It’s late September, and Chris Zemlak is in the middle of his fifth straight-cut harvest. Now that he has been straight cutting for a few years, he finds it is working for his operation. However, that wasn’t always the case. “The first year we tried it, we definitely had some mixed results,” he said.
Interest in straight cutting among Canadian growers has been growing in recent years. In 2015, an IPSOS survey indicated that 74 percent of growers surveyed are interested in straight cutting their canola.
Straight cutting is gaining popularity in part because of the benefits it provides. Growers know that time management is key to getting crops in the bin at harvest, and straight cutting can help with that, as it involves fewer field operations and eliminates the need for swathing over several days. It’s an innovative way to help save on time, labour, equipment and fuel costs.
Zemlak was a fairly early adaptor of straight cutting, and first started to see if the harvest technique would work on his farm. This year, he is straight cutting about half his acres, “but if I had it my way, it would probably be the entire farm,” he said. “From a capital investment standpoint, I don’t have to buy another swather. We’re trying to eliminate the swather as much as possible so we can purchase other assets or new equipment as we’re upgrading and increasing acres.”
Whether growers are looking to try straight cutting for the first time, or are looking to improve their straight cutting operation when they try it again next year, Zemlak has some tips for a positive straight cutting experience:
· Try not to get stuck on the idea that canola is ‘different’ than straight cutting wheat or barley. It all comes down to management practices and trying to get a nice, uniform crop.
· Selecting good genetics is the first step in getting a clean, uniform crop. Zemlak said he looks for something with shatter-resistant traits. “I also want something that will lodge slightly, so that the canola will tilt to the side a little and knit together. I’m looking for a well-orchestrated dance floor where all the canola moves well together, instead of a mosh pit.”
· Ignore the white, shelled-out pods when you look at straight-cut canola fields. “It always looks bad from the outside, but once you get into it, you’ll notice there’s very little shelling,” Zemlak said. “If you get a nice, tight-knit mat of canola, the whole field will move, and you won’t see that shattering when you get into it with the combine.”
· A pre-harvest application of a harvest aid such as Heat LQ tank-mixed with glyphosate is crucial to drying down weeds and canola stalks for improved harvestability. Zemlak does a glyphosate application on all his straight-cut acres, and tank-mixes based on canola genetics and the weed spectrum in his fields. In addition to helping dry down the crop, a pre-harvest herbicide application can also contribute to cleaner fields next season. “A few years ago, we had a field where we straight cut part of it and swathed part of it. The area where we straight cut was cleaner; the weeds were dead. In the swathed part, the weeds were still green,” Zemlak said.
· Experiment with equipment. Zemlak uses a flex draper header with a pea auger. “When you’re straight cutting, you have a really bushy bunch of canola coming into the header. I like using the pea auger because it feeds that canola in a little more effectively.”
· Don’t be afraid to start small and try different crop protection products, timing and equipment. Experiment until you find what works best for your operation.
Straight cutting helps manage harvest timing, improves harvest efficiency, and with a single field operation, allows growers to save on time, fuel and labour costs. Including a pre-harvest herbicide application can also help dry down broadleaf weeds for cleaner fields next season. For growers considering straight cutting or new to straight cutting, starting small and experimenting with genetics, pre-harvest herbicides, timing and equipment are key to finding what works on their operations, in order to achieve straight cutting success.