Economics? Is it simply the cost of a new air seeder? Is it what it costs to produce a bushel of product? Or is there a larger picture? I believe it involves more than just money.
My Dad and I operate a 2600 acre farm located SW of Weyburn. How we farm today is a direct result of yesterday's trial and errors. We also run a small cow/calf operation.
I graduated in 1981 with a Diploma in Agriculture (Voc. Ag.) from the University of Saskatchewan. From that time, I have farmed and worked off-farm most of my career. Having bought pricey land in the early 1980's and dealing with high interest rates, low grain prices and weather related extremes, I'm finding that agriculture can be a quite an adventure.
We grow durum wheat, spring wheat, canola, flax, linola, mustard, barley and oats. It seems durum has been our 'specialty crop'. On our marginal soils, with temperature and moisture stress we sometimes, are able to grow fairly good quality durum. I like to use an oilseed with a trifluralin in our rotation to help keep a handle on disease and weed pressures.
Why do we direct seed? Our land is challenging; we farm solonetzic soils (burnouts) which can be difficult to get a crop established. The sodium salts found encourage a very dense soil structure. This structure limits both water and root penetration. These soils are prone to crusting, baking and poor emergence. Timing on these soils is important. We have found that if you can keep a layer of trash or mulch on the surface the land is more forgiving. I believe the best seedbed is undisturbed standing stubble. Here, where our most common limiting factor in grain production is the lack of moisture, direct seeding is the most efficient moisture saving tool.
Working as the District #7 ADD Board technician in the early 1990's, I had a chance to see and work with people who had an interest in developing direct seeding. With the ADD Board we stressed the importance of a complete direct seeding system, which starts at the combine with straw and chaff spreading. Having chemfallowed in the 1980's I was quite comfortable with relying on chemicals for weed control. The first air seeder we bought was a JD 610 tool with a single shoot hoe opener. This was a simple machine with very little soil disturbance, which made the introduction to direct seeding easy. After using it for two years, we decided to 'raise the bar' a little higher, and went to a Flexi-Coil 5000 double shoot, with 12" row spacing and paired row seed boot. We fertilize at the soil test lab's recommendation, which is about 50 lbs. of actual N and 10 to 15 lbs. of P for cereal crops. Fertilizer is placed below and to the side of the seed. Single shoot and double shoot have both their good and bad points. Seedbed soundness is the biggest issue I have with double shooting. Maybe a further separation of seed and fertilizer is the answer!
Machinery costs in a direct seeding system have always been a concern. A four wheel drive tractor and air seeder, putting on 300 total tractor hours per year and a two wheel drive tractor on the sprayer is our way of keeping costs down. With a burnoff pass in the spring and a one pass seeding system, fuel bills are kept under control.
Weed control, especially perennial weed control, seems to be more of a menace. A shift from using just a spring burnoff may have to be reconsidered. A smaller dose of chemical in the spring, followed by another pass in the fall, may be more effective than simply put on a large dose in the spring. We found the cultivator may be a good option when forced to plow down or summerfallow due to drought (1997) and flood (1999) for added perennial weed control.
This is the way we have chosen to farm for now. It seems to work for us, but I know as time goes by that we will continue to evolve. The use of new technology will only grow and I believe that change has just begun.
What advantages do I see in a direct seeding system?
Economic efficiencies - continuous cropping the most acres for the fewest dollars.
Time and timing - putting on less tractor hours but doing your field work in a timely matter.
Maximize yields - getting the highest output at lowest cost.
Sustainability - less erosion, less salinity, more organic matter etc., is good for our soils.
Organic matter - the burnout spots seem to be getting smaller and easier to handle.
Rotations - for profit and breaking up crop and pest cycles.
Less labor - it costs money to run machinery.
Efficiency - fewer field passes.
Fuel and Repairs - savings on both.
Machinery - keep machinery longer and be worth more at trading time.
Yields - comparable to summerfallow.
Satisfaction - I find direct seeding to be both challenging and rewarding.
What disadvantages are there?
Cash flow - it seems like it costs money to be in this system, but what doesn't.
Openers - seed openers are improving and costing less per acre.
Weeds - we're seeing more dandelions, foxtail barley and Canada Thistle, to name a few.
Spraying - no surprise here.