A University of Wyoming technician here discussed his research July 8, detailing how he uses a radioactive alloy to emit high-energy neutrons that collide with hydrogen atoms.

But Axel Garcia y Garcia is not a nuclear engineer or an advanced weapons designer. He’s an irrigation specialist at the UW Research and Extension Center.

The neutron probe he uses is the most accurate way to measure soil moisture, a key factor in many of the research projects that local farmers and ranchers saw during a tour of the center.

“This is kind of where ag is going,” said Corey Forman, a Powell farmer who grows beans, barley, oats and grass seed.

“We’re getting the same prices for some crops that we got 30 years ago, so we have to find new ways of becoming more efficient and growing higher quality products,” Forman said.

Trials and tests performed by UW researchers in a multitude of experimental plots just north of Powell are aimed at helping farmers get more for less in everything they grow.

“Our goal is to do research that is responsive to your needs,” Francis Galey told the dozens of farmers, ranchers, gardeners and others who spent the morning previewing new techniques for weed management, fertilizing, tilling and more.



For the complete article see the 07-30-2010 issue.

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