Canola Council Stresses Importance Of Soil Sampling

The Canola Council of Canada is encouraging farmers to get a soil test done this fall.

Warren Ward is an agronomy specialist with the organization.

"Soil sampling is really one of the building blocks, or one of the starting points, I like to think of 4R nutrient management," he said. "We throw that word 4R out there quite a bit but this is a reminder, so that's using the right source of fertilizer, at the right rate, at the right time and in the right place. Really, when we're looking at soil testing, we're focusing in on the right rate because we want to know how much is in that soil, so that we can combine that with our yield goals and then we know what the difference is that we'll need to make up for with fertilizer applications."

Canada’s canola industry has a goal to see 4R practices used on 90 per cent of canola acres by 2025.

"One of the steps that's going help us get there just to increase our soil testing, which is going to help us make sure we're getting the right rate," added Ward. "Without soil testing, we're just guessing with how much is in the soil, how much we need to add to hit that yield target that we have. Really is an important step of achieving those 90 per cent acres having 4R practices on them."

Fertilizer Canada administers the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program that formally tracks 4R acres. To get their acres counted, farmers have to work with a 4R designated agronomist. The agronomist helps the farmer with the planning process required for 4R, and the agronomist then submits these acres to Fertilizer Canada.