Don Meyer, the first official user of PCD’s no-till drill over-seeded 40 acres of
Spanaway hayfield in April. By not tilling up his soil, Don is helping reduce the
amount of soil and nutrients that runoff his property by over 200,000lbs per year!
The WSU cover crop workshop and
field day held on April 17 had over
60 participants, who learned about
integrating cover crops into PNW
farming systems. Many of the field
day participants stuck around to the
late afternoon (and through a few rain
showers) to receive the prerequisite
training to operate PCD’s new no-till
drill. If you missed that training opportunity,
a professional video crew was on
hand to capture all the action, and they
will be producing an instructional video
for potential users of the equipment.
We are now taking calendar reservations
for the fall for the drill. So, if you are
planning to use the no-till drill this
fall to over-seed a pasture or hayfield,
or to plant cover crops, don’t wait too
long to receive the prerequisite training
or to schedule your usage days.
PCD’s Crop Farm Specialist Alison
Nichols has done research on saving
money by buying seed in bulk.
Unfortunately, this bulk buying
strategy only pencils out for cover
crop seed, but not for pasture seed.
Alison will be putting in a group order for the fall, which will be available
for pick-up here at the PCD office in
Puyallup. Contact
her for details on
placing a cover crop seed order.
Also coming this fall, WSU Extension
Puyallup will be conducting trials on
pasture renovation using PCD’s no-till
drill. They will determine what methods
work best to decrease competition from
existing pasture stands, and which
pasture seed species and varieties
work best for no-till pasture renovation.
Those results will be discussed
at a field day planned for next spring.
If you are planning to do any type of
seeding, whether it is with or without
PCD’s no-till drill, and no matter what
type of crop you have, remember that
weed management and fertilization
are both important aspects of a successful
planting. Please contact the
PCD farm team if you need assistance
with weed management recommendations,
or want to take advantage of our
first one’s free soil sampling program
for pastures, hay fields and commercial
crops. We are here to help!