CANOLA

On top of our regular work at “Ridge Station” we have taken up contract windrowing again this year. This involves cutting the standing canola crops with a swather, leaving it in windrows ready to be harvested 10 days later. While Sam has been driving the windrower most of time Matt also helped out and Meg has been a very busy escort driver!

While the growing season was good for canola this year the thick crops are causing some problems closer to harvest. Many of the tall areas have fallen over and the plants have put up new shoots from their base. This means that although the top of the crop is ready to be windrowed the machine has problems cutting through the green stems underneath, unless it is put through the machine very slowly. This has not only reduced the acreage we can cover but has also caused several breakdowns due to the extra work load on the machine. On the positive side a lot of the crops are going to yield well this season and canola prices are looking very good.