Canola surpassed all wheat acreage in Western Canada for the first time in 2017

 

2017 marked the first year that Canola has surpassed all wheat acreage in Western Canada, so producers are relying on it a lot in their crop rotations.

 

Warren Ward is an Agronomy Specialist with the Canola Council of Canada and was part of a presentation which asked farmers to think about the question - What If You Couldn’t Grow Canola?

 

He says with issues around neonic’s and the impact of clubroot it’s really important for producers to look at their crop management practices.

 

"People can always look at our website keep it clean.ca, there is a whole list of things that we can do," he said. "Things we can do are are using registered pesticides, proper use of pesticides, how we store our canola, controlling blackleg. So there are some different things that we've highlighted as potential risks to the industry or things growers would like to consider an ongoing basis as they're growing and selling their canola."

 

Ward adds that we are in a really good place within the Canola Industry right now.

 

"We've got a strong, healthy industry, and we just want to make sure we keep it that way," Ward said. "We don't want to drive it until the wheels fall off. Sometimes it's nice to take a little bit of a step back and do that high level overview look at what we are doing, if there are things that we could be doing a little bit better just to make sure that we can keep tweaking the system to ensure that we've got that productive economic crop in our system for years to come."

 

Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.