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Lyndon Hicks, PAg
Regional Crops Specialist, Yorkton
Regional Services Branch

1) Review your 2015 cropping season

- What worked and what didn’t? What provided a good return on investment?  Did one variety outperform another? Learn from past experience.    

2) Choose your crop variety carefully

- Choosing the proper variety can assist with disease and insect management,  growing season/days to maturity, straw management as well as other agronomic considerations. New varieties are released each year so research their traits to see if they will fit your cropping needs.

3) Markets

- There is sometimes a temptation to plan for the upcoming crop season based on the current crop prices.  Plan on sound agronomics including a good crop rotation for long-term success.  

4)  Consider using check strips in 2016

- Check strips are a great way to assess efficacy and economic returns of products such as fungicides, herbicides, foliar fertilizers, micronutrients or any other product or treatment. The onus is on the producer to evaluate which products are providing a benefit and which are not. DON’T ASSUME THEY ALL ARE!   

5) Increase your knowledge

- Workshops, webinars, trade shows, meetings, and reading various agriculture related publications are all good way to stay informed.  Keeping up with the latest research and technology is always important.

6) Plan to soil test

- Generally fall soil testing is best as it gives more time to plan and order your fertilizer inputs for the upcoming crop year, however, early spring soil testing will also give you a benchmark for the upcoming growing season.  

7) Know your seed quality

- Testing can help you avoid costly seed borne diseases and crop failures due to poor seed germination or vigour.  

Reminder: Check your bins!  Both grain temperature and moisture can independently or in combination cause grain spoilage.  Check your stored grain regularly to ensure the quality is not compromised.

For more information

• Contact your Regional Crops Specialist; or

• Contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377