03/28/06 Funding for WSU`s BIOAg

Washington Ag March 28, 2006 This year's session of the Washington State Legislature approved a one year appropriation of 400-thousand dollars for Washington State University's Biologically Intensive Agriculture and Organic Farming program or BIOAg. The program involves farming practices and systems that emphasize natural biological processes that can reduce the use of costly chemical fertilizers, pest controls and other synthetic farm inputs. Organic farming is just one example. Integrated Pest Management another. BIOAg is part of WSU's Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources and its director Chris Feise says the 400-thousand in funding will provide for a competitive grants program for focusing on high priority issues. Feise: "And doing it in such a way that we can have broader dimensions to it. Interdisciplinary work with teams of people working together to address some of the serious issues. And that is something that is extremely important after many, many years of reductions in university budgets and reductions in research." WSU soil scientist Lynne Carpenter-Boggs was recently named to the position of coordinator of BIOAg. I'm Bob Hoff.