Agricultural News
Ron Sholar of Great Plains Canola Reports on State's Average Crop After Rough '17 Growing Season
Fri, 04 Aug 2017 16:17:41 CDT
As planting season for the 2018 canola crop draws near, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays invited Ron Sholar of the Great Plains Canola Association in studio this week, to talk about this past year's crop and what producers should be considering before planting this fall. Listen to their full conversation by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of the page.
According to Sholar, this past year's crop showed a lot of promise in the beginning with planted acres in the state up by 25 percent. However, after a tumultuous growing season, farmers nearly lost their crops before moderating temperatures in early summer made a quick save.
"Were in Oklahoma and the Southern Great Plains, weather is always the variable that has a huge impact on how we're going to do either well or poorly," Sholar remarked. "And, that was certainly the case with the '16 - '17 crop."
But it wasn't just a rough year for canola either, says Sholar. Unseasonably high temperatures kickstarted extensive early growth in both wheat and canola crops in the region. He says wheat was harvested early in 2017 and so was canola, harvested two weeks earlier than normal.
"We'll call it an average crop," he said. "We had growers who made 40-50 bushels an acre which is very good for this year. But we also had a lot of 20s, too."
Sholar claims that was the result of stand loss over the winter and tough fall conditions prior to that.
"Guys have to watch their Ps and Qs to make a 20 bushel canola crop make money," he said, but assured that canola will continue to have a growing presence in Oklahoma. "But, they're committed to the crop and we know they're going to stay with it."
Still a relatively new crop to Oklahoma, Sholar insists farmers still have a lot to learn about best management practices when it comes to canola. But he says his colleagues continue their research.
Sholar remains optimistic that farmers, who he says understand the value canola brings to a wheat crop rotation, will plant the same number of acres going into the 2018 season.
Sholar will join Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays for his weekly In the Field segment on KWTV News9 in the Oklahoma City area on Saturday morning at 6:40 a.m.
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