When selecting a canola variety, growers shouldn’t cut off their noses to spite their faces. That was one takeaway from the Manitoba Ag Days panel discussion about the challenges associated with these decisions.
Karen Fatteicher, an agronomist with 360 Ag Consulting, said she once asked a friend who is a farmer what kind of canola she grew. Her friend answered, “The cheapest.” But Fatteicher advised that it’s best not to let price dictate the variety you choose.
“If somebody is trying to sell you something that’s on the shelf, it’s on the shelf for a reason,” she said. “You will not grow yourself into prosperity by saving on seed costs. Keep moving the needle with your varieties.”
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While it’s important not to choose a variety based solely on cost, Brunel Sabourin, an agronomist with Antara Agronomy, said the opposite is also true. Choosing a variety specifically because it offers higher returns could also have unforeseen consequences.
“We have a lot of growers who would like to chase specialty canola oils that often have a premium attached,” said Sabourin. “We need to ask ourselves: Is the juice worth the squeeze?”
He said if the grower has to make compromises to grow that variety and, as a result, ends up with a stubborn weed problem, it could mean spending more on herbicides or other expenses associated with dealing with the issue.
Panelist Breanna Miller-Friesen, an agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, had a different take on the same question.
“I think it goes back to the problem we’re trying to solve,” she said. “Say we have a clubroot issue. If the trade-off is a couple of bushels of yield versus a clubroot infestation, that makes our decision a lot easier. It’s definitely worth that potential yield loss versus, say, developing a weed resistance issue.”
To catch more of their conversation, keep an eye out for more in upcoming print editions. More Ag Days news, video and more can be found on our Manitoba Ag Days 2025 landing page.
