Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm joined forces with two partners on a unique project designed to evaluate the yield increase potential and economic impact of crop nutrition practices.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very happy to work with Yara Belle Plaine and Down to Earth Ag Research to look at practices and application systems that could really benefit producers not only in increased yields but also in return on investment,鈥� said Blake Weiseth, Applied Research Lead at Discovery Farm.
鈥淭his is the kind of project that fits the Discovery Farm mandate to a tee, with industry and research partners working together to find practical, applicable solutions in agriculture.鈥�
A total of 80 acres at Discovery Farm will be devoted to the large-scale trials, Weiseth explained, including 40 seeded with canola and another 40 with wheat. Standard farming practices will be used on half of each crop as a control. The other half will feature alternative practices, products and technology designed to improve crop yield, nutrient use efficiency and grower profitability.
鈥淗aving an incubator farm in the heart of the prairies near our Belle Plaine Saskatchewan nitrogen facility has been a long-term goal in our effort to further support the agriculture community here in Western Canada,鈥� said Mandy Huska, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Yara in Western Canada.
鈥淥ur research at Discovery Farm will allow us to showcase new and traditional practices to our retail partners and their farmers that could make a difference in how, when and what nutrition is applied as we work toward keeping operations simple and farms profitable.鈥�
In addition to field scale trials, the research underway at Discovery Farm also involved a small plot component where Yara will trial new granular fertilizers, fertilizer coatings and foliar nutrition products along with crop nutrition strategies on key Western Canadian crops.聽
鈥淲e call these incubator projects because it allows us to bring to scale learnings from these and other Yara trials in a more commercial context,鈥� said Markus Braaten, Market Development Manager for Yara North America.
鈥淯ltimately, we intend for the farm to serve as a platform to demonstrate innovative ways to deliver complete crop nutrition, without creating additional complexity for the farmer, while increasing net return on investment on practices implemented.鈥� 聽
Down to Earth Ag Research will manage all aspects of the project, from seeding to harvest, on both the large and small plots. For Down to Earth Ag Research Founder and CEO Dean Streisel, the research results will help farmers recognize the value that comes with paying attention to nutrition. 鈥淔armers want products and systems that boost yield, but they also need to see the economic benefit,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to be part of research that will make our limited amount of agricultural land even more productive.鈥�
