The maps can be found at the link above under the heading “Thematic Crop Maps“‎. Time frame in most cases is 2006 to 2015 (10 year), but 2011 to 2015 is also available for soybean, feed wheat and corn to reflect the acreage changes that occurred in the past 5 years.
Many thanks to Doug Wilcox‎ from MASC for the database, and Les Mitchell and Natalie Azure from the Crop Industry Branch who developed and created the maps for this project.
Modified from a previous Crop Chatter post made November 18, 2014.
November is here and there remains grain corn to be harvested in some parts of Manitoba. In some cases, moisture contents are still higher than wanted or wet field conditions are hampering progress. But with winter approaching, many are opting to harvest under the less than ideal conditions.
What are normal dry down rates in corn? The best dry down rates are in September. Under good weather conditions from the mid to end of September, dry down rates can vary from 0.75 to 1.0% per day (can be greater in some cases when conditions are warm, sunny and dry, or zero on cool, rainy days!). Into early October, dry down ranges from 0.5% to 0.75% per day. In late October, dry down rate will decrease to less than 0.33% per day. And into November, dry down rate will further decrease to 0.15% per day to negligible amounts.
It is important to keep in mind that moisture loss for any particular day may be higher or lower depending on the temperature, relative humidity, sunshine, wind or rain conditions that day.
However, regardless of kernel moisture content in November, if left standing the crop can dry down throughout the winter months to moisture contents below 20%.
Potential Yield Loss. If the crop remains out longer than anticipated and into the winter months, potential yield loss will depend on many factors, including stalk strength, ear drop, snow cover or wildlife damage. Ear drop will vary by hybrid and environmental conditions as well as the amount of grain on the ear (smaller ears should stay attached better than larger ears). Stalk strength should also be considered when evaluating harvest timing (and this includes assessments of stalk rots). Compromised stalk strength could lead to increased stalk breakage, resulting in lost yield.
If winter conditions are cool with minimal snowfall, then corn will continue to dry and can be harvested throughout the winter.
If you do find yourself in the position of needing/wanting to overwinter your corn, please touch base with your local MASC agent.
Mitchell Japp, the Provincial Cereal Crops Specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, recently wrote an article on the Canadian Grain Commission’s Harvest Sample Program – what it is, how to request a sample kit in order to submit a harvest sample, and getting results. The complete article is available here: Harvest Sample Program.
The CGC is providing a valuable service to individual farmers and industry with the Harvest Sample Program, but it takes participation for it to work. I would encourage Crop Chatter subscribers to click on the link and read Mitchell’s article!
For more information, visit the Canadian Grain Commission page.
Estimating Harvest Losses in Cereals – Don’t Just Rely on the Grain Loss Monitor!
Winter wheat and fall rye harvest is underway in Manitoba. Since final yields aren’t determined until the crop is in the bin, attention now has to be focused on the harvest operation. Grain loss at harvesting time is a direct loss of income. The more grain saved, the greater the returns. The following information comes from 2 articles: ‘Grain Harvest Losses’ by V. Hofman with edits by Dr. J Wiersma & T. Allrich (University of Minnesota) and ‘Estimating Harvest Loss’ by G. Carlson & D. Clay (South Dakota State University).
Grain harvest losses result from shattering of the standing grain, shattering during windrowing (swathing) or direct combining, picking up the swath with the combine, and threshing, separating and cleaning within the combine. Estimates of acceptable losses for small grains such as wheat, barley and oats are placed at 3% of total yield (total yield equals harvested yield plus harvest losses).
It is usually very difficult to reduce total losses below 1 to 2% so the operator must decide on the value of the crop, the cost of combining and the time available for combining or climate conditions. Some harvest loss is unavoidable in order to get harvesting done in the time available with an end goal of cleaned harvested grain.
Estimating Harvest Losses. Advancements in engineering have greatly improved harvest operations. Combines have various types of monitoring equipment available, including grain loss monitors, to help alert the operator to any potential problems. A grain loss monitor is a good guide in selecting travel speed for varying conditions such as size of windrow and moisture conditions. A grain loss monitor must be calibrated to provide an acceptable grain loss reading. If the combine is used on different crops, the monitors are not only useful in limiting maximum speeds and losses, but can be used to properly feed the combine for optimum capacity.
However, a grain loss monitor is not a substitute for careful machine adjustments and good old fashioned monitoring, i.e. getting out of the combine to estimate losses. Or even better, when your local retail agronomist comes out with cold beverages, put him/her to work to estimate harvest losses.
Pick a typical area of the field after the combine has passed.
Place a 1 ft by 1 ft (inside dimension) box on the ground and count the kernels found within the box. To improve accuracy, three counts (one behind the left side of the header, one behind the centre of the combine, and one behind the right side of the combine) are better.
A one (1) bushel per acre loss equates to 20 wheat kernels/ft2, 14 barley kernels/ft2 and 10 oat kernels/ft2. Keep in mind that this is a ‘fudge factor’ but for the purpose of rough field estimation is an adequate estimate. There are more accurate ways to estimate harvest losses which take into consideration the width of windrower cut and combine cylinder.
If losses are on the high end, some investigation is warranted to try and identify the source of loss. Is the crop shattering prior to the arrival of the combine (to check for losses that occurred prior to the arrival of the combine, i.e. shattering, use the method above in the unharvested areas of the field)? Are there header losses? Or are the losses due to less than perfect threshing/separation of grain within the combine? Finding the answer may help to adjust the harvest operation and maximize the amount of grain going into the bin!
When Should I Desiccate My Sunflowers?
The ‘right’ time to desiccate sunflowers is when the back of the head looks banana yellow and the bracts are brown up to and past the shoulders. This visual combination equates to R9 or typically around 30% seed moisture. You want to visually check out different parts of your fields, looking at the areas that you know advance faster and the ones that advance the slowest. Try to aim that the majority of you field is at the R9 stage.
It is harvest time in Manitoba. Since final yields aren’t determined until the crop is in the bin, attention now has to be focused on the harvest operation. Grain loss at harvesting time is a direct loss of income. The more grain saved, the greater the returns. The following information comes from 2 articles: ‘Grain Harvest Losses’ by V. Hofman with edits by Dr. J Wiersma & T. Allrich (University of Minnesota) and ‘Estimating Harvest Loss’ by G. Carlson & D. Clay (South Dakota State University).
If losses are on the high end, some investigation is warranted to try and identify the source of loss. Is the crop shattering prior to the arrival of the combine (do the above steps before harvest to determine this)? Are there header losses? Or are the losses due to less than perfect threshing/separation of grain within the combine? Finding the answer may help to adjust the harvest operation and maximize the amount of grain going into the bin!
Good luck with Harvest 2015.
As the first seeded sunflowers are desiccated and are drying down, here are some helpful hints on combining from the National Sunflower Association of Canada (NSAC).
Sunflowers can be safely combined when the seed moisture is below 18-20%. However, allowing sunflowers to dry-down to a moisture content of 9.5 -12% reduces the need for drying on-farm. At 12% moisture content, seed can be stored in bins with aeration. Any moisture content over 12% will require drying to avoid spoilage. Oil-type sunflowers can be dried with temperatures of 71º to 104º C (160ºF to 220ºF) but confection-type sunflower seed may scorch or wrinkle with these temperatures. Sunflower seed should be cooled before storage, since even sunflowers at 8.5% moisture can spoil if stored when warm.
Sunflower planting was spread out in 2014, which means flowering and dry-down will be as well. The chart below gives and indication to the amount of time it will take the crop to reach R8 to R9. This is a guide only. Sunflower development and dry down is based on temperature. If August is all above 25C during the day and doesn’t go below 10C at night, the sunflower crop will develop much faster than this!
From August 5th to 31st, regardless of location, there is typically 275-320 Sunflower GDD accumulated in Manitoba. To get from R5.1 to R9 the crop needs 393 GDD.