A: Between the cold weather and the pandemic, the winter months may seem extra long this year. As growers, we need to use this time wisely to prepare for spring. Planning for the 2022 crop is well underway but there are many important considerations one should keep in mind as the spring season rapidly approaches. It is important to set big-picture business and financial goals for your operation, but we need to make sure the fine details aren’t lost with this focus on the bigger picture. 

Growers should be finalizing their seed decisions now — from crop type to specific varieties, right down to your seed sources. When you have a specific variety of any crop you wish to use, it is wise to secure supply early so you can ensure access to your favourite genetics. This will be especially important in 2022, with the ongoing supply chain disruptions. Certified seed is an excellent option with minimum standards for germination and purity; however, if a grower is choosing to use farm-saved seed of bulk-seeded crops, such as wheat, barley, pulses, etc., there are some considerations. 

Often growers will do a germination test in the fall, but it is always wise to follow up with another germination test closer to seeding. This ensures the quality of seed has not degraded in storage. 

Crop protection needs are of high importance as well. Seed treatment decisions should be made based on your planned acres. When sending in a germination sample, always have a seed-borne disease package run as well to help you decide on treatment options. When reviewing last year, think about any weed concerns you may see in your operation. Catching an emerging issue such as cleavers, or a potential resistant weed population early, can save you future headaches. 

Crop rotation considerations also need to be reviewed. This is vitally important for disease management, especially with diseases like clubroot in canola or root rot in field peas and lentils, to ensure a sufficient break between host crops. Take some time to review the herbicides used in each field last year to ensure there are no re-cropping restrictions that could affect your current plan. Review known weed issues in each field and ensure you have a herbicide option to control those weeds in your planned crop. 

Fertility considerations should be reviewed. Consider seed safety, fertilizer placement and if you have made any equipment changes that may affect your current practices. 

Resources are available and farmers are not alone in making these plans. I recommend talking with a crop adviser as he or she will have resources that can help with crop planning. There are many excellent options from your retail partner to independent consultants. The time spent planning in winter is crucial to having a successful growing season. 

– Scott Anderson, PAg, CCA, is the manager of agronomic solutions in northwest Saskatchewan for Nutrien Ag Solutions. 

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A: Data. This is a word we hear a lot in agriculture, and rightly so. We are now farming in the digital age and we need to see this as the huge opportunity that it is for farming operations. Historically, farm record-keeping has consisted of notebooks or spreadsheets, and those have served their purpose for many years.

However, in this digital age, we can capture so much more of a farming operation if we utilize the data tools that are now available. The scale of farming has increased over the years and the choices growers have for seed varieties, fertilizer products, crop protection and equipment options have grown similarly.

One of the key reasons to embrace the digital ag revolution is the efficiency having access to improved data brings to a farm operation. It’s not only the data our equipment is collecting that we can utilize. There are tools available to growers to enter data on mobile devices to track crop growth and concerns in the field in real time.

When I first started my career, I would get faxed pictures of weeds to identify. Today, with the development of mobile scouting tools, I have georeferenced photos I can look at

in real time with our scouts in the field. NDVI imagery can be viewed while scouting a field to pinpoint areas of concern and analyze what is happening more accurately than ever before.

Another advantage of improved on-the-farm data is the increase in application of variable-rate fertilizer. There are many efficiencies to be gained by maximizing the effectiveness of fertilizer application to fields. The key to effective variable-rate application is harvest yield maps. Analyzing these maps will determine if the desired results are being achieved. Not only can this data be viewed in the field, it can be collected for analysis in the off-season when preparing next year’s crop plan.

Using technology to our advantage allows for a streamlined workflow on the farm with multiple farm operators — and for agronomists to have access to the data thanks to cloud-syncing on many platforms. As with any system, good data in leads to good data out. Taking the time to record in an equipment or mobile data collection platform provides a farming operation with the ability to maximize production with informed decisions and to capitalize on the tools available to them.

– Scott Anderson, PAg, CCA, is the manager of agronomic solutions in northwest Saskatchewan for Nutrien Ag Solutions.

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A: The winter months may seem extra long with our current situation, but as growers we need to use this time wisely. Planning for the 2021 crop is well underway but there are many important considerations one should keep in mind as the spring season rapidly approaches. While it’s important to set broader business and financial goals for your operation in 2021, we should make sure we focus not only on the bigger picture, but on the finer details as well.

Growers should be finalizing their seed decisions now — from crop type to specific varieties, right down to farm-saved seed sources. When you have a specific variety of any crop you wish to use, it is wise to secure supply early so you can ensure access to your favourite genetics.

Consider your farm-saved seed sources. Often growers will do a germination test in the fall, and it is always wise to follow up with another germination test closer to seeding. This ensures the quality of seed has not degraded in storage. There can be situations where grain is put into storage and given certain conditions, such as elevated moisture levels, germination may not hold. Always double-check.

Crop protection needs are of high importance as well. Seed treatment decisions should be made based on your planned acres. When sending in a germination sample, always have a seed-borne disease package run as well to help determine treatment options.

When reviewing last year, think about any weed concerns you may see in your operation. Catching an emerging issue, such as cleavers, or a potential resistant-weed population early, can save you headaches in the future. Considering weed concerns may lead you to look at options outside your normal “routine,” which is not a bad thing. Far too often we get stuck in doing what we have always done, and we need to adapt as our operations evolve.

Crop rotation considerations should be reviewed. This is vitally important for disease management with diseases such as clubroot in canola or root rot in field pea and lentil to ensure a sufficient break between host crops. Take some time to review the herbicides used in each field last year to ensure there are no re-cropping restrictions that could affect your current plan.

Review known weed issues in each field and ensure you have an option to control them in your planned crop. Fertility considerations should be reviewed. Consider seed safety, fertilizer placement and if you have made any equipment changes that may affect your current practices.

Resources are available and farmers are not alone in making these plans. I always recommend talking to a crop advisor as they often have resources that can help with crop planning. There are many excellent options from your retail partner to independent consultants. The time spent planning in winter is crucial for having a successful growing season, and with COVID-19 restrictions keeping many of us at home this winter, growers may have more time to take advantage of planning ahead than usual.

Scott Anderson is the manager of agronomic services in northwest Saskatchewan for Nutrien Ag Solutions.

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A: Crop planning can be hard to do with uncertainty in the markets, however, doing it sooner rather than later is important. Acting while agronomic issues encountered in last year’s crop are fresh in our minds is key, as some issues may be addressed through planning.

The first step is looking at your rotation. I strongly recommend using a digital tool whether it be a spreadsheet or crop-planning tool that backs up to the cloud. Remember to back up your data.

Proper rotation and land selection are the most important pieces of managing soil-borne pathogens such as clubroot or aphanomyces. At a minimum, look at your previous four crops on each field. Test your seed for both germination and seedborne diseases at an accredited lab, and mark which bins you took your samples from. Alternatively, look at the use of certified seed.

Too often I see symptoms of loose smut in barley that could have been managed with the use of a proper seed treatment.

Look at your herbicide rotation and chronic weed issues on each field over the past years as that can help with crop selection or planning herbicide use for the coming season.

With variety selection, don’t get hung up on picking the highest yielder as your sole criteria, as yield can vary among geographies. Look first at agronomic attributes such as maturity, disease resistance and lodging resistance.

Planning now will give you more time throughout the winter months to gather information and arrange your inputs for this year’s crop. These are a few quick hitters on crop planning; all important aspects of preparing for the upcoming growing season.

Scott Anderson, P. Ag, CCA, is a manager of agronomic services for Nutrien Ag Solutions in northwest Saskatchewan.

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A. It’s been well established that competition from early-emerging weeds is most detrimental to crop development. Weeds emerging along with the crop compete for moisture, fertility and light before the crop has a chance to get the upper hand by developing its root system and getting above any later-emerging weeds. But how early is too early for weed control? Weeds are emerging from various depths and germinating at varying times, making the spray timing decision difficult.

Do I spray now or wait? Planning ahead can help you decide. Too often we focus on controlling what we can see, forgetting the value of soil-applied pre-emergent products. There are now more options available to growers for both broadleaf and grassy weed control in front of more crops. Many of these products can be considered a great setup to a complete weed control program, and often have the added benefit of using alternative herbicide modes of action such as Group 3, 8, 13, 14 or 15.

Adding these herbicide groups can decrease early weed pressure on a crop while also providing an opportunity to use an alternate herbicide group to control weeds in crop for effective herbicide-resistance management. While pre-emergent products often require a followup in-crop application of herbicide, they are part of a complete weed management program that can help a crop achieve its full yield potential.

Scott Anderson, P. Ag, CCA, is a manager of agronomic services for Nutrien Ag Solutions in northwest Saskatchewan

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A: Crop establishment can be impacted by soil moisture and temperature, especially in areas where more warm-season crops such as soybeans and corn are grown. High soil residue levels act as an insulating layer to the soil and reduce the rate of soil temperature increase. Growers often see an increase in spring frost damage on newly emerged crops where crop residue levels are high. A tillage operation may be considered to reduce residue cover and speed soil warming; however, we may see increased potential for evaporative water loss.

Tillage operations that incorporate a great deal of high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio residue, such as cereal straw in the soil, may lead to short-term tie-up (immobilization) of nitrogen. However, this may also be overcome with increased mineralization due to the tillage operation. With most systems, we will see an advantage to placing fertilizer in a concentrated band below the crop residue layer to reduce any potential immobilization.

As with all things in agriculture, end results may differ for growers depending on many factors such as soil and environment. When considering a strategic tillage operation, consider soil moisture impact and any potential erosion considerations to determine timing and aggressiveness of the operation.

Scott Anderson, P. Ag, CCA, is a Manager of Agronomic Services with Nutrien Ag Solutions in northwest Saskatchewan.

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A: When we consider inputs that are essential for crop growth we tend to think of fertility. However, there is one ingredient that every single cropping system is absolutely dependent on — water.

Many factors such as soil texture, crop rotation, stubble management and even stand establishment can all impact how much water will be available to a crop in a given year. A focus on proper stand establishment and maintaining crop residue can help to reduce evaporative losses from the soil, thereby giving the crop more available water.

Water Use Efficiency (WUE) of a plant is defined as the amount of dry matter produced by a plant for a given amount of water. Crop species differ in their WUE, and the timing of moisture stress on a crop has a large impact on end yield. In general, the most crucial period of development where moisture stress can impact yield is during reproductive growth. In determinate crops such as wheat, barley and oats flowering occurs over a relatively short period of time, so a short duration of moisture stress can be very detrimental. Indeterminate crops such as canola or pulses flower over a longer period and may be able to recover some yield if favourable conditions return after short-term moisture stress.

In dryland farming operations water is an input that you can’t control. While we can’t control how much moisture will fall from the sky, there are strategies we can incorporate to maximize our production on a given amount of moisture. When in a moisture- deficit situation, adopt practices that limit potential evaporative or run-off losses where possible. In addition, crop growth factors such as proper nutrition must be optimal so that we make the most of each drop of water.

Scott Anderson is a manager of agronomic services with Crop Production Services in northwest Saskatchewan.

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