Mundare, AB: Alberta farmers intend to seed 600,000 more acres to canola this year. In some cases that may mean livestock producers will convert pasture land to canola, and these “new” growers have only one chance to give their crops a good start.

Make crop nutrition and a properly prepared seedbed your priority this spring if you are converting acres, says John Mayko, senior agronomy specialist with the Canola Council.

“You’re going to be looking at lumpy, dry soil with a few fertility deficiencies that will definitely challenge your seeding operation,” he warns, adding, “You’ve really got to wrap your head around what needs to be done to condition the land.”

Get a soil test and fertilize according to realistic yield goals that take into account current and expected moisture, Mayko recommends.

Because breaking up heavy stands of sod or long-term forage ground creates lumps and dries out the ground, it will be difficult to place canola seed in a shallow, uniform way. Direct seeding will help conserve moisture and get you closer to the ideal 1-2 cm depth for seed placement, he says.

Ideally, pastures to be converted to crop land would have been prepped last fall with an application of glyphosate.

“Spraying out your forage or pasture in the spring can actually create a tough environment for your next crop,” says Mayko. “The decaying forage plants tie up nutrients and increase disease pressure. A fall spray makes more sense because it allows time for soil moisture to return and for the soil to mellow.”

Finally, he recommends that before you fire up the cultivator, consider the condition of the land. If soil texture, topography, salinity, solonetzic soil or other chemical or physical factors are too risky, think twice before converting it.

For more information on converting hay or pasture land to annual cropping, go to:

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/newslett.nsf/all/cotl13153

http://reducedtillage.ca/articles8.aspx

http://reducedtillage.ca/article13.aspx

For more information, contact:

John Mayko, West-Central Alberta, 780-764-2593 or

Kelly Funke, Communications Officer, 204-982-2111

Derwyn Hammond, Manitoba, 204-729-9011

Jim Bessel, North Central & North Eastern Saskatchewan, 306-373-6771

David Vanthuyne, Eastern Saskatchewan, 306-946-3588

Doug Moisey, East-Central Alberta and Northwestern Saskatchewan, 780-645-3624

Matthew Stanford, Southern Alberta and Southwestern Saskatchewan, 403-327-4832

Erin Brock, Peace Region, 780-586-3326

This media release is supported regionally by:

Alberta Canola Producers Commission; Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission; Manitoba Canola Growers Association; Canola Council of Canada; Peace River Agriculture Development Fund; B.C. Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.