I'm still not convinced....

[farmaholic]

For me the jury is still out on straight cutting canola. And maybe I shouldn't pass judgement if I haven't experienced the joy of straight cutting canola myself.

Yesterday a local tried and the straw looked brutally green and tough, by the looks of what came out the back of the combine verified it. It looked and probably sounded like it would have been like combining used tires, rattle-rattle-bang-bang. After that attempt they simply crossed the road and "picked up" another field of swathed canola.... in and gone in short order. Is the fungicide keeping the stem green longer like Headline does to flax? The seed "may be" dry but I don't think you could get the crop through.

This stuff is showing signs of shelling. It is not well knitted together and is standing straight up. Would it need to be desiccated? ... ANOTHER trip through the crop... more shelling in addition to wind AND header loss. I bet the crop would drag on the underside of the sprayer. I seriously don't know if there is any real benefit over conventional swathing practices other than maximum seed size. Don't get me wrong, I've suffered some nasty wind damage to swaths in the past.

I bet there are guys making fraudulent hail damage claims against their standing canola caused by wind. What is this going to do to an already surcharged premium.

Are any guys finding this "trait" useful or just something else that is stressful and hard to manage. Is it worth the "premium" seed cost?

[SASKFARMER3]

We got some seed years ago and tried then increased the acreage each year. Well this year like most we use the direct cut as a insurance incase we can't get there in time swathing. Swath at 90% plus colour change and swath.

2.5 mph vs 5 to 6. Rather simple

minor hail 70% vs 15%.

Major hail 100% vs swath at 50%.

It has a place but for this farm selling the swather and winning a boat.

Ill buy the boat and keep the swathers.

Plus the up charge for seed takes away from your profit on the whole system.

Also European varieties have bigger stocks and only pod like a tree on top. not this twisted played out shit we have here.

Maybe they will get a real good variety but I think its still not there.

to each his own. Maybe if I farmed where it doesn't rain as much it would have a place.

[sumdumguy]

A wind like last Sunday certainly whacked a few bushels off standing Canola. Our standing Canola is in the bin, sprayed Reglone by air and 8 days later we ground and grunted our way through. The majority of our Canola is on the swath, may take until freeze-up if we get 2 inches of rain. Still there is a lot of Canola shelled out and on the ground both ways. Some guys cut pretty green, wonder how they make out. Our neighbour cut his very green, its now in the bin but who knows?

[Guest]

same here , lots of standing canola won't go , slow combining also when it does go . finished the last of our "swathed " canola at midnight and it's all in the bin . glad we don't have any standing canola . other problem is that you have to quit in standing canola every day just before sun goes down . not for this country

[bigzee]

Personally, I won't grow straight cut ever!! Firstly, the seed cost is through the rough. They say it's more expensive but one has to consider the cost of swathing. Well if you have to swath straight cut you've only added to the cost. A lot go and desicate so there's another cost. In a yr like this with so much moisture the plant keeps sucking moisture. I think most farmers that sold their swathers wish they had them now.
Have a neighbour with Dekalb 75-65 standing that took a beating last Sunday. Swaths can blow, but my canola is in the bin.

[farming101]

In our rolling terrain straight cut canola is a no go.

Too many dollars out in the field to play around with slow speed harvest.
I'll happily take a little less(maybe,maybe not) to have it in the bin earlier.

[blackpowder]

Tried some this year. Regular variety. Still out there. The only thing going all week was swathed canola.
A pea thing, only fine for a small % of acres on this place.

[fjlip]

A great stand like this year rarely blows in swath. we had a good breeze one nite and saw NO moved swaths. Wonder why some roll their swath pancake too the ground? Wow like that will be slow to dry. A few acres I cut before raising roller to max were tougher testing! Some varieties combine like 2x4's but cutting any GREEN also is noisy. Needs to be done right. Have had hail once that took 90% of swathed too. Huge local farm sprayed and straight cutting all 9000 canola acres. All 9000 acres of oats was straight cut too.

[Partners]

The big neighbor here straight cuts it all.7000 plus acres.

All sprayed ahead with what ever they use.

So far semi's hauling it all away to crusher.

[farming101]

Small potatoes here. Too old to change. Whatever..

BTO sprayed canola by air. Still out. Shelling around the outside of field.

[Braveheart]

Our L140P was flat. Grown on over applied hog manure, loaded with disease, hailed to 10% damage. Yield from the grain cart scale recorded 45 bushels,per acre. Combined with a CIH 9120 at average speed of 4.75 mph with MC 35' flex d****r. If it had been standing better speed would have been higher. No green stalks as RT 540 at 85 % seed color change did wonders.


Wind damaged neighbours swaths but not the standing. Hail in adjacent not swaths was twice as high damage.

We combined standing canola literally hours after rain that delayed swath combining by a day and half more.

We'll do more straight cut it's a great tool for us.

It won't be Bayer! They can merger themselves right into **** off.

[bigzee]

Our L140P was flat. Grown on over applied hog manure, loaded with disease, hailed to 10% damage. Yield from the grain cart scale recorded 45 bushels,per acre. Combined with a CIH 9120 at average speed of 4.75 mph with MC 35' flex d****r. If it had been standing better speed would have been higher. No green stalks as RT 540 at 85 % seed color change did wonders.


Wind damaged neighbours swaths but not the standing. Hail in adjacent not swaths was twice as high damage.

We combined standing canola literally hours after rain that delayed swath combining by a day and half more.

We'll do more straight cut it's a great tool for us.

It won't be Bayer! They can merger themselves right into **** off.

Couldn't agree with you more on your last statement.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

This will be my 3 yr straight cutting all canola, plus a 100 acre test plot the year before. I
m sold, but I live in a different climate than most, no canola combined in Aug or Sept, or even Oct last year. By late Oct,my biggest fear is snow or rain on a swath, there is no hope of drying a swath at that time of year, standing, dries in hours, or snow melts. Combined with snow on the ground last year.

Can go virtually 24 hours a day at that time of year too.

Have had zero shelling standing, But I've never had a crop standing up either. And we don't get the winds some places do. Slim chances of getting hail this late here too.

And it is hard to get through a combine. But can be done with some mods and effort. Conventional, and I think that helps.

[JDGreen]

All 252.. Managed to get half swathed until swather reel was completely destroyed.. Sprayed remainder by air wth heat and glypho. 70km winds Sunday tossing and shelling neghbors swaths. Standing 252 ultra heavy knitted together and not shelling as of yet. Will be ready as soon as the monsoon is over .. Hope it works

[farmaholic]

Does the "L" in L252 designate "lodging"?