What’s up with the soil in Foster Creek?

The first of the five grants awarded by the Soil Health Committee went to Foster Creek, where the Douglas County Soil Monitoring Program is being set up to provide long-term soil testing and monitoring for dryland agriculture in low precipitation areas. This information will then be used in an educational campaign with farmers in the area. Thus far, the Foster Creek Conservation District has formed a partnership with Soil Scientist Tabitha Brown from the Latah Soil and Water Conservation District; Tabitha has agreed to help draft a strategic plan for implementation of the soil testing. There are plans in place to purchase equipment from Dan Harwood of the Palouse Rock Lake Conservation District in order to conduct the tests. Foster Creek is partnering with WSU to develop Soil Health workshops to share their knowledge, and knowledge of best practices for soil health, with the community.