Diversifying Dryland Direct Seed Systems: Steve and Nate Riggers

This Pacific Northwest Extension publication profiles Steve and Nate Riggers, fourth-generation farmers on Idaho’s Camas Prairie near Craigmont and Nezperce. The Riggers farm 6,700 acres in a dryland direct-seed system and have expanded beyond winter and spring wheat to include barley, lentils, peas, canola, buckwheat, turf grass seed, crested wheatgrass seed, alfalfa, and other experimental crops. The publication explains how direct seeding provides the foundation for crop diversification by improving soil structure, water infiltration, residue management, and spring field access. It also describes how rotating out of winter wheat for multiple years helps manage weeds, diseases, pests, and long-term biological risk while improving yields across the rotation. The case study covers individual crop choices, precision agriculture, economic risk management, profitability tradeoffs, challenges of added complexity, and the brothers’ ongoing experimentation with new crops.