Agronomist Notes

Last week I presented my Nuffield travels to the folks at Syngenta’s head office in Calgary. I finished the week presenting a webinar to the Farm Leadership Council about our journey in CTF. In between I also had a great meeting with a client and Marc Olsen, the provincial pulse specialist to look at making pulses a profitable part of the rotation.

On the crop input front, for those of you planning to use Pre-Pass this spring, the early book discount ends today, March 15th. If you plan on using bin-run seed from 2009 and 2010, be sure to measure thousand kernel weights. I have AC Harvest TKW’s ranging from 29.8 to 38 grams which equals a 30% difference in seeding rate.   

In this week’s issue we’ll look at a few handy seed treatment comparison charts that you can print off as a quick reference guide. Next, we’ll discuss the top five things to keep in mind when moving to inter-row seeding. I’ve also mentioned the importance of planning technology purchases to avoid expensive redundancies and posted the pdf copy of my webinar presentation.

Agronomy

Comparing seed treatments on the market

Every year, Bayer CropScience puts out a handy seed treatment comparison chart that rates ease of handling, fungicide group, fungicide action, active ingredients and disease control in wheat, barley, peas, lentils and chickpeas. It also provides application rates, container sizes, SRP and cost per bushel. I’ve attached the pulse and cereal seed treatment charts as well as the cereal seed treatment charts for wireworm control products as well. Be sure to print them off and keep them handy with you this spring. SL

Cereal chart:
Pulse chart:
Wireworm chart:

More clients moving to inter-row seeding  

One of the leading causes of uneven germination and emergence throughout my client base is excessive residue on the soil surface. Every year seedlings lose vigour, maturity and yield because they struggle to emerge from the massive amounts of straw placed on top of the furrow. I see phytotoxicity issues from too much chaff or increased disease pressure surrounding scattered piles of residue. I see high residue loads robbing the soil of nitrogen and the plants that surround them. One of the best solutions to date has been inter-row seeding and I’m pleased to say 70%  of my clients have adopted it with more to come.

From what we’ve experienced over the last two years, inter-row seeding has improved residue flow dramatically around the openers. There has been a reduction in the amount of residue that gets caught up on the shanks which leaves straw piles all over the field, especially during tough conditions. Also, the stubble is no longer being dislodged which is the main culprit for plugging up shanks. Now that we’re confident in our ability to achieve inter-row seeding consistently, stubble height will be left taller each year provided the conditions allow. Taller stubble reduces the amount of residue put through the combine ultimately reducing what ends up on the field.

To begin inter-row seeding there are a few things you need to address:

1) Seedbed utilization: The first thing to address is seedbed utilization or SBU which is a measure of opener width and shank spacing. I believe that a 25% SBU (2.5” on 10” spacing) is the maximum you’d want in order to perform inter-row seeding consistently. This would allow you three years worth of room between each year’s stubble. You can go out to 33% SBU (4” on 12” spacing) but you can’t have more than two years of cereals in the rotation back to back.  

2) Guidance: You can inter-row seed using OmniStar HP http://www.omnistar.com/about.html or Starfire SF2 http://www.deere.com/servlet/com.deere.u90785.productcatalog.view.servlets.ProdCatProduct?tM=FR&pNbr=0495_PC which offer 2” to 4” pass to pass accuracy. I’ve seen both GPS signals in action and they do a fine job of holding the line within an inch or two. To set up inter-row seeding on year two using these signals, simply look back on your first pass and nudge the GPS until the shanks line up between the stubble. The GPS signal should keep you locked on for the rest of the field.

If you’re fussy about setting things up perfectly then the next step is RTK guidance which, aside from drill skew, will hold you dead on with sub-inch pass to pass accuracy.

3) Cost: If you already own a Starfire SF1 GPS the upgrade to a Starfire SF2 will run you around $2,100 plus the $1,500 annual subscription cost. If you own a Trimble 262 or Easy Guide 500 then the upgrade cost to receive OmniStar HP signal will be $2,100 plus the $1,500 annual subscription cost. You can get both signals for only three months for $800. If you are experiencing severe skewing with your air drill, you can buy implement steering for an additional $6,000 plus installation for a Trimble True Guide system. 

4) Drill skew: Drill skew is a tough one to measure and differs greatly with drill manufacturers, shank spacing and opener type. Chris Nelson of AccuFarm www.AccuFarm.ca ran a test with a GPS antenna on the drill and tractor and found up to 12 inches of skew with a FlexiCoil 5000 on relatively flat ground. From our own experience running RTK on a 30-ft Concord, I would argue we’re down to 2 to 3 inches worth of skew in some areas on rolling topography.

One solution to reduce drill skew is the Trimble True Guide implement steering system Trimble TrueGuide. It claims to be able to reduce 8 inches of skew down to less than 3 inches and reduce side hill skew from 3 feet down below 12 inches or less. I would estimate the savings in fuel from less draft at seeding and less fuel at harvest from leaving taller stubble will more than pay for the system. I have a client who bought the True Guide this year so I’ll keep you posted on its performance.  

5) Crop rotation: Managing crop rotation to fit inter-row seeding is part of the system. Ideally, you’d alternate a broadleaf with cereal crop. I worked on a few canola-wheat-lentil or peas-wheat-canola rotations just last week that look quite profitable. For the rest who don’t grow pulses, a canola-wheat-wheat rotation works fine as well. The only way to plant three years of cereals and still inter-row seed would be a canola-barley-wheat-wheat rotation with volunteer barley becoming a risk outside of the Clearfield system. Barley stubble has a lower C:N ratio than wheat and breaks down faster. By planting after canola, it will be broken down enough to inter-row seed by year three. 

Finding a way to begin inter-row seeding will be different for everyone. Once you’ve nailed down the top five things to consider before starting, you’ll be on your way. On your way to better residue flow, reduced draft and fuel use at harvest and less germination and emergence issues. You’ll finally be able to buy back the maturity and yield you’ve been losing from heavy residue loads over the last five years. Good luck!  SL

Start budgeting for technology – Get a plan in place

Every year we seem to be purchasing or upgrading technology on our equipment and the price tags continue to climb. In fact, I think the last client quote for a technology upgrade that included RTK was $40,000! For some, the cost of technology is now roughly 10 to 15% of the of the equipment cost itself. For our conversion to CTF we spent $20k on technology and my wish list would cost me another $30k.

Bottom line, with technology advancing so fast, you really need to put a plan in place to avoid having to throw expensive technology on the shelf. Nobody likes to hear the sales rep say “Well, I might be able to sell your $2,000 single frequency GPS but really, I can’t give you anything for it.”  In other words, its junk, nobody wants it, and the GPS you’re eyeing up now is $4,000. Get a plan and start budging for technology purchases and future upgrades. SL

Controlled traffic farming presentation for Farm Leadership Council

I had a chance to present a webinar on our controlled traffic farming system last Friday.  I discussed the case for controlled traffic along with the crazy modifications we made to begin this new farming system as well as the results from the 2010 season. I’ve attached a pdf copy of my presentation for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!