Tips from an Agronomist: Early Seeding Canola, Cold Soils

May 07, 2014

DuPont Pioneer Agronomist David Vanthuyne has some advice for growers who are unsure about ideal soil temperatures and seeding rate when planting canola.

Here are some of Vanthuyne’s pointers:

Soil temperature:

• Average soil temperature should be taken between 8:30a.m. and 4:30p.m.
• Depth should be about 1 ½ inches
• Target an average soil temperature of at least 8°C or higher

“Canola will start to absorb water and germinate at soil temperatures as low as low as 2°C,” said Vanthuyne. “The longer it takes for seedling emergence, the greater the likelihood of seedling diseases occurring and, therefore, the greater the chance for reduced plant populations.”

What growers should look for?

Two things:

1.When the average soil temperature is 5 °C
2.When the long range weather forecast looks ideal

Seed rate:

• Farmers should increase their seeding rate by ½ lb (when average soil temperatures are below 8 °C.

Vanthuyne’s last word to farmers - “straight lines”. Happy plant 2014!

You can follow Vanthuyne on Twitter at @AgbyDave.

Video: U.S.-China Trade “Truce” + U.S. Fed Cuts Rates Again

The market was hoping for a US-China trade deal, but we got a trade “truce” for now from the keenly awaited Trump-Xi meeting at the APEC Summit.
China commits to minimum purchase commitments of 12 MMT of U.S. soybeans during the “current season” and a minimum of 25 MMT annually through 2028.
U.S. Treasury Sec Bessent said other Asian countries have agreed to buy additional 19 MMT of US soybean.
Soybean futures trading above $11 now- they normally tend to rally to $12.
As expected, US Fed cuts interest rates by -0.25% again in October to 3.75%–4.00%. No further cuts promised for this year but trade looking out to the Dec FOMC.
The Bank of Canada cut interest rates to 2.25% but raised concern over trade war damage.
Soy meal futures, remarkably, have had 14 consecutive higher close sessions. A bull market in soybeans is a bull market in soy meal!
Cattle futures lower as funds unwind out of cattle for now due to Trump headlines and objective to lower beef prices.
All major stock indices climb to new record highs. It was Mag 7 reporting week, which had mixed results. But we now have the first $5 trillion company in Nvidia!