b'ADVICE FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTSHow to Avoid Your Own Oh NO! MomentBILL ORRCanada technical representative1, 4 Group14group.comON A FIELD tour this summer, I had how hed invested in more acres, wasbins concrete floor years after application a long conversation over lunch withturning around better average yields, and(yes). And he wanted to know whether a potato producer from Manitoba. Ajust last year had completed two newits likely that residue concerns could limit chatty guy who was happy to makepotato storage sheds.international market access (while theres conversation, he mentioned hed read aSince storage season is my passion andno way to know the future, its quite couple of my previous columns. I askeddormancy enhancement is always toplogical residue could become a significant him what hed thought of the Januaryof my mind, I couldnt help asking himmarket impediment now that Europe has article that detailed the big and growingwhat hed used for sprout control in thederegulated CIPCs use, and Japan has concerns about CIPCthat it lingersnew buildings. His face literally froze theoutright banned it).long in storage buildings; that changingmoment he realised the answer.Its brutal being the bearer of bad news. global politics could make its residue aIn a brand new, high-tech, big- Id much rather focus on opportunity, future trade barrier. Hed read the article,investment building, hed done what hessustainability, and innovationall of but admitted he hadnt given it a ton ofalways done for sprout control: CIPC.which already exist in potato dormancy thought given CIPCs use is so ubiquitousSuddenly, our earlier conversationenhancement. across potato storages.about CIPC gained a new level ofBio-control products 1,4SIGHT and Our conversation meandered onintensity. He wanted to know how long1,4SEED are sustainable, safe and highly through the seasons wild weather anda storage is contaminated after CIPCeffective at managing sprouting and harvest ahead. Over coffee before weapplication (the answer, unfortunately, ispeeping all storage season long and headed back to the field, he proudly toldpossibly decades). He wanted to know ifcarry no environmental contamination me about his farm business recent growthits true CIPC is detectable deep inside adownsides.Should You Invest in Finetuning? (The Answer Isnt Always Yes)HEATHER TRENERRYAlberta territory sales representativeStoller Enterprisesstollerenterprises.caHI! IM HEATHER.You might have seenI worked in ag retail before shifting tojust might force the decision. me at your farm, or maybe weve crossedStoller last year, we started hearing moreAll that said, growth hormones and paths at a farm show. I teach farmersexamples of deficiencies in specificmicronutrients arent for everyone. about micronutrients and plant growthnutrients like boron in acres that hadntGrowers who are already progressive, hormones and help them decide whetherbeen deficient previously. Meanwhile,appreciate and use growth hormones and they should or (just as importantly!)as all the other costs of production micronutrients. The next level of growers shouldnt consider giving these inputs aespecially landrise, farmers here will those who do a great job but wait to try. Which category are you? have to follow Europes lead in activelyfollow their neighbours exampleare Micronutrients and supplementalmanaging all factors that contribute to topincreasingly calling to ask questions about growth hormones are two opportunitiesquality and more efficient production.how growth hormones and micronutrients to finetune a crop. Though they are fairlyEven in the year Ive been working formight apply to their acres. However, new concepts for most North AmericanStoller, Im noticing a shift happening infarmers whose crops could benefit from growers, theres nothing new aboutconversations with growers. More aremacro-scale adjustmentsthose who either inputs use globally. In Europe,open to hearing about how investing astill need to increase their fertilizer blend where land is expensive and soils arelittle extra into the crop in ways they mayalongside the seed, for example, or who less productive compared to here,not have tried before can bring higherneed to catch up to rampant disease farmers have embraced crop-boostingoverall returns. If increasing their farmor runaway weedswould do much technologies including these for decades.profits doesnt convince growers to focusbetter to focus on managing these more That reality is coming for us in Northon efficiency, the federal governmentsprominent concerns before they dive into America too. Over the handful of yearsthreatened fertilizer emissions cut backsfoliar nutrition or growth hormones. 30SPUDSMART.COM Fall 2022'