Canola Community Connections

Help improve sclerotinia risk assessment: The Canola Council of Canada and AAFC are looking for volunteers to test a sclerotinia risk assessment tool. Volunteers will be asked to use the mobile-friendly, web-based tool in canola fields twice in the growing season: to assess sclerotinia risk at early flower and to rate sclerotinia severity at maturity.  The more canola fields you enter, the more accurate the tool’s sclerotinia risk assessments and fungicide recommendations will be – and the greater chance you’ll win a prize. Email to sign up today.

Participate in the Canola Count Survey here. If you are looking for a ring to count plants, email the Canola Council of Canada’s Resource Manager Taryn Dickson. 

Help track flea beetles: UKKO Ag is developing a flea beetle scouting tool and is looking for volunteers to test their current modelling efforts. If interested email redjino@ukko.ag and include: your name, field name(s), latitude and longitude of the field(s), and planting date(s).

Crop Insurance Deadlines and details:

Alberta: AFSC has two Annual Crop Insurance deadlines producers should be aware of for canola: May 31 is the recommended seeding date for canola and the deadline for grade loss coverage. June 20 is the seeding deadline for Production Insurance coverage on canola. AFSC clients who broadcast seed canola should be aware that if a field fails to establish or meet the minimum number of plants (two per square foot for hybrid-type canola) and this is not due to an insurable reason such as seeding method, the field will not be covered.

Saskatchewan: Under SCIC’s Crop Insurance Program, temperature and excess moisture are insurable causes of loss and these seeding delays are insurable. For canola, the recommended seeding dates for the majority of the east side of the province are June 8-10.  Crops seeded after these recommended seeding dates, but before June 20, are still insured. When late seeding is common in the area, all producers’ yields generally reflect the impact of the late seeding and any claim reductions would be unlikely. SCIC expects producers who may be considering alternative seeding methods like broadcast and harrow to follow recommended seeding practices. If the crop fails to establish, compensation will not be available. Crops which successfully establish are eligible for ongoing yield-loss coverage. For more information by area or how recommended seeding deadlines may impact coverage, contact a local SCIC office.

Manitoba: MASC seeding deadlines for Argentine canola are June 10 for Area 2 and June 15 for Area 1. Deadline for Polish canola is June 20. Moisture Insurance for unseeded acres: MASC – Excess Moisture Insurance. MASC broadcast /aerial seeding eligibility requirements are outlined here.

Manitoba Gov announces disaster assistance program for spring flooding

Cleanfarms’ <23L pesticide and fertilizer jug recycling program in Alberta and Manitoba will undergo major changes in the next few years to help encourage recycling in these regions. The jug collection sites will transition from municipal landfills and transfer stations to ag retail locations / the point of purchase over the next three years. Growers will now be asked to use container collection bags (available from ag retailers) which make on-farm management of jugs and transportation to a collection site easier. Cleanfarms is offering on-farm pickup of jugs for large farming operations that generate 30+ bags or jugs per year. For more information, please visit Cleanfarms or contact Cleanfarms (info@cleanfarms.ca or 1-877-622-4460).

** Think safety first, especially when extracting equipment in wet conditions **
Lots more farm safety resources are available from the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association.

Mental health support is available. Reach out if you or someone you know is feeling concerning levels of stress or anxiety. (Support lines by province) (Do More Agricultural Foundation) (Manitoba Farm Wellness Program)

2022 crop protection guides.
– Manitoba: Guide to Field Crop Protection.
– Saskatchewan: Guide to Crop Protection.
– Alberta: “Blue Book” Crop Protection Guide.

UPCOMING EVENT:
BC Grain Producers Association’s AGM and Crop Tour: Save the date – July 13th, 2022.

UPCOMING EVENT:
#ABBugChat is live on Twitter Wednesdays at 10:00am (MST) throughout the growing season.

UPCOMING EVENT:
Lakeland College’s Field Day is July 12, 2022. Register here.

UPCOMING EVENT:
Farming Smarter will be hosting:
2022 Farming Smarter Field School – June 23rd, 2022. 8:00 – 4:30. More info and tickets available here.
July Plot Hop – July 21, 2022. 8:00 – 5:00. More info and tickets available here.
Open Farm Day – August 13th, 2022. 10:30 – 3:00. RSVP here.

UPCOMING EVENT:
Registration is *now open* for Saskatchewan Crop Diagnostic School – choose either July 26 OR July 27, 2022. In-person at Wheatland Conservation Association in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Topics will include insects, weeds, disease, soils and herbicides. 

Saskatchewan Agri-ARM field days are now scheduled. Details to come.
– July 6: Western Applied Research Corporation (WARC), Scott
– July 14: East Central Research Foundation (ECRF), Yorkton
– July 19: Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation (IHARF), Indian Head
– July 21: Wheatland Conservation Area Inc (WCA), Swift Current
– July 28: Irrigation Crop Diversification Corporation (ICDC), Outlook
– July 28: Conservation Learning Centre (CLC), Prince Albert
* newly announced Agri-ARM field day dates*
– July 20: Northeast Agriculture Research Foundation (NARF), Melfort, SK 
– July 28: South East Research Farm (SERF), Redvers, SK

UPCOMING EVENT:
Manitoba Crop Diagnostic School – July 5-8, 2022. In-person at Carman, Manitoba. Click here for more information and to register.

UPCOMING EVENT:
American Society of Agronomy 2022 Sustainable Agronomy Conference – virtual event: July 19 & 26, August 2 & 9, 2022. Attendance is free. Register is now open.

NEW RESOURCE:
Canola Watch podcasts: Better spray uniformity – with sprayer expert Tom Wolf of agrimetrix.ca and sprayers101.com. Glyphosate resistance and integrated weed management – with research scientists Dr. Charles Geddes and Dr. Shaun Sharpe.

NEW RESOURCE:
SaskCanola and the Canola Council of Canada have launched a new video on verticillium stripe scouting and management.

NEW RESOURCE:
New seasonal reports are now available from Manitoba Agriculture: (Fertilizer considerations in a wet spring – challenges and opportunities) (Impact of spring flooding on soil fertility in Manitoba)
Manitoba Agriculture Crop Report Tools: (Manitoba Crop Report) (Manitoba Crop Pest Update) (Crop Weather Report) (Current & Accumulated Weather reports – May 1 to present)
Manitoba Agriculture Extension tools: (Current Crop Topics) (New weekly Crop Scouting Panel – Manitoba Agriculture field crop specialists provide live answers to questions)

NEW RESOURCE:
Managing herbicide-resistant kochia content from CropLifeCanada is now live.

CGC admixture tolerance change
The Canadian Grain Commission has announced the tolerance for inconspicuous admixture reduced from 5% to 1%. (Inconspicuous admixture is anything that looks like canola that isn’t sieved out – only includes mustards and carinata)

Sign up for 2022 Canola Disease Surveys. Pest monitoring programs provide valuable information and are used to create forecast maps, complement research, guide research decisions, detect and track new or emerging pests, and support management decisions. Producers must sign up to allow survey partners access to their land for pest monitoring.
Manitoba: To participate, please text Manitoba Agriculture crop pathologist David Kaminski at 204-750-4248 and provide your name, RM, township and email.
Saskatchewan: Use this Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture form to sign up. If you have any questions, contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.
Alberta: To participate, email Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development Insect Survey Technologist, Shelley Barkley.

4R Designation: The Canola Council of Canada encourages Canadian agri-retailers and crop advisors to get their 4R Designation through Fertilizer Canada. Here’s how to get your designation.

Advancing Agriculture Initiative currently has a campaign underway to encourage farmers and anyone else in the grain value chain to send their own letter to Health Canada’s consultation on possible legislative changes to the Pest Control Products Act. The consultation deadline has been extended to June 30. It only takes a few clicks to instantly send a digital letter to the PMRA (which also goes to your local MP, Ag Minister and Health Minister) by entering your name, postal code and email.