Better Farming – September 2016

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20 Farm News First > Better Farming September 2016
“2016 was the year where mis-
takes showed up,” says Martin
Harry, eastern marketing manager
with SeCan. “Rotation, organic
matter, all those little things made
a big difference, especially in
areas where there’s been little
rain. Good farming practices
always shine.” With that in mind,
here are some steps growers can
take in the coming months to get
their 2017 season off to the best
start possible.
Get intimate with your soil:
“Know your farms and know your
fields,” says Shawn Brenneman,
Eastern Canada agronomic
services manager for Syngenta
Canada. “Soil management is
becoming increasingly important.
We need to understand what is in
our soil and help manage the risk
in stand establishment to get the
crop off to the best start possible.”
Use the resources available to
you. “There’s a lot of complexity
in selecting corn hybrids and
soybean varieties,” says Rachel
Faust, technical marketing manag-
er for DuPont Pioneer. “There’s a
lot of different traits and differ-
ences between those traits. It’s
really important growers work with
their seed supplier and ensure
they have that dialogue of what’s
available and match the needs of
their operation.”
Patience pays, says Stephen
Denys, director of business man-
agement with Maizex Seeds. “If
you wait until the ground is fit, it
will reward you.”
Planning to collect crop insur-
ance? “If a field hasn’t come up or
is so thin that it should be written
off with crop insurance, start
calling August 2, and begin the
process of preparing for winter
wheat,” says Harry.
Understand neonic regulations
are here to stay. “Growers can
start planning for next year,
because the neonic regulations are
now law,” says Harry. “You can’t
dig holes in the middle of winter,
so start digging holes and setting
bait traps after winter wheat. And
fill out paperwork early so it’s not
last minute.”
Brush up on insects and crop
diseases. “Misidentification of
some insects or diseases in crops
will be a challenge,” says Wayne
Black, national brand manager,
PROSeeds. “Growers and industry
need to know what they should be
looking for to make their decisions
for seed treatments.”
Assess fields as you go. “It’s
important growers are out assess-
ing their fields throughout the year
to have a good handle on how they
get to their results in the fall,”
says Derek Freitag, regional
agronomy lead with Monsanto
Canada for DEKALB brand seed.
“Just looking at yield numbers in
the fall isn’t the entire story. A big
part of the success of each prod-
uct is having it positioned in the
right spot.”
Communicate with government,
says Denys. “We have to educate
the decision-makers about why we
do things the way we do, and what
happens if we’re forced to go
backwards.” BF
What you can do now to prepare for Plant 2017
‘Soil management
is becoming
increasingly important.’
– Shawn Brenneman
Headline: It’s the Yield. Soys Type Area: NA Colours: CMYK
Publication: Better Farming Size: 7 x 3.25 Resolution: 300 ppi
IO: BF 2016-002 Bleed: NA Insertion: September, 2016
SEEDREPORT