Following a joint request from four wheat growing states, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has created a task force to study the feasibility of creating grain cleaning facilities at public grain elevators in the Texas Gulf. Wheat producers from the Colorado Wheat Administrative committee the Kansas Wheat Commission, the Nebraska Wheat Board and the Texas Wheat Producers Board recently presented information to USDA urging the development of grain cleaning facilities. The producers cited complaints from overseas customers regarding the cleanliness of U.S. wheat and instances of difficulties encountered when making specific dockage limit requests.

Two wheat cleaning facilities are located in ports in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) with a third expected to be operational in March 1999. Most of the wheat cleaned in PNW port areas is exported to Japan and Taiwan, both of which in recent years have reduced maximum dockage levels to 0.5 percent. In addition to cleaning at the site of export, producers and country elevators are harvesting and shipping cleaner wheat to the PNW.

The effects of last summer's hot, humid weather may be showing up now as reduced cow pregnancy rates. The result will be extended calving intervals for a portion of the herd and the situation may become worse if efforts aren't made to improve heat detection soon says a North Dakota State University dairy specialist.

"Dairy producers on DHIA (Dairy Herd Improvement Association) records can quickly detect problems in herd reproduction. But those without any formal recordkeeping may be just beginning to recognize cows were not settled or did not breed as expected," says J.W. Schroeder of the NDSU Extension Service. "If your herd slipped this past summer, you should consider instituting an aggressive heat detection and artificial insemination program during the next few weeks."

Such a program would involve more frequent periods of heat detection when and at a location where cattle are most likely to exhibit heat. Estrous detection aids could be used during this period to improve the efficiency of heat detection. Generating a daily list of cows due for insemination and those due to return to heat should help focus attention on specific groups of cows that need closer attention. The attention of all employees should be directed toward improving heat detection.

This may be the time to institute an estrous synchronization program to improve the efficiency of heat detection and, ultimately, pregnancy rate during a short period of time, Schroeder says. Several programs using reproductive hormones like prostaglandin or a combination of prostaglandin and GnRH are being used by dairy producers on a routine basis to systematically manage reproduction. Potential benefits of such programs include improved efficiency of heat detection, more timely insemination, concentration of labor toward reproductive management during specific periods, and improved pregnancy rate.

"If you are interested in developing a synchronization program, consult your veterinarian and A.I. technician and work as a team to implement and carry out such a program," Schroeder says. "If pregnancy rates have been set back this summer, then consider implementing an aggressive heat detection or synchronization program immediately so no further time is lost."

The Inland Northwest is playing catch-up when it comes to direct seeding, but successes elsewhere spur research efforts in this area. This, according to extension agronomist Diana Roberts, who includes economic and environmental benefits among possible prospects.

Roberts, Cooperative Extension/WSU, will address the annual gathering of area seedsmen and growers meeting Nov. 16-18. "Direct seeding is being done more and more widely worldwide," she explains, resulting in lower input costs and soil conservation. But in this region "we haven't really mastered it."

The Spokane-based agronomist is involved in a public-private direct seeding study that seeks to raise possibilities and proficiencies for area growers. The Joint Annual Meeting of the Washington State Crop Improvement Association and the Washington North-Idaho Seed Association, Richland, WA, will be the site for her news on direct seeding.

Her talk, "Direct Seeding Annual Cropping Systems in Intermediate Rainfall Areas," is a part of the meetings' seed workshop, Nov.17. Topics range from wheat stubble burning to the plant variety protection. The day-long session will be accredited by the Oregon and Washington and Idaho pesticide licensing agencies (4 credits) and well as the Certified Crop Adviser program (2.5 credits).

The Nov.18 program features news from state and federal regulators and lobbyists, as well as from Agricultural Research Service scientist Frank Young, USDA, who will offer the latest information on the integrated control of jointed goatgrass. Certified Crop Advisers receive an additional credit for the morning session.

Professional meetings and as well as WSCIA and WNISA business and hospitality events are open to everyone. According to Doug Boze, WSCIA seed certification supervisor, "Grain producers, seed growers, seedsmen, anyone interested in crop science should attend."

This annual session, Boze says, "brings together the best of science and technology. Our industry is becoming increasingly sophisticated, with herbicide-ready seed, patented varieties and complete new growing systems such as direct seeding. The potentials are truly exciting." Boze adds, "with these new developments, however, come a continual need for all of us to professionalize. This gathering is always a big head start for the coming year."

Registration and program details are avallable from WSCIA at 800/338-8010.

• Cereal Integrated Pest Management Research&emdash;Dave Bragg, WSU Extension, Pomeroy.

• Storage Insect & Rodent Control&emdash;Tim Galager, Sprague Pest Control, Spokane.

• Plant Variety Protection, A Private Industry Perspective&emdash;Dan Biggerstaff, Western Plant Breeders, Bozeman

• Fungicide Data Review and New Application Equipment&emdash;Jess Kilpatrick, Gustafson, Inc., Moses Lake.

• New Disease Control Information For Cephalosporium Stripe & Strawbreaker Foot Rot&emdash;Tim Murray, Plant Pathologist, WSU, Pullman.

• Wheat Stubble Burning Regulations&emdash;Alex McGregor, Washington Association of Wheat Growers, Colfax.

• Direct Seeding Annual Cropping Systems for Intermediate Rainfall Areas&emdash;Diana Roberts, WSU Extension.

• New Generation of Seed Treatment Products&emdash;Doug Deschamp, Novartis, Moscow.

• Conservation and Maintenance of Plant Genetic Resources&emdash;Loren Wiesner, USDA-ARS.

• New Fertilizer Regulations for the State of Washington&emdash;Ted Maxwell, WSDA.

• 1998 Washington State Legislative Session and Issues of Future Importance to the Seed Industry

• Brad Boswell&emdash;WNISA Lobbyist

• Integrated Control of Jointed Goatgrass&emdash;Frank Young, USDAIARS

• Pesticide is NOT a Dirty Word&emdash;Pat Tigges, Eat First!, Coulee City

The Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program has received a $75,000 gift from the AT&T Foundation. 

The funds will be used to help create a new telework exhibit and series of seminars, according to Dee Christensen, telecommuting program manager.

"The WSU Energy Program is completely self-supporting through grants,"  Christensen said. "This is the first gift of funds."

Telework, also known as telecommuting, involves telecommunications and computer technology that lets employees work outside of the traditional workplace, often from home.

Christensen said the home office telework exhibit will become the focal point for discussions among telework experts, business leaders and government officials on the use of telework as a solution to expanding energy, transportation and environmental issues.  On-site seminars, featuring experts from across the country, are designed to raise awareness about the viability of telework.            

She said the exhibit will be created as part of an extension of an existing exhibit called Future@Work which advances new attitudes and practices in corporate offices, connecting technology, emerging office design and new insights into the workplace.  This exhibit opened in June 1997 at the Columbia Seafirst Building in Seattle and has been seen by representatives of more than 3,000 businesses and organizations around the world.

The WSU Energy Program has developed and delivered energy information and technical services to audiences around the country for 22 years.  A staff of 50 in Olympia helps businesses, governments and individuals make cost-effective energy decisions through one-on-one customer service, on-site and on-line training, research and development and demonstration projects.  

The program, formerly the Washington State Energy Office, became part of WSU Cooperative Extension in 1996.

"We haven't really mastered it yet." This, according to agronomist Diana Roberts, is the Northwest's experience with the direct seeding cropping system. Benefits, where direct seeding is done successfully, she says, are environmental as well as economic. In annual cropping systems in intermediate rainfall areas, for instance, fallow fields, as well as crop input costs, are reduced.

Roberts, Washington State University Extension, Spokane, is part of a research group that is studying annual cropping systems for intermediate rainfall areas. The study's hub is in Davenport, WA, but has "grower cooperators around the area that are replicating the rotations on their farms."

While this direct seeding project is conducted in western Spokane and Lincoln counties, she hopes that findings from it "will apply broadly. There are different micro climates and different soil types and rainfalls, however, so you are going to have to adapt the systems and the crops to each area."

The study is in its first full season. "There will be some intermediate results along the way," but comprehensive results will come after complete crop rotation are cycled, which for this area means three or four years.

The annual crop type rotations being followed include four and three-year rotations. For the fouryear rotations, these are the crop types: first, a spring cereal, followed by a winter cereal, then by a warm season grass; and finally by a broadleaf. The three-year rotation starts with a winter cereal followed by spring cereal, then a broadleaf crop. Roberts notes the study is based on crop type rotation, rather than specific crop rotations. "We want to have flexibility depending on the rainfall and the markets."

In these direct seeded acres, where soil disturbance is held to a minimum, the new cropping systems does away with the fallow year that was a part of the previous conventional cropping system. In hope is that crop rotations will do some of the work that was formerly done by crop protection chemicals and even fertilizers.

As for field burning, a cultural practice that is used in some direct seeding systems, it is excluded from this study. "One of the goals of the project," says Roberts, "is to eliminate burning through crop rotation."

A key aspect to this project, according to Roberts, is that it was "grower initiated. We work as a large team, an equal partnership of public and private cooperation." She says the local growers were "really key in getting it started, in helping make the decisions."

Roberts is scheduled to address the joint annual meeting of the Washington State Crop Improvement

Association and Washington North-Idaho Seed Associations. The groups meet Nov. 16-18 at the Richland (WA) Best Western Convention Center. For registration details, call: 509 966-2234.

Farm Ministers from European Union (EU) countries are to begin "real" bargaining of further reforms in the EU Common Agricultural Policy during meetings, Nov. 23-24. Following the November meeting, the farm ministers will present proposed reforms to the European Summit of Heads of State to be held Dec. 11-12. A full farm reform package is set to be presented in March at a meeting termed as the Special Agenda 2000 summit.

Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman recently announced that the department will purchase up to $4 million of canned tuna to help bolster prices for fishermen and provide food assistance nationwide.

"This purchase will help American fishermen by reducing excess supplies of albacore tuna," said Glickman. It will also help people who depend on USDA's food assistance programs by providing a wholesome, nutritious, and high-quality product for distribution through food banks and other charitable organizations."

Canned tuna delivered under this program must originate from albacore tuna landed by U.S. jig boats. Tuna must be processed under the U.S. Tuna Protocol and quality assurance will be determined by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Purchase documents will be issued by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service by Oct. 30.

Why are many types of salmon in trouble in Oregon and what can Oregonians do about it?

These questions and many others are addressed in a new Oregon State University Extension Service publication, "A Snapshot of Salmon in Oregon." The 24-page tabloid is available to the public at no charge, and an electronic version is on the worldwide web at: eesc.orst.edu/salmon/.

"The goal of this publication is simple: to promote thoughtful conversation among the citizens of Oregon," say OSU President Paul Risser and Extension Service Director Lyla Houglum in the publication's introduction.

The non-technical publication "presents many points of view to give citizens a broad picture of the salmon issue, with its biological, economic and social sides," add Risser and Houglum.

The publication is broken into three sections with articles that provide background information about Oregon's various kinds of salmon, examine human activities and natural forces that affect them, and highlight restoration efforts. The tabloid will be inserted in several of the state's larger newspapers in the coming weeks.

To order a copy of the tabloid, EM 8722, call 1-800-561-6719 or write: Publication Orders, Extension and Station Communications, OSU, 422 Kerr Administration, Corvallis, OR 97331-2119.

Preliminary results from 1998 uniform fungicide trials are showing that commercially available fungicides are effective in reducing the severity of Fusarium head blight (FHB or scab) on hard red spring wheat. The research was conducted by a team of researchers from seven states working through the U.S. National Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative.

"Our data indicates the foliar fungicides to suppress scab and leaf diseases gave positive economic results in 1998, even with the low prices," says Marcia McMullen, extension plant pathologist at North Dakota State University.

Based on early data from trials held in the Dakotas and Minnesota, commercially available fungicides produced yield increases on hard red spring wheat ranging from 4 percent to nearly 50 percent, McMullen says. In four North Dakota trials involving hard red spring wheat, commercial fungicides produced average yield increases of from 12.2 % to 19.2%.

McMullen is 1998 coordinator for the fungicide technology network of the U.S. National Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative, a federally funded research effort the purpose of which is to stop scab from damaging U.S. wheat and barley crops. Along with McMullen, 10 other NDSU researchers are working on the fungicide component of this project. Besides fungicide technology, other research areas covered by the scab initiative include variety development, germplasm introduction, epidemiology and pathology, chemical and biological control, and biotechnology.

More than 20 individual reports on research efforts at NDSU relating to scab are in an October 1998 publication titled "Current Research on Fusarium Head Blight of Small Grains." Each county office of the NDSU Extension Service has a copy of this report. Producers and others interested in finding out more about scab research at NDSU should contact their local extension office.

Northwest alfalfa hay producers may find the answers to some of their problems in Reno, Nev. Not at the gaming tables, but at the 1998 California/Nevada Alfalfa Symposium on Dec. 3-4.

Hay specialist Bill Ford, Washington State University Cooperative Extension, Pasco, says all western hay producers face similar challenges. The Asian economic crisis is depressing export markets; proposed water transfers threaten to take land out of production; and national food quality legislation may restrict pest control alternatives.

These problems and other common interests are expected to attract more than 400 alfalfa producers, university scientists and industry representatives to the Reno meeting.

Ford, who will moderate a Pacific Rim export panel at the meeting, says exports play a big role in Washington's hay economy. In 1997 Washington exported 560,000 short tons of alfalfa hay and cubes, and timothy hay. Ford says that was 17.1 percent of all hay produced in the state. At that level, export sales affect the price for hay consumed in Washington as well as for exports.

In 1997, the last year for which data has been published, the Washington Agricultural Statistics Service reported hay as the state's sixth most valuable commodity with a farm-gate value of $395 million.

Program topics of interest to Washington producers include:

• Diurnal changes in alfalfa forage quality;
• "Battle of the balers" (comparing large, medium and small balers);
• Improved irrigation with soil moisture monitoring;
• What dairy nutritionists are looking for in alfalfa hay;
• Growing hay for horses;
• The importance of hay sampling;
• Over seeding orchard grass and other species into alfalfa;
• How to select an alfalfa variety;
• Relationship between fall dormancy and stand persistence;
• Implications of Roundup ™ resistance in alfalfa;
• Industry innovations such as new seed coatings,
• A new hay "crusher" that speeds drying and
• A remote-controlled, solar-powered wheel-line mover.

A pre-symposium tour on Dec. 2 will visit a state-of-the-art Nevada dairy and the "Top Gun" Naval Air Station in Fallon, Nev.

Advance symposium registration by Nov. 23 is $65. Later or on-site registration is $95. 

The full program agenda can be viewed on the Internet at: http://agronomy.ucdavis.edu
/alfalfa.wg/subpages/cas98.htm.

For additional information about the meeting, contact Marilee Schmidt at (530)752-1703, fax (530) 752-4361 or e-mail:mdschmidt@ucdavis.edu