Harvest started strong in most parts of the Prairies and then has either came to a complete halt or fallen into a slow grind of doing a few acres, checking moisture levels, changing fields, waiting, and getting frustrated. RealAgriculture’s Saskatchewan field editor Dale Leftwich went out to a couple of fields with Canola Council of… Read More
There is more and more and more demand for information about straight-cutting canola. In response to this demand, the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) continues to conduct research, quantify assumptions, and provide knowledge to farmers. Recently, PAMI put all that work together into a straight-cutting guidebook for canola. In this episode of the Canola School, RealAgriculture’s… Read More
Combine loss monitors are useful for understanding whether the amount of grain being thrown out the back of a combine is increasing or decreasing, but they’re not a great tool for quantifying those losses, according to research conducted by PAMI (Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute). The recent project focused on understanding the accuracy of combine loss… Read More
Fast forward a few weeks. Picture the combine has started rolling in a canola field, and you’re not quite happy with how much seed is being lost through the back of the machine. Should you increase cylinder/rotor speed? Open the upper sieve? Maybe adjust the pre-sieve? Decrease concave clearance? Increase fan speed? Decrease fan speed?… Read More
It’s the time of year when many producers are thinking about swathing, or looking forward to desiccating and straight cutting their canola crop. Two of the more common options for dry downs on your crop are glyphosate, a slower process but great for cleaning up fields; and diquat, the active ingredient in most registered desiccants…. Read More
“15 to 20 years ago it made me nervous to drive past a canola field waiting to be straight cut. But now…our genetics have improved, our ability to handle that crop, and the size of our combines and ability to handle that crop and harvest it in a timely fashion has gotten much better.” This… Read More
When it comes to assessing canola maturity at this time of eyar, it can be tricky to see what’s what, especially when it comes to a thick canola crop. In this Canola School episode, Keith Gabert, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, shares a tip for finding the main stem — a trick… Read More
As canola fields start to turn yellow, It may feel like it’s a long time away, but weknow all too well, harvest comes very quickly. And with harvest, comes harvest loss management. After a season full of nurturing crops to get the best possible outcome, we don’t always realize how much of the final product… Read More
You can’t really blame mice and deer from taking a bite out of overwintering canola swaths — your crop is literally a giant buffet for them. And, of course, animals have never heard the saying “don’t poop where you eat,” and so, to add insult to injury, not only has overwintered canola been downgraded by… Read More
The unprecedented amount of canola left in the field over winter in Saskatchewan and Alberta has producers and processors trying to figure out the value of this crop. Very little research has been done previously on the impact of snow and over-wintering on canola quality, says Veronique Barthet, oilseed research scientist at the Canadian Grain… Read More
As if canola harvest hasn’t been hard enough with all the snow and rain, the work won’t end when this crop enters the bin. It’s going to require some babysitting. “Number one when you’re taking off tough grain like this is it’s not ‘put it away and forget it’. It’s a 24-hour job type of thing…. Read More
It might only be the middle of October, but it looks and feels like winter in parts of Western Canada, especially as you move north and west in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Snow and freezing rain have left many canola growers with a helpless feeling as crop that was ready to be harvested is now under… Read More
Wet conditions at harvest inevitably result in a mess, as heavy combines and grain carts leave their mark in the soft soil. With above normal rainfall extending into harvest in parts of Western Canada, we’re seeing some deep ruts and serious compaction from harvest equipment. “That wheel traffic compaction can go as deep as three… Read More
Maybe it’s due to news traveling faster on social media than it used to, but there have been a fair number of reports of canola heating in the bin this winter. Producers who find themselves in these unfortunate situations are often left scratching their heads wondering why it happened. Was it harvested too early? Was it straight-cut or… Read More
In recent years, the conversation around harvest management has heated up, with the inclusion of a debate that centres around straight cutting versus swathing. But, says RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney, “debate is the wrong word.” “We get trapped into this all or nothing scenario — it’s sort of like tillage versus no-till — right? You’re either one or you’re… Read More