Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
4
The Partners
The Gorilla Goes to the Farm
Karl Kupers recognized that his farming system was challenged on both
sides: economics and production practices. His family had grown winter
wheat on roughly 5,000 acres of leased land for several generations in
east central Washington. He had made a satisfactory profit, but
depended on federal subsidies for generations to do so, and he knew
these weren't going to last forever. An alternative economic strategy was
going to become crucial. At the same time, environmental problems asso-
ciated with conventional wheat production in some parts of this region
were becoming undeniable. Spokane environmental groups were up in
arms about the air pollution from burning stubble. Wind blowing across
exposed soils during the summers caused occasionally hazardous dust
storms. Rain on exposed fields resulted in gully erosion, and deposited
silt in some streambeds. Nitrate from fertilizers was finding its way to
groundwater, and was coming under regulatory scrutiny. The Seattle
office of the USEPA had identified the Columbia Plateau of central
Washington as home to the region's worst unregulated environmental
problems, and the chief source was agriculture. Kupers knew that “busi-
ness as usual” was not sustainable, and he refused to be passive in face
of the coming change. He wanted to be someone who would shape that
change, both economic and environmental.
1
Kupers's home in Harrington, Washington is in the intermediate rain-
fall zone (12-17 inches per year) of the Columbia Plateau, but most
crops are grown here without irrigation. Winter wheat dominates pro-
duction in the region, but this requires careful soil management to ensure
moisture is present in the soil for fall planting. Farmers accomplish this
