Cost-effective, sustainable solutions from the research farm

Sollio Agriculture’s crop production research farm has been innovating for 45 years. These days, scientists at the farm are busy testing seed varieties and agricultural practices aimed at helping farmers adapt to climate change while optimizing crop profitability.

At the Sollio Agriculture crop production research farm, scientists are testing seed varieties and agricultural practices to help Canadian farmers adapt to climate change while optimizing crop profitability. Here’s what they’re working on in 2024.

Research and innovation for Sollio Agriculture’s crop sector focuses on two main areas:

1. Seed development
2. Sustainable agriculture

All the work being done at the research farm revolves around these two areas. And each research project is designed to optimize production at the farm level.

Developing high-performance seeds

In 2024, the research farm will continue its genetic improvement and selection program.

The program has seen some seeds—including oat and soybean varieties—developed entirely in-house, from breeding to marketing. For wheat, the best genetics are selected from around the world and tested over and over again to find the varieties best suited to growing conditions in Eastern Canada.

Offering farmers high-performance seeds that can thrive in our Canadian climate and soil leads to more sustainable agriculture. Here’s why:

• Developing crops that are more resistant to drought, emerging diseases and pests, and other threats, helps farmers maintain their productivity despite climate change.
• Genetic improvement lets farmers grow new species in regions where it wasn’t previously possible. This helps with diversification in crop rotations, among other benefits.
• Genetic improvement often lets farmers produce more food, of better quality, with the same amount of inputs or even less.

Reducing the use of crop protection products

The Québec government wants to see a 40% reduction in the health and environmental risks (French only) associated with pesticide use by 2030.

The research farm team is studying different ways farmers can meet this target without sacrificing yields. For now, there’s no “magic bullet”—but there are several good avenues to explore:

1. Robotic weeders: The Erion self-driving robot tractor works on two rows at a time, offering an interesting option for field crops. The only drawback is that it can’t weed underneath crops, so it has to be used in combination with another method.
2. Smart row crop cultivators: These machines are highly effective and equipped with rear-mounted cameras. However, the mechanical tillage isn’t ideal for sustainable agriculture.
3. Herbicide banding: This technique was very popular in the 1990s and is still highly effective today. The concept is simple: nozzles are fitted to a planter to spray crops in bands about 15 inches wide. Since corn rows are 30 inches wide, this method reduces pesticide use by 50%. That’s even better than the government target!
   This method applies protection directly to crops. For the rows in between, you can use robotic or mechanical weeders or intercropping.
4. Smart sprayers: In summer 2024, we’ll be testing a field crop sprayer from Swiss company Ecorobotix. Equipped with two cameras and artificial intelligence, these tools can recognize weeds and spray them with ultra-targeted precision. Experts estimate that they could reduce herbicide use by 40% compared to standard application.

Remember that for these techniques to be effective, you’ll also need to keep weeds under control through good crop management methods, such as rotations and post-harvest cover crops.

Reducing GHGs

One of the government’s environmental goals is to reduce Canada’s GHG emissions by 40% by 2030—and the farming industry has a role to play. That’s why our research farm is collaborating with McGill University to run further trials of PurYield controlled-release fertilizer. The goal is to measure the potential for reducing GHG emissions by replacing conventional urea with PurYield. Early data shows positive results, especially for use in resilient soils—ones with good levels of organic matter, crop rotations, and well-managed compaction, among other things. Having a scientific assessment of PurYield’s performance will confirm that it can help achieve GHG reduction targets in agriculture. In Québec, farmers who use polymer-coated urea fertilizers like PurYield are eligible for subsidies through the Agrisolutions climate program (in French only). Our agri-advisors can help you apply, and their services are eligible for subsidies.

More to come in 2024

There’s no shortage of new ideas at the research farm. This year, the team will be working on:

• Using drones for data collection
• Inoculating cover crops with mycorrhizae
• Finding better planting windows for winter wheat
• Assessing cover crops that produce more nitrogen
• Promoting Sollio Agriculture’s sustainable farming diagnostic tool
• Training agri-advisors
• And more!

All this work is to help farmers transition to more sustainable agriculture using products and methods that make their farms more profitable.