Smith: Canola Grower Survey
Date: April 2013
Term: 1 year
Status: Completed
Researcher(s): Elwin Smith, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Lethbridge AB, R. Carew, AAFC, Summerland BC, S. Jeffrey and D. LeRoy, University of Alberta
SaskCanola Investment: n/a
Total Project Cost: n/a
Funding Partners: n/a
Project Summary
During the winter of 2011-2012, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canola Council of Canada sponsored a survey of canola growers across the three Prairie provinces to determine management practices and inputs used by the growers. The benefits of the survey provided producers and the industry with information on production systems that producers are using which are efficient and profitable, and to identify production or technical barriers that needed to be overcome. Identification of the practices used by the top growers that obtain top yields, versus those with much lower yield, will help to focus extension and information needs for producers. The survey was also used to document canola production practices, a requirement in an application by the Canola Council of Canada to have Canadian canola allowed into Europe to produce biodiesel.
During the winter of 2011-2012, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canola Council of Canada sponsored a survey of canola growers across the three Prairie provinces to determine management practices and inputs used by the growers. The benefits of the survey provided producers and the industry with information on production systems that producers are using which are efficient and profitable, and to identify production or technical barriers that needed to be overcome.
The survey was contracted to an independent contractor to contact producers, collect the required survey data from the set of questions, and provide a summary tabulation of the results. The objectives of the survey were to determine: canola production practices, how practices impact productivity (efficiency), extension/information needs of canola producers, and regional and farm characteristic that influence canola production. A total of 996 surveys were obtained from the contractor. The data were used to determine significant factors that explain differences in yield and profit. The data was also used in project 3.7.2 to evaluate the technical efficiency of canola producers in the survey and relate efficiency to farm characteristics and to production techniques.
The survey results showed that almost all canola grown had herbicide tolerance, with the use of Liberty and Round-up weed systems about equal across the prairies, but Liberty dominated in Manitoba and Round-up in northern Saskatchewan. Researchers weren't sure whether the selection of herbicide tolerance was due to performance (yield) differences of hybrids by region or was due to weed control issues.
Nitrogen fertilizer was the main productive input used in canola production. Nitrogen application per unit of yield was similar across the prairies (2.4 lb N/bu. yield). The source of nitrogen varied by region; anhydrous ammonia was the most common source in Manitoba and the Gray soil zone of Saskatchewan, but urea was the most common elsewhere. Phosphate and sulphur application rates were similar across all regions. Past yield and experience were cited as the main decision used to determine fertilizer application rates, followed by soil test. A significant percent of growers used general fertilizer guidelines, and there were also growers whose main decision factor was the cost of fertilizer.
The survey confirmed that no-till seeding dominates the prairies, except for Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan. In the Dark Brown and Brown soil zones of Saskatchewan nearly two-thirds of canola was no-till seeded. No-till was used by about one-half of the growers in the Black soil zone of Alberta and Saskatchewan. No-till was least common in the Gray soil zones. Conventional tillage was more prevalent in Manitoba than either Alberta of Saskatchewan. However, reduced/minimum tillage was more common in Manitoba than conventional tillage.
An air-drill with shank openers as opposed to disc openers was the most common seeding implement (60%). Drills (disc, press or hoe) were most common in Manitoba and Alberta. In the survey, most soils were reported to have no soil problems. Salinity was the most common soil problem that growers identified.
Most canola fields were sprayed in-crop for weeds more than once. The average number of spray passes ranged from 1.24 in the Dark Brown and Brown soil zones of Saskatchewan to 1.65 for the Gray soil zone of Saskatchewan. Almost all growers indicated they either used herbicides with multiple modes of action or rotated herbicides (91.3% combined) to prevent herbicide resistant weeds from evolving on their farm.
Almost all producers who swathed canola (>97%) decided when to swath based on seed colour (73.4%). About one-quarter of growers used either pod colour or field colour to decide when to swath. Canola yield did vary by region and greatly within regions. In 2011, average yield tended to be lower in Manitoba, but this was a spring of very wet conditions in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan. Manitoba yields were lower than the yield growers expected. Yield in the Dark Brown and Brown soil zones was good relative to the expected yield for these growing regions.
The Gray soil zone in northern Manitoba practiced short canola rotations. For the 2011 canola crop, 10.9 % of growers in this soil zone indicated they also grew canola on the same field in 2010, and 58.2% of growers grew canola on the field in 2009. For northern Alberta, about one-half of canola fields were in canola two years previous. Longer rotation lengths were practiced in other zones, especially the Dark Brown and Brown soil zones.
Overall the survey showed that factors that positively contributed to canola yield included: nitrogen, irrigation, calibrating the seeder, swathing when seed colour changed, soil testing for fertilizer requirements, good-excellent moisture, and good-excellent temperatures during flowering. Factors that reduced canola yield included: growing a specialty oil, seeding late, adverse growing conditions, salinity problem in the field, and being a grower in the Brown soil zone.
Factors common for growers who used recommended practices (soil testing, seeder calibration, conservation tillage, keeping production records) included: higher levels of formal education, larger farm units, experience growing canola, and being a grower in the Black soil zone. Younger farmers were more likely to use seed colour change to determine when to swath.
The results from the survey and identification of the practices used by the top growers that obtain top yields, versus those with much lower yield, will help to focus extension and information needs for producers. The identification of barriers will provide direction for future research and demonstration that will have the greatest benefit to producers and the industry.
The survey was also used to provide input and production data required to quantify greenhouse gas balances from canola production. Documentation of greenhouse gas balances is one required component of an application to the European Union to allow Canadian canola oil as a feedstock for biodiesel production. The main inputs considered were fertilizer, herbicides and fungicides, and production practices included machine passes and machine types for land preparation through harvest.
Full Report PDF: n/a