On-farm research trials help producers make better management decisions and in the greater scheme of things might help other farmers refine their agronomic decisions as well.
Those are two of the main reasons Alberta producers Roy Newman of Okotoks and Devin Hartzler of Carstairs have been involved in some aspect of on-farm research trials for decades.
Newman and Hartzler are what is often described as “co-operators.” They volunteer their time, machinery, land and often inputs to work with producer organizations, applied research associations, government agencies and private companies to test and evaluate products and agronomic practices usually at a field-scale level.
Read Also
Is your parents’ accountant the best fit for the farm?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/D3DJQxJROoU How can you tell your parents that the accountant they’ve had for years might not currently be the best…
As producers, the results of those properly designed research trials help them make decisions about their own farming practices. The information is often published and included in a larger data base so other producers can see what worked or didn’t work in a geographic area.
“Being involved in these trials can be a lot of work,” says Newman, owner of Newman Farms that produces wheat, barley, canola and yellow peas near Blackie, south of Calgary. “But in the long run you get way more out of being involved in these trials than what you put in.”
Newman has been involved in on-farm research trials for more than 30 years doing crop fertility trials, for example, with the County of Foothills agriculture service board back in the 1990s. In more recent years he has been involved with Alberta Grains (AG) in a relatively new program called Plot2Farm. Working with AG agronomists he makes his time and land available for field-scale, on-farm research projects. (Newman is also a delegate on the Alberta Grains board.)
In 2022, after buying a new SeedMaster Ultra SR drill with 15-inch row spacing, Newman got involved in an on-farm trial measuring the difference of seeding wheat on narrow versus wide row spacing (7.5 inches versus 15 inches). And in a 2023 trial, he made 30 acres available for comparing performance of wheat varieties. Each plot was about two acres in size, and they were replicated six times.
Alberta Grains develops the protocols for each of the on-farm trials, and then Newman’s own consulting agronomist works with him to lay out the trials on the farm.
What did he learn from those trials? In a nutshell, the plant count with the two different row spacings was about the same, with about 31 to 33 plants per square foot. Wheat yield was slightly higher with the narrow spacing — about three per cent higher. However, the wheat crop grown under wider row spacing did have six per cent higher protein. It also appeared to produce savings in equipment and fuel costs, although further economic analysis is needed. “The wheat yield was down a bit but in other on-farm trials we did on our own, the yield on barley, peas and canola was as good or better on 15-inch spacing,” says Newman. “So, we stayed with 15 inches.”
In 2023, Newman’s Plot2Farm research project compared CDC Go, a CWRS wheat, against AAC Viewfield and CDC Hodge. In the replicated plots, AAC Viewfield produced up to six percent higher yield. For Newman, who had been growing CDC Go, “That was enough for me to switch my varieties for good,” he says. “You don’t make the decision lightly, but if there is an appreciable yield difference it is worth making the effort.”
Newman says he looks for on-farm research trials that answer questions he is interested in. He has worked with several organizations and companies over the years in doing on-farm research projects. “It helps me make better management decisions,” he says. “I always encourage other producers to get involved as well. The more we are able to evaluate production practices and share that information, the better it is for all producers.”
Triple H Farms, Carstairs, Alta.
Devin Hartzler is part of fourth-generation, family-owned Triple H Farms at Carstairs, north of Calgary. (He’s also second vice-chair on the Alberta Grains board.). His dad Leonard, still actively involved in the farm, recently received recognition for 25 years as a certified seed grower. The farm produces wheat, barley, canola and yellow peas mostly as a certified seed although they do have some commercial crops in rotation as well.
“We have been involved with different organizations and companies in on-farm research projects for many years,” says Hartzler. “For the past 10 years, for example, I have worked with Dekalb evaluating new canola varieties. These are properly laid out and measured field-scale trials. Most are Dekalb varieties but if I want to include some other brand, they are okay with that, too. All yield information is available afterward. It helps to determine which varieties we should be growing and recommend to our customers as well.”
Hartzler has also worked with companies with on-farm research trials evaluating new seed treatments, new fungicides and new herbicides. And with his own machinery, he evaluated variable rate fertility in field trials as well.
“It is nice to work with an organization or company because they help with the layout, and plots are replicated and yield is accurately weighed, ” he says. “And often the results are published, so along with other farmers, we can have confidence in the information.”
In recent years, Hartzler has worked with Alberta Grains on several Plot2Farm research projects. In 2022, he had field-scale trials looking at the effectiveness of nitrogen fixing Utrisha-N on wheat. Also in 2022, he was involved in a project evaluating whether there was a benefit of increasing the barley seeding rate using CDC Austenson barley — three different rates targeting 22 plants, 27.5 plants and 33 plants per square foot, respectively. In 2023, he was involved in research trials evaluating the effectiveness of a nitrogen stabilizer product, Nitrain 2, applied to spring wheat.
“With the seeding rate trial, as with some others, there was no difference in yield, but a lot depends on growing season conditions and the amount of moisture or lack of moisture,“ says Hartzler. “If you are just looking at yield there was no benefit in that year, but perhaps there were other benefits. With higher seeding rates perhaps there was improved crop competition against weeds. So, there could be other benefits producers can see.
“Even if we aren’t working with an organization, we always have on-farm trials of our own, looking to try different treatments or different practices,” he says. “They do take extra work, but they need to be done properly so you are getting the best information. It is worth the effort because you always learn something.”
How to get involved
Along with seed and crop protection companies and applied research organizations there are entities such as Western Applied Research Corporation (WARC) in Saskatchewan and commodity organizations such as Alberta Grains that are always interested in tracking down more farmer “co-operators” to participate in on-farm research trials.
WARC works closely with four commodity organizations: Sask Barley, Sask Wheat, Sask Pulse and Sask Oilseed. Through their farmer and agronomist networks each commodity group prepares a list of on-farm research ideas and WARC is contracted to find producers across Saskatchewan who are interested in being involved.
“We contact our network of producers and agronomists, use email and social media to get the word out that we are looking for producers to help with the on-farm research projects,” says Kayla Slind, WARC’s lead research associate. “From the commodity organizations we have a list of potential research projects and we encourage producers to select projects that interest them.”
WARC is looking for each producer to be aligned with a local agronomist, whether an independent consultant or a retail agronomist, who will work with the producer in laying out the projects on the farm.
WARC develops the protocols for each of the research projects and supplies those protocols to the agronomist who then works with the farmer to apply the details in the field.
“All projects are field scale in size and they can range from perhaps a couple acres up to 15 acres or more,” says Slind. “We like a project to be a minimum of two acres so we can harvest and collect at least one acre of data.” All research projects are randomized and replicated. Agronomists help lay out the research projects on the farm and also monitor harvest, with yield data collected and measured in a weigh wagon.
Any producers interested in being involved in on-farm research can visit the WARC website at www.westernappliedresearch.com, or contact Kayla Slind at [email protected] or phone 306-843-7984.
Through its Plot2Farm program Alberta Grains is looking to work with producers on about a dozen on-farm research projects in 2025, says Lara de Moissac, agronomy programs specialist.
Producers can go to the Alberta Grains website to complete an application for an on-farm research project.
“We have a list of several pre-designed research trials that can be adapted to each farm’s needs,” she says. “Or if a producer has an idea for a project, which would also have fairly broad interest with other farmers, they can also suggest a custom research trial as well.”
The pre-designed research trials include: fungicide application (compares different fungicide timings of application to untreated check); nitrogen rates (compares increasing nitrogen rates); nitrogen source (compares different nitrogen sources); plant growth regulator (compares application of plant growth regulator to untreated check); variety comparison (compares different varieties of the same crop type); nitrogen timing (compares applications of nitrogen at different timings); and row spacing (compares different row spacing).
Alberta Grains also looks for producers to connect with an independent or retail agronomist who will use the protocols to get each project lined out on the farm. The agronomist will help monitor the project over the growing season through to harvest. Results of completed projects are published by Alberta Grains.
Producers interested in the Alberta Grains Plot2Farm program can learn more or apply at plot2farm.com, or contact Lara de Moissac at [email protected].
