This is not the kind of steam room you're looking for on a cold winter day. This was taken inside a canola bin in the Peace River region last week. A spike in heated canola has been reported over the past couple weeks. Growers are encouraged to check all canola bins as soon as possible. Spoilage usually starts small and…
Harvest and Storage
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This is the month to make sure stored canola is stable heading into winter. As outside temperatures drop below zero and stay there, canola growers want to make sure canola has cooled throughout the bin. This is also a good time to assess whether your storage measures up. Is it time for a heated air system, or a dryer? For…
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Please be careful when climbing grain bins to open hatches or probe them, when using grain handling equipment, and while transporting grain. And certainly try to avoid entering bins to help improve grain flow and break crusting. Manitoba’s Safe Farms program provides the following tips on how to control the hazards from its “Flowing Grain Entrapment” factsheet…
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Step one is to know the green count. When shopping around for buyers, make sure your sample represents the canola you’ll deliver. Loads have been rejected because the canola delivered didn’t meet the specifications indicated in the original sample. The Canadian Grain Commission has tips on how to take a representative grain sample…
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In August and September, growers may want to let canola cure longer hoping for the warm and moist conditions required to clear green from their canola seed. By October, getting the crop off becomes the priority. Green seed is unlikely to turn anymore unless a lot of moisture (snow?) comes, in which case harvest may be delayed until spring. When…
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Canola binned hot will retain that heat for weeks and likely months, with the risk of storage losses rising with each passing day. Growers who binned hot canola in September and August will want to check that the temperature has come down to a safe storage level of below 15°C. Putting hot canola on air or turning it on a…
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Green seed will be a downgrade factor on some fields this year. Those at highest risk tend to be later crops that still had a lot of immature seeds when cold frosts hit two weeks ago. Green that results from a killing frost is locked in, and will not clear no matter how long it cures. Rapid drydown due to…
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Cereal straw management is especially important on fields planned for canola next year, given the impact uneven residue can have on seed placement and seedling survival. Cutting as high as you can and making sure the combine spread width matches the header width are important steps at harvest. Have someone check the spread pattern behind the combine. Sometimes just adjusting…
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