As the Canadian government contemplates moving forward on a free trade agreement with China, the canola industry sees tremendous potential to increase exports to the country that already imports more canola seed than any other. That's because Canadian canola seed headed to China currently faces a nine percent tariff, whereas the tariff on soybeans is... Read More
Category: Canola School
President Trump’s U.S.-first biofuel policy could be bullish for Canadian canola demand, according to the president of Chicago-based Ag Resource Company. As Dan Basse explains in this market-themed Canola School episode, the United States imported about two million tonnes of B100 biodiesel from Argentina last year, offering a dollar/gallon tax credit for it. “A lot... Read More
Canola seed in Canada could soon come with a label describing the variety's blackleg disease resistance package, similar to the labeling system used in Australia. After around four years of discussions between seed companies, researchers, and growers, an agreement-in-principle has been reached on blackleg resistance labeling, says Clint Jurke, agronomy director with the Canola Council... Read More
Food and conversations are two fundamental parts of holiday plans for many people, as we head out to Christmas dinners and New Year parties with family and friends. If you're a farmer, chances are someone will ask "how was harvest?" or "how'd the weather impact your farm this year?" or the popular "how much is... Read More
Seed companies are turning to new sources of resistance to protect canola against blackleg disease, as the pathogen population in Western Canada has adapted over the years. Until recently, most of the varieties marketed as "blackleg resistant" relied on what's known as the Rlm3 gene, explains Sakaria Liban, pathologist with DL Seeds, in this episode... Read More
Update: The Canola Council of Canada has developed online calculators to determine your target plant density based on your individual field conditions, abilities and appetite for risk, as well as optimum seeding rate. You can find them at CanolaCalculator.ca. While the official industry recommendation for an optimal canola plant stand remains 7 to 10 plants... Read More
The clubroot story in Western Canada continues to be written as researchers are finding additional strains of the pathogen that are capable of overcoming genetic resistance. So far, 13 new variants have been identified since the breakdown of resistance was first confirmed in 2013, explains Stephen Strelkov, plant pathology researcher at the University of Alberta.... Read More
There's no long-term trend talk of any agriculture commodity sector, it seems, that doesn't include at least some reference to China. After all, it's not just a populous country, it's a huge economic driver and consumer of Canadian agriculture products. Imagine, then, what it would mean to have the Chinese market closed, a market worth... 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... 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