Pleasing results | With disease and insects plaguing canola, some growers are sold on beans
Albert Turski didn’t have high expectations for his soybean crop after disappointing canola yields of 25 bushels per acre on his farm near La Salle, Man.
However, he was pleasantly surprised when he began combining his beans in September, given the extreme heat and dry conditions in Manitoba this summer.
Turski’s 1,500 acres of soybeans averaged 37 to 45 bu. per acre, significantly higher than the 10 year average of 30 bu. per acre for Manitoba.
“Honestly, I was expecting a little less yield. I was expecting 25 to 30 (bu. per acre). It surprised us,” said Turski.
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According to the provincial crop report for the third week of September, the average soybean yield in eastern Manitoba has been 35 bu. per acre. Producers near Carman have reported yields of 40 bu. per acre and fields near Starbuck have topped 50 bu. per acre.
Initial results suggested that soybean yields would be below average when harvest began earlier in September, said Dennis Lange, Manitoba Agriculture’s crop production adviser in Altona.
Beans combined early near Altona yielded 25 to 30 bu. per acre, but those were early maturing varieties, Lange said. Later maturing varieties received timely rain in August, which increased yields to 35 bu. and higher, said Lange. Quality has also been good, he added.
“Even though some of the seed is dry, there really haven’t been any complaints about splits or green seed.”
Turski said many growers in the Red River Valley feel good about soybeans right now.
“There are a lot of smiles around. The prices are right and at 40 bu. per acre, that’s pretty good.”
Soybean prices topped $18 per bu. in early September, but have since backed off from those record levels. Nonetheless, the November futures contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was trading around $16.50 per bu. in the third week of September, which is a fantastic price for beans.
Turski may be fond of soybeans at the moment, but his affection for canola has soured. He said he is sick of the diseases and insects that prey on the oilseed.
“I’m really tired of babysitting canola. Every week, it’s spray this, spray that, spray this.”
Disease and insects may have played a role in poor canola yields, but Chris Unger, DuPont Pioneer’s senior soybean research associate in Carman, Man., said the primary factor was five weeks of hot weather in June and July.
“It’s environmental, there’s no question,” he said. “Typically, we like to see canola flowering for five to six weeks. This year, we saw it flowering for closer to two to three weeks.”
Turski said he intends to cut back from the 1,000 acres of canola he grew this year and shift production toward soybeans.
“They’re pretty easy to grow,” he said. “Seed, that’s your number one expense, and your inoculant is the next thing, and that’s pretty well all you really have to do.”
