PULLMAN, Wash. — Northwest grain growers who are interested in converting their operations to direct seeding can learn about this conservation farming system from a new series of 16 grower case studies published by Washington State University, the University of Idaho and Oregon State University.
Roger Veseth, extension conservation tillage specialist for Washington State University and the University of Idaho, says many established direct seed growers in the Northwest report that one of the keys to their success was having other direct seed growers share their experiences and knowledge with them as they developed their own system.
This series of case studies allows growers and others to learn from other growers’ experiences with direct seeding across the Inland Northwest.
Each case study features a single farm operation and typically contains the following components:
- How growers started direct seeding, and lessons they learned
- Description of their current direct seed system including: crops and rotation, residue management, weed, disease and insect control, fertility management and fertilizer application, seeding strategies
- Description and evaluation of the drills they are using
- Primary benefits and challenges of direct seeding
- Advice for growers new to direct seeding; and
- Economic summary, if available.
“The farms featured in this case study series are located across the range of rainfall zones in the Inland NW region of Washington, Idaho and Oregon,” Veseth says. “They also utilize a variety of equipment and cropping systems.”
The series was published as Pacific Northwest Extension bulletins and are also available on the Internet. Funding was provided by grants from Western Sustainable Agriculture, Research and Education and PNW STEEP programs.
Print copies are free. They may be ordered through local Cooperative Extension offices or directly from the extension publication offices in Idaho (208) 885-7982, Oregon (541) 737-2513 and Washington (800) 723-1763.
The publications can also be accessed through the PNW Conservation Tillage Systems Web site at http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu. Click on Direct Seed Case Studies for viewing, printing or downloading in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format, just as they appear in print.
The first item on the Case Study Series Web page is a “Series Overview,” which briefly describes the format of the publications, and identifies the growers, farm locations, precipitation zones and common crop rotations. A print copy of the Series Overview can be requested from Veseth, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844-2339, phone (208) 885-6386, Fax (208) 885-7760, or e-mail rveseth@uiaho.edu.
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