Drills set for demo near St. John

A demonstration of seeding into winter wheat stubble at the Tracy Erikson farm on Highway 23 west of St. John has been scheduled June 23 beginning at 8:30 a.m.

 The demonstration will be hosted by the Palouse Rock Lake Conservation District.

The winter wheat, averaging between 70 and 80 bushels per acre, was harvested using a stripper header which leaves most of the wheat stalk in the field. The 40 acre field was harvested with a Shelboure Reynolds stripper header, according to Dan Harwood, district coordinator.

Use of high residue harvesting equipment, including stripper headers, is increasing in the Pacific Northwest with the goal of increasing moisture retention and improving the winter crop.

Direct seed drills booked for the demonstration include Cross Slot, Ag Pro, Horsch, Palouse Zero Till, John Deere 750 and a two pass system using an Exactrix to fertilize and a Great Plains drill to seed.