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From a few acres of land in rural China, Guojie Wang鈥檚 parents grew nearly everything they needed to support their family of four. If they needed oil for cooking, they grew sunflowers. If they wanted to eat tofu, they grew soybeans. Without heavy equipment or high-tech analysis, they provided nutrients for their sons and enough profit to cover Wang鈥檚 tuition.
He left the farm to study ecology and then natural resource management, in hopes of improving the lives of his parents and others like them.
鈥淚 graduated debt-free, but my parents鈥� life is very hard,鈥� Wang said. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the big deal if I get a degree, but my parents still have to suffer? So I study how to manage those farms with less labor or higher profit.鈥�
Wang is a forage agronomist who teaches Crop and Soil Science at (OSU) in La Grande. EOU houses faculty and courses from OSU鈥檚 College of Agricultural Sciences on campus at EOU so students from the rural areas of the state have access to experts like Wang.
His research, conducted at the OSU Experiment Station in Union, explores how to grow forage for livestock with less water than conventional methods. Increasing ecological restrictions on water use from local streams has strained agricultural needs in recent decades, and Wang hopes to provide a sustainable solution.
The Catherine Creek watershed is home to a variety of fish, Wang explained, and if any threatened or endangered species are listed, based on Endangered Species Act landowners will have very limited access to their water sources. In-stream water flow and temperature in summer have the biggest impact on aquatic life.
鈥淚n order to conserve these species, we aim to use less water for agriculture in summer, however, this region would be impossible to farm in summer without irrigation,鈥� Wang said. 鈥淪o we try to use water more efficiently than before.鈥�
He hopes to develop viable ways for agricultural producers to use less water to grow more or the same amount, or at least achieve neutrality between agriculture and conservation efforts.
Wang鈥檚 research began in 2016, and he plans to complete the first phase of projects this year and move to the second phase next year. Although the eight trials he鈥檚 run so far show significant effects, making an impact will take more than raw numbers.
鈥淎doption for this system is not just data,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 other social and economic factors, too.鈥�
Before Wang embarked on this work, he interviewed local farmers and ranchers to identify industry needs and priorities. The results reinforced his assertion that growing forage, or feeding material, is the No. 1 cost for livestock producers in this region.
鈥淎 cow eats roughly 30 pounds of hay a day,鈥� Wang said. 鈥淲e need a lot of forage, but at the same time we do not have a lot of water.鈥�
Wang and fellow researchers host field tours each summer for farmers to visit the Experiment Station to see the plots and demonstrations. Last year鈥檚 visitors were most concerned with the costs and effort required to implement Wang鈥檚 low-water strategies.
鈥淵ou cannot continue to draw water from this watershed, but producers want to keep doing what they鈥檙e doing right now,鈥� Wang said. 鈥淢y dad does the same thing. I hope the producers can be proactive and respect the data, and make some changes. I鈥檓 trying to demonstrate this is a true alternative, not a fantasy.鈥�
Wang鈥檚 parents have commercialized since he moved to America. The diversity of their farm has dwindled, and they don鈥檛 eat hardly any of what they grow.
鈥淚鈥檓 a rural farmer鈥檚 kid who is now teaching in America: I am the American Dream,鈥� Wang said. 鈥淚 went from a small farm in China doing everything by hand, to heavily equipped, big farms in America.鈥�
Wang plans to publish the results of his five-year study in a scholarly journal after analyzing the 2021 growing season data.
鈥淲e touch soil almost every day,鈥� said Crop and Soil Science Professor Goujie Wang. 鈥淥ut here, no matter where you work, you will touch the soil for sure.鈥�
And it鈥檚 worth doing right every once in a while.
鈥淭he first thing to do is feel it,鈥� Wang said. 鈥淪oil is a soft, porous medium.鈥�
He talks about soil like it鈥檚 his favorite pet: living and breathing and just asking to be cared for.
鈥淪oil will present all the things plants need,鈥� he said. 鈥淗uman beings don鈥檛 need to add very much to the soil to support industry. Fifty years ago there were no pesticides or fertilizers, and the world still produced a high quantity and quality of food.鈥�
He recommends even casual gardeners test their soil regularly. Think of it like a wellness check-up or a blood draw to make sure everything looks good, and proactively respond to potential problems.
鈥淪oil is a living, soft, fertile resource鈥� show you care by doing an annual check,鈥� Wang said.
Organic matter is the key to almost everything in soil. Add those leaves and little roots back to it to nurture a rich humus layer.
鈥淗umus is a glue to keep the soil healthy and functional,鈥� Wang said. 鈥淚mprove it, and the soil will do it back to you.鈥�
Mostly, though, leave soil alone. It鈥檚 more stable and resilient than most people give it credit for.
鈥淪oil is a reliable natural resource for our foundation as a community and country,鈥� Wang said. 鈥淭his is the energy for human beings. Of course you can destroy soil by pushing the boundary to where it breaks, but it鈥檚 resilient and will come back. After a wildfire, flood or severe drought, the soil always will come back if we don鈥檛 break that threshold鈥攋ust like the community did not break with the pandemic. We will bounce back鈥攚e have the capability.鈥�
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