Wheat Farm in the Pacific NW

Soil in Pendleton Oregon

Kevin, with CTUIR, inspecting the wheat field

Fallowed wheat field overlooking the Columbia River and wind turbines

Wheat stubble in the Wallowa mountain foothills

Wet soil from the completed percolation test

Wrapping up the planting of the Kentucky Pride Crimson Clover

Kentucky Pride Crimson Clover being seed with the foothills of the Wallowa mountains in the background

Kentucky Pride Clover being seeded with Wildhorse Resort & Casino in the background

Kentucky Pride Clover being seeded

CTUIR’s tractor and seeder being prepped for planting Kentucky Pride Crimson Clover

Dr. Shannon Cappellazzi is teach grad student Chris Lessey how to use the Saturo.

Cover crop seed has arrived. When you don’t have a loading dock or pallet jack, improvisation is necessary.

Kevin discussing seeding plan

CTUIR wheat field that will be harvested and planted to cover crop.

Dirty work, but someone has to do it. Feeling thoroughly emerged in my work after a day in the field.

Chris sampling fields

The "brains and lungs" of the operation. The computer inside the case lets you set the program and regulates with water and air pressure to calculate the rate at which water can move through a saturated soil.

Dawn at CTUIR. Wildhorse Casino sign in the background. Saturo (TM) saturated hydraulic conductivity equipment in the foreground.

Saturo(TM) measurements from dusk to dawn. You can set up the machine and walk away.

See those little soil islands floating in the water. Those soils are highly hydrophobic. Ie water fearing. It is also referred to as water repellent.

Silty soil can be hydrophobic and even with a fresh vertical tillage pass, one inch of water can sit on top of the soil for over 14 minutes.

Water infiltration is highly variable

Samples go directly into a cooler

Planting cover crop seed into a dusty silt loam

Wheat stubble

Wheat stubble - ready to be planted

Biocrust in saturated soil

Biological crusting in a very wet area of a saline soil

Wetland protected area. Cat tails are a great nutritional food

An area with a very low water table that CTUIR is just starting to manage

Kevin is 6.3. This Kochia weed is taller.

Kevin showing us the size of the massive Kochia weeds in a new field he is going to start working. We discussed what cover crops to use here

Less well aggregated section of Neagle Flats. Higher pH, lower OM

Farm Scale Plot Work preparation

First set of Saturo Measurements. Automated equipment from the Meter group that measures the rate of water movement through saturated soil using a dual pressure head calculation.

Saturated soil after the Saturo collar has been removed

Freshly worked Neagle Flats Field Before Demo Plots are started

Close up of the Neagle Flats after gentle verticle tillage to work in some of the wheat stubble