Crop that Performs Best in Variable Weather Conditions

[charliep]

Over the past 10 years, western Canada has had every kind and combination of weather conditions. This year is likely one of the strangest.

What crop performs the best under a variety of weather conditions - both variability between crop years and strange weather patterns within crop years?

In terms of canola, do the hybrid varieties out perform the conventional ones?

[JDGreen]

I am by no means the expert here with regards to canola, however we do grow a little every year and find the invigor hybrids perform especially well in this area of SW sask. Example, this year seeded oriental mustard on durum stubble and 5440 on lentil stubble... The mustard yielded 19 bush acre and the 5440 looks like 35-40 (wont know for another week). The 5440 was nearly dead by July 5th when finally we received a couple of inches of rain. The genetics in the variety really came through when the mustard which is supposedly drought tolerant did not improve much after the rains.

[cottonpicken]

What is hemp.

I'll take american history for two hundred ,alex.

[Ron]

mmm hemp. gotta order a pizza now.
more seriously, is there a viable market for hemp? I have been in Brandon working for 6 weeks and have seen all sorts of weird crops but no hemp. Maybe have to go west to creston to find some?

[parsley]

Hemp not far from you cott. What do you want to know?

[cottonpicken]

doubt you could teach me anything.

Seen a documentry on it once,pretty interesting plant.They say the pulp and paper industry basically made it illegal because you would never have to cut down a tree again.

[redbaron]

Anyone reading this out side western Canada must really think we are stupid or totally back wood farmers.

[boarderbloke]

not only feed price, but even at feed price, still slow or little movement! it makes one physically ill.

[ProFarmer]

Is't it so nice we have a 1000 people selling for us in winnipeg and they cannot even market a little winter wheat!!!!! It is too bad that we are held hostage by a bunch of idiots... USDA is projecting a farm gate price of over 4 dollars US for the American farmer but we have to settle for under 3 dollars US . Just can't wait till Mister Hill realizes what a stupid ,and backwards thing this CWB has become..... In his letter he is more concerned about hiring lawyers than marketers.....

[craig]

When there seems to be a surplus of lower grade wheats the board's strategy is to just remove itself from the market place. Message is if you cannot produce high protein #1 HRS wheat you are second class. So much for the areas that can excel at growing winter wheat and CPS. The board has been encouraged to make early winter wheat sales and get movement in place when logistics dictate it to be both an advantage to producers and the grain handling system. Their response has been to have early calls and then no shipment which ties up elevator space and creates issues for elevator managers.This has encouraged producers to look for other markets such as feed or ethanol. Simple message is if you can't do the job then step aside and let someone else do it. Problem has been that the message continues to fall on deaf ears.

[redbaron]

Is the shine off growing winter wheat thanks in part to what the CWB has done and the removal of KVD. The futures show about a 10 cent per bushel spread between the Dec month in Minneapolis hard wheat and Kansas Winter wheat. If you check the difference in CWB pricing - the basis there is roughly a 60 cent difference today -Dec. With KVD now not an issue with hard wheat classes I am finding that some of the newer American wheat varieties also some Canadian are producing yields very close to winter wheat. Newer varieties will be coming Thanks to the basis and pricing out there it is not as enticing as it once was to grow winter wheat. I have been growing winter wheat for over a dozen years. I am not seeding any this year. I am also noticing a lot of my neighbours cutting back big time this fall. We all have land ready to go. I have no desire to give the board an extra $35-$40/acre and earlier in the year close to $80. For what. There has always been a spread but never this big. Earlier in the year when we could have priced some product with futures much stronger we had winter wheat basis over a buck a bushel higher than hard wheat. Almost seems they are trying to claw back their losses from last year on the backs of the winter wheat producers.

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie,

Must agree with JDGreen.

Canola is a weed... and is amazing in how it will take late rains... given some frost free time... and finish off with a big comeback.

Later seeded crops were the big winners with the extra weeks tagged on the end of the growing season! Some peas will beat the earlier seeded wheat hands down in yeild.

[charliep]

Question was based on the discussion about biotech and a world of highly
variable weather like the last 8 to 10 years in Canada. Perhaps this will be
a factor in breeding programs in the future. A start on this road may be
to ask what works today both in Canada and in other regions around the
world that produce similar crops.