Data collected from canola grower field trials usually isn’t published until December, which is a few months after farmers start deciding what to plant next year.
“We’re taking a little bit of a different approach,” said Mark Woloshyn, Nexera canola brand manager for Dow AgroSciences Canada.
“We are posting the information from our trials onto our website now.”
The company intends to update its website at www.healthierprofits.ca every two weeks with photos, data and comments from the 36 Nexera grower research trials it is conducting on the Prairies.
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Most of the strip trials compare how Dow’s four registered Nexera hybrids stack up against check varieties or commodity canola hybrids.
However, 10 percent of the trials will include some of the company’s newest experimental hybrids.
The website already contains information on average plant count, early season vigour and average days to flower.
Information yet to come includes days to maturity, lodging and yield and profit performance.
The raw data is augmented by photos and comments from participating growers and AgCall, a firm Dow has hired to provide agronomic analysis of the trials.
“I’m really motivated to get the growers’ comments so it’s not just the data,” said Woloshyn.
Farmers can click on an interactive map on the Dow website to look at results from grower trials nearest to their farm.
