In most years, vineyards in Oregon start the season with a full soil water profile. As the season progresses, the soil dries out. Here's how to gauge a vineyard's water needs and methods for meeting them.
Irrigating pastures can provide livestock with nutrition long into summer. Learn to monitor soil moisture to determine when to irrigate and how much water to apply.
Mobile drip irrigation efficiently delivers water to crops where it's needed and minimizes the amount of runoff. It delivers 10%–25% more water to the soil per gallon of water than traditional sprinkler systems.
Poisonous plants are a major cause of economic loss to the livestock industry. Two poisonous plants common to Oregon are poison hemlock and Western water hemlock. Ingestion of either by humans or livestock typically results in death.
Silage-making has been used to reduce the concentrations of toxins in a variety of crops. But in the case of poison hemlock, the opposite is true — making silage out of it actually increases one of its toxic alkaloids.