Lakeland College Crop Technology Program

Crop Technology Field Trip

2010-04-08T22:28:00.018-06:00

On April 7-8 2010, one of the instrucors, Peter Walsh took the 2nd year Crop Technology students on a field trip. Peter took 9 students to go and visit the CDC North research center, the Rahr Malting plant in Alix, the Lacombe research center and 20 20 Seed Labs. It was an exciting two days and we had lots of fun.

Our first stop was the CDC North research center. Sheau-Fang Hwang toured us around. She is a well known research scientist in plant pathology. There is a large amount of work done at this site, especially with Cluroot in Canola. But there are several other research being done as well which include looking at plant genetics and putting together new varieties.
We also got to tour their greenhouses as shown in the picture. We were looking at cereal seedlings and how they responded to the pythium seedling disease. The diseased plants were not as healthy and large.

Our second stop that day was the Rahr Malting facility at Alix. This large facility produces malt for several breweries in Alberta including Big Rock in Calgary as well as the US, Mexico and Japan. Barley within 500 miles comes to this prcoessing facility. Shown in the first picture, there is a large amount of storage. Each of those bins holds about 50,000 bushels. We were able to go up to the top of the 200ft building on our tour.

When the barley is brought to the plant it is tested for quality and cleaned. In stainless steel tanks the barley is soaked. After that the barley is germinated in separate tanks. Once that is complete after 4 days the sprouted barley is dried to 4% moisture content. This is the final product that is shipped out to breweries. It was a very fascinating tour.

On the second day our first stop was at the Lacombe Agriculture Research Center. Here there is several different plots grown and analyzed. Several different crops are grown and many different factors are experiemnted. Factors include diseases, herbicides and herbicide carryover, crop varieties and several others. We seen their machinery used including seeders, combines and their quad sprayer.

In the second picture, Brenton (student) is sitting in the drivers seat of a new plot combine. They are fairly expensive for a smaller machine, but they are complex just as any full size combine.

With all of the new and upcoming information, the industry and farmers can adjust production according to new information. It is very useful and important to have reasearch facilities to help make agriculture a better industry.

The last stop of our trip was 20 20 Seed Labs in Nisku. This lab analyzes a vast amount of seed samples coming from all over the prairies. We seen how they do their germination testing. They select a small sample and put the seeds into small dishes (depending on the crop species) and put them into growth chambers and monitor the temperature. Once they have germinated they find the percentage that germinated and if there were any other issues. Sometimes there is poor shoots and roots that have come out. Chemicals can cause this type of damage. Another part of seed testing is done for purity. This detects foreign weed seeds or other crop seeds.

Testing for disease involves looking at the seeds visually and doing tests involving DNA. Visually, seeds are viewed under a microscope. One test they do is loose smut in barley. They remove the barley embryos and look for disease growth on the embryo. In DNA testing, they add substances to the seeds to get the DNA. A special machine as shown in the second picture is used. From there they can detect many things. In wheat they can detect fusarium and the Triffid in Flax. There is a large amount of flax being tested for GMO's because of the European market. It was interesting to see what happens to farmer's seed in the lab.

Overall it was a great trip and we learned many things that we as students can take with us in the future. A special thanks to our instructor Peter Walsh for organizing and taking us on the trip.

April Stanko

2nd year Crop Technology Student

Sprayer Nozzle Testing in Class

2010-04-08T21:33:00.008-06:00

Earlier this year in March, the Pesticide Management class had an assignment to test different nozzles. This included calibrating flow rates and looking at distribution and drift. The small sprayer we used had a roller pump and 8 nozzles. We used water colored with blue dye.

The first task we did was calibrating the nozzles. As shown in the picture, we gathered spray from each nozzle for 30 seconds and compared them. It was acceptable for them to be within 5% of the average.A couple nozzle orifices were damaged and were changed. Under a microscrope you could see why the spray coming from the nozzle was not even.

We learned that flow rates can help you discover when you have a damaged nozzle or a plugged nozzle. It will effect the distribution of the spray. It is also important to look at the spray coming from each nozzle as the spray should always be even. This way you can detect bad nozzles as well.

Next we tested a series of different nozzles. They all had the same flow rate. We used the 8002 as a standard. We also tested the Wilgar Drift Guard 8002, Turbo Tee Jet 11002, Twin Jet 11002 and an Air Induction 11002. It was interesting to see the various types of nozzles and how they work. As you see in the picture, we measured the distribution between 3 nozzles. When the variation was less than 15% it was acceptable. In the picture, that nozzle was below 15% variation and was acceptable. The nozzles with larger drops were less prone to drift.

By doing hands-on work in class, we get to see for ourselves how things work. It was fun to test different nozzles and compare results. That is one of the biggest beneifts of this program. In other classes we do labs as well. In Seeding Systems class we calibrate and test the seed distribution on a seed drill. In Plant Botany class we do germination tests. In Soils class we do texture and soil density tests. In Combine class we do labs to set the combine for various crops. So as you can see, this program focuses on the hand-on experience. It is a great way to learn!

April Stanko
2nd year Crop Technology student

Student Managed Farm Final Presentation

2010-03-29T17:23:00.009-06:00

On Friday, March 26th, 2010 the 2nd year Crop Technology students had their final presentation. It included a summary of what happened on the farm this past year as well the cropping plans for next year. The Student Managed Farm has acquired more land and gone from 1 quarter to 10 quarters of land. The final paperwork is still being done, but it has been good news for the farm. Because of our small land base last year, we didn't make money. However, this upcoming year looks more promising. We plan to seed canola, wheat, peas, barley silage and try some intercropping of peas and canola. We will see how it turns out.

Our class of 10 students coming from BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have all been able to bring different opinions to the table and work together to plan for the next years class. Overall the student managed farm experience has taught us several skills including teamwork, talking to people, and researching crops and prices. Because we had to make a formal presentation to the industry and our families, we made sure we did all of the background research. It was a great experience and I would highly recommend this program.

April Stanko
2nd year Crop Technology

Mathew Stimson & Tom Dooley

April Stanko

Tania Denbraber & Brenton Scholommer

Louise Sorensen & Tobin Dirks (behind)

Nick Zilinski

Trevor Kerr & Tobin Dirks (behind)

Happy New Year

2010-01-04T15:21:00.002-07:00

We are back from the holidays and looking forward to a challenging semester. Planning for this year’s crop will start soon and the marketing group is right in the middle of marketing last year’s crop.
Before we left for the Christmas break we were 50% priced on last year’s canola. We had a GPO (Grain Pricing Order) set and a basis contract on the next 25% over the holidays. Unfortunately, the market did not reach our target price so we will reevaluate our target.
We have 20% of our wheat on basis contracts that were priced in October and November. The rest of the wheat we left in the pool. We will be looking closely at the CWB Early Payment Option discounts and the wheat prices in the next few weeks to see if it is affordable to establish a floor price on part of the remaining wheat.

An Update of What We've Been Doing!

2009-11-20T14:35:00.003-07:00

Last Friday November 13, 2009, the Crop Tech and Ag. Business students attended Agri-Trade in Red Deer. It was a fun filled day of looking at new and improved machinery as well as summer job searching.
From November 18th and 19th, the Crop Tech class attended Farm Forum in Saskatoon. The 2 day event consisted of 6 key note speakers, 9 break-out sessions, and awesome food! There was lot's to learn about companies and new products as well as some of the science behind Agriculture. There was a lot of information taken in but everyone had fun and was able to get something out of it.
We are currently still looking into prices for our grain and watching the markets to see what will happen next!

Harvest Pictures!

2009-11-09T11:00:00.008-07:00

(Top)- Combining Pearman Wheat

(Middle)-Combine setting lab on LC 4 Canola

(Bottom)-Combine setting lab on AL 01 Wheat

Annual Harvest Party!!

2009-11-09T10:30:00.002-07:00

On October 29, 2009 was the annual Harvest Party! Approximately 30 people who helped out over the harvest season, came for some steak and socializing.

Presently the SMF group is working to find profitable prices for our grain and to figure out what is affecting the market right now.

The Finish Line is in Sight...Almost

2009-10-06T10:45:00.000-06:00

On Monday we did another combine setting lab on our canola field. It was extremely windy and everyone was freezing cold. To top it all of the canola stubble made it really hard to get a good toss of our grain collection pan. Seven trails later and frozen finger tips we finally had the combine set where everyone was happy. That night we continued to combine and got a good chunk of the field complete. The next morning Mat and April went out early and got a couple loads in before class. After class Mathew, April and Tania headed out to finish off the field. Unfortunately this was not the case... Everything was running smoothly until a sharp turn by the trees was made and the auger and the spruce tree got a little intimate. So that put an end to combining for the night. Since that event a temporary fix has been made and we were able to finish the field. Mat still feels pretty silly about his collision but the class has found it in our heart to forgive him.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-09-29T22:29:00.000-06:00

The last week has been eventful to say the least... Over the weekend we finished combining the wheat at Pearmans and then moved all the machinery to the David Pearmans oat field for Monday. In our lab period our class conducted a setting lab on the combine. Everything went really smooth which made for a really easy lab write up. Three of the guys stayed out and finished combining the oats that night. Then Lexie went out and swathed some canola. When she was swathing she went around the field about three times then the back axel fell off!!!! It came as quit a shock to her once she actually figured out what happened. Her neck was pretty soar and headed off to the hospital to get checked out. By the next evening the farm already had it all repaired and then Tobin headed out there and finished swathing. Our wheat was ready to combine so the combined was moved to our field near campuse. One afternoon John Zandstra came out from Guelph. He was very interested in our Student Managed farm and wanted to bring the program back to Ontario. Each night after classes we slowly picked away at the wheat. Finally on Saturday afternoon the field was complete and in the bin on Saturday afternoon. The next day Tania and Tobin got the lucky job of picking rocks. Some how they managed to get Matt one of the first years out to help them and they were done with in an hour.

Here We Go

2009-09-22T08:53:00.001-06:00

We have been back at school for two weeks now and everyone is starting to get back into the swing of things. In the first week of school we swathed our canola and did a combine setting lab on our wheat field. When we were doing our lab we all agreed that the wheat was too tough to combine and decided to wait on it. In the early days of the second week our class went out and tested the wheat again but it was still too tough. While we waited for our wheat to be ready we moved onto our custom combine job for David Pearman. On Thursday night we had a bit of rain that unfortunately made us quit early. Everyone is getting pretty antsy and can not wait to get everything flowing with no more set backs.

Getting ready for finals.

2008-12-05T11:15:00.003-07:00

This week we loaded out two more loads of CPS and have been working frantically on getting ready for finals next week!!!
From all of us at the Student Managed Farm... Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
See you all in 2009!

2008-11-27T19:39:00.004-07:00

Lately on the SMF we have really been busy with selling some grain, last week we sold 2 more loads of peas out to Lavoy for December delivery and also Cargill in Vermilion has a call for 50% of our wheat so on Friday and Monday we are loading up two loads to send in.

At the moment we have been working on budgeting our crop plans for next year, so when we get a complete plan of what is due up for rotations we will be sure to keep you up dated!

Nov. 13th

2008-11-13T23:56:00.002-07:00

It has been a while since our last update but, we had our harvest party on October 30th at the Vermilion Legion for steak night! We had quite a few people show up along with our class including the first year croppers, 3 scouts from Cargil, most of the instructors from the crop tech program along with a few of the graduates of the crop tech program from last year.
Last week the students attended Agri-trade in Red Deer Alberta. This was a great show that allowed us to get an update on the whole 2009 line up of machinery.
Lately, we have been really looking into getting a new hopper bottom bin for next year. We have got a few different quotes on prices from a few different dealers, but nothing is set in stone just yet, We still have to appeal the idea to the board.

SMF blog

2008-10-01T13:57:00.002-06:00

We the SMF class has finished the harvest on saturday Sept 28, 2008 for the 2008-09 year. We had the best yeilds in SMF history, with the Canola averaging 54 bu/ac. The HRS wheat went about 55 bu/ac for all of the HRS, and the CRS went about 65 bu/ac all around. The peas went 65 bu/ac in DX1 and in DX3S it averaged around 45 bu/ac, and that is our worse production field we have.
This week we moved about 100 MT of our CPS, and pricing out our Canola, peas, and HRS. As the markets are getting poor, we must watch the markets closely and make wise decsions on when and where to sell our grains.

Lakeland College Grad 2008!

2008-06-07T21:11:00.003-06:00

Many of the 2008 graduating class from the Crop Tech program were in attendance for the annual convocation in Vermilion today. We all missed having Rodney there. Students left the ceremony for the traditional steak supper at the Legion with family, faculty and friends.

Best of luck to all the grads!!

Crop Field Scouting - Seminar and field day

2008-06-07T21:00:00.002-06:00

First and second year Crop Technology students were back on campus for a one-day field scouting seminar and field tour. The second year students from the Student Managed Farm were curious to see how their planned crop was progressing. The first year students got to see the crop that they will harvest this fall. Peter Walsh gave the group an overview of the field operations to date and the diamond back moth and bertha army worm monitoring done at the college. Dean, Josie Van Lent helped the students review herbicide plans for the wheat fields.

Some changes were made to the plans made in the winter given the current weed condition and plans for the following crop. The group walked all of the SMF fields to see the progress, assess weeds and make herbicide plans. This summer field school helps student bridge from a first year observer to a second year manager in the Student Managed Farm. Ashley and Jenna from Cargill in Vermilion were also in attendance.

Crop "Up" date

2008-05-21T13:30:00.010-06:00

Picture is from AL01 - May 20

The SMF crops are mostly germinated and emerged... We have had some cool weather for May and that has slowed the growth; the wheat and the peas are ahead of the canola.

Seeding dates are as follows: DX01 - May 8, AL01 - May 15, DX02s - May 11, BR06 - May 10, DX03s - May 12

SMF BBQ set

2008-05-15T15:05:00.003-06:00

The 2nd yr Croppers will be glad to know that Peter Walsh broke in his gift set of BBQ tools today at the annual School of Ag/Enviro Science year-end BBQ !!! they were the talk of the town... with so many tools and functions he almost needed instructions !!!

Crop Scouting Field Day - June 6, 2008

2008-05-15T14:52:00.003-06:00

All first and second year Crop Technology students are invited to attend the annual crop scouting day on June 6, 2008. This is a great opportunity for 2nd students to see how the crop they planned is progressing and for 1st years to see the crop they will be harvesting. For more information contact Peter Walsh at (780) 853-8586. The next day is Lakeland College's convocation so the weekend is sure to be fun.

Seeding Completed on the SMF

2008-05-15T13:51:00.004-06:00

Seeding is now done on the SMF farm. Seeding began May 8th with the peas on the DX01 field and ended May 15th with seeding of canola on the AL01 field. The college is also seeding about 33 acres of corn trials for grazing and silage. A small trial of a nutrient primer seed treatment was done on 5 acres of HRS wheat in BR03. Weed growth at the time of seeding was minimal in most fields. Pre-seed spraying was performed as needed. The SMF would like to thank Bob Wilson and Peter Wilkinson for their great job getting our crop in.

Operations Started on the SMF

2008-05-14T11:10:00.004-06:00

Compost was applied on the AL01 field on Tuesday, May 6. The compost is part of an faculty mentored student applied research project sponsered by the Alberta Association of Colleges and Technical Institutes. The compost was heavy harrowed and practically disappeared. It should not hinder the seeding of the canola.

The compost was applied in strips and students will use GPS yield maps to measure any yield response. It will interesting to seed if the compost will pay for its cost of application. We will monitor these plots for both the 2008 and 2009 crop years to see if there are any delayed response.

Crop Tech Students' Final SMF Presentation

2008-05-14T11:02:00.002-06:00

On April 11, 2008 the SMF students hosted college staff and administration as well as industry representatives and their parents to attend their final SMF presentation. The presentation that lasted nearly 2 hours covered the final tally of the 2007 crop year and the plans for the 2008 crop year. The evening ended with a banquet meal. The SMF reported a profitable 2007 financial statement. The 2008 year will be interesting due to the volitile nature of the current grain markets. The students are planning to grow HRS and CPS wheat, peas and canola on their 850 acre farm. Although there are some final plans to review, the students hosted a very professional evening. They have come a long way in just 2 years!

Weekly events for April 7-11

2008-04-07T11:26:00.002-06:00

This week in the Student Managed Farm office it has been all about our final presentation and canola. All of us students have been working like mad to get ready for Friday, when we will be presenting what we have done this last year with regards to the farm and what we are planning to do for next year.

Today we sold 20 tonnes of canola to ADM. On Wednesday we will be hauling 80 tonnes of canola to ADM.

California Field Trip

2008-03-03T09:42:00.009-07:00

On February 11, 2008 the second year Crop Technology class of 2006-2008 flew out of Edmonton to land in San Fransisco. The main reason for us our class trip was to experience the diversification of agriculture in another region.

While in California we had the chance to attend the World Ag. Expo, one of the largest world expositions. Oranges were in harvest season so we had the chance to tour two processing plants and a citrus orchard. We were happy to be able to pick the fruit off the trees and eat.

Most of the vegetable farms in the area were getting prepared for seeding. We had the opportunity to tour a large greenhouse were the seeds were started and later could be taken and transplanted in the fields. We then went out into the fields were they had just transplanted lettuce and were in the process of setting up hand move sprinkler irrigation.

After the Vegetable tour we went back to the World Ag. Expo for our final look at the trade show. The trade show was so large we didn't get to see nearly everything. Most of the machinery there, none of us had ever seen befor so we would attempt to guess at what it might be, most of the time we had to ask. Some examples were the lettuce harvester, cotton pickers, and nut Shaker.

We then made our way to Fresno State University were we toured the university farm. Instructors from the university took us to see the machinery used on their farm. we also toured their green houses, orchards and olive groves. We finished off the tour by grabbing a snack from the university market which is supplied by the farm.

We made our way to Paramount Citrus were we had a chance to see how a large scale, high tech orange and lime packing plant was run.

Later on that day we made our way through some mountain trail that eventually lead us to the Pacific coast. Here we spent the last two days of our trip exploring the beach and touring Cal Poly Tech University. The time had finally come to make our way back home. We drove up along the coast towards San Fransisco were we departed the next morning. According to all of the students this truly was a trip of a lifetime.

Thank-you to all of our sponsors who made this trip possible for us.

Crop Tech's New Blog

2008-02-25T09:28:00.003-07:00

The Crop Technology students at Lakeland College in Vermilion Alberta have created their new blog to keep everyone informed about events in the program and the progress of the "Student Managed Farm". This blog is intended for current and past students, prospective students and parents and anyone else interested in this unique program.

Enjoy!