Klassen, who farms with family members near Linden, about an hour north of Calgary is yield leader so far in a Canada wide contest among canola growers to produce a 100 bushel canola crop. Klassen produced 85.88 bushels per acre on a 50-acre field in 2017.

That puts him at the top of the yield board, edging out the 2016 yield leader Mike Nelson of Wetaskiwin, Alta., who finished the 2016 season with a verified yield of 81.43 bushels per acre on a 50 acre field. Nelson participated in the 2017 contest but hail sidelined his efforts.

The final year of the contest runs through 2018. The first producer to achieve a 100 bushel verified yield on a 50 acre plot wins the grand prize, which is 100 hours of use of a whole fleet of John Deere equipment (seeding to harvest fleet) — that’s the big green prize. If no producer reaches the magic 100-bushel yield, the one with the highest yield over the three-year term of the contest will be awarded the prize. Klassen hasn’t started making room in the yard for the equipment yet.

If the challenge is appealing —it is still really anybody’s game — there is still plenty of time to enrol for the 2018 growing season. The contest is open to producers in all four western provinces and Ontario. You can enter two fields per farm, have them registered by March 31, 2018 and then decide whether to lock those fields in by May 15, 2018. Details available at www.agri-prize.com.

Klassen’s crop of Invigor L233P canola produced about seven bushels more among the top five yields of the 2017 contest.

Curtis Harrish of Calmar, Alta., produced the second-best yield with a Pioneer Roundup Ready — 45CS40 variety at 79.32 bushels.

Third was Andrew Luellau of Olds, Alta., with a Dekalb RR-7565 and a yield of 78.66 bushels.

Fourth place was Chad Badowski of Swan River, Man., also growing InVigor L233P with a yield of 78.58 bushels and fifth was David Harrish of Calmar (Curtis’s dad) growing the same Pioneer variety with a yield of 78.37 bushels.

Fertility was foundation

Klassen is part of a diversified family-run farm near Linden. He looks after cropping operation on about 5,500 acres, while two brothers look after the livestock side of the farm, which includes a 4,500 head beef feedlot, as well as poultry.

“It is certainly gratifying to have the top yield for 2017,” says Klassen. “It is the highest yield we have ever had on this farm.”

Despite some real growing condition extremes in other parts of Western Canada — too dry in many areas and then too wet in others — Klassen says conditions were just about ideal in his area last year.

“Aside from weather, I think the biggest factor contributing to a high yield in 2017 was soil fertility,” says Klassen. The fields he selected had a long history of receiving both raw and composted manure. Along with that he supplied a recommended fertilizer blend that included 120 pounds of nitrogen, 10 pounds of phosphorus, 25 pounds of potassium and 30 pounds of sulphur.

“Aside from fertility the second factor that probably contributed to the high yield were four in-crop treatments with fungicide,” he says.

First job of the growing season involved a spring pre-seeding burndown with Roundup WeatherMAX tank mixed with Conquer. That was followed by seeding InVigor L233P seeded at 4.9 pounds per acre (based on 1,000 seed weight count). And a slight correction from earlier reports, the seeding rate targeted placement of nine seeds per square foot, with a goal to produce a stand of about five plants per square foot.

Of the total fertilizer program, noted above, about 25 lbs. of N, 10 lbs. of P, five lbs. of K, and five lbs. of S was included in the seed row, with the remainder placed beside the seed row. Added fertility at seeding did not factor in any fertility already in the soil.

In crop, the canola was treated with one pass of Liberty Link herbicide tank mixed with Centurion. Klassen also made four fungicide applications during the growing season. He included a bit of the micronutrient boron with the fungicide. And to top up fertility he dribble banded some UAN pre-bolting. With some diamond back moth pressure on the field he also applied an insecticide as well.

The crop was desiccated in early September and then straight cut about 10 days later.

A “moon shot” contest

The Canola 100 contest is co-sponsored by Agri-Trend Agrology, John Deere Canada and Glacier FarmMedia (publishers of Grainews).

“In many respects it was certainly a challenging year for many farmers as far as growing conditions were concerned,” says Rob Saik, former Agri-Trend CEO, who developed the Canola 100 contest idea. “Their success is a testament to improved management ability, and production efficiency. At the same time we are also seeing the benefits of improved crop varieties that perform well even under adverse growing conditions.”

Saik, describing the Agri-Prize contest as a “moon shot” says although no one has reached that 100-bushel yield yet, canola growers are doing an exceptional job at increasing production efficiency and yields.

Saik says the objective behind the contest is to challenge growers to test the limits of their management and agronomic abilities to see what canola can produce.

“We also hope through this contest to create a community of participants who share their knowledge and expertise with each other,” says Saik. “The objective is to inspire farmers toward greater innovation. We want the contest to be a learning experience, but also fun.”

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Harrish, who dished out some extra TLC to about 70 acres of Pioneer Hi-Bred canola this past season, says it produced about an extra 12 bushel per acre yield, compared to the rest of his 700 acres of canola.

“It was a return of about 1 ½ times the input costs,” says Harrish, who farms near Calmar, just south of Edmonton. “Our land is pretty consistent here, so we probably would have seen close to that return over the whole canola crop. It is something to consider for next year.”

This was the second year that Harrish participated in the Canola 100 challenge. It is a contest launched in 2016 jointly by Agri-Trend Agrology, John Deere Canada and Glacier Farm Media — publishers of Grainews. The three-year contest is open to all Canadian canola growers — the first registered contestant to achieve an average, verified 100-bushel yield on 50 acres of canola wins the grand prize. And the grand prize is 100 hours free use of a whole fleet of John Deere equipment, covering all field activities from seeding to harvest.

Farmers can register for the contest in late winter, before the growing season starts, and then they can decide part way through the year to opt to have the yield from their designated plot cleaned, and weight verified by third party auditors. There’s a $1000 fee for the verification process. Harrish says his 2016 crop got off to a poor start, so he stopped short of verification. This year, although flea beetles presented a challenge early on, he saw it through to the final weigh in.

“I know I didn’t average 100 bushels per acre this year and I haven’t heard the final yield figure after cleaning and weighing,” he says. “The crop was a bit tough when it was combined, but the yield monitor was showing about 85 bushels per acre. The rest of our canola was around 72 bushels per acre.” His son Curtis who also entered the Canola 100 challenge “might have had slightly better yields on his land,” says Harrish.

For the 2017 contest season, Harrish selected about 70 acres for the Challenge. The field, seeded to hard red spring wheat in 2016, had also received some hog manure in the past, although Harrish wasn’t sure if there was any residual benefit from the manure.

Harrish, who follows a three-year crop rotation, cultivated the wheat stubble in the fall of 2016 and using Valmar equipment also applied about 100 pounds per acre of 0-0-60 potash. A couple of seasons ago he also had a bio-sulphur product applied to the whole farm. Produced by the Calgary-based Bio-Cycle the Bio-Sul Premium product, custom applied by the company, is made from recycled products. It contains 70 per cent elemental sulphur and 30 per compost. It is intended to provide a residual benefit to the soil for five years. For Harrish, 2017 was the second cropping season after the product had been applied.

In the spring of 2017, Harrish deep banded potash and urea on his canola, followed by a broadcast application of urea on top of the soil. He applied a light tillage to work that in.

Using the more precise RTK guidance system for the seeding operation, he moved the seed row over five inches from the earlier banded urea and potash and seeded a Pioneer Protector Clubroot Resistant variety. Harrish targeted a plant stand of five plants per acre. It worked out to about 4.5 pounds of seed per acre.

“To apply these higher rates of fertility it can’t all go with the seed, so I try to place it around the seed row with different applications,” he says.

With potash, sulphur and most urea requirements looked after in earlier field applications, he seeded the canola with a double-shoot seeding system. Some more urea was applied below the seed while phosphate with a micronutrient product containing copper was included in the seed row.

“We seeded in mid-May and the crop faced a fair bit of flea beetle pressure,” says Harrish. “There was good soil moisture at seeding, but later we got a heavy rain which caused the soil to cake a bit. Crop emergence wasn’t perfect and the flea beetles were in there too, so we didn’t know what to expect.” Despite those challenges the crop did establish with the targeted five plants per square foot.

Along with inputs applied prior to and at seeding, the Challenge plot also received in-crop treatments. Along with Roundup Ready herbicide to control weeds, Harrish made three in-crop nutrient applications, to foliar apply boron and potash. A fungicide was included twice with those two of those foliar treatments — once at the bolting stage and again at the 30 to 40 per cent flower stage. The final boron application was made later in the growing season at about 60 per cent bloom to help the crop recover from some mid-July heat blast. Plant tissue tests were also taken during the growing season to monitor any nutrient deficiencies. “They didn’t really show anything was lacking,” he says.

Canola on the 70-acre block was swathed in early September and within that area Harrish selected 50 acres to be combined in early October for the Challenge. Although he waited as long as he could, the crop still came off at about 13 per cent moisture.

“Overall I was pleased with the crop this year,” he says. “Although it was dry at times we did end up with reasonable moisture. When we were combining any high spots or knolls we saw a change in yield, yet in the lower areas the yield was phenomenal.”

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This is the second year of the three-year Canola 100 contest challenging canola growers from across Canada to produce a verified 100-bushel canola yield on a designated 50-acre plot of canola. The first farm that produces that verified 100-bushel yield will win a grand prize of 100 hours of free use of an entire (seeding to harvest) fleet of John Deere equipment.

Of some 34 competitors who entered the contest in early 2017, 19 actually carried through to the end to have their contest plots harvested, cleaned, dried and weight verified by a third party auditor. One of those 19 might be winning use of the John Deere equipment. If there is no winner, the contest carries on to the final year in 2018. Results will be announced during the annual Farm Forum conference Dec. 5 to 7 being held at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary.

“If we don’t have a winner (100 bushel yield) this year, there will definitely be a winner announced in 2018,” says Rob Saik, former CEO with Agri-Trend Agrology who developed the contest idea. If over the years of the contest no farm produces a 100-bushel yield, the grand prize will be awarded to the farm with the highest canola yield over the three growing seasons. “If there is no winner this year, some- one will definitely be taking home

John Deere equipment next year,” says Saik.

During the 2016 growing season there was no 100-bushel yield winner, however Mike Nelson, a Wetaskiwin, Alta., area farmer led the field of contestants with an impressive verified 81.43 bushels per acre on his farm.

Saik was pleased with the participation by producers during this, the second year of the contest. There were slightly fewer producers this year who signed up initially late last winter, but more of that group decided in late summer to ante up $1,000 to carry through with the final yield weighing and verification.

“In talking to producers generally I am impressed with how well canola growers did do this year,” says Saik. “In many respects we didn’t have the greatest growing conditions this year. It wasn’t the case everywhere, but in many areas it was a very dry year.

“Farmers in some areas are reporting 60 and 70 bushels and even higher yields which really reflects their good management,” says Saik. “They are using conservation farming practices, good crop

genetics, good nutrient management, and proper weed and disease control, for example and that all contributes to some pretty exceptional yields even under adverse conditions.”

Saik says the idea for the contest was sparked by a Canola Council of Canada announcement in recent years setting out a target for Cana- dian canola farmers to achieve an average 52-bushel canola yield by 2025. Currently the average canola yield is around 35 bushels per acre.

“The Canola Council of Canada set a target for a 52-bushel average,” says Saik. “But it got me wondering “what is the potential for this crop?” Averaging 52 bushels is great but with proper or perhaps extra management can we hit that 100 bushel mark? A lot of experts think we can.”

The Canola 100 challenge is sponsored jointly by Agri-Trend Agrology, John Deere Canada and Glacier Farm Media (publishers of Grainews).

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The pending deal between Trimble, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and Agri-Trend, was announced November 10th. Agri-Trend, based in Red Deer, Alta, operates the largest network of independent agricultural consultants in North America. That network includes 110 coaches, plus a team of science specialists that supports the coaches and the company’s farm data software. The deal is expected to close this month.

Exactly who will have access to that client data, stored on the company’s Agri-Data Solution platform, was a question likely on the minds of Agri-Trend’s current clients.

In an interview Thursday, Rob Saik, CEO of Agri-Trend, said nothing had changed with respect to the company’s data policy.

Agri-Trend has always maintained that the data belongs to the farmer, and it’s built into the company’s agreement with clients, Saik said.

“In our model, the farmer has the ability to provide multiple points of access to his data,” said Saik. Agri-Trend coaches working with the farmer can access the data, Saik said. That can include the coach working directly with the farmer, as well as cross-referencing coaches and senior coaches supporting the farmer, Saik said.

From there, farmers can grant access to ag retailers, Saskatchewan crop insurance, or machinery companies, if they choose, Saik added.

“From what I see there’s no planned changes to that. That’s a pretty important part of our work with farmers,” said Saik.

Asked what happens if a farmer cuts ties with Agri-Trend, Saik said the policy was to offer the farmer a complete download of his data.

“And what we do usually is we put it into a dormant file,” said Saik. Agri-Trend has had farmers return, sometimes years after leaving, and ask for the data to be reactivated, he added.

Business as usual

Trimble doesn’t want to make any changes in the Agri-Trend model, said Saik. One of the reasons he’s excited about the deal is because “everybody wakes up Monday morning and nothing changes for them.”

But, after 18 years as an entrepreneur, Saik is stepping into a new role. Darren Howie, who’s booked 15 years with Agri-Trend, will be stepping up as manager of the Agri-Trend group within Trimble. That will free Saik to focus on business development, global expansion, and seeking technology.

“And I’m going to continue to be an ambassador for agriculture,” Saik added.

The deal is a succession plan of sorts for Agri-Trend. Continually growing a mid-sized business is hard work, and requires a lot of capital, Saik said. The Trimble deal assures farmers that Agri-Trend will live on, he said.

“And it’s living on beyond Rob Saik’s strength and the strength of our business team….So it provides continuity.”

Agri-Trend’s unbiased, independent advice on crop inputs and agronomy was valued highly in farmer focus groups, Saik said. Trimble, a publicly-traded company that provides technology to several industries, is also fairly agnostic, Saik said.

“They work with all the different lines of equipment, so they’re agnostic in that respect. They’re not tied to crop inputs,” said Saik.

Trimble is a leader in GPS and GIS technology and engineering, with “a plethora of products” on the shelf that can be brought into agriculture, said Saik. The Agri-Trend team “is really excited about opening the door to the toolshed” inside of Trimble, he added.

“And they’re excited about letting us do it, too.”

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Publicly traded, U.S.-based Trimble, which specializes in GPS and other location services, including the collection and management of on-farm data and services for precision farming, announced Tuesday it will buy Red Deer-based, privately-held Agri-Trend for an undisclosed sum.

“It’s a perfect fit for us,” Agri-Trend CEO Rob Saik said in an interview Tuesday, adding that under the deal he will work with Trimble and expand the Agri-Trend model globally.

“We’re also very excited about the integration of Trimble technology. The reality is farmers want to move forward with precision agriculture and we have been doing that and we’re going to be able to do that in a much bigger way now.

“We’re planning no changes for our employees, no changes in our business model, no changes to the coaches, no changes to the physical location. It’s just taking it (model) and amping it up — turning up the dial.”

Agri-Trend has 200 specialists in Canada and the U.S., including more than 110 independent “coaches” specializing in agronomy, precision farming, crop marketing and farm business management.

Coaches are supported by a team of science specialists comprised of more than 30 Ph.D’s and M.Sc’s providing in-house research, training and support for both the coaching network and the Agri-Data Solution platform, a proprietary farm data management service.

“As a result, Agri-Trend’s solutions enable growers to make informed business decisions that better allocate scarce resources to produce safe and environmentally sustainable food,” the company’s release said.

Agri-Trend has the best business model for supplying expertise to farmers, but it takes capital, which Trimble can provide, Saik said.

“To see Agri-Trend grow to well over 200 individuals influencing agriculture and to have it carry on the legacy within the Trimble group is really exciting for me personally,” Saik said. “I’m passionate about agriculture. I’m passionate about speaking out about science in agriculture and I’m passionate about making a difference at the farm level and I always have been.”

Agri-Trend’s farm coaches are billed as independent and unbiased experts, backed up by Agri-Trend’s senior coaches, most of whom are former university and government experts hired under contract, Saik said.

“I describe it as an entrepreneurial co-operative where you reap what you sow and share what you know,” he said. “That has been our model. The coaches will utilize Agri-Trend process and Agri-Trend’s platform and people to support them as they work for farmers. That’s how they make their money. That’s how we make our money.”

Trimble works in a range of areas including engineering, construction as well as agriculture. Trimble Agriculture helps farmers maximize efficiency and reduce chemical and fertilizer inputs and protect natural resources and the environment, the release said.

“Trimble’s precision agriculture solutions cover all seasons, crops, terrains, and farm sizes, and its brand-agnostic strategy allows farmers to use Trimble products on most vehicles in their fleet — regardless of manufacturer.”

Trimble provides water solutions for irrigation, drainage, and land levelling. Trimble’s products include vehicle and implement guidance and steering, a portfolio of correction options, unmanned aircraft vehicles for aerial imaging and mapping, application controls for seed, liquid, and granular products and farm management software.

Saik began his agricultural career with now defunct chemical company Elanco. His comedic alter ego, Steve Stubblejumpski from Double Bumps, Alta., has often been a banquet speaker over the years and is known to many Prairie farmers.

“I love doing it,” Saik said. “I still do it once in awhile when it fits into my schedule and I do it because I love to hear farmers laugh. I love to take the stuff that we do in agriculture and twist it and make some fun of it and enjoy life.

“There’s nothing better than hearing a crowd of farmers laughing about jokes about GPS or GMOs.”

— Allan Dawson is a reporter for the Manitoba Co-operator at Miami, Man. Follow him at @AllanReporter on Twitter.

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