1998 Table of Contents

1998 STEEP III Progress Report - Nov. 1997 to Nov. 1998

PROJECT TITLE: PNW STEEP III Extension -- Integrated Cropping Systems Technology Transfer

INVESTIGATORS: PNW STEEP III Extension Conservation Cropping Systems Team

Roger Veseth, WSU/UI Extension Conservation Tillage Specialist, Moscow/Pullman
Don Wysocki, OSU Extension Soil Scientist, Pendleton
Russ Karow, OSU Extension Agronomist, Corvallis
Stephen Guy, UI Extension Crop Management Specialist, Moscow
Tim Fiez, WSU Extension Soil Specialist, Pullman
Bill Schillinger, WSU Dryland Agronomist, Lind
Joe Yenish, WSU Extension Weeds Specialist, Pullman

Cooperators:
Other PNW extension specialists and agents; researchers on STEEP III and related projects, conservation districts; USDA-NRCS; producer organizations; Ag-support industry

OBJECTIVES: Increase grower awareness and adaptation of STEEP III and related research technologies for conservation tillage systems by presenting new technologies as integrated components of conservation tillage systems in specific agronomic regions, and making the information available through continuation and expansion of:

1) PNW STEEP III Extension Conservation Tillage Update

2) PNW Conservation Tillage Handbook Series distributed through the Update

3) Internet Home Page -- PNW STEEP Conservation Farming Systems Technology Source (http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu), including 1 and 2 above

4) NW Direct Seed Cropping Systems Conferences

5) Field days on conservation tillage systems

KEY WORDS: Integrated Cropping Systems Technology

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Lack of access to new research technologies by PNW growers and agricultural support personnel limits the success and slows the adaptation and adoption of conservation tillage systems in the region.

AGRONOMIC ZONES OF INTEREST: All Pacific Northwest cropland agronomic zones can benefit from this technology transfer program on conservation tillage systems, particularly those agronomic zones targeted in STEEP III research projects.

ABSTRACT OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS: A variety of technology transfer programs and products have been conducted in this STEEP III project in 1998. Three issues of the PNW STEEP III Extension Conservation Tillage Update newsletters were completed and one is in press, with a mailing list of about 2,800. Two PNW Conservation Tillage Handbook Series publication (distributed through the Update issues) were added to the Handbook. Over 70 other publications focused on new technologies from STEEP III and related programs. The Internet Home Page -- PNW STEEP Conservation Farming Systems Technology Source (http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu) has been updated with new Handbook Series publications, Update issues, NW direct seed conference information and numerous other resources. The January 7-8, 1998 Northwest Direct Seed Intensive Cropping Conference lead by this STEEP III Extension Team was a great success with nearly 900 growers and Ag support personnel attending. A detailed Proceedings was distributed at the Conference is on the Home Page. Videos from the Conference have also expanded grower access to new technologies. A direct access section of the Home Page (http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu/conf99) was established for the 2^nd Northwest Direct Seed Cropping Systems Conference and Trade Show on Jan. 5-7, 1999 in Spokane. It includes online registration and all the information on the program and Trade Show. The Conference is expected to attract 1,200 to 1,500 people.

RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION: Northwest producers need access to current research information on tillage and residue management, pest control strategies, fertility and other management considerations to develop and maintain successful conservation farming systems. Limited grower experience and lack of knowledge about successful management strategies and technologies for conservation tillage systems are still a major impediment to widespread acceptance. Specialists on the PNW STEEP III Extension Cropping Systems Specialist Team have worked with STEEP III and related program researchers, and other extension specialist and agents and Ag support personnel to summarize the Astate-of-the-art@ in conservation tillage management technologies from an integrated cropping systems approach. Access to this information is assisting growers in: a) fitting new technologies to agriclimatic areas; b) incorporating the technologies into their farming systems; and c) addressing interactions of the technologies with other management components in the systems. The following is a description of the project accomplishments by technology transfer methods:

1) PNW STEEP III Extension Conservation Tillage Update -- This publication provides a timely and effective technology transfer tool for STEEP III and related technologies. Three Update issues were published since the last report B November 1997, February 1998 and May 1998, and the November 1998 issue is going to press. The major focus of the November 1997 issue was to highlight the upcoming NW Direct Seed Intensive Cropping Conference in January 1998. The February issue was a special release on the availability of the Conference Proceedings and videotapes. The May issue distributed two new Handbook Series, an updated Handbook Table of Contents, listed current and proposed STEEP III and related PNW research on direct seed cropping systems, and highlighted numerous field days and tours. The November 1998 issue will showcase the 1999 Conference and new information resources. The current Update mailing list is over 2,790, primarily PNW producers (about 1,960), county extension agents, conservation districts, NRCS staff, and Ag service industry, Ag media and other support personnel. The Update provides an information resource on conservation tillage systems for local Extension and Conservation District newsletters and education programs, and for the Ag media.

2) PNW Conservation Tillage Handbook Series -- Two new PNW Handbook Series (see Publications at the end) and an updated Handbook Table of Contents were distributed through the May 1998 Update. Printed copies are 3-hole punched and ready for insertion into the large 3-ring binder Handbook. Since the Handbook was published in 1990, 45 new Series publications have been completed. The Handbook now contains 142 Handbook Series publications and is a major reference on conservation farming technologies in the Northwest.

3) Internet Home Page - PNW STEEP III Conservation Farming Systems Technology Source (http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu) -- The Internet computer network is expanding at a phenomenal rate and rapidly becoming a major technology transfer medium for growers and Ag support personnel. Most local offices of cooperative extension, conservation districts, NRCS, Ag service industries, and an increasing number of growers in the Pacific Northwest have Internet access. The STEEP Internet Home Page provides access to much of the conservation tillage systems technology developed through STEEP and related NW research programs.

The entire PNW Conservation Tillage Handbook Series has been put on the home page, including the two new Handbook Series distributed in the May 1998 Update issue. There is a new home page addition on the NW Direct Seed Cropping Systems Conferences. You can choose between the 1998 and 1999 Conferences. The 1998 Conference page has the entire 1998 Conference Proceedings. Information on the 1998 Conference videos will be added shortly. The 1999 NW Direct Seed Cropping Systems Conference and Trade Show page has a direct access page (http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu/conf99) that includes: 1) Conference overview; 2) Conference highlights; 3) Detailed program and agenda; 4) Trade Show and Sponsorship prospectus (html and Acrobat Reader formats); 5) Registration information; 6) Hotel information; 7) 1999 Conference Proceedings (under construction); 8) 1999 Conference Videos (under construction); 9) Link to the 1998 Conference Proceedings; and 10) Link to the main STEEP home page. Note that both the Trade Show / Sponsorship prospectus and Conference Registration sections have template registration forms that can be completed online, printed and mailed, or submitted directly via email.

The 1998 STEEP III Research Progress Reports will be added to the Home Page as soon as possible to provide current access to descriptions of STEEP III projects and 1998 progress. Other home page additions in progress include completion of the 5-year STEEP II final reports and interpretive summaries, and four years of the annual PNW STEEP II On-farm Test Results publications. Printed copies of all of these publications are in very limited supply and it would not be feasible to provide copies to all applicable PNW growers and Ag support personnel who could benefit from the information. Electronic information access through the Internet is a very low cost, effective means of providing unlimited access to STEEP and related technologies.

Links have been established to a number of other PNW home pages and efforts will expand to other useful sites on conservation cropping systems in the Great Plains, Canada and other locations. Other features that are underway or planned include: 1) an events and educational programs calendar; 2) key-word searching to rapidly find information of interest; 3) video source on conservation cropping technologies; 4) expertise databases;. The feasibility of a CD-ROM version of the PNW Conservation Tillage Handbook Series and other home page resources will be evaluated.

4) Northwest Direct Seed Intensive Cropping Conferences -- There was tremendous grower and Ag advisor interest in the Jan. 7-8, 1998 Northwest Direct Seed Intensive Cropping Conference in Pasco, WA. It was coordinated by Veseth and others in the PNW STEEP III Extension Specialist Team in cooperation with STEEP III Technical Coordinating Committee and other PNW scientists and Ag support personnel. It was attended by an enthusiastic audience of nearly 900 NW growers and Ag advisers. The Conference was developed as a service to Northwest growers through the PNW STEEP III program. It was co-sponsored by Monsanto and 13 other Ag service and equipment companies in cooperation with PNW grain grower, conservation district, pea and lentil, and oilseed associations, and other Ag support groups and agencies. New features of the 1998 Conference dramatically added to it=s potential to attract much larger audiences than in past STEEP Conservation Farming Conferences (commonly 150-350 attended). These include: out-of-state and international speakers; financial Conference co-sponsorship by Ag industry to cover additional costs of speaker expenses, a Conference Proceedings (never published before in 23 years of STEEP conferences), paid Ag media advertisements and other expenses; and more active involvement by PNW grower commodity and conservation district associations and other groups as cooperators in helping develop and promote the Conferences.

The program, arranged in seven 2- to 3-hr focus sessions, featured 48 speakers which included: 16 growers from PNW, Australia, and Canada; 11 Ag industry representatives; and 13 researchers and Ag organizations from the PNW, South Dakota and Indiana. Focus session topics included: international trends and experiences with direct seeding, alternative crops and rotations, advances in direct seeding and intensive cropping in low/intermediate and high rainfall areas, new industry development in direct seeding equipment, tillage and direct seeding impacts on soil quality and productivity, and grower drill modification and fabrication for direct seeding. This Conference helped to demonstrate how new technologies for direct seed systems and more intensive crop rotations are revolutionizing farming systems across the Northwest and around the world.

Conference Proceedings -- A detailed 150-page Conference Proceedings of speaker papers was completed and distributed at the Conference. Additional copies were printed and over 170 copies have been sold. The Proceeding was put on the PNW STEEP Home Page (http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu) under the new 1998 Conference section. Much of the Proceedings was already online before the Conference.

Sections of the Conference Proceedings were reprinted in a couple issues of Wheat Life, the monthly official publication of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, which has a circulation of over 15,000. The following Proceedings papers were reprinted:

• Worldwide Trends in No-Till Farming -- Competing with the Competition -- John Habblethwaite, Exec. Dir., National Conservation Tillage Information Center.
• Direct Seeding Systems in Alberta - Spencer Hilton, grower and 1997 President of the Alberta Conservation Tillage Society.
• Direct Seeding Systems in Australia - Allen Postlethwaite, grower near Victoria, Australia.

• Experiences with Direct Seeding and Annual Cropping in the Low and Intermediate Rainfall Zones -- A grower panel Focus Session including: Karl Kupers, Harrington, WA; John Aeschliman, Colfax, WA; Dale Galbreath, Ritzville, WA; and Tim Rust, Echo, OR.

Conference Videotapes -- Videotapes of the seven 2- to 3-hour Conference Focus Sessions were produced with the help of WSU Extension Video Specialist Darrell Kilgore. The tapes were available for loan or purchase two weeks after the Conference and were promoted throughout the region for use in 1998 winter meetings. There have been over 45 videos loaned and 105 purchased.

Conference Evaluation -- Participants were asked to complete a evaluation of the 1998 Conference and provide input on plans for the 1999 Conference. Based on a 1 to 5 scale (1 = poor; 5 = excellent), growers gave the overall Conference a 4.4 average rating and 99% felt that the Conference will help increase the success and adaptation of direct seed systems in the Northwest. The respondent=s input on plans for the 1999 Conference has help shape the program and facility selection.

1999 Northwest Direct Seed Cropping Systems Conference and Trade Show

The 2^nd Conference, titled the ANorthwest Direct Seed Cropping Systems Conference and Trade Show,@ is scheduled for January 5-7, 1999 at the Ag Trade Center / Convention Center and DoubleTree Hotel-City Center in Spokane, WA. An audience of 1,200 to 1,500 is expected. Like the 1998 Conference, this 1999 Conference and Trade Show is also sponsored by the PNW STEEP III program, Monsanto and a number of Ag support companies in cooperation with PNW grower commodity and conservation district associations and other Ag support groups and agencies. The program will feature 37 speakers, including 14 researchers and 7 industry representatives and 16 growers from across the Pacific Northwest, Northern Great Plains, Canada, Argentina, and Brazil. There are 7 in-depth Focus Sessions on a variety of topics on developing direct seed cropping systems. At the request of growers and Ag industry in the evaluation of the 1998 Conference, a new Trade Show will be a special feature of the 1999 Conference. It will include extensive commercial and educational exhibits to provide growers, Ag industry and researchers more opportunities to discuss technology needs and share new innovations.

New this year is a Conference Internet home page (http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu/conf99) that provides all the information on the Conference and Trade Show, including registration forms (see the Internet home page section above for details). Nearly 30,000 brochures have been distributed through enclosures in other mailings, direct mailing, distribution at meeting, etc. A total of seven news releases are planned and under way since September. A Proceedings is being prepared for distribution at the Conference and on the Conference home page. Videotapes (new digital format) of the seven 2- to 4-hour Conference focus sessions will be available about two weeks after the Conference.

5) Conservation Tillage Field Days, Tours and Field Trials B Wysocki helped organize and publicize the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Field Days at Pendleton, OR on June 9, 1998 (280 attended) and at Moro, on June 10 (150 attended). Guy was involved in organizing and promoting the University of Idaho Brassica Field Day (120 attended) featuring new developments in crop breeding, weed control, direct seed technologies and other management practices. Veseth and Schillinger assisted other investigators in developing and/or promoting several 1998 Field Days of research trials on conservation tillage systems and new crop rotations for the low rainfall areas. A flier on the June 4 Ralston No-Till Spring Cropping Project Field Day (150 attended) was included in the 900 registration packets at the January 1998 Direct Seed Conference. The flier was also included in the February 1998 issue of the PNW Extension Conservation Tillage Update which is distributed to nearly 2,800 PNW growers and Ag support personnel. Fliers on the Ralston Project Field Day, June 11 WSU Lind Dryland Research Station Field Day (180 attended), the WSU/ARS Palouse Conservation Field Station / WSU Spillman Field July 9 (210 attended), and information on other several other field days and tours on direct seeding and alternative cropping systems were included in the May 1998 Update issue, and also distributed to County Extension and Conservation District offices in the region. News releases on these WSU field days were also carried in Washington Assoc. of Wheat Growers publications Wheat Life (circ. 15,000), and Green Sheet (circ. 7,500), and other PNW Ag publications.

Alternate Crop Drill Strips - Karow and Wysocki coordinated alternate crop drill strip trials in eight locations in four Oregon counties in the Columbia Basin in 1998. Trial entries varied by location and grower interest but all included hard red spring wheat, malt barley, mustard, canola and flax. Corn, lentils, chickpeas, dry peas and sorghum were tried at some sites. Drill strip plots were planted by county agents in cooperation with Columbia Basin Agricultural Experiment Station staff and were harvested by growers and county agents. Yields were determined through use of truck scales and weigh wagons. Trial results have been published in county newsletters and will be summarized in a Columbia Basin Field Day report. Plots at all locations were part of one or more field tours.

INTERACTIONS (COOPERATION) WITH OTHER SCIENTISTS CONDUCTING RELATED ACTIVITIES: A primary focus of this project is to collaborate with scientists on STEEP III and related projects to integrate new technology on conservation tillage systems into effective educational programs and materials for Northwest growers and Ag support personnel. Most of the Team specialist are also investigators on other STEEP III and related projects.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES: The Project should have 4 outcomes or impacts:

1. Increased PNW grower and Ag support personnel access to new conservation tillage systems technology developed through STEEP III and related research efforts.
2. Increased effectiveness and profitability of growers= conservation tillage systems in the PNW as a result of access to and incorporation of appropriate new technologies and management strategies into grower=s production systems.
3. Increased rate and extent of grower adaptation and adoption of conservation tillage systems as a result of improved effectiveness and profitability.
4. Increased grower and Ag support industry / group recognition of and support for STEEP III and related Northwest research and education programs on more intensive cropping systems under conservation tillage.

PUBLICATIONS (on conservation tillage systems technologies)

Pacific Northwest Extension Publications

Contact us: Hans Kok, (208)885-5971 | Accessibility | Copyright | Policies | WebStats | STEEP Acknowledgement
Hans Kok, WSU/UI Extension Conservation Tillage Specialist, UI Ag Science 231, PO Box 442339, Moscow, ID 83844 USA Redesigned by Leila Styer, CAHE Computer Resource Unit; Maintained by Debbie Marsh, Dept. of Crop & Soil Sciences, WSU