Author Archive: Felix.Weber

Today’s business minded grower and agronomist knows that a small investment in accurate soil sampling pays huge dividends.

It’s easy for soil sampling to get pushed down the list of things to do. Soil sampling right after harvest is recommended and has many advantages:

• Soil testing prior to fall tillage will result in more consistent sample core, for testing phosphorus, potash, zinc, % organic matter, pH and other nutrients tested in 0-6” topsoil
• In dry land regions like the Prairie provinces, research has shown that soil nitrate levels changes little in fall so no sampling date adjustment is needed
• Regrowth won’t hide available nitrogen available for next year’s crop
• Fertilizer buy cost savings. Give more time for making next season’s fertilizer purchase decisions often when suppliers often pre-purchase options and incentives when prices are often lower, keeping more money in your [...]

Ag Business & Crop is delighted to take part as an exhibitor at the 2019 AgSmart expo in Olds, Alberta.

Offering the tools and training you need for modern farming, Ag Business & Crop helps producers to maximize their success and excel using the latest technology and methods for 21st century agriculture.

Ag Business & Crop is your Canadian distributor for Wintex Automatic Soil Samplers, Wintex Liquid Storage Covers (eg: manure tanks), & senseFly/Parrot’s professional fixed wing and rotary drones/UAV’s, and drone / RPAS flight training specialist. Our goal is to help agronomists and farmers collect accurate, high quality data right the first time, simply and with greater efficiency, allowing you to spend more time making decisions and implementing changes. We know agriculture, focus on practical ag solutions and are customer-centric.

Find Us At AgSmart 2019

Visit us at booth 124 near the main [...]

Finding The Right Tool For The Right Application

In spite of a lengthy planting window for 2019, it’s surprising how little time it’s taken for the crops to emerge and begin to close canopy. 

As your crops progress, it’s time to take stock of what’s really out there. Whether it’s checking for hard-to-control weeds, insect thresholds or disease symptoms, the best course of action for learning more about what’s in the crop is to get out of the truck and get into the fields. This is a good start but get the whole picture by having an ‘eye in the sky’ that helps see what isn’t obvious from the ground. 

The ‘eye in the sky’ is helpful as it  will help you scout the field to assess where to go and how large the area of concern is. Data can be [...]

The Time To Add Soil Sampling To Your List Of Duties Is Now

Although we’re just at the start of summer, the days are already getting shorter, which means autumn is suddenly a lot closer than we think. Even if things are full-speed-ahead with the growing season, and time to sample is just weeks away.

If you already have an automated Wintex soil sampler unit, it is a good idea to get it out and get it ready.  Give us a call and we can get you pointed in the right direction.

Check engine oil and hydraulic oil for levels. Now is a good time to do a service including filters. Check all bolts and settings. Test-drive the equipment to make sure there is there are no oil leaks. We don’t recommend oiling the chains during the season since it can be a dust collector [...]

A late fall and continued weather issues may test decision-making processes.

At a time of year when most growers would rather be out on the land or at prepping their planters or drills, conditions in the early spring have limited most people to bide their time and manage what they can.

In Eastern Canada, the weather last fall not only made harvesting corn difficult, it also complicated matters for most wheat growers as well, with cool, damp and wet conditions that left wheat stands heading into winter under less-than ideal shape. A slow transition from winter to spring combined with continued cool and rainy weather have many growers considering switching some of their wheat fields to corn or in fewer instances, to soybeans.

The most important thing in assessing wheat fields at this point in the season is for a farmer to get out of the truck and walk the field. Monitoring or making decisions [...]

When it comes to soil sampling, there are many approaches, opinions and recommendations. Review the above video on procedures, then consider the following:

• How consistent are the samples that are being taken? The gentleman in the video is talking about consistency, but it’s very important that the samples are taken at a consistent depth.
• He is also talking about sampling on worked ground, which is an important distinction.
• The woman in the video is using her phone for GPS locating, and is a good starting point.
• Are you concerned about the sample depth? The gentleman is talking about it but is the advice being taken?
• The Wintex system has an ejector finger in the automatic sampler and makes it possible to sample in tough conditions. Too much moisture can also impact sampling and the use of lubrication (like WD-40) from time to time can help.
• Some Frozen ground is almost always easier to sample [...]

Drones

Keeping an eye in the sky during all stages of spring can help with your decision-making processes.

Using a drone, you can inspect your winter crops as well as pre-annual vegetation, and check for plant densities. Such digital and high-resolution imaging provides in-depth information throughout the growing season, from early nitrogen applications that promote tillering in winter wheat to later-season use that helps protect the crop from weed pressure or diseases.

Wintex Soil Samplers

Putting the Wintex system to work for you is another sign of spring, and it’s worth checking all aspects of your unit before heading out to the fields.

• Check the oil and start the engine (determine if servicing is needed on its Honda motor)
• Check for any leaks.
• Test samplers for any loose wiring or other visual damage
• Check the range of movement
• The vehicle battery should be charged and in good working condition
• Test the sampler itself
• Order [...]

We remind customers about proper storage procedures and the management of batteries.

Under transport regulations, batteries delivered by senseFly are charged to just 30 per cent, so it is crucial that once you receive these batteries, you charge them to the optimal storage level of 70 per cent.

The box on every battery has a sticker that highlights the urgency behind this recommendation. It’s important to know that the longer a lithium polymer – or LiPo – battery stays charged at only 30 per cent, the faster its lifetime is shortened. The sticker is a reminder to all users.

March 7 – 9, 2019
Moncton, New Brunswick

Ag Business & Crop is delighted to take part as an exhibitor at the 2019 Farm Mechanization Show in Moncton.

Offering the tools and training you need for modern farming, Ag Business & Crop helps producers to maximize their success and excel using the latest technology and methods for 21st century agriculture.

Ag Business & Crop is your Canadian distributor for Wintex Automatic Soil Samplers, Wintex Liquid Storage Covers (eg: manure tanks), & senseFly/Parrot’s professional fixed wing and rotary drones/UAV’s, and drone / RPAS flight training specialist. Our goal is to help agronomists and farmers collect accurate, high quality data right the first time, simply and with greater efficiency, allowing you to spend more time making decisions and implementing changes. We know agriculture, focus on practical ag solutions and are customer-centric.

Find [...]