Grainswest - Spring 2022

Spring 2022 Grains West 34 FEATURE A Farming Smarter staff member counts emerging plants for a cover crop study funded by the Integrated Crop Agronomy Cluster. Its main objective is to determine if there is wide potential for adoption. “If you’re going to do this, you need to be aware of the risks, as you don’t want your cover crop to be a weed in your next season crop,” he said. According to the Prairie Cover Crop Survey, most farmers resort to grazing (46 per cent), while the remainder rely on winterkill (37 per cent), tillage (30 per cent) and herbicides (21 per cent) to terminate their cover crop. Termination isn’t the only obstacle that concerns early adopters. In fact, 87 per cent of survey respondents said they experienced one or more problems when they added cover crops to their system. Of this number, 30 per cent cited the short growing season as a challenge. Lack of moisture at planting (27 per cent), late harvest of cash crops (17 per cent), additional costs (25 per cent) and the impact of the cover crop on herbicide choice (21 per cent) were cited as further challenges. Further barriers to adoption included a lack of support from agronomists (10 per cent), not knowing where to start (nine per cent), control of cover crop residue (eight per cent), opinions of other farmers (eight per cent), soil that’s too wet to plant, maintain or terminate cover crop (seven per cent) and allelopathy (six per cent). With so many challenges and questions, it’s no wonder uptake is low. Ken Coles, executive director of Farming Smarter, admitted he’s not a cover crop expert, but he is keen to learn. A non-profit, charitable group based in Lethbridge, it works closely with farmers to develop new technologies, crops and practices through small-plot and field-scale research, much of it focused on the irrigated sector. Coles said Farming Smarter is conducting a cover crop study with funding from the Integrated Crop Agronomy Cluster. Its main objective is to determine if there is wide potential for cover crop adoption. The initiative will evaluate the reliability of cover crop establishment with annual crop rotations, look at the impact on crop yield and quality and evaluate their impact on soil health. It will also weigh costs against benefits to determine possible return on investment. “There is some knowledge out there, and there’s some potential, but how you sort through that in the various cropping systems is still sort of an unknown,” he said. Coles doesn’t challenge the value of cover crops as a means to sequester carbon or build soil health. In recent years, he’s seen southern Alberta farmers lose serious amounts of soil to high winds. Increasing ground cover, he said, could be a workable solution. But those who have to work cover crops into their rotation have, for the most part, failed, he added. “One of my major points from our research site was that under dryland drought conditions, cover crops are difficult to establish and may actually compete for water with the crops,” said Coles. “I’m much more optimistic under irrigation.” Naturally, farmers have questions about rotation, costs and timing. “I think there’s a growing desire for some reputable knowledge,” said Coles. “And that’s what we’re hoping to dig into a little bit more.” According to 81 per cent of the Crop Survey respondents, though, the benefits are irrefutable. Of the 281 respondents, 68 per cent saw improved soil health, 48 per cent saw increased biodiversity by boosting the populations of pollinators, beneficial insects, birds and earthworms, and 46 per cent saw increased soil organic matter. In fact, not a single farmer surveyed reported their old system worked better. But as Coles pointed out, the survey is likely not representative of the average Prairie farmer. According to Morrison, though, the survey served its purpose; that is, it helped determine what Prairie farmers are doing with respect to cover crops and where they need help. “Our major goal is just to provide information to farmers, from farmers,” he said. “It allows us to identify areas we may need to research.” Photo:CourtesyofFarmingSmarter