Is winter really here? You sure couldn't tell it by the scant snow cover throughout the province. And these temperatures -- who needs a warm holiday away? Oh well, it gives us all something to talk about while we are planning the next year's activities!!
This summer we had a meteorological (weather) station operational. While it was great to have all that data, it was equally shocking when you evaluated it. The one measurement that is of great interest was the evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiration is the sum total of the moisture evaporated from the soil naturally and transpired from the plant. Between May 30 and October 22, 2001, the CLC received less than 6 inches of precipitation but lost over 20 inches of moisture to evapotranspiration. I'd say we lost. For those who have visited the CLC and seen the number of sloughs there are (~40), there were only two sloughs that had any water left in them by the end of October.
We did buy a "new-to-us" combine this fall -- a 1983 TR85 -- with a pick-up header and a straight cut header. We straight cut the wheat and flax (which were both preharvested with Roundup Transorb). The chopper and spreader did an excellent job on the flax. The PF3000 Ag Leader yield monitoring system was installed in the combine. It worked well -- the toughest part was getting the calibrations set. We were able to generate yield maps for the wheat, flax and canola.
Given the lack of moisture, yields (in bushels per acre) were acceptable: peas 35; flax 24; wheat 37 and canola 20. This can be attributed to a couple of factors: the accrued benefits of direct seeding, good residue "coverage" and timely rains.
We also harvested the first seed production of the second-year caraway. We yielded 240 kg on 1.4 acres. However, there were only 7 swaths and on the first one (of course, the heaviest one) we threw lots of seed out the back trying to set the combine (we used the old Massey). We finally got the combine set so that the seed wasn't being lost but we also collected a lot of straw in the hopper and the seeds were not fully disconnected from the head stems. We estimated that only 30-35% of the caraway bloomed this year and look forward to a good crop next year as establishment of the caraway is excellent. Crop Insurance continues to use our caraway patch in their efforts to develop methods to assess establishment.
In the precision farming project, we varied the rates of the N, P and S fertilizers. We did not tackle the variable application of pesticides. We have evaluated the yield map, but as we suspected would be the case for the first year of one crop on four different stubbles, the previous year's crops had an impact on yield. This, as well as the impact of the lack of moisture, makes it very difficult to draw any conclusions.
The projects that involved any variation in fertilizer this year did not show differences. In the 50-acre pea field, three fertilizer rates were applied: full rate (8# N 28# P), half rate (4#N 14#P) and no fertilizer. The plots were harvested separately and the yields were not influenced by the rate of fertilizer -- all three plots yielded 35 bushels per acre.
The same results were seen in the copper demonstration -- the inclusion of copper did not influence yield, regardless of the form or time of application.
This year we replaced a number of trees in different areas on the farm. The PFRA facility in Indian Head supplied us with over 200 trees: Colorado spruce, acute leaf willow, Walker poplar and green ash. The trees were watered every three or four days for two or three weeks and then it was left up to Mother Nature. Unfortunately, she did not co-operate -- it was not a good year to plant trees. All the spruce died as did about half of the green ash. Most of the poplars and all of the willows survived.
As is usual for this time of year, we are busy developing projects for the upcoming season. We will continue the precision farming project with wheat as the crop. We will also continue to collect meteorological data with the weather station and hope to utilize the sclerotinia model as an aide for timing fungicide application. We will be showcasing 45A77 canola with (hopefully) a Gaucho Platinum seed treatment (in addition to its other properties, it provides suppression for lygus bugs). We will be working with Monsanto and their seed division Dekalb to showcase a new Roundup Ready canola variety. We will also have a number of smaller demonstrations of flax, corn, coriander, dill, fenugreek and medicinal herbs.
We are in the process of developing a new project with Ducks Unlimited that would see the CLC expand into a new area -- grazing management. Ducks Unlimited will resource land that has been seeded to dense nesting cover (with cicer milkvetch as part of the mix), has bush and/or trees, and water present. PFRA will help with trenching to develop a piped water system to make water available to each paddock. The fencing and watering equipment will operate with solar-generated power. Together with a number of collaborators, a rotation grazing system will be set-up. There will be a check plot set aside for comparison purposes. The project is long-term and we anticipate hosting two field days, one in summer and one in fall.
Also with Ducks Unlimited, we will be participating in a winter wheat project this fall. SeCan and Syngenta will also be involved in the project.
The school program grew again this year -- 2,147 students participated in the activities at the CLC. One group in particular was extremely committed -- the Grade 11 class from Holy Rosary High School in Lloydminster got on the bus at 6:45 am to make the four-hour trip to the CLC!! In addition to the structured school groups, we hosted Girl Guide, Work Experience and Special Needs groups. The Carlton Comprehensive High School Outdoor School visited the CLC for the third year.
News of our program is spreading -- the Outdoor School program in Saskatoon phoned in November and wanted to come visit and learn about soils on December 7. Since it would be difficult (certainly not because of the depth of snow!) to demonstration soil layers, etc. at that time of year, we have scheduled a tour for them, similar to what we offer Carlton, in the spring.
We said goodbye to Garry Brad this summer. We sincerely appreciate Garry's contribution that helped to build our program.
We say hello to Gord Byrne who quickly jumped into the fray this fall and we look forward to working with him in the upcoming year. His enthusiasm will ensure the continued success of the school program.
The CLC was nominated for two Canadian Agri-Food Awards of Excellence -- for Environmental Stewardship and Agricultural Awareness and Education. We thank all the organizations and producers who supported our nomination.
We once again thank our partners and sponsors for their continued commitment to the CLC.
The CLC's General Tour will be held Tuesday, July 23, 2002. We hope to see you there or just drop by any time for a tour. Have a great spring.