Poll: Only one in three growers rotates canola crop every four years

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Sept. 16, 2013 /CNW/ - Most Western Canadian growers are not following the industry best practice of growing canola once every four years in a rotation with other crops.

According to a poll conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of BASF Canada Inc., only one in three growers from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba follows this recommendation, while most push growing canola to once every three years (44 percent), two years (25 percent) or every year (1 percent).

The online poll of 401 wheat and canola growers in Western Canada was conducted late last year.

"Canola rotations are tight because canola is one of the top revenue-producing crops," said Harley House, BASF Brand Manager for Clearfield^® Crops,. "We don't endorse or condone shorter rotations but if growers are opting for shorter ones, there are other ways to be sustainable."

Among those that do rotate their systems, the poll found the primary reasons are they want to use different modes of action to manage weed resistance (89 percent); to control volunteer canola (82 percent); blackleg management (67 percent); and to get higher quality samples (61 percent).

"For whatever reason, if growers can't rotate their crop, they should rotate their system," said House. "One of the key benefits of the Clearfield Production System for canola is the ability to choose the herbicide that best matches your weed control needs and sustainability strategies."

But what the poll found was four in 10 (41 percent) said they don't switch the herbicide-tolerant system they use for their canola crop. And, among those that do, there was no consensus on the frequency of doing so.

The Clearfield Production System for canola provides reliable control of problematic weeds, plus flushing control of shallow germinating weeds. It also provides control of both Roundup Ready^® and Liberty Link^® Volunteer canola.

Full tabular results of this poll are available at www.ipsos.ca. For more information please visit www.agsolutions.ca.

Always read and follow label directions.

CLEARFIELD is a registered trade-mark of BASF Corporation, used with permission by BASF Canada Inc.

© 2013 BASF Canada Inc.

BASF - The Chemical Company

BASF Canada, located in Mississauga, Ontario is a subsidiary of BASF SE, and an affiliate of BASF Corporation. BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 16,600 employees in North America, and had sales of $18.5 billion in 2012. For more information about BASF's North American operations, visit www.basf.us. To find out more about BASF's activities in Canada visit www.basf.ca or follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/basfcanada.

BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of €72.1 billion in 2012 and more than 110,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

SOURCE: BASF Canada Inc.

Christina Stroud
BASF Canada Inc.
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E-mail: [email protected]

Jo Ann Robinson
ON Communication
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E-mail: [email protected]