Perhaps this would be a different story if last summer had been hot and dry.
Instead, Canamaize corn was a bit of a bust for some Saskatchewan farmers who tried growing it in the cold, wet summer of 1999.
Attracted by claims of high yields and promising returns, Shane Stueck of Abernethy planted 33 acres on May 7. The corn took two weeks to emerge.
He used Buctril M for weed control, something he said was critical. In spots where the sprayer missed its mark, the corn was choked out by wild and volunteer oats.
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But by July, Stueck felt good about his great-looking crop.
That optimism turned to frustration when he finished combining it Nov. 4.
The small acreage didn’t give him enough time and space to figure out the best settings for his combine.
The crop yielded about 30 to 40 bushels per acre, but he thinks he left another 15 bu. per acre in the field.
The stalks with the fullest, heaviest cobs had been pushed over by heavy winds.
Even though he used a flex header that works for picking up low-lying lentils and peas, the knife seemed to go over top of corn stalks that were lying on the ground.
“I realize now, you’ve got to keep a better watch on it,” he said, adding he would combine the crop earlier if he grows it again.
Even so, the corn was wet and not all of it was mature when he took it off.
“There was just too much green, immature (kernels) in the sample.
“Everything lacked heat,” he said, noting his chickpeas and durum also suffered from the poor weather.
At 33 percent moisture, “the combine smelled like a brewery,” he said.
However, two weeks of unusually warm, dry weather in November helped the harvested corn dry quickly.
Slow to mature
Clayton Kuchinka of Macoun also tried Canamaize. Before planting, he thought it might yield 55 to 60 bu. per acre.
Kuchinka was disappointed with his yield of 30 bu. per acre.
The crop was supposed to mature in 105 days, but Kuchinka said it took 140.
“It just took forever,” he said, adding even heat-seeking chickpeas matured faster on his farm.
Kuchinka used a straight header to combine the corn, but said the corn didn’t seem to stay on the table.
He felt he left some of his corn in the field and he won’t likely try the crop again.
Neither Kuchinka nor Stueck have marketed their Canamaize yet. Stueck sent samples to a laboratory to get a feed value reading. He hopes to get $3 per bushel based on the tests.
If he had better quality corn, he might be able to get $3 per bushel, said Stueck.
His corn had a bushel weight of 45 pounds, and a high count of immature kernels.
“It just doesn’t look pretty,” he said.
He said he’s not sure he’ll try it again.
“There’s some potential there, but there’s a few problems to work out.”
Canamaize could be just the thing in a year with hotter temperatures and a longer growing season, he said.
“That’s just a gamble any year.”
