10/23/06 Annual STEEP Review

Farm and Ranch October 23, 2006 The annual STEEP Research Review is being held October 30th at the Amerisuites Hotel in Pasco, Washington. Hans Kok, Conservation Tillage Extension Specialist with WSU and the University of Idaho sums up the first days activities. Kok: "And all the researchers that have been funded by the STEEP program over the past couple of years will give updates on the research they have doing. The meeting will start will start at nine am with coffee and registration. Presentations will start at 10 am and we will go until about four in the afternoon." Kok says the next day, October 31st, there will be presentations from people applying for funding with the STEEP program. Kok: "And they will be giving short presentations between 8 and 11 that morning. We have ten people that are applying for funding in the STEEP program." The STEEP program is a federally funded regional effort to solve economic and environmental problems for farmers and Kok says its about more than direct seeding. Kok: "We have a lot of research going on in insects, in finding alternative crops for farmers that are economical. We have a lot of canola and mustard research going on. So it is a fairly broad program." The cost for the review is 55 dollars and registrations were to be due today. Contact the Maurer Group in the Tri-Cities at 509-783-4677. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.