Farming smarter by Farm Business Communications

SPRING 2016 Edition

International Year of

MRLs – Minefield For Exporters/Growers »10 On-Farm Data Requires Scruitiny »18 Funds for Agriculture Education »25

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Contents GM’s Message — Let’s Roll. . . . . . . . 4 Farming Smarter Salutes a Champion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Meet Farming Smarter’s New Office Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Pg. 8

Wheat Breeding, Past, Present and Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The Nurse That Loves Farming. . . . 8 MRLs — A Minefield For Exporters, Including Growing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Invest in Knowledge Generator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Pg. 28

Water Programs Available to Farms A Summary of Programs to Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Orville Yanke Award 2015 — Career Dedicated to Soild Conservation Recognized. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Pg. 34 Visit us online for innovative agronomic . and technical research information:

www.farmingsmarter.com

SPRING 2016 EDITION

CAHRC Promotes Ag Sector Employment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 One Spray Works for Two Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Unexpected Funds Enhance Agriculture Education. . . . . . . . . . . 25 Grain Corn Project Surprises Researchers . . . . . . . . . . 26 Canadian Research for Canadian Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . 28 International Year of the Pulses Kicks Off at Toronto Gala . . . . . . . . 30 Alberta is Leading on Climate Change and Creating Jobs with Solar Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Book Review: BLINK — The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. . . . 32

On-Farm Data Requires Scrutiny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Examine Your Filters Regularly. . . 33

Evolution of Researach Tracking on Home Ground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Five Key Points to Optimize Canola Yield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Microbial Management — A New Tool in Crop Input Efficiency. . . . . 22

Photo Gallery: Agritechnica 2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Farming Smarter is published bi-annually by . Farm Business Communications for Farming Smarter, . #100, 5401 – 1st Ave. S., . Lethbridge, AB T1J 4P4 . with the support from the Agriculture . Opportunities Fund

Cover photo:

In honor of the International Year of Pulses, we give you peas in the field. Photo: farming smarter

Editorial Board: Ken Coles, Jamie Puchinger. Editor: C. Lacombe

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

General Manager Message

Let’s Roll! by Ken Coles

pring fever is boiling over the rim and I’m very excited to get back in the field. Seeding has always been my favourite part of farming because it’s new, fresh and full of hope. This year, we’re ready to roll with a new perspective, revived objectives, some new projects and even some new faces. The Farming Smarter board and staff worked diligently over the winter developing an ambitious plan for the next five years. It means more growth, a more meaningful connection with members as well as new and stronger relationships with key partners.

Perhaps the biggest news is an agreement with Lethbridge College geared toward building capacity in applied research and extension tailored to meet southern Alberta opportunities. Core projects such as night spraying and soil mapping sensors have come to end, but we are keen to dig into new agronomy projects in hemp, dryland corn and hail damaged pulse crops. We also hope to dig into canola agronomy with precision planters and split nutrient applications. The extension program is also action

packed with new Plot Hops now including a meal and more networking opportunities. A full Alberta Wheat Day is in the mix and the Farming Smarter Field School promises to be the summer highlight filled with practical, hands on learning experiences. Bests wishes for a fantastic year and we look forward to seeing you! Dare I say stay safe? h Ken Coles General Manager Farming Smarter

Photo: Thinkstock

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

Good People

Farming Smarter Salutes a Champion

Photo: Farming Smarter

ichard Fritzler served as a founding member of Southern Applied Research Association and Southern Alberta Conservation Association. He stayed with both organizations as they grew into Farming Smarter. “I started on the board in 1990 and got on two boards, SARA and SACA,” Fritzler says. He watched as Alberta Agriculture shrank its research work and firmly believes that local research associations upheld the ability of Alberta farmers to prosper while meeting growing global demand for food. “My greatest reward for my years of service was the knowledge I gained by sitting on these boards,” Fritzler says. “I feel well rewarded.” He contends that what he learned about crops, agronomy and best management practices helped make him a successful farmer. But, in addition, he learned fascinating things about people and political processes. From all the staff and board members that had the honor to work with Richard: “We salute you Richard and thank you. It was a pleasure to work with you.” h

Meet Farming Smarter’s New Office Manager

new face and a new voice took over managing Farming Smarter’s finances this winter. Dawne Wiebe is our new Farming Smarter Office Manager. “I was attracted to the job because, after working from home for many years, I wanted to participate in a team environment with a common goal. This job also diversifies my experience by introducing me to a different industry,” says Dawne. Prior to working at Farming Smarter, Dawne worked as a contract bookkeeper/ office manager for a half dozen different companies including oilfield companies and non-profit organizations. Dawne completed a SAIT Journalism Arts degree before being employed by the Taber Times as a reporter in the early ’90s and eventually moving into advertising sales. A second child prompted her to operate a child care day home from her house. At this point she also began her career as an oilfield dispatcher and eventually

Dawne Wiebe

became a shareholder in an oilfield fluid hauling company. As an active business owner, responsible for finance and budgeting, she developed and opened her own contract bookkeeping/office man-

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

agement business that grew to have eight permanent contracts. As a bank manager’s daughter, Dawne lived most of her life moving from one small Alberta town to another and even spent two years living in the Yukon, where she finished high school. She is an active volunteer with the Taber Minor Hockey Association both as a board member and an executive member (treasurer) of the organization. In her spare time, Dawne enjoys spending time with her husband, Jason and her two teenage boys, Logan and Gage. The family likes to camp, fish and spend time outdoors. She also likes to ride her horse and has a small furniture refinishing business — Delightful and Distressed. During the winter months, you can often find Dawne at the hockey rink watching her boys play, sitting in front of the fireplace reading a good novel or in her shop working on a piece of furniture. h

Farming Smarter / spring 2016

Farming Smarter Conference

Wheat Breeding, Past, Present and Future by Helen McMenamin

“ wish I were just starting my career,” Dr. Ron DePauw expresses that sentiment whenever he’s asked about the future of cereal breeding. DePauw retired from Agriculture Canada last year with the moniker the billion-dollar man for the annual royalties brought in from wheat varieties he developed. “There’s never a perfect variety,” he says. “Things are always changing, new insects, new disease issues — think about fusarium or stripe rust and the Ug99 strain of stem rust can devastate crops. Farming practices — direct seeding, more diverse crop rotations, fertilizer use, straight cut combining, grain drying, storage systems — all change what’s needed in wheat varieties. Crop genetics have to fit the current production technology,” DePauw says. Farmer needs drove most of the 60 cereal varieties credited to DePauw and his partners, most notably the game-changer, Barrie, the first hard red wheat with high yield and high protein. As the most widely grown variety on the Prairies for eight years (1998 to 2005), it’s reckoned to have boosted farm income by over $800 million. When DePauw’s team found resistance to orange blossom wheat midge, it spared the environment widespread insecticide applications and growers $20 million a year in midge losses and downgrading. But, the resistance is due to a single gene, making it relatively easy for the insect to overcome, so breeding work included developing a strategy to protect the resistance. Non-resistant seed is included in every shipment of midge-resistant seed to become refuges where the insects can breed successfully and preserve the grain’s resistance. Sawfly-resistant Lillian doesn’t require protection for its resistance because it’s based on solid stems that don’t allow larvae to grow and feed. End-user demand also drives breeding programs — Strongfield and Navigator durum provided the gluten and yellow colour buyers want. Durum varieties with lower uptake of cadmium provide food safety assurance to consumers. To a breeder, a germplasm line is almost as important as registering a variety — it’s a source of specific traits to include when they’re needed. DePauw and his team identified 53 lines. Some have been used in providing durable resistance to leaf, stem and yellow

Farming Smarter / Spring 2016

Dr. DePauw spoke at Farming Smarter’s conference in Lethbridge Dec. 8, 2015. Photos Farming Smarter

rust, enhancing fusarium resistance and lowering mycotoxin levels as well as sprouting resistance that makes a huge difference to returns from cereals when there’s a wet fall. Grower needs can also be big drivers. Nutrient efficiency, shorter, stronger straw to stand up and ease residue management, but also easier threshing are on the current list for prairie breeders. “Only 25 to 35 per cent of the nitrogen applied to wheat is converted to grain,” he says. “That’s really pathetic. We need to use less energy at harvest too through better threshability — it’s all about bushels per hour, per gallon of fuel.” Regulations can drive breeders’ efforts. They were happy to see the end of Kernel Visual Distinguishability (KVD) as they were then free to pursue other traits — a wide field for Hard Red Spring (HRS). It’s the most challenging wheat for breeders because there are so many parameters to consider — milling quality, baking quality, as well as yield and agronomics. DePauw played a big part in changing wheat marketing with his work to introduce the Canada Prairie Spring (CPS) classification, which will expand next crop year to include wheats currently registered as HRS varieties, but on

the low side for protein and gluten strength. Buyers want more uniformity and predictable gluten strength. He stresses that this is redesignation, not deregistration. For farmers where the likelihood of hard red not making No. 1 is quite high, there’s often more money and less risk growing CPS wheat, which has a higher yield potential and less price difference between No. 1 and No. 2 grades. Technologies have changed the speed of plant breeding. During his PhD work, a huge computer took weeks to calculate trait values in DePauw’s lines. For 25 years, doubled haploids have cut the time to develop a variety. Plants from wheat florets pollinated with corn and grown in tissue cultures carry only mother plant genes so breeders don’t have to eliminate off types. Now, 37 double-haploid wheat varieties are grown on more than 30 per cent of prairie wheat acreage. Thirty years ago, breeders at Swift Current were delighted to have a near infra-red (NIR) system for non-destructive protein testing. Now, marker assisted breeding lets breeders identify specific traits with non-destructive DNA testing — a simple matter now with machines about the size of an office printer. And a dronemounted, spectral reflectance camera that flies over the plots replaced the NIR machine. No matter how good the technology, people are essential. “We still need good, well-trained

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

people — boots in the field and hands in the pan,” says DePauw. He includes breeders, technicians, post-docs and others. He worked with breeders and other scientists at the University of Saskatchewan, other Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) stations and provincial centres. He’s a big supporter of the Western Grains Foundation and the prairie grain commissions for their involvement in and support for breeding work. “Since the early ’90s, we’ve doubled the rate of our average yield improvement to .7 per cent a year. Canada is near the top, with Argentina and China in productivity increases, but the advantage is fragile.” Farmers should consider where they want to get varieties in future, DePauw advises. Big corporations have been in and out of wheat breeding. Limagrain and Bayer are involved now, but innovation and long-term competitiveness — yield increases and strong stewardship of resources requires long-term, focused commitment. Farmers can play a role individually and through research organizations.

Dr. Ron DePauw studied the chemical constituents and other characteristics of wheat for 50 years and finds no credibility at all in the claims of food faddists promoting ideas that wheat, its gluten content or the characteristics of its protein have changed in the last 50 or 100 years. “It’s hasn’t changed,” he says. He challenges growers to innovate. “At high prices, we boost inputs and production goes up, so we have idle capacity,” he says. “We have the genetics, agronomy and weather to pro-

duce more. I challenge you to put some of that idle capacity to use. Put the groceries to some strong-strawed varieties and try to push them over. I think we can get dryland wheat yields over 100 bushels and 150 under irrigation. Since retiring from AAFC, DePauw joined SeCan as Science Advisor, working to create synergy among universities, seed companies, farmers, and government to speed the development and introduction of the best cereal genetics for Canadian farmers. Maybe it’s not his ideal, though, “the opportunities, the tools we have and coming on stream are so much greater now. I really wish I was starting my career over again.” Wheat Wisdom

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Farming Smarter / Spring 2016

Agvocacy

The Nurse That Loves Farming by Madeleine Baerg

Photo: nurse loves farmer

ou can imagine the conversation across a fenceline or through a truck window between a couple of longtime farmers: “So there’s this woman — a nurse — talking all over the internet about farming. Didn’t grow up farming and hasn’t been responsible for a farm one day in her life. And she thinks she can help agriculture! What the heck does she know?!” Turns out the ‘she’ in question — southern Albertan farm wife, mother and part-time blogger, Sarah Schultz — knows a lot. She knows how powerful today’s internet is in the lives of primary purchasers; she knows how to leverage social media; she knows how to wield her increasing influence. Mock her and minimize her if you will (you wouldn’t be the first or the last) but understand that in doing so, you make yourself appear very behind the times. And, know that your negative attitude could come at significant cost to the agriculture industry. Despite negative push-back from the anti-ag and (unfortunately) the ag community too, Schultz is standing up firmly, confidently and surprisingly effectively for agriculture. Schultz is a 32-year-old mom of two (and ¾) kids and wife to a fourth generation grain and oilseed farmer in Wheatland County, Alberta. She is also the flying fingers behind the NurseLovesFarmer blog, a vocal, candid, intensely personal online diary/editorial about everything from pregnancy, recipes and photography to — you

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

guessed it — agriculture’s most controversial issues. NurseLovesFarmer consistently captures tens of thousands of ‘hits’ (reads) per month, with top postings reaching 100,000 or more hits (a single photo, in fact, reached 1.1 million Facebook readers). “I blog about agriculture because my heart is tied to our farm and this way of life,” says Schultz. “Blogging is part of my definition of sustainability in agriculture: I want to fight to make sure our kids get all the options that my husband had and more. The worst case scenario would be that food activists force change in policy; which would limit my kids’ choices. I feel personally invested in agriculture’s success. To see this industry being torn apart with flat out lies and misinformation, I almost see it as my obligation or duty to use my social media influence to share the good stuff.” Before you pass Schultz off as ‘just a mom,’ consider this: she believes the fact that her readers see her as ‘just a mom’ is her biggest advantage, and the experts agree. “When you are open and personal on your blog you make a connection with your readers that fosters trust. When a blogger blogs about a product or a political perspective or an opinion, readers have a tendency to trust the information simply because they like the person,” says Schultz. ‘Mommy Bloggers’ — typically 30- to 45-year-old mothers of young children who write online posts on everything GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

websites; she’s had her nursing career threatened; she’s read countfrom lifestyle to parenting to politics — boast enormous readership less comments to her posts that have left her shaky or nauseous. Peoin the social media world and impressive influence in public relations ple assume her comments and opinions are paid advertising (they’re and marketing spheres. Unlike corporate blogs which clearly speak not), or that she is on salary with Monsanto (she’s not). from a company to a consumer, Mommy Blogs read a whole lot more “It’s an emotional roller coaster. I’ve had the highest of highs and like advice from a close friend or a sister. the lowest of lows because of blogging. It took a long time to learn “‘Mommy bloggers’ represent an important bridge between how to deal with hurtful and hateful attacks. There have been many home, family and parenting brands and their customers. Mom blogs times I wanted to throw my hands up and quit,” she says. “The bigger have the power of reach and trust, and can be one of the most effecpicture keeps me in it. I’m constantly reminded that we can’t let them tive brand advocacy tools,” writes the ABBI PR Agency. win.The anti-ag side is so passionate and they will never, never give Schultz blogged about personal topics for two years before she up. We have to share our side of the story so the correct information stepped almost accidentally into the ring of what she calls ‘agvocacy’ is there too.” (agriculture advocacy). Late one night three years ago, she happened on an anti-GMO twitter party run by the Mamavation blog. While While one would expect anti-ag activists to disagree – perhaps Mamavation feels small and personal, it is in fact a highly organized, even unkindly — with Schultz’s blogging, it is not just ‘the other very well-funded blogging network of over 10,000 self-titled ‘food side’ that attacks her. There have been more than a few times that crusaders’ who together promote anti-GMO and anti-ag campaigns. the most painful and aggressive comments come from within the “The twitter party targeted the Similac company demanding they agriculture industry. remove GMOs from their baby formula. I knew we grew GMO crops “Ninety-five per cent of comments from farmers are really posion our farm but I was new to agriculture so I didn’t know much about tive. But here’s where the plot thickens: in the last six to nine months, them. It really worried me how scared it has been farmers who have been my people were; that many things they said as biggest critics. There’s been name calling ‘fact’ I was pretty sure weren’t actually fact and swearing; parody accounts have been “I am pro-food choice. at all. And, I didn’t like that they were saymade up about me; they’ve made fun of I don’t care what you ing things about what farmers like us do my appearance. It’s been really personal.” on our farms. So I talked it over with my The post that seems to have started eat or what you feed husband and then I looked into writing a the issue was about the amount of your kids. I think it’s response,” she says. glyphosate Schultz’s husband sprays on Since then, Schultz has blogged about their crop. Farmers, particularly from great we have those the gluten-free movement, fear-based the Corn Belt, said she was ‘lying,’ that marketing, organics, ‘wheat bullying,’ there was no way they could spray so choices. But don’t farrowing crates, the ‘dirty dozen,’ ‘toxic’ little glyphosate, and that she was makmake me feel bad wheat, glyphosate, hormones in food and ing everyone else look bad. many, many more topics anti-ag activists Closer to home, her blog has been about my choices and target. attacked as ‘silly’ and ‘pointless’ by some don’t spread fear.” “I am pro-food choice. I don’t care involved in Alberta’s agriculture industry. what you eat or what you feed your kids. I (Ironically, Bill 6 found some of these — Sarah Schultz same farmers suddenly following in think it’s great we have those choices. But don’t make me feel bad about my choices Schultz’s agvocating shoes.) and don’t spread fear.” “I won’t say it hasn’t been hard. I Her writing is science-based, down-to-earth and highly personal. believe you are supposed to stand together as an industry. Our conShe’s not at all shy about admitting that she’s not a farmer, a scientist, sumers and opponents can see it when we are picking at each other or a topic expert. Instead, she invites readers to learn alongside her. inside the industry,” she says. “I’ve never claimed to be an expert. Sharing what I learn is my “A lot of what I hear is, ‘You didn’t grow up on a farm. You don’t whole basis for communicating about ag. I want to get people thinkknow nothing.’ But I think that is my strong suit. I didn’t grow up ing and asking questions instead of being afraid and buying into fearon a farm, so I understand consumers’ questions and perspectives. mongering,” she explains. Farmers can talk to farmers. But maybe they need people like me to Her style of rapport-based agvocating is vitally important, she talk to their consumers.” thinks. In some cases, though, Schultz thinks farmers shouldn’t be talk“By far, the anti-ag side is more organized, has better networking to consumers at all. ing, is bigger, stronger, louder, trendier and more sexy. They hit you “If you can’t engage with people positively and respectfully, you right in the emotions, especially if you are a parent and they have star shouldn’t attempt to agvocate,” she says. “How you deliver the mespower, like Gwyneth Paltrow talking on Capital Hill. What do we sage is probably more important than the message itself. You have have? We have science on our side. But you can’t lead with science to meet people where they are at, find common ground, build some because people need to connect on a personal level. So that’s where personal connection with them. There’s a huge difference between someone like me comes in. If people connect with me, then they are being an advocate and an activist.” able to listen to the other side of the story.” “I’m not here to convince anyone of anything. The thing is, Schultz’s commitment to pro-agriculture blogging comes at a I don’t want to change minds. Well, I do… but I want to do it by price. She’s been called an irresponsible blogger, a pawn, a shill to big respectfully providing science-based information so that it might ag, a stalker, a bad mother. She’s been slammed on other’s blogs and get my ‘opponents’ at least thinking about things.” h GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

Farming Smarter / Spring 2016

News

MRLs — A Minefield For Exporters, Including Growers

Photos: Farming Smarter

by Helen McMenamim

RLs — maximum residue limits — the highest concentrations of a pesticide or medication allowed in a foodstuff — have become a minefield for anyone shipping commodity crops out of the country. Suddenly it seems, even long-established products like glyphosate are an issue in export grains. The problem is that a growing number of importing countries have developed their own MRLs and they can reject products that don’t meet their standards when they arrive at port. Shipping a non-compliant cargo leaves the exporting company with a huge bill for freight, return or destruction of as much as 60,000 tonnes, possible loss of their export license and loss of credibility of the company and of Canada’s reputation as a safe producer. For the last 50 years, the Codex Alimentarius (usually just called the Codex) has been the food standards, including MRLs, for world trade between over 180 countries. But, the expert panels have a huge backlog and long delays to develop new standards have led some countries to have health authorities set MRLs. Often, these authorities don’t know what chemicals may be used on imported crops, so the MRL defaults to zero or close to the limit of detection. Detection is the other side of the coin. Technology for processing crop samples, identifying and measuring pesticides is now extremely sensitive and accurate, measuring as little as one part per billion — that’s one hybrid canola seed in 180 bushels. And the machines are cheap, rugged and quick, measuring 260 pesticides in hundreds of samples in a few hours. “The technology analytical chemists have now is the equivalent of a 100,000 lbs., 760-hp tractor with 1,000-gallon fuel tank delivered for $85,000,” says Ron Pidskalny, of Strategic Vision Consulting, who’s been working with MLR issues for several years. South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China have switched away from the Codex to national standards and Mexico and India are following, says Pidskalny. Cheap, quick and accurate testing means pesticide residues can be measured at a ship’s destination before unloading. If a pesticide is above the MRL, the cargo is not legal for trade and the shipper faces huge costs. All Canadian producers of that crop may be affected.

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

Fruit and vegetable growers have dealt with this issue for years. Some U.S. states set their own tolerances for horticulture crops like cherries and blueberries. The regulations are so complex, growers have to know where their produce will be sold before the season begins so they can avoid problematic pesticides. The issues are newer for bulk grains. Preharvest desiccants in pulse crops, because they’re used close to harvest, can be risky. Pulse Canada has a chart showing which countries accept what crops treated with each preharvest product. They advise checking with buyers before using desiccants to be sure the crop and chemical combination can be safely shipped to its likely destination. The Canola Council has its Keep it Clean program to ensure canola meets the standards of key importers. The main issue for 2016 is quinclorac, the active ingredient in Clever to control cleavers, can result in residues China will not accept. The Canola Council advises against using it. According to Pidskalny, there was a close call in the wheat market last year when the U.S. had no MRL for the plant growth regulator, Manipulator. Canada could have lost an $800 million-dollar market, but exporters decided to segregate treated grain. You can help protect markets. Double check you’re using a registered product at the labeled rate, crop stage and preharvest interval. Talk to your producer group. Let them know your issues in the field so they can address them with our international trade partners. “You can’t sit back and hope things improve,” he says. “You have to tell them what you need.” h GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

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Farming Smarter

Invest in Knowledge Generator by Madeleine Baerg

arming Smarter supports your farm and your bank account by building, not just better farms, but better farmers. Chances are you learned something from a Farming Smarter event that changed your farm. Now it may be time for you to invest in building a better Farming Smarter. With rapidly evolving technology and information now king, knowledge is what separates the best (and most profitable) producers today from the rest. Luckily, getting hold of that knowledge doesn’t have to be quite as daunting as it might sound. Farming Smarter demonstrates it is a southern Alberta producers’ best ally, conducting applied research applicable onfarm and closing communication gaps between producers, scientists and the knowledge they need to improve agricultural production. “Because we don’t actually charge a fee for membership, it’s really hard to truly have a two way connection with the people we’re trying to help. We know they see value in what we’re doing and choose to attend our events or get on our email list,” says Ken Coles, Farming Smarter’s general manager. “What I’m challenging our staff, our Board, our entire organization to think about is, given the reductions in public grants and the inherent level of instability of our funding, how do we look to farmers and to innovative and progressive agronomists/consultants — those people who are getting the most benefit from us — for stability both financially and in purpose?” “Whoa,” you might be saying. “Is he saying I should pay to get information from Farming Smarter? Why would I buy the cow when right now I’m getting that milk for free?” Actually, it turns out Coles isn’t nuts or naïve: critical-thinking and informed producers will quickly realise there are some pretty good reasons to shift Farming Smarter’s current governance model and practices regarding ‘membership.’ Yes, that might mean you playing a role in helping financially support Farming Smarter’s work. However, doing so will prove worth your while. “We’ve got an opportunity to challenge conventional notions of how a group, specifically a non-profit, operates and runs,” says Coles. “I truly believe I’ve taken Farming Smarter as far as I can in its current structure. We’ve built a great brand and we’re doing great work, but if we want to continue to grow we have to be creative and embrace another way of operating.”

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

Agricultural research takes specialized equipment and we all know that special also means special price. Photo: Farming Smarter

Board governance consultant Carla Rhyant adds, “How you create engagement is by creating ownership. If someone feels like they have skin in the game, like they’ve been part of building something, they’ll want to see the goals accomplished and efforts come to fruition.” Farming Smarter is a non-profit. That said, the only difference between a non-profit and a for-profit business is that a for-profit pays its owners. But consider this: if knowledge is a valuable form of currency these days, Farming Smarter most definitely pays. Take that logic a step further: if a for-profit pays its owners and Farming Smarter pays, those farmers and agronomists who benefit most from the knowledge payout could be considered Farming Smarter’s ‘owners.’ As owners’ those individuals need both rights and responsibilities above the general public. Rather than waiting on the sidelines to passively receive knowledge distributed by Farming Smarter, the owners should have the right to exclusive benefits: first and/or best access to information, the right to actively direct the organization’s goals and efforts, opportunities to participate in on-farm research, and/or more. “We have a lot of ambitious objectives. The vision we’ve got is to work towards true engagement where a core group of individuals feel a sense of ownership towards this organization and are part of directing it. They in turn get benefits. We have ideas of how that could look, but part of that would need to be developed through engagement with producers,” says Coles. Of course, ownership rights come with responsibilities: those who feel ownership of Farming Smarter would need to step up to

ensure the ongoing sustainability and health of the organization. “Last year we had big cuts in government funding and huge funding delays. Who looks out for the health of the organization? Putting all our eggs in the government funding basket makes us awfully unstable,” says Coles. But, he stresses, a membership fee is about much more than just monetary stability. “If we had a few hundred people honestly taking a stake in ownership, even beyond stability and funding it could be a tremendously powerful group actively advocating for the organization. When you tangibly own something, you invest your efforts and energy too. Just imagine what we could get done,” says Coles. Rhyant agrees. “No matter who the funder is, they all look at measurables. The more active and engaged people are in an organization, the more seriously a funder takes you. The more momentum you have within the organisation, the more support you are going to have from industry and government because funders will say, ‘Well, there’s obviously value there.’” Farming Smarter’s Board of Directors shapes the organization’s direction in a manner that represents members. This task is virtually impossible, given that the producers Farming Smarter represents are currently mostly unseen and unheard. “We have 1,700 people that come to our events; 900 people on our mailing list. We call those people our members, but I don’t think any of them know they are members of Farming Smarter. If you don’t have a formalized relationship, they won’t feel a vested interest in how it runs. And if you don’t have it clearly

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defined, how can a Board represent them?” asks Coles. Coles has had some very preliminary, casual conversations with some producers about options to increase producer buy-in and engagement, including the idea of paid membership. The vast majority of people polled have not balked at the idea, he says. “People are willing to pay for things of value, but we need to provide a framework for them to do it, and clear benefits to make them buy-in.” “One of the key things I’ve seen through my research is how destructive it is to allow silos to form,” says Rhyant. “If we as producers can come together collectively to support high quality organizations that are leaders in the community, we’ll have a chance of solving some of the bigger picture issues. A lot of farmers prioritize being strong, independent, individual. But in this day and age, that’s not how we can operate anymore. If you’re not staying up to date and you’re not looking at leading edge issues, you’re going to be left in the dust.” Farming Smarter makes it easy to stay at the forefront. That should be worth something. h

Farming Smarter discovers the challenges of a new crop from planting to harvest so that farmers can decide whether or not to try it on-farm. Photo: Farming Smarter

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Stewardship Funding

Water Programs Available to Farms A Summary of Programs to Access by Donna Trottier P. Ag

Off-stream watering systems fall under government water programs along with a host of other water use, protection and conservation programs. Photo: Farming Smarter

ater management is a critical component of every agricultural operation, whether managing water for crop and animal production or protecting water sources from contamination. There are several programs available to assist agricultural operations in Alberta with water management. Growing Forward 2 (GF2) is a federal-provincial-territorial partnership offering support to drive profitability in Canadian agriculture. Since water plays a big role in the operation and profitability of a farm, many GF2 programs relate directly to agricultural water matters. The Regional Water Supply Program is a GF2 program that funds up to $90,000 toward strategic studies to determine if new regional water supply infrastructure is achievable for multi-users such as rural municipalities, first nations, Métis settlements and water co-operatives. “The program looks into the technical feasibility of connecting folks on private systems into one multi-user system,” states Jamie Wuite, Executive Director, Irrigation and Farm Water Division. The purpose of the GF2 Irrigation Efficiency Program is to assist producers with eligible costs incurred when upgrading an existing irrigation system from high pressure to low pressure, for the purpose of improving the efficiency of energy and water use. Rod Bennett, Director of the Irrigation Management Branch, Agriculture and Forestry, explained that converting from high to low pressure systems can lead to 30 to 40 per cent potential savings on energy costs. The average water savings can be as high as 225 mm when converting from a gravity system to a low pressure system. Bennett explains the recent revisions to the Irrigation Efficiency Pro-

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

gram, “The maximum amount payable for an upgrade from a gravity or side-wheel system to a new low pressure center pivot (LPCP) system increased to $15,000 and eligible producers may now apply for one grant payment in each fiscal year of the five year program (2013-18).” Producers who are not eligible for the LPCP conversion may apply for reimbursement of 40 per cent of equipment upgrade costs to a maximum of $5,000. In the first three years of the five year GF2, producers received over $2 million through in the efficiency program. The GF2 On-Farm Water Management Program provides technical assistance to agricultural producers to complete a Long-Term Water Management Plan (LTWMP) and shares the cost of related enhancements of the on-farm water supply management. “The long-term water management plan looks at current farm water supply and future water needs to determine if there is enough water to meet the requirements. If there is not, we look at ways to expand the water supply,” states Kristen Lorenz, Director of the Farm Water Supply Branch, Agriculture and Forestry. With a long term water plan approved by a water specialist, the producer can apply for reimbursement of one third of expenses to a maximum of $5,000 for standard incentive projects such as construction of wells or dugouts. Alternatively, the producer can apply for assistance under the special incentive program for projects such as well decommissioning or well pit conversions, for reimbursement of up to 50 per cent of expenses. “We have increased the number of wells that qualify for reimbursement under the decommissioning program, in hopes of getting more wells decommissioned and improving protection of groundwater supplies,” states Lorenz. GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

The On-Farm Stewardship Program supports the implementation of beneficial management practices (BMPs) to reduce the risk of agricultural contaminants entering surface and ground water supplies. “The stewardship funding concentrates on areas where we will get the biggest bang for our buck, in other words, toward projects that maximize protection of the water resources,” states Dale Chrapko, Section Leader, Environmental Programming Section, Agriculture and Forestry. The program provides grants on a cost-share basis for projects such as riparian fencing, wetland restoration and livestock runoff control, to a maximum of $50,000 for each applicant over the program term (2013-18). The Agricultural Watershed Enhancement Program (AWE) supports group projects delivering extension programs that promote wetland restoration and riparian health BMPs in high risk watershed areas. With support from the group, landowners can then apply for funding under the AWE, to complete projects such as run-on and run-off controls or winter watering systems that contribute to goals of the group. “All Growing Forward 2 programs have a pre-planning phase and need approval before starting any construction,” Jamie Wuite points out. More information on each activity and the specific qualification requirements can be found at www.growingforward.alberta.ca/programs. Outside of the GF2 programs, there is the Water Pumping Program that has a 30-year history across Alberta. The pumping program was originally set up to help producers obtain water for livestock. The program has pumps

and a series of six inch pipes that are for rent at a cost of $500 to fill a dugout or to consolidate dugouts. The Agriculture and Forestry department can provide guidance on obtaining a diversion license if one is required. The Working Well Program is designed to ensure safe and secure groundwater supplies for water well users in Alberta. “Working Well is a collaborative effort that delivers community-based workshops, e-learning modules and other tools, to provide well owners with the information they need to properly care for their wells,” states Lorenz. Over 4,600 people have participated in a Working Well workshop since the program began in 2008. Visit workingwell.alberta.ca for resources on managing and maintaining water wells. Alberta’s Water for Life strategy is the foundation behind many of the water programs mentioned. Projects completed and actions taken as a result of the farm water programs will weigh in on the goals of the Water for Life strategy; safe, secure drinking water, healthy aquatic ecosystems, reliable, quality water supplies for a sustainable economy and water conservation. Wuite was proud to share the fact that the irrigation sector has been a big player in the improvements to water conservation and efficiency in the province, exceeding its target of 30 per cent improvement. “When targets are met in one sector, it allows us to shift our resources toward other sectors that need attention,” states Wuite. Agricultural producers are encouraged to take advantage of the funding and resources available through the water programs, in order to benefit their operations, but also to be a partner in the enhancement of Alberta’s water resource management. h

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Orville Yanke Award 2015 Career Dedicated to Soil Conservation Recognized by Lee Hart

ob Dunn says it was really just a matter of being in the “right place at the right time” that led him into a life-time career of helping western Canadian farmers find the skills and tools to implement soil conserving farming practices over the past 30 years. Dunn, who retired from Alberta Agriculture in 2014 and is now a private consultant based in Lethbridge, says he just happened on the scene back in the late ’80s, as researchers, farmers and technology were joining forces to explore the new conservation farming territory. “It really wasn’t that I did anything spectacular,” says Dunn. “It was just that the time was right for change and the opportunity was there for me get involved.” He went along for the ride. Dunn’s low key and modest approach, downplay the important contribution he has made to research and extension over a 30-year career as one of the front-line soldiers of what amounted to a conservation farming revolution. His contributions during 30 years as a southern Alberta soil conservation specialist were recently recognized by Farming Smarter as Dunn was presented with the Orville Yanke Award recognizing leadership in advancing soil conservation measures. The award is named after long-time Medicine Hat-area farmer Orville Yanke who himself was a pioneer for his more than 20 years of leadership in developing and promoting innovative soil conservation and reduced tillage practices. Dunn began his agricultural career with a three-year stint as an agrologist with Monsanto Canada, before taking a post in 1985 as district agriculturist with Alberta Agriculture based at Stettler in central Alberta. “Interest in conservation farming measures were just starting to take shape in the late 1980s,” says Dunn. Senator Herb Sparrow brought the issue of soil degradation to national attention with his Soil at Risk paper. Agriculture Canada researchers, such as Dr. Wayne Lindwall at the Lethbridge Research Centre, had already been involved with successful research looking at continuous cropping systems and the provincial government was developing programs to bring greater awareness to farmers about the potential of conservation farming.

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

Rob Dunn is a long-time partner of Farming Smarter that participated in many of our learning events over the years. Photo: Farming Smarter

“So in 1990, the government created at that time a temporary position for a soil conservation specialist in Lethbridge and I was interested,” says Dunn. And the rest, as they say, is history. That temporary position eventually lead to a full time position with Alberta Agriculture’s Conservation and Development Branch, where Dunn spent most of the next 25 years initially working in front-line research and extension efforts with producers introducing concepts of conservation farming, and later in policy and land-use planning roles. Dunn says the focus in the early days was to show producers alternatives to the long-standing conventional farming system commonly based on a simple crop/fallow, tillage-based rotation. Machinery manufacturers were working to develop new equipment to fit direct seeding systems and revolutionary herbicide technology with a chemical compound known as glyphosate was introduced providing an important tool for controlling weeds in the absence of tillage. At about the same time, pulse crops, such as

peas, emerged as viable and economic addition to help implement extended crop rotations. “So we had all these things happening and a growing interest among producers to see how and where these conservation farming practices would fit on their farms,” says Dunn. While there was a slightly slower rate of adoption in the dryer brown soil zone, the new farming measurers were more quickly embraced by farmers in the dark brown soil zone. While wide spread adoption of soil conservation farming has become commonplace today across not only Western Canada, but most of the world, Dunn says there is still another chapter to be written. “I believe what is left to do now is to get a better understanding of the long term implications of no-till and conservation farming practices,” says Dunn. “While the impact has definitely been positive, there may also be some negative aspects. So what are the impacts? Is there still a place for tillage at some point after 10, 20 or 30 years of no till? What is happening to the soil biology? So as farmers and researchers go forward, these are some of the questions that need to be looked at.” h

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Farming Smarter

On-farm Data Requires Scrutiny By Lewis Baarda

PhOTOs: Farming Smarter

nderstanding land is a big component of farming. What better way to understand your land than to interact with it. To feel it, to dig holes in it, to scrutinize its performance. There is something to be said for rolling up your sleeves and turning a handful of soil through your fingers. Recent innovations provide farmers with a new set of tools to understand land. Georeferenced yield maps, aerial imagery and soil sensors offer a cost effective alternative to rigorous grid soil sampling. These layers of information collect data at a high density (as many as 50,000 data points in 160 acres of land). This density allows these layers of data to account for variability in a field at a scale that traditional grid soil sampling cannot approach. With all this data, however, comes the challenge of gleaning knowledge that can help guide decisions at the farm level. Farming Smarter waded into the world of big data three years ago when it began a study on soil sensors and variable rate technology. The study focussed on soil sensors, specifically those measuring soil electrical conductivity (EC), the Veris and EM38. The team gathered a number of additional layers of data for the 10 fields analyzed including aerial imagery, yield maps and soil samples. Large datasets must be filtered. Just because data are available and accurate doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean they should be used to guide management in the field. Data must be taken

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

in the context of the information it can divulge. Yield data, for example, identifies the productivity of various regions of a field. This may imply something about the soil properties in these regions, but it does not directly tell us how much nitrogen or clay is present in the region. For this, an inference must be made using available data and knowledge. The primary objectives of the study were to ascertain what meaningful information can be gleaned from all the data collected and to determine if the information obtained is use-

ful to make effective management decisions. To achieve this, available data layers were vetted to identify those that best accounted for spatial variability among the fields studied. Additionally, mapped data layers were compared to measured data from soil samples to determine if relationships to soil properties were present. This information guided selection of data used to delineate zones. The study tested five different methods of zone delineation, each based on different input data layers. A number of different data

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Above left: A management zone image generated from raw EM38 EC data. Above right: The raw data map generated from EM38 EC data. Photos: Farming Smarter

layers were found to be successful at identifying zones that yielded significantly differently. Across the 10 fields studied, the delineation of zones using a combination of EC and yield data was the most effective in this regard. This indicates that mapped field data can effectively identify zones with different soil properties. However, identifying a unique optimal nitrogen rate for each of these zones proved to be more challenging. With very few excep-

tions, the study found that the yield response to nitrogen did not tend to differ significantly from one zone to another. These results indicate that while the data gathered for the study could be used to identify zones of productivity, it was a challenge to identify unique optimal rates for each zone. So while the study was able to use available data to better understand soil and yield variability, it had very limited success in outlining a clear management response to this information.

One big challenge with mapped data is that every field is different. Data layers may have different implications from one field to another. And while there may not be a universal strategy for identifying and managing zones, every strategy can be tested using deliberate on farm research. The best way to use data to understand land is to roll up you sleeves and reach into the data stream. Feel it, test it and scrutinize its performance. h

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Farming Smarter / Spring 2016

Farming Smarter

Evolution of Research Tracking on Home Ground by Mike Gretzinger

July 3, 6:30 a.m. There is a plot hop this morning followed by two industry tours this afternoon. Craig is zooming back from Tim’s with the coffee and donuts. Art and George are lugging benches and coolers around and hooking up the trailer to the canopy. Richard is measuring disinfectant for the boot wash. Matt, Carrie and Andy are in the shop gathering papers, shovels, stickers, sample bags and duct tape to get notes, pictures, leaf samples and stem biomass on the trials in Med Hat. Doug, Tony, Jacob and Blaine are out in the plots mowing, weeding and trimming them to grid-like perfection. And we plan to repeat this same thing over the next three days. This photo shows about 25% of Farming Smarter’s plots in 2015. photos: farming smarter

Ten years ago this scenario wasn’t possible because it would have been too much for Richard and Matt to handle on their own. But as economies, priorities and personalities change, Farming Smarter has evolved into the massive and capable research association it is today. Every time I look back on where we are today and what we evolved from, I’m proud to be a part of it. July 3, 9 a.m. Participants are all here, but there’s been some confusion of dates with the online registrations. Craig wants to head out and join the tour to learn about pea leaf weevil, but all the trucks are in use. Matt, Carrie and Andy are en route. When our successes happen, they don’t come as a steady stream of constant improvement like most of us imagine. In his book Infi-

nite Jest, Author David Foster Wallace writes that instead “you proceed toward mastery through a series of plateaus, so there’s like radical improvement up to a certain plateau and then what looks like a stall.” But we don’t stall because we don’t know where to go — we stall because we’re preparing for the next big leap. For Farming Smarter it looks like we evolved steadily over the last few years, but, in reality, our evolution has been the same pattern of leaps and plateaus. Some of our major leaps include amalgamating SARA and SACA; hiring a position to tackle a big new project like the field scale Variable Rate Fertility and purchasing a new combine, corn header and row crop planter. Through our relationship with Lethbridge College, we moved into the shop at the college; which gave us enormous capacity to work on equipment and process our own harvest samples for kernel weight, moisture, protein etc. From the various skills of our staff,

we wired our Seacans with lights, built a grain dryer and finally painted our hideous Seacans. We leased the piece of land across the road; which significantly increased our small plot research and demonstration capacity. Each leap helped move us forward in some way. July 3, 11 a.m. Andy forgot he has a dentist appointment and needs to be back before 6 p.m. Matt and Carrie have too much overtime to work late anyway. Art and George are rewiring the trailer for the third time because the brake lights keep cutting out. Craig disappeared and isn’t picking up his phone. Doug and Tony could use his help moving the irrigation before the afternoon tour. Blaine and Tony just noticed that they need to collect flowering data today or else they might not get to it this week and it will be too late.

Farming Smarter typically has several summer students working in the field. It is vital that everyone stays on task and records the work.

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

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In physics, they say that for every action is an equal and opposite reaction. It’s the Tao of Farming Smarter. Each leap forward also leads to new challenges. One consequence of more projects is that operations reached the point where memory isn’t always reliable. Did we spray that plot? Did we collect that piece of data? Can we do that tomorrow? So we started by intensively tracking our data collection for our projects on a chart we taped to a poster board. It worked effectively for about a year. Then, one poster board became two poster boards. Two poster boards became an excel spreadsheet. From Excel, we moved to an internet cloud, but the technology proved more hassle than it was worth. Now the spreadsheets have become a full sized project matrix extending across 4'x8' sheet of plywood known as The Board. It’s mounted on an A frame and casters so we can push it around the shop and it has a sister board for keeping all the datasheets, notes, calendar and reminders. All throughout the year, the Board gets amended to include more projects and more data to keep us moving forward. July 3, 5 p.m. Andy, Matt and Carrie are arriving back from the Hat. Art and George help them unload and put away the equipment. Craig spent the afternoon with the chem reps showing them through the demo plots and talking about our management practices. Everyone else headed home because they’re going to stay up late to spray at midnight or get up early to spray at 5 a.m. Our evolution as a small group showcasing a few demos and research trials grew significantly over the past years. I suspect most farm operations can relate. My first year, we had around 25 projects making up about 1,000 plots. Last year, we seeded approximately 70 research trials consisting of 1,000 treatments with over 3,000 individual plots. The Board started out with just tracking the essentials such as the protocol, seeding information, agronomic data, herbicide applications and harvest date/harvest data. But with so many projects it’s also easy to overlook the simple things behind the scenes. Did that jug of chemical show up? Are the stakes ready? Is the GPS programmed? Do we have extra fertilizer with us? So as we got the hang of using it we found that in order to keep track of everything we truly have to keep track of everything. Now the Board acts as both a record table and a single gigantic checklist. It overwhelms everyone at first sight, but after a few days everyone agrees it’s here to stay… that is until the next big leap! h

This is what The Board looks like at the field site.

Plot Hop – June 9, 2016

Farming Smarter Lethbridge Field Site Cost: $40 (includes Lunch) 9:00am – 1:00pm Topics will reflect current in-field issues *CCA, CCSC, Pest applicator credits will be offered

SUMMER EVENTS 2016

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Plot Hop – June 23, 2016

Farming Smarter Lethbridge Field Site Cost: $40 (includes Lunch) 9:00am – 1:00pm Topics will reflect current in-field issues *CCA, CCSC, Pest applicator credits will be offered

Field School – July 5-7, 2016

Farming Smarter Lethbridge Field Site Cost: $175 (one day event, pick the day that works best) 8:00am – 3:30pm *CCA, CCSC, Pest applicator credits will be oﬀered

Medicine Hat Tour – July 14, 2016

Farming Smarter Medicine Hat Field Site Cost: $40 (includes Lunch) 9:00am – 1:00pm Topics will reflect current in-field issues *CCA, CCSC, Pest applicator credits will be offered

Alberta Wheat Day – July 21, 2016

Farming Smarter Lethbridge Field Site Cost: $40 (includes Lunch) 9:00am – 4:00pm Topics will reflect current in-field issues *CCA, CCSC, Pest applicator credits will be offered

Disease Plot Hop – July 28, 2016

Farming Smarter Lethbridge Field Site Cost: $40 (includes Lunch) 9:00am – 1:00pm Topics will reflect current in-field issues *CCA, CCSC, Pest applicator credits will be offered

Stay up to date on Farming Smarter event dates, time, places and topics, sign up for our newsletter! Find the sign up form at the bottom of our home page. www.farmingsmarter.com

Farming Smarter / spring 2016

Farming Smarter AGM

Microbial Management — A New Tool in Crop Input Efficiency by Lee Hart

hile earth worms are important indicators of soil health, it is understanding and using the millions and millions of microscopic bugs in the soil that will take western Canadian farmers to the next level of crop production efficiency, says an Agriculture Canada researcher. The bug reference is an over simplification of the complex biological communities that live in the soil, but understanding and making better use of the invaluable role of soil microbes will help farmers fine tune management over the coming years, says Dr. Lori Phillips, a soil microbiology researcher at the Harrow Research and Develop Centre in western Ontario. “It is just in the last few years that we have had the affordable tools to begin to indentify and better understand the role of soil microbes — bacteria and fungi,” says Phillips, who just returned to Canada after working for five years on similar research in Australia. “Up to 50 per cent of applied fertilizer nitrogen, for example, may be unavailable for crop uptake,” says Phillips. “Some nitrogen is lost from the soil by leaching and gassing off, while some is locked up in the soil in forms unavailable for plant use. Both processes are driven by soil biological communities. Our research looks at how these communities regulate nitrogen cycling in the cropping system.” The whole concept of managing microbes in the soil is under study, not only by a network of researchers in Canada, but around the world, says Phillips. The objective is to eventually develop on-farm management prescriptions that not only enhance populations of beneficial microbes, but also learn to how to make the best use of these microbes. “Hopefully we can develop prescriptions for such things as the timing and placement of fertilizer and even the use of different cropping rotations that will help farmers realize greater efficiency from these inputs,” says Phillips. “In Australia, there are some extreme examples where nitrogen use efficiency is extremely low ranging from 50 to 90 per cent. In Canada it may be more like 50 per cent. If we can better manage the timing and placement of that fertilizer so soil microbes can convert it to plant available nutrients, it can represent a huge benefit to producers.” Although millions-strong in number, soil

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

How many microbes in a gram of soil? Millons of individual organisms 0,000 - 50,000 species (mainly 1 invisible) nly around 1% are identified O compared to 80% of plants million genes for N, C, P 1 c.ycle, antibiotic production & pesticide degradation

Microbial group

Size estimates

Estimated abundace (g-1 dry soil)

Species identified

Species estimates

Archaea

0.5-3 μm

uncultured

500

>10,000

Bacteria

1-5 μm

10 -10 cfu*

11,000

>4,000,000

Microbial group

>4 μm

10 -10 cfu*

25,000

>1,500,000

6 4

9 9

Nature Reviews Microbiology 9,628 (September 2011)

microbes are an unseen force performing several different functions in the soil — most are critical to the biological process of producing crops. These functions include: cycling carbon by photosynthesis and decomposition; regulating plant nutrient supply and loss (e.g. N, P, K, Fe); capture and release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide; improvement of soil structure (aggregate stability); degrading pesticides; helping to regulate water quality (e.g. filters nutrients); and suppressing soil borne diseases. So understanding which microbes do what and how they do it is important knowledge. So looking at those that specifically process nutrients, for example, it is important to know how they work. By first identifying what these microbes are — giving them names as Phillips says, then understanding what they do in the soil, researchers can help direct farm management practices that make greater use of the beneficial microbes and either avoid or, at least, not encourage the non-beneficial microbes that actually contribute to fertilizer losses. “Particularly when we talk about fertilizer placement we can influence microbial populations,” she says. “With the proper placement we can enhance the populations we do want

and not feed those we don’t want. One analogy is rather than throwing out hay that can be eaten by deer, we can place it so it is only available to cattle, where we want it.” Microbe management is a new level of finetuning crop production management, says Phillips. It won’t likely lead to doubling crop yield, “but even if it leads to a five or 10 per cent increase in nitrogen use efficiency, that is significant benefit to farmers,” says Phillips. Studying soil microbes is an exacting process. Phillips uses molecular tools in the complex task of identifying and “naming” the thousands of microbial communities found in just a tablespoon of soil. Advancements in technology have made the process of DNA sequencing an affordable tool in identifying these microbial communities, says Phillips. Using those tools she, and other researchers are able to identify the different microbial communities and ultimately their role in processing nutrients in the soil. “Various microbial communities are stratified in the soil,” says Phillips. “Different communities live at different levels in the soil. So by knowing who they are, what they do, and where they are, we can advise farmers about how to make the best use of their ability to process nutrients.”

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Phillips says making more effective use of soil microbes won’t involve dramatic changes in farming practices, but is more about tweaking processes that are used today. “It involves changing management practices slightly,” she says. “It may involve depth of fertilizer placement, the strategic use of urease inhibitors or the timing of fertilizer... if we tweak them slightly we can gain N-use efficiency.” Again referring to the Australia experience, Philip says some of the most innovative farmers were already conducting test strips on their fields to evaluate the effect of management changes.

“They can use conventional seeding equipment and perhaps just make changes in fertilizer placement to observe changes,” says Phillips. “By knowing what works or doesn’t work, it can give them confidence to try different treatments. “With timing, for example, we saw with canola, that a split application of fertilizer might be more effective in increasing fertilizer efficiency because microbes are at one location at the time of seeding, but a different location later in the season.” Phillips says the prescription phase of

this research is still some years away. “It has only been in the past five to 10 years that we have had access to affordable research technology,” says Phillips. “So really we are just in the early stages of identifying these microbial communities and understanding their specific roles in processing nutrients. “But, the prescriptions will come in the not too distant future that will help farmers target crop production management to get optimum performance out of soil microbes and increase efficiency of their crop inputs.” h

CAHRC Promotes Ag Sector Employment Submitted

Opportunities for attracting non-traditional workers to agriculture and agri-food

he Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) works to employ Canadians in the agriculture sector. “There are limitless opportunities in agriculture and agri-food today,” explains Portia MacDonaldDewhirst, executive director of CAHRC. “We work to grow the agricultural workforce including initiatives to employ new Canadians and attract groups currently under-represented in the agricultural workforce.” CAHRC’s research found a lack of familiarity with the industry and its needed skill set among employment service agencies as a leading barrier to placing job-seekers in agricultural sector jobs. Other barriers include rural transportation and language barriers. In support of breaking these barriers, a CAHRC-led pilot project pairs Calgary Catholic Immigrant Society clientele with employers in the area from now through autumn 2016 to establish improved connections between new Canadians and available agriculture jobs. CAHRC also leads the implementation of the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Workforce Action Plan (WAP) designed to improve access to qualified workers. Over 67 implementation partners across all sectors and commodities, with 14 contributing partners support ongoing research efforts. Canada’s National Agriculture and AgriFood Labour Task Force guides WAP to identify issues and offer solutions.

Photo: Thinkstock

Keystone Agriculture Producers (KAP), the largest farm policy group in Manitoba, works with CAHRC on foundational research that will provide better agriculture worker training. “KAP supports the WAP and its recommendation for a streamlined agriculture and agri-food workforce program,” said KAP president Dan Mazier. “The plan offers short-term solutions to our labour shortage, including

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

addressing concerns about the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and medium and long-term solutions.” The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) is a national, non-profit organization focused on addressing human resource issues facing agricultural businesses across Canada. For more information visit www.cahrc-ccrha.ca. h Farming Smarter / Spring 2016

Research News

One Spray Works For Two Problems by Alexis Kienlen

armers won’t sacrifice wheat yield if they delay spraying leaf spot for fusarium head blight. This was the main finding in a recently completed Saskatchewan and Alberta based study that looked at the ideal timing of spraying for leaf spot diseases. “In general, we haven’t seen any real detriment to spraying on the late side, in terms of yield response,” said Randy Kutcher, associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan. Kutcher was the co-investigator on the project and Mike Harding, research scientist at the Crop Diversification Centre in Brooks, served as the Alberta co-investigator on the project. For the three-year study, which looked at leaf spot diseases in wheat, researchers studied six sites throughout Saskatchewan and Alberta. The project wrapped up this year and a grad student is compiling the results. The results will be presented in a couple of months. The study was designed to answer a simple question for growers. “Growers were not convinced that they need to spray twice, so generally they spray at flag leaf timing,” said Kutcher. “That’s the recommended timing that agronomists would give growers if they are really worried about leaf spot.” Growers that really worry about fusarium head blight tend to spray later, because the ideal timing to spray for fusarium is about a week to 10 days after leaf spot spray timing, depending on the year. In order to spray for fusarium head blight, the spike needs to be out and with the first few anthers emerging from the flowers. “Most people in Saskatchewan and parts of Alberta are more worried about fusarium head blight than anything else,” said Kutcher. There’s no need to spray twice. “Our data shows that a single application at flowering or head emergence does very well. You shouldn’t lose any yield by delaying that spraying,” said Kutcher. If growers do spray their leaf spot control at the ideal timing for fusarium head blight, they sacrifice a bit of leaf spot control, but not enough to have a major impact. The six sites in the study were Lethbridge, Lacombe and Brooks in Alberta and Melfort, Indian Head and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Farming Smarter contributed the Lethbridge research.

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

PhotoS: Farming Smarter

“At some of the sites we had little leaf spot, so we didn’t see a benefit to spraying at either timing. These diseases are a problem in Parkland County around Lacombe, but not as common in Brooks or Lethbridge,” said Kutcher. The researchers ended up with 15 site years of data instead of 18. They lost a few sites due to hail and one site wasn’t ready the first year. However, all the sites were pretty consistent in the site years that had a reasonable amount of leaf disease. The 2015 drought also had an impact on site data. “You don’t see as much disease when in a drought like that. So there wasn’t much in terms of leaf spot control because there wasn’t as much during the drought. The drought was the biggest impact,” said Kutcher. The most prevalent leaf spot disease across the prairies is tan spot, followed by septoria and spot blotch. All leaf spots reduce the photosynthetic area of the plant, and can damage the flag leaf. “The flag leaf is important. That’s where half of your yield comes from. If the flag leaf is gone, you lose a lot of your photosynthates that should go up to the spike,” said Kutcher. Once the flag leaf is lost, it results in fewer seeds or fewer filled seeds on the wheat plant. Seeds may form, but they may be shrivelled or less plump. As part of the study, the researchers looked at biological control by testing Serenade fungicide to see how effective it was and whether tank mixing it with a synthetic fungicide would be a benefit. “We were hoping by tank mixing the biological that it would improve efficacy and control of disease, but I don’t think from what I’ve seen so far that we could give it much of

a passing grade at this point. We haven’t completed the analysis so it’s a little preliminary to say that yet, but it just doesn’t hold up compared to the synthetics for leaf spot control,” said Kutcher. h

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

News

Unexpected Funds Enhance Agriculture Education By C. Lacombe

avid Hill has his work cut out for him now! He is jointly appointed across the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College as Director of Development for the Southern Alberta Agriculture Program. This initiative brings together and integrates academic training, research and applied research in the areas of agriculture and agribusiness. “I have a foot in both worlds,” Hill says. What makes this appointment so formidable now is the environment that created it. Hill outlined some of the factors at play: agriculture is an obvious focus for excellence for the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College; the global context of agricultural challenges and opportunities; southern Alberta’s agricultural strength in primary production and industry activity; Lethbridge’s collection of post-secondary, government and non-profit research strength and the region’s involved, inventive community. Next, money began flowing in a somewhat unexpected way. Cor Van Raay donated $5 million for the university and college to share and they both managed to find matching funds turning that donation into $10 million. The Mueller family donated $3.1 million to the college and matching funds turned that into $5 million. Next, the Potato Growers of Alberta donated $1 million over five years and again matching funds turned it into $2 million. The grand total of funds directed toward agricultural education, research and excellence hit $17 million by the end of 2015. “In the course of 12 to 18 months, interest from the ag industry into the vital role of post-secondary institutions created a whole new impetus around agriculture that brought significant new resources to what we can do,” he says. “We’ve got $17 million invested in activities, research, applied research and programing that is a real driving force in how we revitalize and improve our existing programming and how we attach that to the role of southern Alberta in meeting the global demands for safe food and nutrition,” Hill says. The Southern Alberta Agriculture Program has a Vision, “Alberta will become a jurisdiction that is globally renowned for its ability to provide sustainable, high quality, safe food and nutrition.” Hill says that two things support this vision — one is southern Alberta producers that operate sustainably; the other is an environment of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Photo: Farming Smarter

The ultimate goal is to increase economic activity in the province related to agriculture through value added and integration into global supply chains. “Alberta is actually at a really good time where it could focus on agriculture as an engine of growth. It IS a global business,” Hill asserts. Canada is one of five countries in the world with the resources to grow food for export. But that means Canadians need to ensure our natural resources produce high quality food for export. “We can intentionally choose to be world leaders,” Hill contends. He explains that while we talk about feeding the world’s billions, we don’t actually have billions of people in Alberta. What we have is high-quality resources in land and water along with political freedom that we can translate into value added food exports for those places in the world where they have more people than resources. This means that how we train young people becomes important to the directions we may take in the future. “While, as post-secondary institutions, we don’t get to change what happens, we do get to play a significant role in how we train people to enter positions and meet opportunities,” Hill says. The first outcome the public noticed is the Cor Van Raay Program in Agri-business at Lethbridge College. Hill emphasises that agribusiness is not farm management. “Agri-business is about the global business of agriculture — supply chain logistics, competitive market intelligence, enterprise-wide risk management and agricultural science communication.” The second might be that University of

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

Lethbridge hired Dr. Dmytro Yevtushenko as the Potato Research Chair. “He has a skill set that did not exist in southern Alberta, so he adds to the research capacity,” Hill says. There is an Irrigation Research Chair coming to Lethbridge College soon as well. Also in November 2015, Lethbridge College and University of Lethbridge signed a Memorandum of Understanding to actively collaborate on agricultural programming, research and applied research so that students can complete programs across these institutions. There is also a new Virtual Center for Agricultural Research and Agri-business Innovation that started at University of Lethbridge, but is growing. The idea is to create a faculty supported environment for new research to discover possible roles for southern Alberta on the global stage. When pressed to speculate what the public can watch for over the next couple of years, Hill gave this list. He expects progress in finding ways to increase communication among all the scientists working in various organizations and to develop a robust research outreach and communication effort around irrigation and potato science to make southern Alberta stand out. There should be more graduate students working with industry in the region in agriculture and agri-business research; which will help build the bridge between graduates and industry’s knowledge demands. As these initiatives develop, he expects it to change program recruitments and, hopefully, entice the younger generation to consider the career diversity open to them in the agriculture industry. “There are whole new opportunities in business risk management, agriculture finance, supply chain logistics, international agreements and law.” He expects that a framework will be in place to constantly scan for opportunities and gaps to fill. He wants this to evolve into an entity that has a reputation of commitment to agriculture; well connected to community and industry that takes a multi-generational view of the importance of the post-secondary role. Now we all know that crystal balls aren’t real, but we have a man on it, he is part of a strong team and they have plans. “We’re in this for the long game. These are tenured commitments.” h Farming Smarter / spring 2016

Research News

Grain Corn Project Surprises Researchers by Alexis Kienlen

Front plots are 30-inch spacing and 20-inch spacing in the back plots. Early season photo.

outhern Alberta farmers could benefit from the grain corn agronomy project Farming Smarter has in progress. A three-year grain corn project provided interesting results from the first year of trials. “We believe whole-heartedly that there are two pieces to major advancements in crops. I would like to think it’s half on the breeding end and half on the agronomy end,” said Ken Coles, general manager of Farming Smarter. The goal is to determine the best practices for southern Alberta to adapt grain corn to a dryland system. Corn is a developing market in the region. Some farmers in the area are already growing grain corn and companies such as Monsanto and Pioneer Hi-Bred are talking about expanding grain corn to Western Canada. Pioneer recently set up a low heat unit breeding facility outside Lethbridge and corn breeders are focussed on adapting cultivars to Western Canada. For the grain corn project, Farming Smarter partnered with Brian Beres from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Lethbridge, and Manjula Bandara, special crops scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Brooks. The team will collaborate with Pioneer and Monsanto on the trials. Farming Smarter received some last minute funding in the spring, and ran a few trials in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat “To me, the Lethbridge site was really interesting,” said Coles.

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

Photos: Farming Smarter

“Everybody has the idea that corn needs a lot of water. We were at 60 per cent of normal for water last year, but the crop looked incredible,” he said. “I was very impressed with how corn did in a dryland situation. There is a perception that corn requires a lot of moisture. Given that the year we had was both very dry and quite hot, the dryland corn absolutely astonished me with how well it did.” Last year, the team was still able to get 80 bushel corn on dryland, compared to 20 to 30 bushel wheat that same year. Coles estimates that during a normal year, it might be possible to achieve 100 bushel corn on dryland. Corn may be more drought tolerant than many people think; which would make it a good crop for southern Alberta. Up until now, the corn market in southern Alberta has been more of a silage market. “There’s been the odd farmer playing around with grain corn, but it has never taken off in a significant way. But there are people growing it for grain and it is expanding on a yearly basis. My experience is that it will continue to expand. I was really impressed with it,” said Coles. There’s also a built in market, since many feedlots in the area could use corn. Grain corn can increase diversity in the crop rotation, while taking advantage of the hot summer days in southern Alberta. “We tend to grow a lot of cool season crops that get punished by our hot summers. Heat can be one of the limiting factors for our cool season crops, whereas it is an advantage for a crop like corn,” said Coles. GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

In this late season photo, you can see the well-developed grain corn under dryland conditions in Lethbridge during the 2015 season.

Corn has a great yield potential, and with the great yield, there is a strong chance that farmers can benefit economically. However, the input costs for corn are fairly high. Farming Smarter will test several agronomic practices to see what will work best in southern Alberta. They tested row spacing comparing 20-inch to 30-inch rows and found that the 20-inch row spacing might be a better fit. “That’s outside of what anyone is doing here,” said Coles. “That’s kind of cool.” The group is also adapting variety trials from the Alberta corn committee attempting trials that are normally done with irrigation to find out how cultivars perform on dryland. There’s also a crop sequencing trial where the researchers will determine how corn grows after canola, wheat and soybeans. The team is also exploring the best way to fertilize corn. “Corn is quite sensitive to seed placed fertilizers, so we’ll have to be cautious with that and look at side banding. Once we get the basic fertilities figured out, we’ll have to figure out combinations of seed placed, liquid and banded granular and how far away from the seed row you want to band it. There will be a fair bit to learn there and, because corn uses the growing season better, we’ll have to see if there are opportunities for split applications,” said Coles. The team harvested the corn when the corn was dry in October. “Grain corn is a little bit different. You tend to harvest it wetter than you store it. We experienced that,” said Coles. The team initially harvested the corn when it was too wet and the kernels started mushing together. When they waited until it was too dry, the corn started cracking. “What this told me is that we can easily get corn to maturity in a dryland situation and maybe even easier than irrigated because the lack of moisture may help it reach maturity and dry down properly,” said Coles. Farmers will need to start adapting equipment and getting the right equipment to grow zero-till corn. There might also be a need to play with residue managers, but there is equipment available that can handle zero-till corn. “There’s more cost in growing corn and it’s more intensive, but if we threw economics at it, I would guarantee you that corn makes a lot of sense. I would like to gain some more experience with this. In our area, there hasn’t been a lot of people doing dryland corn because of the thought that it had to be under irrigation,” said Coles. But that situation is changing, because the genetics have been released that can make grain corn successful. “It’s a matter of learning how to grow it properly and making sure we have the storage facilities in place. We have this tremendous market down here with intensive livestock. We have proven data that shows that our growing season is slowly getting longer, so it does make sense to start adapting some of these crops to our area,” said Coles. h GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

“There’s more cost in growing corn and it’s more intensive, but if we threw economics at it, I would guarantee you that corn makes a lot of sense. I would like to gain some more experience with this. In our area, there hasn’t been a lot of people doing dryland corn because of the thought that it had to be under irrigation.” — Ken Coles

Farming Smarter / Spring 2016

Partner Profile

Canadian Research For Canadian Agriculture by Kristi Cox

Agricultural research takes specialized equipment and training. Here a summer student combines plots at Farming Smarter’s research plots. Photo: Farming Smarter

esearch is a critical component of successful agriculture. Take away research and our practices can become stagnant or, with changing conditions, even decline. Farming Smarter knows that we need to continue quality research and get the results to people who use them. The Agricultural Institute of Canada (AIC) is a non-profit organization based in Ottawa that advocates for these outcomes and Farming Smarter supports achieving those goals. The Agricultural Institute of Canada will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2020. In 1920, agriculture was a huge part of this country’s economic development, but faced challenges. “The weather was really not cooperating and it was very different than it was

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

in a lot of the countries that were sending us waves of immigration. There was a big need to develop a capacity for agricultural research,” explained Serge Buy, CEO of the AIC. “People wanted to make sure that there was an advocate for agricultural research and that there was a way to disseminate information on agricultural research. They also decided that there needed to be a policy on agriculture research.” Thus, the organization formed. Ninety-six years later, under a different name, the AIC is still here with the same focus. The AIC mandate is very clear: • To advocate on behalf of agricultural research. • To disseminate information related to agricultural research.

• To facilitate networking of researchers, practitioners and stakeholders. • To encourage people to get involved in agricultural research. • To create international linkages for agricultural research. In 2015, the AIC hosted a conference focused on establishing a national policy on agricultural research. The results of this were published last September. This is a living document and open to change as needed. The intention is to ensure that there is a sustainable capacity of agricultural research going forward, with a balance between applied and pure research. The AIC and Farming Smarter are well aware that in times of budgetary constraints it

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

can be difficult to secure the needed funding for research. They are also aware that it takes time to see results from agricultural research and delaying studies can be detrimental. Serge Buy explains, “It takes time for research to actually come to fruition and it takes time for research to be implemented by our stakeholders on the farm and by agrologists. We want to make sure that there is a capacity for that and that we don’t forget that there is a need for agriculture research and that the dollars keep coming.” The September 2015 national research policy addresses five key areas: • Setting research priority areas. • Promoting interdisciplinary and crosssectoral research. • Bringing greater balance to research funding. • Supporting innovation and the adoption of new technologies. • Building strong networks for research dissemination. This publication received a fair bit of media coverage and got the attention of the 2015 federal election candidates. “I’m sure we’re

not the only impetus behind this, but all the major political parties talked about agricultural research either in their platform or in a specific announcement they made about agricultural research,” Buy said. Agricultural research hadn’t received any attention in the previous four federal elections. “In 2015, we suddenly had political parties talking about agriculture research promising hundreds of millions of dollars and moving ahead,” Buy explained. He wasn’t concerned so much with the details of who was promising what, but that it was part of the campaign. “What was very relevant for us is that we were being mentioned and I think that was an achievement.”

Building on this process, the AIC 2016 conference will focus on the dissemination of agricultural research. The hope is to develop a framework for universities and research facilities to use. “It’s nice to have scientists working on various research objectives, but then when they’ve done this, how does it get out? How does it get out to the field; how does it get out to the practitioners?” Buy explained. “Who are the best communicators; what are the pitfalls; what are the concerns about the communication of agricultural research?” While Farming Smarter is a non-profit organization and accustomed to seeking funding for its programs, Ken Coles, Manager of Farming Smarter felt that the AIC work is important enough for him to sponsor the upcoming conference and take out a membership. “I’ve always been desperately looking for help, support and ways to collaborate with people on advocacy. It’s a big part of my job. Trying to advocate not only for agriculture, but for our organization, so that we can survive and do the good work that we’re hoping to do,” Coles said. h

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Global Initiative

International Year of Pulses Kicks Off at Toronto Gala Chef Michael Smith (second from left) took photos with every attendee at Pulse Feast that kicked off Canada’s IYP celebration in Toronto. Photo: pulse canada

By Pulse Canada

PHOTO: FARMING SMARTER

ulse growers get 2016 to bask in the limelight and promote pulses to international consumers. The wait is finally over, Pulse Feast, Canada’s kick off to the International Year of Pulses (IYP) took place in Toronto January 6. Hosted by Canadian IYP Ambassador Chef Michael Smith, the event drew over 180 Canadian journalists, bloggers, dietitians and food industry to downtown Toronto to connect with Canadian farmers and pulse industry members. It was one of over 140 similar events held in 36 countries around the world on January 6. At the Toronto event, Allison Ammeter spoke about the importance of addressing global health, nutrition and environmental challenges — and the role that consumer choices play in food production. Ammeter is a pulse farmer in Alberta, and is also the chair of the planning IYP Canada Committee. Echoing her enthusiasm, Chef Michael Smith added that pulses are an affordable, sustainable and versatile source of protein, fiber and many other nutrients for billions of people around the world.

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

Attendees were able to see the versatility of pulses for themselves, tasting hors d’oeuvres and dishing up at bean, pea, lentil and chickpea food stations. Guests were also encouraged to take the Pulse Pledge, a 10-week commitment to eat a half cup of pulses per week. By the end of the day on January 6, more than 3,400 people had taken the Pledge. One week later the number had more than doubled to 7,000. By the beginning of February, 10,000 people had taken the Pulse Pledge. You can take it too by visiting http://pulsepledge.com. Throughout the event, social media buzzed about pulses, with #LovePulses ranking fourth on Twitter’s trending topics in Toronto and eighth in Canada. Pulse Feast also received national media attention from outlets such as CBC and the Globe and Mail, as well as coverage in local publications such as in various Sun Media publications. Prior to the event, Chef Michael Smith also appeared on Breakfast Television Toronto and did interviews with several local CBC Radio shows. Making its debut at Pulse Feast was Pulses: The Ideal Partner, an interactive

exhibit developed by the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum that will travel around the country during 2016 teaching Canadians why pulses are the ideal partner for our health, environment and economy. Also launched on January 6 was an educational program developed by Agriculture in the Classroom Canada that aims to teach Canadian elementary, middle and high school students about pulses. On top of this program’s inclusion in various subjects’ lesson plans, pulses will also be highlighted in schools across the country during Canadian Ag Literacy Week in March. Following a successful start to 2016, Pulse Canada’s goal is to sustain this momentum throughout 2016 as events and activities unfold. This will include developing programs on pulses for Canadian food banks and community kitchens, a two-part workshop on pulse ingredient processing, a food product development competition for post-secondary students and a series of sessions on pulse health and nutrition for Canadian health care professionals. To learn more about these activities, visit www.iypcanada.ca. h

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

Stewardship

Alberta is Leading on Climate Change and Creating Jobs With Solar Power

new solar program for agricultural producers — On-Farm Solar Management — will provide $500,000 in provincial and federal funding towards solar energy systems on Alberta farms. The program will help producers generate electricity and reduce carbon emissions. The On-Farm Solar Management program application window opens February 8. As part of its Climate Leadership Plan, the Alberta government is investing more than $5 million to help farmers and municipalities harness the power of the sun and support good local jobs. This investment will help build Alberta’s green energy sector, including creating jobs in the project design and construction sectors, while supporting jobs and growth in the renewable energy supply chain. Five million dollars is earmarked for the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre for a solar energy incentive program — the Alberta Municipal Solar Program. This program will provide rebates of up to $0.75 per watt, to a maximum of $300,000 per project, to municipalities for installing solar on municipal buildings, such as offices, fire halls, community centres and more. The Alberta Municipal Solar Program opens for applications on March 1. “Agricultural producers embrace innovation

photo: istock

and are good stewards of the land. The solar installation program will help increase farming efficiencies, reduce power bills and greenhouse gas emissions and add to Alberta’s power grid.” — Oneil Carlier, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry “Since 2010, our farm has been producing electricity as well as food. We installed 24

solar panels on our barn roof. Both we and our installer were pleasantly surprised at how hasslefree it was to get our regular meter replaced with a two-way meter so that we get credit when we produce more power than we are using. Solar energy mitigates climate change and diversifies Alberta’s economy.” — John Bocock, Sturgeon County dairy farmer. h

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Farming Smarter / Spring 2016

Book Review

BLINK — The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell, Published by Little, Brown & Company

Review by C. Lacombe

he human mind is the quickest instrument at our disposal and in those moments when mind and body react instantly to something, it is often the perfectly right thing to do. You know what I’m talking about if you’re over about three-years-old, probably. You can think of a time when you did exactly the right thing without conscious thought. We marvel at ourselves when this happens and everyone agrees it was a synchronous moment. But wait, what if you Blink? Malcolm Gladwell named this book well as it explores those moments when our mind gets ahead of us and we often don’t know what just happened or why we think what we’re thinking. It turns out that if you know a subject deeply you can trust your gut feelings almost completely. If you find yourself with a feeling that your crop just doesn’t look right, you’re probably correct that it’s showing early signs of something BEFORE it’s obviously showing something. Gladwell says the label for this is Adaptive Unconscious and it is a highly reliable and finely tuned instrument. But that doesn’t mean that your snap judgement about something else is correct. It only works on things you know with every fibre of your being. Because, if you just had a long conversation with someone about crop risks, insects or disease creeping into your region, then your mind may be primed to look for problems that aren’t there and you’re gut feeling will be wrong. The same can happen if you visited a friend this morning and saw a huge infestation of aphids. You may find yourself spraying your crop convinced you have the same infestation even though it’s not there. Your eyes will actually see aphids where they are not. Another challenge with trusting your adaptive unconscious is that it contains biases that even we don’t know are in there. What if you believe the crop you’re looking

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

It turns out that if you know a subject deeply you can trust your gut feelings almost completely. If you find yourself with a feeling that your crop just doesn’t look right, you’re probably correct.

at is bullet proof ? It’s one of those crops that everyone grows and everyone knows that it just doesn’t have pests in this region. The climate is not right or the crop is too new to the area for pests to have caught up to it yet. So you look at the crop, feel a little weird about it, but dismiss it because it must be fine, there can be no problem, maybe give it a shot of water if you have that option. Then it turns out that your region is the first to welcome that crop’s biggest pest threat. Dang! This is almost the same as the other challenge we have with making decisions — TMI. Too much information can cloud our judgement as surely as walking into a dark room or a bank of fog. The opening story in Blink is about experts reacting to a ridiculously expensive statue that turned out to be fake. All the experts saw it except the ones studying it. They were so focused on the single details that they didn’t see the whole picture. Gladwell also gives an example of a wellworn, battle commander smacking down a technology-heavy and process entrenched enemy in war games because he made quick decisions and acted fast. But sometimes we need to digest things before we understand what we have in front of us. Gladwell reiterates the challenges with taste tests and market research that provide too small a slice of something to be effective. Sometimes, we need context and home turf to really understand what we like. This chapter of the book reminds us to keep an open mind when we meet new things. Sometimes we will convince ourselves that we like or dislike something based on bias and initial perceptions that do not reflect the reality of what we have in our hands… or mouth… or eyes. The benefit I think Blink offers readers is both the assurance that you know what you’re talking about and the tools to understand why you’re wrong about stuff. If that sounds confusing it’s probably because we’re talking about the human mind and there is little on this planet more confusing than people’s minds. h

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

Opinion

Examine Your Filters Regularly by C. Lacombe

to the general population. The challenge in this is finding a source we can he changing media environment exposes everyone to the risk of trust. Experts have become suspect. information distortion. For many people, who to trust has become one We don’t believe people just because they have facts that science can huge question mark. prove. Somehow, we have arrived at a place where we believe a nobody We used to trust media that presented facts objectively and without emobefore a relevant source. There are people out there becoming famous tion. Often, reporters conveyed facts from experts deeply involved in the talking about areas where they have no actual expertise. But because they subject they were talking about. We may have been better off back then when know how to strike the right cord, they become trusted journalists served as a filter for us. At least acknowledged fonts of wisdom. The cord they you could get to know a particular journalist’s bias seem to like to strike most is fear. People seem and understand that their reporting contained a “What we can or cannot more willing to be afraid than reassured. certain perspective. You could also check in with do, what we consider We all have our own bias too. We hold other journalists to see a different perspective. possible or impossible, is beliefs that cause us to dig in when presented Anyone that wanted an opinion read the editorial. with facts that contradict our belief. (Google Today, media conglomerates have one jourrarely a function of our Brendan Nyhan at Dartmouth University — nalist producing a story for its entire empire on he’s an expert. He has a PhD!) This means that all platforms — TV, radio, print, web and social true capability. It is more if I believe that GMO plants are FrankenFoods, media. We are not dumb! We can see we are only likely a function of our you cannot change my belief with facts. I don’t getting one perspective. care about your facts. I care about my beliefs. So, we turn to the internet to find the truth - we beliefs about who we We need to spend time periodically examinhope. What we find is a cacophony of ideas, facts, are.” ing our beliefs, where we got them and if they fallacies, emotions, outright lies and sales pitches with no intelligent filter. It’s tedious and frustrating. — Tony Robbins still serve us well. Our beliefs predetermine our reactions and blind us to what could be imporI think that the internet is as disruptive a techtant information. We make ourselves vulnerable nology as the printing press was in its time and in to manipulation and can unwittingly become part of something we didn’t a similar way. Both require a new literacy to assimilate the information they sign up to support. make available. Back in 1452 when Gutenberg invented the printing press, My best advice is to make sure you know your own bias and beliefs that many people couldn’t read. Today, many people seek information on the interform your filter and try to keep an open mind so that when new informanet without understanding how to filter it. They find themselves vulnerable to tion comes into your life, you will at least hear it, explore it and allow it to that cacophony. land where it belongs. Which could be the manure pile or the fertilizer pile And so we look for trusted experts well versed in their field of knowledge (as in Growing Knowledge). h and honest when conveying information that might be important and relevant

Internet stuff to keep in mind

The internet filters information based on your prior searches and delivers you similar results. It’s not quite thinking for you, but it’s trying very hard to do that and getting better at it all the time. Regularly clean your internet history, especially cookies. Before you believe information from an internet source, check who created the site, who sits on the board of directors and what information is on the About Us page. Beware of celebrity; it fogs the conversation.

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Farming Smarter / Spring 2016

Agronomy Advice

Five Key Points to Optimize Canola Yield by Lee Hart

tick with the basics is the leading advice for farmers looking to optimize canola yields, says a Canola Council of Canada (CCA) agronomist. Research and experience shows optimizing yields includes a sufficient plant count in the field, supplying proper fertility and then protecting it through to harvest, says Dan Orchard, CCA agronomy specialist based in Wetaskiwin, Alta. “There are no shortcuts if you’re looking to optimize yields and protect your investment in crop inputs,” says Orchards. “It all comes back to looking after the basics and hope that nature co-operates.” Here are Orchards’ five key points to ensuring a canola crop that delivers the maximum yield to the bin:

1. Make sure there are enough plants in the ground. Ideally seed into a firm, moist seed bed. Keep your field travel speed down to shallow seed the crop at between 1/2- to 3/4-inch seed depth. And aim for a plant stand of between seven to 10 plants per square foot (in very general terms that’s between five to eight pounds of seed per acre). Orchard advises farmers to determine the proper seeding rate for each batch of seed based on a 1,000 seed weight (TSW) formula. (Calculators are available on-line.) While seed batches will vary, plan a seeding rate based on 50 to 60 per cent seed survival. Orchard says farmers can target lower plant stands and hope the crop compensates for fewer plants, but there is always the risk of an early frost, disease or insects reducing plant numbers further. 2. Apply proper fertility. Orchards says farmers should target a canola yield and apply sufficient fertility to meet that yield, based on a soil test recommendation. But he also urges farmers to give thought to a realistic target yield. “Look at your soil and management potential,” says Orchard. “You may target a 40-bushel yield, when more realistically you could be producing a 60 bushel crop. You don’t want to be leaving a 20-bushel yield potential on the table.” While the crop requires a complete nutrient package, the key requirement is nitrogen. Canola requires 2-1/2 pounds of nitrogen for each bushel of targeted yield. About 20

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

Photos: Farming Smarter

pounds of phosphate can be placed with the seed, while the rest of the nutrient package can be side banded. 3. Be vigilant about disease prevention and control. Orchard urges farmers to be diligent about scouting canola fields for signs of disease. Pay attention to crop and weather conditions, which may be conducive for diseases such as sclerotina, and treat if the risk is high. He has a particular message for farmers to be on guard for a relatively new disease, clubroot, which appeared in many central Alberta canola fields over the past 10 years. A soil-borne disease, it is not only devastating to the current crop, but once established can persist in the soil for as long as 20 years. If farming in an area where clubroot is prevalent, he recommends producers grow clubroot resistant canola varieties, limit commercial vehicle access to farm fields since trucks and equipment can carry the contaminated soil to your farm, and be watching for any signs of the disease. More details on clubroot prevention and control can be found on a website at clubroot.ca 4. Early weed control. Canola yield is optimized when weeds are controlled early, says Orchard. While many producers follow

a long-standing practice to wait until the three- to four-leaf crop stage to apply herbicide, Orchard says research shows yields increase with weed control measures at the two- to three-leaf crop stage. “Apply control as early as the herbicide label will allow,” says Orchard. “But ideally target the two- to three-leaf stage.” While it is likely more weeds will germinate later, the more vigorous crop will be able to out compete weeds.” By treating early a second herbicide application may not be needed, unless it is intended for some pre-harvest weed control measure. 5. Time of swathing. Ideally aim to swath the crop at 60 per cent rather than 30 per cent seed colour change, says Orchard. Waiting for this later maturity for swathing, will reduce the level of green-seed count. He points out that newer canola varieties have improved pod shatter resistance, which helps reduce losses when the crop is combined. “If you’re farming a large number of acres it is impossible to swath everything at the ideal stage,” says Orchard. “Swathing a bit earlier may be necessary but ideally aim for the 60 per cent seed colour change.” h Lee Hart is a long time agricultural writer based in Calgary, Alta.

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

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Farming Smarter

Agritechnica 2015 “These bears were everywhere in Berlin. Some were different colours and they were in different poses. I don’t know exactly what they were about.” — Jamie Puchinger “Jamie doing her best Gummybear impersonation.” — Mike Gretzinger

lsh at VW Factory Chairman Craig Wa baun to drive the auto Wolfburg training

A slightly sluggish Farming Smarter crew after over 30 hours of travelling arrives at Agritechnica to find a glass tractor is a common tool of exhibitors to display the parts they manufacture.

Our walking tour stopped at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. The concrete bricks resemble gravestones. They start out at ground level around the outside but get taller until they tower over you giving you a sense of uneasiness about the atrocities committed.

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

The Audostadt in Wolfsburg is the epitome of German automotive manufacturing. It employs over half the city. It showcased Volkswagen history in a massive building made of stainless steel where our delegatges enjoyed a Willy Wonky style tour of an astounding two km long VW assembly line.

This automated soil sam pler was mounted on the back of a jeep, which caught Mike’s eye, could be programmed to take up to three sample depths per cor e.

“I’m way more excited about robotics in agriculture than I am in precision technology.” — Ken Coles

A few of the 28 pavilions used for Agritechnica had very interesting architecture, and all of them were full of exhibitors and participants!

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

Its hard to tell where the artistic statues end and George Lubberts begins as we stroll the streets of Braunschweig on a beautiful autumn afternoon.

Farming Smarter / Spring 2016

Farming Smarter

Agritechnica 2015

If you look closely you will find Ken, Mike and Jamie in the massive crowd already started at 10 a.m. of Day 1… no way you would have seen us after lunch!

“Beer! As someone who doesn’t typically LOVE beer, I can attest German beer is nothing like what we have available in Canada.” — Jamie Puchinger

Farming Smarter / SPRING 2016

GROWING NEW IDEAS / GROWING KNOWLEDGE / GROWING STEWARDSHIP

ALPINE Application Innovation Easiest pulse crop inoculation system Inoculating pulse crops is a very important step in achieving optimum yields associated with the nitrogen fixation the bacterium provides to the plants and the subsequent soil enrichment for the preceding crop. Many ALPINE customers were wanting to take full advantage of their ALPINE application kit by using it to also deliver the bacterium inoculant to their pulse crops. Unfortunately the early strains of inoculants were not compatible with ALPINE G22. Continued product development efforts by ALPINE has confirmed two inoculants that can now be tank mixed with ALPINE G22.

Yield increases by 2.3 bus Test results from the past three years have shown an average yield increase of 2.3 bushels per acre when ALPINE G22 was tank mixed with a liquid inoculant compared to a granular inoculant alone. Use of ALPINE G22 alone in addition to a granular inoculant also resulted in a yield increase. Blake Weatherhald, ALPINE DSM, notes that growers should always use a granular inoculant in virgin pulse ground to ensure maximum root inoculation. These yield increases are consistent with the benefits we see when using ALPINE G22 on any crop as the source for starter phosphate. While the plots showed that the starter nutrition found in ALPINE G22 was compatible with some liquid inoculants, there was still a problem with viability of the inoculant when tank mixed for more than four hours. This meant adding more bladders of the inoculant to the ALPINE at regular intervals to ensure enough viable bacteria was being added in the seed furrow.

Equipment innovation The product development team tested a solution to make the process even easier for the farmer to get proper inoculation while using the ALPINE tank mixed with liquid inoculants. Geoff Legge was one of the growers that tested the new injection system for liquid inoculants on his ALPINE application kit. By injecting the liquid inoculant into the ALPINE manifold and not tank mixing with the ALPINE starter product he was able to treat his seed with very little effort and no wasted inoculant or time. Geoff says, “It was a very convenient way to inoculate and much simpler than treating seed.” Inoculating his pulse crops is now as simple as adding a bladder of inoculant to a tank. No more treating seed, retreating seed, or messing with seed stickers.

Limited supply Blake Weatherald says that the new ALPINE Injection Kit for Inoculants will be available in limited numbers for the 2016 growing season. Growers should contact their ALPINE DSM or ALPINE retailer early to get their

The new ALPINE Injections Kit for Inoculants

equipment set up for ALPINE G22 use and the new injector kit for inoculants. Growers like Geoff Legge have proven the performance of ALPINE G22 as their source for phosphate for pulse crops and now have an easy and convenient way to inoculate their pulse crops. Considering it is cheaper and easier to use than granular on repeat pulse ground the Alpine G22 and liquid inoculate combination looks like a winner!!

KEITH ANDERSON 285 Service Road Vulcan, AB 403.485.1998 / 1.888.972.9378 info@rawest.com

SOUTHERN ALBERTA DSM 403.399.8099 www.alpinepfl.com