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No-Till Farmer Recaps Palouse Reports

No-Till Farmer editors Mike and Frank Lessiter just returned to the office after a 5-day tour through Washington and Idaho's Palouse country.

It was a timely opportunity to get with wheat growers following the news of Russia's wheat export ban, and to see firsthand how growers achieve such high productivity from the 40- to 60-degree sloping hills that are so prominent in the region. "In this area, 100% of the grain production is for human consumption," says John Aeschliman of Colfax, Wash.

The unique No-Till Farmer tour featured a series of longtime wheat and pulse-crop growers, dealers (St. John Hardware & Implement and Columbia Tractor), manufacturers (Hillco Technologies and Cross-Slot Systems) and a trip to the Port of Lewiston where grain is loaded on the Snake River for distribution through Portland to Asian markets.

At each of the farms of John Aeschliman (3,500 acres in Colfax, Wash.), Dick and Todd Wittman (9,000 acres, Culdesac, Idaho), Russ Zenner (2,800 acres in Genesee, Idaho) and Mader Farms (13,000 acres in Pullman, Wash.), the pair spent many of hours of combine time (often with the boots on the glass and the arms sore from holding the cab door to keep from sliding into the driver's lap).

In total, the Lessiters snapped 1,081 photos and recorded many video segments. Much of their travels were chronicled at http://www.twitter.com/NoTillFarmr (#palouse).

Here's a sampling of just 12 of the live updates that No-Till Farmer readers may find interesting:

http://twitizer.com/gA4UZ - At #Palouse Welding. Pic of no-till drill designed for high slopes in area

http://twitizer.com/whMB7 - Significant savings on Cross Slot system now that frames are built in Lewiston, ID #palouse

http://twitizer.com/d7FCy - Longtime no-tiller & Cross-Slot user Frank Wolf (r) is product specialist for the mfr in U.S. #palouse

http://twitizer.com/zkqRK - Custom-seeder Dale Kopf operates Cross-Slot 3110 www.kopfcustomseeding.com #palouse

http://twitizer.com/qoE7I - Combining Canyon Ridge in #palouse with notiller Todd Wittman. Glad I wasn't the one driving!

http://twitizer.com/5JHKe - Custom-designed two-pass hoe drill Zenner owns with two other farmers, $116k #palouse

http://twitizer.com/L4PRp - Russ Zenner's 2800-acre no-till operation to be featured in October No-Till Farmer www.no-tillfarmer.com #palouse

http://twitizer.com/Mr5ex - McGregor Strawboss Triple Shooter fertilizer delivery system at Zenner Farm #palouse

http://twitizer.com/bt0J6 - Every possible inch planted with wheat, even roadsides

http://twitizer.com/I3k3T - In combine cab with Todd Wittman on 9,000 acres in Idaho #palous

http://twitizer.com/XAQf8 - Lots of Schulte cutters out in #palouse to handle straw residue management

http://twitizer.com/TRUAR - Yes, corn in #palouse, too! Aeschliman doing continuous no-till corn plots for years, a lot more corn coming

To see the full reports from the trip, visit http://www.twitter.com/NoTillFarmr (#palouse).

More coverage and video will come in future editions of No-Till Farmer's E-Tip e-newsletter.

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