Beyond Agronomy News: August 26th, 2008

Agronomy

Straight cutting canola versus swathing

Many producers are looking at straight cutting canola rather than swathing this year. We know that straight cutting can significantly increase seed size and to some extent yield. With custom swathing rates hovering around $10 or more an acre and most producers in a labour shortage, some would rather eliminate a man or one operation if they could. With that, the research I've found in terms of yield comparisons would suggest that swathing late at the 60-70% seed colour change can yield 8% higher than straight cutting. The end result is a possible increase of over $30 an acre with late swathing versus straight cutting.

Now the results of several research plots are not your fields in 2008 and risks must be weighed by field, by crop and by each individuals harvest capabilities. If you are ready to swath this week and the crop is between 30% and 60% seed colour change, you'll be in good shape to try straight cutting provided the crop has decent yield potential and fairly even maturity. After the end of this week, leaving canola to straight cut may leave too much risk of frost, snow and late maturity as cool fall weather sets in. SL

Reference

Are big acre farmers sacrificing yield for efficiency?

I know a number of producers who look across the fence at neighbors farming 7,000 to 10,000 acres with one air drill and wonder if they would be better off farming less and doing a better job. Some may call it jealousy; some may be justified in their opinion when you look at some fields with thin stands. Now, not all big acre producers are doing a poor job. It's so easy to point a finger when you don't know the whole story. Also, you have to wonder if the gains in efficiency make up for the few fields that some would call disastrous.

Fortunately, the spring rains in May and June for the last two years have washed over everyone's seeding sins big or small, like seeding too fast leaving highly variable germination and emergence, poor weed control from untimely spraying and subsequent yield losses. Unfortunately, when the spring rains don't come after seeding, it will sting those who don't do a proper job of seed placement.

The question I'm most curious to answer is how many fewer acres a 9,000 acre producer would cover by slowing down from 6.5 mph to 4.5 mph on canola, for instance. The reason I ask is because of the larger producers I watch, I do notice significant variation in crop emergence, especially in canola. The difference I see is due to seeding speed, with many pushing the 6.5 to 7 mph mark. A great deal of research has shown improvements in yield and maturity when seeding speed drops from 6.5 to 4.5 mph in canola. Yet, does it really matter?

Let's do the math:
Example producer: 2,000 acres of canola to seed, 70 foot air drill dropping from 6.5 mph to 4.5 mph
70ft × (5,280ft/mi × 6.5 mph) ÷ 43,560 ft/acre = 55 acres per hour
70ft × (5,280ft/mi × 4.5 mph) ÷ 43,560 ft/acre = 38 acres per hour
2,000 acres ÷ 55 acres per hour = 36 hours
2,000 acres ÷ 38 acres per hour = 52 hours

In this scenario, you stand to gain 16 acres per hour by seeding 2 mph faster. With an average seeding day that's 12 hours long after fill times, you stand to gain 192 acres seeded per day. At 6.5 mph and a 12 hour seeding day, you could seed 2,000 acres of canola in three days. At 4.5 mph it would take four and a half days to seed 2,000 acres of canola. So in the end, you've seeded an extra 1,000 acres by seeding at 6.5 miles an hour. At this year's conservative $100 per acre net margin, the 4.5 mph drop in speed would have to net you another 4.4 bushels in yield or $50.00 per acre. This assumes that you would farm 1,000 acres less because you decided to seed 2 mph slower on your canola. Interesting!

With average canola yields hovering around 35 to 40 bushels an acre, you have to increase yields by at least 10% to make up for the net revenue you've lost on the 1,000 acres you decided not to seed. In the end, perhaps it does make sense to keep seeding speeds up and push equipment efficiencies to the point that a little yield loss is not the end of the world. SL

Grain cart compaction, is it an issue?

Over the last two years, we've seen a large increase in the number of grain carts used on most farms. Average cart capacity is between 1,500 and 1,800 bushels. That translates to a 40 or 50 tonnes load on two to three axles. As any plant geek would do, I went out and purchased a compaction tester to help find any hidden compaction we're not seeing. I am growing more concerned with the amount of wheel tracking we've done over the last three wet years with all of our equipment. On Monday, I was able to catch a pea harvest after an inch and four tenths of rain to see if I could measure any significant compaction.

The equipment I was following was a JD 9760 with front duals and a Balzer 1,800 bushel grain cart with tridem axels, pulled by a 4WD Case 9150. The picture on the right is taken in the wheel track behind the grain cart.

In this test, I didn't see any significant compaction behind the wheels of the grain cart or the JD 9760. Where I did see significant compaction was behind the tires of the fully loaded B-train truck and trailer. The areas I tested behind the grain cart and combine were considered very mild in the top 15 inches. The compaction behind the tires of the B-train was rated moderate.

Perhaps a winter of freezing and thawing would alleviate some moderate compaction and maybe I'm making a fuss over nothing. However, after today's small experiment I'm thankful we've moved away from tandems and B-trains to the more efficient grain carts. Farming is about managing all the small things that add up to a large sum. Alleviating compaction where we can is a step in the right direction. SL

Market News

International Crop Weather News

• United States:On the Plains, hot, dry weather across northern areas favors spring wheat harvesting. Elsewhere, warm, mostly dry weather favors summer crop maturation and winter wheat planting preparations. In the Corn Belt, mild, dry weather prevails. Scattered frost was reported this morning from northern Minnesota into Upper Michigan, well north of corn- and soybean-production areas. Intensifying short term dryness remains a concern in parts of the Missouri Valley and the northern and eastern Corn Belt.
• Europe: Locally heavy showers from England and eastern France into Poland slow small grain harvesting and raise quality concerns for unharvested spring wheat. Dry, warm weather in the Balkans causes additional stress on filling corn and sunflowers.
• Former Soviet Union: In Ukraine and western Russia, unseasonably hot, dry weather aids rapid small grain harvesting but stresses summer crops in the filling stage. In major spring wheat producing areas of Russia and Kazakhstan, warm, dry conditions accelerate crop development.
• East Asia: Dry weather returns to corn and soybean areas in parts of western Heilongjiang, where additional rain would still benefit filling crops.
• Southeast Asia: Increasing monsoon showers boost soil moisture for rice and corn in Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
• South Asia: Heavy to locally excessive rain in northern and western India boosts soil moisture for cotton and soybeans.
• Australia: Scattered, light showers continue to benefit vegetative winter grains in southeastern Australia. In western and eastern Australia, dry, mild weather slowly reduces moisture supplies for winter wheat.
• South America: In Argentina, drought hampers the final stages of winter wheat planting in Cordoba and Santa Fe. In southern Brazil, heavy rain maintains unfavorably wet conditions for maturing wheat.
• Canada: Conditions remain overall favorable for filling to maturing spring grains and oilseeds.
• Mexico: Scattered showers overspread the southern plateau corn belt, while monsoonal rain continues throughout the northwestern watersheds.