May 16, 2008

No-till on the Plains, Inc., will host a bus tour of no-till farming operations June 17-19. The tour, which will travel from western Nebraska to North Dakota, will focus on economically viable continuous no-till production practices and the latest developments in those methods.

Tour stops will cover a spectrum of soils and climates. The farms being toured have moisture availability similar to much of Nebraska, and while some differences exist in the crop genetics and length of the growing season, even more commonalities can be found in the underlying traits of a functional no-till system. The tour will study practices used in well-managed continuous no-till systems for differences in cropping intensity, diversity, plant health, weed and pest suppression, profitability, and risk management.

Partially funded through a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and in cooperation with NRCS and UNL Extension, the Points North No-Till Bus Tour will be Tuesday through Thursday, June 17-19. Pick-up and departure locations are: the Gering Civic Center, the Mark Watson farm, and the NRCS office in Rushville. The tour will begin with a tour of the Mark Watson farm near Alliance at 8:30 a.m. on June 17.

"The bus tour gives farmers an opportunity to learn about continuous no-till firsthand, to get their hands dirty on the farm of a successful no-till practitioner," said Brian Lindley, executive director of No-till on the Plains, Inc. "With this kind of format, participants can ask questions of the experts and producers and get immediate, practical answers. The interaction on the bus is just tremendous. "

Featured stops will include:

• Alliance, Nebraska — Mark Watson farm
• Martin, South Dakota — Brent Ireland farm
• Gettysburg, South Dakota — Dan Forgey farm
• Bismarck, North Dakota — Gabe Brown, Jay Fuhrer, Kenneth Miller farms
• Pierre, South Dakota — Dwayne Beck, Dakota Lakes Research Farm

Tour Pick-up Locations

The bus will pick up participants at the following locations June 17.

• 7:00 a.m. Gering Civic Center, 1050 M Street, please park in the outer area of the parking lot.
• 8:30 a.m. Mark Watson farm, 1561 County Road 61, Alliance - take Jefferson Road 4 miles east of Berea to Co. Road 61 and then 1 mile north. This bus will depart after Mark's presentation which begins at 8:30 a.m
• 10:30 a.m. NRCS office in Rushville located at 110 Main St. Take Hwy 20 into town and turn north on Main St. The NRCS office is at the end of the block on the east side. Please park across the street in the vacant grocery store lot.

Registration

The registration fee for the tour is $69.95 which includes travel and double-occupancy lodging. Attendees are responsible for meal costs.

No-till on the Plains is a regional farmer-run group promoting practical and scientific application of continuous no-till farming.

For more information on the tour, call 888-330-5142 or see www.notill.org.