Farms.com Home   News

Green seed a challenge for some canola producers

Challenging harvest conditions in 2018 downgraded western canola, but some options may still be open to affected growers.

The 2018 canola crop’s grade distribution varied greatly between provinces and between crop districts within a province, says Ann Puvirajah of the Canadian Grain Commission’s grain research laboratory.

“The main damage was distinctly green seed count, as immaturity was prevalent due to an early September frost,” Puvirajah explains.

Lower grades

CGC’s 2018 harvest data revealed only 74.7 per cent of the 2,505 canola samples graded No. 1, versus 94.4 per cent in 2017. It’s also the lowest level since 2011 when 75.4 per cent graded  No. 1.

The lowest per cent of samples graded No. 1 were found in Alberta-Peace River, where only 52.1 per cent of the samples graded No. 1, compared to 88.2 per cent in Saskatchewan and 96.7 per cent in Manitoba.

CGC’s full 2018 Canola harvest report will be released later this month.

Northern issues

Harvested samples from the northern half of Alberta in particular showed widespread but highly variable levels of distinctly green seed count - known also as DGR - notes Alberta Agriculture crop analyst Neil Blue.

“I talked to a lot of producers in more northern latitudes of the Prairies who had green seed levels well above 20 per cent sample grade,” says Angela Brackenreed, a member of Canola Council of Canada’s crop production and innovation team.

No. 1 canola can contain no more than two per cent DGR, the CGC’s Official Grain Grading Guide says.

Options

CCC recommends producers get different opinions on the grade of their samples.

“Green seed is a visual analysis and can be subjective,” Brackenreed says. “They can also use the services the (CGC) offers to get samples analyzed.”

Shop around

Blue encourages farmers to shop around for the best market.

But typically, potential buyers  are smaller players, and their markets can quickly become saturated as they’re not usually requiring large volumes, adds Brackenreed.

Some buyers may be able to “paper blend,” a calculation that mixes the higher and lower green count canola to achieve a better overall grade and price, Blue says.

“This is something producers need to talk to their buyers about,” says Brackenreed, who urges farmers to discuss all options before delivering.

She also cautions against farmers physically blending, warning it risks downgrading good quality canola as well as increasing the likelihood of spoilage.

Source : fcc

Trending Video

Market to Market

Video: Market to Market

Lawmakers fan out for home districts leaving policy to the Federal agencies. We’ll recap the week of news. Taking an experiment in cover crops to the next level. And, commodity market analysis with Naomi Blohm.