Undercutter project brings new technology
RITZVILLE — Benefits economical and environmental are the reasons behind a project to bring new technology to Pacific Northwest wheat growers.
The Washington Association of Wheat Growers, or WAWG, recently announced a Natural Resource and Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation innovative grant.
The cost-share grant, totaling $1.8 million, funds the three-year Pacific Northwest Undercutter Project. The project lasts through the summer of 2009 and includes cost-share incentives administered by WAWG.
According to the association’s director of issues, Gretchen Borck, the farmers’ share is roughly $900,000. The rest of the money is supplied by NRCS, WAWG and Washington State University.
“It brings a new technology to the area that we haven’t had before,” Borck said of the project. “We’ve had some of the machines out here. It’s used quite a bit back in the Midwest.”
The goal of the project is to show growers the value of using the undercutter technique. Environmentally, it does not disturb the top soil, which therefore helps with air and water erosion, Borck explained. Economically, it’s a one-pass practice saving farmers time and fuel, completing multiple jobs at once.
“This last year, fuel prices just went through the roof,” she said. “Yes, fuel is coming back down, but we’re always looking for better technology to make our jobs simpler.”
Air quality is a national issue, Borck noted, and wheat growers in the region are trying to do their part with one method to help.
The program allows cost-share for 50 undercutters in 14 counties in Washington and Oregon, Borck said. Applications are available through Oct. 31. The 50 growers are selected before Nov. 15, at which point the undercutting equipment is ordered for those accepted into the program, Borck outlined.
“We’re just trying to get this out so that everybody can see that it can work in your neighborhood, it can work in the soil type that you have, the area that you have, showing (growers) this is a benefit to them,” she said.