Wet, sticky, heavy clay soil and heavy residue is what the companies demonstrating at SSCA's Soil Conservation Field Day found at the site located four miles north of Indian Head on highway 56. These wet conditions, typical of seeding conditions in eastern Saskatchewan this spring, provided a definite challenge for the equipment being demonstrated on June 20. The 800 farmers who attended seemed to really appreciate seeing the equipment operate under the tough seeding conditions faced by farmers every year. We had comments from both farmers and agricultural researchers that these were the most realistic conditions we have had for our field day.
Once again, there were two separate direct seeding demonstration areas on site. In the main seeding area, the thirteen seeders were on hand to demonstrate their ability to direct seed into standing stubble. In the second seeding area there was a demonstration of the lone entry in the farmer modified contest. The two seeding areas, with a total of 14 different seeders, were the most popular demonstrations as people crowded around equipment jockeying for a better view.
A unique feature of the SSCA field day were the May seeded plots of canola and wheat. Eleven commercially available seeders seeded these plots to provide a comparison of crop establishment for the field day. These plots gave producers the opportunity to not only see the seeders working on that day but also see the results from each seeder a month after a crop was seeded. Dr. Adrian Johnston, Melfort Research Station and Blair McClinton, SSCA, gave a guided tour of the May seeded plots to around 150 interested farmers. Many other farmers viewed these plots at their own leisure. Plot information is available at the main sign for anyone interested in looking at these plots. There will be another tour of these plots during the Indian Head Zero Tillage Field Day on July 25 or 26.
The demonstration site is also the location of two other research trials. It is one of five locations in Saskatchewan of an Ag. Canada/PAMI Direct Seeding Opener Trial. Gord Hultgreen, PAMI and Guy Lafond, Ag. Canada, were on hand to explain the experiment and answer any questions. The Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation are using this site for a high disturbance vs. low disturbance direct seeding trial. Doug Derksen, Ag. Canada and Judy McKell, SDAF, were on hand to explain the plots.
The residue management demos were also well attended. Farmers were very interested in how the residue management equipment would work in field conditions. Organizers unrolled bales of unthreshed wheat to simulate harvest conditions. Each combine made several passes to demonstrate uniformity of the spread. Many farmers realize that residue management is the first change they need to consider in their seeding system.
Spraying equipment was also demonstrated at this years field day. The spraying demonstration featured both high clearance and field sprayers. In addition to the sprayers, Rogers Engineering demonstrated their liquid fertilizer "Pulse Bander". This machine injects liquid fertilizer using high pressure (5000 psi) nozzles instead of using a traditional soil openers.
Overall, the organizers were pleased with how the field day turned out. The organizers would like to thank all of the field day suppliers and participants who have helped to make this field day a success.