Ultra Early Wheat Seeding

As farmers prepare for spring seeding they may want to check out the idea of Ultra Early Wheat seeding.

 

Crops Extension Specialist Sherri Roberts says Dr Brian Beres and his team out of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Lethbridge have done some interesting work on this.

 

"They started planting when the soil temperature at the five centimetre depth, reached zero, and then every two increment degrees after that, they planted once again. So they went from zero to 2,4,6,8 to 10 degrees because that's normally when a lot of producers are out there planting their wheat. They wanted to find out whether that really early wheat was going to suffer any yield losses or anything like that."

 

She notes the research did not find any detrimental effects on grain yield with the ultra early seeding, however, they did see a reduction on waiting for 10 degrees.

 

"A lot of the time when you've got your grain filling, that time comes when we get that big blast of summer heat. So by planting that seed in the ground so early, they avoided that. So then they didn't get that yield decrease that can sometimes happen if that occurs in your season. It just seems like more and more we're getting these hotter summers."

 

Roberts says this would be a way in which producers could get a win - win situation going.

 

"If you want to consider this concept, it gives you an opportunity you're getting that crop off the field so much earlier and then you can put a cover crop down and get the benefits of what a cover crop can give you. Plus take advantage of, you know, they put into effect these new carbon credit programs they are talking about cover crops being away and once you can, can get some credits."

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.