Herbicide resistance strongly affects the long-term environmental and economic sustainability of Pacific Northwest (PNW) farming systems, and improvement of agricultural technology, conservation of soils and soil health, adaptation to climate variability, are all examples of critical areas impacted by herbicide resistance. Indeed, the significant achievements in soil conservation and promises of sustainability that have been realized in the PNW through adoption of no-tillage or low-tillage systems are fundamentally threatened by herbicide resistance weeds. Low external input dryland crops produced in the PNW - wheat, barley, and pulses - are particularly vulnerable to herbicide resistance, as growers lack the economic resources to incorporate a diverse array of non-chemical integrated inputs or newer more expensive chemical inputs. Economic and environmental constraints further limit integrated weed management (IWM) inputs, and incentives for reducing or eliminating tillage have resulted in reduced grower flexibility. The result has been widespread herbicide resistance development. Weed scientists in the region have produced an array of Extension programming to assist growers in designing IWM systems and also conducted surveys and herbicide resistance testing programs – traditional approaches that have worked to help solve weed problems, but have singularly failed to slow herbicide resistance evolution. We aim to develop a regionally focused community-based herbicide resistance initiative for the PNW, as such programs are supported by empirical evidence that engagement in communities promotes farmer use of IWM practices. An array of approaches is required to achieve our goals and can best be addressed through a coordinated, interdisciplinary, systems-based initiative.
