Introducing High Residue Farming in Washington State's Irrigated Agriculture.

Since 2004, an extension program has introduced high residue farming (HRF) to farmers in the irrigated region of Washington State. HRF includes both no-till and strip-till. These practices differ significantly from those in the Midwest in 1) the challenges they present to farmers, 2) the cropping systems they must fit into, and 3) the motivation for adopting such systems. The major challenges are dealing with the high amounts of residue, lack of needed equipment, and widespread use of moldboard plowing. Cropping systems are diverse with highly flexible rotations of forage, grain, vegetable and other specialty crops. Some of these crops, like potatoes and onions, require tillage for production and harvest. Farmers’ motivations for considering changing to HRF include management of wind erosion and accompanying dust, increased double-cropping options, and savings from reduction in tillage passes. The extension program has used annual winter workshops with summer demonstrations, “proof of concept” on-farm research, and on-line publications to reach farmers. While panel sessions of local farmers were highly rated, experts from outside the region have also been important to exposing farmers to HRF practices. Adoption of HRF has been steady as measured by a number of parameters. Farmers who have adopted HRF systems report significant economic savings and soil conservation. However, many questions remain: What are the soil benefits of HRF where crops requiring tillage will be grown eventually? How best to manage very high residue levels? Is strip-till needed or can no-till work? What opportunities for double cropping do HRF and longer seasons (due to climate change) present? Future extension programming is being planned to answer these questions and increase adoption of HRF across the Inland Pacific Northwest.