Summer 2011 Volume 5 Issue 2

SUMMER 2016 Volume 10, Issue 2

NEWS from North Peace Applied Research Association

NOW IS THE TIME TO CHOOSE YOUR VARIETIES!!

ANNUAL FIELD TOUR —

July 27

Michael Harding, Provincial Plant Pathologist and Greg Sekulic, Canola Council were in attendance to answer questions on crop pests and discuss specific concerns. The tour was well attended with good discussion on varieties.

CHECK OUT OUR VARIETY PLOTS!!!

37 Wheat Varieties

23 Barley Varieties

13 Oat Varieties

25 Yellow & Green Field Peas

Fababeans, Chickpeas, Flax, Corn + +

ALL PLOTS ARE SIGNED, VISIT ANYTIME!

Mike Harding talks about leaf diseases in cereals

Page 2 NEWS from North Peace Applied Research Association

NPARA Library – available to NPARA members

HORTICULTURE

Pruning in Alberta Alberta Yards & Gardens: What to Grow Planning Your Shelterbelt

CROP PRODUCTION

Weeds of the Prairies Weed Seedling Guide Common Plants of Western Rangelands Insect Identification Program CD-ROM Diseases of Pulse Crops in Western Canada Canola Growers Manual Pulse Crops in Alberta Triticale Manual Sod Seeding Brush Management on the Western Canadian Plains Crop Rotation on Organic Farms

LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION

Fencing with Electricity Beef Cow/Calf Manual Managing a Cow/Calf Business: An Essential Guide Stock Poisoning Plants of Western Canada Year Round Grazing Manual Pasture Planning Guide Handling and Feeding Sheep – DVD Meat Goats Silage Manual

Alberta Forage Manual Wintering Site Assessment & Design Tool Grass-fed to Finish: A Production Guide to Gourmet Grass-

Finished Beef Comeback Farms: Rejuvenating Soils, Pastures and Profits

with Livestock Grazing Management

SOILS

Soil Fertility Manual Soil Survey for Hotchkiss/Keg River & Grimshaw/

Notikewin Areas Building Soils for Better Crops Soil Biology Primer The Nature and Properties of Soil Cows Save the Planet

The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life & Health

Grass, Soil, Hope

OTHER

Building Added Value through Farm Diversification Quality Farm Dugouts Beekeeping in Western Canada Managing Alternative Pollinators Cover Crops Field Guide Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Society Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems

GREG JOHNSON—THE TORNADO HUNTER

MORNING CROP WALK

Friday, Aug 19 @ 8:00 am

…Coffee is on us !!!

Check out our variety plots: wheat, barley, oats, field peas,

fababeans, soybeans, corn, flax, coriander, winter lentils;

canola green seed/shattering trial; tillage radish; crops

garden; perennial forage trial…

Summer 2011 Volume 5 Issue 2

Page 3 NEWS from North Peace Applied Research Association

Lygus bugs are a constant nuisance in Peace Country canola fields, from bud stage through harvest. But when are they actually doing damage, and how much damage can they cause?

There are a few species we generally call lygus bugs, and we treat them all the same from a crop damage and threshold perspective. Here, in the north, we typically only see one generation per year. Although, in years with early springs (potentially, 2016…) a second generation is possible. The Lygus emerge as adults in spring, lay eggs in early summer, and the eggs hatch go through five juvenile stages (called nymphs) before

again overwintering, as adults. The fifth instar and adults are responsible for the majority of feeding. They feed on buds, flowers, and young pods – the most nutrient-dense material. Of course, this means they directly feed on the yield generating parts of the plant.

In the north, and increasingly in the parkland, we see feeding on canola plants at the bud stage. This looks more severe than it Is, usually, and as a result we have no thresholds for control… meaning that they don’t usually do enough damage at this early stage to require an insecticide. This early feeding can prompt additional bud devel-opment, which can actually increase yield. The exception is during very dry, stressful conditions where heavy feeding can prevent the plant from coming into flower. Should this occur, an insecticide will be your last resort to advance the crop.

By far, the most critical time for lygus control is during the early pod stage. The crop is just finishing flowering, and many of the seed pods are small and frail, offering easy access to the lygus’ piercing mouthparts. The plant is no longer able to compensate for damage or feeding by pro-ducing new flowers. This vulnerable period passes reasonably quickly; once the seeds begin to get firm and the pods begin to get leathery the lygus can no longer cause economic injury. This will be the last week or 10 days before swathing. And we do regularly see large numbers of lygus bugs at harvest, they’re just maturing and can no longer do yield damage.

Thresholds

Now the complicated part: economic thresholds. Lygus were one of two species with published, calculable threshold data. And in recent years, based on cost of control and value of the crop, these thresholds approached single digits … as low as seven bugs per 10 sweeps. Many producers, agronomists, and entomologists began to fear that these numbers were too aggressive for vigorous, well watered, and well fertilized crop stands. After several years of plot research (which did validate the initial damage numbers) it became clear that this was in-deed the case: the yield damage caused by lygus could be mitigated by rain during early pod, in a healthy plant stand. We no longer advocate control for lygus in healthy, well watered, plant stands at numbers less than 50 lygus per 10 sweeps.

The exception is for stressed, thin plant stands in dry conditions: the old, published data are certainly applicable there. But do remember to factor losses from tram-pling in your calculation: if you lose 1.5 bu/acre from insects, and lose another 1.5 bu/acre from wheel tracks, you’ll need to generate enough revenue to compensate for both. And that’s not counting the losses to beneficial predators like carabid beetles, lacewing larvae, lady beetles, and spiders (all of whom eat lygus bugs!), as well as the parasitoids that help control other species without an insecticide. Re-member, the economic threshold covers the cost of application, no more.

LYGUS SHMYGUS! By Greg Sekulic, Canola Council of Canada

Page 4 NEWS from North Peace Applied Research Association

Before you start planting cover crops, set a goal identifying what you want the cov-er crop to accomplish. My ultimate goal for Burleigh County is to improve soil health. Start by identifying your natural resource concerns and pinpoint areas needing im-provement. When walking no-till producers through this process in the field, you will find that some of the more common resource concerns are: adequate soil ar-mor, expanding crop diversity, enhancing soil organic matter, improving infiltration, and increasing nutrient cycling. Soil armor (surface residue) is needed to control wind and water erosion, reduce evaporation rates, and manage soil temperatures. Adequate soil armor is required to get the cover crops off to a good start, when seeding after an early harvested crop. Where diversity is lacking in the rotation of primary crops, cover crops can fill the gap. The most ideal primary rotations include crops from the four major crop types: cool season grass, cool season broadleaf, warm season grass, and warm season broadleaf. Growing cov-er crops representing whatever crop type is missing from the primary rotation helps restore balance to the sys-tem by providing an improved diet for the soil biology.

If building soil organic matter is a goal, adding additional roots to the soil profile along with reducing soil dis-turbance with no-till seeding will help move the soil organic matter in an upward direction. Cover crops with fibrous roots are effective at increasing soil organic matter. Good candidates include rye, triticale, oat, millet, and sudan.

Improving water infiltration is important for all farmers and is an area that commonly doesn’t get addressed. It can be particularly challenging when you consider the big picture, since many North Dakota cropland fields have undergone 100+ years of tillage. The aggregates have been diminished creating a soil profile which now holds a smaller amount of water. For example, the western half of North Dakota tills because they perceive themselves as too dry; the more they till the more soil aggregates are destroyed resulting in a soil profile which holds less and less water and oxygen. The eastern half of North Dakota tills because they perceive themselves as too wet; the more they till the more soil aggregates are destroyed resulting in a soil profile which holds less and less water and oxygen. Producers considering a switch to a no-till seeding system should first improve in-filtration and compaction issues. No-till producers who have been continuously growing small grains or other shallow-rooted crops will find their infiltration improving very slowly. However, infiltration can be improved more rapidly by adding taproot cover crops, such as radish, turnip, and sunflower.

Improving nutrient cycling is another common need among no-till producers. You need adequate surface resi-due to protect and feed the soil, however fields with multiple years of residue is excessive and delays the re-lease of nutrients. Planting low carbon cover crops will accelerate biological time so that nutrients start cycling and become available to a subsequent crop. Such cover crops include any of the legumes and brassicas, like turnip, which decompose quickly. Planting low carbon cover crops in mixtures with high carbon cover crops contributes to a balance in the carbon nitrogen ratio by allowing for a gradual release of nutrients and still maintaining adequate surface residue.

Planning a cover crop strategy may require expanding the primary rotation in order to provide a window of opportunity for early seeding; which in turn permits the cover crop sufficient growing time in late summer and fall. The early seeded cover crop can then harvest more sunlight; this energy is what drives the system. Some of the greatest soil health gains made on cropping and grazing systems in Burleigh County comes from the fact that we no longer terminate sunlight harvest at “harvest time.” The value of the early fall seeded cover crop is

STRENGTHENING THE SOIL HEALTH FOUNDATION WITH COVER

CROP COMBINATIONS By Jay Fuhrer, NRCS-Bismarck, North Dakota

Summer 2011 Volume 5 Issue 2

Page 5 Summer 2016 Volume 10, Issue 2

its ability to capture this energy and ultimately transform it into carbon. Using a no-till seeding approach for the annual crop and cover crop enhances the soils ability to sequester the carbon and start to reclaim a de-graded soil. A simple corn-soybean rotation, for instance, may be too “tight” to work in a cover crop effective-ly. Expanding the rotation to include a small grain provides additional diversity and the needed window of opportunity for seeding a cover crop. Adding cover crops into your existing rotation will help your cropping system more closely mimic native rangeland. The benefits from growing cover crops don’t occur all in one year, they’re spread over a period of years.

When choosing cover crop mixes, consider including species of flowering crops that will attract pollinators and beneficial insects. According to The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, “There are approximately 4000 species of native bees in North America, hundreds of which contribute significantly to the pollination of farm crops.” We can increase their populations by providing them a habitat with minimum soil disturbance and flowering cover crops such as: alfalfa, canola, squash and sunflower.

Adding livestock further diversifies a cover crop strategy. The cover crops allow us to take the livestock off the native rangeland earlier in the fall, allowing for a longer grass recovery period, and a higher livestock nutri-tional diet. We try to graze the cover crops with a large number of head for a short period of time. A reasona-ble goal is to graze approximately 40% to 50% of the forage. Let the rest of the cover crop residue be the “armor” for the soil and food for the soil biology; you’ve got to feed both. Cover crops, like no-till seeding, are one more tool we can use to strengthen the foundation blocks of soil health. Resulting in reduced fossil fuel inputs and improved soil health, as we move toward the bigger picture of Soil Health – Food Health – People Health.

SOIL FIELD SCHOOL JAY FUHRER, Natural Resource Conservationist, North Dakota. With his years of experience and research working with no-till, cover crops & soil health, Jay conducts workshops all over the world, giv-ing producers practical and innovative ideas to improve the health of their soils. Learn how to measure the health of your soils—this is a hands-on event assessing soil health. Jay will meas-ure carbon/nitrogen ratios; water infiltration rates and con-duct slake and run-off tests. He will discuss practises that can be implemented to improve and build soil health, including planning a cover crop strategy. Jay will also touch on gardens

& composting. THURSDAY, August 18

NPARA RESEARCH FARM (1/2 mile W of North Star)

10 A.M.— 4 P.M. (lunch provided)

Members $15 Non-members $25

PRE-REGISTER by

contacting:

Nora @ 780-836-3354 or email

nora@npara.ca

Page 6

NEWS from North Peace Applied Research

Growing Forward 2 is a five year program ending in 2018, providing programs & services to the agriculture industry. The following programs are presently NOT open for new applications:

Agri Processing Automation and Efficiency & Agri-Processing Product & Market Development - Crop

Animal Health Biosecurity Producer

Livestock Welfare Producer

BUT the On-Farm Solar Photovoltaics has reopened for applications. For more info refer to the Growing Forward Website and subscribe for automatic updates: http://www.growingforward.alberta.ca/Programs.

Summer 2016 Volume 10 Issue 2

NPARA BUS TOUR COVER CROPS & HIGH LEGUME PASTURES

The tour will include stops at producer fields from Hawk Hills to Dead-

wood of cocktail cover crops and high legume pastures. Learn from

producer experiences & forage experts about establishing and grazing

high legume pastures and cocktail cover crops.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 REGISTRATION @ 12:30 PM @ NPARA Research Farm

Tour will depart from NPARA Research Farm and conclude with supper at the Farm. Register by calling 780-836-3354 or email nora@npara.ca

Sainfoin & Alfalfa

NPARA

ENTERS COMBINE IN

PARADE

Summer 2011 Volume 5 Issue 2

EVENT DATE TIME LOCATION CONTACT COST

Soil Field School with Jay Fuhrer Aug 18 1- 4 pm NPARA Research

Farm NPARA

780-836-3354 $15 members

$25 non-members

Morning Coffee Tour Aug 19 8:00 am NPARA Research Farm

NPARA 780-836-3354 No charge

Cover Crop & High Legume Pasture Bus Tour Aug 25 12:30 pm NPARA Research

Farm NPARA

780-836-3354 No charge

Farm Fair International Nov 9-13 Edmonton Northlands

agriculture@northlands.com

Canadian Forage & Grasslands Conference

Nov 15-17 Fairmont Hotel

Winnipeg www.canadianf

ga.ca

2-Day Soil Health School with Nicole Masters Nov TBA TBA in Peace

Country NPARA

780-836-3354 TBA

FarmTech 2017 Jan 31—Feb 2 Edmonton

Northlands www.farmtechconference.com

Page 7 Summer 2016 Volume 10, Issue 2

GREG SEKULIC WITH CCC TWEETS: IS YOUR #CANOLA FIELD RIPENING PREMATURELY? IT MAY NOT BE

SCLEROTINIA— CUT THE STEMS.

THIS IS BLACKLEG!

Box 750 Manning, Alberta

T0H 2M0 Phone: 780-836-3354

Fax: 780-836-2670

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

North Peace Applied Research Association

STAFF

NORA PAULOVICH Manager

Email: nora@npara.ca Cell: 780-836-5230

TOM FROMME Research Coordinator Email: tom@npara.ca Cell: 780-836-0651

Janet Vande-

mark Accounting

President Peter Bigler Vice President Al Dumas Secretary/Treasurer Mark Kamieniecki

Directors

Bill Gaugler

Kelly Coulter

Odell Raymond

Trevor Enders

Pete Stahl

Representatives

County of Northern Lights Arie Loogman Agribusiness

Albert Michaud

HAWK HILLS AG SOCIETY

Summer 2016 Volume 10, Issue 2

Visit us: www.npara.ca