b'Brian Beres is a researcher for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Harry Brook is a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.has improved the situation, over time theyve begun to breakBrook has a few last words of advice for those who want to down as well. experiment. Common sense would say dont keep growing the same cropIf youre going to try something new, try it on a small scale because youre going to increase some pests that will eventuallyfirst to make sure it works, that its got profitability, and use it as make it no longer profitable to grow that crop, says Brook.a learning tool to make sure you understand the agronomics, There are other paths to profitability, Brook points out. Lasthe says. year, barley was the big crop. This year it could be oats, he says.But dont forget the economics. Economics cannot be Its not a cookie-cutter system. You have to know your land,ignored. In fact, economics take front and centre, says Brook.what it can produce, and be aware of those markets that are available to you and take advantage of them, says Brook. Two Sides to the Rotation StoryIt requires a little effort into looking into alternatives andAccording to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researcher finding where you can find the niche to make extra profit.Brian Beres, there are two sides to the rotation story. One takes Flax has potential, but when farmers get into small acreagethe short-term economical viewpoint, and the other looks crops, they really have to look into marketing. Solidifying pricesat the long-term vision that incorporates what the scientific and finalizing contracts ahead of time is always recommended.community says in terms of crop and soil response to varying Hemp is another interesting crop, although the economics aredegrees of rotational diversity. an important factor to finalize. In 2018, Beres completed a study that looked at the impact You dont want to lose your shirt with a new crop just becauseof cropping diversity on the response of triticale. Beres and his caption its new, says Brook. There has to be a home for it, and youteam examined the effects of rotational diversity on cereals in have to get some money. cropping sequences with canola, field pea or an intercrop of Excitement about new crops is not a recent phenomenon. Itstriticale and field pea. The results were intriguing in terms of been going on as long as farming has existed. Small acreagesoil health, yield and stability. crops, like mustard, come and go. In some years, growersResults showed when triticale was grown in highly diverse get paid well for those crops. In others, they dont. Jerusalemrotational systems, it produced superior grain yield and biomass. artichoke, evening primrose, flax, quinoa and borage are allTriticale benefitted from the inclusion of both field pea and potential alternative crops that have come and gone. However,canola, but for different reasons. Field peas increased soil there are established small markets for mustard and hemp. available nitrogen, improved soil structure and properties, and Hay production offers another alternative, says Brook. Hayincreased soil organic matter. works really well in a rotation to reduce disease and pestAlthough the researchers dont know why for certain, their pressures, but growers usually have to be situated in an areastudy shows that when canola is removed from the rotation, where there are a lot of cattle or livestock in order to make it work. triticale yields drag, says Beres. Adding canola to the rotation 46seed.ab.ca'