For all three setups, Chad Bown had the heater between the fan and the bin. This fan-heater-bin sequence is recommended for canola.

Turn up the heat on aeration fans when drying canola

Some growers grappling with a late harvest and high-moisture crops in 2016 added supplemental heaters to their aeration fans. This grower’s experience may inspire an upgrade to aeration setups for 2017

Things were a little off with Harvest 2016 and Chad Bown was desperate. The farmer from Ranfurly, Alta., was combining 14 per cent moisture canola in late November after a month or more of snow delays. Delivery locations were full, so on-farm storage was his only option. But aeration fans blowing cool air could not […] Read more

The plants in the field’s inner region were already starting to bloom, while the plants in the perimeter remained green and weren’t nearly as tall.

Crop Advisor’s Casebook: What’s holding up this canola’s blooming stage?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the May 16, 2017 issue of Grainews

Kyle farms 2,000 acres of canola, oats and peas west of Yorkton, Sask. He called me the first week of July, last year, when he discovered part of his canola crop wasn’t flowering with the rest of the field. Kyle thought perhaps environmental factors, seeding issues or nutrient deficiencies could be stressing the crop. The […] Read more






Maintaining canola quality in grain bags

Maintaining canola quality in grain bags

Canola acreage is up. Will you need to store some of your harvest in grain bags? Keep the quality high

Researchers from the University of Manitoba have recently published two studies on how canola fares when stored in grain bags for different periods of time. The research was done under Prairie weather conditions, funded by the Canola Council of Canada. Grain bags, sometimes called silo bags, are marketed as temporary storage solutions for farmers who […] Read more


Crude oil bearishness seeps into canola market

CNS Canada — The falling price of crude oil is a bearish force weighing on many agricultural commodities, including canola, according to a Prairie market analyst. “Crude oil has been a driver of this weakness,” said Errol Anderson, president of ProMarket Communications in Calgary. In the past month, crude oil dropped roughly US$9 per barrel […] Read more

volunteer canola

Tips for wild oat and volunteer canola control

Agronomy tips... from the field

Wild oats and volunteer canola are two prevalent weeds that need to be controlled each year. When selecting your wild oat herbicide, be aware of the chemistry groups that you are using throughout your crop rotation. Group 2 herbicides have become a popular choice for wild oat control, but be careful that you’re not overusing […] Read more


Group 2 (Odyssey) injuries in canola on display at CanoLAB 17 in Vermilion. Staff mimicked a drift injury in the greenhouse. Herbicide injury symptoms, 
such as purpling and thickened stems, can mimic other issues.

Diagnosing herbicide injury

Application can go wrong. Know how to limit and recognize herbicide injury

When it comes to diagnosing potential herbicide injury, record keeping is vital, say Canola Council of Canada agronomists. “With soil residual herbicides, herbicide history is really important,” says Ian Epp, agronomy specialist with the Council for northwestern Saskatchewan. Because soil residual herbicides are often applied the previous year, good record keeping is important, he adds. Last […] Read more

(Syngenta.com)

Syngenta exits canola seed business

Canola growers checking out Syngenta Canada’s 2018 seed guide for Western Canada will notice canola by its absence. Syngenta, which entered the Prairie canola seed market in 2013 and by this spring had six hybrid varieties on offer, said in a statement it has “recently taken the decision to exit the canola seed business.” The […] Read more