| |
Pacific
Northwest Conservation Tillage Handbook Series No. 13
Chapter 10 - New Technology Access, Adaptation and Economics, March 2000
PNW
Grower Direct Seed Web Forum
Author:
Roger Veseth, WSU/UI Extension Conservation Tillage Specialist, Moscow,
ID
At the
request of Pacific Northwest growers, a PNW Grower Direct Seed Forum has
been established on the Internet to facilitate in-depth grower-to-grower
questions and discussions on direct seed cropping systems and technologies.
It will provide a communications tool to help growers search for answers
to their questions, as well as to share experiences and innovations. The
Forum can be accessed through the PNW Conservation Tillage Systems Web
site (http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu) -- click on Grower Direct Seed Forum.
The
Forum will expand the communications network initiated with the PNW Direct
Seed E-mail List Server in late 1999 for all Ag-related personnel interested
in direct seed system --- also linked to the PNW Web site. The main purpose
of the Grower Direct Seed Forum is to facilitate more growers-to-grower
communications, although others with experience and expertise in various
aspects of direct seed cropping systems, such as Ag industry representatives,
researchers, extension educators, and other Ag support personnel, are
encouraged to actively participate.
The
Forum "conference" topics presently include: equipment design
and modification; crop rotation; alternative crops; residue management;
and management strategies for weed, disease and insect control. Additional
conference area can be added on a variety of direct seed system topics.
The
number of PNW growers with Internet access is growing rapidly. A 1999
USDA Agricultural Statistics Service study showed that an average of 40%
of PNW growers had Internet access in 1999, up dramatically from 18% in
1997. Washington growers lead the NW and were second in the nation at
50%. Along with this rapid Internet access, NW growers are also moving
towards direct seeding and more intensive cropping systems to improve
productions efficiency and profitability, cropland productivity, and environmental
protection. This Grower Direct Seed Forum, as well as the List Server
and expanding library of resources on the main PNW Web site, are helping
meet this increasing PNW demand for computer access to direct seed cropping
systems technologies.
The
Forum has a threaded discussion design, which refers to the arrangement
of stored messages on the page, allowing participants to follow and respond
to discussions starting at the original messages and continuing with successive
replies to those messages. Participants can select options to receive
e-mail notification when there are new messages on the Forum, or to be
sent the messages by e-mail. There are separate mailing lists for each
of the "conferences" and you need to select those you are interested
in receiving. The Forum is simple to use, plus there is an introductory
section that describes how to use the Forum. An excellent help program
can also guide you through the process.
For
more information, contact Roger Veseth, Forum Manager and WSU/UI Extension
Conservation Tillage Specialist, at 208-885-6386 or e-mail (rveseth@uidaho.edu).
Pacific
Northwest Conservation Tillage Handbook Series publications are jointly
produced by University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System, Oregon State
University Extension Service and Washington State University Cooperative
Extension. Similar crops, climate, and topography create a natural geographic
unit that crosses state lines in this region. Joint writing, editing,
and production prevent duplication of effort, broaden the availability
of faculty, and substantially reduce costs for the participating states.
The
Pacific Northwest Conservation Tillage Handbook is a large, three-ring
binder handbook that is updated with new and revised Handbook Series publications.
It was initiated in 1989 as a PNW Extension publication in Idaho, Oregon
and Washington. Updates to the Handbook are provided when the updating
card is returned. By 1999, 47 new PNW Conservation Tillage Handbook Series
have been added to the original 98. Copies of the complete Handbook are
available for $20 through county extension offices in the Northwest or
ordered directly by calling state extension publication offices: Idaho
-- (208) 885-7982; Oregon -- (541)-737-2513; Washington
-- (509) 335-2999 (some shipping and handling charges and sales tax may
apply). It's now accessible on the Internet! All of the PNW Conservation
Tillage Handbook and Handbook Series are on the Internet
home page (http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu)
Pacific Northwest STEEP III Conservation Tillage Systems Information Source.
The home page also contains recent issues of the PNW STEEP III Extension
Conservation Tillage Update, listings of other conservation tillage
information resources, coming events and much more. For more information
on the Handbook or updates to the Handbook, contact Roger Veseth, WSU/UI
Conservation Tillage Specialist, Plant Soil and Entomological Sciences
Department, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-2339, phone 208-885-6386,
FAX 208-885-7760, e-mail (rveseth@uidaho.edu).
Cooperative
Extension programs and policies comply with federal and state laws and
regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, color, gender, national
origin, religion, age, disability, and sexual orientation. The University
of Idaho Cooperative Extension System, Oregon State University Extension
Service and Washington State University Cooperative Extension are Equal
Opportunity Employers.
|
Return Tillage Handbook