12/03/08 Columbia Plateau PM10 Project update tomorrow

Farm and Ranch December 3, 2008 Progress on research to reduce wind erosion and improve air quality in the inland Pacific Northwest will be reported at the Columbia Plateau PM10 Project annual meeting tomorrow, December 4th, at Washington State University. Dust generated from farming and construction sites poses a hazard to motorists, reduces soil productivity and pollutes air in downwind communities. Scientists from Washington State University, Oregon State University and the USDA Agricultural Research Service as well as local air quality control officials will speak on such topics as measurement of dust emissions, cropping systems and assessment of farming practices. Those presentations will be made from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in room 210 at the Compton Union Building. WSU scientist Bill Schillinger says the problem of wind erosion from cropland will be licked when airborne particulates that are 10 microns in size or smaller, are kept below the exceedence threshold for a couple of years running. Schillinger: "And we are headed that way. Farmers are making a lot of progress. In the last 15 years they have made a lot of progress. You can see it in the fields that have a lot more clods and residue. You can see it in the airy quality data coming out of Spokane and the Tri-Cities. The exceedences are much reduced from what they were. But we still have a ways to go, especially in Tri-Cities region." Federal funding for the Columbia Plateau PM10 project was classified as an earmark so Schillinger says future funding of the program is up in the air. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.