Agronomist Notes
From Three Hills to Calgary, Fairview, Grand Prairie, Saskatoon and back, I’ve braved the elements to talk to producers about controlled traffic farming. There’s a growing but cautious interest in what CTF can do for Canadian farms and I’m happy to share what we’ve learned at our farm and from my contacts overseas. This week I’ll be in Lethbridge at the Agronomy Update conference catching up with colleagues. Next week I present at FarmTech so I hope to see you there.
In this issue of Beyond Agronomy News, we’ll look at a common mistake when inter-row seeding, a clever farmer-designed wheel track renovator, and the cost of adding a liquid kit to your drill to compliment your dry fertilizer system. We’ll finish with fundamental and technical grain market news. Have a great week. SL
Agronomy
Choose stubble height wisely when inter-row seeding
There are a growing number of producers starting to use inter-row seeding in their farming system. Four clients, plus myself, will be inter-row seeding in 2011—and for one producer it’ll be year three. There’s no doubt we’re seeing a benefit with increased seeding speeds, consistent seeding depths, better germination, emergence and residue flow. It gets even better when you leave tall stubble and put less residue on the ground and that’s what I want to talk about today, stubble height.
The benefits of inter-row seeding are realized by maintaining the right stubble height. If you’re seeding into stubble that is less than 6 inches tall, then you’re missing the mark. You need to maintain stubble height in your cereals at least 12 inches or higher. Research from Ag Canada at Swift Current as recent as 2006 showed that canola yields increased by 11.5% when moving from 6 to 12 inch stubble height. The research didn’t use inter-row seeding techniques and focused only on the effects of tall stubble. What inter-row seeding allows us to do is leave stubble 12 inches tall or more and still be able to seed through it without plugging the shanks with straw.
Yet another benefit of inter-row seeding into tall stubble is taller pulse crops. The stubble height forces pulses like lentils and chickpeas to grow taller to maximize sun exposure. Also, the tall stubble acts like a trellis so lentils and chickpeas remain standing, especially in a high yielding year.
So there you have it. If you plan on inter-row seeding in the future, be sure to keep stubble heights high. All the benefits of inter-row seeding can only be realized with tall stubble. SL
A tram line renovation kit works magic
I’ve been asked many times about how we manage ruts in a controlled traffic system. Traveling down the same tracks each year, especially after wet weather, can create deep ruts. Ruts are created in random traffic systems too but we tend to whip out the double disks and erase them. In a CTF system, it takes a specialized toolbar called a wheel track renovator to fix the ruts after harvest. I think this tool bar might have applications in both random and controlled traffic systems.
My friend Robert Ruwoldt helped design Australia’s best selling tram line renovator called the Grizzly wheel track renovator. This piece of equipment made by Grizzly Engineering can fill wheel tracks up to 14 inches deep in one pass and works on 76” and 114” axle widths. It can be used in wet or dry soil and keeps soil disturbance to a minimum, even at speeds up to 10 mph. The cost of the renovator is roughly $22,000 AUS but I think we can build one for less here in Canada.
The picture you see here is of Robert’s Grizzly renovator up close. It has three offset disks on two sides which bring the soil into the tram line. It is then followed by a rolling basket which firms the ground, then smoothed with a three bar harrow. I’ve seen the field finish and it is beautiful (see picture above). You could seed any small seeded crop into that disturbed soil and not be worried about germination. The same couldn’t be said for normal offset disks which leave the soil cloddy and uneven.
I think the idea of a wheel track renovator has a lot of merit in Western Canada. Why disturb 20 ft of soil and leave it lumpy, fluffy with a poor seedbed? With a wheel track renovator, you can get the job done quickly, disturb less soil and leave a seedbed you can seed canola into without worrying about seeding depth. SL
Have a look at the Grizzly Engineering website: http://www.grizzlyengineering.com.au/index.aspx?page=2&productcat=24
Adding a liquid kit to your drill– costs, benefits and opportunities
I had a chance to catch up with Jamie Christie from Arns Brae Farms at Trochu to look at their liquid fertilizer system. Two years ago, the Christie’s attached an 800 gallon liquid fertilizer kit to their 60ft SeedMaster drill to help compliment their dry fertilizer system. If you remember my articles on the benefits of row loading with liquids (see links below) I think a liquid kit is a great option. In the Christie’s case, they’ve increased seeding efficiency by 15 to 20 acres per fill. That’s 40 to 60 more acres seeded per day instead of filling.
When it comes to liquid kits, I believe there are three options. First, a standalone 250 to 800 gallon tank with a liquid metering system could be mounted on the air cart, hitch or tool bar. High product rates typically aren't needed when applying liquids in combination with granular fertilizer; the most applied at one time might be 5 gallons per acre so an 800 gallon tank is sufficient. The second option is limited but John Deere sells a 600 gallon liquid tank option on their 1910 air cart. Thirdly, you could purchase a tow behind 2,500 gallon liquid tank. I'm not excited about towing another cart so I'll focus on the first two options and what the Christie’s did to minimize cost.
Option 1: Raven SCS Sidekick Injection System, $6,700+ CAN
The Raven SCS Injection system comes equipped with a 4-digit display console, 15-foot and 27-foot cables along with a duel piston positive displacement pump that delivers 150 to 6,000 ml per minute. The price tag is $6,700, not including the tank and delivery lines to each shank. All in, I think you'd be about $10,000.
Specs: Raven SCS Sidekick Injection System
Option 2: John Deere Liquid Fertilizer tank option, $2,260+ US
The liquid middle tank option on the John Deere 1910 comes with a $2,260 US discount because they no longer provide you with a dry metering system and roller. Basically, a smaller hole is cut in the top of the tank at the factory and the molded metering system is cut out from the bottom. You must supply your own liquid metering system but I was told that you could probably engineer the Raven Sidekick to work. The tank capacity ranges from 650 gal on the 340 bu tank and 744 gal on the 430 bu tank.
Specs: JD Liquid Fertilizer Tank
Option 3: The Christie’s liquid system, $6,800 CAN
The Christie’s outsourced a number of parts and installed the liquid kit themselves one their 60ft drill. They started with an 800 gallon liquid poly tank which cost them $1,300. They attached a John Blue liquid fertilizer pump for $300 to the base of the poly tank. The system and flow rates are controlled from the cab with a $1,600 MicroTrak flow meter. They ran 3/8ths lines from the pump to the openers for $60 per run, including Vari-Rate nozzles. The Vari-Rate nozzles alone are $30 a piece, but it allows them to vary the rate from 3 to 7 gallons an acre from the cab.
In the end, the Christie’s are very satisfied with their set up and did well to keep costs under control. I’d say the extra 40 to 60 acres seeded per day would more than provide a return on their investment within a year based on the improved timeliness during seeding. If you wanted to buy a liquid kit off the shelf, they typically run between $7,000 and $10,000.
Applying liquids in conjunction with dry fertilizer opens up more opportunities than just more acres per fill. Liquid kits give you the option of applying liquid micronutrients, fungicides, inoculants, humates, foo foo dust or whatever liquid you like and tailor the blend easily on a field by field basis. The ability to improve in-furrow support with products like I just mentioned along with increased seeding efficiencies could easily provide a serious return on your investment. SL
Previous articles on row loading:
http://www.beyondagronomy.com/newsletter/17_11_2009.htm
http://www.beyondagronomy.com/newsletter/2_2_2010.htm
http://www.beyondagronomy.com/newsletter/19_1_2010.htm
