11/15/07 More observations from down under

Farm and Ranch November 15, 2007 The second straight year of severe drought is one of the things Mary Corp of Umatilla County Oregon Extension saw on a recent trip to Australia. And although the impact on the wheat crop was difficult to witness she says the trip was rewarding from a research and information gathering point of view. Corp was in the wheat country of Western Australia where even in a good year moisture is limited. Corp: "Much like our drier areas they are in that 10, to 11, 13 inch rainfall zone, but they are very dependent on in-crop moisture." Corp was interested in the direct seeding and drill modifications aimed at saving moisture. Corp: "I looked at a drill that they were modifying the openers and then dragging some chain behind it to try firm back up the soil after seeding in order to hold the moisture a little better around the seed." Herbicide resistance has been a severe problem in Australia. Corp: "In fact there researchers in a system that is basically no-till is looking at some cultivation, some light cultivation techniques because the herbicides are not effective. They are actually looking at some cultivation in a system that really benefits from no-till so that kind of shows you how serious the problem is." On the topic of the Australian Wheat Board; Corp: "Just coffee shop talk that they were very unhappy and looking for a new way of doing things." I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.