SOURIS, Man. Ñ Banding together to buy a row crop planter could be an option for producers in southwestern Manitoba who want to grow sunflowers but are leery of using an air seeder, says Manitoba provincial oilseed specialist Rob Park.
Park believes there is opportunity to grow more sunflowers in southwestern Manitoba, but many producers question how to seed the crop, especially those attempting to grow sunflowers for the first time.
Some growers have opted to use air seeders, which avoids the need for a row planter and tillage between rows for weed control. That approach also fits well with a desire among growers to limit tillage to conserve soil moisture.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
But Park said it can be difficult to accurately place seeds using an air seeder and that could lead to plants growing too closely together.
“It’s not an easy thing to do. There are some guys who have stuck with it for a long time and are doing really, really good with it, so it works. But you have to be fairly meticulous and you have to be willing to stick it out and be a very patient person as far as solid seeding goes.”
Trevor Cowieson, who farms near Souris, has been growing sunflowers for 11 years. He uses an air seeder and shuns the idea of investing in a row crop planter and spending time and fuel to till between rows of sunflowers.
“I don’t see any point in spending money on more equipment and on fuel when we’re accomplishing the same thing (with an air seeder).”
When grown too closely, sunflowers tend to produce smaller heads and smaller seeds. That can harm the value of the crop, particularly sunflowers grown for the confectionery market where a larger seed size is desired.
With a row planter, the seeds can be accurately metered out with the desired spacing between plants in a row and producers can get an accurate snapshot of the seeds planted per acre. That alleviates the risk of plants growing close together and robbing one another of moisture and nutrients.
Cowieson experienced that one year when he planted his sunflowers too densely but he is now comfortable that solid seeding can deliver the same results as a row cropping.
He has compared the results and said there has been no significant difference in the percentages of large seeds that their confectionery sunflowers yield by solid seeding versus those grown with row cropping.
He made no major modifications to his air seeder and finds planting with a smaller seed produces even seed distribution.
“I don’t see any reason not to do it,” Cowieson said. “We haven’t seen the problems with it that some people are describing.”
Still, Park said a row crop planter might be worth a look.
“If you’re going to be a long-term sunflower grower and you’re really interested in this business, I would entertain a discussion to see if a row crop planter might be OK for you,” he said, following a sunflower summit in Souris April 12.
“Either that or get really serious about learning how to do it right, like Trevor Cowieson does, with an air seeder.”
Row crop planting is more common in the Red River Valley. Producers there generally get more benefit because they seed more special crops suited for rows. As well, there tends to be more moisture in the valley so producers have less worry about losing soil moisture through tillage.
But for producers in southwestern Manitoba, a row crop planter might not be worth it to seed only one crop. Park suggested two or three producers might buy one together. Even a used one should last for a long time, he said, if it is used only for sunflowers.
Another option for producers who want to use an air seeder is to start with a smaller acreage with oilseed varieties, Park said. Seed size is not as much of an issue with the oilseed sunflowers, he said. Buyers are more concerned with pounds per bushel.
