RED DEER – Bryan Corns farms with the help of the CBC.
He uses cows, a baler and a combine to take crops off his 8,200 acre farm near Grassy Lake, Alta.
A dedicated minimum-tillage farmer since 1978, he uses a chronological rotation that includes winter and spring wheat, grain corn, durum, oats, canola, sorghum, linola and forages. The semi-arid, windy climate is too dry for pulses.
“All the crops must be done with reduced tillage in mind,” he said.
A 650 head cattle herd is an integral part of the rotation. The cattle graze the forages and corn year round. If a crop fails, the cattle are turned into the field.
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“What goes wrong can be consumed on site.”
Besides saving soil moisture, he said minimum till saves money and cuts back on the workload.
Corns, an agricultural mechanic, modified his air drills to suit various crops and soil conditions.
“We took a $35,000 tank, a $40,000 frame to create a machine that is worth nothing,” he said at the recent FarmTech 2000 conference in Red Deer. The machinery may appear unusual, but it fits his needs for the diversity of crops.
Spring comes early in southern Alberta, giving him time to seed a variety of crops. He starts planting wheat and canola in mid-April and finishes with forages at the end of June.
Forages like alfalfa return organic matter to light, porous soil that is easily eroded by southern Alberta winds. Alfalfa also helps restore fields torn up by oil industry activity.
Harvesting starts at the beginning of August and runs till the end of October with crops like corn.
The grain corn is sold to a local distillery and cattle graze the stalks during the winter.
New crops, new lessons
Such diversity has come slower for Craig Shaw, of Lacombe, Alta., where there is substantially more rain on heavier soils.
He calls himself a “probationary direct seeder.” His conservative rotations include two cereals followed by a broad-leaf crop.
He does not direct seed everything. Liquid hog manure provided by Shaw’s brother has to be plowed into the soil quickly. However, this practice balances out because these manured fields yield a good crop.
Technology and new crop developments introduced in the last five years allow him to try new crops.
“We no longer dismiss any crops as being a viable entity on our farm.”
He tried fall seeded crops for the first time three years ago. The new crops and new timetable taught him some valuable lessons.
When it was time to seed winter wheat he discovered August soils in his area turn hard as cement. It took some work to prepare a seedbed.
He experienced some winterkill, but is confident winter wheat can work in his area. However, he wants a dwarf wheat variety to control lodging problems common in his area due to fertile soils and higher rainfall.
Yields on the fall seeded crops are highly variable, ranging from 20 bushels per acre to 85 bu. in a single season.
He tried dormant canola for the first time in October 1997. It was snowing as he seeded and he was surprised it grew.
“It was the best canola crop I had ever grown in my life.”
He repeated the crop in 1998 on 350 acres. He had to reseed parts of it, but yields were still better than his spring seeded canola.
