CONTACTS:
Pamela Hutchinson at (208) 397-4181 or phutch@udiaho.edu in Aberdeen
Jennifer Miller at (208) 850-6504 or millerjen@cableone.net in Boise
Univeristy of Idaho communications specialist Marlene Fritz at (208) 364-6165 or mfritz@uidaho.ed in Boise

FORT HALL, Idaho-On Oct. 17 at the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, University of Idaho research and extension scientist Pamela Hutchinson will lead a tour of a 5-acre green-manure field trial that was initiated this fall by UI scientists and their research partners. Participants will be able to see six different green-manure crops, including mustards, arugula and an oilseed radish.

Grown for a period of weeks after the fall wheat harvest, green manures are increasingly being chopped and incorporated into Idaho fields to improve their soils' physical, chemical and biological properties and to reduce pest problems in the following year's potatoes.

"This is a great opportunity to learn about the different options for green manures," says Jennifer Miller, sustainable agriculture program coordinator for the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, a project partner. "We've never before shown this many green-manure crops growing at once, and it's really helpful to see how much biomass different ones produce."

Hutchinson, potato cropping systems weed scientist and coordinator of the UI's contributions to the study, says scientists are measuring the costs and benefits associated with growing green-manure crops and determining the best methods for producing them.

The work is supported by a two-year $69,000 grant from the American Farmland Trust and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, landed by the Three Rivers Resource Conservation and Development Council in Pocatello. NCAP and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes have been jointly exploring mustard green-manure cropping for pest control and improved soil health on the reservation since 2002.

The field day will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Fort Hall Housing Authority, where participants will enjoy a free chili-and-vegetable-soup lunch before heading to the nearby field.

It will conclude at 2 p.m. In addition to the tour of the green-manure plots, growers will hear an update on the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's EQIP cost-share program for biofumigants and learn about a small incentive program that will give nine growers on the reservation and neighboring Soil Conservation Districts seed for 50 acres to be planted next August.

Participants should RSVP for the chili lunch by contacting Miller at (208) 850-6504 or millerjen@cableone.net by Oct. 13.

To reach the Housing Authority, take Exit 80 off Interstate 15, turn west and travel 0.4 miles, turn north on Eagle Road and travel 0.3 miles, then turn west and travel another 0.2 miles.

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