Past activities

Soil samples collected from a 2023  canola nitrogen ramp trial will be analyzed with ATP’s NutriScan diagnostic tool to demonstrate how real-time monitoring of field conditions can provide more frequent insights into the nutrient status of your soil to inform decision-making.

Access to Innovation Farms' commercial harvesting equipment during 2023 corn harvest allowed Bushel Plus Ltd. to deploy their SmartPan System, MAD Concaves, Mini Combine, and Grain Shaker Box to evaluate the performance of this technology on the farm.

As part of Manitoba 4R Day 2023, Dr. Mario Tenuta and a team of University of Manitoba researchers conducted a study at Innovation farms measuring Nitrous Oxide (N2O) emissions from two different Nitrogen (N) fertilizers applied using three placement methods in canola.

During the 2023 growing season, EMILI compared two Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) risk mapping models to validate the relation between current weather patterns and disease risk on Canadian cereal crops, such as winter wheat and barley.

In a combined presentation at Manitoba 4R Day 2023, Dr. John Heard and Steve Barron used a functional pipe model to illustrate the leaky nitrogen cycle, highlighting the pathways of applied nitrogen fertilizer and ways to minimize nitrogen loss while Mitchell Timmerman from Manitoba Agriculture discussed the soil profile and origins of the soil on Innovation Farms.

During 2023 4R Day at Innovation Farms, David Ives from Enns Brothers presented how to find the perfect nitrogen blend using ESN (Environmentally Smart Nitrogen) and explained how this urea fertilizer uses controlled nitrogen release by responding to soil temperature and moisture. Read more about how Ives works with Rick Rutherford to optimize yield using 4R principles.

During 2023 4R Day at Innovation Farms, Chris Manchur from the Canola Council of Canada discussed the advantages of using 4R nutrient management in canola production, highlighting the importance of utilizing enhanced efficiency fertilizers, as well as proper fertilizer placement and rate trials.

Weather stations, soil sensors, crop cameras, and insect monitoring stations set up across Innovation Farms allow us to remotely monitor crops to inform sustainable and profitable crop production decisions from field to field.