Researchers visit six Manitoba farms

If you’re researching canola, it helps to know the farmers and the farm situations that will ultimately benefit from that research. That is the premise behind Manitoba Canola Growers’ Research Camp, held this year in June. The two-day bus tour stopped at six Manitoba farms with an overnight at Clear Lake. I tagged along and made my own notes about messages to researchers for each farm visit.

Nicolea Dow, Portage la Prairie, showed how farmers pay attention to fertilizer loss. Dow, who farms with her father and brother, bands fertilizer into the soil at the time of seeding to limit fertilizer loss to the air or water while keeping more of it for the crop.

Researcher comments
Manitoba Canola Growers surveyed the researchers who attended Research Camp, asking what they got out of the event. Here are a few responses:

Will Gerrard, Minnedosa, met the researchers at one of his canola fields to show the benefits of crop protection innovation. The canola field was seeded to the same canola hybrid, L340PC, on the same day. However, only part of the field was treated with Buteo Start, a new seed treatment with strong activity on flea beetles. When Gerrard ran out of seed, the next lot had a different seed treatment.

After emergence, he did not have to spray to protect the Buteo-treated canola from flea beetles. He did have to spray the other part of the field.

Jordan Sawchuk, Mountain Road, described his highly diversified farm. Half the cropped acres are perennial grasses – orchard grass and meadow fescue – for seed and forage, and the other half are annual crops, including canola, wheat, oats and fababeans. The farm has a large herd of beef cattle, which provides manure that Sawchuk uses to boost crop yields and remediate hill tops with low organic matter.

Manitoba farmers Warren (right) and Simon Ellis brought researchers up close to a canola field during Manitoba Canola Growers’ Research Camp in June.

Adam Gurr, Rapid City, described two key sustainability practices –
controlled traffic farming and optical spraying. Controlled traffic farming, which keeps heavy machinery to the same specific pathways in each field, reduces compaction to improve moisture infiltration and, ideally, crop productivity. The optical spraying system has nozzles on 10-inch spacing, electronics to control each nozzle and cameras that see weeds and trigger nozzle engagement. This greatly reduces the volume of herbicide required.

Warren Ellis, Wawanesa, showed how farmers care for the land. The farm is adding shelterbelts, grassing ravines and following a diverse crop rotation to care for biodiversity while also maintaining or improving productivity and profitability. The farm also has solar panels to power its seed cleaning plant and the farm house.

Samantha Devloo, Bruxelles, demonstrated the attention to detail required to meet customer expectations. The farm grows 2,000 acres of potatoes each year, split between seed potatoes for other farmers and processing potatoes that go to McCain and Simplot at Portage la Prairie. Potato contracts include strict rules on documentation of farm practices, and on products to use and when to use them. The farm has storage for 60 million pounds of potatoes, which are kept at specific temperatures and monitored constantly for any signs of spoilage. Any storage issues are immediately reported to the processor.

Sonia Wilson, the acting research manager for Manitoba Canola Growers, says the ultimate goal of Research Camp is to “increase the connections and capacity of the research community to provide high quality research projects and results that directly benefit Manitoban Farmers.” She says the event focuses on strengthening three types of relationships – farmers with researchers, researchers with other researchers, and researchers with Manitoba Canola Growers Association – so that farmer-based priorities shape research initiatives.”