Look at Your Crops

Now really look! We drive by our fields and perhaps even take the odd stroll through the field but how much time do you spend really looking at them. Consultants call this crop scouting. You should visit each field at least once per week all summer. When problems are found or expected this will be more frequent. After planting we want a quick early emergence. How uniform was the emergence?

Watch for weeds. Organic farmers should either harrow or rotary hoe for weeds before many weeds emerge, but be careful not to time this when the crop is emerging, to reduce crop damage. Early row cultivation will start before the weeds are three inches tall but after the crop is fully emerged and sturdy enough to withstand small clods rolling against the plants. Row cultivation also allows you to drive up and down each 10-20 feet of the field to look for other crop problems.

Perennial weeds and most insects and diseases usually start in patches. When you see something new to your field try to identify it. Research it immediately and determine your next steps. A new weed should be irradicated immediately by killing or pulling, but leaving it until next year may make it a permanent resident on your farm. Early detection of insects or diseases may allow for some intervention or it may just be an indicator of problems to come. Either way determine what it is and how best to proceed for your crop. Changing your crop variety or crop rotation may be in order.

When looking at differences in crop growth, weed patches or insects and diseases look for patterns in the field. Note differences in soil types. If there are streaks across the field, they likely relate to something you have done in the past year - tillage passes, planter adjustments, within row or between rows, old combine strips (straw patterns), etc. Determine the direction of the pattern, and the distance between passes to match them up with the appropriate implement. These streaks also may be due to crop boundaries in the past couple years. In some cases it can go way back, perhaps where an old fencerow or building was. I remember one farm where there was an obvious strip 30-40 ft wide across the farm that exhibited more severe drought stress than the rest of the field. The farmer told me this was the path taken by trucks when he logged the bush - 27 years ago.

The most important part of crop scouting, and the one most neglected, is to take notes. We think we will remember what we see in the field, but history tells me that most people forget the details for a lot of what they see. We need to make notes on crop progress, field activities, and field abnormalities so that next winter we can fully assess what worked and what did not and how to improve our crops for next year.

Next season begins now. Look at this year's crop to start making decisions that will affect you and your crop in 2004 … and beyond.

(Published in Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario Newsletter, Summer 2003)

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