Exploring Organic Grain and Forage Production as a Profitable Enterprise for Palouse Farmers

For growers in the semiarid Palouse agricultural region of eastern Washington and northern Idaho, there are few crop alternatives that rival the profit potential of wheat (Schillinger et al. 2010). However, the high productive capacity of wheat has been coupled with historically high rates of soil erosion, which remains an underlying concern for growers throughout this region. Organic crop production is an alternative for diversifying farm income that is not common on Palouse wheat farms, despite potential benefits to improve soil health, including increased soil carbon and soil biological activity