High Residue Farming Workshop for Irrigated Producers

Corn plants coming up among strips of wheat. Photo: D. Kilgore.
Corn plants coming up among strips of wheat. Photo: D. Kilgore.

WSU Extension is hosting an upcoming workshop on the basics of High Residue Farming on November 30, 2016, 9:30-3:30 in Moses Lake.  Details for those interested in attending are available here (lunch included if you pre-register by 11/22).

High residue farming is a term that covers a number of different specific farming practices, including strip-till and direct seeding. In all these systems, the amount of tillage is reduced in order to maintain crop residues on the soil surface.  High residue farming provides a number of benefits, but two key ones include reducing wind erosion (and the need to replant sand-blasted crops) and reducing the amount of time and equipment needed to plant. It can also improve soil health, increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil, and in some cases increase the potential for double-cropping.

Intrigued and want to learn more?  You can hear about strip tillage from a farmer who has used it for many years in the video below (6 1/2 min), and you can see the operations he uses for strip tillage in onions in the second video (3+ min):

Want to learn more but can’t attend the workshop?  CSANR faculty Andy McGuire has published a set of four extension publications that cover the basics.  These are:

This is also posted on AgClimate.net.