Better Farming - January 2017

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Better Farming January 2017 Like Us on Facebook: BetterFarmingON 47
CROPS: THELYNCH FILE
Each winter it is nice to reflect
on some of the things you
learned from the previous
season. There were a lot of lessons
from 2016. Some were new and some
were reminders. I asked a number of
Certified Crop Advisers (CCA) and
farmers what they learned in 2016
and have summarized some of their
main points below.
The first lesson is how sunlight
affects yields. During the wheat head
filling period there was approximately
20 per cent more hours of sunlight
than average. This unexpected energy
surge resulted in very high wheat
yields. If you changed one thing last
year and had higher than normal
yields, the increase may not have
anything to do with what you
changed but rather with the weather.
A similar phenomenon occurred
with corn and soybean yields. This
fall, some growers said they could not
believe the yields. This increase
happened because of the extra
sunlight. During the grain fill period
in August, we received again about 20
per cent more sunlight than normal.
The sunlight factor trumps things
like kernel count and, as CCA Russ
Barker of St Marys says, makes kernel
tip fill insignificant. Yield is deter-
mined by kernel number but also by
kernel size and weight. This year with
extra sunlight we had bigger, denser
and heavier kernels. There were
places where corn was over 64
pounds per bushel compared to the
normal 56 pounds per bushel.
Second, we were reminded that
you should never give up on a crop
unless there is absolutely nothing
there.
I spoke with one grower in Sep-
tember who was wondering about
using a harvest aid to help get the
beans off and achieve a higher yield.
He said, “Oh well, I will probably be
in an insurance claim so won’t
bother.” After more discussion he
decided to use the harvest aid. He
ended up with an average yield of
over 50 bushels per acre. And he had
no crop insurance claim.
Third, we relearned that red clover
pays. I have one customer who
reluctantly spread red clover into his
wheat last spring. When we met to
review his crops he said, “Well, that
was a waste of money.” He insured the
crop.
Late in the fall, I asked him if he
received his claim cheque. He had.
When we looked at the cheque and
subtracted costs for seed and applica-
tion he netted $2,100 on his red
clover plough-down crop. (He would
have made more if the clover had
lived.) Oh yes – he will be spreading
red clover in the spring.
Fourth, I am not sure we learned
too much definitively about tillage in
2016. Some growers who worked the
ground had higher soybean yields
than where they practiced no-till.
Other growers saw no difference. But,
Lessons from the 2016 crop year
As you are planning for the next growing season, consider some of these key lessons from last year.
Keep in mind, though, that 2016 certainly wasn’t a typical production year.
by PATRICK LYNCH
Month 2015 2016 Percentage difference 2016 versus 2015
May 2,007 2,271 +13.2
June 1,975 2,421 +22.6
July 2,243 2,323 + 3.6
August 1,765 2,124 +20.3
Solar panel output in kWh May to August 2016
Source: Jonathan Zettler, CCA and Cargill agronomist at Harriston
If weeds emerge and you wait to see if they will die – they won’t.