Efficient Application Starts With Calibration

Efficiency is more than a buzzword this growing season. For many of you, it’s your mantra. When it comes to application, efficiency is about more than conserving inputs — it’s about product and natural resources stewardship. So make time to calibrate your spray equipment now and throughout the application season.

 

You can’t afford to let weeds, bugs or disease steal yield. You can’t afford to waste money applying pesticides at rates too high or too low. Today’s low-use-rate pesticides require even greater precision. One or two nozzles slightly out of adjustment can significantly impact results across a field or your entire farm. Calibration is the only way to ensure proper application.

 

Start by reviewing your operators manual. Most include the manufacturer’s recommended calibration procedures. Common calibration methods often are available through various sources, including the agricultural engineering department at your land-grant university. Colorado State University offers this detailed fact sheet. The Noble Research Institute offers the Ag Tools mobile app, a set of tools and utilities including several different sprayer calibration calculators. The app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes® App Store® or Google Play® store, depending on your operating system. Clemson University created Calibrate My Sprayer, a free mobile app that guides you through the calculations. It’s also available through the iTunes® App Store® or Google Play® store. While you’re visiting your favorite app store, search and you’ll likely find more free and commercial sprayer calibration apps, along with other application-related tools.

 

Here are some tips for calibration success:

Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?