Ingredients include varying mixes of Timothy hay, alfalfa, triticale, and crop wastes from corn, carrots, mint, squash, pumpkins and others, all dumped into the “kitchen” to produce a fibrous stew. That yields cow manure — and ultimately compost — with different qualities.

Fascinating visit to Royal Family Farm, which composts its dairy wastes to return to the fields to support soil health. But not just any compost. The herd here dines from a menu of 30 different recipes to meet the varying needs of juveniles, dairy cows and beef cattle.

At Columbia Fruit near Royal City they’re experimenting with planting trees in biochar to see what they learn.

At WSU’s Sunrise Research Orchard we’re learning about early results from applying different soil treatments, such as mulch and carbon additives. We’re looking for things like soil compaction, water infiltration, nutrient levels and microbial activity.

When in Peshastin…

I’ve seen Ani present many times over the past dozen years and am flabbergasted by recent research that measures how different tree varieties manage 42-66 percent of the precipitation that falls on their canopies.