4 Tools To Check Harvest Losses

Aug 26, 2016

Setting the combine to put more canola in the tank and leave less on the field is one way to improve canola profits. In preparation to measure harvest losses, have these four little tools at the ready:

1. Drop pan. Buy one or make your own. Whether using a full-width pan that drops from the bottom of the combine with a magnetic release, or a drop pan tossed under the passing combine or a pan on a stick, the key is to have a pan and a plan to use it. Know its square footage to help with the tables.

2. Sieves to separate seed from chaff. A set of the round sieves that elevators use are ideal. Another option is to use a deep pail and small blower (like a hair dryer) to blow the chaff off. Or just shake the sample and hand-pick the chaff.

3. Loss measures. Use a beaker to measure volume or a small container and scale to measure weight of the collected loss.

4. App or tables to do conversions. Print off this guide or load the SSCA Harvest Loss Calculator app on to your phone.

Dockage question: Growers may be asking themselves what the ongoing discussions with China about dockage means for harvest this year. Grower should continue to harvest their canola as they have in the past, producing the cleanest sample possible based on the harvest conditions and constraints they face.

Source : Albertacanola

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.