CA-CoP CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

for sustainable production intensification

 

Dear Subscribers,

See below a message from Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership (STEP) regarding the area of under no-till seeding in Canada.

According to Statistics Canada, Census of Agriculture, no-till seeding in 2011 covered 56.4% (41.24 million acres or 16.59 million hectares) of the total land prepared for seeding (73.09 million acres or 29.54 million hectares).

Amir Kassam

Moderator

 

Plant Production and Protection Division

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Rome
Italy
e-mail: [log in to unmask]

URL: www.fao.org/ag/ca

 

From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 22 January 2013 17:07
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: No-Till Farming in Canada

 

Hi Laura,

 

I was forwarded your email by my colleague, Megan Bradshaw in our STEP office in Regina, SK.  You requested information on no-till farming practices in Saskatchewan including adoptability, manufacturers and technical institutions.   

 

You will be pleased to learn that Saskatchewan has the highest adoption rate of low disturbance direct seeding (no-till) in Canada.  As a result, we have several equipment manufacturers producing seeding equipment for no-till seeding applications. 

 

According to a publication by Statistics Canada called “Snapshot of Canadian Agriculture”: 

 

“The total area of land prepared for seeding has stayed close to 70 million acres in Canada since 1991, rising to just over 73 million acres in 2011. In 2011, 84.8% of land prepared for seeding was located in the Prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

 

For the first time, no-till practices accounted for more than half of all area prepared for seeding across the country, a shift that was caused by a 23.8% increase in the area of land seeded using no-till practices.  Overall, 17.1% more farms reported using no-till practices than in 2006.

 

No-till systems are dominant in the Prairies, where large farm sizes and erosion-prone soils enhance the environmental and financial benefits of low-impact, one-pass seeding. In Eastern Canada, Quebec doubled its no-till area to more than half a million acres as the number of farms using this practice rose by 69.0%. This increase was in part due to a government incentive for farm operators employing no-till practices between 2009 and 2013.”

 

Go to www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/95-640-x/2012002/figs/figure24-eng.htm to see a chart on total seeded acres in Canada, by type of seeding practice. 

 

Here’s additional statistical information on no-till seeding in Saskatchewan.  According to Statistics Canada latest Census of Agriculture 2011:

Total Land Prepared for Seeding

                Canada = 73,094,000 Acres

                Saskatchewan = 32,847,518 Acres

 

Land Prepared for Seeding Using No-Till

Canada = 41,241,494 Acres

Saskatchewan = 23,034,858 Acres

 

Looking at the statistics above, it shows that in Saskatchewan the percentage of total acres planted using no-till seeding practices is 70%.  Of the total no-till seeded acres planted in Canada, Saskatchewan planted over 55%.    

 

In Saskatchewan there are 5 manufacturers of low disturbance direct seed (no-till) seeding equipment – Bourgault Industries, Morris Industries, SeedMaster, Seed Hawk and Pillar Lasers.   This equipment is used for seeding broad-acre crops (wheat, canola, barley, etc.), and not row crops (corn, soybeans).  Also, this equipment is designed for large acre farms with relatively short, dry growing seasons.  This is large machinery, with seed toolbars ranging from 20ft – 90ft widths.  It is not meant to be used on 50 – 100 acre farms.  These manufacturers would be considered leaders in the design and development of no-till seeding equipment.  For more information on these companies check out the STEP Manufacturing Directory by clicking here

 

There are numerous associations, industry groups, government agencies, agronomists, specialists dedicated to General Conservation, Soil Conservation and No-Till Farming Practices in Canada.  To name just a few:

·         Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association

·         Manitoba – North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers Association

·         Soil Conservation Council of Canada

·         Alberta Reduced Tillage Linkages

 

There are even No-Till only conferences and tradeshows held throughout Canada and the US.  For example, the High Plains No-Till Conference and the National No-Tillage Conference. 

 

Anyways, I hope this is the type of information you were looking for.  If I can be of further assistance please let me know. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Stacey Sauer

Trade Specialist – Manufacturing

Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership (STEP)

Tel: 1-306-933-5239

Fax: 1-306-933-6556

Email: [log in to unmask]

www.sasktrade.sk.ca

 

Saskatoon Office:

400 – 402 21st Street East

Saskatoon, SK S7K 0C3

Canada

_____________________


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