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Spring
2018
Grains
West
6
AgPlaysMoneyball
WILDWEATHER, BIGDATAAND THE FARMBOTTOMLINE
THE PHRASE “MOTHER NATURE
bats last” has been used as a shorthand
warning that humans need to be careful
with our global environment, but farmers
also use it when simply talking about
the impact of weather on their crops. In
this localized context, it’s the truest of
truisms: whatever agronomic choices you
may make in pursuit of a good harvest,
there’s no stopping a hailstorm.
To stretch the baseball analogy further,
data collection is having a
Moneyball
effect on farming. Few would argue that
crossing your fingers and waiting for a
homerun at harvest time is a World
Series-worthy farming strategy. And
while agronomic intuition honed by
experience will always remain an
important part of the game, data collec-
tion and analysis is improving the odds
of success. The most critical variable in
farming—weather—is now being meas-
ured, modelled and predicted in ever
more useful ways.
Much of Alberta farm country is subject
to some of the trickiest weather on the
Canadian Prairies, so analyzing and un-
derstanding the numbers is of particular
importance here. Improvements in weath-
er prediction have come with spinoffs that
are aiding farming in new ways. In “Data
Downpour” (page 20), we look at the
evolution of weather data work, particu-
larly that carried out by Alberta Agricul-
ture and Forestry’s (AF) Alberta Climate
Information Service (ACIS). The organi-
zation works to analyze long-term weather
patterns as well as measure variables such
as wind and precipitation levels. Spinoffs
include the quantification of crop-disease
risk, a development with clear benefits to
agriculture.
And, as you’ll read, there is a way to
stop that hailstorm, but the technology is
not yet being applied in rural areas.
Further to this weather-data discussion,
drought modeller Daniel Itenfisu takes
us inside the AF AgMet unit in “Model
Material” (page 16). Using the consider-
able stream of data collected by ACIS, he
produces the drought reports and maps
that Alberta’s ag sector relies on.
A number of stories in this issue of
GrainsWest
also touch on some aspect of
data usage, but From Lab to Field
columnist Stan Blade takes a step back
and examines the emerging era of infor-
mation agriculture as a whole (page 46).
The staggering amount of digital data
now being incorporated as a means to
streamline farming practices has the
potential to revolutionize all aspects of
crop and animal management as well as
the total agri-food value chain, creating
integrated systems scarcely imaginable a
decade ago.
Weather conditions are top of mind
around seeding time, and naturally,
spring is an underlying theme in these
pages. We turned to Alberta farmers
from across the province for seasonal in-
spiration to kick off the new crop year. In
“Spring Tips” (page 14), eight innovative
practitioners share observations gathered
EDITOR’S
MESSAGE
in the course of the previous year as well
as spring-themed farming tips. This col-
lection of insights touches on topics such
as the value of early seeding, forward
contracting opportunities and the impor-
tance of soil testing, and these ideas are
paired with practical tips on reducing
compaction, improving the illumination
of night seeding, getting active on social
media and more.
As the growing season begins and
seedlings take up nutrients, the efficacy
of fertilizer products is also an integral
part of the springtime farming discus-
sion. In “Puzzle Pieces” (page 24), we
examine the place of nitrogen-stabilizing
fertilizers in Alberta agriculture. As en-
vironmental conditions change, these so-
called smart fertilizers dole out nitrogen
as plants require it. Though they’ve been
available for years, farmers have been
slow to put these products to use.
While weather trumps all in farming,
using data to better work with it ulti-
mately improves productivity. Similarly,
each leap in data management and input
technology has the potential to nudge the
bottom line in the right direction. Each
base hit gets you closer to winning the
ballgame.
Fall •
2017
ConnectingFarmers,Foodand Ideas
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