For Prairie farmers, the decisions involved in growing a crop do not end once the crop type and variety have been chosen and the seed has been planted. As the crop grows throughout the summer, farmers face an endless list of important decisions. From chemical applications to pre-harvest operations to marketing decisions, each choice has an impact on profits. In this blog, we will explore a few of the important decisions farmers have to make each year and the factors that contribute to their choices.
To Spray or Not to Spray?
With improvements in pesticide technology, Prairie farmers have a host of chemical options to protect their crops against weed, disease, and insect pressures. Yet, crop protection comes with an obvious cost: the price paid for the pesticide. While a well-timed pesticide application can improve yields to help increase overall profits, spending money on an unnecessary or poorly-timed application can cut into profits without increasing yields. Thus, the decision of what, when, and how much to spray on each crop is extremely important.
Each year, farmers face the decision of whether or not to apply fungicides. Fungicides are chemicals used to protect crops against fungal diseases, the occurrence and severity of which depend on multiple conditions including previous disease history, moisture levels, and temperature. The catch? Fungicide decisions are largely based on the potential for disease to develop, as the most effective fungicide applications are made prior to disease visibility or at the earliest stages. Once disease symptoms are obviously visible, preventative fungicides will be relatively ineffective.
There are three factors typically involved in fungicide decision-making:
Host
Your crop. Factors including the disease resistance of the variety you have planted, crop stage, field rotation, and disease history are important to consider. Quality is another consideration, a s a higher-value crop might be more important to protect.
Pathogen
The organism responsible for the disease, such as sclerotina spores. They are usually introduced to the crop via soil or wind.
Environment
While plant disease can develop in a variety of conditions, moist, humid conditions are favourable for the development of most diseases. In wetter years, fungicides are more likely to be important.
Sometimes the decision to spray fungicide can boil down to simple economics. What is the cost of the fungicide? What is my expected yield loss if I choose not to spray? Will the anticipated yield difference cover the cost of the fungicide? If the answer is yes, it makes sense to consider making the application.
To Swath or Not to Swath?
For decades, crops have been swathed, which means to be cut down and laid in neat rows, or “swaths”. The cut crops are left to dry down for 1-2 weeks before being harvested. However, farmers are increasingly choosing to straight-cut their crops instead of swathing them. With straight-cutting, the crop is cut down and the grain is harvested in the same pass. Typically, this operation also involves a desiccation spray 1-2 weeks prior to harvesting to dry down the crop and weeds. While the majority of cereal and pulse fields in Western Canada are straight-cut, canola fields are still commonly swathed. The risk of pod-shatter in canola, when pods break open and the seeds fall on the ground, is lower when swathing. However, the advent of improved pod-shatter resistance in canola varieties has made straight-cutting canola more appealing to many farmers.
The most obvious pro to swathing a field is not spending money on a pre-harvest herbicide to desiccate the crop. Cutting a crop and letting it dry down in swaths usually leads to a crop maturing fairly evenly across a field. There are risk management benefits to swathing as well. Once the grain has dried down to a low moisture content (<20%) within a swath, a hard frost will not impact grain quality. Swathed grain also does not face the same risk of lodging as standing crops.
On the other hand, crops that are straight-cut are usually combined more quickly and efficiently. Swathed crops face the risk of being blown around the field by strong winds, making it very difficult to pick up with a combine, as opposed to a standing crop that would be minimally affected by strong winds. Fields that are fairly mature with a thick canopy are well-suited to straight-cutting, as thin crops are more prone to blowing around in swaths.
To Contract or Not to Contract?
Even while a crop is still growing, farmers have to be thinking ahead to selling the grain in order to capitalize on prices. Forward contracting, or making a promise to deliver grain for an agreed upon price prior to harvesting the crop, is one of the most straight-forward techniques to mitigate risk of price decreases. It can also help farmers to control cash flow, ensuring that they are timing payment for grain sales with bills coming due.
There are risks involved with forward contracting as well. A contract to sell grain is legally binding. This means that if crop failure occurs due to factors such as hail, drought, flooding, or insects, and you do not harvest enough grain to fill your contract, you are still liable to hold up your end of the agreement. This may result in a farmer needing to buy out the remainder of the contract they cannot fulfill. Some contracts include an “Act of God” clause which allows a party to nullify a contract if factors outside of their control, such as an extreme weather event, make it impossible to fulfill their contract obligation. The other risk involved with forward contracts is the risk of a price increase. Even if grain prices increase beyond the contracted price by the pre-determined date of delivery, the agreed upon price is still what the farmer receives.
In general, farmers make contracting decisions based upon their risk aversion level, cash flow needs, past experiences, anticipated yields, and price offerings. Some farmers like to have a good portion of their grain contracted prior to harvest to ensure consistent cash flow; others like to hold out for the price spikes and sell most of their inventory at once. There is no right or wrong way to market production. The host of contracting options available mean that the decisions involved in marketing grain are nearly endless.
The Choices are Endless
These are just a few of the endless decisions made by farmers throughout the growing season. Choices of crops, varieties, equipment, inputs, professional advice, timing, and labour are just a few of the considerations involved in growing a crop each year. There are no right or wrong decisions. What works for one farm might not work for another due to simple operational and geographical differences. Instead, decisions are made based on years of experience, trial and error, and support and advice from other members of the industry. Each year, Prairie farmers hope that the important choices they’ve made pay off!
