An online tool aimed at helping crop growers in Manitoba make variety decisions tailored to their own farms is now live.
The Manitoba Seed Growers Association, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives and Manitoba Co-operator publisher Farm Business Communications last week launched Seed Interactive, a new service based on the performance data and variety characteristic information summarized in the annual Seed Manitoba publication.
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Performance data used on the site and in Seed Manitoba come partly from the annual trials conducted across the province’s crop-growing regions by the Manitoba Crop Variety Evaluation Team (MCVET).
The guide offers long-term yield data as compared to a single check variety, as well as annual yield comparisons at various locations.
Data is generally for yield, although protein, days to maturity, test weight and other data are included if available.
Crop types featured on the site include spring wheat, winter wheat, barley, oats, flax and peas. Others expected to be added in the future include fall rye, sunflowers (oilseed and confectionary varieties), soybeans, fababeans, lentils and field beans.
The new website, according to its developers, “allows you to tailor your own output, taking into consideration your agronomic and management requirements.”
The site includes a Variety Characteristic Report tool, meant to allow farmers to familiarize themselves with given varieties’ disease resistance and general agronomic performance.
A Yield Comparison Report tool, meanwhile, is set up to allow growers to choose their own check varieties to compare directly to a new or commonly-grown variety at locations of their choice.
