Crop update....

Man, I can't believe how fast things are progressing!
The canola and peas are starting to flower...





And some of the wheat is beginning to head out....



And we still haven't had a general rain but some are getting showers nearly every evening.

I enjoy seeing crops like the canola and peas. I have never seen them grown. My area is almost entirely soybeans and field corn, with very small amounts of wheat and a few hayfields. The wheat grown here is soft red Winter wheat and has already been harvested.

Keith

How does Canola get sold? Do you get paid so much per bushel? Sorry for the stupid question.

Yes, canola is sold by the bushel. There is very little corn grown here. A few cattle guys grow it for silage.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question, Bushmaster. It means a lot.

We are starting to get and see a lot of insect and disease pressure on our very young growth plants. Spring was very wet and cold but we now have enough heat units for the hatching of a lot of insects and fungi etc. Due to very late planting they are hitting our plants at very young growth stages where they can cause much more damage. We are beginning to see some applications for bugs and some crops don't even have their 2nd weed control pass or most of the corn that needs 28% has not got that either.

Bryce

Grew up on a farm. Dad farmed wheat, rye, sorghum, corn, soybeans, even sunflowers for a few years - which is unusual around here. Peas here are an early, early spring crop. Strange to see them flowering now. The peas around here were all harvested a month and a half ago. Half our wheat is already cut and more would be if it would stop raining every day. Guys are having a hard time getting straw in and I'm sure a lot of it has already been lost.

I've never seen canola grown, other than in photos.

Canola has become a very common crop in this area. Fits into the crop rotation nicely, easy to grow(basically its a weed), some varieties are roundup ready, and is considered a high $$ cash crop. Prices vary from $8/bushel to $14/bushel.



These seeds are crushed to make a popular oil.It used to avg. about 30 bu/ac but with genetics and new varieties yields can easily run 40 to 50 bu/ac.

Thank you Bushmaster for the update. What drives the wide range in canola price? What are the uses for the by-product of the oil crush?
Here most of the dairy farmers with large herds are into the 1st full week of 2nd cutting alfalfa. Most cut on a 30-34 day schedule now. Regrowth from 1st cutting even with all the moisture is very poor. 1st cutting was a tad late, spotty in yield and most lower than normal in feed value. We will need a really good July and August to get any kind of 3rd and 4th cutting. Cover crops on prevent plant acres will be a huge deal. Most rations around here will have much, much less alfalfa in them and our wheat crop is short as well. Most dairies here put 2 lbs. of straw in the dairy ration to help with the heavy corn silage diets. We will need other alternative forages this year as the corn silage yields are far, far from being made.
I am trying to sell 3 Hereford cows with calves on them but with the shortage of hay no one wants the cows. I will feed out till fall and market the calves and cull the cows it looks like. Dry average 1st cutting hay is hitting as high as $240 per ton here.

Bryce

Prices are mainly a function of supply/demand. Check this link out....

https://www.canolacouncil.org/markets-stats/industry-overview/

Thank you for the excellent update and info. How are your crops doing moisture wise? I was looking at some Ag sites and it seems a very large portion of western Canada is either extremely dry or into serious drought.
I know we are getting haze here from the wild fires on the Manitoba and western Ontario boarder and we live about 450 or so miles south and east of International Falls MN.

Bryce

Canola is an early spring crop here. Bees build up well on it, though they can get (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) on it, they also fill the supers as fast as you can put them on. You need to pull and extract just as fast as canola honey candies/granulates in the comb.

I'm only commenting on the crops I see on a daily basis. We are in an ag area of approx. 30 mi by 30 miles. The area I see has been getting the showers and so the moisture is bang on. Apparently down in the southern 1/3 (?) of this area dry conditions exist.

I have not seen much Canola grown in my neck of the woods. Thanks for the pics.

ive always heard as a general rule there needs to be an oil processing plant for it within reasonable trucking distance. it was grown in these parts a long time ago

Plus, it makes a nice backdrop for taking pictures.....

I like the moose pic.

Bushmaster what was the outcome to the crops in your area ? did you get that dumping of white manure at the end of the month ?

That is a nice moosee

Harvest is still underway here......maybe 50-60 % done. Yes we got the snow, and have been hampered by almost daily showers. Guys with grain dryers are further ahead obviously. Here's a pic of me swathing in front of a combine whose straight cut header had broke down. For the most part we have fairly good yields......this is soft white wheat.

Not much canola grown here but what there is, I'm guessing a total loss due to rains.

Depending on the stage of the canola when the rain hit, it might not be too bad. Canola is an oilseed so water doesn't affect it the same way it does oats or barley.