Winter canola isn’t actually that new of a crop to Ontario — there were certainly some acres produced in the 80s and 90s — but there’s been a resurgence in the last five years with increased availability of a new variety. Meghan Moran, OMAFRA canola and dry edible bean specialist, joins Bernard Tobin in a… Read More
With canola prices where they’re at, producers want to hit those optimum yields. There are a few hurdles to overcome this year though, as high fertilizer prices and dry conditions might limit starter fertilizer rates. In this Canola School episode, Kara Oosterhuis is joined by Jack Payne, grow team advisor at Federated Co-operatives Ltd., on… Read More
Early spring is a great time to check out how well residue was spread from the previous harvest. Having uniform residue management can make all the difference for seedbed preparation, seeding, and getting that uniform canola stand. In this Canola School episode, Leighton Blashko, senior technical specialist with BASF, joins Kara Oosterhuis in the field… Read More
When there wasn’t a lot of rain in the fall, and even less precipitation in the winter, dry seeding conditions are a concern. The choice between chasing moisture or waiting for a rain to seed can be daunting. Allison McLellan, technical service specialist with BASF, joins Kara Oosterhuis for this Canola School episode about tips for seeding… Read More
Post-harvest is a great time to begin planning for next year’s canola crops, and a good time to evaluate how the growing season went. Choosing the right canola hybrid for your fields is an important decision, and there are more than a few things to consider. In this episode of the Canola School, Nate Ort,… Read More
A timely rain after seeding can erase plenty of sins, but a pounding rain can do the opposite, and lead to punishment for small canola seedlings that have to break through crusted soil. Crusting has hampered emergence and forced some reseeding in canola fields in parts of Western Canada again this year. Of course, there’s… Read More
The decision to re-seed a canola crop can be a difficult one, and the reasons to re-seed can be numerous: wind damage or sandblasting, especially in sandier soils, insect damage from cutworms or flea beetles, or overall low plant density. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Canola School, Kara Oosterhuis chats re-seeding decisions with Autumn Barnes,… Read More
A cool start, delayed seeding, dry conditions, then wild temperature swings, a frost or two, wind shear, and relentless flea beetle feeding: that’s what the Manitoba canola crop has been through, and it’s only mid-June. Angela Brackenreed, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, says that while canola is a plastic and adaptable crop,… Read More
Canola growers are asking whether they should chase moisture this spring across dry regions of Western Canada. That’s a question Canola Council of Canada agronomist Autumn Barnes tackles on this episode of RealAgriculture’s Canola School. “If growers have to chase moisture down to 1.5 or even two inches, they’re putting a lot of pressure on… Read More
Your perfect stand of canola and someone else’s idea of a perfect stand of canola could be significantly different. More than that, any two seed lots could have a significantly different seed size, and that translates to having to move away from one “rule of thumb” pounds per acre seeding rate. Seed is expensive, too,… Read More
Variable seed size, seed costs, and unique seeding equipment can make recommending a canola seeding rate nearly impossible except on a farm-by-farm basis. What agronomists can do is help farmers work backwards from the desired plant stand count to get where they need to be, but what if that number proves very expensive? The Canola… Read More
There are a lot of different strategies farmers can use to delay or manage for herbicide resistant weeds. Some are complex and some are expensive, but sometimes a simple thing like making sure the ground is covered can make a big difference. RealAgriculture’s Dale Leftwich recently had the chance to speak with Ian Epp, Canola… Read More
Which clubroot-resistant canola variety with herbicide tolerance trait X is the earliest maturing in your area? What about the highest-yielding blackleg resistant variety with herbicide trait Y? Every year the Canola Council of Canada administers the Canola Performance Trials — a third-party small plot and field scale evaluation of current canola varieties. The program is… Read More
The ability to precisely place individual seeds in a row, as with corn or soybeans, has led some canola growers to switch from air seeders to vacuum planters. Trials in southern Alberta support the hypothesis that better seed-to-soil contact from using a planter results in improved germination and emergence, says Mike Gretzinger, research manager for… Read More
For some farmers in some southern parts of Western Canada, seeding is starting to wrap up. But others are still have the challenge of getting last year’s crop off, all while trying to get this year’s crop in the ground. In this Canola School episode, we talk to Brittany Hennig, agronomy specialist for the Canola Council of… Read More