Cornelissen Farms Inc., Watford (Ontario), Canada, 800 ha Watford
Along with greenhouse peppers and poultry, Mike Cornelissen grows over 2,000 acres (800 ha) of maize, soybeans, and winter wheat with parents George and Carolyn and brother Kyle. In 1998 they got into precision farming with an Ag-Leader yield monitoring system fitted onto their combine. While initially the gener- ated data didn’t appear valuable, it proved very useful once they started incorporating variable rate technologies in 2013. Mike says a critical tip is remembering to keep historical data, even if it doesn’t appear necessary at the ime.
called Watford, which is near the very southern tip of Lake Huron.
Identify discrepancies Like many farmers in Southwestern Ontario, Mike’s family arrived in Canada from the Neth- erlands in the decade following the Second World War. They began as grain and dairy farmers, though continued to change and di- versify the farm business until the present day. On the arable farming side, this included adopting different in-field management strat- egies like no-till (beginning in 1987) and strip- till (in 2007). Their first data-technology was an Ag-Leader yield monitoring system attached to their combine in 1998. Mike says he and his family have never delved too heavily into new arable farming technolo- gy, opting for a slow and steady approach when it comes to changing their management strategies. However, they long saw opportunity to manage inputs, and their associated costs, more precisely. This came in part because of the variety of fields in which they grow their crops – some of it is quite productive, while other fields are much more challenging. Mike says the overall idea, then as now, is to increase profitability by improving efficiency. Incorporating variable rate (VR) technologies seemed like an obvious choice. Their first foray into variable rate began with maize seeding in 2013. That year, the family began working with Veritas Farm Management, an agricultural data-service company based in the nearby city of Chatham, to gain a true understanding of each field’s fertility through smart-grid soil
sampling; that is, where nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous were and were not abun- dant. Overall, Mike says, they noticed a clear, measurable gap with their nutrient manage- ment on each location. He adds they were per- haps most surprised at how many areas were actually deficient in one nutrient, while simul- taneously having an abundance of another. “There were even differences on old pasture ground. A different nutrient management sys- tem could make a noticeable improvement to the land’s potential,” he says.
VR according to land potential Because it could be overlaid with fertility infor- mation, this was the first time the decades of ac- crued yield data really made an impact. Combin- ing all that data helped create initial management zones. With pre-existing variable rate capabilities
on their maize planter, Mike says they were able to adjust seeding rates in each zone for maxi- mum impact. “Every farm Veritas did this with, were able to reduce seeding rates for the same level of success. It’s the same amount of seed, we just move it around the field,” Mike says. Variable rate nitrogen application was next. Like their seeding strategy, however, they first identified specific nitrogen management zones by taking plot measurements for five years. Po- tassium and phosphorous followed, and again, historical yield data came in handy for identify- ing patterns for each zone. “The original yield monitor seemed like a waste for a very long time, but it turned out to be invaluable once they started actually using it,” Mike says. There was still much to learn though. Indeed, Mike adds, even with all their preparation and data study, it took a few tries before they really
The strip-till fertiliser unit in the field. A separate script is uploaded for each tank, so just the right amount of product is mixed and sent through each row unit.
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 22 May 2020 9
PHOTO: MIKE CORNELISSEN
PHOTO: MATT MCINTOSH
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