Set up for success: Crop SMF team collaborates for a smooth harvest
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In their first year at Lakeland College's Vermilion campus, crop technology students spend their time in the classroom, labs and on the farm, learning soil sampling, agronomy, weed management and all the other skills they’ll need. In their second year, however, the stakes are raised as they step into their roles on the SMF, charged with making critical decision-making on the farm. They are guided by staff and faculty who listen and offer advice, but not the answers.
Rachel Nelson, the student communication coordinator of this year’s SMF crop unit who comes from a mixed farm in Ferintosh, Alta., says the weight of that responsibility was something she was aware of coming into it.
“Back on my own farm, I always talk with my dad about decisions he was making but I didn’t have a say in them,” she explains. “Out here, we knew it was going to be our responsibility and it was a big eye-opener, having all the decisions on our shoulders. It was pretty cool to be able to take over the reins and make those decisions.”
Those decisions, Nelson adds, were complicated given that there are 44 students involved in the crop SMF this year – all with different backgrounds, different opinions and different ways of doing things.
It meant a lot of discussion, a lot of pros and cons lists, some compromise and a few issues going to vote. In the end, they learned a lot from each other.
One of their biggest discussions, Nelson explains, was whether to straight cut or swath a canola field that had been damaged by hail. Because of the hail and the hilly nature of the field, some canola was ready to be harvested and some was not, and there were risks to consider when deciding how to harvest the field. She and her fellow students shared their ideas, made their pros and cons lists, listened to their instructors who gave their opinions but left the actual decisions up to the students, and then took it to a vote. They went with swathing.
“I definitely learned how to listen to everyone’s opinion if they’re willing to give it,” Nelson says. “It’s important to listen to what they have to say about a decision and their personal experiences, but at the end of the day, we do all have to agree on one course of action or it’ll be chaos.”
In the end, Nelson says, harvest went smoothly. They harvested faba beans, canola, malt barley and wheat. They silaged corn and barley for the livestock SMF unit. The peas had been ready and harvested before the students returned in the fall. They dealt with some drought symptoms and a bit of hail damage, and are currently dealing with a barley crop that didn’t make malt. They’ll sell it to the college first, if the livestock SMFs want it, or an elevator.
They’re working on their fall tillage plans now, deciding which fields to harrow and planning crop rotations for next year based on soil samples. They’ll start spreading manure on the fields as well, while the SMF marketing team works on selling the canola, wheat and peas.
“In the first year,” Nelson says, “You definitely learn about all of this, but being in SMF, I have a better understanding of all of it and what goes into it. It’s nice to get that hands-on experience to familiarize yourself with things you could potentially be seeing in your future careers. By being hands-on with it now, when you’re still in class learning about it, it sets you up for success in your future job.”
Check out the harvest video created by second-year crop technology student Paden Lehr.
Photos: Top - Rachel Nelson, communication coordinator of this year’s SMF crop unit. Second - Harvest video credit: Paden Lehr, second-year crop technology. Third - The crop SMF team at orientation for the farm. Fourth - Harvesting the SMF.
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