September 8, 2011 - The Western Producer

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

VOL. 89 | NO. 36 | $3.75

VARIETY BLUES |

SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923

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WHY DO SOME BERRIES SPLIT?

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WEATHER | MANITOBA

Strange year of rain, heat takes toll on crops Spring floods then hot, dry weather hits Manitoba BY ROBERT ARNASON BRANDON BUREAU

Nolan, left, and Derek Ylioja stop to chat while combining lentils on the Ylioja farm near Birsay, Sask., Aug. 30. |

This summer has been one of the strangest and most difficult growing seasons in the history of Manitoba: two months of flooding followed by two months of blistering hot weather. Although it wasn’t the hottest or the driest summer on record, it definitely wasn’t normal, said David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada. “There were a lot of elements that made this summer particularly exceptional,” Phillips said. “It was the year of the big flood…. (Then) the situation turned right around in southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, come the first day of summer (June 21).”

JOLINE YLIOJA PHOTO

SEE STRANGE YEAR, PAGE 3

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HARVEST | WEATHER

Canola may be downgraded | Producers must guess at best time to swath to avoid crop damage BY MARY MACARTHUR CAMROSE BUREAU

A report that temperatures dropped to -1 C at Edmonton’s International Airport Sept. 1 caused concern that frost may have damaged nearby late canola crops. “I haven’t heard any calls yet so let’s hope not,” said Dan Orchard, who works with the Canola Council of Canada. “Canola can usually take -1 or -2 for an hour. If it’s -3 or -5, if it gets that

low, then it’s a problem.… The issue now is making sure it gets swathed before the first major frost.” Alberta crops are 10 days to two week behind normal, which has made frost and its potential to downgrade canola a serious concern. “I’ve seen everything from really good to not so good crops and everything in between,” said Orchard, who has spent the last few weeks walking through canola crops. “I don’t think there’s really good bumper crops out there.”

It’s not easy to predict when the first killing frost will occur, which determines how long producers should leave canola standing in the field. Ideally, canola needs to be lying in swaths for three nice days to allow the chlorophyll to leave the seed. Cool, overcast days don’t allow the seed to be cured and neither do days that are too hot and windy. Hot, windy weather after swathing may stop chlorophyll from clearing the seed because of a loss of moisture.

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Canola specialists recommend swathing during the cool evening hours, at night or early in the morning to allow the seed to dry down at a slower rate to lessen the chance of green seed. Cutting too early can also reduce yields, said Orchard. “If you cut at 20 percent seed colour change and it gets hot, drying days, it can lock in the greens and mess up the quality, too.” access=subscriber section=news,crops,none

SEE FROST WORRIES, PAGE 2

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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv$:' SEPTEMBER 8, 2011 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4 The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Inc. Publisher, Larry Hertz Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240; Registration No. 10676

Frost a worry for late Alta. crops


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