrigated maize. J. of Preci. Ag. DOI 10.1007/s11119-011-9229-2 Brummer, J.E., Davis, J.G., and Booher, M.R. 2011. Fertilizing cool season grasses and grass/legume mixtures. Colorado State University Extension factsheet 0.522. Hurisso, T.T., Davis, J.G., Brummer, J.E., Stonaker, F.H., Booher, M.R., Goldhamer, D.A., Stromberger, M.E., and Kondratieff, B.C. 2011. Earthworm abundance and species composition in organic forage production systems of northern Colorado receiving different soil amendments. Applied Soil Ecology 47:45-50. Hurisso, T.T. 2011. Evaluation of Soil Fertility and Soil Quality Aspects of Organic Perennial Pastures and Annual Forage Crops. PhD dissertation. Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO. Galles, K., J. Ham, E. Westover, J. Stratton, J. Wagner, T. Engle, and T. Bryant. 2011. Influence of reduced nitrogen diets on ammonia emissions from cattle feedlot pens. Atmosphere. 2, 655- Hawaii Journal Publications Ahmad, A., A. Fares, and N.V. Hue. 2012. Nitrate dynamic in a tropical Mollisol amended with organic manures, planted with sweet corn, and monitored with SPAD readings. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 43: Aroncion, N.Q., A. Pant, T.J.K. Radovich, N.V. Hue, J. Potter, and C. Converse. 2012. Seed germination and seedling growth of tomato and lettuce as affected by vermicompost water extracts (teas). HortScience 47:1722-1728. Cutler, W, R. Brewer, A. El-Kadi, N.V. Hue, P.Niemeyer, J. Peard, and C. Ray. 2013. Bioaccessible arsenic in former sugar cane plantations, island of Hawaii. Science of the Total Environment, 442:177-188. Hue, N.V. 2012. Arsenic chemistry and remediation in Hawaiian soils. In ternational Journal of Phytoremediation 15:105-116. McDowell, M.L., G. L. Bruland, J.L Deenik, S. Grunwald. 2012. Effects of sub-setting by carbon content, soil order, and spectral classification on prediction of soil total carbon with diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Applied and Environmental Soil Science Vol 2012:1-14. McDowell, M.L., G.L. Bruland, J.L. Deenik, S. Grunewald, N.M. Knox. 2012. Soil total carbon analysis in Hawaiian soils with visible to near-infrared and mid-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Geoderma Vol 189190: 312-320. Pant, A., TJK Radovich, N.V. Hue, J. Potter, and C. Converse. 2012. Biochemical properties of co post tea associated with compost quality and effects on pak choy growth. Scientia Horticulturae 148:138-148. Penton, C.R., J.L. Deenik, B.N. Popp, G.L. Bruland, P. Engstrom, D. St Louis, G.A. Brown, and J. Tiedje. 2013. Importance of sub-surface rhizosphere-mediated coupled nitrification-denitrification in a flooded agroecosystem in Hawaii. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 57: 362-373. DOI j.soilbio.2012.10.018. Radovich, T.J.K, A. Pant, I. Gurr, J. Sugano, B. Sipes, N. Aroncion, C. Tamaru, B. Fox, K. Kobayachi, and R. Paul. 2012. Innovative use of locally produced inputs to improve plant growth, crop quality, and grower profitability in Hawaii. HortTechnology 22:738-742. Yue-Qiang Zhang, Yan Deng, Ri-Yuan Chen, Zhen-Ling Cui, Xin-Ping Chen, Russell Yost, Fu-Suo Zhang, and Chun-Qin Zou. 2012. The reduction in zinc concentration of wheat grain upon increased phosphorus-fertilization and its mitigation by foliar zinc application. Plant and Soil 2012 (online DOI: 10.1007/s11104-012-1238-z) Hawaii - Extension publications Dupont, M. and D. Fischer. 2012. The Natural Farming Concept: A New Economical Waste Management System for Small Family Swine Farms in Hawaii.Most Frequently Asked Questions on the IDLS Piggery. Cooperative Extension Service Publication, CTAHR, LM-23. Hawaii - Proceedings and Abstracts Czeck, B.C., H. Jahren; J. L. Deenik; S. E. Crow; B. Schubert; M. Stewart. 2012. Growth, Yield, and Nutritional Responses of Chamber-Grown Sweet Potato to Elevated Carbon Dioxide Levels Expected Across the Next 200 Years. Poster presented at 2012 Fall Meeting, American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, CA Dec. 3-7, 2012. Habte, M. G. Porter, and S. Miyasaka. 2012. The Post-Transplant Response of Acacia Koa and Leucaena Leucocephala to Pre-Transplant Colonization of Their Roots by Glomus Aggregatum in the Presence or Absence of Indigenous Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi. Poster session presented at: Visions for our sustainable planet. Annual International Meetings of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA; Oct 21-24, 2012, Cincinnati, OH. Hue N.V. and A. Ahmad. 2012, Arsenic reactions and plant uptake in Hawaiian soils. Poster session presented at: Visions for our sustainable planet. Annual International Meetings of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA; Oct 21-24, 2012, Cincinnati, OH. Pawlowski, M.N., Crow, S.E., Deenik, J.L., and Evensen, C.I. 2012. Linking Soil and Water Conservation Practices to Greenhouse Gas Flux and Fine Root Dynamics: A Comparison of Sugarcane and Napier Grass Grown for Bioenergy Production. Poster session presented at: Visions for our sustainable planet. Annual International Meetings of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA; Oct 21-24, 2012, Cincinnati, OH. Silva. J., R.S. Yost, G.L. Bruland, and J.L. Deenik. 2012. Developing a Simple Method to Estimate Clay Content for Tropical Soils That Resist Dispersion. Poster session presented at: Vision for a Sustainable Planet ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Annual Meetings, Oct. 21-24, 2012, Cincinnati, OH. Sumiyoshi Y, Crow SE, Litton CM, Deenik JL, Turano B, Taylor AD. 2012. Belowground Carbon Cycle of Napier and Guinea Grasses Grown for Biofuel Feedstock Production. Poster session presented at: Vision for a Sustainable Planet ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Annual Meetings, Oct. 21-24, 2012, Cincinnati, OH. University of Idaho Research Blecker, S.W, L.L. Stillings, M.C. Amacher, J.A. Ippolito, and N.M. DeCrappeo. 2012. Development of vegetation based soil quality indices for mineralized terrane in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. J. Ecol. Indic. 20:65-74. Ippolito, J.A., D.A. Laird, and W.J. Busscher. 2012. Environmental benefits of biochar. J. Environ. Qual. 41:973-989. Ippolito, J.A., J.M. Novak, D.G. Strawn, K.G. Scheckel, M. Ahmedna, and M.A.S. Niandou. 2012. Macroscopic and molecular approaches of copper sorption by a steam activated biochar. J. Environ. Qual. 41:1150-1156. Ippolito, J.A., J.M. Novak, W.J. Busscher, M. Ahmedna, D. Rehrah, and D.W. Watts. 2012. Switchgrass biochar effects two Aridisols. J. Environ. Qual. 41:1123-1130. Lentz, R.D and J.A. Ippolito. 2012. Biochar And Manure Affects Calcareous Soil and Corn Silage Nutrient Concentrations and Uptake. J Environ. Qual. 41:1033-1043. Doi:10.2134/jeq2011.0126. Lentz, R.D., and G.A. Lehrsch. 2012. Net nitrogen mineralization from past years manure and fertilizer applications. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 76:1005-1015. Doi:10.2136/sssaj2011.0282. Lentz, R.D., and J.A. Ippolito. 2012. Biochar and manure affects calcareous soil and corn silage nutrients concentrations and uptake. J. Environ. Qual. 41:1033-1043. Lentz, Rodrick D., and Gary A. Lehrsch. 2012. Nitrogen availability and uptake by sugarbeet in years following a manure application. Intern. J. Agron. Vol. 2012, Article ID 120429, 12 p. Pehrson, L., R.L. Mahler, E. Bechinski, and C. Williams. 2011. Nutrient Management Practices Used in Potato Production in Idaho. 42:871-882. Spokas, K. A., K.B. Cantrell, J.M. Novak, D.A. Archer, H.P. Collins, J.A. Ippolito, A.A. Boateng, I.M. Lima, M.C. Lamb, A.J. McAloon, R. Fireovid, R.D. Lentz , and K. Nichols. 2012. Agronomic and Economic Impacts of Biochar Production and Use: Is it Worth the Expense? J. Environ. Qual. 41:973-989. Tarkalson, D., D. Bjorneberg, and A. Moore. 2012. Effects of tillage system and nitrogen supply on sugar beet production. Journal of Sugar Beet Research. 49(3):79-102. Idaho - Extension publications Chen, L., A. Moore, and M. de Haro Marti. 2012. On-farm composting. CIS 1190. University of Idaho Extension. Moore, A., A. Carey, S. Hines, and B. Brown. 2012. Southern Idaho Fertilizer Guide: Beans. CIS 1189. University of Idaho Extension. Idaho - Proceedings and Abstracts Moore, A. and J. Ippolito. 2012. Potato growth response to high copper soils. Proceedings of the Winter Commodity Schools 2012. 44:129-132. Moore, A., D. Morishita, O. Neher, and D. Tarkalson. 2012. Impact of Residue level and nitrogen application method on strip-till sugar beet production. Proceedings of the Winter Commodity Schools 2012. 44:183-189. Moore, A., A. Carey, S. Hines, and B. Brown. 2012. Revised Southern Idaho Bean Fertilizer Guide. Proceedings of the Winter Commodity Schools 2012. 44:69. Hunter, L.A., C.L. Falen, C.A. Kinder, A. Moore, and A. Falen. 2012. Soil fertilizer management with dairy compost in an organic, high-elevation alfalfa system. Proceedings of the Winter Commodity Schools 2012. 44:19-24. Moore, A., D. Morishita, O. Neher, and D. Tarkalson. 2012. Effects of Residue Cover and Nitrogen Application Method On Strip-till Sugar Beet Production. ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings Abstracts, Cincinatti, Ohio. 238-4. Satterwhite, M., A. Moore, and James Ippolito. 2012. Evaluating Potato Growth Response to High Copper Soils. ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings Abstracts, Cincinatti, Ohio. 154-22. Montana State University Journal publications Burgess, M., P. Miller, and C. Jones. 2012. Pulse crops improve energy intensity and productivity of cereal production in Montana, USA. J Sustain Agr. 36:699-718. doi: 10.1080/10440046.2012.672380. Chen, C., K. Neill, M. Burgess, and A. Bekkerman. 2012. Agronomic benefit and economic potential of introducing fall-seeded pea and lentil into conventional wheat-based crop rotations. Agron. J. 104:215-224. Lee, D.K., E. Aberle, C. Chen, J. Egenolf, K. Harmoney, G. Kakani, R. Kallenbach, and J.C. Castro. 2013. Nitrogen and harvest management of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grassland for sustainable biomass feedstock production. Global Change Biology Bioenergy. 5:6-15.(appeared on-line May 2012). DOI: 10.1111/j.1757-1707.2012.01177.x McCauley, A.M., C.A. Jones, P.R. Miller, M.H. Burgess, and C.A. Zabinski. 2012. Nitrogen fixation by pea and lentil green manures in a semi-arid agroecoregion: effect of planting and termination timing. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst. 92:305-314. doi:10.1007/s10705-012-9491-3. ODea, J.K., P.R. Miller, and C.A. Jones. 2013. Greening summerfallow with no-till legume green manures in dryland wheat agroecosystems: An on-farm assessment in north-central Montana. J Soil Water Conserv. Accepted. Walsh, O.S. 2012. Evaluation of Sensors for Improved Nitrogen Recommendations in Spring Wheat Production. Western Nutrient Digest. 4(1):1-5. Montana - Extension publications Burgess, M., P. Miller, and C. Jones. 2012. Fertilizer Fact No. 58. Effect of Tillage on Nitrogen Cycling from Annual Legume Green Manures. C. Jones and K. Olson-Rutz [Eds.]. Montana State University Extension, Bozeman, MT. 2 pp. Engel, R. and C. Jones. 2012. Fertilizer Fact No. 59. Ammonia Loss from Urea Surface-Applied to Cold Soils. C. Jones and K. Olson-Rutz [Eds.]. Montana State University Extension, Bozeman, MT. 2 pp. Engel, R. and C. Jones. 2012. Fertilizer Fact No. 60. Mitigation of Ammonia Loss from Urea Applied to Moist Soils by Agrotain®. C. Jones and K. Olson-Rutz [Eds.]. Montana State University Extension, Bozeman, MT. 2 pp. Jones, C. and K. Olson-Rutz. 2012. Management practices to increase wheat grain protein. EB0206. Montana State University Extension. Bozeman, MT. 12 p. McCauley, A., P. Miller, J. Holmes, and M. Burgess. 2012. Fertilizer Fact No. 61. Improving Annual Legume Green Manure Management by Optimizing Seeding Rates and Termination Timing. C. Jones and K. Olson-Rutz [Eds.]. Montana State University Extension, Bozeman, MT. 2 pp. Westcott, M., and K. Kephart. 2012. Fertilizer Fact No. 57. Response of Corn to Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate and Top-dressing. C. Jones and K. Olson-Rutz [Eds.]. Montana State University Extension, Bozeman, MT. 2 pp. Westcott, M., D. Wichman, and R. Hybner. 2012. Fertilizer Fact No. 56. Evaluation of Nitrate Potential in Hay from Five Cereal Forage Species. C. Jones and K. Olson-Rutz [Eds.]. Montana State University Extension, Bozeman, MT. 2 pp. Montana - Proceedings and Abstracts Ewing, S.A., P. Miller, W.A. Sigler, C. Jones, and G. Weissmann, G. 2012. Long-term water balance and nitrate biogeochemistry in cultivated alluvial landscapes of central Montana. ASA-CSA-SSSA Conference, Cincinnati, OH. October 21-24, 2012. [invited] Ewing, S.A., W.A. Sigler, D. Jackson-Smith, C. Jones, and G. Weissmann. 2012. Reducing groundwater nitrate in the Judith River watershed: a participatory approach to achieve effective management for improved water quality. Land and Sea Grant National Water Conference, Portland, OR. March 20-24, 2012. Jones, C., P. Miller, J. ODea, A. McCauley, and M. Burgess. 2012. Short and long-term effects of legume green manures and N rate in a cereal cropping system on yield and soil N. In Schlegel A. and H. D. Bond (eds) Proceedings of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. Denver, CO. March 6-7, 2012. 14:89-95. McCauley, A.M., C.A. Jones, C.A. Zabinski, and P.R. Miller. 2012. Nitrogen fixation of annual legumes: effects of phosphorus and arbuscular mycorrhizae. In Schlegel A. and H. D. Bond (eds) Proceedings of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. Denver, CO. March 6-7, 2012. 14:119-125. McVay, K.A., A. Lenssen, and C. Jones. 2012. Cereal forage response to nitrogen fertilizer: refining the Montana nitrogen rate guideline. In Schlegel A. and H. D. Bond (eds) Proceedings of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. Denver, CO. March 6-7, 2012. 14: 161-167. McVay, K.A. and Q. Khan. 2012. Intensified Dryland Cropping Systems for Southern Montana., ASA-CSA-SSSA Conference Abstracts, Cincinnati, OH. October 21-24, 2012. Miller, P.C. Jones, M. Burgess, J. ODea, and A. McCauley. 2012. Legume green manures in fallow wheat no-till systems: Do they work in Montana? ASA-CSA-SSSA Conference Abstracts, Cincinnati, OH. October 21-24, 2012. Rick, T.L., C. Jones, P. Miller, and A. McCauley. 2012. Crop diversification effects on soil nutrient levels in long-term dryland cropping systems in Montana. ASA-CSA-SSSA Conference Abstracts, Cincinnati, OH. October 21-24, 2012. Sigler, W.A., S.A. Ewing, C. Jones, and G. Weissmann. 2012. Effects of cereal production on nutrient dynamics of shallow, unconfined aquifers in central Montana. Abstract H41E-1219. AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA. December 3-7, 2012. Sigler, W.A., S.A. Ewing, D. Jackson-Smith, and C. Jones. 2012. Participatory Research to Reduce Nitrate Leaching: Judith River Watershed, Montana. Land and Sea Grant National Water Conference, Portland, OR. March 20-24, 2012. Walsh, O.S. 2012. Effect of Nitrogen Sources, Rates, and Application Time on Spring Wheat Yield. Western Crop Science Society Conference, Pullman, WA. July 11-13, 2012. Walsh, O.S., M.P. Westcott. 2012. Evaluation of Sensor-Based Technologies and Nitrogen Sources for Improved Spring Wheat Production in Montana. Western Crop Science Society Conference, Pullman, WA. July 11-13, 2012. Walsh, O.S., M.P. Westcott, 2012. Sensor-based nutrient management in Montana's Golden Triangle. In Schlegel A. and H. D. Bond (eds) Proceedings of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. Denver, CO. March 6-7, 2012.14:37-43. Walsh, O.S., M.P. Westcott. 2012. Evaluation of Sensor-Based Technologies and Nitrogen Sources for Improved Recommendations for Dryland and Irrigated Spring Wheat Production in Montana. ASA-CSA-SSSA Conference Abstracts, Cincinnati, OH. October 21-24, 2012. Walsh, O.S., M.P. Westcott. 2012. Foliar Applied Nitrogen Fertilizers. ASA-CSA-SSSA Conference Abstracts, Cincinnati, OH. October 21-24, 2012. Walsh, O.S. 2012. Effect of Nitrogen Sources, Rates, and Application Time on Spring Wheat Yield and Grain Protein. ASA-CSA-SSSA Conference Abstracts, Cincinnati, OH. October 21-24, 2012. Weaver, D.K., P.F. Lamb, J.H. Miller, O.M. Walsh, K.J. Delaney, and C.A. Jones. 2012. Impact of nutrient availability on losses due to wheat stem sawfly injury in spring wheat. In Schlegel A. and H. D. Bond (eds) Proceedings of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. Denver, CO. March 6-7, 2012. 14:141-147. New Mexico State University New Mexico - Extension Publications: Mitchell, C., Osmond, D., Flynn, R. P. (2012). New Mexico. New Technology and Alternative Nitrogen Sources for Crops in the Southern U.S. Auburn, Alabama: Alabama Experiment Station. repo.lib.auburn.edu/repo/bitstream/handle/123456789/44121/scsb-416.pdf?sequence=2 Idowu, O. J., Marsalis, M. A., Flynn, R. P. (2012). Guide A-147, Agronomic Principles to Help with Farming during Drought Periods. Las Cruces, NM: Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, New Mexico State University Flynn, R. P. (2012). Appropriate Analyses for New Mexico Soils. NMSU Extension Guide A-146 (ed.) Flynn, R. P., Marsalis, M. A. (2012). Limited Irrigation Effects on Alfalfa Yield and Water Use Pattern. In Mark Marsalis (Ed.), Alfalfa Market News (1st ed., vol. 11). Las Cruces, NM: Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, New Mexico State University. New Mexico - Conference Proceedings and Abstracts Idowu, O. J., Flynn, R. P., Agronomy Society of America, ASA-CSSA-SSSA, Cincinnati, OH, "Can Crop Productivity Benefit From Cover Crops and Organic Additions in an Irrigated Environment?" (October 22, 2012). Flynn, R. P., Northern New Mexico Network Workshop, he Northern New Mexico Network for Rural Education, Valle Caldera Research and Education Center, Jemez Springs, NM, "Terrestrial Soils" (June 13, 2012). Flynn, R. P., Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference, IPNI, Denver, CO, "Success and Failures of Nutrient Management Plans for New Mexico Dairies", (March 7, 2012). Flynn, R. P., Lindemann, W. C. (Author Only), Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference, IPNI, Denver, CO, "Chile leaf analysis as affected by soils and management practices in New Mexicos chile belt". (March 6, 2012). Flynn, R. P., Heerema, R., Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference, IPNI, Denver, CO, "Rescuing mature pecan trees suffering from iron deficiency in the Pecos Valley", Meeting Type: Academic, Scope: Regional, published in proceedings. (March 6, 2012). Oregon State University Journal Article Bañados, M.P., Strik, B.C., Bryla, D.R., and Righetti, T.L. 2012. Response of highbush blueberry to nitrogen fertilizer during field establishmentI. Accumulation and allocation of fertilizer nitrogen and biomass. HortScience 47:648-655. Bryla, D.R., Strik, B.C., Bañados, M.P., and Righetti, T.L. 2012. Response of highbush blueberry to nitrogen fertilizer during field establishmentII. Plant nutrient requirements in relation to nitrogen fertilizer supply. HortScience 47:917-926. Strik, B.C., D. Bryla, H. Larco, and J. Julian. 2012. Organic Highbush Blueberry Production Systems Research Management of Plant Nutrition, Irrigation Requirements, Weeds, and Economic Sustainability. Acta Hort. 933:215-220 Hart, J.M. C Landgre, J. Moody, R Fletcher and D. Horneck. 2012. Needle collection time for Nutrient evaluation in Christmas tree production. Communications Soil Sci Plant Anal. 43:471-477. Oregon - Extension Publications Lutcher, L.K., and D.J. Wysocki. 2012. Performance of Hard Red Winter Wheat in Late-Planted, No-Till Fallow. Pacific Northwest (PNW) Extension Publication 635. Sullivan, D.M. and N.D. Andrews. 2012. Estimating plant-available nitrogen release from cover crops. Pacific Northwest Extension Publication 636. Oregon State University Extension. Corvallis, OR. 23 p. J.M. Hart, N.P. Anderson, A.G. Hulting, T.G. Chastain, M.E. Mellbye, W.C. Young III, and T.B. Silberstein. 2012. Postharvest Residue Management for Grass Seed Production in Western Oregon. EM 9051. OSU Extension Service. Lutcher, L.K., N.W. Christensen, W.F. Schillinger, D.J. Wysocki, and S.B. Wuest. 2012. Phosphorus fertilization of late-planted winter wheat in no-till fallow. Pacific Northwest (PNW) Extension Publication 631. Stephenson, G., L. Gwin, M. Powell, and A. Garrett. 2012. Enhancing Organic Agriculture in Oregon: Research, Education, and Policy. EM 9050. (Relevance to WERA-103: this publication contains survey data on importance of nutrient management in context of organic farming). Oregon - Proceedings and Abstracts Butler, M.D. and R.B. Simmons. 2012. Ammonia Volatilization from Urea and Alternative N Sources in Central Oregon. Online Proceedings. American Society of Agronomy. Costello, Ryan C., Dan M. Sullivan, and Shannon B. Andrews. 2012. Predicting the pH buffering capacity of compost via titration with dilute sulfuric acid. In: S05.01-P -51 (Soil organic matter amendments: impacts, benefits, and risks). EuroSoil2012, 2-6 July 2012, Bari, IT. Oral. Strik, B.C., D.R. Bryla, E. Vollmer, and D.M. Sullivan 2012. In: Organic Blueberry Production Systems: Management of Plant Nutrition, Irrigation Requirements, and Weeds. American Soc. Hort Sci http://ashs.confex.com/ashs/2012/webprogram/Paper10459.html Sullivan, D.M, R.C. Costello, D.R. Bryla, B.C. Strik, and J. Owen Jr. 2012. Suitability of composts for an acid-loving plant, highbush blueberry. Paper 105. In: ORBIT2012: Global assessment for organic resources and waste management. 8th Intl. Conf., European Compost Network. 12-15 June, 2012. Rennes, France. Sullivan, D.M. 2012. Nitrogen fertilizer equivalency of heat-dried municipal biosolids for soft white winter wheat. In: 25th Biofest Conference, Cle Elum, WA. 28 Aug 2012. https://www.eiseverywhere.com/file_uploads/8ee6860aada13b167276eedd2799709e_SullivanBiofestposters2012.pdf Sullivan, D.M. 2012. Nitrogen fertilizer replacement value of heat-dried biosolids. Paper 106. In: ORBIT2012: Global assessment for organic resources and waste management. 8th Intl. Conf., European Compost Network. 12-15 June, 2012. Rennes, France. CD-ROM. Sullivan, Dan M. and Ryan C. Costello. Custom compost for acid-loving plants: chemistry matters. Soil Science Soc. America Annual Meeting. Cincinnati, OH. Session 117-7. October 22, 2012 Oregon - Newsletter/Trade Journals/Popular Press Andrews, N. and D. Sullivan. 2012. Estimating plant-available nitrogen from cover crops. p. 1-6. In: Tilth Producers Quarterly. 22 (4). Tilth Producers of Washington. Seattle, WA. Andrews, N. and D. Sullivan (2012). Nitrogen Management in Organic Vegetables: Work in Progress. Oregon Small Farm News. 7(4), pp 12-14. Andrews, N. and D. Sullivan (2012). Estimating plant-available nitrogen from cover crops. Tilth Producers Quarterly, 22(4), pp 1,4-6. Andrews, N.D. and D.M. Sullivan (2012). A New Pacific Northwest Extension Publication: Estimating Plant-Available Nitrogen from Cover Crops. Nutrient Digest A Publication of the WERA-103 Committee. 4(3), pp 4-5. Costello, R.C. and D.M. Sullivan. 2012. Tagro Potting soil as a soil amendment for an acid-loving plant. In: Biosolids Bulletin. NW Biosolids Management Association. Oregon - Experiment Station or Project Reports Butler, M.D. and R.B. Simmons. 2012. Quantifying Ammonia Volatilization from Surface-Applied Fertilizers in Central Oregon Kentucky Bluegrass Seed Production. 2011 Seed Production Research, Ext/CrS 136, 4/12. pp. 53-58. Butler, M. and R. Simmons. 2012. Quantifying Ammonia Volatilization from Surface-Applied Fertilizers in Kentucky Bluegrass Grown for Seed, 2011. Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center 2011 Annual Reports. pp. 1-8. Sullivan, Dan M., Aaron Heinrich, and Ed Peachey. Predicting Phosphorus and Nitrogen Needs in Sweet Corn. 2012. Report to Oregon Processed Veg. Commission. Washington State University Research Bair, K. E., and J. R. Davenport. Influence of recent acidification on available phosphorus indices and sorption in Washington state soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.: 76: 515-526. McIvor, K, C. Cogger, and S. Brown. 2012. Effects of biosolids based soil products on soil physical and chemical properties in urban gardens. Compost Sci. Util. 20:199-206. Mobbs, T., R. T. Peters, J. R. Davenport, M. A. Evans, and J. Q. Wu. 2012. Effects of four soil surfactants on four soil-water properties in sand and silt loam. J. Soil Water Cons. 67: 275-283. Saunders, O., A. Fortuna, J.H. Harrison, C. Cogger, E. Whitefield, and T. Green. 2012. Gaseous nitrogen and bacterial responses to raw and digested dairy manure applications in incubated soil. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46:1168411692. dx.doi.org/10.1021/es301754s Saunders, O., A. Fortuna, J.H. Harrison, E. Whitefield, C. Cogger, A. Kennedy, and A.I. Bary. 2012. Comparison of raw dairy manure slurry and anaerobically digested slurry as N sources for grass forage production. Internat. J. Agron. doi:10.1155/2012/101074 Lawson, A., A. Fortuna, C.G. Cogger, A.I. Bary, and T.L Stubbs. Nitrogen contribution of rye-hairy vetch cover crop blends to organically grown sweet corn. 2012. Renewable Agric Food Sys. doi:10.1017/S1742170512000014

Impact Statements

The purpose of a WERA (Western Education/Extension and Research Activities) is to bring researchers together to coordinate related research without the need for a formal multi-state research plan, to organize technical conferences, work groups, task forces, or symposia for exchange of experience and opinions.
The primary impact of the WERA-103 Committee has been to disseminate knowledge through the Western Nutrient Management Conference (biennial basis) for over 20 years. This conference brings agricultural professionals and industry members from the western region together to provide training and communication regarding nutrient management.
The work of the WERA-103 committee has: 1) improved fertilizer use efficiency in the Western Region; 2) improved use of animal waste in environmentally safe ways; and 3)provided information to consultants and governmental agencies that can lead to less nutrient contamination of ground and surface water resources.

Date of Annual Report: 05/07/2014

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 03/18/2014 - 03/20/2014
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2013 - 09/01/2014

Participants

Bauder, Troy (troy.bauder@colostate.edu) – Colorado State University;
Blaylock, Alan (ablaylock@agrium.com) – Agrium, Inc.;
Cardon, Grant (grant.cardon@usu.edu) – Utah State University;
Davenport, Joan (jdavenp@wsu.edu) – Washington State University;
Deenik, Jonathan (jdeenik@hawaii.edu) – University of Hawaii;
Dellavalle, Nat (ndellavalle@dellavallelab.com) – Dellavalle Labs;
Flynn, Robert (rflynn@nmsu.edu) – New Mexico State University;
Greer, Ken (kengreer2westernag.ca) – Western Ag Solutions;
Koenig, Rich (richk@wsu.edu) – Washington State University;
Mikkelsen, Rob (rmikklesen@ipni.net);
Miller, Robert (rmiller@lamar.colostate.edu) – ALFP;
Moore, Amber (amberm@uidaho.edu) – University of Idaho;
Mooso, Galen ( galen.mooso@simplot.com) – Simplot, Inc.;
Norton, Jay (jnorton4@uwyo.edu) – University of Wyoming;
Norton, Urzula (unorton@uwyo.edu) – University of Wyoming;
Pettygrove, Stu (gspettygroveWucdavis.edu) – University of California Davis;
Stark, Jeff (jstark@uidaho.edu) – University of Idaho;
Sullivan, Dan (dan.sullivan@oregonstate.edu) – Oregon State University;
Tindall, Terry (terry.tindall@simplot.com) – Simplot, Inc.;
Walsh, Olga (olga.walsh@montana.edu) – Montana State University;
Walworth, Jim (Walworth@ag.arizona.edu) – Arizona State University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Officer Succession

Current officers: Chair: Amber Moore; Vice Chair: Galen Mooso; Secretary: Joan Davenport; Effective at end of meeting: Chair: Galen Mooso; Vice Chair: Joan Davenport; Secretary: Jim Walworth; Secretary Nominee for 2015: Troy Bauder

Report from WERA-103 Advisor

Rich Koenig (WERA-103 Administrative Advisor) gave a committee update. He indicated that our project renewal, which is due every five years, expires 31 Sept 2015. Effectively it is due (submit reauthorization) Jan 2015. Joan Davenport (lead), Rob Mikkelsen, Bob Flynn, and Galen Mooso volunteered to develop the new project. Rich also covered the NIFA list of the AFRI funding priorities and the group that NIFA has removed the match requirement for USDA-ARS and Land Grant Universities. Climate hubs are being developed and these will be important to be aware of. A map and web address with information about this project will be provided.

Planning for 2015 Western Nutrient Management Conference

The dates for the meeting were identified as 4 March 2015 for the WERA-103 business meeting and holding the conference on 5 & 6 March 2015. Phyllis Pates confirmed that the facility is available on these dates.

David Tarkalson volunteered to be the meeting chair and Grant Cardon the vice chair.

Topics Identifed for the Conference were:

Nitrogen budgeting and fertilizer use reporting – the future of agriculture?

Salinity (including sodicity and B)

The effect of drought on nutrient management

Micronutrients (CCA?)

How does soil fertility intersect with soil health

The role of cover crops in nutrient management

Olga Walsh volunteered to coordinate the poster session including the graduate student poster contest.

There was a discussion about the Leadership Award presented at the conference. As chair of the Executive Committee, Galen Mooso will solicit nominees and the Executive Committee will determine the awardee based on merit. Bob Miller is compiling a list of past recipients and the plan is to include this on the revised web site.

There was a 1/3 return rate of surveys from the 2013 Conference. The overall ratings were 31 very good; 10 good; 2 ok. Concern was expressed over the rate of survey return. Grant Cardon and Amber Moore volunteered to determine how best to increase the rate of return of survey, including looking into electronic survey options. Other information suggested to include is the state attendees came from, how attendees travelled to the conference, and if an attendee is or is not a CCA. The surveys also confirmed that the format worked well with a session plenary session followed by then two concurrent CCA and research topical session.

Financial Report:

This was presented, with a motion to approved (Joan Davenport), seconded (Bob Miller) and unanimously approved. The group extended our thanks to Phyllis Pates of IPNI, and to all of our sponsors, including IPNI, for their support of the Western Nutrient Management Conference.

A detailed discussion took place with respect to the location of the next Western Nutrient Management Conference. There were comments in the attendee survey suggesting different locations. Grant Cardon reviewed the attendee numbers from past conference, which showed a clear pattern of decline for the last 3 meetings held in Salt Lake City and a clear pattern of increased attendance since moving to Reno. The data also showed that we are reaching a greater number of Certified Crop Advisors. Alan Blaylock moved, seconded by Nat Dellevalle, that the meeting be held in Reno, which passed unanimously.

Other Topics:

Bob Miller provided copy of 50 potential logos for the WERA-103 group, all of which are original and not trademarked. These were circulated and members chose their top 3. The group chose (by 12 votes) logo #9 and Bob will move forward on this.

David Tarkalson reviewed the WERA-103 contributions to Crop and Soils Magazine. We submitted 3 in 2013 and one in 2014 to date. Amber Moore volunteered to help provide a list of topics from those the group already develops for the Western Nutrient Digest.

There was a long discussion on the WERA-103 website. David Tarkalson volunteered to work with Phyllis Pates to upgrade the information on the website. Items to include are a link to the NIMMS website, links to past proceedings and a box within that of poster award winners.

A recent publication (Khan, S. A., R. L. Mulvaney, and T. R. Ellsworth. 2014. The potassium paradox: Implications for soil fertility, crop production, and human health. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 29:3 – 27) was discussed at length. As a group, we recognize and agree that there are issues with soil testing and nutrient recommendations for potassium management. However, the group concluded that the article skipped key points such as “How does this relate to crop deficiencies? What is appropriate testing (soil, tissue, other)? What other testing issues should be considered (e.g., soil sampling depth, wet or dry sample for testing, soil moisture, crop removals and removal of crop, saturated paste extracts). Several conferences will be addressing the topic, including one mentioned sponsored by the IPNI and a session on K soil test the International Soil and Plant Analysis conference in Jan 2015.
We closed this discussion concluding that we should revisit progress on this topic at 2015 WERA-103 Meeting.

A long discussion ensued about the direction that the NRCS is taking towards promoting and possibly implementing testing for soil health. A committee composed of Grant Cardon, Bob Miller, Troy Bauder, Jim Walworth, Dan Sullivan and Jonathan Deenik was formed to draft a position statement that expresses our concerns about how the proposed tests address issues of soil health in the arid and semi-arid areas of the Western US.

Accomplishments

Short-term Outcomes: Grant Cardon of Utah State University developed a program on exploring how soil test interpretation and recommendations were developed using real data. This will be shared with the group for use throughout the region. A recent survey by the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) reported that Land Grant Universities and the Extension Service were rated #10 as farmers source for information (family members #1), with a very high rating for trust in the information provided. New Mexico State University and Utah State University have developed programs where county agriculture extension agents working with prison inmates, much like Master Gardeners, including growing plants. All states reported efforts on soil and water nutrient management in different educational outreach formats, including You Tube, work with STEM organizations, Master Gardener education, University education, CCA education, and working with county extension personnel to expand educational outreach. Outputs: Four articles were submitted to and published by Crops & Soils Magazine authored by and covering topics from the WERA-103 group. The “Western Soil and Plant Analysis Methods” book has been reviewed and updated. The new title is “Soil, Plant and Irrigation Water Reference Methods for the Western Region”, with editors R.O. Miller, R. K. Belden, R. Gavlak, and D. Horneck, Lulu Press. The electronic copy is available through the Soil and Plant Analysis Council Website (http://www.spcouncil.com/www.spcouncil.com/index.html). Members of WERA-103 continue to contribute to the regional newsletter “The Western Nutrient Digest”. This is released 3 - 4 times annually, with Dr. Amber Moore serving as editor-in-chief and rotating guest editors from the WERA-103 group for each issue. The publication received the American Society of Agronomy Excellence Award in 2013. Activities: Cropping seminars in Montana for producers at 8 different locations covering nutrient management and water quality, with 10 - 45 attendees at each meeting. Members of the WERA-103 provided talks at the Far West Fertilizer Grower and Fieldmen educational sessions in Washington and Idaho in December 2013 and January 2014, respectively. Milestones: Estimate nitrogen contributions from legumes using PRS technology in multiple cropping systems. Quantify ammonia loss from manure - including feed lots, lagoons and compost Nitrogen and phosphorus soil test calibration studies for sugar beets and pecan (zinc also included for pecan). Develop a clearing house for extension and teaching tools on the WERA-103 website. Compile what we already have and then conduct a gap analysis to gather more.

Publications

Arizona: Ajibode, A.M., Rock, C.M., Bright, K., Mclain, J.E., Gerba, C.P., and Pepper, I.L. 2013. Influence of residence time of reclaimed water within distribution systems on water quality. Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination 3(3): 185-196 Brown, P. 2013 . Heat Units. 2013. AZ1602. Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Brown, P.W. 2014. Basics of Evaporation and Evapotranspiration. AZ1194. University of Arizona College of Agriculture & Life Sciences http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/water/az1194.pdf Brown, P.W. 2014. Converting Reference Evapotranspiration into Turf Water Use. AZ1195. University of Arizona College of Agriculture & Life Sciences http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/water/az1195.pdf Cusimano, J., Megdal, S.B., Mclain, J.E., and Silvertooth, J.C. 2014. Study Finds Land Fallowing Improves Soil Quality in PVID. University of Arizona WRRC Quarterly Newsletter. https://wrrc.arizona.edu/sites/wrrc.arizona.edu/files/AWR%20Winter%202014%2001-07-14.pdf Fitzsimmons, K. and Sace, C. 2013. Vegetable production in a recirculating aquaponic system using Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with and without freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii. Academic Journal of Agricultural Research, 12(1) 236-250 Hafsteinsdottir, E.G., Gore, D.B., Faunce, A.L., & Walworth, J.L. 2014. Fixation of metals and metalloids by orthophosphate solutions. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science & Technology (accepted). Kopec, D.M. 2013. Landscape Water Management. Smartscape Study Guide for Arizona Landscape Professionals. Loper, S., Shober, A., Wiese, C., Denny, G., and Stanley, C. 2013. Nutrient Leaching during Establishment of Simulated Residential Landscapes. Journal of Environmental Quality, 42(1) 260-270 Main, C.L., Barber, T., Boman, R.K., Chapman, K., Dodds, D.M., Duncan, S., Edmisten, K.L., Horn, P., Jones, M.A., Morgan, G.D., Norton, E.R., Osborne, S., Whitaker, J.R., & Nichols, R.L. 2013. Effects of Nitrogen and Planting Seed Size on Cotton Growth, Development, and Yield. Agronomy Journal, 105(6): 1853-1859 Ottman, M.J. 2013. Crop growth stage and water use calculator. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Tucson. http://cals.arizona.edu/forageandgrain/CropCalculators Ramirez-Andreota,M. M.L. Brusseau, J.F. Artiola, and R. Maier. 2013. A greenhouse and field-based study to determine the accumulation of arsenic in common homegrown vegetables grown in mining-affected soils. Science of the Total Environment 443: 299-306 Sace, C.F. and Fitzsimmons, K.M. 2013. Vegetable production in a recirculating aquaponic system using Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with and without freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). Acad. J. Agric. Res. 1(12):236-250 Schuch, U. 2014. Soils, Plant Nutrition, and Transport in Plants. Introductory Plant Science: Investigating the Green World. (pp. 239-262). Dubuque, Iowa Kendall Hunt. Schuch, U. 2013. Smartscape Manual. Plants, Soils, and Water. University of Arizona CALS Cooperative Extension. Wall, G., McLain, J., Kimball, B., White, J., Ottman, M., and Garcia, R. 2013. Infrared warming affects intrarow soil CO2 efflux during vegetative growth of spring wheat. Agronomy Journal, 105: 607-618 Walworth, J. 2013. Manure in the Home Garden. AZ1590. Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1590.pdf Walworth, J. 2013. AZ1591. Nitrogen in Soil and the Environment. Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1591.pdf Walworth, J. 2013. AZ1415. Recognizing and Treating Iron Deficiency in the Home Yard. Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1415.pdf Wang, G., Bronson, K., Thorp, K., & Ottman, M. 2013. Cultivar and nitrogen effects on yield and grain protein in irrgated durum wheat, 2012. Forage and Grain Report, 2013: 1-9. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1597/az1597a.pdf Wright, G.C. 2013. Evaluation of Nitrogen Fertilization Practices for Surface-Irrigated Lemon Trees – 2012. Commodity Research Report. Zerihun, D., Sanchez, C., and Nolte, K. 2014. "Field-Scale Sprinkler Irrigation System Hydraulic Model. I: Hydraulic Characterization." J. Irrig. Drain Eng. , 10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0000727 , 04014019. Zerihun, D. and Sanchez, C. 2014. "Field-Scale Sprinkler Irrigation System Hydraulic Model. II: Hydraulic Simulation." J. Irrig. Drain Eng. , 10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0000723 , 04014020. California: Saa S., S. Muhammad, P. H. Brown. 2013. Development of leaf sampling and interpretation methods and nutrient budget approach to nutrient management in almond; Acta Hort. 984:291-296. Saa S., S. Muhammad, S. J. Castro, P. H. Brown. 2013. Effect of spur type, foliar sprays, and differential nitrogen rates on leaf nutrient content and spur leaf area of almond trees; Acta Hort. 984:139-142. Bottoms, T.G., M.P. Bolda, M.L. Gaskell and T.K. Hartz. 2013. Determination of strawberry nutrient optimum ranges through DRIS analysis. HortTechnology 23:312-318. Bottoms, T.G., T.K. Hartz, M.D. Cahn and B.F. Farrara. 2013. Crop and soil nitrogen dynamics in annual strawberry production in California. HortScience 48:1034-1039. Heinrich, A., R.F. Smith, and M.D. Cahn. 2013. Nutrient and water use of fresh market spinach. HortTechnology 23(3):325-333. Mukome, F. N. D. Doane, T. A.; Silva, L. C. R. and Horwath W.R. 2013. Testing protocol ensures the authenticity of organic fertilizers. California Agriculture. 6: 210-216. Zhu, X., L.C.R. Silva, T.A. Doane, H. Wu and W.R. Horwath. 2013. Quantifying the effects of compost application, water content and nitrogen fertilization on N2O emissions in ten agricultural soils. Journal of Environmental Quality. 42:912-918. Mailapalli, D.R., M. Burger, W. R. Horwath, W. W. Wallender. Crop Residue Biomass Effects on Agricultural Runoff. Applied and Environmental Soil Science Volume 2013, Article ID 805206. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/805206 Colorado: Bauder, T.A., C.M.H. Keske, and E.M. Wardle. 2013. Colorado Nutrient Management Practices: A Summary of Adoption Rates and Costs. Colo. Ag. Expt. Tech. Report. TR13-10. Gleason D, Chavez J, Bauder T, Andales A. Performance of atmometers in estimating reference evapotranspiration in a semi-arid environment [electronic resource]. Agricultural Water Management [serial online]. December 2013;130:27-35. Available from: Agricola, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 11, 2014. McDaniel, J. P., Cranshaw, W., Barbarick, K. A., & Stromberger, M. E. (2013). Survival of Aporrectodea caliginosa and its effects on nutrient availability in biosolids amended soil [electronic resource]. Applied Soil Ecology, 711-6. Waskom, R.M., T. Bauder, J.G. Davis and J.R. Self. 2013 revision. Selecting an Analytical Laboratory. CSU Extension Fact Sheet No. 0.520. Idaho: Blecker, S.W., L.L. Stillings, M.C. Amacher, J.A. Ippolito, and N.M. DeCrappeo. 2013. Development and application of a soil organic matter based soil quality index in mineralized terrane of the Western US. Environ. Earth Sci. 68:1887-1901. Ducey, T.F., J.A. Ippolito, K.B. Cantrell, J.M. Novak, and R.D. Lentz. 2013. Addition of Activated Switchgrass Biochar to an Aridic Subsoil Increases Microbial Nitrogen Cycling Gene Abundances. Applied Soil Ecol. 65:65-72. Ippolito, J.A., and N.O. Nelson. 2013. Assessment of phosphorus retention in irrigation canals. J. Soil Water Conserv. 68:450-459. Ippolito, J.A., D.G. Strawn, and K.G. Scheckel. 2013. Investigation of copper sorption by sugar beet processing lime waste. J. Environ. Qual. 42:919-924. Lentz, R.D. 2013. Delayed sample filtration and storage effects on dissolved nutrients measured in agricultural runoff. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 44:2952-2960. Moore, A., S. Hines, B. Brown, C. Falen, M. de Haro Marti, M. Chahine, R. Norell, J. Ippolito, S. Parkinson, and M. Satterwhite. 2014. Soil-plant interactions on manure enriched calcareous soils. Agronomy Journal. 106:73-80. Barbarick, K.A., J.A. Ippolito, J. McDaniel, N.C. Hansen, and G.A. Peterson. 2013. Regression modeling weather and biosolids effects on dryland agroecosystems. Colorado Ag. Exp. Sta. TB13-03. Ellis, L., S. Love, A. Moore, and M. de Haro Marti. 2013. Composting and using backyard poultry waste in the home garden. CIS 1194. Moore, A., N. Olsen, M. Satterwhite, and M.J. Frazier. 2013. Organic potato production in Idaho: Nutrient Management and variety selection. BUL 885. Montana: O’Dea, J., P. Miller and C. Jones. 2013. Greening summerfallow with no-till legume green manures in dryland wheat agroecosystems: An on-farm assessment in north-central Montana. J Soil Water Conserv. 68:270-282. Engel, R., C. Jones and R. Wallendar. 2013. Ammonia volatilization losses were small after mowing field peas in dry conditions. Can J Soil Sci 93:239-242. Engel, R.E., E. Williams, R. Wallander, and J. Hilmer. 2013. NBPT degradation occurs more slowly in alkaline soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 77:1424–1429. Eckhoff, J.L.A. 2013. Using zinc to reduce cadmium in durum grain. Western Nutrient Digest 5(3):1-2. Jones, C., B. Brown, R. Engel, D. Horneck and K. Olson-Rutz. Management to Minimize Nitrogen Fertilizer Volatilization. MSU Extension. EB0209. 5 p. Jones, C., B. Brown, R. Engel, D. Horneck and K. Olson-Rutz. Factors Affecting Nitrogen Fertilizer Volatilization. MSU Extension. EB0208. 6 p. Jones, C. and K. Olson-Rutz. Management Practices to Increase Grain Protein. 2013. Nutrient Digest Vol. 5, Issue 1. Lee, D.K., E. Aberle, C. Chen, J. Egenolf, K. Harmoney, G. Kakani, R. Kallenbach, J.C. Castro. 2013. Nitrogen and harvest management of conservation reserve program (CRP) grassland for sustainable biomass feedstock production. Global Challenge Bioenergy 5:6-15. O. S. Walsh, J.B. Solie, and W.R. Raun. 2013. Can Oklahoma Mesonet Cumulative Evapotranspiration Data Be Accurately Predicted Using Three Interpolation Methods? Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 44(5): 892-899. Olga S. Walsh, Robin J. Christiaens, and Arjun Pandey. 2013. Local Data is Required for Improved Sensor-Based Nitrogen Recommendations. Better Crops. 97(4):26-28. Olga S. Walsh, Robin J. Christiaens, Arjun Pandey, and Debra A. Miller. 2013. Local Data Improves Sensor-Based Nitrogen Recommendations. Crops and Soils. 46(6):20-23. Olga S. Walsh and Robin Christiaens. 2013. Reference Strips for Efficient Nutrient Management. Extension brochure. Olga S. Walsh, Robin J. Christiaens, and Arjun Pandey. 2013. Foliar-Applied Nitrogen Fertilizers in Spring Wheat Production. Crops and Soils. 46(4):26-32. Olga S. Walsh, Robin J. Christiaens, and Arjun Pandey. 2013. Foliar-Applied Nitrogen Fertilizers in Spring Wheat Production. Western Nutrient Digest. 5(3):1-5. Oregon: Moberg, D.P., R. L. Johnson, and D.M. Sullivan. 2013. Comparison of disturbed and undisturbed soil core methods to estimate nitrogen mineralization rates in manured agricultural soils. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal.44:1722-1732. Costello, R.C. and D.M. Sullivan. 2013. Determining the pH buffering capacity of compost via titration with dilute sulfuric acid. Waste and Biomass Valorization DOI: 10.1007/s12649-013-9279-y Larco,H.O., B.C. Strik, D.R.Bryla, and D.M. Sullivan. 2013. Mulch and fertilizer management practices for organic production of highbush blueberry. I. Plant growth and allocation of biomass during establishment. HortScience 48:1250-1261 Larco,H.O., B.C. Strik, D.R.Bryla, and D.M. Sullivan. 2013. Mulch and fertilizer management practices for organic production of highbush blueberry. II. Impact on plant and soil nutrients during establishment. HortScience 48:1484-1495. Larco, H., D.M. Sullivan, B. Strik, and D. Bryla. 2014. Mulch effects on highbush blueberry under organic management. Acta Hort. 1018: 375-382. In: J. Biala et al. (ed) Proc. 1st Intl Symposium on Organic Matter Management and Compost in Horticulture. Adelaide, AU. Apr. 2011. http://www.actahort.org/books/1018/1018_40.htm Owen Jr., J.S., H.M.Stoven, D.M Sullivan and R.C. Costello. 2014. Effect of compost amendment feedstock and source on containerized azalea production in bark-based substrate. Acta Hort 1018:533-540. In: J. Biala et al. (ed) Proc. 1st Intl Symposium on Organic Matter Management and Compost in Horticulture. Adelaide, AU. Apr. 2011. http://www.actahort.org/books/1018/1018_58.htm Kusonwiriyawong, C., D.M. Sullivan, D.D. Hemphill, C.G. Cogger, A.I. Bary and L. Myhre. 2014. Predicting plant-available nitrogen from organic amendment in the second year after application. Acta Hort. 1018: 325-333. In: J. Biala et al. (ed) Proc. 1st Intl Symposium on Organic Matter Management and Compost in Horticulture. Adelaide, AU. Apr. 2011. http://www.actahort.org/books/1018/1018_34.htm Downing, T . 2013. Calibrating manure application equipment. EM 8768. OSU Extension. Corvallis, OR. Hart, J.M., N.P. Anderson, T.G. Chastain, M.D. Flowers, C.M. Ocamb, M.E. Mellbye, and W.C. Young III. 2013. Perennial Ryegrass Grown for Seed (Western Oregon). EM 9086. Jones, C., B.D. Brown, R. Engle, D. Horneck, K. Olsen-Rutz. 2013. Factors affecting nitrogen fertilizer volatilization. EB0208. Bozeman. MT. Jones, C., B.D. Brown, R. Engle, D. Horneck, K. Olsen-Rutz. 2013. Management to minimize nitrogen fertilizer volatilization. EB0209. Bozeman. MT. Sullivan, D.M., D.A. Horneck, and D.J. Wysocki. 2013. Eastern Oregon Liming Guide. EM 9060. OSU Extension. 12 p. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/38532 Brewer, L., N. Andrews, D. Sullivan, and W. Gehr. Agricultural Composting and Water Quality. 2013. OSU Extension. EM 9053. 29 p. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/39040. Anderson, N.P., J.M. Hart, D.M. Sullivan, N.W. Christensen, D.A. Horneck, and G.J. Pirelli. 2013. Applying Lime to Raise Soil pH for Crop Production (Western Oregon). OSU Extension. EM 9057 OSU Extension. Corvallis, OR. 21 p. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/38531 Hart, J.M., D.M. Sullivan, N.P. Anderson, A.G. Hulting, D.A. Horneck, and N.W. Christensen. 2013. Soil Acidity in Oregon: Understanding and Using Concepts for Crop ProductionEM 9061. OSU Extension. Corvallis, OR. 22 p. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/41199. Sullivan, D.M. 2013. Fertilizing grass with municipal biosolids. Chap. 36. p.152-157. In: S. Bittman and D. Hunt (eds.) Cool Forages - Advanced management of temperate forages. Pacific Field Corn Association. Agassiz, B.C. Canada. http://www.farmwest.com Utah: Rowley, Sean D. Phosphorus and Potassium Fertility Management for Maximizing Tart Cherry Fruit Quality and Productivity on Alkaline Soils. Utah State University MS Thesis. Available at USU Digital Commons: http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2530&context=etd Rowley, Sean D., Grant E. Cardon and Brent L. Black. Macronutrient Management for Utah Orchards. 2013. Utah State University Extension Fact Sheet. Horticulture/Fruit/2013-02pr. Cardon, Grant E and Brent Black. 2013. Year-To-Year Integration of Yield Response to Fertilizer Application in Tree Fruits. Nutrient Digest: Nutrient Management Newsletter for the Western US. Vol 4, Issue 5, Fall 2013. Nelson, R. Mark and Grant E. Cardon. 2013. Assessing the Effectiveness of Water Quality Education Programs in Controlling Soil Phosphorus Levels in the Beaver River Watershed, Utah. Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development (accepted). Washington: Bair, K. E., and J. R. Davenport. 2013. Plant available phosphorus analysis for recently acidifed soils of the Columbia Basin Washington State. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 77: 1103-1106 Cogger, C. G., A. I . Bary, E. A. Myhre, and A. Fortuna. 2013. L0ng-term crop and soil response to biosolids applications in dryland wheat. J. Environ. Qual. 42: 1872-1880. doi:10.2134/jeq2013.05.0109 Cogger, C. G., A. I Bary, A. C. Kennedy, and A. Fortuna. 2013. Biosolids applications to tall fescue have long-term influence on soil nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus. J. Environ. Qual. 42: 516-522. doi:10.2134/jeq2012.0269 Granatstein, D.M., E. M. Kirby, and J. R. Davenport. 2013. Direct-seeding legumes into orchard alleys for nitrogen production. Acta Horticulturae. 1001: 329-334. Yau, I-H., J. R. Davenport, and R. A. Rupp. 2013. Characterizing inland Pacific Northwest AVAs with geospatial data. PLoSOne 8: 1 - 11 e61994. Collins, D., C. Miles, C. Cogger, and R. Koenig. 2013. Soil fertility in organic systems - A guide for gardeners and small acrage farmers. Pacific Northwest Extension Publication PNW646. Wyoming: Hurisso, T.T., J.B. Norton, and U. Norton. 2014 (in press). Labile soil organic carbon within a gradient of dryland agricultural land-use intensity in the central High Plains, USA. Geoderma (in press). Omondi, E.C., J.B. Norton, and D.S. Ashilenje. 2014 (in press). Performance of a local open pollinated maize variety and a common hybrid variety under intensive small-scale farming practices. African Journal of Agricultural Research 8:DOI: 10.5897/AJAR20xx.xxx. Ghimire, R., J.B. Norton, and E. Pendall. 2013. Alfalfa-grass biomass, soil organic carbon, and total nitrogen under different management approaches in an irrigated agroecosystem. Plant and Soil DOI 10.1007/s11104-013-1854-2. Published online: 18 August 2013. Norton, J.B., H.R. Olsen, L.J. Jungst, D.E. Legg, and W.R. Horwath. 2013. Soil carbon and nitrogen storage in alluvial wet meadows of the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, USA. Journal of Soils and Sediments DOI 10.1007/s11368-013-0797-9. Published online: 31 October 2013. Hurisso, T.T., J.B. Norton, and U. Norton. 2013. Soil profile carbon and nitrogen in prairie, perennial grass–legume mixture and wheat-fallow production in the central High Plains, USA. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 181:179-187. Norton, J.B., and R. Ghimire. 2014. Soil Microbiology, Organic Matter, and Economics Four Years after Conversion from Continuous Irrigated Corn to Crop and Forage Rotations under Conventional, Reduced Tillage, and Organic Management. Proceedings Vol. 15: Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. Denver, CO, March 4-5, 2014. King, R.G., and J.B. Norton. 2014 Amendment Application Rates for Enhanced Phosphorus Availability in Organic Production on Calcareous Soils. Proceedings Vol. 15: Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. Denver, CO, March 4-5, 2014. Norton, J.B. and C. Strom. 2013. Reclamation considerations for oil and gas leases on private lands. University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Bulletin B1242. Ghimire, R., and J.B. Norton. 2013. Nitrogen dynamics in conventional, reduced tillage, and organic irrigated systems: Results of a four-year experiment in Wyoming. Western Nutrient Management Conference. Reno, NV, March 6-8, 2013.

Impact Statements

Activities: The WERA-103 website is hosted through the IPNI. Work is needed to increase how readily this can be found and improve its content. Committee member David Tarkalson will be working with IPNI?s Phyllis Pates to content and visibility. Specific items are: 1) include past award winners; 2) link to NIMMS site; 3) link to past proceedings; 4) box in each year proceedings to list grad student poster winners (and poster titles).
Milestone: There are several testing methods that are interested in being included in the Soil, Plant, and Irrigation Water Methods for the Western Region Handbook. We as a group are requesting calibration data to include the methods.
Milestone: Concern over the ?Soil Health? testing procedures for being promoted by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) were raised. The groups concern is two-fold - one is with lack of calibration of potential testing methods and the other is with suitability for the arid and semi-arid regions of the western US. The group has agreed to develop a position statement on this to share with the NRCA.
Activity: In addition, the topic of ?Soil Health? testing procedures being promoted by the NCRS has been included in the 2015 Western Nutrient Management Conference as well as in the upcoming (January 2015) International Soil and Plant Analysis Conference in Kona (Hawaii).
Indicators: Updates at the meetings included not only activities by state, but the collaboration between public and private sector members of the committee. Partnerships are formed and research and extension efforts are provided with economic support from the industry collaborators in the form of in-kind materials, reduced prices on services, and when appropriate, donations to research programs.

Date of Annual Report: 03/31/2015

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 03/04/2015 - 03/06/2015
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2014 - 09/01/2015

Participants

Bauder,Troy (Troy.Bauder@ColoState.EDU) - Colorado State University;
Blaylock, Alan (Alan.Blaylock@agrium.com) - Alan Blaylock, Agrium Inc.;
Cardon, Grant (grant.cardon@usu.edu) - Utah State University;
Davenport, Joan Davenport (jdavenp@wsu.edu) - Washington State University;
Deenik, Jonathan Deenik (jdeenik@hawaii.edu) - University of Hawaii;
Dellavalle, Nat (ndellavalle@dellavallelab.com) - Dellavalle Labs;
Flynn, Robert (rflynn@nmsu.edu) - New Mexico State University;
Greer, Ken (kengreer@westernag.ca) - Western Ag;
Hartz, Tim (tkhartz@ucdavis.edu) - University of California Davis;
Hopkins, Bryan (hopkins@byu.edu) - Brigham Young University;
Jones, Clain (clainj@montana.edu) - Montana State University;
Koenig, Rich (richk@wsu.edu) - Washington State University;
Mikkelsen, Rob (RMikkelsen@ipni.net) – International Plant Nutrition Institute;
Miller, Robert (rmiller@lamar.colostate.edu) - Colorado State University;
Mooso, Galen (galen.mooso@Simplot.com) - J.R. Simplot;
Moore, Amber (amberm@uidaho.edu) - University of Idaho;
Nelson, Dan (dan@soiltestlab.com) - Soiltest Farm Consultants, Inc.;
Norton, Jay (jnorton4@uwyo.edu) - University of Wyoming;
Petrie, Steve (steve.petrie@yara.com) - YARA International;
Pettigrove, Stu (gspettygrove@ucdavis.edu) - University of California Davis;
Tarkalson, David (David.Tarkalson@ARS.USDA.GOV) - USDA-ARS, Kimberly Idaho;
Tindall, Terry (Terry.Tindall@simplot.com) - J.R. Simplot;
Sullivan, Dan (dan.sullivan@oregonstate.edu) - Oregon State University;
Walsh, Olga (owalsh@uidaho.edu) - University of Idaho;
Walworth, Jim (walworth@ag.arizona.edu) - University of Arizona;

Brief Summary of Minutes

Report from WERA-103 Advisor; Question and Answer (Rich Koenig):

State land grant schools are committed to allocate money to multi-state activities, one of which is WERA-103. Experiment Station Directors must approve renewal of multi-state projects every five years. WERA-103’s current approval ends September 30, 2015. Application for renewal for the period of October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2020 has been submitted. Proposal goes into NIMSS system. Experiment Station Directors will make a decision on the renewal application at their April, 2015 meeting in Portland, Oregon. Their recommendation will be forwarded to NIFA and an announcement regarding the application is expected in July or August, 2015.

Rich noted that having official industry representation is beneficial to the approval process. Rich mentioned that each state has at least one official representative who receives AES funds to travel to the meeting, but some have more than one. It is advantageous to reach out to other researchers in other states to encourage participation in the WERA 103 activities. Rich encouraged us to think about other ways besides the biennial conference the regional project could be effective to facilitate collaborative grant proposal and use expertise around the table to produce outputs that could potential influence policy, such as white papers on a particular topic. Soil health was brought up as an example of a topic that the group could provide science toward. Discussion followed. Rich mentioned that there is a lot of turnover at college level and don’t be surprised to see new faces.

The current membership list is not up-to-date. There are 24 registered members. Some industry members are not signed up, at least some due to problems in NIMSS. Rich will work with Ellen Yeates to straighten this out.

There was a discussion of WERA-104 committee composition. States can have more than one representative (and several do), but Experiment Stations are not committed to providing funding for more than one representative. Non-land grant university representatives are permissible (we have one from Brigham Young University) and it was agrees that we should consider inviting representatives from additional non-land grant schools. In addition, additional industry representation was discussed. It was agreed that more industry involvement is desirable, but that we must be careful to 1) make sure the industries are truly involved in nutrient management and 2) that we should be cognizant of practical committee size limitations. Discussion of establishing membership guidelines followed. No decision on writing or adopting guidelines was made, buy this will be a topic at the 2016 meeting.

The Western Nutrient Management Conference continues to be successful. The move to Reno, Nevada has improved attendance, particularly by consultants.

The groups could do more work on multi-state and university-industry grants.

The group could consider writing position papers on important policy items such as Cover Crops, or Soil Health. The current NRCS emphasis on soil health was discussed and concerns were noted regarding the de facto adoption of soil health standards, exemplified by the Haney test, in light of the lack of field testing and validation data. The committee consensus is that WERA-103 could make valuable contributions via production of white papers. There was also agreement that inclusion of NRCS representation in WERA-103 would be desirable.

There is an annual Experiment Station recognition award with a $5,000 monetary award that WERA-103 could apply for. The deadline for 2015 has passed. We would have to apply in the fall of 2015.

Treasurers Report (Phyllis Pates):

A treasurer’s report was submitted. Major points were:

1. Attendance in 2013 was 129, up over 62 to 90 of the previous four conferences. 2015 attendance is expected to be similar to 2013.

2. WERA-103 has a current bank balance of $15,564.38

Alan Blaylock asked about contingency money should the conference have a bad year due to weather or other reasons for low attendance. Discussed followed around creative ways to utilize some of the balance, especially if continues to rise. These included travel support for speakers or other activities for the committee. There was discussion of the registration fee ($125) which has not been changed in several years. Conference registration fees will be revisited at the 2016 meeting.

2015 Western Nutrient Management Conference overview and final details (David Tarkalson):

Don Horneck will be the recipient of the Leadership Award. Donations are being accepted to an Oregon State University scholarship in his name.

A significant number of WNMC presenters did not submit paper as required. There was a discussion about whether or not we should require papers. Some felt an abstract is sufficient, although several noted that the full papers provide a record of the meeting and a valuable resource that can be studied to provide more detail than can be gained during an oral presentation. Additionally, the existence of dual sessions at the WNMC makes it impossible for attendees to hear all talks. Full papers provide information of missed talks in parallel sessions. The exercise of preparing a full paper is also a valuable experience for student presenters. The conference proceedings and paper format should be a topic for the 2016 meetings.

Crops and Soils Magazine contributions:

We should provide an article for each of the bi-monthly issues. They can be adapted from Nutrient Digest articles. There are also regional issues with longer feature articles. David Tarkalson will inquire about the date of a Western issue. Commitments for 2015:

David Tarkalson – Nitrogen in sugarbeets
Grant Cardon – Nitrogen in corn following alfalfa
Jay Norton – Dryland winter wheat
Clain Jones – Nitrogen management
Jonathon Deenik – Nutrient management in remote populations
Joan Davenport – Late season N in grapes

2015-2016 WERA-103 Executive Committee:

Joan Davenport, Chair
Jim Walworth, Vice-chair
Troy Bauder, Secretary

2016 WERA-103 meeting:

Will be held in Colorado, either Denver or Fort Collins area, Bob Miller and Troy Bauder will host.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: Develop and/or improve nutrient recommendations for diverse cropping systems based on soil, water and plant analysis results and management strategies in the Western Region.<ul> <li>a. Provide nutrient correlation and calibration data for crops in the region. <li>b. Work toward uniformity of nutrient use recommendations for similar crop production systems in the region. <li>c. Evaluate and apply new nutrient analytical and interpretive methodologies. <li>d. Evaluate the efficacy of new fertilizers and formulations.</ul> Many nutrient recommendations are based on dated calibration data collected from studies using old cultivars and no-longer used farming practices. We should focus on regional collaborations, combining information for specific crop growing areas. Examples include the potato region of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, and the pecan area of New Mexico and Arizona. Collaborations should include formation of working groups, improved communication, and regional recommendations and publications. Current collaborations include joint calibration studies on nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and nickel on pecans produced in Arizona and New Mexico and sharing data between these two states. Joint extension publications are in preparation. New analytical protocols are being adopted, but with little or no field calibration. Specifically, soil health tests (the Cornell Soil Health Assessment and the Haney Soil Health Test) are being adopted by soil testing labs and used by the NRCS despite lack of field evaluation. The need for improved nitrogen mineralization predictions are widely recognized, but it is unclear that the soil quality concept or the specific tests mentioned provide this. It is recommended that committee members conducting nutrient (particularly nitrogen) studies include an evaluation of the Haney test. Relevant research:<ul> <li>ARS projects in Idaho. <li>In New Mexico, preliminary work on initial soil samples and cover crop trials and measurements. <li>Projects in Wyoming collaboration with state agronomist evaluating traditional and Haney soil tests. <li>Mixed cover crop study in Montana comparing Haney test and winter wheat yield the following year.</ul> WERA103 is exploring the possibility of producing a white paper on soil health and soil health assessments. WERA103 members are individually communicating with state NRCS personnel to make sure new procedures are adequately vetted before widespread adoption. For example, WERA-103 members Tim Hartz, Dan Sullivan, Clain Jones, Jonathan Deenik, and Jay Norton have met with Western States NRCS agronomists to develop avenues for communication and cooperation on these issues. There is a need to compile and make available existing data. Bryan Hopkins compilation of Avail studies, results of which were presented at the 2015 Western Nutrient Management Conference, is a great template. WERA-103 members could consider finding funding for personnel to do this work and exploring ways to communicate the resulting information. Objective 2: Promote effective use of soil, water, plant, manure, and compost analytical information.<ul> <li>a. Integrate analytical test results into nutrient management software <li>b. Maintain and update the Western States Soil etc Testing Manual <li>c. Review status of soil/plant/water analysis Extension guides and summarize interpretive guidance <li>d. Explore method for internet distribution of methods manual, analytical interpretation guides etc. Website would be for clientele outreach.</ul> Plans were made to revise the Soil, Plant and Water Reference Methods for the Western Region (2005 3rd Edition) to develop better guidance documents to cover uses and pitfalls of various soil test methods. The revision will be designed for someone who wants to understand the use of a test without having to work through the methods. We will begin with phosphorus: evaluate pH limits on use of P tests, correlation of extracts to one another, and accuracy of results at a range of concentrations. SSSA soil analysis methods books will be utilized where possible. The format will follow the Western Fertilizer Handbook. Dan nelson will be in charge of this effort. A session will be developed for the next WERA 103 conference reviewing the results of this work. Objective 3: Provide education on the principles of soil-plant-animal-water system management and the tools and practices that lead to sustainable agricultural production.<ul> <li>a. Facilitate regional education among government agencies, private industry and universities through conferences, websites, extension publications, newsletters, and other appropriate media. <li>b. Disseminate information within the Western Region to extension educators, private agencies (e.g., Certified Crop Advisors) and other interested parties (e.g., K-12 teachers) through conferences, training the trainer opportunities, and access to published interpretive materials. <li>c. Conduct direct education to agricultural producers through conferences, grower meetings, and published interpretive materials.</ul> Educational materials and outputs supporting this objective include: Publications: One-Time Summer Tillage of Chemical Fallow in Dryland Winter Wheat Rotation Does Not Negate Long-Term Benefits Accrued Under No-Till Management. Urszula Norton; University of Wyoming. Nutrient Digest Spring 2014, Vol 6, Issue 1. http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/nutrient/pdf/Nutrient%20Digest_Spring2014.pdf The New University of Idaho Cover Crop Calculator. Crops and Soils, Amber Moore; University of Idaho. Nutrient Digest Spring 2014, Vol 6, Issue 1. http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/nutrient/pdf/Nutrient%20Digest_Spring2014.pdf Conservation in Furrow-Irrigation Cropping Systems. Nutrient Digest 6(1). Jay Norton; University of Wyoming. Nutrient Digest Spring 2014, Vol 6, Issue 1. http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/nutrient/pdf/Nutrient%20Digest_Spring2014.pdf Soil Nutrient Management for Forages: Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur and Micronutrients. C. Jones and K. Olson-Rutz. MSU Extension Publications EB0217. Soil Nutrient Management for Forages: Nitrogen. K. Olson-Rutz and C. Jones. 2014. MSU Extension. MSU Extension Publications EB0216. Conferences Idaho Nutrient Management Conference, 6 March 2014, Twin Falls, ID Western Nutrient Management Conference Planning Other High Residue Farming in the Irrigated West, A Network for Extension, NRCS and other Field Personnel. WERA103 representation, Dr. Robert Flynn, New Mexico State University. Canola and Pea Intercropping extension program beginning in 2015 – Joint Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho project. Future: We have commitments to produce five articles for Crops and Soils Magazine. Precision Ag Seminar, Malheur OR Research and Extension R&E Center summer 2015. Oregon State University and the University of Idaho. Investigate ways to improve the WERA-103 website for information outreach. Add a committee list and links to member websites, past tour photos. Produce white paper: Cover crop practices that work in the arid and semi-arid west.

Publications

Ahmad, A, N.V. Hue, and T. Radovich. 2014. Nitrogen release patterns of some locally made composts and their effects on the growth of Chine cabbage (Brassica rapa, Chinensis group) when used as soil amendments Compost science Utilization, 22(4):199-206. Ahmad, A., A Fares, N.V. Hue, M. Safeeq, T. Radovich, F. Abbas, and M. Ibrahim. 2014. Root distribution of sweet corn (Zea mays) as affected by manure types, rates and frequency of applications. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences. 24(2):592-599. Anderson, Nicole P, Thomas G. Chastain, John M. Hart, William C. Young III, Neil W. Christensen, Tall Fescue Grown for Seed. A nutrient management guide for western Oregon. 2014. EM 9099. OSU Extension Service. Andrade-Sanchez, Pedro and Michael Ottman. 2014. Sensor-based management of Nitrogen of irrigated durum wheat in Arizona, 2013. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Service publication AZ1629. Bair, K. E., J. R. Davenport, and S. Burton. Speciation of phosphorus in anthropogenically acidified soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 78:1474–1480 doi:10.2136/sssaj2013.12.0540 Barbarick, K.A., J.A. Ippolito, and J. McDaniel. 2014. Uptake coefficients for biosolids-amended dryland winter wheat. J. Environ. Qual. 44:286-292. Barroso, J., P. Lawrence, C. Merja, and B. Maxwell. 2014. Spatial Optimization of Nitrogen Application for Wheat. Fertilizer Fact 65. January 2014. MSU Extension. Bozeman MT. Blecker, S., L. Stillings, N. DeCrappeo, and J. Ippolito. 2014. Soil-plant-microbial relations in hydrothermally altered soils of Northern California. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 78:509-519. Brown, C.L., Yang, T.B., Fitzsimmons, K. and Bolivar, R.B. 2014. The value of pig manure as a source of nutrients for semi-intensive culture of Nile Tilapia in ponds (A Review). Agricultural Sciences, 5, 1182-1193. Brown, Paul. 2014. Basics of Evaporation and Evapotranspiration. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension publication AZ1194. Brown, Paul. 2014. Converting Reference Evapotranspiration into Turf Water Use. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension publication AZ1195. Bryla, D.R. and C.F. Scagel. 2014. Limitations of CaCl2 salinity to shoot and root growth and nutrient uptake in ‘Honeoye’ strawberry (Fragaria Í ananassa Duch.). J. Hort. Sci. Biotechnol. 89:458-470. Bryla, D.R.and O. Vargas. 2014. Nitrogen fertilizer practices for rapid establishment of highbush blueberry: a review of 6 years of research. Acta Hort. 1017:415-421. Burgess, M., P. Miller, C. Jones, and A. Bekkerman. 2014. Tillage of cover crops affects soil water, nitrogen, and wheat yield components. Agronomy Journal. 106:1497-1508. Doi:10.2.134/agronj14.0007. Castro, S. 2014. Nitrogen fertilization management in organic processing tomato production: N sufficiency prediction through early-season soil and plant monitoring. M.S. Thesis, Univ. California - Davis. Cavender, G., M. Liu, D. Hobbs, B. Frei, B. Strik and Y. Zhao. 2014. Effects of Different Organic Weed Management Strategies on the Physicochemical, Sensory, and Antioxidant Properties of Machine-Harvested Blackberry Fruits. J. Food Sci. 79:S2107–S2116 Chen, C. 2014. Pulse Crop Improves Early Nitrogen Uptake, Growth and Yield of Wheat in No-till. Fertilizer Fact 66. March 2014. MSU Extension. Bozeman MT. Chen, C. 2014. Soil Nitrogen Cycling Affected by Tillage and Crop Rotations. Fertilizer Fact 67. March 2014. MSU Extension. Montana State Univ., Bozeman. Chen, L. and H. Neibling. 2014. Anaerobic digestion basics. University of Idaho. CIS 1215. Chen, L. and H. Neibling. 2014. Biofilters in animal agriculture. University of Idaho. CIS 1207. Chen, L., W. Gray, H. Neibling, S.K.R. Yadanaparthi, M. Chahine, and M.E. de Haro-Martí. 2014. On-farm comparison of two dairy manure application methods in terms of ammonia and odor emissions and costs. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. Vol. 30(5): 805-813. Costello, R.C. and D.M. Sullivan. 2014. Determining the pH buffering capacity of compost via titration with dilute sulfuric acid. Waste and Biomass Valorization. 5: 505-513. DOI: 10.1007/s12649-013-9279-y DeGomez, Tom. 2014. Fertilizing Home Gardens in Arizona. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Service publication AZ1020. Ehret, D.L., B. Frey, T. Forge, T. Helmer, D.R. Bryla, and B.J. Zebarth. 2014. Effects of nitrogen rate and application method on early production and fruit quality in highbush blueberry. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94:1165-1179. Falinski, K.A., R.S. Yost, E Sampaga, and J. Peard. 2014. Arsenic accumulation by edible aquatic macrophytes. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 99:74-91. Flynn, R. P. (2014). Guide A-133, “Calculating Fertilizer Costs" Ghimire, R., J.B. Norton, and E. Pendall. 2014. Alfalfa-grass biomass, soil organic carbon, and total nitrogen under different management approaches in an irrigated agroecosystem. Plant Soil 374:173-184. Ghimire, R., J.B. Norton, P.D. Stahl, and U. Norton. 2014. Soil microbial substrate properties and microbial community responses under irrigated organic and reduced-tillage crop and forage production system. PLoS ONE 9(8): e103901. Gray C.W., L. Chen, M.E. de Haro-Martí, M. Chahine, and H. Neibling. 2014. Cost of Liquid-Manure Application Systems. University of Idaho. BUL Bulletin 888. Harkins, R.H., B.C. Strik, and D.R. Bryla. 2014. Weed management practices for organic production of trailing blackberry: II. Accumulation and loss of biomass and nutrients. HortScience 49:35-43. Hatten, J. C., Landgren and J, Hart. 2014. Long-Term Soil Productivity in Christmas Tree Farms of Oregon and Washington: A Comparative Analysis between First- and Multi-Rotation Plantations. Forests 5: 2581-2593, www.mdpi.com/journal/forests doi:10.3390/f5102581. Hawaii Soil Atlas. (http://gis.ctahr.hawaii.edu/SoilAtlas). Developed by J.L. Deenik, J.H. Silva, N. Dorman, and T. Miura. Heerema, Richard and James Walworth. 2014. Soil-Applied Zinc-EDTA: Photosynthesis in ‘Wichita’ Pecan Grown on an Alkaline and Calcareous Soil. Proceedings, 29th International Horticulture Congress, Brisbane, Australia 18-27 August, 2014. HI_CROP Web Mapper (http://gis.ctahr.hawaii.edu/CropSuitability). Developed by Jacob Gross, Nathan Dorman, Tomoaki Miura, Jonathan Deenik, John Yanagida, Russell Yost, Joshua Silva, Elsie Kawahara. Horneck, D.A. and S.K. Del Moro. 2014. Ammonia Volatilization from Fertigated N Applications. 2014. SSSA annual meeting. 2-5 Nov. 2014. Long Beach, CA. https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2014am/webprogram/Paper86749.html Hunter, L.A., Falen, C.L., and Moore, A. 2014. Cover Crops for High-Desert Farming Systems in Idaho. University of Idaho, CIS Bulletin 889. Hurisso, T.T., J.B. Norton, and U. Norton. 2014. Labile soil organic carbon and nitrogen within a gradient of dryland agricultural land-use intensity in Wyoming. Geoderma 226: 1-7. Idowu, O. J., Zhang, J., Flynn, R. P., Pierce, J. B., Wedegaertner, T. (2014). Comparative performance of a glandless Acala cultivar and two glanded Acala cultivars in New Mexico. Journal of Cotton Science, 18, 122-128. http://www.cotton.org/journal/2014-18/2/upload/ JCS18-122b.pdf. Includes response to N application for optimum performance and disease incidence. Ippolito, J.A, R. Spackman, J.A. Entry, and R.E Sojka. 2014. Removal of vegetative clippings reduces dissolved phosphorus loss in runoff. Comm. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 45:1555-1564. Ippolito, J.A., K.A. Barbarick, and R.B. Brobst. 2014. Copper and zinc speciation in a biosolids-amended semi-arid grassland soil. J. Environ. Qual. 43:1576-1584. Ippolito, J.A., M.E. Stromberger, R.D. Lentz, and R.S. Dungan. 2014. Hardwood biochar influences calcareous soil physicochemical and microbiological status. J. Environ. Qual. 43:681-689. Jones, C. and K. Olson-Rutz. 2014. The Soil Scoop: Soil Health. http://landresources.montana.edu/soilfertility/thesoilscoop.html. Jones, C. and K. Olson-Rutz. 2014. The Soil Scoop: Soil Testing. http://landresources.montana.edu/soilfertility/thesoilscoop.html. Jones, C., P. Miller, T. Rick, and J. Holmes. 2014. Nitrogen Fertilizer Recoveries from a Long-Term Study: Effect of N Rate and Cropping System. Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference Proceedings. 15: 17-22. Denver, CO, March 4-5, 2014. Jones, C., J. Jacobsen, and K. Olson-Rutz. 2014. Soil Sampling and Laboratory Selection. MSU Extension. 4449-1. Kusonwiriyawong, C., D.M. Sullivan, D.D. Hemphill, C.G. Cogger, A.I. Bary, and L. Myhre. 2014. Predicting plant-available nitrogen from organic amendment in the second year after application. Acta Hort. 1018: 325-333. Larco, H., D.M. Sullivan, B. Strik, and D. Bryla. 2014. Mulch effects on highbush blueberry under organic management. Acta Hort. 1018: 375-382. Lawrence, P.G., L.J. Rew and B.D. Maxwell. 2014. A probabilistic framework for site-specific adaptive management under multiple uncertainties. Proceedings International Society of Precision Agriculture Conf., 12:_-_.Sacramento, California, July 20-23, 2014 Lehrsch, G.A., R.D. Lentz, D.T. Westermann, and D.C. Kincaid. 2014. Nutrient loads and sediment losses in sprinkler irrigation runoff affected by compost and manure. J. Soil Water Conserv. 69:456-467. Lentz, R.D., and G.A. Lehrsch. 2014. Manure and inorganic fertilizer effects on carbon balance and losses in irrigated corn. Crops, Soils, Agronomy (CSA) News 59(6):14-19. Lentz, R.D., J.A. Ippolito, and K.A. Spokas. 2014. Biochar and manure effects on net N mineralization and greenhouse gas emissions from calcareous soil under corn. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 78:1641–1655. Lentz, Rodrick D., and Gary A. Lehrsch. 2014. Manure and inorganic fertilizer effects on carbon balance and organic and inorganic carbon losses for an irrigated corn field. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 78:987-1002. Liang, X.Q., T. Harter, L. Porta, C. van Kessel, and B.A. Linquist. 2014. Nitrate leaching in Californian rice fields: a field and regional scale assessment. Journal of Environmental Quality: 43:881-894. Lin, R., and C. Chen. 2014. Tillage, crop rotation, and nitrogen management strategies for wheat in central Montana. Agron. J. 106:475-485. Linquist, B.A., M. Ruark, R. Mutters, C. Greer, and J. Hill. 2014. Nutrients and sediments in surface runoff water from rice fields: Implications for nutrient budgets and water quality. Journal of Environmental Quality 43:1725-1735. Liua, Jiangang, Kevin Bronson, Kelly Thorp, Jarai Mon, Mohammad Badaruddin, William McCloskey, Dennis Ray, Qingquan Chu, Guangyao Wang. 2014. Lesquerella seed and Oil Yield Response to Split-Applied N Fertilizer. Industrial Crops and Products, 60(Sept):273–279. Longchamps, L. and Khosla, R. 2014. Early detection of nitrogen variability in maize using fluorescence. Agron. J. 106:511-518 Loper, Shawna. 2014. Diagnosing Nutrient Deficiencies Quick Reference. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Service publication AZ1609. Machado, R.M.A., D.R. Bryla, and O. Vargas. 2014. Effects of salinity induced by ammonium sulfate fertilizer on root and shoot growth of highbush blueberry. Acta Hort. 1017:407-414. Martínez-Cruz, Tania, Donald Slack, Kimberly Ogden, and Michael Ottman. 2014. The Water Use of Sweet Sorghum and Development of Crop Coefficients. Irrigation and Drainage, 64(1):93-104. McCoy, M. M. 2014. Impacts of late season soil and foliar nitrogen fertilizer supplements on wine grape yeast assailable nitrogen (YAN) and canopy growth in Vitis vinifera L ‘Riesling’. MS Soil Science, Washington State University. Miller, P., C. Jones, M. Bestwick, and M. Burgess. 2014. Using Pulse Crops to Optimize Nitrogen in Dryland Wheat Production. Canadian Society of Agronomy Annual Meeting. Lethbridge, AB, Canada. July 9-11, 2014. Mohammed, Y.A., C. Chen, and D.K. Lee. 2014. Harvest time and nitrogen fertilization to improve bioenergy feedstock yield and quality. Agron. J. 106:57-65. Moore, K.M., J.N. Lamb, D.N. Sikuku, D.S. Ashilenje, R. Laker-Ojok, J.B. Norton. 2014. Multiple knowledges for agricultural production: Implications for the development of conservation agriculture in Kenya and Uganda. J Ag Ed Extension 20:291-307. Moshia, M. E., Khosla, R., Longchamps, L., Reich, R., Davis, J. G., and Westfall, D. G. 2014. Precision Manure Management across Site-Specific Management Zones: Grain Yield and Economic Analysis. Agron. J. 106:2146-2156. Moyer, M. M., J. R. Davenport, S. D. O’Neal, and D. Walsh. 2014. Washington state Concord grape sustainability report Card. EM085. Norton, J.B. 2014. Conservation in furrow-irrigation cropping systems. Nutrient Digest 6 (1) http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/nutrient/newsletter.html. Norton, J.B., H.R. Olsen, L.J. Jungst, D. Legg, and W.R. Horwath. 2014. Soil carbon and nitrogen storage in alluvial wet meadows of the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. J Soils Sediments 14:34-43. Norton, U., P. Bista, R. Ghimire, J.B. Norton. 2014. One-time summer tillage does not negate long-term benefits of no-till. Crops and Soils: May-June: 24-25 doi: 10.2134/cs2014-47-3-6. Olson-Rutz, K., and C. Jones. 2014. Soil Nutrient Management for Forages: Nitrogen. MSU Extension. EB0216. Olson-Rutz, K., and C. Jones. 2014. Soil Nutrient Management for Forages: Phosphorus, potassium, sulfur and micronutrients. MSU Extension. EB0217. Omondi, E.C., J.B. Norton, D.S. Ashilenje. 2014. Performance of a local open pollinated maize variety and a common hybrid variety under intensive small-scale farming practices. African Journal of Agricultural Research 9:950-955. Osori, W. and M Habte. 2014. Soil phosphate desorption induced by a phosphate-solubilizing fungus. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 45(4):451-460. Owen Jr., J.S., H.M. Stoven, D.M Sullivan, and R.C. Costello. 2014. Effect of compost amendment feedstock and source on containerized azalea production in bark-based substrate. Acta Hort 1018:533-540. Pariera Dinkins, C., C. Jones, K. McVay and K. Olson-Rutz. 2014. Nutrient Management in No-till and Minimum Till Systems. MSU Extension. EB0182. Revised. Penton, C.R., J.L. Deenik, B.N. Popp, G.L. Bruland, P. Engstrom, J. Mueller, A. Worden, and J. Tiedje. 2014. Assessing N transformations in a flooded agroecosystem using the isotope pairing technique and N functional gene abundances. Soil Science 179:2-10. Pessarakli, Mohammad. 2014. New Approaches to Turfgrass Nutrition: Humic Substances and Mycorrhizal Inoculation. In: Handbook of Plant and Crop Physiology, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded (M. Pessarakli, Ed.), 913-925, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Publishing Group, Florida. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Publishing Group. Pessarakli, Mohammad. 2014. Physiological Mechanisms of Nitrogen Absorption and Assimilation in Plants under Stressful Conditions. In: Handbook of Plant and Crop Physiology, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded (M. Pessarakli, Ed.), pp. 453-485, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Publishing Group, Florida. Pessarakli, Mohammad. 2014. Physiological Responses of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) To Salt Stress. In: Handbook of Plant and Crop Physiology, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded (M. Pessarakli, Ed.) pp. 635-654, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Publishing Group, Florida. Pinto, J.M., C.C. Shock, E.B.G. Feibert, and L.D. Saunders. 2014. Onion response to phosphorus application strategies and in-season nutrient supplementation. p 47-56 In Shock C.C. (Ed.) Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2013. Pittelkow, C.M., Y. Assa, M. Burger, W.R. Horwath, R.G. Mutters, C.A. Greer, L.A. Espino, J.E. Hill, C. van Kessel, B.A. Linquist. 2014. Nitrogen management and methane emissions in direct-seeded rice systems. Agronomy Journal 106:968-980. Proano, E. A. 2014. Investigating possible causes of Concord Replant Disorder in Concord Grape (Vitis labruscana Bailey). MS Soil Science, Washington State University. Quist, Aaron and Michael Ottman. 2014. Managing alfalfa nutrition by soil analysis in the desert southwestern United States. Proceedings, 2014 California Alfalfa, Forage, and Grain Symposium, Long Beach, CA, 10-12 December, 2014. UC Cooperative Extension, Plant Sciences Department, University of California, Davis, CA 95616. Radovich, T., A. Pant, A. Ahmad, C. Elevitch, and N. Hue. 2014. Enhancing soil function and plant health with locally available resources. In Food-producing agroforestry landscapes of the Pacific. Craig Elevitch (ed.). Western SARE and Permanent Agriculture Resources. Saa, S. and P.H. Brown. 2014. Fruit presence negatively affects photosynthesis by reducing leaf nitrogen in almond. Functional Plant Biology 41:884-891. Saa, S., P.H. Brown, S. Muhammad, A. Olivos-Del Rio, B.L. Sanden and E.A. Laca. 2014. Prediction of leaf nitrogen from early season samples and development of field sampling protocols for nitrogen management in Almond (Prunus dulcis [Mill.] DA Webb). Plant and Soil 380:153-163. Scagel, C.F., G. Bi, D.R. Bryla, L.H. Fuchigami, and R.P. Regan. 2014. Irrigation frequency during container production alters rhododendron growth, nutrient uptake, and flowering after transplanting into landscape. HortScience 49:955-960. Shengrui Yao, Steve Guldan, Robert Flynn, and Carlos Ochoa. 2014. Home Strawberry Production in New Mexico. Guide H-324. Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, and L.D. Saunders. 2014. Evaluation of foliar calcium and fungicide for survival of corn lily (Veratrum californicum) seedlings from five sources. p 222-226 In Shock C.C. (Ed.) Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2013. Shuai, X, R.S. Yost, and O. Wendworth. 2014. State-space estimation of the intrinsic soil phosphorus pools from soil phosphorus tests. Geoderma 214 239-245. Spencer, D. and B.A. Linquist. 2014. Reducing rice field algae and cyanobacteria by altering phosphorus fertilizer applications. Paddy and Water Environment 12:147-154. Spokas, K.A., J.M. Novak, C.A. Masiello, M.G. Johnson, E.C. Colosky, J.A. Ippolito, and C.T. Cordoba. 2014. Physical disintegration of biochar: An overlooked process. Environ. Sci. Technol. Letters. 1:326-332. Strik, B.C, D. Bryla, and L. Valenzuela. 2014. Organic Blackberry Production: Tips learned from an ongoing research study. March 13, 2014. Webinar on-line at: http://www.extension.org/pages/70279. Strik, B.C. 2014. Organic blueberry production systems – advances in research and industry. Acta Hort. 1017:257-267 Strik, B.C. and G. Buller. 2014. Nitrogen fertilization rate, sawdust mulch, and pre-plant incorporation of sawdust – long-term impact on yield, fruit quality, and soil and plant nutrition in ‘Elliott’. Acta Hort. 1017:269-275. Sullivan D.M., D.R. Bryla, and R.C. Costello. 2014. Chemical characteristics of custom compost for highbush blueberry, pp. 293-311. In He, Z. and Zhang, H. (eds.) Applied Manure and Nutrient Chemistry for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, Springer-Verlag, New York. Sullivan, D.M. 2014. Nitrogen Mineralization: Short and Long Term Considerations. In Science Symposium: Nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in dairy farm ecosystems: how science informs nutrient mgmt. plans. May, 2014. WA Association of Conservation Districts. Olympia, WA. https://www.extension.org/pages/70535/managing-dairy-nutrients-for-stewardship:-washington-state-science-symposium-may-2-2014#.U_V5IflSYpo. Thornton, M.K., R.G. Novy and J.C. Stark. 2014. Improving phosphorus use efficiency in the future. 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Impact Statements

Activity: The WERA-103 website is hosted through the IPNI (http://www.ipni.net/wnmc), and is now much more highly visible and provides easy access to the WNMC program, a list of poster titles, information on the WERA-103 committee composition, and Proceedings from the past three conferences. It also includes the Western Nutrient Digest, which is published as part of WERA-103 activities. Further expansion of the website may include: 1) past award winners; 2) links to NIMMS site; 3) grad student poster winners.
Activity: One hundred and thirty people, including 40 Certified Crop Advisors, attended the Western Nutrient Management Conference, March 5-6, Reno Nevada, where they received science-based training in nutrient management. In addition to the topics that were covered (shown below), a survey was conducted to determine in what subjects the attending nutrient management professionals would like to receive additional training.
Activity: A Regional WSARE project has been funded to improve technology transfer to clientele: Developing Digital Tools to Improve Soil Sampling and Analysis for Sustainable Agriculture in the Western U.S. New Mexico State University, Colorado State University, Washington State University, and University of Arizona.
Milestones: There are continually new testing methods for consideration of inclusion in the Soil, Plant, and Irrigation Water Methods for the Western Region Handbook. We as a group are pushing for calibration data to include the methods. As an example, there is interest by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to adopt ?Soil Health? testing procedures, however there is a lack of calibration of testing for these methods, and questions about their suitability for the arid and semi-arid regions of the western US. WERA-103 has initiated discussions with state NRCS personnel to promote rigorous testing prior to widespread adoption of these techniques. Further, the group has agreed to develop a position statement on this to share with the NRCS and other interested groups.
Indicators: Updates at the meetings have included not only activities by state, but the collaboration between public and private sector members of the committee. Partnerships are formed and research and extension efforts are provided with economic support from the industry collaborators in the form of in-kind materials, reduced prices on services, and when appropriate, donations to research programs.