Topics for the month

Dry conditions concerning. Consider soil moisture reserves when setting yield targets and fertilizer rates for 2012. A lot can change between now and seeding, and growers have “never lost a crop in February,” but if moisture does not improve, yield potential should be reassessed when setting targets and budgets.

Hot topics at trade shows and meetings. Soils with high organic matter can contribute a lot of available nutrient. A warm winter can increase canola spoilage and be favorable for overwintering berthas. Soil nutrient levels can be highly variable in fields unseeded due to excess moisture, so don’t assume anything. Glyphosate is an important tool, so take steps to prevent resistant weeds. These topics are discussed in articles below.

CCA exam results. Thank you to every one who took the Canola Watch 2011 CCA exam. The names of all successful participants have been submitted to the CCA board, and you should have received a notice letting you know if you qualified for the credits. Here is the answer key for those who want to review your results: CCA CEU Self-Study Canola Watch Q A_final

Welcome new Canola Watch subscribers. We collected new subscribers at the Crop Production Show in Saskatoon, AgDays in Brandon and FarmTech in Edmonton. Winners of our iPad draw were George Arnold of Leslie, Sask. (Crop Week draw), Ted Mansuy from Parkman, Sask. (AgDays draw), and Neil Batchelor from Calgary (FarmTech draw). If you know someone who should get Canola Watch, ask them to visit www.canolawatch.org and fill in the form on the top right.