Canadian canola breeding programs are shifting to a focus on boosting yields rather than protecting them, says an industry official. Yield growth has been disappointing. In 2014, the Canola Council of Canada established a target of achieving a national average yield of 52 bushels per acre by 2025. That isn’t going so well. Other stories […] Read more
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Production briefs
New Holland reveals CR11 New Holland’s CR11 combine has a 775 horsepower C16 engine mounted lengthwise so that it spins in the same direction as the rotors. Geert Nerinckx of New Holland said the combine is bigger than what’s currently on the market. “Our goal with this new combine was to bring down the total […] Read more
Pest roundup: Canola pests kept in check by dry conditions
Pests of canola including flea beetles, green worms of multiple types, cut worm, alfalfa loopers, blister beetles, lygus bugs, diamondback moths and more were present last summer. However, there wasn’t a massive pest event in 2023 that dramatically affected canola plants across multiple growing regions, other than grasshoppers in drier areas. Other stories in the […] Read more
Disease roundup: Verticillium has breakout year
Plant pathologists are still sorting through the data, but 2023 may become the year that verticillium stripe emerged a major problem for canola growers in Western Canada. In 2022, Saskatchewan Agriculture staff discovered verticillium is a common disease in the eastern part of the province. In the fall of 2023, producers in other parts of […] Read more
Canola news briefs
Mexico departs science-based decision-making for GM crops Canada is deeply concerned about Mexico’s recent departure from its longstanding approach to regulating genetically modified crops. The slide began in 2018 with the election of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, also known as AMLO, as president of Mexico. Other stories in the 2023 Canola Yearbook: Decent yields in […] Read more
Canola growers scramble to address federal policy issues
Another day, another issue for canola growers to tackle. From the federal government’s musing on reducing emissions from fertilizer use to trade matters to carbon pricing, policy dominates much of the work carried out by farmer organizations. The most recent concern surrounds amendments made in the Senate to Bill C-234 that removed barns and greenhouses […] Read more
What happens when the big crop comes?
What if, after years of crazy weather and crippled yields for many farmers, Western Canada actually got “normal” weather and canola yields? What even is normal now, after years in which the noise of drought, flooding, heat-blast Julys and the “harvest from hell” have made it hard to figure out what normal yields would be? […] Read more
Bids tumble but canola demand is firm
It has been a rollercoaster ride for canola futures in 2023. The year started out on a high, with nearby futures trading at $838 per tonne. LeftField Commodity Research analyst Chuck Penner advised growers attending the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission’s annual general meeting in January to wait out the market. Other stories in the 2023 […] Read more
EU winter wheat crop gets off to slow start
SASKATOON — The European Union’s winter wheat crop is off to a less than ideal start, according to analysts. Planting in France, which is the largest producer of the crop, has been delayed by excessive moisture. The French ministry of agriculture is forecasting a five percent drop in seeded area in that country, according to […] Read more
Senate passes amended Bill C-234
REGINA — Bill C-234 has passed in the Senate, although it looks far different than when debate began. It was amended twice to remove barns and greenhouses from a carbon pricing exemption clause and to shorten the sunset period of the exemption for propane and natural gas used in grain drying from eight years to […] Read more
