Workshop to Promote Direct Seed Coalition

PULLMAN, Wash. — Formation of a Northwest coalition for direct seed cropping systems and creation of a new Northwest Direct Seed Association are the subjects of a workshop to be held Tuesday, Jan. 25, at Washington State University.

Anyone interested in farm profitability, global competitiveness, water quality, air quality, and crop land soil erosion and productivity is invited to attend.

Roger Veseth, extension conservation tillage specialist for WSU and the University of Idaho, says direct seeding has also been described as no less revolutionary than the introduction of mechanization in the last century.

The change requires a broad-based support from research and education institutions, grower organizations, land owners, agribusinesses, financial institutions, and political institutions, but offers potential for increased profits and protection of natural resources.

Veseth said the idea for an association developed out of the recent 2000 Northwest Direct Seed Cropping Systems Conference in Pendleton, Ore.

Principal speakers are Walt Stevenson, extension plant pathologist, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc., and Dwayne Beck, research agronomist and manager of the 880-acre Dakota Lakes Research Farm.

Veseth said Stevenson played a lead role in the organization and implementation of the Wisconsin Potato Integrated Pest Management program.

Like the proposed Northwest direct seed coalition, the goals of the Wisconsin Potato IPM Program have been to increase the competitive advantage of a local industry while protecting and enhancing the environment and natural resource base.

Veseth said the Dakota Lakes Research Farm is a highly successful, continuous no-till research farm owned by a group of South Dakota no-till farmers and managed in cooperation with South Dakota State University.

Beck is a widely recognized authority on the importance of crop rotations for minimizing weed, disease and insect problems while increasing potential profitability under no-till systems in the Northern Great Plains and Canadian Provinces.

The workshop will be held 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. in the Carey Ballroom on the second floor of the Compton Union Building.

Attendance is free, but there will be an $8.95 charge for a buffet luncheon. Reservations for the luncheon may be made by contacting the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, Moscow, Idaho. Phone (208) 882-3023, fax (208) 882-6406, or e-mail pulse@pea-lentil.com.

For more information on the program, contact:
R. James Cook, WSU, (509) 335-3722, e-mail rjcook@wsu.edu;
Veseth, WSU/UI, (208) 885-6386, e-mail rveseth@uidaho.edu;
Eric Zakarison, USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, (208) 882-3023, e-mail pulse@pea-lentil.com.

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