Soil health isn’t just an Irish focus, it’s a global one. This becomes more apparent the further I travel. On a recent trip to Canada, I met many farmers who have moved to a conservation agriculture system.
When visiting a number of farms in the province of Ontario, each farmer had tailored their own farming system to work for them, helping improve profitability while building soil health.
Mixing no-till with the plough
Jeff Barlow is a sixth generation crop farmer growing winter wheat, maize and soya beans in the Niagara peninsula. Farming on heavy clay soils, he covers 4,300 acres, 800 of which are owned.
When walking through Jeff’s farm, you can’t help but notice the numerous seed drills, most of which have some form of modification. That’s because he uses various establishment systems for specific crops.
A selection of Jeff's planting equipment.
He runs a four year rotation including maize, non-GM soya beans, GM soya beans and winter wheat. His soya bean and wheat crops are sown with modified 12m no-till air drills.
However following wheat, he ploughs the land ahead of maize. This is for two reasons. He sows a cover crop consisting of red clover, oats and buckwheat after wheat, while also applying 2-3t/ac of sterilised bio-solid pellets.
Jeff grows both GM and Non-GM soya beans.
“We struggle to get livestock manure so the pellets are a key source of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, and also contain lots of micro nutrients which are good for soil” Jeff explains.
“Anything we can do to make our soils better, we’ll do it” he continued, citing research from the University of Guelph on the benefit of using red clover as a cover crop. He estimates that he is saving anywhere between 9-31 kg N/ha from growing and incorporating the cover crop alone.
He also finds that he will achieve a higher yield in maize crops planted on a seedbed which was ploughed. He generally ploughs in the autumn and cultivates in the spring. He explains that finding a system that benefits soils but also provides economic benefits is a delicate balance.
Technology
Technology also plays a big role on Jeff’s farm in a really practical manner. For example, he uses yield monitoring equipment in his combines to guide the mapping of areas damaged by excess water. This is then used to guide his drainage decisions in the following year.
Jeff Barlow of Barlow farms.
All of his maize is sown to GM varieties while around half of his soya bean crops are GM. He notes that while the premium on non-GM soya beans is reasonable, weed control is becoming increasingly difficult and he is likely to increase cultivation of GM varieties in future.
Shepherd Creek Farms grain elevators.
An integrated approach to soil health
Two hours west of Barlow Farms in the village of Staffa lives third generation farmer Mark Brock and his wife Sandi. Farming on clay loam soils, they farm 1,800 acres using a three-crop rotation consisting of maize, soya beans and winter wheat.
Mark Brock and Sandi of Shepherd Creek Farms.
They too grow both GM and non-GM soya bean varieties and, despite the €98-€130/t premium for non-GM varieties, the challenges of reduced chemistry and growing resistance is making weed control increasingly difficult.
Mark explains that the farm was always progressive, having been one of the first in the region to start min-tilling in the ‘80s. This trend continued and in 2006 they were one of the first farms in the area to start strip-tilling.
A selection of Mark's planting equipment.
The impacts were immediate – the ground became more loose and friable and the machine-carrying capacity of the soil increased as a result of the strip tilling. The Brock’s also recorded a 3-5% increase in soil organic matter since they started this practice.
A selection of Mark's planting equipment.
Their belief in conservation tillage and improving the soil is helping to guide the direction of the farm. They recently started growing no-till soya beans, planting them directly into maize stubble, and last year they sold their mould plough.
Some of Sandi's 450 breeding ewes.
They also plant a 12-species cover crop mix, as well as spreading manure following winter wheat in a bid to create a varied environment for soil biodiversity. As a result, they say they’ve noticed a 20% increase in their maize yields following the cover crop.
Diversification
Some of this manure comes from the farm’s 450 breeding ewes which are managed by Sandi. Demand for lamb is high given their proximity to Toronto, a city with a population of three million.
Some of Sandi's 450 breeding ewes.
They initially diversified into sheep to help cashflow and spread risk, but soon noticed the many synergies between crop and livestock farming.
Technology also plays a key role in the farm. For example, their sprayer automatically records application information and links in to gather data from a nearby weather station. “Having the documentation to show our sustainability on our farm is crucial” explains Mark.
Read more
From the Tramlines: weather could lead to sprouting concerns in winter wheat
Prime time for stubble cultivations
Listen: grants to encourage the use of native grains
Soil health isn’t just an Irish focus, it’s a global one. This becomes more apparent the further I travel. On a recent trip to Canada, I met many farmers who have moved to a conservation agriculture system.
When visiting a number of farms in the province of Ontario, each farmer had tailored their own farming system to work for them, helping improve profitability while building soil health.
Mixing no-till with the plough
Jeff Barlow is a sixth generation crop farmer growing winter wheat, maize and soya beans in the Niagara peninsula. Farming on heavy clay soils, he covers 4,300 acres, 800 of which are owned.
When walking through Jeff’s farm, you can’t help but notice the numerous seed drills, most of which have some form of modification. That’s because he uses various establishment systems for specific crops.
A selection of Jeff's planting equipment.
He runs a four year rotation including maize, non-GM soya beans, GM soya beans and winter wheat. His soya bean and wheat crops are sown with modified 12m no-till air drills.
However following wheat, he ploughs the land ahead of maize. This is for two reasons. He sows a cover crop consisting of red clover, oats and buckwheat after wheat, while also applying 2-3t/ac of sterilised bio-solid pellets.
Jeff grows both GM and Non-GM soya beans.
“We struggle to get livestock manure so the pellets are a key source of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, and also contain lots of micro nutrients which are good for soil” Jeff explains.
“Anything we can do to make our soils better, we’ll do it” he continued, citing research from the University of Guelph on the benefit of using red clover as a cover crop. He estimates that he is saving anywhere between 9-31 kg N/ha from growing and incorporating the cover crop alone.
He also finds that he will achieve a higher yield in maize crops planted on a seedbed which was ploughed. He generally ploughs in the autumn and cultivates in the spring. He explains that finding a system that benefits soils but also provides economic benefits is a delicate balance.
Technology
Technology also plays a big role on Jeff’s farm in a really practical manner. For example, he uses yield monitoring equipment in his combines to guide the mapping of areas damaged by excess water. This is then used to guide his drainage decisions in the following year.
Jeff Barlow of Barlow farms.
All of his maize is sown to GM varieties while around half of his soya bean crops are GM. He notes that while the premium on non-GM soya beans is reasonable, weed control is becoming increasingly difficult and he is likely to increase cultivation of GM varieties in future.
Shepherd Creek Farms grain elevators.
An integrated approach to soil health
Two hours west of Barlow Farms in the village of Staffa lives third generation farmer Mark Brock and his wife Sandi. Farming on clay loam soils, they farm 1,800 acres using a three-crop rotation consisting of maize, soya beans and winter wheat.
Mark Brock and Sandi of Shepherd Creek Farms.
They too grow both GM and non-GM soya bean varieties and, despite the €98-€130/t premium for non-GM varieties, the challenges of reduced chemistry and growing resistance is making weed control increasingly difficult.
Mark explains that the farm was always progressive, having been one of the first in the region to start min-tilling in the ‘80s. This trend continued and in 2006 they were one of the first farms in the area to start strip-tilling.
A selection of Mark's planting equipment.
The impacts were immediate – the ground became more loose and friable and the machine-carrying capacity of the soil increased as a result of the strip tilling. The Brock’s also recorded a 3-5% increase in soil organic matter since they started this practice.
A selection of Mark's planting equipment.
Their belief in conservation tillage and improving the soil is helping to guide the direction of the farm. They recently started growing no-till soya beans, planting them directly into maize stubble, and last year they sold their mould plough.
Some of Sandi's 450 breeding ewes.
They also plant a 12-species cover crop mix, as well as spreading manure following winter wheat in a bid to create a varied environment for soil biodiversity. As a result, they say they’ve noticed a 20% increase in their maize yields following the cover crop.
Diversification
Some of this manure comes from the farm’s 450 breeding ewes which are managed by Sandi. Demand for lamb is high given their proximity to Toronto, a city with a population of three million.
Some of Sandi's 450 breeding ewes.
They initially diversified into sheep to help cashflow and spread risk, but soon noticed the many synergies between crop and livestock farming.
Technology also plays a key role in the farm. For example, their sprayer automatically records application information and links in to gather data from a nearby weather station. “Having the documentation to show our sustainability on our farm is crucial” explains Mark.
Read more
From the Tramlines: weather could lead to sprouting concerns in winter wheat
Prime time for stubble cultivations
Listen: grants to encourage the use of native grains
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