Ten years of research at Cook Agronomy Farm

Ten years of research at Cook Agronomy Farm

Washington Ag July 7, 2009 Washington State University’s Cook Agronomy Farm just north of Pullman is a cropping research site managed under continuous direct seeding with field scale equipment. At a recent field day at the farm there was a focus on what’s been learned in the now ten years of research that’s been conducted at the site.

Colfax farmer and long time direct seeder John Aeschliman was one of the luncheon speakers at the field day. Afterwards in an interview, he talked about the importance of the research at the Cook Agronomy Farm.

Aeschliman: “What the idea is, is to make the mistakes and do the wrecks here under research before the farmer has to do it. In other words they are trying to stay ahead of the grower in direct seeding. So, everything that happens, this precision research that is being done, it is like way ahead before the growers are actually getting it. It will help to figure things out before the grower has to figure it out for himself.”

Aeschliman says that fact the research is conducted with field scale equipment, not in small plots, is also important.

Aeschliman: “These are big plots. These are 30 acre pieces. So it is believable research. When they get done you can believe the results. Not that you can‘t on the others but it‘s just not field scale in those little plots. So, yeah, it is that kind of a farm.”

Aeschliman says researchers are also trying to use the crop rotations that a farmer would use.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.

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