Decadal, adj.

With apologies to Mr. Young, I apparently slept through my high school English classes.  I had never heard of the word decadal until this past week.  I went to the dictionary to confirm its accuracy and sure enough the word decadal is an adjective used to describe ratio of 10 to 1.  Where have I been?  Why should you care?

Our Pioneer Agronomist Aric Bos forwarded a report prepared by Andy Bootsma, an Honorary Research Associate with Ag Canada in Ottawa.  The report was entitled Decadal Trends for Crop Heat Units in Ontario and Quebec from 1951 to 2010.  It is a look at the average temperature data from selected locations in Ontario and Quebec in 10 year intervals.  If you want to download the full report here is the link.

https://sites.google.com/site/andybootsma/home/climate-douments

The report can be summarized quickly using the following two charts.

 

 

The data reveals that the average growing season is 12 days longer and 344 CHU warmer in the first decade of 2000 than it was in the 1960's.   

My own experience is a reflection on this trend.  In 1995, I planted a 2750 heat unit hybrid and was told by the crop insurance inspector at the time it was one of the highest yielding fields in the area.  It was a cheap attempt on his part to butter my bread, but the fact remained that in 1995 this maturity was a common choice in this area.  Choosing to plant a 3000 heat unit hybrid for grain on our farm was considered to be taking too much risk from a maturity point of view. 

This coming spring 18 years later I have decided to plant a 3100 heat unit hybrid.  This is because the risk of lower yield with a shorter season hybrid is now geater than the risk of wet, immature corn with a full season hybrid.        

Our hybrid maturity selection criteria has changed.  Going forward, our hybrid and soybean variety selection criteria will continue to change as we adapt to the changing environment.  Decadal change.  I think I got it.  Mr. Young would be proud.  

 

 

 





Ask Hayden - Part 2

For the second installment of our "Ask Hayden" series, he responds to a reader who inquired about corn population recommendations.

Hayden believes there are two points to consider.  The first is a realistic expectation of yield from each field.  While it is nice to dream about 200 plus bushel corn in April, reality usually shatters this dream by October in the St Marys area.  On our beautiful uniform silt loams soils, 200 bu is a reasonable target.  Anything less is a disappointment.  However, most of us do not have the luxury of farming this soil type.  On fields that have a high percentage of heavy clay or gravel, 160 bu is a success.  With this in mind consider the chart below.

            
High yield potential supports the use of higher seeding rates.  On those wonderful silt loam soils the sky is the limit.  Where yield potential is lower, planting 37-40,000 seeds is great for Hayden's grandpa the seed dealer, but not that great for the farmer.     

The second point to consider after a realistic expectation of yield, is which hybrid are you planting. 
This is a graph of population response for P9910XR.

 

And a graph of P0216HR.

 

 

In 150-200 bu environments the two hybrids have a similar response with the optimum planting rate being 32,500 seeds per acre. 

In high yield environments the response is dramatically different.  36,000 seeds per acre gets the job done with P0216HR and P9910XR can stand populations over 40,000.

 

A different response is seen when you plug in P0118AM.  In those 150-200 bu environments, 28,100 seeds per acre is the optimum rate for P0118AM.

 

 

These graphs can be found on the Pioneer Planting Rate Estimator web page.  





https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/ca/agronomy/tools/planting-rate-estimator/

 

Thanks Hayden.

 

PS. Dean Shantz, Pioneer Account Manager reminds Hayden that for iPhone users there is an app for the Planting Rate Estimator, available in the App Store.





Whales, Hogs and Rice

Recently Cathy and I witnessed an incredible fight for control in Banderos Bay off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  We were on a whale watching vessel and witnessed three male humpback whales beat the crap out of each other.  It felt like we were watching the whale equivalent of an ultimate UFC match.

This fight was over mating rights with an available female.  Male whales spend the majority of their time completely alone.  Once a year they get together to sort out their differences.  After a 24-48 hour battle the strongest and baddest male will win and send the other males off packing.  It is natural evolutionary process where the strongest get to procreate and improve the genetics of the species.

This lead me to think about the way farmers, more specifically hog farmers, work with and control the natural instincts of animals.  Why hog farmers?  I do not raise hogs, but I do know a few farmers that do.  Hog farmers are under constant attack by activists who pretend to have the best interest of the pigs at heart.  Farrowing and gestation crates are bad.  Group housing is good.  The sows will automatically be happier if they get to play and run around together.  My limited knowledge of hog group dynamics tells me that the only sows that would be truly happy in the group are the strongest and baddest sows.  It is natural.  They will dominate the feed trough and keep the weaker sows weak.  That way they get to mate with the strongest and baddest males.  Hog farmers interfere with this process by providing separate living quarters for individual sows.  Every sow gets enough to eat, individual medical care and does not have to put up with an ornery grandmother.  However, if the activists were honest they would admit it really has nothing to do with pigs.  It has everything to do with control. They are attempting to prove they are the strongest and best at what they do.  Their agenda is to be in opposition to all forms of agriculture which use livestock and crops for economic gain.                

If you have doubts consider this.  My old friend Peter Johnson was taken to the woodshed by a reader in the Ontario Farmer a year ago for supporting golden rice.  Peter had heard a presentation by Patrick Moore, one of the original founders of Greenpeace at last year's Southwest Ag Conference.  Patrick, who quit Greenpeace, made a strong argument for golden rice.  Golden rice is normal rice that has been genetically modified to contain an elevated level of vitamin A. Standard white rice does not contain vitamin A. Grandma always told us that eating carrots was good for our eyesight and she was partially right because carrots are rich in vitamin A.  People in south east Asia, who eat a lot of standard white rice have a higher incidence of blindness due to vitamin A deficiency.  Eating some golden rice containing a higher level of vitamin A would improve the quality of life for these folks.  However, golden rice is one of those nasty GMO's and environmental activist groups have fought tooth and nail to stop the cultivation of this crop by people that may benefit.  The activist position is based on the premise that western industry would be the only benefactors from golden rice.  No matter if this crop actually helped improve the lot of undernourished children.  It was all about control.  I do believe that the activists never asked any of the blind children for their opinion.
The activists are gradually losing this battle.  The Philippines will allow the cultivation of golden rice some 30 years after its discovery.  You can read more detail about this situation at the link below.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/02/genetic-modification-breakthrough-golden-rice?CMP=twt_gu

There Is No Such Thing As A Vegan

Something came across my Twitter account earlier this week.  Since many of you are not on Twitter, I thought I would pass it on.

If you ever have met a totally committed "vegan" you might be left wondering what planet they live on.  Our daughters Terrilyn and Melissa have had many interactions with vegans while attending university.  It tends to be popular with the urban female crowd.  Vegan diets have value as long as they are balanced with sound nutritional knowledge and a little common sense.  
But the real fanatics among the vegan crowd have a very strict interpretation of what it takes to be a true believer and it extends far beyond food.  They have zero tolerance for the use of any product that may have been produced from an animal.  There is not much point in debating with them either because you will never win an argument against a closed mind.  It is very ironic that highly educated individuals can be so closed minded.  Education is meant to open the mind, not close it.   

Regardless, the following graphic was "tweeted" to me and I think it is great.  If you can't make out the graphic I have also posted the link.

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-1559/Products-Made-from-Cattle-Image.html

Winged Effect

Pioneer's 2013 Agronomy Sciences Research Summary is out.  It is a great publication that addresses some pertinent agronomy issues.  Because real winter is here it is a good time to stay inside and review some of the articles.

One study that caught my eye was the reported variability in yield across the width of very large planters.  This study was done on farms in Minnesota using three planter configurations.

• 36 rows, 22 inch spacing, centre fill
• 36 rows, 20 inch spacing, centre fill
• 48 rows, 20 inch spacing, row unit boxes

Corn yield from the outside one-third of the planter was compared against the middle one-third.  It has been well documented that compaction from wheel traffic beside the row has a negative effect on yield.  Heavier planters and the corresponding tractor necessary to pull the planter increases the potential compaction effect, especially if the soils are damp. 

Twelve locations were harvested and the average yield on the outside third of the planter was 11 bu/acre higher than the inside third.  There was significant difference between the outside third and the middle third in 9 out of the 12 locations.

While there is not much a grower can do to change his planter configuration being aware of the compacting effect is useful knowledge.  Keep in mind there is sometimes a trade off between timely planting and less than perfect soil conditions. 
One last consideration is the row effect on hybrid evaluation.  This is something I have been guilty of doing.  As an example, I have taken a 12 row planter and split it into three 4 row plots.  Splitting a planter into more than two equal halves could unfairly bias hybrid performance.  The outside rows would have an automatic advantage. 

Paradoxical

At the CCA Annual Conference last week I heard a presentation by Jim Harris, motivational speaker and author of a book entitled The Learning Paradox. What is the learning paradox?  In a nutshell, effective learning comes from failure, failure makes us uncomfortable, the more uncomfortable you feel, the greater potential there is to learn.  The trick is learning to ignore the uncomfortable feeling. No one enjoys feeling uncomfortable.  But we all need to learn.  We can only do that by embracing the learning process.  It takes focus and motivation, but it is possible to enjoy the uncomfortable feeling that comes from finding out what you don't know, especially true when you were convinced you did know it.
Jim's premise is the world is changing from a knowledge based economy to a learning based economy.

For example, the technology we will use 10 years from now has not been invented yet.  How will businesses and customers react?  Who will prosper and survive in this environment?
The original inventor of digital photography was an engineer working for Kodak back in 1975.  At the time Kodak commanded 90% of the camera film and 85% of the camera sales in the US.  Management was reluctant to embrace the new technology.  Kodak was good at what they did and felt comfortable doing it.  Competitors jumped into the digital camera market.  Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012.  They no longer make cameras or camera film.

Agriculture has always been quick to adopt new technology, a well documented paradox of its own. Technology replaces people.  It takes fewer people to produce food.  Some people will stay awake at night worrying about this fact.   Who is going to prosper and survive in this environment?  It will be the quick learners, especially the young quick learners.  I think the future is bright for the young and nimble minded.  They will keep agriculture strong.  As long as the old, slow minded get out of the way.  What about the old and nimble minded?  Maybe a few of us still have a chance.
 

Morris, You Earned It

This past Wednesday night my good friend Morris Sagriff was presented with the 2012 Certified Crop Advisor Award of Excellence.  There is not a more deserving recipient of this award than Mo.  Everyone in the industry knows Morris.  I am sure everyone would agree if only one word could be used to describe Morris the word would be passionate.  His passion and commitment to agriculture is legendary.  Sometimes his passion will rub people the wrong way, but there is no doubt Morris was only trying to do what he thought was right.  He is a person of integrity and strong faith.  His advice is always based on the best information available and he will dig deeper than most to uncover every possible detail.  He would never pass on false information to gain an advantage or to cause pain. 
He is committed to Pioneer, but he is quick to give competitive products credit when credit is due.

His presentation style to famers is unique to say the least.  One presentation I saw him make in Waterford many years ago sticks.  He was speaking about the effects of tillage.  He literally became a molboard plow and the audience became the soil.  He had customers ducking and diving out of their chairs to avoid being hit by the plow.  He has an amazing ability to paint a picture using words and you can clearly see every detail of the picture when he is finished.  He spoke at a customer meeting in our warehouse a few years ago.  Very few of our customers had ever met Morris and one older customer had this to say after hearing his presentation.  "Well that boy sure does like to talk, but I do believe he knows what he is talking about." 

In one sense this is the second time Morris has won this award because I would not have won this same award two years ago if it were not for his mentorship as an agronomist and a personal friend. 

Well done Morris.