—A Valuable Source of Information for Farmers — Andrew Frankenfield, Montgomery County Extension
The Web Soil Survey (WSS) is operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and provides free access to the largest natural resource information system in the world. The WSS is a Web application that provides customers (producers, agencies, Technical Service Providers, and others) electronic access to relevant soil and related information needed to make wise land use & management decisions. Users can get information on only what they want by highlighting areas on the map and collect information relevant to their land use concerns.
A farmer can look at cropland by typing in an address and zooming into desired fields. Then outline the fields to create the area of interest (AOI). Once the AOI is defined, next select the “soil map” tab to view the soil types in the field broken down by acres. Next the “soil data explore” tab provides information for the field such as the land classifications, which includes capability class and farmland classification. The “soil data explorer” tab also provides vegetative productivity which includes yields of irrigated and non-irrigated crops. Also, if you are thinking of building a pond it suggests areas where the soils are better suited for ponds to avoid seepage.
Lastly the “shopping cart” tab allows the user to print out a custom report for the area selected. This information can also be saved as a pdf document for referencing at a later time. This is extremely useful information for farmers as they evaluate renting or purchasing farmland or for those who are looking to better manage the land that they currently manage. The Web Soil Survey is available at http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/HomePage.htm
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Spring Canola: Emerging Biofuel Feedstock
— Greg Roth, Grain Crop Management and Joel Hunter, Crawford County Extension
Spring canola is another crop in our Bioenergy Crop Demonstration this year. Spring canola is a widely grown oil seed in North Dakota and the Canadian prairies. Spring canola is a cool season brassica crop that produces an oilseed with approximately 40% oil. Canola was derived from rapeseed through conventional breeding practices that have led to a food grade oilseed with reduced levels of glucosinolates (which contribute to the sharp taste in mustard) and erucic acid (a fatty acid not essential for human growth). In 1985 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared canola “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS), leading to a significant growth in consumption of canola oil and production of the crop in this country.
We began working with spring canola in 2007 to develop some basic production recommendations for Pennsylvania and explore the fit in our cropping rotations. Canola is spring seeded at a rate of 5 pounds per acre and managed similarly to oats. Recommended nitrogen rates are about 2 LB. N per bushel and yields are often in the 40-50 bushel/acre range. For a 40-bushel-per-acre crop with optimum P and K levels, the N-P2O5-K2O recommendations would be 80-30-20. A wide range of spring canola varieties are available, from conventional, conventional/Clearfield, and transgenic glyphosate and glufosinate tolerant lines.
Canola markets are limited but are growing with interest in homegrown biofuel feedstocks. Canola is the oilseed of choice for straight vegetable oil (SVO) feedstock for tractors. Our Farm Operations department at Penn State, led by Glen Cauffman and Don Rill, have been conducting a demonstration of SVO tractors and this has led them to increasing their canola production. They have generally been achieving yields of about 50 bushels per acre, or about 100 gallons of canola oil per acre. This year, we have a 40 acre field in production that Don is managing to help supply the feedstock for the tractor study.
Canola has some potential to fit in to rotations as a spring crop substitute for oats or soybeans. With a similar production cost to oats and a grain value of about $7.00+ per bushel, net returns should be competitive with oats plus straw. Canola straw is generally not harvested, so there would be less labor with this crop. Canola production costs are higher than soybean production due to its N requirement and returns are lower, making soybeans often a more profitable crop than canola. Because of its early August harvest, there is more potential for seeding cover crops following canola than full season crops. We currently have a new spring canola factsheet in publication that will have more details. It will be available next month.
To find out more about canola and other renewable and alternative energy subjects, plan on visiting Ag Progress Days on August 17–19 and be sure to visit: “Ask the Expert” — in the College building, “Renewable and Alternative Energy” in the energy tent, and “Biofuels and Biodiesel” in the crops building.
Spring canola is another crop in our Bioenergy Crop Demonstration this year. Spring canola is a widely grown oil seed in North Dakota and the Canadian prairies. Spring canola is a cool season brassica crop that produces an oilseed with approximately 40% oil. Canola was derived from rapeseed through conventional breeding practices that have led to a food grade oilseed with reduced levels of glucosinolates (which contribute to the sharp taste in mustard) and erucic acid (a fatty acid not essential for human growth). In 1985 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared canola “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS), leading to a significant growth in consumption of canola oil and production of the crop in this country.
We began working with spring canola in 2007 to develop some basic production recommendations for Pennsylvania and explore the fit in our cropping rotations. Canola is spring seeded at a rate of 5 pounds per acre and managed similarly to oats. Recommended nitrogen rates are about 2 LB. N per bushel and yields are often in the 40-50 bushel/acre range. For a 40-bushel-per-acre crop with optimum P and K levels, the N-P2O5-K2O recommendations would be 80-30-20. A wide range of spring canola varieties are available, from conventional, conventional/Clearfield, and transgenic glyphosate and glufosinate tolerant lines.
Canola markets are limited but are growing with interest in homegrown biofuel feedstocks. Canola is the oilseed of choice for straight vegetable oil (SVO) feedstock for tractors. Our Farm Operations department at Penn State, led by Glen Cauffman and Don Rill, have been conducting a demonstration of SVO tractors and this has led them to increasing their canola production. They have generally been achieving yields of about 50 bushels per acre, or about 100 gallons of canola oil per acre. This year, we have a 40 acre field in production that Don is managing to help supply the feedstock for the tractor study.
Canola has some potential to fit in to rotations as a spring crop substitute for oats or soybeans. With a similar production cost to oats and a grain value of about $7.00+ per bushel, net returns should be competitive with oats plus straw. Canola straw is generally not harvested, so there would be less labor with this crop. Canola production costs are higher than soybean production due to its N requirement and returns are lower, making soybeans often a more profitable crop than canola. Because of its early August harvest, there is more potential for seeding cover crops following canola than full season crops. We currently have a new spring canola factsheet in publication that will have more details. It will be available next month.
To find out more about canola and other renewable and alternative energy subjects, plan on visiting Ag Progress Days on August 17–19 and be sure to visit: “Ask the Expert” — in the College building, “Renewable and Alternative Energy” in the energy tent, and “Biofuels and Biodiesel” in the crops building.
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