OSU lands $4M to study ag and climate change

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The value of Oregon wheat increased 12 percent in 2010, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Oregon State University will receive $4 million of a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a research project designed to preserve the viability of wheat farming in the Pacific Northwest, despite potential effects of climate change.

The USDA announced the grant award Friday in Washington. Other recipients include the University of Idaho, Washington State University and the USDA's Agricultural Research Service.

The grant will fund a five-year study of the relationship between climate change and cereal crops, primarily winter wheat, which is a major export crop for Oregon.

About $534 million of Oregon's $4.3 billion in 2010 sales by Oregon farmers and ranchers was from wheat. In terms of weight, wheat is the No. 1 export through the Port of Portland.

Researchers will study how climate change might affect cereal crops, how production practices might contribute to or help curb climate change, what farming methods might help these crops withstand climate change and what factors influence decisions about crop management.

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

The study, called Regional Approaches to Climate Change for Pacific Northwest Agriculture, will focus on northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington and Idaho's panhandle. It includes the cities of Pendleton in Oregon; Pullman and Othello in Washington; and Moscow in Idaho.

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