Sirski Farms played host to an On Farm Research Tour today, hosted in collaboration by Manitoba Crop Alliance, Manitoba Canola Growers, Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers, and Fertilizer Canada. After conversations over coffee, and putting on lots of bug spray, the day started with a panel talking about tile drainage systems, a big focus of this research tour.
One of the panel speakers was Ernie Sirski, operator of Sirski Farms. Looking back at the first installation of tile dranage systems on his farm, he said it's done wonders.
"Our first field was tiled in the fall of 2021, and since then we've got approximately 500 acres under tile...this particular field had salinity issues, which means that the soil was high in salts, and it was so bad that even weeds wouldn't grow on it, that's how bad it was," said Sirski.
Since 2021, that field has completely turned around. The installation of tile drainage systems has allowed that salinity to filter out, which has turned that area of Sirski's farm into one of the most productive and profitible plots.
Another speaker on the panel was Kevin Thompson, former agronomist and Ochre River area farmer, who also recently installed tile drainage on his farm, though not for the same reasons. And with his agronomist experience, he's seen lots of farms with tile drainage for a variety of reasons, and the results are always positive, especially when you look at rainfall.
"These tiles work 24 hours a day, not just when the sun's shining, so they're designed to remove a quarter inch a day per acre of moisture, so it's a slow release, and we're able to get the crop growing, and the crop's going to use a lot more than what the tile's going to let go," said Thompson.
Ernie Sirski is also the Reeve for the RM of Dauphin. From that perspective, there are several municipal benefits to tile drainage, especially around controlled release.
"If you have surface drains, if you have a major rain event, the water disappears right now. Whereas if you have tile drainage, there's the ability for soil to actually absorb some of the water, because the ground isn't at saturation level," said Sirski.
After the panel discussion on tile drainage, the On Farm Research Tour went on to look at Sirski's soil and how it looks, and a plant growth regulator trial that's being done on Sirski's cereal field.
