Larry and Sandra Hill have farmed for the past 30 years. Although they have been part-time farmers with full time jobs, they have farmed full time for the past 17 years. They farm a little over 5000 acres near Waldeck in southwest Saskatchewan and have practiced various forms of conservation farming ever since they moved to their farm in 1968. The first thing they did was plant shelterbelts about 40 rods apart. On some of their lighter land, they narrowed that to 20 rods and on the land most prone to erosion, they even reduced the width between the tree rows to 10 rods. Since then, they have increased the shelterbelts that were 10 rods apart to 20 rods, due to direct seeding and other soil conservation techniques.
They first tried direct seeding in 1983, using a Noble DK5, combining it with chem fallow and straight combining. The DK5 didn't work that well, as it couldn't pass through the stubble effectively. Larry and Sandra also quit chem fallowing at that time due to the high cost of Roundup. However, they did continue with straight combining.
The Hills had contemplated modifying the DK5 so it would go through stubble, but in 1991 they bought a Flexi-Coil 5000 and were then able to successfully direct seed with it. They use a Stealth knife and single shoot. The Hills quickly learned that their straw chopper on the combine had to be set to maximum. "Managing our residue is very important and the key to being able to direct seed", explained Larry. The Hills started going to meetings locally and in Alberta, field days and demonstrations, as well as talked to farmers who were already direct seeding. They are always looking for new techniques or research that can be incorporated into their farming operation.
Since the reduction in price of Roundup, the Hills have re-introduced chem fallow into their system instead of tillage with excellent results. As Larry commented, "The direct seeded and chem fallow fields are now essentially unaffected by wind or water erosion, even on our most sandy fields." The Hills have experimented with cutting rates of herbicide on chem fallow with poor results. As Larry and Sandra commented, "It cost a dollar to save a nickel".
Although they have tried various crops in a rotation, the Hills are working towards a cereal/pulse rotation using peas and lentils in the rotation with durum. However, their rotation may change somewhat due to market prices. The Hills began incorporating pulses into the rotation due to the cereal leaf disease problems they were encountering on a chem fallow/durum rotation.
The Hills have been involved in a variety of soil conservation projects over the years. In addition to their own testing of techniques like variable stubble heights and knife deflectors, they have been involved with some testing with various chemical companies. They also have an impressive field forest belt test with PFRA that is located just behind their yard. This test has 15 different varieties of deciduous and coniferous trees and is also testing different mulches on these tree rows for weed control. The Agri-Food Innovation Fund's Applied Research and Demonstration farm or "spoke" site for the southwest is located on the Hills land, as is a precision farming project. This demo farm has several projects involving special crops and spices. At the same location as the demo farm, there is also a stubble height project with the research Station at Swift Current and a Limagrin canola variety trial. The Hills are also involved as cooperators with the Carbon Monitoring Project with SSCA and the Research Station at Swift Current.
Larry and Sandra are an innovative couple who are continually seeking out better methods and management practices to make their farming system work better and be more profitable, yet remain sustainable. The projects they have been involved with not only increase their knowledge, but also help many other farmers. The success of their efforts is evident in the lack of soil erosion and more productive land without degrading the soil.