Canola Crop Is Looking Pretty Variable

Canola Council of Canada Agronomy Specialist, Autumn Barnes says there are some areas that are pretty dry and looking for some more moisture, but all in all we have some pretty good potential.

"In my territory specifically, it seems like we didn't have much or as much flea beetles as we've had in the past few years. So that's been really helpful. We've also had some pretty extremely hot days and some pretty extreme winds. So the seedlings have not gone without challenges, but I think we're pushing through. You know, if we can get some rain in the next week here, then we should be pretty happy."

She notes flea beetles have been a challenge in a number of canola growing areas, but right about now is when the adults tend to die off. 

So some producers may not have to worry about using that insecticide application now.

Farmers are busy scouting crops looking for weeds, as well as any signs of insect or disease issues.

Barnes says now is a good opportunity to do a proper assessment:

"This is a great time to see you know stripes in the field if you had issues with your openers. Maybe you were going running a little hot with your seed place fertilizer. You know, maybe there was some issues with some root rot, frost, there's been a few challenges this year to choose from. So it's a good chance to really critically assess management decisions, and hopefully try and do better for next year, or give yourself a pat on the back."

Barnes says overall it's really important to walk the field and do plant counts and get a good understanding of plant density.

She notes the Canola Council has launched a new project this year called "Canola Counts" and what we're doing is crowdsourcing plant establishment data.

"So when you're out in the field and doing your assessments if you go to www.canola counts.ca you can either enter the legal land location or it can auto locate for you. Enter your email address, and then you can enter your plant density and if you have your thousand-seed weight and your seeding rate with you, it will actually calculate emergence for you right there."

One of the features with the Canola Counts Program is that it will email you the results.