This spring and summer has been a trying one in southern Alberta; and the fall looks to be the same way. With all the excess moisture, hail and stress crops in the DynAgra trading area are multi staged and late. So the question arises, “How do I harvest a multi staged crop?”
We had this same sort of problem last year because of the cold spring that we were faced with; and last year the yields and protein were quite good. We just have to manage the situation right. When you go out and look at your crop, you have to look at which stage of the crop looks the most promising and which one is most likely to make it to maturity before a major frost event. In canola, we have to take into account the shattering of over ripened canola and the green seeds in immature canola stand. And in wheat we have to worry about those immature green seeds making it into the hopper and then into the bin causing quality and storage problems.
There are products on the market to help with harvest management, such as glyphosate, Reglone and Cleanstart. The only chemical-aided option to dry down Roundup Ready Canola is Reglone, make sure not to apply Reglone too early to a canola stand, because it does not kill the plant but attacks the plant tissue and dries it down, so if the product is applied too early it can lock the green into the seed and it won’t ever turn color. For a Reglone application, you want to have 75% seed color change on the main stem at application time. A reminder that Reglone is just a desiccant and will dry the weeds in your field down but will not kill them, Reglone is registered for use on canola and peas as well beans and alfalfa.
If you choose to use a glyphosate as preharvest on canola you want to have 30% moisture or less on the crop. And for wheat once you can take a kernel and press it with your thumb nail and the imprint stays, you are at optimal preharvest timing.
But with any chemical-aided dry down be sure to be ready to combine once the crop is ready, usually within 7 to 14 days the crop will be ready to harvest. Any questions come into you local DynAgra for advice from our certified and experienced staff. Happy combining.
Yours in crop protection,
Tags: alfalfa, Canola, CleanStart, Dynagra, glyphosate, green seeds, hopper, peas, Regalone, Roundup Ready Canola
There’s a third product choice for desiccating peas, lentils and chickpeas. Up until now, the only registered choices have been glyphosate and Reglone. Glyphosate provides control of perennial weeds in the crop, but it’s very slow for crop dry down. Reglone provides fast dry down, but in heavy crops it doesn’t always penetrate to the bottom of the canopy. Reglone is also quite expensive. The new choice is CleanStart from Nufarm. It has just received registration. CleanStart has been used as a burnoff at seeding time and in chem fallow. It contains glyphosate as well as a Group 14 herbicide called carfentrazone. The glyphosate will provide perennial weed control and it’s a systemic product that will keep working to dry the crop. The carfentrazone will provide a faster dry down than glyphosate alone. It’s important that producers use only registered products for desiccation. When a product is applied close to harvest time, it will typically leave a tiny, but measureable residue in the seed. On registered products, MRLs, Maximum Residue Levels have been established. On unregistered products, any detection of a residue could result in all sorts of problems in the marketplace. If you’re desiccating pulse crops, go with Reglone, glyphosate or CleanStart. I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: ag products, ag services, agricultural products, agricultural services, carfentrazone, chickpeas, CleanStart, crop protection, custom application, desiccating, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, glyphosate, lentils, Maximum Residue Levels, MRLs, Nufarm, peas, precision agronomics, Regalone, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology
Saskatchewan crops are later than normal and frost remains a huge threat. However, the earliest seeded crops – crops that were in the ground before the end of April - aren’t very far away from harvest. Over the past couple weeks there has been a marked change in their maturity. I haven’t seen any combines rolling on field peas, but I’ve seen quite a few fields that should be only a week or two away. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are peas being harvested somewhere. The same goes for winter cereals. And there are some marvelous winter wheat crops around. There are also some early seeded canola fields that look absolutely excellent and a few of those are starting to change colour. I have heard of some canola being swathed. I have also heard reports of lentils that will soon be desiccated. However, the lentils I’ve seen in my travels are mostly still very green with only an occasional patch that’s starting to ripen. For the vast maturity of producers in Saskatchewan, any harvest activity is still weeks away, but on early crops in the southern grain belt, harvest is beginning. I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: ag products, ag services, agricultural products, agriculutral services, Canola, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, harvest, lentils, peas, precision ag, precision agronomics, Saskatchewan, soil fertility, southern grain belt, Variable Rate Technology, winter cereals, winter wheat
Which crop will return to $7 a bushel first – durum or peas? A neighboring farmer posed that question as we shot the breeze at the local farm input dealership over the weekend. It’s an interesting way to look at the difficulties facing these two major crops. Both durum and yellow peas have shown they can go to $7 and beyond, but both are now sitting at disappointing price levels. Sales of peas to India have been slow and lots of producers are refusing to sell at prices stuck below $5. On durum, there’s little choice but to hold inventory. In the Series A contract, the |CWB accepted only 40 per cent of the durum offered. The Series B acceptance level was recently announced at just 20 per cent. Durum prices, which are ugly this crop year, are projected to go even lower in the new crop year. For many producers in the southern grain belt, durum and peas have been their two main crops. While everyone knows that Canadian durum acreage is going to drop dramatically this spring, analysts have not been predicting a big drop in pea acreage. Pea acreage may be maintained in the non-lentil growing regions, but where lentils are a viable option, there will, in my opinion, be a big shift into lentils. Going back to the original question, my guess is that peas will see $7 before durum, but I have no idea when that may be. I’m Kevin Hursh.
Tags: CWB, durum, Indian peas, peas, Series A contracts, Series B
Many producers have tried intercropping peas and canola over the years, but as seeding technology advances, this may become more practical. There certainly seems to be yield advantages. Scott Chalmers and Scott Day, agrologists with Manitoba Agriculture, did replicated intercropping trials this year at Melita, Manitoba. The results are amazing. The experiments involved varying the seeding rates of the peas and canola and measuring the yield. Canola alone yielded 50 bushels an acre. Peas alone yielded 35. The best intercropping result gave basically the full yield of peas, plus 35 bushels per acre of canola. In every case, the total production from intercropping was substantially higher than the individual crop. Clearfield canola was used so that weeds in the mixed crop could be controlled with Odyssey. Harvest timing and pod shatter could still be a problem with intercropping. Plus you need to separate the seed after harvest. However, if a significant yield advantage can be realized, it might be worth the effort. It should be possible to set up modern seed drills with one row seeding peas and the next seeding canola, each at appropriate depths with appropriate fertilizer. That intercropping advantage wasn’t available in the past. I’m Kevin Hursh.
Tags: Canola, Intercropping, mixed crop, peas
There are many organizations to which farmers pay levy dollars, but elections are relatively rare. The directors for commissions and boards are often acclaimed. This year, there is an election underway. Five candidates are running for three positions with Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. As pulse producers, we should have all received biographical information and a ballot in the mail. The five candidates are Donald Beskorwayne, who operates a mixed farm northeast of Prince Albert; Vicki Dutton, a producer from Payton who is also involved with the processing company Western Grain; Roger Elchuk, a producer from the Shipman area; Dan Flynn, a producer from near Beechy; and Murray Purcell, a producer from Pike Lake who is completing a three year term as a director. Sask Pulse Growers has played a major role in the development of peas and lentils in this province. Each year, the organization collects millions of dollars in levies from the sale of pulse crops and that money is used for research, market development and communications. It only takes a few minutes to read through the biographies and mark your choices. Ballots must be received by the Returning Officer by December 2. I’m Kevin Hursh.
Tags: elections, lentils, peas, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers
The Stats Can seeding intentions report released on Friday had lots of surprises. Perhaps the biggest surprise is field peas. Most observers have been calling for a decline in pea acreage. The seeding intentions survey shows a five per cent increase in peas to a new record of 4.2 million acres. With yellow peas at only $6 a bushel and with new crop contracts at only $5.50 a bushel, peas aren’t very attractive from a price perspective. In southern Saskatchewan, there’s an expectation that a lot of pea acres will switch to lentils where the price forecast is much stronger. While Stats Can is calling for an increase in lentil acres, those numbers are in line with trade estimates. Perhaps peas will be down in the south, but pick up acreage in central and northern regions of the grain belt. Another surprise is that the prediction that barley acreage will be up slightly. Like peas, barley was thought to be decreasing due to poor prices. It’s easy to discredit the Stats Can numbers. They’re based on a survey taken weeks ago and many producers claim they don’t provide accurate information when called. While actual seeded acreage often varies from the intentions report, Stats Can usually picks the overall trend. The numbers might be surprising, but they’re the best estimates available. I’m Kevin Hursh.
www.hursh.ca
Kevin Hursh, PAg, CAC
Tags: estimates, increasing acres, lentils, peas
The April 24 seeding intentions report from Statistics Canada is expected to set the tone for prices on a number of crops where Canada is a major player in the world marketplace. In the most recent Pulse Market Report, Brian Clancey of Stat Publishing gives his opinion on what lentil and field pea acreages to watch for. Clancey says if lentil acres in the seeding intentions report are over 2.1 million, it will be bearish for prices. On the other hand, if the acres are under 1.9 million, it will be bullish and there will be pressure for new crop prices to rise. New crop contracts are now available for both red and green lentils with prices in the 23 to 25 cent a pound range. While lentils stocks are currently tight and prices are high, the opposite is true with field peas. We seeded nearly 4 million acres of peas last year and a record carryover is expected at the end of the current crop year. Clancey says this year’s plantings would have to drop below 3.1 million acres before the new crop price outlook would improve. He says if field pea seeding intentions are above 3.5 million acres, markets will believe prices need to drop to attract livestock feed demand. I’m Kevin Hursh.
www.hursh.ca
Kevin Hursh, PAg, CAC
Tags: crop price outlook, lentils, peas, Pulses
