Wilson Blair was first introduced to the concept of continuous cropping in the early `60's. At that time, Wilson spent the winters in Manitoba working for the University of Manitoba's soils department constructing soil and yield maps that were then submitted to Crop Insurance. Plots that had been continuously cropped for years on Red River clay maintained soil quality and yielded better than plots on a 50-50 rotation. That information and the fact that the Manitoba soil test lab was also promoting continuous cropping convinced Wilson to give it a try.
At the time, he and his wife, Agnes were living near Drake. The land they were farming was quite light and seemed suited to continuous cropping. It wasn't easy. To get control of the weeds, incorporated herbicides were used. Wilson said, "We had a hard time incorporating the Avadex and keeping the sand at home!"
A few years later, the Blairs moved to their current farm, north of Lanigan where the land is heavier. Wilson attempted to continuous crop again but found he needed some summerfallow in his rotation just for perennial weed control. When Roundup arrived on the market, he found it helped him better control those perennials with less tillage. But back then, the price prohibited widespread use over all the acres.
Having been very active in forming the Committee to get the Poundmaker Feedlot up and running, Wilson decided he needed some cattle on the farm. He and Agnes bought their first cows at Agribition and gradually built the herd into one of purebred Horned Herefords.
With the arrival of the cattle, Wilson figured he should be able to work a grass rotation into his continuous cropping system. Some land was seeded to grass for long term hay and pasture use but grass never quite entered into the rotation.
In the early 1980's, Wilson purchased his first air seeder. A few years later, he tried to direct seed with shovels but found he couldn't achieve a uniform depth. Then in 1988, he was able to have some wheat custom seeded with a John Deere 750 No Till drill. That was an extremely dry year. Wilson said, "The wheat we seeded ourselves after the field had been worked a time or two went 14 and 15 bushels to the acre. The direct seeded wheat went 30!" Agnes agreed. She said, "That drill showed us the moisture could be kept in the soil by not working it!"
In 1991, the Blairs purchased a Bourgault cultivator with a floating hitch and equipped it with Gen openers so that they could seed and apply anhydrous ammonia. The system worked well in the first year because the field conditions were quite dry. But problems occurred in the following springs when there was ample moisture. "The ammonia and the cast iron of the openers caused too much plugging in moisture", said Wilson. "I lived under the cultivator for the next 4 years!"
In the fall of `96, Wilson went to Bourgault and inquired about a mid shank bander, one that used knives for both seed and anhydrous placement. He then purchased a 5710 Air Drill and used the unit in the spring of `97. He found the machine to be simple and problem free, providing uniform seeding depth. The 3.5 inch packers worked well in his conditions. He also had no plugging problems and the draft was so light, the 4WD pulled only with the front wheels. "It was the best year of seeding we've had in 15 years!" commented Wilson. And Agnes added, "A happy seeder is a happy husband!"
Like many of the farmers in their area, the Blairs grow a variety of crops including canola, peas, wheat (CPS, HRS and durum), barley and flax. Wilson said he is looking forward to direct seeding some new stands of forages in `98 with his mid row shank bander.
The move to a direct seeding system has been pleasing to the Blairs. The savings in terms of labour and soil moisture have made the change worth while. But the Blairs recognize that the system requires more management than a conventional system. The variety of crops grown require a variety of herbicides. And as Wilson is quick to point out, you have to pay attention to what herbicides are applied to the crop, especially some of the new chemistries. "Some of these newer herbicides have me concerned about soil residues. For instance, on some of my own fields, I applied Pursuit to canola just 4 years ago and again to peas just 2 years ago. I wonder if I will have any trouble with those fields this spring."
Trouble or not, the Blairs will continue to direct seed. It's a system that works well for their operation.