Canola TV
Canola TV: Oklahoma Farmers Beginning to Benefit From Research Funded by Oilseed Checkoff
Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:23:50 CDT
As more and more producers across the state plant more and more acres of canola, an increasing stream of checkoff dollars is flowing into the Oklahoma Oilseed Commission.
In the latest edition of Canola TV, Dr. Ron Sholar, executive director of the commission, says the state-based organization to help spearhead the development and expansion of the industry in the state
“We want to expand the oilseed industry in Oklahoma and you can read that for this current time as being canola. We also cover sunflowers, but to a much lesser extent.
“We do have the checkoff. It’s been in place for three years. We are gathering some money now to fund some research through the state university. And I’m very excited about some of the results they are finding and looking to the future.
“I might add that the Oilseed Commission is farmer-led. This is self-supporting self-help organization. Farmers contribute; farmers benefit.”
Even though the checkoff is relatively young, Sholar says there are a number of success stories that are benefiting producers.
“Well, not surprisingly, after a decade of being in this business, we’re trying to find out what varieties are going to work best here in Oklahoma. Will it be the open pollinated? Will it be the hybrids? Will it e those that are resistant or tolerant of certain herbicides? Will it be those that are conventional? And our folks at Oklahoma State University are providing those answers through the checkoff funding. We’re also doing research on soil fertility. We can try and extrapolate what we know of soil fertility from other crops, but that’s not really good enough. We need to look at canola itself
“We have significant projects going on with insect control. Our entomologists say, ‘If there’s a canola plant out there, there’s an insect trying to find it.’ What we’re also learning is that the insect problems that are routine in other states are not the ones we have, nor are ours routine in their states. So, this work needs to be locally done.”
Sholar said there are several variety trials underway and a five-day series of tours will begin April 9th to examine those test plots.
You can see today's conversation with Dr. Sholar by clicking on the play button in the video box below. CanolaTV is a service of PCOM, Producers Cooperative Oil Mill--click here to learn more about how they serve cotton and canola producers across the south.
Our YouTube channel has several dozen past episodes of CanolaTV, with a lot of great information about producing and marketing winter canola in the southern plains--click here to jump there.
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