Common scenarios growers face with the snow on canola are:
1. Canola is immature when snow falls.
2. Canola is ready to swath when snow falls.
3. Canola left standing for straight combining is hit with snow.
4. Canola in the swath was already dry and has been hit with snow.
Here is a description of each scenario, along with some tips to help with decision making….
1. Contact crop insurance. 2. Combine once the crop is cured. 3. Think about volunteer management. 4. Consider how this may be prevented.
This time of year, seed in standing canola can sit for a long time at firm-to-roll stages (which are basically mature) without turning colour, especially if moisture is adequate and temperatures are cool, slowing the dry down process.
When harvest is slowed by rainy, cool days, combining often occurs in short spurts. In those spurts, the first and last loads of the day are often tough. This can mean an increased storage risk. Condition these bins with aeration to even out moisture and temperature. Consider filling bins to only two-thirds capacity to allow for improved air flow.
You have two choices in this situation: Swath now or wait.
Swathing now might prevent further seed loss if severe frost damage will soon cause pods to pop open and pedicels to snap. You could have shriveled seeds and high green counts, but that might be better than the potential losses from waiting. But if frost did not kill the plants, swathing early will halt any upside potential you’d have from leaving the crop standing to fill out more seeds and clear more green.
The best method, even with bin monitoring cables, is to remove about a third of the canola. This disrupts the moisture cycle and helps to stop any heating or spoilage that may have begun in the central core. While unloading, feel and smell canola as it comes out of the bin.
Crop with a heavy lean may require some trial and error to test the best angle of attack. Some operators will prefer going perpendicular to the lean; some will prefer going into the lean. With straight cutting, you can go whatever direction works best for crop flow.
If frost is forecast, should you swath canola now or leave it standing? The answer depends on (at least) two things: (1) How far advanced is the crop? (2) How cold will it get?
Not really from a storage risk perspective. When canola is very dry, one risk is that seed could start to crack if handled aggressively.
Leaving canola to ripen naturally can work well for straight combining and it saves the extra pass and cost of pre-harvest applications. But canola left to ripen naturally will have somewhat tougher and greener plant material than a swathed crop would, even when seeds are cured and ready to combine.
