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Farmers see benefit to no-till drillMUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP)--There was a drought going on when Andy Qualls first asked for a no-till drill for Muskogee County farmers to use to extend their hay through the winter. A no-till drill is an implement that plants grass seeds without going through the traditional process of cultivating a field. It makes a 1-inch wide trench and covers the seed in one pass. The drought is over, but farmers still stand to benefit a lot from the implement the Muskogee County Conservation District now has, said Qualls, district technician and equipment manager. With the help of Rep. Jerry McPeak, D-Warner, and Sen. Earl Garrison, D-Muskogee, the state and the Cherokee and Creek nations put the money together to purchase a drill for county farmers. There will be a rental fee for use of the equipment, but it is much more practical for small farmers to rent than own, Qualls said. The drill was paid for with $7,000 from state funds, $3,500 from the Cherokee Nation and $4,000 from the Creek Nation. McPeak coordinated getting the funds from the three agencies, Qualls said. The Cherokee Nation was glad to participate because of the great need, said Butch Garner, field supervisor for the tribe's natural resources division. "We have a lot of small farmers among the Cherokees," he said. "A lot of our people might have a tractor, but they don't have any equipment. If you've got a small acreage, you need to make sure you get maximum production out of it." Using the drill helps do that by allowing farmers to seed pastures with small winter grains like rye, wheat and oats, McPeak said. When those crops are ready to graze, animals don't need as much hay and feed, Qualls said. The drill bought for Muskogee County is equipped for seeding those small grains as well as native grasses--Indian grass, switchgrass, big bluestem and little bluestem. Those grasses are growing in popularity because they need less fertilizer and less rain, Qualls said. That is important in a time when fertilizer prices are skyrocketing. Five years ago, the cost of fertilizing one acre of Bermuda grass pasture was about $50 to $75. Today it is $200 to $300, he said. It takes two years to develop a native grass hay meadow, and it has to be managed differently than other hay meadows, Qualls said. "I think we'll see more and more of the native grasses," Qualls said. 6/23/08 Date: 6/13/08
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