| |
Educational
Issues Around Alternative Crops
Information
on alternative crops is abundant. The challenge for educators is
to direct useful information to those who need it. A group of eastern
Washington producers provided the following recommendations regarding
information and education they needed for succeeding with growing
alternative crops.
- Make
existing information more accessible -- don't reinvent the wheel.
- Provide
educational materials and resources from other areas.
- Use
a systems approach to alternative crops.
- Remember
no-till systems increase viability of other crops.
- Educate
the public and farmers on the alternative crops -- break down
the mental barriers.
- Find
a major income producer other than wheat for the area.
- Find
an alternative crop that will give you a better wheat crop in
rotation ---- educate commodity groups and commissions on the
value of the alternative crops.
- Involve
growers in working with their commodity associations.
- Ensure
varieties have adequate quality for all end uses, e.g. grain quality
with forage corn.
- Push
identity-preserved quality and bonuses.
- Research
the viability of major crops (e.g. corn and soybeans) for this
region. Factors include fertility levels, fertilizer, seeding
rates and dates, row spacing, pest control, and water usage.
- Remember
that most information is only baseline because the climate is
so unique in the Pacific Northwest.
- Spread
risk -- get farmers to push for alternative crop research.
- Bring
educational and research issues together.
- Answer
agronomic and economic questions that are bigger than marketing.
- Educate
the public and farmers on the alternative crops -- break down
the mental barriers.
- Facilitate
public/private cooperation -- growers are more important than
competition.
- Be
patient with the education process -- don't throw out what we
have learned in the past regarding wheat.
- Recognize
hesitancy on the part of the farmers who still have big bills
to pay and who succeed through being paranoid about their competition.
- Include
options and information on diversity within the wheat industry
and other cereals.
- Educate
landlords and funding sources -- a challenge to involve them when
they are in different states or have a narrow focus.
- Keep
an open mind -- there are a lot of people willing to try.
- Challenge
conventional wisdom-don't take anything for granted
Curtis
Hennings, Linda and Ron Mielke, Tracy Eriksen, Jerry Snyder, Keith
Schafer, Bill Heinemann, Paul Scheller (Producers) provided concepts
that are summarized in this report. Information is from a workshop
held in Ritzville, WA, on January 16,1998.
Agricultural
Sustainability. Highlights from a seminar series conducted by Washington
State University's Ag Horizons Team and funded by USDA Western Region
SARE.
Diana
Roberts
222 N. Havana
Spokane, WA 99202-4799
Phone: (509) 477-2048
FAX: (509) 477-2087
 robertsd@wsu.edu
|
|
