One More (Important!) Job For Your Growing-Season To-Do List

by | Apr 19, 2022 | Promoted

Jim Bagshaw, Alliance Seed

As the season ahead comes into focus, it’s time to start thinking about variety choices… for next year. Yes, really, for next year.

From talks I’ve had with producers over the years, I’d guess 50 per cent or more of producers wait to choose varieties until the provincial seed guides comes out every winter. The seed guides are absolutely important resources, but we need to be clear on what they can and can’t deliver. They can provide a quick reference comparison and an overview of variety options. Given that they have space for only a couple sentences about each variety, however, they can’t provide a conclusive and comprehensive judgement on which varieties will best meet your unique priorities in your unique geography. I highly recommend using your province’s Seed Guide, but only to narrow the field of options and/or validate variety decisions that have been many months in the making.

Nothing – nothing – beats boots on the ground and real conversations and observations about how varieties perform in different conditions.

Though it’s hard to find time, invest in attending seed tours, Ag in Motion; AgSmart; Ag Canada, the Field Crop Development Centre and other tours; seed grower and seed company tours; and any other crop walk or in-field demonstration, ideally close to your own farm. Contact me and my counterparts at other seed companies so we can connect you with seed growers growing various varieties in your area. Visit university and government breeding programs to see plots and talk to researchers. Chat with your neighbours and producer friends. In short, find every opportunity you can find to assess varieties in the ground throughout the growing season.

Consider your specific priorities. When I ask producers what they’d like to improve in their crops, every producer immediately answers, ‘more yield’. Peel that answer back: ‘more yield’ is the sum of many factors. In an average year in your specific fields, what tends to get in the way of maximum production and yield? Is it disease, pest issues, lodging, drought, excessive moisture, weeds? The answer to these questions will help determine which genetics you might want to seek out.

Finally, keep on the good side of long-term averages.

As an example, east-central Alberta got heaps of rain in 2020. A few growers in the area had an incredible year growing SY Torach, a variety that generally suits southern Manitoba’s wetter climate. The next year, many farmers from the area wanted SY Torach. I pushed those growers to reconsider: if fields only get average rainfall or less, SY Torach would still be a good variety, but wouldn’t outperform like it did when moisture was abundant. I’d much rather a grower grow a variety that truly suits them, even if it’s not an Alliance Seed variety. Remember: it’s much better to get consistently good yields every year than to aim to knock yield out of the park but end up striking out.

 

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