Issue 33
January 2001

Copyright
Prairie Grains Magazine
January 2001

Technology’s great, but don’t forget the basics

By Dr. Michael D. Peel, NDSU Small Grains Extension Agronomist mpeel@ndsuext.nodak.edu

It seems more true today than ever before that we are in an era of rapidly advancing technology, and production agriculture is right in the fray. In a recent issue of Parade Magazine, there was an article on a producer who uses a GPS system on his farm. It is getting quite common to see these type of  ag tech features on precision farming and such. However, though I am a proponent of new technology, sometimes in the rush to adopt the latest technology we may forget some of the basics that are the main stay of crop production.

I often hear talk, mostly theoretical, about using new technology to automatically adjust crop seeding rates for various conditions.  The most important of these would be changes in soil type, which in turn will affect water and fertility. Let’s suppose we have one of these self-adjusting drills, and a yield monitor telling us that a specific area of a field is consistently lower in yield.  Thus, we make the decision that the lower yielding area should be seeded at a lower rate next spring. Before implementing this technology, however, it would be wise to ask a few basic questions first. For instance, why was this area yielding less than the surrounding area? Second, what impact has the environment had, and what effect will changes in the environment have? And third, how do you arrive at the conclusion that this area should be seeded at a different rate?

In addressing the first question, I suspect that most producers will be able to tell you exactly which portions of their fields will be the most productive and why. In this case, let’s suppose it was an area that is low and has poor drainage. The years when the data was collected tended to be wet, and the wheat in this area suffered because it was in waterlogged soils, which is not the best environment for optimum wheat yields. The conclusion: low areas yield less.

However, let’s jump ahead in time. We collected data on the same field for another four years, and during this time, there was a change in the environment: it was dry. I suspect this will have the result of causing a reversal in the yield map data: Isn’t it the case that low spots are going to yield the best during dry years? This change in the environment obviously had an impact on what were high and low yielding areas in this field.

Now to my last question. I do not know how you arrive at the conclusion to seed a low yielding area at a higher or lower rate, especially in the case that we have just identified, because we cannot predict future environmental conditions.

I have looked at a substantial amount of seeding rate data for wheat around the state of North Dakota.  What is consistent is that the higher seeding rates will yield the highest regardless of the environment. The reason is simple. Main stem tillers on small grain yield the most. Whenever the proportion of main stem tillers increases, then yield also increases. Furthermore, under stress axillary tillers abort before main stems. Obviously, there is a point when this increase no longer provides an economic increase in yield. I maintain that with our current wheat varieties, this threshold is in the neighborhood of 1.25 to 1.30 million plants per acre.

So these basic questions raise uncertainty in this case about whether the resources spent on variable seeding technology are justified. Another example would be using yield data to apply nitrogen at a variable rate to avoid unneeded expense. The same type of basic questions should be discussed.

My purpose in this exercise was to inspire the thoughts and questions that will enable you to determine if, when, where and how technology may be adopted on your farm. The use of better technology can indeed help a farm become more profitable and efficient. But don’t overlook the basics before making decisions, to avoid adopting technology simply for tech-nology’s sake.