Small Grain Growth And Development

 

 

Our winter small grains are not developing as early as normal and that has some implications. For the forage small grains, it will likely mean a slightly later harvest. Development is tied a bit to the planting date and accumulated growing degree days, so those planted later in the fall will likely be delayed more than earlier planted cereals. At this point I would estimate the delay in development might be a week to 10 days later than normal for some fields.

 

The target growth stage for optimum dairy quality is Feekes stage 9 or full flag leaf emergence. Small grains grow rapidly during this time of year and there could be a significant yield penalty from harvesting too early, without much of an improvement in forage quality. Tom Klicer, a consultant from Advanced Ag Systems in New York, suggests scouting fields and plan to harvest the most advanced in development first, then move to the later ones, to minimize this yield penalty.

 

A second issue is with development of later planted wheat and rye fields. Often these fields don’t tiller much in the fall, but do recover a surprising amount in the spring. This spring, tillering has been limited and development is slow.

 

 

 

It’s hard to predict how these fields will turn out, but I am suspecting yields will be off significantly. If some of these fields have significant potential for corn or soybeans, you might want to consider taking them out and making a switch to another crop. This will require some estimates of potential returns from both alternatives. I’d be most inclined to switch if stand counts were low, say 10 plants per foot or less, or if the field had some other issues as well.

 

A third issue relates to the double crop potential of soybeans. With current conditions, we might see delayed soybean planting following wheat in some areas. In marginal areas, that might mean passing on the double crop soybean idea and investigating an alternative.

 

It’s still too early to get real concerned and hopefully some warm weather will help solve some of these issues, but they are some things to be thinking about for the weeks ahead.

 

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.