10/10/05 No-till direct seeding

John Aeschliman got involved in direct seeding after a neighbor tried it. Aeschliman says they had to do something or continue to watch precious topsoil erode and wash away from his Colfax, Washington farm. AESCHLIMAN "You not only lose the soil but you lose the water that carries the soil and of course you lose the nutrients that were in the soil. If its fertilized why then the fertilizer gets carried off too." Aeschliman is president of the Northwest Direct Seed Association and he says high fuel costs have forced Idaho and other Northwest farmers to look at direct seeding. For him fuel savings is one of many benefits. AESCHLIMAN "Not only erosion, clean air, clean water, nothing blows anymore because the ground is never exposed. It always has either residue or standing stubble on it or it has a growing crop." Aeschliman says the data exists that shows tilling a field releases carbon. AESCHLIMAN "I'm not a scientist so I don't know if it does cause global warming. That's up to the scientists to figure that out. But we do know that direct seeding sequesters carbon. We actually have contracts now with energy companies that pay us so much an acre to sequester carbon so they can use them as carbon offsets." It is catching on but why isn't direct seeding as popular here as it is in the Midwest or in Europe? Some answers tomorrow. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott