No-Till-page-51.jpg
DONâ??T BE IN A RUSH. Doug Smith sees many benefits for precision farming with no-till. But the Ontario farmer isnâ??t yet fully convinced that we have the answers which can make you more money this year in your no-tilled fields.

The Good, Bad And Ugly Of Precision Farming

Before attempting high-tech precision farming, there are a few things to get in order.

Ask Doug Smith the difference between Canadian and U.S. no-tilling, and he’ll give you a straight answer.

“In Canada, the government doesn’t tell us how to farm. We can go broke any way we want,” he laughs.

But if you ask Smith the ins and outs of precision farming tools, he may take more time in his reply.

That’s because this Thamesville, Ontario, no-till farmer has experienced the good, the bad and everything in between with precision farming.

“I don’t consider precision farming to be satellites and yield monitors,’ he says. “I consider it as a whole package. On our farm, the first step was trading the plow in 1982 for ridge tilling and no-tilling.”

Nuts And Bolts

“We started out with a five-inch Radio Shack T.V. and a homemade box. It told us which path in the field we were on and which direction we were going,” Smith explains. “Before I knew it, I had a laptop computer in the combine, with yield and moisture sensors.”

First Things First. Before rushing to the store and purchasing pricey precision equipment, Smith advises growers to first check the 11 basics of no-tilling and offers his comments on each.

1. Drainage

“If you don’t have drainage, you don’t farm,” he says.

2. Hybrids

“I try to accommodate a hybrid on each field if I can,” he adds.

3. Insects And Weeds

“If they’re taking away bushels,” he says, “they’re something to worry about.”

4. Crop Rotation

“That can make us 10, 15…

To view the content, please subscribe or login.
 Premium content is for our Digital-only and Premium subscribers. A Print-only subscription doesn't qualify. Please purchase/upgrade a subscription with the Digital product to get access to all No-Till Farmer content and archives online. Learn more about the different versions and what is included.

Top Articles

Current Issue

Cover_CTG_1124.jpg

No-Till Farmer

Get full access NOW to the most comprehensive, powerful and easy-to-use online resource for no-tillage practices. Just one good idea will pay for your subscription hundreds of times over.

Subscribe Now

View More

Must Read Free Eguides

Download these helpful knowledge building tools

View More
Top Directory Listings