MEDIA ALERT: NW Direct Seed Intensive Cropping Conference

What are more than 800 farmers doing at the Doubletree Hotel in Pasco Tuesday and Wednesday? They will be attending the Northwest Direct Seed Intensive Cropping Conference. Meetings start at 8 a.m. each day.

WHY WILL THEY BE THERE? Rapidly growing, world-wide trends towards direct seeding and more intensive crop rotations are being driven by increasing global market competition and the need for improved profitability, a greater awareness about the soil quality and productivity benefits of direct seeding versus detriments of intensive tillage, an increasing grower and public concern about crop-land soil loss by water and wind erosion, and new flexibility in crop rotation under the U.S. 1996 Farm Program.

The Northwest Direct Seed Intensive Cropping Conference provides Northwest growers an opportunity to learn about the latest technologies and experience with these new farming systems. Fifty speakers will provide a series of eight in-depth focus sessions. Complete program details may be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.agnic.org/mtg/1998/98ndsi.html

SPONSORS: PNW STEEP III Conservation Farming Research and Education Program at University of Idaho, Oregon State University, and Washington State University and USDA-Agricultural Research Service.

CONTACT: Roger Veseth, conference chair and conservation tillage specialist for Washington State University and the University of Idaho, at the Conference.

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