| Successes and Current Activities: |
Direct seeding (no-till) is an important management system for crops producers on the Palouse. Mr. Barton was instrumental in organizing a Direct Seeders group (nearly forty growers representing over 100,000 acres of farmland in ten counties in Idaho, Washington and Oregon) that meets bi-monthly to discuss common issues. Through demonstrations, presentations at workshops, and farm tours he has introduced about 200 growers to new agricultural technologies such as: handheld computers, global positioning systems (GPS), geographical information systems (GIS), and remote sensing (RS). Mr. Barton’s work has resulted in producers incorporating hand held computers into their operations for their calendars, record keeping, databases, e-mail reference, spreadsheets, and GPS mapping. Growers currently integrating these technologies into their operations report they are increasing profitability through gaining efficiencies and/or by having better/additional information to make better informed management decisions. Farmer to farmer discussions through the Direct Seeders group have resulted in producers finding solutions to cropping systems challenges. |
