Agronomist Notes

Another wet snow storm ripped through last week, delaying seeding once again. As you can see by the photo, a few people are testing the waters or snow, rather, trying to get their drills fine tuned.

Barring any more precipitation, seeding will start on well drained soils by the middle of the week between Calgary and Three Hills. The same cannot be said for the eastern half of the Prairies which just received six to ten inches of snow from Central Saskatchewan to eastern Manitoba.

For my own schedule, the VR prescriptions are just about done and I have about a days worth of soil testing to do. I have clients spraying PrePare, PrePass and Express Pro now with a Wednesday start date for seeding wheat. 

In this week’s newsletter we’ll look at the Case 800 precision drill to see how well it performs with inter-row seeding. Next, I’ll show you our completed Generation II offset hitch to use for inter-row seeding in our CTF system and will dabble in why we need statistical analysis to bring value to the pretty field maps we can generate.

Pictured above: Spencer and Sterling Hilton calibrate a Case 800 air drill April 27th, 2011 near Strathmore, AB.

Agronomy

Inter-row seeding with the Case 800 precision drill

I had a chance to see how well a 70 ft Case 800 precision drill http://www.caseih.com/northamerica/Products/PlantingSeeding/Precision-Hoe-800/Pages/Intro.aspx performed with inter-row seeding last week. I stopped by Spencer and Sterling Hilton’s while they were fine tuning their air drills on 65 acres of canola stubble. They ran a Case 800 last year and planted their canola with it using RTK guidance. This year they will be using it to inter-row seeding malt barley and wheat into canola stubble on 10 inch spacing.

The initial results are very positive. The Case 800 drill holds the ground very well with little skewing, even on small side hills in the clay loam soil. I find it amazing that this drill can hold the line within one inch pass to pass on 70 feet. They’ve been able to set the drill width at 69 feet 10 inches on the GPS and the row between each pass is between 9 and 10 inches wide. Very impressive!

If you’re looking for a drill with on row depth control, single shank design, and smoother field finish than dual shank machines like SeedMaster, Conservapak and SeedHawk, then the Case 800 precision drill could be for you. It also handles residue very well, especially when inter-row seeding. If you’re looking for the next step up from your conventional hoe-drill, start matching the benefits of inter-row seeding with precision seed placement and you’ll have yourself a deadly, very profitable combination. For more information on ROI from precision seed placement click here http://www.beyondagronomy.com/newsletter/1_12_2009.htm . SL

Photo source: Sterling Hilton

A Generation II offset hitch for inter-row seeding in a CTF system

Over the winter, we came to realize that our original air drill hitch design, though magnificent, wasn’t going to work for inter-row seeding as we first calculated. So, Mitch recently spent a couple of days fabricating the Generation II offset hitch. This new hitch enables us to shift six inches side to side each year while keeping our air tank and tractor stationary on the tram lines. We simply pull the three pins and move the hitch over six inches. This puts our seed row between last years stubble on twelve inch row spacing.   

We had to re-evaluate our math to make sure we could inter-row seed properly, stay on the tram lines and not leave any check strips at harvest. The picture you see here shows a three inch offset to the left of the centre pulling point. In 2012 we will pull from dead centre and in 2013 we will pull from three inches to the right of centre. We have a one and a half inch wide seed spread on twelve inch spacing so we’ll be able to tuck in between the rows easily each year.

We’re very certain we’ll be off to a flying start this season. Thank goodness for wintry times for reflection and a talented fabricator. SL

Photo source: Steve Larocque

Running co-relations to discover yield variability

We collect an amazing amount of data in grain farming these days that helps us understand how much variability exists in our fields. For example, in 2011, Mitch and I will generate elevation maps, EC maps, 5 acre grid soil sampling maps, GreenSeeker 5m resolution maps, 1m resolution NDVI aerial maps and yield maps. All these pretty images will tell us is that variability exists but none of them will explain why the variability exists. It’s time to bring in the value.

The most practical approach to understanding which variable drives yield or inversely reduces yield is to run statistical correlations using GIS software like SST Toolbox http://www.sstsoftware.com/sstoolbox.htm. Sophisticated software programs are accessible at the farm level making for brilliant, applicable research. With them, for example, we have the ability to overlay soil test point data from grid sampling on top of a yield map then run statistical analyses to find out which nutrient or soil quality parameter (pH, EC, OM) actually drives yield or decreases yield. The same analyses can be done with NDVI, EC or elevation maps. Now we can get to the heart of why variability exists instead of trying to guess which really gets me fired up.

This season I’m doing about 3,400 acres worth of mapping and correlative analysis with Trevor Thorton of Crop Care Consulting from Portage La Prairie, MB. I’m really excited to begin discovering which nutrients give us the best bang for our buck within each field and to fine tune the fertility programs accordingly. I’ll love having something more concrete to go by. Now if only something could be devised to take the guess work out of co-relating to our female counterparts. SL 

Trying out the GreenSeeker in 2011

Mitch and I have access to a demo GreenSeeker http://www.ntechindustries.com/greenseeker-RT200.html unit this summer supplied by Chris Nelson of Accufarm http://www.accufarm.ca in Strathmore. We intend to generate in-season zone maps to help ground truth soil tests but may also try some liquid nitrogen trials as well. I believe there is a fit for GreenSeeker technology on many soil types but especially on heavy clay or sandy soils.

The GreenSeeker research to date focuses on split applications of N as a tool to minimize risk. The concept is to apply half your nitrogen up front then follow up with the other half depending on the growing season. In my view, in our production zone, applying all of our nitrogen up front at seeding is of little risk and provides a good return on most years. The struggle I have is when the season is setting up better than expected and there is no ability to top dress nitrogen efficiently to generate higher yields or protein. 

The cost of the six sensor GS unit is roughly $22,000 and we can run it with our FMX monitor. Currently N-Tech http://www.ntechindustries.com/greenseeker-home.html is running a spring financing program. It includes:

• A 10% down payment on purchase price due upon purchase.  The first payment is not due until November 2011.
• A low initial investment; put the technology to work and let it earn the first payment.
• The choice of 36 month or 48 month financing.
• No dealer participation fees.
• Simple, straight forward financial application and documentation.

I’m not sure how quick of an ROI is possible with the GreenSeeker but I do think producers should take a serious look at it. Remember, it’s not just a split application tool. It’s a tool to really drive home yield and protein when the opportunity presents itself. If you’re into variable rate inputs, it’s a great tool to start building your own zone maps with NDVI imagery and building prescription maps on your own. I’m excited to try it out. SL    

Photo source: http://www.agrioptics.co.nz/products/greenseeker/