Inputs - by Top Crop Manager

When it comes to farm transition, don’t underestimate the soft skills. The farm’s legacy and each farm members’ personality influences business governance - and it’s important to explore both for effective transition planning and collaboration. 

In this episode of Inputs, Sarah Stamp, founder of Sarah Stamp Farm Consulting, discusses the importance of understanding the various personalities involved in farm transition through personality tests. She also speaks to the benefit of preserving a farm’s history by writing it down, whether the farm is continuing to operate in the family or is being sold. All of her expertise is filtered through her own experience on her husband’s family farm in Enchant, Alta. 

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Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) and sudden death syndrome (SDS) are a duo to be reckoned with. Continuing to spread across Ontario and wreak havoc on soybean yields, this double threat causes millions of dollars in losses each year in the province.

In this episode of Inputs, Dr. Owen Wally, research scientist with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada at the Harrow Research and Development Centre, discusses how SDS and SCN start below the surface but lead to above-ground impacts to soybean yields and economic returns. Breeding research has come a long way to help manage these diseases and Wally provides some recommendations for keeping this duo in check.

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Kochia and wild oat are two weeds that are top of mind for growers across the Prairies. While kochia is a relatively newer concern, it’s a highly adaptable weed that’s moving further and further north. Wild oat has been a problem for a long time and resistance continues to evolve. 

In this episode of Inputs, Dr. Charles Geddes, research scientist in weed ecology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, Alta., discusses the characteristics of kochia and wild oat and what conditions cause them to thrive. He also explains why they are difficult to manage and how resistance evolves with each. With recent research insights on both, Geddes speaks to management strategies such as effective crop rotation and narrow row spacing and higher seeding rates for kochia, as well as harvest weed seed control for wild oat. He says it’s also important to scout and test for herbicide resistance.

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Support for this episode provided by Syngenta.

No one’s a fan of Aphanomyces root rot - and for good reason. In a wet year, this disease can cause significant damage in field pea and lentil crops across the Prairies.

In this episode of Inputs, Dr. Michelle Hubbard, research scientist in pulse pathology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Swift Current, Sask., shares insight from some of the latest research on Aphanomyces root rot. She speaks to management strategies available now, including longer crop rotations, soil testing and field selection, and how research could expand the management options available in the future. She leaves listeners with the hopeful message that there is a lot of work going into this troublesome disease; progress is being made.

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Nitrogen use efficiency is an index of how well a plant is putting its nitrogen to use for higher yields. Knowing how to improve management practices surrounding nitrogen is a win for your crop and the environment. 

In this episode of Inputs, Dr. Kate Congreves, associate professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Jarislowsky research chair, discussed her latest research projects related to nitrogen, including nitrogen use efficiency in spring wheat varieties and overwinter and spring thaw nitrous oxide emissions in the Northern Prairies. She also speaks to the importance of soil sampling, the value of enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs) and the potential for green ammonia. 

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Soybean weed management in soybean is field-specific, and programs must be adjusted based on what's happening in each individual field. But, decades of research and trials across Ontario have shown promise in controlling different weed species and protecting soybean yields.

In this episode of Inputs, Peter Sikkema, professor in weed management for field crops at University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus, and Allison Hayward, field development representative for FMC Canada, explore research findings in soybean weed management, and discuss strategies for growers to minimize weed competition in soybean.

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Support for this episode provided by FMC Canada.

With a high protein content, lupins offer an alternative to soybeans and have grown in popularity in Europe. Researchers continue to investigate their potential across the Canadian Prairies.

In this episode of Inputs, Robyne Davidson, pulse and special crops research scientist at Lakeland College in Alberta, shares her latest research focus surrounding lupins, the main challenges with growing them and her ideals for lupin production moving forward.

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This marks the 100th episode of Inputs. To celebrate this milestone, we invited a special guest to join us and share his insight on a topic that’s on everyone’s mind lately: AI in agriculture. 

As in every other industry, AI is taking off rapidly - and agriculture is no exception. Darrell Petras, CEO of the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN) explains the specific ways AI is being used in agriculture right now, the challenges it might help solve in the future and the potential benefit to a farmer’s bottom line. 

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Much has been made of cover crops and their benefits over the past several years, and for good reason. While no cover crop is a quick fix or solution to all a field's problems, when treated like specialist tools and used with defined goals in mind, they can do many things, including busting up compacted soils, boosting soil organic matter, keeping weeds down – and suppressing diseases like Fusarium root and crown rot in soybean and barley, according to a recently published study based on research at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research centre in Charlottetown. 

In this episode of Inputs, Eastern editor Alex Barnard discusses the study with two of the researchers: AAFC research scientist Adam Foster and Harini Aiyer, now a graduate student at the University of British Columbia. Foster and Aiyer contextualize the research, discuss the results, and share some quick advice for growers.

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• Aiyer's M.Sc. thesis, based on the research conducted at AAFC-Charlottetown with Foster (leads to a pdf download)

Winter cereals see all four seasons in Ontario, which means a wide variety of environmental conditions can affect their growth and yield. What can growers expect after a cooler fall for planting in parts of the province and an unusually warm winter? Do typical considerations like nitrogen and sulphur application timings and pest management strategies changed in a year like this one?

In this episode of Inputs, Joanna Follings, cereals specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), gives an overview of fall 2023 planting conditions for winter cereals, including what effects the warmer than average winter might have, an update on spring cereals planting, and some tips for nutrient applications and pest and disease management.

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• Field Crop News for in-season updates agronomic information
• Wheat Ag Pest Monitor for stripe rust tracking and more

Support for this episode provided by Gowan Canada.