We have a really special episode for you as we sit down with Les Henry. Retired in 1996, Les is a professor emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan, a private consultant, and farmer. He is a renowned soils expert and in 2010 he released a lighthearted book about his passion for soils titled “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water”. He has taught and mentored many farmers, agronomists and ag professionals over the years, and his impact on the industry cannot be overstated.

In today’s episode, Les reflects on his career milestones including conducting soil surveys, helping farmers solve problems like soil salinity, teaching and research he has done both in Canada and abroad, his 48 years of writing, his views on farmer-led research and extension and much much more.

“At the end of the meeting, a farmer got up and said, 'you told us what we already knew in language we couldn't understand and took all day to do it. And he was right! So on the way home, I said to my department head, we have to do something different here. That was something I'll remember forever.” - Les Henry

1:56 Henry’s background and how he started his career

3:06 Working on soil surveys and getting started in teaching

4:12 The importance of listening to farmers

6:30 Henry’s work on salinity

12:24 The five years Les spent on soil surveys

13:44 Work in soil fertility

15:44 What’s different from what he used to teach about soils?

19:36: Writing “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water”

23:15 The top takeaway from Les’ writing

25:18 Research needs to start with a real problem

26:00 Recent writing on cover crops

28:00 Variable rate and SWAT MAPS

34:03 Government interference

35:36 What Les is most proud of

37:50 Doing things “My Way”

Purchase a copy of “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water”

Learn more at SWATMAPS.com.

Tyler Kessler joins us to discuss his independent agronomy consulting business in Southern Saskatchewan. The company provides a range of agronomic and precision agriculture services for farmers who want to optimize yield, improve soil health, and reduce environmental impacts. They are also a service provider of SWAT MAPS. Before incorporating Kessler Ag Ventures in 2015, Tyler worked in ag retail for eight years and spent a couple of years with an ag chemical manufacturer. He says in those days he wasn’t seeing a lot in precision ag that convinced him it was really adding a lot of value to farmers. That was of course until he discovered SWAT MAPS. Tyler shares his pursuit in helping farmers with agronomy and technology, using SWAT MAPS, on-farm trials, and a whole lot more.

“We're doing a lot of research and development on our own, so seeding rate, fertility responses, herbicide. We're breaking new ground and our network of consultants and the network that Croptimistic has continues to share their information and knowledge….We've got a great map now. We've gotta match the agronomy on the best map there is.” - Tyler Kessler

2:17 - Meet Tyler Kessler who discusses his independent agronomy consulting business and how he got involved with SWAT MAPS

3:50 - Discover how clients encouraged Tyler to investigate and eventually incorporate SWAT MAPS into his offerings

4:59 - Understand the vetting process Tyler did to insure SWAT MAPS would be a good fit for both his business and clients

5:59 - Hear how Tyler not only has added SWAT MAPS to his business but also uses it on his own operation

6:37 - Explore the geographic variability Tyler finds on each field for each client and the insight SWAT MAPS provides him to accommodate for that

8:04 - Understand the barriers of ag tech adoption for some producers and how Tyler works around and with them

8:56 - Explore the protocol Tyler uses for incorporating SWAT MAPS into his services with a grower

10:03 - Discover how Tyler continues to expand his agronomy consultant business and client list in his region

11:10 - Learn how Tyler’s job has changed with ever emerging technology over the last ten years

12:47 - Explore what other ag tech Tyler has incorporated into his client offerings and what he sees being developed to help his growers

13:47 - Learn about various ag tech products that were not a good fit for Tyler’s business and clients and how he identified them

15:09 - Understand the new technologies Tyler is exploring and the network he has developed with Croptimistic to get his producers the best combination of products and technology

16:42 - Discover the relationship that has to be forged between producers and agronomist to optimize success on the farm

17:55 - Explore the variables Tyler has found that make a big impact for producers and the methods he’s using to maximize production

19:46 - Understand the ROI Tyler has experienced for his business after adding SWAT MAPS to his services

20:52 - Learn about what issues are top of mind for Tyler’s producers in 2024

21:53 - Discover what direction Tyler anticipates new technology is headed in and how he plans to use them going forward

Learn more at SWATMAPS.com.

Trav Hair is based in Horsham, Victoria and has worked in ag for 20 years. He’s part of the agronomy team at Crop Opti Services and works closely with research and development companies at their trial site bringing new products to market. As well as looking after his own agronomy clients, Trav also works with machinery companies to help growers utilize their machinery purchases to enable them to achieve better results through the technology these machines provide. Trav shares the value they’re finding in both SWAT MAPS and the SWAT CAM, and the big strides they are making with variable rate herbicide applications.

“Any person that's stepping into precision ag, if you're doing it to save money, I think you're doing it for the wrong reason. I think stepping into precision ag is a really good platform to get a better return on investment and actually make more money at the end of the day.” - Trav Hair

2:49 - Meet Trav Hair and discover where he is from and his journey into his current role at Crop Opti Services

5:43 - Explore how Australia’s agriculture practices have stayed at the forefront of precision ag practices in development and use

7:39 - Discover the origins of mapping in the area and the pitfalls in execution and understanding prior to the use of SWAT MAPS

9:24 - Learn about the practicality of installing and using SWAT MAPS technology and the many data sets produced by them

10:37 - Explore the process from acquiring data from the SWAT MAPS to making practice changes on each individual field and operation

12:17 - Understand the economics involved in employing spot spraying technology and the amount of financial benefit some producers are achieving

15:52 - Discover the barrier to adoption for different options for “See and Spray” technology including machines, technology and chemical variety

18:45 - Learn about the catalysts that best encourage producers into exploring this technology and discovering its benefits

22:10 - Explore how variable rate fertilizers may be the best way to initiate variable rate technology onto an operation that hasn’t previously used it before. Variable rate herbicides and seeding rates are likely to follow.

26:03 - Discover the advantages SWAT CAM have provided Crop Opti Services and the producers they support

29:45 - Learn about where Trav feels precision ag will go in the future and how it has and will influence the industry going forward

As always you can learn more at SWATMAPS.com