Farm Life: Ask an Agronomist
By Jenn Sharp
Western Ag is an excellent fit for agronomists looking for a new career option. For Bryce Moore, the independent role offers him flexibility and the chance to pursue his passion every day.
After a stint playing hockey after high school, Moore attended the University of Saskatchewan and obtained a Bachelor of Science in agriculture, with a focus on agronomy and agribusiness. During university, he spent several summers at the Bayer Cropscience Global canola research facility outside Saskatoon, before beginning his career.
Four years ago, he began his career through Western Ag as a professional agronomy consultant. He runs his business using Western Ag tools and systems. His region encompasses the northeast and east central region of the province.
The 28-year-old with a passion for crop science keeps busy; he also farms about 2,000 acres with his dad near Leroy, Saskatchewan, and conducts surveys for the Sask Pulse Growers.
'I wanted to help farmers'
Why did you decide to work for Western Ag?
In my second year of university, I started to get a knack for agronomy; soil peaked my interest. During a lab, Edgar Hammermeister came in and presented the PRS Cropcaster®, and PRS® probes and what Western Ag does. It clicked with me and made sense: the numbers, the efficient use of fertilizer, everything. As I got into it more, I realized how much it would benefit farmers making decisions on their crop fertility.
What’s your typical day look like?
It depends on the time of year. In the off-season (when crops are growing), we’ve made the plan, farmers have implemented it and we’re waiting for the plants to grow. I’m working in the office and looking at some fields, but for the most part, I’m fairly free to operate our grain farm here.
After harvest is when soil sampling really ramps up. I’m out the door fairly early. I try to get to the field I’m sampling when the sun comes up so I have a full day. I’ll sample until sundown, then come home and get everything organized and set up to be shipped into the lab, then get ready for the next day.
Once sampling’s done, the Cropcaster® cycle begins. I go through the analysis and make a preliminary plan. Then I go out and sit down with the producers at their kitchen table to go through the entire plan.
Before seeding, there’s usually a lot of phone calls; guys are changing crop plans, wanting to update or just have questions. Between January to March is the time for touching base and finalizing everything.
April and the first few days of May is a sprint of Cropcasting®, sampling and planning for any kind of spring work that needs to be done as soon as the land’s ready to go.
What’s your favourite part of the job?
The most satisfying aspect of the job is when we make a plan, and at the end of the year the farmer is happy with what he got, or when you can back up your work and show them that what we did made a difference - and they can see that in their yield and crop quality. I can use the Western Ag tools to get the yields I said they would get.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in this career?
Early on (after university), I didn’t have a lot of experience. A lot of producers are understandably cautious when they’re trying something new, especially when they’re working with someone who doesn’t have a lot of experience.
I had to show them I had a commitment to what was going to be best for their farm. I needed to be certain of my recommendations. I double or triple checked everything I recommended. If I didn’t know something, I would say right off the bat and sought advice within our Western Ag network to find the answers. Being proactive and thorough mitigated those early challenges.
What are the benefits of the services you offer through Western Ag for farmers?
The PRS® probes are the best soil analysis method. It leaves out any tied up nutrients and only measures what’s available for the plants. And then being able to put that data into the PRS Cropcaster® to show producers in real time how the plant responds under their soil conditions, rain conditions and estimations for the year gives them the ability to take the guesswork out of their fertility plan.
And that’s the most frequent comment I get from farmers who love the service: It’s not a guessing game anymore. With this system, the PRS® probes are showing what’s actually available for the plant. They can see with the PRS Cropcaster® where their money is going and where their fertilizer levels need to be. Producers can match the information I provide with their risk tolerance: do they want to shoot for high yields or cut back?
Why would you recommend a career with Western Ag?
What I really like about it is that you’re working with farmers. They’re some of the most genuine and hardworking people out there. Every year, they’re putting their livelihood on the line. Every spring they’re hoping that Mother Nature helps them out.
There’s a lot of uncertainties out there and a lot of stress on them that affects every aspect of their lives. When I can come in and give them peace of mind about one of the biggest parts of crop production to cause stress - fertility - and help them with their net profit at the end of the year to take some of that stress away, it’s very rewarding.
Once producers see the benefit in it, they’re never afraid to tell their neighbours and word spreads fast. I think it speaks to what the service offers because about 80 per cent of my new clients are referrals from existing customers.
Who is your role model?
Dr. Jeff Schoenau is someone I always looked up to (one of the researchers behind the PRS® technology). He’s brilliant and can speak on every topic at the layman’s level and make people understand a complex idea in a simple way. I’ve always admired that.
Another role model is my dad. I watched how he’s worked on the farm and has been a full-time accountant. It gave me an idea of how difficult that is and what it takes to balance everything out.
What’s the biggest trend you’ve seen in agriculture?
Machinery is getting bigger; we see that at every trade show.
In terms of agronomy and crop production, the trend going forward will be to focus on the little things. I don’t think we’ll see the quick and massive production gains in places that came along with fertilizer use, herbicide use and hybrid varieties - those are pretty substantial production increases with just those few products and agronomic practices.
Now, without those big jumps, we need to focus on being more efficient with our inputs. We need to be more successful at taking advantage of small increases in yield.
The margins are getting tighter and tighter every year for a lot of producers. Being able to knock off expenses or have slight gains in yield can mean big things overall in the long term.
What would you say is the biggest thing to change the face of agriculture?
My dad always says hydraulics changed the way he farmed. For my dad, it’s been a mix of herbicide, hybrid varieties and fertilizer.
Zero till was a big change for us and the industry.
Now, the tech age has reached farming. The technology in the farm equipment systems is all incredible, but not all are perfected yet. I still think we have a long way to go. Input efficiencies, commodity marketing and technology in agronomic decision tools - like the tools we have at Western Ag - helps us make better decisions.
One of the things a lot of my customers appreciate is that I’m not just sending them a sheet of data and saying ‘good luck.’ I’m going through the fields with them, talking about what we’re seeing and why.
I use their knowledge along with what I find in the field to make a proper analysis, and make a plan with them that will match their logistics.
It’s about empowering producers to make decisions on their farms.
What would your job be like if you didn’t have Western Ag tools?
'The PRS Cropcaster® helps me explain complex ideas a lot easier'
It would be a lot more difficult. Without the PRS® to look at available soil nutrients, and instead relying on assumptions to estimate nutrient tie-up, I wouldn’t have the confidence that I do now to give the producer concrete recommendations. I’m able to show them the actual crop response to fertilizer inputs using the PRS Cropcaster®. Producers can see how the crop’s going to respond, which lets them use their risk tolerance to judge how we’ll plan for the year.
The PRS Cropcaster® helps me explain complex ideas a lot easier when I can use graphs that show how we’re changing their crop production with either increasing or decreasing fertility inputs.
For a young person starting out in agronomy, a Western Ag career provides opportunity for personal and professional growth. Would you describe this work as fulfilling?
Absolutely. There’s challenges starting out, but as long as you work hard, you’ll succeed. When farmers see something that works, they’ll use it and it makes a difference on their farm. When that’s the case, it’s not hard to thrive and excel in this career when you have Western Ag tools to use.
I lucked out getting into it. I’m glad I didn’t sleep in that day when Edgar came to my Soils 312 class.
This article has been edited and condensed from the original interview.
About the authour
Jenn Sharp grew up on a grain farm in rural Saskatchewan, an experience that instilled a love for the prairies and homegrown food. During her honours English degree program at the University of Saskatchewan, she studied abroad in China and Thailand which cemented a lifelong lust for travel and the global understanding it can bring.
She was a journalist at The Saskatoon StarPhoenix for seven years; four of those years were as associate editor and food columnist for Bridges in Saskatoon and QC at the Regina Leader-Post.
In 2015, she moved to Spain to study classical dressage and worked on several horse farms.
Jenn has recently returned home, where she writes stories that connect people with the food they eat and agriculture in Saskatchewan.
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