02/14/07 Barley production workshops

Washington Ag February 14, 2007 Strong barley prices are expected to draw more producers back into growing the crop this year. So the Washington Barley Commission is sponsoring workshops that will focus on how utilizing barley in a rotation with other cereal and pulse crops will help growers lessen risk, improve production and decrease crop disease and weed infestations. Tom Swainz, Washington Barley Commission Chairman, says there may have been some changes since some farmers last grew barley. Swainz: "And with some of the new direct seed and stuff it has been working quite well in those systems. There is a problem with some of the chemical resistance out there, the Maverick and Beyond, and we need to touch on those. So some people who used to grow barley and think they can hop right back into barley, we don't want to have any crashes out there. Just to go over some of that agronomic stuff that hopefully will be beneficial to everybody." The workshops begin at 8:00 and will held February 21 in Colfax at the fairgrounds, February 23 in Dayton at the Seneca Foods Activity Center, February 26th in Spangle at the Harvester Restaurant and February 28th at the Davenport Memorial Hall. There will be Pesticide Recertification Credits and Certified Crop Advisor Credits available. You will get a free lunch at the workshops but you must RSVP the Washington Barley Commission by phone or email by this Friday, February 16th. I'm Bob Hoff.