News and updates

It was a busy year at Farming Smarter, everyone had a lot on their plate throughout 2021. The Agronomy program, headed by Research Coordinator Mike Gretzinger and Research Scientist Dr. Gurbir Singh Dhillon, kept busy with the 40 projects they had on...

Our Precision Planting Canola study has been published in the Canadian Journal of Plant Science! The study looked at the effect of seeding canola using precision planters and conventional air drill seeders at different seeding rates on plant density and seed yield.

We wrapped up another great Farming Smarter event - our 2022 Conference & Trade Show! Our first big in-person event in the last two years was a smashing success!

Board Director Scott Holtman first noticed Farming Smarter while on his way to the Irrigation Update seminar many years ago he spotted a road sign on Hwy 3 at the SMRID yard advertising a field event.

Potassium is the third most critical element among the essential elements required by plants, after nitrogen and phosphorus. Potassium is required for photosynthesis, protein synthesis, nitrogen fixation in legumes, translocation of sugars, and starch formation.

For the past two years, we've been looking at a field-scale precision approach to evaluate soil moisture and nitrogen management. Our study took place in 160-acre fields, we utilized both dryland and irrigated sites. We tested with fields that grew seed alfalfa, peas, wheat, and canola.

We're getting ready to tackle our last year of the project identifying how to best integrate novel crops into traditional rotations. In 2021, we finished the first year of this second rotation so this will be our final rotation.

The 2022 Rotary Club of Lethbridge East/Lethbridge Exhibition Park Agricultural Scholarships are among the most coveted post-secondary scholarships available in southern Alberta agricultural students.

The second year of our biostimulants study has wrapped!

This year, our trials had a rotation of wheat, canola, and pea. While it was a tough year of battling droughts and grasshoppers, we still saw some good results!

The application of organic-rich amendments like manure and plant residues can help increase phosphorus availability in soils. Also, the microbial breakdown of these amendments helps slow release of phosphorus that plants can take up before it becomes fixed in the soil.

This winter, we're exploring the adaptability of crops for winter!

In a one-year partnership study with Western Ag Innovations, Farming Smarter is investigating which crops can be best adapted for winter.

Claudette Lacombe, Farming Smarter Communication Manager, grew up thinking word play and a vast vocabulary were the secrets to success in life.

Last week, we did some winter seeding, part of a new project! Mike Gretzinger, Farming Smarter's Research Coordinator, tests the soil's temperature before doing some winter seeding. This early seeding was done for an Ultra Early Canadian Western Amber Durum Seeding Systems trial for Dr. Brian Beres of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

I think even farmers expect work life to settle down when the winter winds blow, but it really doesn't!

Over at the Farming Smarter research farm, it seems to get busier and, with the growth of the organization in recent years, it was time to institute Monday morning check ins.

Just west of Enchant, AB, there is a thriving example of how crop farming and mature wildlife habitat can coexist and complement each other. Stamp Farms farm two sections of leased land under seven  pivots.

David Montgomery spoke at the Farming Smarter conference in 2015. His message is still valid today and this is still a good book recommendation!

The majority of the prairie soils are considered marginal to deficient in the plant-available phosphorus content required for crop production. Thus, farmers routinely apply phosphorus-containing fertilizers and manure to their fields to meet crop requirements.

Our glyphosate-resistant kochia project is out of the ground and getting ready for the next year!

This is a good year to talk about making your farm resilient and the role Farming Smarter can play in helping you make that happen! The good ol' Oxford Dictionary defines resilient as "able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions."

Our Fusarium Head Blight crop rotation project wrapped for the winter, and we've been looking at the data!

Will Van Roessel became a Board Director in March 2021. Will and Jean, his wife, operate Specialty Seeds Ltd. in Bow Island.

Farming Smarter Office Manager Shelly Barclay manages the heck out of all things related to money and contracts. If you've had reason to deal with Shelly on that front, you know you received exactly what you needed.

Online sales; home delivery; drive-through farmers' markets; chef-curated ingredient boxes; pop-up mini-stores; restaurant prepared meal-kits; CSA boxes that include recipes, sauces, even wine or craft beer: consumers are turning to all sorts of new ways to shop and eat these days.

Our Cover Crops project is finishing its fourth year, the final of our scheduled timeline.

As winter looms ever closer, it's a good time to think about our soil health come spring. The biggest advantage of cover crops is the benefits they bring to soil nutrients & the general health of the soil.