Agronomist Notes

Annnnnnnnd done! The last of my clients wrapped up harvest on the weekend to put an end to a very long season. Now on to fixing, hauling, checking bins, shifting grain, updating books, getting ready for year end and maybe squeak in a few days off before Christmas.

I’m full swing into soil sampling and all is going well. Soils in the east side of my territory have up to eight inches of moisture stored in the profile while clients on the west side have just a few inches heading into next spring. There will be a risk of extremely wet soils next spring in the east should we get slightly above average precipitation.  

I’ll be headed to Australia on November 27 until December 12 with a group of ten people to look at controlled traffic farms in three states. I’ll be writing to you from the road so look forward to some unique shots and updates of the Aussie harvest and CTF farms down under. Also, I’ll be chairing and speaking at the upcoming Advanced Agronomy conference on November 24 and 25, which is 36 people away from being sold out so register now if you don’t want to miss it! 

This week we’ll start off with a notice to producers regarding low germination and vigour number in seed samples. Next, I’ll give you my top two picks for canola varieties for 2011. We’ll look into the use of drainage analysis maps using an example from my own farm. Last, we’ll look at some interesting research looking at the effects of compaction on wheat protein. We’ll finish with fundamental and technical grain market news.

Agronomy

Strange results on germination and vigour tests

I had a few seed samples arrive last week with some odd results. The germination on the wheat was between 94 and 100% germination but the vigour was testing between 44% and 49%. After a concerned call to 20/20 Seed Labs I was told this was common this year and they are having a hard time breaking the dormancy. Standard practice for the cold germination/vigour test is to grow the seed at 50C for 7 days and measure germination. This year, it looks like many samples will require more time to let the natural dormancy in the seed decrease. See how poorly the dormant seed (right) compares to normal seed (left) in the photo.

Steps you can take to improve results:

• Perfect world: Leave seed in cold storage for a period of up to three months.
• Store your germination sample in the freezer for one week prior to submitting it to the lab.
• Pre-dry the sample in a paper bag in a well ventilated area for a week before sending the sample.

The lab still suggests you send your samples in now to let you know where you stand. You’ll find out quickly if the germination is adequate and then do a vigour test in a few months. If your germination is in the 80’s and 90’s, chances are the vigour will improve over the winter once the natural dormancy in the seed decreases with rest. SL

For more information on seed dormancy: http://4e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=t&id=8 

Steve’s top two picks for canola varieties

I managed 8,000 acres of canola this season and was impressed with two varieties, one a RoundUp Ready and the other an InVigor variety. Both varieties managed to produce solid yields, had great standability in a year where many fell short, literally and have the agronomic package I look for in a canola variety.

The first variety is InVigor 5440 which many of us know and have come to appreciate. When you can pull 70 bu/ac averages with a canola crop that stands shorter than your shoulders, you’re on to something! This variety does well in all soil types in what seems to be any climate. This is the variety I will grow in 2010.

The second variety is Pioneer RR 45H28 which offers the same yield, maturity and standability as 5440. As an added bonus, in my experience, the Pioneer reps are hungry to learn and share information and happy to offer agronomic support. Whether it is setting up farm trials or finding local research results, Pioneer reps seem to be on the ball. SL

Both varieties seem to be running around $8.50/lb give or take 0.20 cents.

Is topography killing profitability?

It takes a wet year to really make you think about the effects of poor drainage on yield and field trafficability. Now that harvest is done, I’m sure you have a fresh idea about which areas you’d like to have drained or would like to determine which fields are economically feasible. To see how the process works, I exported an elevation map of one of our fields from our Trimble FmX monitor and sent the file to my good friend Tim Neale at www.precisionagriculture.com.au. We run a Trimble RTK receiver through the VRS wireless RTK network so we had an accurate topography map. With the topo map I provided, he sent me a complete drainage analysis. 

The cost of providing the drainage analysis if you have your own accurate topo map is $0.81 an acre through Tim. I think that is fairly reasonable when you’re just trying to discover how many acres of the field are affected by poor drainage. From there you can run your own analysis by calculating average yield loss in those areas multiplied by the number of acres affected multiplied by the average net revenue per acre. If you have yield maps, the analysis is much easier and can be done for a fee to give you a more accurate picture of the true yield loss in the affected areas.

Here is a quick summary of the drainage analysis for one of our fields shown in the picture above.

Drainage Analysis Summary

Field Area (ha): 59.27
Ponded Area (ha): 2.42
Ponded Percentage (%): 4.1
Ponding Volume (ML): 2.4
Max. Ponding Depth (m): 0.518

The results of the drainage analysis show that 4% of the 160 acre field is affected by poor drainage. From there I can run some of my quick math. My four year average return per acre is $82.00 net so I stand to gain (6.25 ac x $82 ac) $537.92 per year or $3.36 acre, roughly. From here I can agree to continue pursuing a drainage plan or know definitively that improving drainage will not provide a return on investment. As a side note, the analysis also shows me how much water storage I can contain on this field and it works out to 2.4 ML which is 2.4 million litres of water. Maybe I should ditch the barley in 2011, block the culverts and start a water theme park instead but I digress. 

The next map shows the natural drainage patterns of the field, should you want to progress further with a drainage plan. The map is overlaid on a 3D map to give you a better visual idea of where the natural drainage pattern falls.

The drainage plan is designed to maximize the effectiveness of the drainage areas and minimize the amount of earth that needs to be moved. From there, a cut/fill map can be produced and given to the contractor. Tim informs me that he can produce a cut/fill map for $4.00 acre that can be inserted into the contractors GPS controlled bucket, blade or scraper.

Things to remember when planning a drainage project

• Contact your local municipality and apply for a permit to create new drainage areas.
• Topography maps should ideally be produced with equipment that is less than 40 ft wide to get an accurate picture of field topography.
• The elevation of your ditches and culverts are also important to understand how they relate to the low areas in your field.

Running the numbers on the costs of hiring a contract grader or scraper is difficult so we’ll have to end our analysis there. However, if you’re already producing elevation maps with your RTK GPS, then the possibilities are endless. You can hire a contractor to cut/fill your drainage areas or hire a custom tile drainage contractor to put tile into specific areas to help improve drainage. The first step is to have a full drainage analysis done of your fields. If you would like more information, contact me and I can surely point you in the right, cost effective direction. SL

In-season wheel traffic reduces protein in wheat

Some researchers and farmers are quick to dismiss compaction as a problem in Prairie crop production because of the freeze-thaw cycles that occur during the winter. You can’t argue that some compaction isn’t alleviated in the top few inches with frost but what about the compaction that occurs during our activities during the growing season? Pre-seed spraying, planting, in-crop herbicides and fungicides can leave up to 20% of your field with wheel tracks before the end of June, the wettest part of our growing season.  

A study done on a clay loam soil in Grand Forks, North Dakota revealed a significant difference in wheat protein levels when comparing non-compacted soils to compacted soils. In fact protein levels were significantly lower on the spring compaction trials (12.9%) and the fall-spring compaction trials (12.7%) compared to the non-compacted trial at (13.6%).

Steve’s quick math

Protein increase: 13.6% - (12.7 + 12.9 ÷ 2) = 0.8%
0.8% increase on #1 HRS = $0.32 bu
50 bu/ac avg x $0.32 bu = $16.00 acre

The only answer to eliminating compaction and picking up that additional $16 an acre protein bump in wheat is through controlled traffic farming. I don’t expect to sway popular opinion until I start seeing some results but it seems that more advantages pop up every time I sit down to research CTF. SL

Source: Voorhees, W.B., D. Evans, and D.D. Warnes. 1985. Effect of pre-plant wheel traffic on soil compaction, water use, and growth of spring wheat. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 49:215-220.