Keeping cool this winter

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

It is never that hard to keep yourself cool in Saskatchewan in winter, but the Canola Council of Canada is urging producers to make sure their crop stays cool as well.

Canola Council of Canada agronomist David Vanthuyne says crop temperature is critical to maintaining quality and maximizing canola profit. He says monitoring is even more important this year. "Much of the canola crop went into the bin hot this year," he noted.

Vanthuyne says grain temperature monitoring systems or bin probes provide the most accurate assessment of the health of stored canola. Alternatively, Vanthuyne suggests that growers take proactive measures by removing a load of canola from different bins when they're filling canola contracts.

At the very least, he recommends that growers turn the canola regularly by taking one or a number of loads out of each canola bin to break up any pockets of unstable canola within the mass of the grain.

Vanthuyne, the council's agronomist in eastern Saskatchewan, says growers can look at various conditioning systems, but "the object is to cool the seed and/or lower its moisture content to below 15 degrees Celsius and eight per cent moisture. Ideally, the lower the temperature, the better," he said.

Canola seed tends to sweat or respire for up to six weeks before becoming dormant, leading to heat damage and mould growth. To avoid spoilage, Vanthuyne advises producers to consider going beyond aeration to condition their canola to safe temperature and moisture levels.

Aeration can be an effective way to avoid spoilage and maintain quality, but Vanthuyne suggests that, if late-harvested canola contains moisture levels above 10 to 12 per cent, growers should consider heated air drying.

For more information on safe canola storage, producers should visit the Canola Council of Canada website, at http://www.canola-council.org/store.aspx.

For more information, contact:

David Vanthuyne, Agronomist
Canada Canola Council of Canada
Phone: (306) 782-7799