Direct Seeding Advantage was held on November 21 & 22, 2007 at Nisku, Alberta


To download the complete conference proceedings open the attached PDF (1.7MB)


Read and download individual papers (smaller file sizes)

Dr. Dwayne Beck - Manager, Dakota Lakes Research Farm - South Dakota State University - Perre, S.D.
Do You "C" What I "C" - Managing Carbon in the Cropping System
Dr. Beck is widely recognized as a world leader in no-till and crop rotation research. Dwayne will be discussing a wide range of issues including crop rotations, low disturbance seeding and cover crops. Dwayne continues to unlock the potential of no-till seeding in a diverse crop rotation. 

Dr. Guy Lafond - Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Indian Head, SK
Chris Holzapfel - Research Associate, Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation - Indian Head, SK
Seeing Green - A New Tool for Predicting Nitrogen Rates in Spring Wheat and Canola
Guy and Chris have been working with GreenSeeker sensor technology to assist with nitrogen fertilizer management. This sensor allows for early season estimates of yield potential at the 5-6 leaf stage in spring wheat and the start to mid bolting stage in canola. The presentation will focus on providing results collected over the last four years and demonstrate the potential of this approach for managing nitrogen fertilizer in spring wheat and canola. 

Eric Johnson - Weed Biologist , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Scott, SK
Finally – Some New Herbicide Options
Eric will outline his minor use work regarding weed control with special emphasis on new herbicides and new modes of action that will be available to prairie growers over the next few years. He will emphasize the Group 14 products sulfentrazone and carfentrazone, as well as provide some information on a new bleaching compound. Research work on control of winter annual weeds in direct seeding systems will also be presented.

Sheri Strydhorst - PhD Candidate - University of Alberta
Growing, Optimizing, and Utilizing Grain Legume Nitrogen
Increasing the use of nitrogen (N) fixing grain legume species in Alberta cropping systems will increase ecological stability, reduce input costs, and reduce the energy footprint of Alberta cropping systems. To maximize grain legume benefits, producers need to increase grain legume acreage, use proper management techniques to optimize N fixation, and understand the grain legume N contribution to cropping systems. Increased acreage can be achieved through increasing the frequency of grain legumes in crop rotations and through intercropping.

RTL Agronomists & Cooperating Farmers
RTL agronomists Roger Andreiuk and Ron Heller will team up with farmers William Punko and Robert Semeniuk to discuss the on-farm, field scale research projects they conducted in 2007. Ranging from strip trials for observation, using weigh wagons and marking out plots, to fully integrated replicated trials using GPS systems. They will discuss pointers to keep in mind when planning your own on-farm research and the results they obtained this year. 
William Punko & Roger Andreiuk: On Farm Research - Seed Integrity and Inoculant Viability
Robert Semeniuk & Ron Heller: On Farm Research – Barley & Canola Stand Establishment