KEY PRACTICE: As winter transitions into summer, monitor the temperature profile in canola bins for any rapid increases that may indicate spoilage. Aerating and turning seed to warm up canola stored throughout the cold western Canadian winter is not necessary.

PROJECT TITLE, LEAD RESEARCHER: “Determining Best Practices for Summer Storage of Canola in Western Canada,” 2014, Joy Agnew, Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI)

GROWER ORGANIZATION FUNDER: Alberta Canola, MCGA, SaskCanola

High yielding canola fields, recent challenges with railway transportation, and canola varieties producing increasingly high oil content all emphasize the need for good storage practices. This study filled a knowledge gap on what to do with canola stored through the winter and into the summer. Aerate? Turn it? Leave it? The study found that monitoring is critical for noticing sudden temperature increases, but turning or aeration is often not necessary.

The one-year study used regular, commercial-sized grain bins to measure temperature, relative humidity and airflow rates. Three different management practices — aeration, turning, leaving it alone — were implemented on three 4,000-bushel bins full of canola. Two of the bins were monitored throughout June and July, while one collected data all the way until the end of November.

You can also read the 2015 Science Issue of Canola Digest as a flipbook

Visit the Canola Research Hub website to search the database of grower funded research

Tags: storage