Non-Peer ReviewedFrom 1997 to 2002, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) PFRA Branch conducted a
survey of over 4000 annually cropped fields in Saskatchewan. Each year the same fields were
visited shortly after crop emergence to collect information on crop type, row spacing, opener
type, packing system, amount of previous crop residue, orientation of previous crop stubble, and
adoption of low soil disturbance seeding. Key results are the increasing trend toward lower soil
disturbance seeding, and the high incidence of pulse crops associated with low disturbance
seeding. In depth analysis of trends on individual fields suggest that very few producers are able
to maintain low disturbance seeding every year on the same field. This suggests that some
flexibility is required to allow for periodic soil disturbance to address issues such as perennial
weeds
