September 2018—Nobody likes to get beat over the head with “you should do this” messages. A large percentage of people don’t like to get told what to do at all or by any means: Beat over the head. Rap on the knuckles. Kid gloves. But how about subtle persuasion? Here is a series of memorable events...
Read More March 2018—Chuck Penner, in his canola outlook in this issue, forecasts Canadian canola acres at 23.75 million, another record for queen canola. Is this too many for long-term canola sustainability? Think back to 2014. The Canola Council of Canada launched its Keep It Coming strategy, with a target of 52 bu./ac. average yield and a production...
Read More January 2018—I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions, but I have one specific work goal for this year: To increase Canola Watch subscriptions by 50 per cent. Canola Watch is an email update to address real issues – insects, diseases and more – found in canola fields across the Prairies. It comes out each week during...
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November 2017—Pork supply in Japan was 2.17 kg per person per year in 1961. (I know pork isn’t canola, but stay with me.) Pork supply in Japan rose steadily over the next 50 years to 20.51 in 2011. The rapid adoption of pork into the diet was even more dramatic in China, going from 2.36 to...
Read More September 2017—When Garry Thiel’s father grew rapeseed for the first time in the late 1940s, he straight combined the crop. Granted, this was Polish canola, which had better shatter tolerance than Argentine of the day, but I find it significant that the first inclination for early adopters like the Thiels was to cut and combine in...
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