Idaho Agriculture

IDAHO ONE PLAN

Visit the

an innovative and unique approach to help Idaho farmers adapt their practices to meet environmental regulations.

DIRECT SEED AGRICULTURE

Brief History:

EPA is currently joining growers, USDA-NRCS, Conservation Districts and many others in promoting an environmentally friendly cropping system known as

Direct Seed

agriculture. Various conservation tillage practices have been developed over the years. In the Pacific Northwest (PNW), these efforts have primarily been focused at curtailing both wind and water soil erosion; mainly in the Palouse/Columbia Plateau areas. Recently, the latest generation of direct seed technology has been suggested as a method of reducing the practice of burning straw residue from cereal crops– primarily wheat straw.

Although direct seed has been used in the PNW primarily in dryland cereal crop lands, it has applications for other crops in other agricultural settings. Its adoption in recent years across the nation and worldwide has mainly been due to advances in technical systems and the many benefits to the grower AND the environment.

What do we mean by direct seed?

Direct seeding is the practice of planting (drilling) seeds into fields that have not been first plowed or tilled (or only partially tilled); i.e., growing crops with minimum soil disturbance.1

1 For an excellent and comprehensive discussion of direct seed, no-till and conservation tillage methods, differences, the relationship of past & present practices and definitions of each, the reader is referred to the following document prepared by Roger Veseth, WSU/UI Conservation Tillage Specialist at:

Under the traditional agricultural practice of plowing, tilling or cultivating, residues and/or weeds are worked into the soil. This action causes rapid decomposition of the organic matter. When organic matter is rapidly decomposed, the majority of carbon gets released to the atmosphere as CO2. Under direct seed/no-till practices, crop residues are left on the soil surface to be slowly decomposed by the soil macro and micro biology. Nearly all the carbon is converted to soil humus rather than CO2. This has several important environmental benefits.

Environmental Benefits:

Clean water

First, straw residues remain on the soil surface. These residues protect the soil from the direct effects of wind and water erosion. Over a number of years, the structure, tilth, fertility, macro and micro biology, and moisture holding capacity of the soil is greatly enhanced. Water no longer runs off the field into adjacent watersheds along with the accompanying loads of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Improved water quality is one of the biggest benefits of direct seed along with associated improvement in fish habitat.

In addition to

surface

water quality improvement, water that infiltrates through “

direct seed soil

”

For an excellent and comprehensive discussion of direct seed, no-till and conservation tillage methods, differences, the relationship of past & present practices and definitions of each, the reader is referred to the following document prepared by Roger Veseth, WSU/UI Conservation Tillage Specialist at:

http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu/Tillage Handbook/chapter2/022399.htm

is also often of improved quality; especially after initial soil improvements have occurred. This means that aquifer recharge water is often of better quality and that means improved groundwater quality. Also, water that recharges wetlands may be similarly improved.

In addition to

quality

, the

quantity

of infiltration water is also often increased. Big run-offs do not occur with direct seed. Mud torrents and wash-outs are changed into increased infiltration rates. This water is stored “

in the soil

”.

Potentially Reducing the need to burn Cereal Crop Straw

Second, direct seed practices can be potentially used to reduce the practice of straw residue field burning. In many situations, growers are faced with planting into fields of recently harvested crops which have generated very heavy straw loads. Under these circumstances, burning of straw is often thought to be necessary in order to clear the field of residue so that the seed of the new crop may be sown. In Washington alone, in 1999, over 230,000 acres of primarily wheat straw was burned (Washington Department of Ecology). Similarly, the number of acres burned in nearby regions of Oregon and Idaho were also significant. This represents a major air pollution problem in the Pacific Northwest and in many other areas of the country. Often, direct seed techniques can be used to avoid this practice.

A new generation of specialized direct seed “

drills

” are able to cut through heavy straw loads enabling growers to plant without first tilling or burning. Unfortunately, there is no one, “

off-the-shelf

“ drill that will work in all precipitation zones, soils, slopes and/or terrains. Also, these new drills are very expensive. None-the-less, direct seeders are sometimes able to avoid burning through the use of this and other specialized equipment and techniques.

The use of burning as a

“tool”

for certain situations may always be necessary, however, direct seed techniques can potentially keep these situations to a minimum.

Quality Soil–increased soil humus

Third, soil humus (carbon) can be increased with direct seed. After 100-200 years of continual plowing, soil humus levels across many of the nation’s agricultural regions has declined dramatically. This loss is in addition to the loss caused by erosion. Without humus, soil tilth, fertility, moisture holding capacity, macro and micro biology and structure also declines. Because the soil fertility has declined, more and more fertilizers are needed to maintain past crop yields. It is not uncommon for the soil carbon level to have been reduced by 75% over what it was in the un-plowed sod prairie.

Carbon Sequestration–reduce global warming

Finally, and possibly the most important future environmental benefit of direct seeding is the phenomena known as

carbon sequestration

. Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in the soil as humus or organic material, rather than allowing it to be released to the atmosphere as CO2. Although CO2 is not a pollutant currently regulated by EPA, its release to the atmosphere may contribute to global warming. When growers use conventional tillage, or totally remove straw residues from the field, as in burning, most of the carbon is ultimately release it to the atmosphere as CO2; thus contributing to global warming. The Kyoto Protocol on global warming talks about the use of “

carbon credits

”. These credits could be generated by direct seed agriculture as a means of off setting the CO2 generated from other sources. In the future, these carbon credits could represent income to growers.

Benefits to the Grower

Not only is direct seed good for the environment, but the benefits to growers are also substantial.

Reduced grower costs

First, and most often the initial reason a grower becomes involved with direct seed, is the substantial savings often realized in operating and labor costs. With direct seed, a grower will only have to make a very limited number of passes over his acres as compared to the many passes required with traditional tillage methods. This translates into big savings of time, fuel and equipment use. Also, the amount of equipment a grower needs to maintain on hand is significantly reduced with direct seed.

Reduced agro-chemical use

After a number of years of no-till, a grower’s total fertilizer and agro-chemical bills could be reduced. Direct seed practices do require the application of herbicides. However, if applied at critical times, the total amount of herbicide required is often reduced. Moreover, with direct seed, water run-off from the field is minimized and herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers stay put. Additionally, the

placement

of fertilizer with direct seed agricultural systems allows for much more efficient and effective use. Additionally, when a grower’s soil humus level increases as a result of direct seed, his nitrogen fertilizer bills often go down. Studies have shown that where humus level have built up, nitrogen fertilizer needs go down as much as 30%!

Enhanced moisture holding and infiltration capability of the soil

Direct seed practices increase soil humus levels and change the soil macro biology (bringing back earthworms). The tunnels, burrows and holes of these creatures help the soil soak up and retain moisture. The additional humus itself makes the soil act more like a sponge–releasing water slowly. Leaving residues and straw stubble on the surface of the soil better retains water from large precipitation events and tends to hold and store more winter snow. In the spring this water doesn’t run off nearly as fast as in conventionally tilled soil. All this adds up to a big benefit to the grower.

Extra moisture stored during winter months and

gully buster washout

water is now stored in the soil and made available to the crops. This translates to more or better crops, especially in low rainfall areas or during droughts. Often, a grower can eliminate a “fallow” rotation and grow an additional crop; thus further increasing his income.

This extra moisture holding capability of the soil is not only important in times of drought, but also in times of too much water. Often during such wet periods, conventional fields cannot be worked, but with direct seed, farmers are often able to work their soil earlier. Standing water in low spots is often avoided.

Summary of grower benefits

Often, after a grower learns about these benefits, and has tried direct seed for a few years, he notices that his soil structure has changed. Those “low” spots he couldn’t seed during wet periods can now be seeded. Gullies disappear. Slopes which could not have previously been plowed without serious erosion problems, now are able to grow crops. There is actually more moisture available to the plant to grow more crops with better yields. Soil, fertilizer and chemicals remain on the farm instead of running off into the creek. Soil that had previously been tilled so much that earth worms were not present, may now support as many as 25-30 worms per cubic foot. The grower becomes a true

custodian

of his land while at the same time and reducing his operating costs and labor and increasing his net profit.

Grower Challenges

The grower does face some significant challenges when converting to a direct seed system. A grower may ultimately have less equipment, but it is often

different

equipment. Special seed drills are needed for planting seed in heavy residues. These are expensive. Soils converted to direct seed systems often take 3-5 years to develop into high quality/high humus soils. During that time the grower may actually see a

decrease

in crop yield. Direct seed techniques are conducive to certain pests and diseases in certain situations. These problems often need to be solved early. Farming a direct seed system requires a higher degree of management and attention to details than conventional tillage. Learning this new system takes time and sometimes results in farming operation “wrecks”. Despite these challenges, many growers have made the conversion to direct seed successfully.

A problem area in the Pacific Northwest

In the Pacific Northwest, there is an area, which extends into portions of Idaho, Oregon and Washington, with highly erodible (loess) soils, often with very steep slopes, known as the

Palouse/Columbia Plateau

. This region produces mainly dryland cereal crops through cycles of production and fallow. The problem of wind and water erosion and accompanying pollution has sometimes been severe. Direct seed has the potential to address these problems, but has been slow to expand in this region (less than 10% of Pacific Northwest dryland crop acreage is direct seeded, compared with approximately 20% in the mid-western U.S. and 50% in other major wheat-producing areas of the world). There is a great need to expand direct seed in this area.

PNDSA

The Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association (PNDSA) is a group of growers dedicated to increasing the number of acres in direct seed in the PNW from the current 650,000 acres to 2 million acres by 2005. (The PNDSA web site is under construction, but can be accessed at:

http://www.directseed.org/

http://www.PNDSA.org

. With the help of Washington State University, University of Idaho and Oregon State University, they have established a program of “

grower to grower

” education in the region. The PNDSA have put on informative presentations for various audiences, conducted many educational tours of their own farming operations and have put forth great personal effort in spreading the good news about direct seed. In order to achieve common goals beneficial to both growers and the environment, PNDSA has entered into partnerships arrangements with such groups as

Environmental Defense

Food Alliance

and

Core 4 Conservation

. Some PNDSA members have received "Salmon Safe” certifications from the

Pacific Rivers Council

for improving water quality and fish habitat on their farms.

For more information on direct seed or the PNDSA, please contact:

Tanya Wojtowych

PNDSA Executive Director

(509) 543-2054

Juliana@moscow.com

Also, to learn more about direct seed agriculture, please look at the following website prepared by the University of Idaho’s Roger Veseth in conjunction with “

Solutions to Environmental and Economic Problems

” (STEEP), at:

http://pnwsteep.wsu.edu

Argentinian Direct Drilling

Association (AAPRESID):

http://www.aapresid.com.ar