The Field of Excellence is a collaborative research and demonstration program that occurs annually at Discovery Farm Woodstock. This program attracts a variety of agriculture industry partners, bringing their insights, learnings and objectives together in a single cohesive project focused on informing and engaging with Canadian farmers.

2023 Field of Excellence

Farmers need practical solutions to everyday challenges. On the farm, the success of an entire year’s work can often be determined by answering the question: “how did it yield”? While we often focus on average yields, we also know there can be tremendous variability across any field. This variability can be a result of issues that limit yield such as nutrient deficiency, poor water retention, drainage, weed pressures and more. While we don’t want to hold back our best soils, there is tremendous potential in improving the poor areas of the field. 

So, then, the question for the Field of Excellence becomes, “what can we do to close the yield gap”? For subpar areas, we want to examine how we can improve yield and profitability in the short term and productivity in the long term. For this project, the Discovery Farm Woodstock staff and partners will use a variety of tools that improve productivity throughout the season. 

We are excited to work with these partners on the Field of Excellence in 2023: 

• A&L Canada Laboratories Inc.: Discovery Farm Woodstock’s analytical partner offering soil testing and soil health demonstration, plant tissue testing, disease diagnostics, and fertility recommendations when required
• AgroLiquid: providing a foliar fertilizer application with their specialized liquid fertilizer blends
• Koch Fertilizer Canada: providing fertilizer enhancement technology for the Field of Excellence crop
• Kubota Canada: providing the equipment and expert staff to plant the Field of Excellence soybean crop, while showcasing their new line of planters
• Oxford Agropro: Field of Excellence fertilizer supplier
• Sevita International: one of our many seed suppliers at Discovery Farm Woodstock
• SoilOptix® Inc.: providing mapping and soil sampling of approximately 60 acres of the Discovery Farm Woodstock site
• SWAT MAPS/Fieldwalker Agronomy Ltd: providing mapping and soil sampling of roughly 50 acres of the Discovery Farm Woodstock site, and installation of an onsite soil sensor
• Woodstock Research Station Team: land preparation and agronomic work

Mapping the Soil on the 2023 Field of Excellence Project 

Prior to the 2023 planting, SoilOptix mapped the field to provide high-resolution soil information including macro- and micro-nutrients, physical properties, full texture breakdown and soil organic carbon (click on the link below to see the results). SoilOptix utilizes a passive sensor technology to identify variability in texture, physical structure and geology of soils. After the survey, soil samples are obtained at a standard 6- to 8-inch depth and are taken at strategic locations informed by the sensor data variability. Soil samples are sent to A&L Canada Laboratories Inc. and results shared with the SoilOptix team for further mapping.

See the 2023 Soil Mapping here.

2022 Field of Excellence

In 2022, this project is a collaborative effort with our partner Austrian-based Hechenbichler. Hechenbichler joined the Discovery Farm Field of Excellence project at both Discovery Farm Langham in Saskatchewan and Discovery Farm Woodstock in Ontario.

The Woodstock trial includes the Canadian debut for an exciting new technology product AMALGEROL Essence, a new in-season biostimulant that helps promote root growth and neutralize harmful molecules in plants that are produced following exposure to environmental stress induced by drought, heat or frost. AMALGEROL has been used on European farms for over 40 years.

The location at Discovery Farm Woodstock created a very valuable experience introducing a new product in Canada and studying it under real field conditions in Ontario. The Field of Excellence project helped Hechenbichler better understand the southwestern Ontario market and climate, plus informed the company on the specific agricultural applications commonly used in the province. This understanding will help Hechenbichler to make informed decisions in the future about AMALGEROL Essence and ways to ensure they continue to support the sustainability of Ontario farms.

For more on this project, download a copy of the 2022 Discovery Farm Woodstock Field Report here.