Our family direct seeds 1500 acres. Wheat, barley, oats, flax, canola and peas are grown in a cereal-legume-cereal-oilseed rotation. We have 150 acres of alfalfa and 200 acres of pasture land. We also have a cow-calf operation with 40 commercial breeding cows. In the last two years, we custom seeded 500 acres per year. Along with our own haying, we have added a custom haying operation.
Our farm is located 15 miles west of Duck Mountain Provincial Park. Two rivers, the Whitesand and Assiniboine border most of our land. We have an abundance of treeland with noticeable tree boundaries between individually owned parcels of land. Our home base is a 1/4 mile north of Veregin and the rest of the land is within a 10 mile radius. The soil types range from light yellow sand, black loam, river bottom silt, heavy black and clay. Classes of land are from type "D" to Type "J". 80% of the cultivated land is stone-free. Pasture and hayland is sandy with a gravel base. Land terrain varies from flat, gradual inclines and declines, to sharp drops. We have water runs, pot holes that dry up and sloughs that do not.
Our snow cover is always around 18 inches usually contributes to late spring seeding. The rainfall is adequate through the summer. However, in the last few years, flash rain storms have become very common, dumping one to three inches of rain in less than two hours.
We started continuous cropping during the mid 1970's and airseeding was implemented in the early 1980's. As the years went by, airseeding became very comfortable and as a result, we began to reduce the number of tillage passes. Just before starting direct seeding, we were making two to four tillage passes per field, with the last pass being the seeding operation.
In the fall of 1992, we left our stubble standing. I began reading material on zero-till, visited the agriculture extension office a few times and attended a few meetings. I wanted to talk to a farmer who had several years of experience in direct seeding. A referral sent me into the Kelvington area where I met Kelly Patrick. Kelly had five years of direct seeding experience and was able to answer all my questions. We discussed the do's, the don'ts and the have to's of direct seeding. By the time I came home that evening, I had a seeding system planned out.
The goals I set were based on money. Spend as little as possible for a strong adaptable seeding system. To accomplish this I had to use existing equipment and buy some "add-ons". The major "add-on" was an on-row packing system. I wanted a packing system that was simple in design, easy to attach to our cultivator and used rubber tires as packers. We bought 9 inch shovels and trimmed the wings, leaving 4 1/2 inch shovels. I also purchased a new larger capacity air tank, which in the future, would allow us to double shoot.
In 1993, we started direct seeding using a single shoot system. We put all the fertilizer down with the seed using a blend of 50 N, 20 P, 10 K, 10 S. The crops did very well despite all the "shaking head" looks from our neighbours. In 1994, we switched to double shooting. We purchased a Flexi-Coil sidebanding boot and added another hose to supply the fertilizer separately. The switch was prompted because of inadequate soil cover of the fertilizer in previous years. The main concern had been fertilizer damage to the seed. With this boot, we had a definite separation of at least 1 1/2 inches to the side.
The field sprayer became a very important part of direct seeding and it had to be ready prior to seeding. In some years, a pre-seeding burnoff with Roundup would work, but in other years it would not. With prolonged snow melt and wet, cool soils, we usually have no weed growth prior to seeding. To spray would be a waste of money. Seeding the crop is the first priority and weed control comes next.
We try to grow short straw cereal varieties and crops that mature within 90 days. Seldom has moisture been a problem around Veregin during the growing season. Our biggest problems are frost-free days and weeds that start growing once the soil warms up.
We have fall desiccated wheat the last two falls in preparation for field peas the following spring. In-crop spraying has not changed much, but in the last two years, our barley did not need a wild oat or millet herbicide. With fall desiccation, straight cutting crops during harvest has become a reality on our farm. This method has been used the last two years and fits well with direct seeding. We equipped the straw chopper with a heavier double knife rotor and added a chaff spreader to our combine. In most situations, our rotary combine does a good job with straw. Snow trapping is not a big concern, so we try and cut the stubble as low as possible to help speed up drying in the spring. Successful direct seeding starts with good harvest management.
We have implemented direct seeding on our farm because of the economics of zero-tillage and the conservation of our soil. I strongly recommend the work sheet pamphlet "Soil Works...Economics of Zero-Tillage" for anyone contemplating direct seeding. This short study compares your current seeding system with a zero-tillage seeding system.
In conclusion, these are some of the reasons why we have we are direct seeding on our farm:
1. Economics
2. Water erosion
3. Better moisture control
4. Time factor
5. Limited manpower
6. Reduced wear on machinery
7. Improved soil structure
8. Perennial weed control
9. Ease of field marking and dust control
10. Better things to do
11. Keep the neighbours wondering
12. Save our soil for future generations