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By STAN BLADE, P.Ag.
FROM LAB
TO FIELD
Smart integration
Bringing traditionalmanagement practices intothe future
American satirist H.L. Mencken
provided the classic quote, “For every
complex problem there is an answer that
is clear, simple and wrong.” Sometimes,
a complex problem demands a complex
solution—and modern agriculture is a
perfect example.
Historically, science focused on one
variable at a time to see how changing a
single factor would have an impact on the
bigger system. Agricultural research led
the way in the 20th century by developing
elegant statistical designs for its field ex-
periments so that the influence of a single
variable (fertilizer rate, cultivar, crop
sequence, pest control) could be quanti-
fied, and recommendations made based
on that variable’s impact on yield. This
was a very effective approach to identify
“big hammers” for dramatically increased
crop production.
Over the last decade, however, the agri-
cultural community has introduced more
complex solutions—system-based and
agro-ecological approaches to developing
cropping regimes that are economically
and environmentally sustainable. Our
industry (producers, input suppliers, re-
searchers, governments, producer organi-
zations) “talks a good game” about how we
have turned the corner and are engaged
in integrated management practices. The
question is whether we have really adopt-
ed this approach.
I recently attended a global agricul-
tural biotechnology meeting where
one recurring theme was the impact of
glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth on
southern U.S. agriculture. Producers kept
applying glyphosate with such selective
pressure that resistant weeds have now
taken over millions of acres in the United
States. U.S. Department of Agriculture
research leader Stephen Duke (using data
from the United States and from Hugh
Beckie, research scientist with Agricul-
ture and Agri-Food Canada) observed
that Canada enjoyed a much longer
period between the introduction of herbi-
cide-resistant crops and the observation
of herbicide-resistant weeds. His explana-
tion was that our first transgenic canola
systems used a number of herbicide plat-
forms rather than only glyphosate—proof
positive that a complex, multipronged
approach is often the more effective
choice in the long run.
Agricultural researchers, input suppli-
ers and the production community have
long celebrated the simple solution: All
we need to do is find the highest-paying
crop, the best cultivar, the best fertilizer
rate, the best crop protection product, and
everything will be fine.
We can be proud of the amazing
productivity gains we’ve experienced
in agriculture. These results have been
achieved through research, which has
given us technologies that allow us to use
easy, predictable practices that make us
ever more efficient.
However, if yield is the cumulative
result of crop genetics, climate and man-
agement decisions, shouldn’t we consider
our options for managing crops in an
integrated manner? Perhaps it is time to
think about incorporating “old” ideas like
multilines (different cultivars in the same
field), intercropping (different crops in
the same field) or expanding our growing
season through more winter crops—or
perhaps even introducing permaculture
crops. I recognize that these take us back
to agricultural practices that have been
eclipsed by modern practices. I am not
advocating that we revert to a different
time, but it may be worth thinking about
how traditional management practices—
including grain legumes, managing bene-
ficial insects and better understanding the
likely growing-season weather—can be
further integrated into how we grow crops
in Canada.
We have a model of where these answers
can be generated. The Broadbalk plots (data
collected since 1844) at the Rothamsted
research farm in England, the University
of Illinois’s Morrow continuous corn plots
(1876), and our own University of Alber-
ta Breton plots (started in 1929) provide
a window on how our past and current
practices influence our future potential
productivity. These sites provide a “living
laboratory” for a wide array of research-
ers—entomologists, soil scientists, plant
breeders, economists and many others.
Long-term agronomic experiments have
fallen out of favour with funding agencies
and some research organizations. The in-
dustry and the research community need
to work together to enhance our current
activities and identify new ways to harvest
data from the work we do in a more col-
laborative, intentional manner whenever
field experimentation is planned. The
result will be new ideas that producers
will be able to incorporate into their
operations to improve long-term produc-
tivity and sustainability.
Fall
2014
Grains
West
46