Agronomist Notes

We’ve come to the end of another season in Beyond Agronomy News, with this being the 46th and final issue of the year. We thank you for your business and hope you value the information we provide each week. Our goal is to become the best agronomic news source in Canada by providing timely, relevant and accurate information. I can’t wait to see what 2008 brings! With that, have a Merry Christmas and we wish you all continued success in the New Year. We’ll start back up on January 8th for a new season of Beyond Agronomy News.

This week’s newsletter will wrap up the last six weeks of our maximum yield journey. In other news it looks like there have been reports of rusty gain beetles and other stored grain insects starting to show up. It might be a good idea to start probing some bins and checking temperatures.  Happy Holidays!

Agronomy

Achieving Maximum Yield- Tying It Together

Six weeks ago I asked the question, what would it take to produce 100 bu/ac canola, 130 bu/ac spring wheat and 200 bu/ac barley on dry land? I realize, this is an extremely lofty goal but it’s only when we ask the questions that we start to see the answers. Building yield potential is a process and not a silver bullet. It’s about doing the little things that add up to a large sum. The five “little things” we’ve talked about as yield building factors are water management or water use efficiency, tillage management, variety selection, precision planting and plant nutrition. Let’s review.

Variety Selection

Variety selection and plant genetics have the biggest potential to impact yields in the future. Ongoing research around the world continues to introduce crops that use water, sunlight and nutrients more efficiently. The first thing any top yield record holder will tell you is to start with the best plant genetics possible. 

Seed selection involves the selection of a variety based on climate, soil type, fertility program, seeding system, pests and management style. The yield gains from choosing the right variety can easily gain you a 10% yield advantage, regardless of crop type.

Here are the things to keep in mind when selecting a variety:
 

1. Match variety selection to fertility practices. For example, high fertility requires strong lodging resistance.
2. Evaluate optimal plant stand densities for each field and soil type on the farm (loam vs. sandy loam). Plant higher densities as you move from light soils to clay dominant soils.
3. Understand the germination, vigour and emergence conditions (soil conditions, seeder and opener type).
4. Adjust seeding rates in spring to match soil conditions. For example, increase seeding rates under cool and wet soil conditions to compensate for higher seed mortality.
5. Adjust seeding depth to match soil conditions and soil type.
6. Add defensive traits to protect the genetic potential, paying particular attention to disease resistance.
7. Use seed treatments to aid in stand establishment and seedling disease prevention.
8. Match varietal maturity with soil type and topography. For example, plant high yielding late maturing varieties on lighter soils or south facing fields.  

Precision Seeding

One of the most interesting technologies to come out of my search for precision seeding tools is the use of inter-row seeding. Inter-row seeding uses GPS technology to keep openers centered between the stubble so seed is placed between last year's crop rows. The independent research stated the use of inter-row seeding as the most likely solution to improving early season crop vigour and yield.

The benefits of precision placement through inter-row seeding stack up: a cleaner seed bed, better seed to soil contact, more consistent seed depth, a more uniform crop that competes better against weeds with 9% higher yields, reduced seed costs, higher proteins and less dockage.

Some of the advantages of precision seeding:

1. Potential yield improvement of 8% - 20% as each plant is provided with optimum space for growth and development.
2. Consistent within row spacing between plants reduces competition for water, nutrients and sunlight.
3. Reduced seedling mortality and reduced seed costs.  
4. Shorter plant height due to less inter-row competition. Plants grow taller when planted close together as they compete for sunlight.
5. Greater harvest efficiency with increased crop uniformity and less lodging. Improved crop maturity.
6. Improved weed control with consistent crop competition across the field and between rows.
7. 7. Reduced inter-row plant density reduces disease pressure through better air movement.

Precision seed and fertilizer placement completes a significant part of the yield puzzle. Starting with even crop germination and an optimum plant stand density is paramount to achieving high yields.

Water Use Efficiency & Tillage Management

The management practice that provides the largest impact on crop moisture use efficiency is the adoption of zero-tillage. The standing stubble in zero tillage reduces moisture stress by protecting young seedlings from the wind, providing shade along with undisturbed infiltration pathways for better water infiltration. Crop residues enhance moisture absorption from rain or snow, reduce evaporation losses, reduce erosion and provide nutrients. Finally, the use of residue cover in zero-tillage reduces heat stress in the root zone during hot temperatures in July and August.

Causes of poor water use efficiency:

• Genetics, plant cultivars
• Soil type
• Low fertility
• Poor ground cover
• Late seeding dates
• Low and high seeding rates
• High ground disturbance
• Crop rotation, or lack there of
• Salinity
• Low humidity

The zero tillage research projects we investigated produced 15% yield gains on average over conventional tillage. There is a strong correlation between increased yield and less soil disturbance. Through zero-tillage alone we can expect to increase our water use efficiency.

Soil Carbon Production

Studies have shown that elevated levels of CO2 within the crop canopy increase seed yield in high yielding agricultural crops. The reason for increased yields is due to higher levels of photosynthesis and improved water use efficiency. Under a high CO2 environment, plants can increase the amount of sugars they produce (energy = grain) and make better use of the moisture they receive (bushels per inch), a winning combination.

In order to extract as much water and nutrients from the soil we must do everything possible to maximize root production. Studies have shown that the total amount of water removed and the rate at which it is removed is directly proportional to the length and density of plant roots. Bottom line: a wheat, barley or canola crop will explore more soil at greater depths at faster speeds in a high carbon environment. The most significant way to increase carbon in our soils is by increasing organic matter.

Plant Nutrition

There are four steps to building top yields through soil fertility:

Step 1. Soil Improvement Plan

The first step requires a long-term dedication to soil improvement, including physical, chemical and biological properties. Those who've produced record yields like 150 bushel spring wheat, 190 bushel barley, 80 bushel canola, 394 bushel corn, 154 bushel soybeans didn't accomplish it unexpectedly or instantly. Physical soil properties like texture, structure and compaction; chemical properties such as cation exchange capacity, pH and salinity; and finally, biological properties including animals, plants, fungi and bacteria can be all be improved, but only over a period of several years.

Step 2. Building Nutrient Levels

Nearly all record yields have been produced with high or very high soil test levels. The key management practice behind the success of top yielders is the addition of poultry, swine or cattle manure along with humates and compost. Speaking as an advisor who manages the fertility program on 10,000 acres of previously manured fields, I believe manure is definitely worth the investment! Find a way to make it pencil out on your farm.

Step 3. Managing Nutrient Availability

There are several strategies to manage nutrient availability in soils. The most interesting finding in my study was the use of ammonium based fertilizers such as ammonium sulphate to control or drop the pH near the seed row. The addition of ammonium based fertilizers near the seed row on high pH soils help drop the pH to make phosphorus and micronutrients more available to the young seedlings. A drop in pH by two points has been documented with the addition of ammonium based fertilizers.

Also, the concept of ammonium feeding is an exciting and new idea that has huge implications on nitrogen use efficiency. With the research I’ve found, we can improve nitrogen uptake in the year of application by 35% by using the concept of ammonium feeding. I will be uncovering more on this concept in the New Year.

Step 4. Applying Nutrients

What stands out among top yielders is that they all use foliar macro and micro-nutrients to top up their pre-plant fertility programs. Each producer won't share what kind of micronutrient program they use because it differs for each field. There isn't a one-size fits all fertility program top yielders use. We must place careful attention to plant tissue sampling along with strip trials to uncover which nutrients are limiting in our fertility programs.

Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency

My search for nitrogen use efficiency led me to some significant management practices that allow our plants to make better use of the nitrogen fertilizer we apply. Here are the top five practices to improve nitrogen use efficiency:

Rotation. Nitrogen use efficiency for wheat following legumes is greater than that for wheat following fallow or continuous wheat. Including pulses into the rotation is number one on the list.
 
Reduced Tillage. Under a no-tillage production system, grain yield was improved 32% when 60 pounds an acre was banded 8 to 10 cm below the seed row, and only improved by 15% when banded between the rows compared to surface broadcast urea.
 
Nitrogen Source.  Ammonium (NH4) is less subject to leaching or denitrification losses compared to nitrate. Nitrogen maintained as ammonium in the soil should be available for late-season uptake. Increased N uptake during grain-fill, for N-responsive hybrids, indicates a potential advantage of ammonium nutrition for grain production and improved nitrogen use efficiency. Wheat nitrogen uptake was increased 35% when supplying 25% of the nitrogen as NH4 compared to all nitrogen as NO3. This energy savings may lead to greater dry weight production for plants supplied solely with NH4.
 
In-season and Foliar Applied N. Pre-plant N must be carefully managed to optimize grain yield, but adding excess N at preplant reduces nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), whereas the late-season supplied N can be adjusted to increase grain protein and NUE. In-season N, with point injection or topdressing can maintain or increase NUE compared with pre-plant N in wheat.
 
Precision Agriculture. Conventional application of N to cultivated fields is made at a single rate based upon perceived average needs of the field, usually areas more than 5 acres. Natural and acquired variability in production capacity or potential within a field cause the average rate to be excessive in some parts and inadequate in others.  Alternatively, precision agriculture practices include the timely and precise application of N fertilizer to meet plant needs as they vary across the landscape.

Summary

This six-week high yield journey has led to a few new discoveries and concepts I’d like us to apply in the following years. Look at the yield gains realized with simple variety selection. Yield increases can easily be 10 to 20%, but taking it another step and selecting varieties to match soil type and topography can bring that yield gap closer to reality. A perfect example would be a producer with a high frost risk area planting a late maturing, high yielding variety like AC Superb wheat on a lighter soil or a south facing field. This practice will take advantage of the moisture use efficiency and yield gains attained through a superior variety and limit frost risk by planting on a lighter soil or south facing slope which forces earlier maturity.

Precision seeding will take yields a step further as we allow plants room to grow through accurate seed and fertilizer placement. Inter-row seeding has fantastic potential of which I’d like to explore further, especially when research shows the number of grain quality and yield benefits through this technology.

If you look at the yield gains we’ve seen through zero-tillage, there are so many benefits that outweigh the potential risks of this practice. The addition of carbon/organic matter to the soil improves the soils biological, chemical and physical properties. Increasing organic matter is strongly correlated with increased yields and that’s nothing new. Using satellite imagery to help map areas which are low in organic matter may help us to reclaim areas in our fields that will benefit from the addition of compost or manure.

Finally, the four steps to improving soil fertility along with methods to improve nitrogen use efficiency are key elements to narrowing the yield gap. By placing our focus on the physical, chemical and biological factors that limit yield, we can begin to understand how to manage our soils and produce higher yields.

Market News

Feed Barley and Feed Wheat Prices

The price for feed wheat in the Calgary and Red Deer area remains at $205 to $210 a tonne for December delivery. Feed barley prices increased by $5.00 a tonne to a range of $190 to $200 a tonne for December delivery. There was roughly 2,000 tonnes of corn sold into the Alberta market last week priced in the $195 to $205 a tonne range for December delivery.  SL

Look Out Oilseed Prices

The U.S. Climate Prediction Centre expects La Nina conditions to continue into early 2008. La Nina conditions are likely to increase the risk of dryness in over two-thirds of South America's soybean area. This represents 40% of southern Brazil's soybean region and essentially Argentina’s entire soybean region.

Source: Ray Garnett

Low Sunspot Activity to Cause Wet Weather in Key EU Wheat Areas

U.S. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts very low sunspot activity to continue during 2008. Low sunspot activity tends to be hazardous for wheat production in the temperate oceanic climates of France, the U.K. and Germany. Low sunspot activity is associated with increased cloudiness and rain, which is usually the biggest problem facing wheat production in countries with temperate oceanic climates. France, U.K. and Germany produce 65% of Europe's wheat, with Europe being the second largest wheat producer in the world behind China.

Source: Ray Garnett

Grain Stocks Down to Early-1980s Levels

The risks of food riots and malnutrition in spots around the world will surge in the next two years as the global supply of grain comes under more pressure than at any time in 50 years, Joachim von Braun, the head of the International Food Policy Research Institute, warned in a recent interview.

Full story: http://www.agriculture.com/ag/futuresource/FutureSourceStoryIndex.jhtml?storyId=113700064

High Argentina Wheat Yields Make Up For Frost Damage

Extremely high yields from the 2007-08 wheat crop in Argentina’s north-central farm belt will compensate for decreased yields due to frost damage in the south, according to the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange. Yields have been up 15%-20% in the north-central areas, with some fields putting out over 7 metric tons per hectare, the exchange said. The exchange forecasts 2007-08 wheat production of 15.2 million tons but cautions that the final number may decrease somewhat depending on whether farmers in the south decide to harvest fields that suffered extensive frost damage or turn the fields over to pasture instead.

Source: CBOT News

2008 Oilseed Prices Look Strong

New crop prices look healthy. The reduction in the planted area in the EU, a sharp increase in rapeseed crushing combined with one of the tightest world oilseed carryout stocks are all supporting factors. The world needs to have a good harvest in all areas and any weather problems– anywhere– could be potentially explosive to prices.

Source: http://www.gleadell.co.uk/MarketReport.htm

North and South America Crop Weather

This La Nina is expected to last through the southern hemisphere growing season which raises concerns about significant dryness developing in the major corn and soybean areas of central Argentina and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. We are already seeing some hints of a tendency towards drier conditions developing in these areas. This La Nina is also expected to maintain drier than normal conditions through the winter in the southwest Plains of the United States. This dryness has already affected winter wheat establishment this past fall.

What will become quite important in the months ahead is whether the La Nina can continue into the spring of 2008. This could lead to further drought impact with the winter wheat crop in the southwest Plains and to some developing dryness in the western Midwest.

Source: Mike Palmerino, DTN