The buildings were noisy with the sounds of metal machines and air tools. Everywhere young, energetic men and women were busy with the tasks involved in building the worlds most advanced seeding machinery. Signs on the wall displayed impressive production statistics and work records. This was the scene presented to us this fall as the SSCA regional agrologists toured several of Saskatchewan's direct seeding machinery manufacturing plants. From what I hear from other manufacturers this is the way it is in most of Saskatchewan's agricultural manufacturing plants this year. Each year SSCA staff spend a few days with some of Saskatchewan's major machinery manufacturers to learn the latest developments in their machinery. We do this so that our staff can be well versed on the new seeding developments that will be interpreted and passed on to producers through our information extension programs.
Developments in agricultural seeding machinery have been coming hard and fast in Saskatchewan for over twenty years. Our province is now home to several manufacturers who ship machinery all over North America and overseas to countries like Australia and the Ukraine. We have world leaders working out of places like Saskatoon, Regina, Yorkton and even obscure places like St. Brieux, Indian Head and, Langbank.
There is no single reason for this boom in machinery manufacturing. Saskatchewan has always had a reputation for invention and innovation. "Where there is a will there is a way", "necessity is the mother of invention": these are sayings that maybe weren't born in Saskatchewan but are definitely applicable. But would this machinery been developed without other underlying factors? After all, direct seeding machinery is only part of a direct seeding program. Farmers are constantly taught and reminded that the purchase of a direct seeding machine will not guarantee the success of a reduced tillage farming system. Many other factors come into play such as; residue management, crop rotations, weed control and more. These factors are not simply bought and sold but are part of a learning and adoption process. Without these factors being implemented the package is not complete and the successes of our manufacturing industry may not have been achieved to the extent we see today. These parts of the package have been developed by Saskatchewan's agrologists working in research, industry, provincial extension services, PFRA, ADD boards and in non-government organizations like the SSCA. This team of agrologists has been more than influencial in the development of modern direct seeding systems.
The point here is that farmers need to be aware of all the components necessary to make a direct seeding system successful. Equipment is being ordered at impressive rates. We heard this fall from a major manufacturer that if a farmer wants a machine for spring they had better get their order in by Christmas or they might be out of luck. We hope farmers will also take advantage of the other tools available to them from the SSCA and other agrologists working in Saskatchewan. This winter we will again be offering small meetings where farmers can get together with industry and extension experts to discuss the components of successful direct seeding systems. In the future we will also be offering conferences, field days and other activities so that Saskatchewan farmers will continue to be ahead of the pack in modern farming systems. In this way our entire agriculture industry from producers to agrologists to manufacturers will be looked on by the world as leaders in modern sustainable agriculture.