Direct-Seed
Get paid to direct-seed!
Just like it says! Eligible participants can receive up to $30/acre to implement direct-seed on their property or a property they farm. We’re currently looking for producers interested in direct seed cost-share funding for a Department of Ecology grant. Interested?
What is Direct-Seed?
Direct-seeding, also known as “no-till”, is a method of agricultural production wherein tillage is limited to the most minimal degree possible when planting a crop. Instead of tilling the soil before a crop is planted (as has been conventional farming practice for thousands of years) “no-till” sows the whole crop without prior tillage, omitting time, machine wear, fuel and severe erosion potential.
The term “no-till” is however a misnomer in that there is never ZERO tillage if “tillage” means soil disturbance—even the most advanced no-till seeders will have minor soil disturbance.
The WA Dept. of Ecology provides competitive grant dollars for water quality improvement projects, this includes the practice of direct-seeding for which RLCD competes state-wide to make those dollars to producers. These funds are intended to assist producers with costs incurred in transitioning from conventional farm practices to a no-till system. In doing this, DoE hopes to spread the word about the benefits of direct-seed systems. Learn more about direct-seed systems on our "Conserve" page!
In addition to DoE funding, RLCD is a partner in the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. RCPP is a regional cost-sharing program, managed by the Palouse Conservation District, intended to implement a wide variety of conservation practices, including direct-seed, riparian buffers, commodity buffers and more.
