Desiccation Becoming An Option For Sunflower Growers

Sep 19, 2014

The sunflower crop has been maturing a bit slower of the last few weeks.

Ben Friesen, commodity purchasing manager with Legumex Walker Inc., says the crop could use a lot more heat and sunshine as it approaches maturity.

He notes some of the earlier fields are into the R8 and R9 stages while others are still in R7, which means the heads have not yet turned yellow.

Friesen says growers should start to think about desiccation once the sunflower reaches full maturity (back of the heads turn yellow).

"There are some guys who have started some desiccation on some of the earlier seeded fields and of course we are recommending desiccation if they're ready to go," he said. "We can get them harvested quicker and we don't get as much wind damage or even diseases and birds getting into some of the fields."

Significant frost did occur in some of the west-central areas in the past week, noted Friesen. He says black leaves are a sign that growers should think twice about desiccating.

"If you have too much leaf loss, then the desiccant cannot be absorbed because it absorbers it through the leaves and then you would have little or no value," he said.

Friesen also reminds producers to clean all soybeans and corn from the combine before harvesting, as any foreign material would downgrade the value of the sunflower.

Source: SteinbachOnline

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.