Anthony Nabuurs
Early adapter to YEN program
Anthony Nabuurs has been part of the Yield Enhancement Network since its beginning in PEI seven years ago.
In fact, he holds bragging rights as the inaugural winner of the competition back in 2019. When Dr. Aaron Mills at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada explained the concept to him, the president of Atlantic Roasted Products in Montague didn’t hesitate a second before saying yes. “I’m a firm believer in the idea of sharing information,” Anthony said. “Here on PEI and the Maritimes as a whole, we are too small to have any trade secrets.”
The program has grown by leaps and bounds since that original competition attracted 17 Island wheat growers. Now the program is offered in all three Maritime Provinces and covers both winter and spring wheat, barley, oats, soybeans and corn.
That first competition saw his AC Walton crop produce a yield of 2.50 tonnes to the acre, representing 62 per cent yield potential. Atlantic Roasted remains a force to be reckoned with in the annual competition and perhaps the biggest testament to success, his farm achieved under the program is the fact they reached 94 per cent of potential last year for their 25R64 winter wheat crop and 97 per cent for their AAC Ling barley.
“Improving yields improves quality and that has a positive impact on your bottom line,” he said. While the protocols developed under the program are tailored to the growing conditions in the Maritimes, Anthony particularly liked the fact the program had a proven track record in the United Kingdom before Dr. Mills transplanted it to this side of the Atlantic.
“We had that level of expertise we could call on,” he said, noting growing conditions in many parts of the United Kingdom are like what Maritime growers are dealing with. Since the program began there in 2012, there has been an
upward trajectory in terms of yield and quality and Anthony said growers in the Maritimes are working hard to duplicate that success.
“If we learn some new techniques, I think we will be really surprised with what we actually come up with in terms of yield potential,” he said.
The fact that all participating growers are following the same protocols allows “us to learn from each other. If something works on my neighbour’s farm, why wouldn’t I try it” Anthony added “it is equally true that not everything we try works and we can learn from that too – YEN produces real world data.”
Over his seven years in the program, Anthony said the biggest change has been in keeping records to ensure the protocols for that field are being met. He explained “what kind of seed are you putting on that field? Is it certified? What kind of a fungicide program? What kind of a weed program?”
Production in each field is weighed on a certified scale to ensure an accurate measurement. Anthony can’t say enough about the importance of the research conducted by Dr. Mills and his fellow scientists. Anthony said, “good research is the key to producing good results in the field.” With the cost of inputs like fertilizer continuing to rise in a changing world economy, he said “YEN allows producers to improve efficiency.” While it is a competition, Anthony maintains everybody is a winner because we all benefit.
