Agriculture Symbiosis: WSU-CSI-PNNL Report to the Legislature

Learn about CSI's Ag Symbiosis Study Tour to Denmark!

Agricultural Innovations Deliver Economic and Environmental Wins

A new study commissioned by the Washington legislature, Increasing the Economic Value and Sustainability of Washington’s Agriculture Sector Through Industrial Symbiosis, identifies new opportunities for cost savings and additional revenue streams for farmers and food processors across the state of Washington.

Agriculture Symbiosis weaves industries together to capture economic value from waste while cutting waste and costs and reducing climate impacts. The study demonstrates how by working together in new ways, and adopting new technology, a producer’s waste can be transformed into a usable input into another organization’s production, which benefits both business and the environment.

With benefits to be gained across the state for producers of all sizes, the study identified important ways the legislature can support expansion of the practice:

1. Coordinate and invest in agriculture symbiosis programs in concert with programs supporting clean industry

2. Support market accelerator research targeting key opportunities for agriculture symbiosis

3. Help key state programs and industry to strategically align services to support agriculture symbiosis innovators

4. Forge collaboration agreements with countries and states who are symbiosis innovation leaders

For more information, contact CSI's Ted Sturdevant, Director of Strategic Initiatives: ted(at)centerforsi.org

More Resources:

• Presentation by report co-author, Georgine Yorgey, WSU CSANR

• Frequently Asked Questions

• WA Commerce Industrial Symbiosis Funding Program

"At Royal Dairy, we literally use a symbiotic relationship found in nature using large scale worm bins to cut costs and improve operations. The soils and the ruminants and their byproducts, and the cover crops are all working together."

-- Austin Allred, Royal Dairy

“We see agricultural symbiosis as a promising model, and we’re excited to support expansion of this innovative approach to strengthen long term sustainability and agricultural profitability.”

- Chad Kruger, WSU

Agriculture Symbiosis can add value for agriculture businesses by enabling them to reduce costs or generate new revenue by sharing surplus resources – energy, water, and organic ‘wastes’

Washington Examples: Our scan of agriculture symbiosis projects uncovered 18
illustrative projects that appear to meaningfully reflect industrial symbiosis principles and are
in active operation or development.

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