Research is the process of going up
alleys to see if they are blind.
​
- Marston Bates
A KERNAL
OF WISDOM
Chapter 15:
Research And Test Plots
Soil sampling and test plots were common long before my time. The samples were sent to the government for testing and recommendation. At that time, the government was very conservative in its recommendations. Private labs started up and they were more aggressive with their recommendations. There were also enough misapplications and overlaps of nitrogen that producers soon learned the profitability of higher rates.
When Kent Lamoureux joined SVF, he was keen on soil sampling and soon picked up on some areas that required potash. SVF was the first to offer potash in blends. Others soon followed. Next, Kent's tests and plots revealed copper deficiencies. Variable-rate technology is also one of Kent's projects. Interest in this technology is growing. All our agronomists' directives are to do their best to help their producers be as profitable as possible. Each producer should know he has an SVF agronomist on his team. We are confident that our customers will support SVF if they are successful. We also have a weigh wagon that is used to check the yields of different varieties of canola and cereals.
In the spring of 2012, we introduced a mobile seed treatment service. This spring, it appears it's even more popular. SVF is constantly looking for new services we can offer that will benefit our customers.