Reading Time: 4 minutes Fertilizer and seed are what you might call the best of frenemies. They need each other but if conditions aren’t right, one of them (in this case, the seed) is likely to get hurt. And that goes double if you’re growing a small-seed crop like canola under dry conditions. Three of the biggest concerns canola […] Read more
Make sure your seed and fertilizer can get along
Side- and mid-row banding help, but watch that P in the seed row — especially in a dry spring
To store or sell canola? That is the question
As grain companies try to boost sales in other countries, growers ponder long-term storage
Reading Time: 4 minutes China’s ban on Canadian canola means that farmers have to take different strategies this year. Some are planning to store their canola on farm, while others are planning to sell. “Anything that has been ordered already, companies are honouring those canola contracts,” said Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association. “They’re pencilling […] Read more
Growers fear a China crisis over canola
Farmers are worried but quiet diplomacy is the best option, says Alberta Canola official
Reading Time: 3 minutes Wait and hope. And test. That’s about all Alberta canola growers can do as what appears to be political gamesmanship by China plays out. News that Canada’s biggest buyer of the oilseed had cancelled Richardson International’s registration to ship canola prompted worried producers to call the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. “At first it was kind of […] Read more
In denial? Farmers ‘failing’ in battle against clubroot
Scott Keller has crunched acreage numbers and found tight rotations and susceptible varieties are commonplace
Reading Time: 6 minutes For the last three years, Scott Keller has been crunching acreage numbers from the provincial crop insurer — and he’s not liking what he sees. “To me, everything the researchers and the Canola Council (of Canada) is saying that farmers should do; they’re not even doing anything outside of just adopting the resistant varieties,” said […] Read more
Canola performance results available
Reading Time: < 1 minute The results from the 2018 Canola Performance Trials are now available. Data from small-plot and field-scale trials can be downloaded in a booklet format. The booklet has yield, height, lodging, days to maturity, and calculated gross revenue values for 29 varieties grown in short-, mid- and long-season zone locations all across Western Canada. It features […] Read more
Green seed canola a big issue for producers this year
Know what you’ve got, watch for spoilage, and make calls to potential buyers of lower grades, says crop specialist
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canola samples have highly variable levels of distinctly green seed this year, says a provincial crops analyst. “Some farmers have reported that there has been a reduction in the green seed count during storage and others have said that it has not changed since harvest,” said Neil Blue. But many producers, particularly in the northern […] Read more
When it comes to the big two crop diseases, those really were the good old days
Fifteen years ago, a ‘funny’ new disease was found — today clubroot combined with fusarium is a killer one-two punch
Reading Time: 4 minutes Fifteen years ago, Dan Orchard was working as an agronomist at a retailer when he got a phone call about something “funny” in a customer’s canola field. The plants were prematurely ripened and the roots looked strange. Orchard had a hunch of what he was looking at, but a visit with a plant pathologist confirmed […] Read more
A two-year break can prevent a clubroot horror show
Clubroot spores live for 20 years but new research says a surprising 99 per cent die in two years — if infestations are light
Reading Time: 4 minutes *[UPDATED: Dec. 28, 2018] Still growing a canola-wheat rotation? One more year between canola crops could make a huge difference when it comes to clubroot. “Recent research has shown that 95 to 99 per cent of spores die over a two-year break,” said Dan Orchard, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada. “We were […] Read more
Learn how to get more for your grain
Reading Time: < 1 minute Making the Grade, which will be held at Olds College on Dec. 18, will see participants divided into groups and rotate through four sessions: Scott Kippen of the Canadian Grain Commission will cover wheat grading (including falling number, DON, and storage); Kevin Sich from Rahr Malting will highlight issues such as chitting and kernel plumpness […] Read more
Trade agreement a big deal for canola growers
Trans-Pacific Partnership trade accord comes as canola acreage poised to grow once again
Reading Time: 4 minutes The timing couldn’t be better. Tariffs on Canadian canola oil into Asia could be scrapped as early as January if the new Trans-Pacific trade deal goes into effect. And that’s good news as canola growers seem poised to boost acreage this coming spring. Canada ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) late […] Read more
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