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Simple tips will make direct seeding productive

Lower production costs. Higher yields. A more sustainable future. Those are the reasons that each year more producers take the plunge into direct seeding.

While popular, direct seeding is not the best option for everyone, says a research veteran, and producers should look at the circumstances of their own operation before making the move.

“Producers who have never direct seeded before need to plan ahead,” says Lawrence Papworth, seeding and tillage project engineer at the Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development AgTech Centre in Lethbridge. “Planning ahead allows producers to evaluate whether they have the equipment, crop rotations and soil types most suitable for direct seeding. Good planning is essential to making the entire process productive.”

Most important is residue management. Producers know that crop residue is beneficial to soil because it prevents erosion and limits moisture evaporation, but they may not know how much it can hinder the direct seeding process if it’s not kept under control.

“In this year’s drought, there isn’t much crop residue left on fields and that makes a move to direct seeding more feasible,” says Papworth. “But, in years where there are higher levels of crop residue, residue management has to make conditions suitable for direct seeding ground openers to perform their function of seed placement. That may mean producers need to spread out the crop residue at harvest or with a harrow to ensure it doesn’t bunch up around the ground openers.”

Well-planned crop rotations are also an integral part of the direct seeding process. Certain crop rotations are more conducive to success than others.

“Having a rotation suitable for direct seeding is part of planning ahead,” says Papworth. “Proper rotations will make volunteer crop problems easier to handle.”

A lot of winter crops are seeded into canola stubble. This type of rotation is suitable for a move to direct seeding because volunteer canola is easy to kill in the spring, he says. Seeding winter wheat into spring wheat makes it almost impossible to kill volunteers and for that reason such a rotation would not be suitable in a direct seeding system.

The kind of equipment available is another major consideration for producers considering direct seeding, especially fertilizing equipment. If a producer does not already have the equipment needed, the process can become expensive.

“Producers who are just getting into direct seeding probably won’t have the double-shoot equipment needed to place seed and fertilizer at the same time,” says Papworth. “If that’s the case, they’re going to have to figure out another way to handle the fertilizer that won’t break the bank. That may mean switching to a fertilizer that is easier to double shoot, such as liquid fertilizer.”

Producers also need to be aware that for continuous cropping in a direct seeding system, the rate of fertilizer application, especially for nitrogen, needs to be higher, says Papworth.

In some cases, it is having to deal with a particular soil type that steers producers to a direct seeding system.

“Light soils are prone to erosion so direct seeding is a good option for them,” says Papworth. “A direct seeding system will help conserve what little moisture these soils already have. It also works well for heavy clay soils because it leaves valuable crop residue.”

A high-percentage of Alberta producers are already using a direct seeding system, but others could still stand to benefit from making the switch, says Papworth. “In terms of fuel and labour costs, research shows that direct seeding can save money. Done properly, it can increase yield and be part of a long-term plan for sustainability if producers know how to make it work for them.”

The AgTech Centre is part of the Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Agricultural Engineering Branch and has a mandate to support agricultural sustainability.

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