How green should you cut Canola?

[seabass]

Throw all that good advice out the window this year and just start cutting if the seeds arent watery. Its gonna freeze next week and if u dont get the pods to wilt for a few days u are , gonna have lots of sample canola. Take what u can this year and be happy. Ask yourself what sample canola will be worth.

[sumdumguy]

Thank you for the advice. Really appreciate. Cutting is going well. We are half-done and no stopping now. What to do with the standing Durum? We can desiccate by air?

[furrowtickler]

What does the canola council say if canola is 10-20 percent color change with frost on the doorstep - yup nothin - they only recommend good practices when all other conditions are perfect .
Kinda like reseeding - they say never worth it - b/s if you have a thin stand followed by rains and heavy weed pressure - that will haunt you for years .
Point is very rarely are conditions ideal any where - proof look at what is happening right now
everywhere in western canada .
Anyway if your canola is even close - cut it now - 10% loss is *** all compared to 50-60% loss JMO

[wmoebis]

Is anyone leaving test strips so you can try both or all different ways?

Or maybe I should ask if any of the research money goes toward this kind of research?

[bucket]

Research money for swathing practices? You are just talking crazy talk now!

[freewheat]

If frost is imminent, cutting at 0% seed color change may lose you 10% of yield. I found this in my old canola growers manual from the 90's. As long as the seeds are firm, and do not roll, they should be good to go. A bit of shrink for the yield loss.

They also found that time of swathing DID NOT affect green seed content, but heat after cutting, and frost was what fixed the chlorophyl in the seed. Back in those days they made recommendations for real life. They studied real life situations.

Now they act like a Trudeau when an election is called. Or better yet, KIm campbell. Now is not the time to discuss the issue, guys!

[freewheat]

Should say DO ROLL, DO NOT SQUISH!!!

[farmaholic]

I think it was 04 here. We had canola that was close to cutting and we never did before the frost. What happened is it basically desiccated it, shelling was an issue and we weren't about to leave it for straight cutting. We generally don't have this problem to deal with so I have limited experience. Otherwise, normally we like to wait till we see alot of colour change in the seeds, I think you end up with a nicer sample(black plump seeds versus orange/red shrunken stuff).

There has been alot of good advice in the posts to make a decision with.

[sumdumguy]

I am on last field of cutting Canola, green or not, 3 nights of frost predicted this week, now will start rounding up Durum.

We started combining spring wheat, straight cutting, testing 16.9. Decision made to keep the combine in the field late tonight, which we usually don't like to do, but forecast is bad and there already is some sprouting in the head. The sample is not nearly as nice as last year, but the
yield is right up there. I will report when last hrsw truck is unloaded. Good luck all - hope Mother Nature takes a liking to us all.

[ado089]

I have a rule. If it's September don't look just swath.