Don McMoran was born on a 2,000 acre diversified potato farm in Mount Vernon, Washington and grew up working on the farm including bucking hay bales and moving irrigation pipe all summer long. Working in the fields was long and hard but he grew to appreciate how hard area farmers work to make the valley what it is today. This presentation will cover the farm stress extension program from Skagit County Extension, and why this type of outreach is so important.

Dr. Carol Miles will share about her career in ag research—and as a current Director of a Research & Extension Center. In addition, hear a presentation by Dr. Lindsey du Toit from the APS Plant Health 2024 Phytopathologists of Distinction series. Learn more about their journeys to careers in agricultural research and leadership in the industry!

Bigleaf maple syrup is a promising new specialty crop in Washington State that adds non-timber value to forests and opportunities for forest owners to diversify production. Patrick will discuss his past and planned work developing maple sugaring and other forest farming practices in Washington State.

Modern technology is revolutionizing how soils data are collected, managed, and presented. Jadey will share how she uses R and ArcGIS to build efficient workflows that prioritize data quality and privacy. From sample collection to data management and the development of decision-support tools, these technologies enable reproducible analyses and interactive reports, making complex soils data accessible and actionable for farmers and landowners.

Pedro will share about the passion and curiosity for plant physiology that led him to quit a five-year industry career to become a graduate student at UW-Madison in 2018 and—after completing a PhD—join Dr. Lisa Wasko DeVetter’s group to work on cold hardiness modeling, cold damage analysis, and horticultural practices to mitigate frost damage in raspberry and blackberry. Pedro will share experiences he hopes may be useful for early career scientists.

Shuresh will share his experiences working with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation through the Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Program. He’ll discuss how trust and collaboration have grown through hands-on learning, cultural engagement, and building genuine partnerships between UConn personnel and the MPTN. Drawing from his own background in Nepal, Shuresh will reflect on the cross-cultural connections that have shaped his approach and highlight the importance of cultural sensitivity in agricultural education.

Discover innovative tools and strategies to tell farm stories, reach global audiences, and strengthen farm education programs. In this session, you’ll explore how Edge Perma is leveraging cutting-edge technology to create virtual farm experiences that make farm education more accessible than ever. Learn how innovative virtual education can benefit students and farmers while fostering deeper consumer connections. You’ll leave with a clear understanding of the methods and tools shaping the future of farm education and marketing and how to begin implementing new strategies.

Over the last century, historical wildfire regimes have shifted due to climate change, the exclusion of Indigenous fire stewards, and land management philosophies. As a result of these pressures, forests have experienced increases in fuel buildup that threatens dry forest resilience across western North America. Within post-fire landscapes, pollination is critical for vegetation recovery and ecosystem health. We used field based and molecular methods to evaluate the effects of fire reintroduction on bee community composition across a temporal range of one to nine years post-fire, and in an unburned control, in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

As ecosystem engineers, beavers have a big impact on the habitats that they call home. This can often be a boon for fish and wildlife sharing this space, but a headache for people nearby. Throughout the Puget Sound region, many beavers find homes in urban and exurban waterways. Beavers Northwest Communications Manager Joe Mouser will dive into beavers’ unique ecology, incredible benefits, as well as the challenges and opportunities afforded by living with beavers in a landscape dominated by human infrastructure.