GrainsWest Winter 2020

Winter 2020 grainswest.com 39 Back in Alberta, another crop commission has also caught on to the novelty that is on-farm research. The Alberta Pulse Growers Commission (APG) is working with farmers now to provide field-level answers to questions that either plague its members or could simply help them improve agronomic practices. Not long after work began in Manitoba, APG staff conducted a survey of farmers, scientists and extension specialists. The results showed them where investment should be focused and how to address gaps in knowledge. “We knew that from close interaction with growers there’s always been a bit of a disconnect between small-plot research and the farm,” said Jenn Walker, APG research manager. So, in 2016, APG held a one-day event that brought together numerous researchers, from entomologists to agronomists as well as crop breeders and extension specialists, to pitch the field-scale research concept and discuss how it could function. With plans in place that year, the first research was conducted on-farm in 2017 with nine farmers. The APG board believed it was a good idea, too, earmarking $2 million for the project. Walker confirms that money is so far “grossly underspent” due to the project’s efficient nature. “When we started out, we started small,” she said. “We had no idea where it would lead us, we just had this big dream and a roadmap.” After just one year, Walker saw the potential of this project. “It was huge, just the affirmation that we could do this,” she said. “We can take 10 farmers with 10 unique pieces of equipment Field-scale projects currently being conducted include the study of phosphorus and fertilizer rates in peas and pea leaf weevil management. and build a replicated trial and actually use it in total. Any farmer … he can hand me his equipment list and I can build a test.” APG had 10 sites in 2018—the project’s second year—and 11 sites the next. In a broader sense, the on-farm research trials allow for greater collaboration, as well. APG has partnered with other public scientists conducting their own research, explained Walker. These partnerships became a win-win for all involved. This year marked the start of a partnership with research scientist Monika Gorzelak of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Lethbridge Research and Development Centre to examine the impact of the activity of mycorrhiza and rhizobia bacteria on soil biology. In addition, fellow Saskatoon, SK, AAFC research scientist Meghan Vankosky has partnered with APG since 2018 to work on experiments related to pea leaf weevil. “There’s a really cool synergy about the whole thing,” said Walker, adding she is thrilled the idea has turned into a living laboratory. With the wheat and barley research about to take off in the springtime here in Alberta, Boychyn is eager to supply farmers with the information they need and want. He is keenly aware that ideas may change and not every single one will translate to solutions across the province. “Just because I develop a protocol doesn’t mean it will align,” he said. “We just want to make sure that when farm trials are being done, the data collected is reliable. I think it’s needed. Farmers are looking for it and there’s no better time to start than now.”