HARVEST DATA FROM 2013 PLOTS & DEMONSTRATIONS All of the plots were harvested (including the soybean trial!!!), samples processed, data entered, numbers crunched and a summary of these results are included in this newsletter. There was not room to include all of the trials but the complete report will be posted on our website in early December including fababean, lentil and flax variety trials, pea & soybean inoculant trial, agrowplow deep tillage demonstration and the regional silage variety trial results.

BARLEY VARIETY TRIAL

Fall 2013 Volume 7, Issue 3

NEWS from North Peace Applied Research Association

Research Technician, Courtney Vandemark cleaning and weighing samples

The barley varieties stood well all year and harvested easily. Almost all plots were less than 14% moisture at harvest on September 12.

For complete results go to our website: www.areca.ab.ca/npara

OAT VARIETY TRIAL: Oat varieties also stood well through harvest and had very little disease or insect pressure. Yields reflect the very favorable growing conditions experienced this year.

NPARA’s Wintersteiger Plot Combine

Page 2 Fall 2013 Volume 7, Issue 3

SPRING WHEAT VARIETY TRIAL:

Thirty spring wheat varieties were included in the NPARA 2013 trial. It was seeded on May 16 and harvested on September 11 with almost all samples testing 14% moisture or less. There were some clear winners, and Josh Stahl picked the number 1 wheat during one of our July tours. Good eye, Josh!

Wheat Variety Type

Average of 4

plots (bu/ac)

Stettler CWRS 66.2

Shaw CWRS 65.6

Superb CWRS 65.1

AAC Brandon CWRS 64.1

Carberry CWRS 63.7

Muchmore CWRS 62.7

Unity CWRS 61.7

Abound CWRS 61.5

Intrepid CWRS 61.1

CDC Go CWRS 60.6

Harvest CWRS 58.3

CDC Alsask CWRS 58.3

AC Splendor CWRS 57.3

Vesper CWRS 56.8

Alikat CWRS 54.4

AC Barrie CWRS 54.2

AAC Redwater CWRS 52.1

Alvena CWRS 48.9

AC Foremost CPS 81.1

Minnedosa CPS 77.7

CPS 5700 PR CPS 74.9

CPS 5720 CPS 69.6

AAC Ryley CPS 67.4

AC Crystal CPS 67.0

NRG 010 GP 83.2

Pasteur GP 80.9

Sadash Soft White 72.1

AC Andrew Soft White 67.8

Snowstar Hard White 56.6

Whitehawk Hard White 55.0

3Fall 2013, Volume 7, Issue 3 North Peace Applied Research Association

Page 3 NEWS from

North Peace Applied Research Association

SOYBEAN VARIETY TRIAL:

PEA VARIETY TRIAL: NPARA participated in the Regional Variety Trials (RVTs) for green and yellow peas. They were seeded May 15 using Nodulator inoculant and 125 lb/ac 11-51-0-0. Emergence and stands were very good and the peas stood well until two weeks before harvest. There was very little disease pressure. At the NPARA July 9 tour, Provincial Pathologist Ralph Lange was frustrated in showing any disease symptoms to the participants. One application of Quilt + Matador was made on June 29. The MP 1899 yellow pea attracted local pea-grower attention all season. It stood exceptionally well and was the last to lodge, which it eventually did just like the rest. The final 1899 yield was

very good as were yields for all the peas. Provincial pea RVT results are forthcoming and will be published in the Alberta Seed Guide.

Yellow Pea Variety YIELD Bu/ac

MP1899 108.1

CDC Amarillo 101.5

CDC Meadow 97.2

CDC Saffron 94.8

Abarth 87.3

AAC Peace River 86.5

Green Pea Variety YIELD

CDC Limerick 86.8

CDC Patrick 85.9

CDC Pluto 79.1

CDC Raezer 78.9

CDC Tetris 74.7

Checking out the Pea Variety Trial during the July 31 tour

Soybeans! It is great to see that folks in the North Peace can get interested in soybeans, please skip to the graph and form your own opinion. The CV of the data is very high, reflecting high variability between individual plots; it is not known why, we will just have to take it with a grain of salt. This is an excellent trial, however, for a “new” crop, as it indicates potential.

To be considered a competitive addition to the crop options in our area a plot average of ~40 bushels/acre would be required, plus some consistency from year to year. The soybean plots, both the variety trial and the inoculant trial, looked very healthy and

vigor was great. The plots were seeded May 26 and I doubt that earlier seeding would have had much impact, as emergence was slow. Plant development took time also with the first flowers not appearing until July 13. We need a variety that flowers just after summer solstice but even as light-sensitive plants, soybeans need some amount of vegetative growth before flowering. It would be hard to hurry them by seeding earlier as the soil must be at least 10C for emergence and warmer is much better. Our first frost on September 19 ended the race to maturity and many pods held immature green beans. Moosomin and Pioneer P001T34R were the most mature varieties. Harvest was easy as the plants stood well through harvest on October 19. Some pods were low on the plant, escaping our plot combine, but commercial machines would have had no problem. Harvest samples were, for lack of a better term, ugly, with green and immature seed. Samples were submitted for protein and oil analysis and this information is forthcoming.

Soybeans are an oilseed directly related to canola in the markets. Agronomically they are in the pulse arena, as a legume and nitrogen-fixer. If the yields can be improved, soy could be an option in crop rotations. I am very interested in producer’s thoughts on this. Stay tuned for more soybean trials in 2014, including some investigation of forage soy varieties.

Variety Moisture % Ave bu/ac

NSC Moosmomin

11.5 24.4

NSC Reston RR2Y

11.6 23.1

LS002R23 11.8 21.3

LS3600 12.4 20.6

NSC Vito 11.6 19.8

HS006RYS24 12.4 16.5

HY00703 12.7 14.2

900Y61 12.6 13.8

P001T34R 13.6 13.6

Page 4 NEWS from North Peace Applied Research Association

THE ULTIMATE CANOLA CHALLENGE: In past years we have collaborated with the Alberta Canola Producers Commission (ACPC) on a “Canola Diagnostic School” which was featured at our farm tours. This year research scientists changed the format and designed the “Ultimate Canola Challenge” trial, also known as the UCC Test 75. Research organizations were invited to carry out a 6 or 13 treatment trial using various products available to producers, costing ~$15/Acre. The “check” was a standard treatment using Best Management Practices (BMP’s) recommended by ACPC and CCC (Canola Council of Canada). Of course we chose to carry out the full 13 treatment trial and were hard pressed to keep up with the treatment schedule and data collection, but our results were worth it. The treatments were:

1. Standard – 100 seeds/m2, no primers or foliar-applied products

2. Extra N: 125% of recommended in the sideband 3. Seed Primer: Protinus seed primer 4. Stress Relief: C3 with herbicide 5. Top dressing: 100% N at seeding, 10 gal/A 28-0-0

added at 5 weeks. 6. Boron (Nexus)

7. Higher seeding rate (150 seeds/m2) 8. Reduced N: 75% of recommended in the sideband 9. Precede seed primer 10. Biostimulator – Penergetic P 11. Fortified Foliar 12. Boron (Alpine) 13. CO2 greenhouse effect: AGROSOLution

Ultimate Canola

Challenge

Treatment AVE BU/A

Seed Primer 70.5

Boron 68.5

Extra N 68.4

Higher Seeding

Rate 68.2

Seed Primer 68.2

Standard 67.7

Biostimulator 67.1

Fortified Foliar 66.7

Boron 4-6 Leaf 65.3

Stress Relief 64.3

CO2 Greenhouse 64.1

Top Dress 63.3

Reduced N 60.8

This test, at least at the NPARA site, indicated no advantage to any treatment as compared to the standard - any yields superior

to the standard treatment were not statistically significant. The take-away message is to continue with CCC/ACPC agronomic

guidelines for best canola performance. Complete results for other locations will be reported at local canola meetings around the

province in late November and early December and will be included in NPARA reports when available. Data will include analysis of

emergence/stand, green seed, thousand kernel weight (TKW), flowering and maturity dates, and seed quality. The UCC will be

continued in 2014.

emergence/stand, green seed, thousand kernel weight (TKW), flowering and maturity dates, and seed quality. The UCC will be

5Fall 2013, Volume 7, Issue 3 North Peace Applied Research Association

Page 5 NEWS from North Peace Applied Research Association

WINTERING & FEEDING LIVESTOCK

Careful site selection and good site management practices are both essential to ensure that producers receive the benefits of win-ter feeding while addressing the potential environmental concerns.

Two new tools have been developed to assist producers. Dennis Lastuka with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Trevor Wal-lace of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development are travelling up on Nov 27 to show us these new tools and explain how they work. The workshop is on Wednesday, Nov 27 @ 5 pm @ the Manning Legion Hall. Supper will be served. If you are unable to attend but would like these tools please contact our office.

The Wintering Site Assessment and Design Tool is designed to assist producers in identifying the environmental risks associated with extensive wintering sites, weighing the risks of one situation against another, and considering the adop-

tion of beneficial management practices to address the risks. The tool covers 5 main considerations:

► site characteristics

► feeding strategies

► bedding and shelter management ► water source management ► post-wintering site management.

The Nutrient Loading Calculator (NLC) is a Windows-based (Excel) program that estimates additions of nitrogen, phos-phorus, potassium, and sulfur on the landscape, from in-field or extensive livestock winter feeding systems. It is de-signed to help land managers plan detailed feed and cow management strategies to achieve an acceptable or target ani-mal unit density per acre based on appropriate nutrient additions in the field.

The calculator estimates the amount of nutrients that are added to a field, when importing feed from offsite. It assumes

that all nutrients in the feed are deposited on the landscape in the form of manure, urine, and waste feed, with the ex-ception of nutrients removed as livestock weight gain. The calculator considers only nutrients added to the feeding area itself, and doesn't address nutrients deposited in shelter/bedding areas, watering sites, and other land outside the feed-ing area. Separate worksheets are used to assess three different feeding systems: whole bales, windrows on the ground, and feeding in a movable trough.

There are two versions of this calculator: Feed to Cow version, and Cow to Feed version. Both versions essentially calcu-

late the same information, but in a different order. The feed to cow version may be preferred for fields that have more than enough space to accommodate feed for one feeding season for the entire herd. The cow to feed version may be preferred if the field does not have enough space to accommodate feed for the entire herd over the full winter feeding season. The calculator may be downloaded from this site:

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$Department/softdown.nsf/main?openform&type=NLC&page=information

NPARA IS YOUR ASSOCIATION:

Attend NPARA events Visit the NPARA Research Farm often to monitor crop development

Suggest research or demonstration projects and extension activities

Share your weather station data for NPARA newsletters

GET INVOLVED WITH NPARA

Page 6

NEWS from North Peace Applied Research Association

DATE: Thursday, January 16

TIME: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Dunvegan Motor Inn, Fairview

TOPICS & SPEAKERS:

Stacking Agronomic Practices to Maximize Wheat Yields: Sheri Strydhorst, Agronomic Research Scientist, Alberta Agriculture

Crop Disease Update: Michael Harding, Disease Management Specialist, Alberta Agriculture

Controlled Traffic Farming: Peter Gamache, Project Leader, Controlled Traffic Farming Alberta

Market Update: Dave Wong, Marketing Specialist, Alberta Agriculture

For more information and to register, please call Nora, North Peace Applied Research Association @ 780-836-3354 or email nora@npara.ca

WHEAT MIDGE MEETINGS No Charge - meals included

Information Session

December 18

5:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Battle River Ag. Hall

Grading Workshop

December 19

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Rycroft Ag. Center

Information Session

December 18

8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Donnelly Sportex

Information Session

December 19

8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Rycroft Ag. Center

2013 Peace Region wheat midge survey and results

Biology of the Wheat Midge

Wheat midge pest management Impact of midge on seed quality and grade

Wheat midge tolerant varieties and stewardship agreements

For more information and to register call NPARA (780) 836-3354

7Fall 2013, Volume 7, Issue 3 North Peace Applied Research Association

Page 7

NEWS from North Peace Applied Research

ENVIRONMENTAL FARM PLAN - our umbrella organization, ARECA, now administers this program.

Please contact us if you wish to complete an EFP. We have all of the resource materials and will be able to assist you. There is also the option of completing one on-line.

Why an EFP is still important: Environmentally sustainable production of crops and livestock , man-aging risks, protecting water resources and air quality, preserving soil and biodiversity, providing a healthy landscape for the next generation and maintaining market access. These are just a few of the reasons for creating an EFP. If you have one, you are ready for whenever the opportunity or need arises. The EFP process helps you identify and address environmental risks and opportunities in your operation. Maintaining a healthy environment is essential to the success of Alberta’s agricultural producers. Also, an EFP is required for application to any of the Stewardship Programs available under Growing Forward.

Growing Forward 2 is a federal-provincial-territorial 5 year (2013 - 2018) partnership with 3 priorities: research & innovation, competitiveness & market development. Programs which producers are eligible for: Business Management Skills Development Program Business Opportunity Program On-Farm Energy Management On-Farm Stewardship

Grazing Management

Manure & Livestock Facilities Management

Improved Pesticide Management

Fuel & Used Oil Management

On-Farm Water Management

You are eligible to apply for funding only if you have completed an Environmental Farm Plan.

Contact us if you have any questions or visit the website: www.GrowingForward.Alberta.ca

EVENT DATE TIME LOCATION CONTACT COST

Wheat Midge Info Meeting Dec 18 5 pm Ag Hall NPARA @ 836-3354

Peace Agronomy Update Jan 16 9 am - 4 pm Dunvegan Motor Inn, Fairview

NPARA @ 836-3354

$25 includes lunch

FarmTech Jan 28 - 30 All Day Northlands, Edmonton 1-866-327-6832

Precision Ag Conference Feb 11-12 All Day Deerfoot Inn, Calgary 403-236-7529 $295/person

Peace Country Classic March 6-9 All Day Evergreen,

Grande Prairie

Leading Edge Farm Management Series with

Merle Good March 13 TBA Grande Prairie

NPARA @ 836-3354

Box 750 Manning, Alberta

T0H 2M0 Phone: 780-836-3354

Fax: 780-836-2670

We are on the web: www.areca.ab.ca/npara

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

North Peace Applied Research Association

STAFF

NORA PAULOVICH Manager, Livestock & Forage Specialist

Email: nora@npara.ca Cell: 780-836-5230

TOM FROMME Research Coordinator Email: tom@npara.ca Cell: 780-836-0651

Janet Vandemark Accounting

President Bill Gaugler Vice President Trevor Paulovich Secretary/Treasurer Mark Kamieniecki

Directors

Peter Bigler

Judy Bowcott

Al Dumas

Ken Herlinveaux

Trevor Enders

Representatives

County of Northern Lights Arie Loogman Agribusiness

Albert Michaud, Pioneer

HAWK HILLS AG SOCIETY