The Agronomists, Ep 85: Michelle Durnin and Keith Gabert on post-harvest scouting

Every field tells a story, and not just through the yield monitor.

From final plant stand figures, to disease pressures, to weed spectrums and control windows, harvest and post-harvest scouting can offer so much information about what to do next year or the next time a field sees this crop again.

To dive in to the post-harvest scouting routine, this episode of The Agronomists features guest-host Kara Oosterhuis with guests Michelle Durnin of Agri-Solve Inc, and Keith Gabert of the Canola Council of Canada.

This episode of The Agronomists is brought to you by ADAMA Canada, Decisive Farming, and the Canola School.

Catch a new episode of The Agronomists every Monday night at 8 pm E!

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SUMMARY:

• It’s Kara!
• So many people in the comments so early. It’s always great to see
• Beauty weather in Alberta, first frost in Ontario
• This is Michelle and Keith’s first time on The Agronomists!
• How are agronomists like doctors?
• Let’s focus on fall weed control, first
• Observe from the combine (and behind it)
• Edible bean ground without glyphosate as an option — dandelions and some other perennials are an issue, especially going in to winter wheat
• Glyphosate really does work exceptionally well in the fall
• Much of the west has not yet had a killing frost, so the window is still open
• Gabert says make sure you use the information you collect at the end of the season on next time that crop is on that land
• Diseases in canola especially: clubroot, blackleg, sclerotinia, and verticillium wilt
• You have to know if you spent enough money on seed, too
• Clip the stems! Need to see what’s at the base of those canola stalks
• What about residue spread?
• Many combines don’t spread the residue the full width of the header and leave a bit of a mess
• Residue management impacts the next spring so much
• Scouting for harvest losses (We did an episode on managing losses not long ago. Find it here)
• Last year in Ontario, there was an incredible amount of soybean and edible bean volunteers
• A frost can kick some of those weeds in to prep for winter mode, so that’s good
• But there is a limit to how late you can spray, depending on conditions
• Too early isn’t good, too
• Cooler means the herbicide choice really matters
• Choice multiple modes of effective action
• Contact herbicides aren’t the go-to in the fall
• Good point: if you can’t get the fall pass done, what is your spring plan?
• What about dust on the weeds? I.e. dust or residue
• It’s a water of weighing the odds, dust reduces efficacy of all
• Edible beans and soybeans get rots as well, but usually scouting/assessment is done in the field
• Sudden death syndrome in soybean need a closer look
• Oddly, these plants hold on to the green (branches) late in the season
• Watch the combine monitor for patches of lower yield and get a diagnoses
• White mould is always and issue, but the dry conditions kept it at bay
• Again, keep good records
• What about brown stem rot? Charcoal rot — it’s suspect, not confirmed
• Check out the base of the stem and roots. Send to a lab!
• Clip 1: Jeanette Gaulthier on canola post-harvest scouting
• Assessing plant stand counts post-harvest are not usually done in the fall for soybeans
• Usually assessed in the spring, i.e. poor planter performance, insect pressure
• But, at harvest, you can see the re-plant results and total population success
• For corn, there are more “stories to read” this time of year
• Serious goosenecking from insects in corn
• With canola, we think about two seeds to get one plant, unlike one-to-one in beans and corn
• Count the stalks, y’all
• It’s the best way to assess the end result of seeding
• Canola compensates, but there are limits
• Assess compaction, moisture levels, and sample that soil!
• Fertility assessment is so key
• Have to talk about clubroot: can we sample in the fall?
• Weedy patches can indicate clubroot
• Look for healthy roots still on the plant. Missing roots can mean the gall is decomposing
• Bag the roots if you have galls, but you should soil sample for testing
• You can lime it, but needs to be worked in — but then remember to sanitize equipment!
• Assess for aphanomyces in pulses too
• Post-harvest/harvest is a time crunch
• Storage! Less than ideal crop coming off? Monitor!
• Safe storage: temperature and moisture
• Good harvest weather isn’t usually the best storage weather
• How dirty is the crop? Grasshopper legs, yo
• Ontario is lucky to have so many great commercial sites managing storage
• Take a really good sample
• Check in with your elevator, could alert you to any issues ahead of time
• How late can you sample for soybean cyst nematode? When there are roots
• Clubroot spore count can be done later in the year, but follow up the next year
• Test the top three-inches, not typical soil depths
• Verticillium wilt building in the Prairies
• It’s easy to miss!

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