Smart Earth Seeds has been listening to producers in various soil zones across Saskatchewan, asking them about their experience growing our varieties of Camelina.

Kyle Laturnus saw yields of about 30-35 bu/acre growing Camelina on his farm in the Tramping Lake area in 2017. His family farms northeast of the lake where the soil is on the sandier side of things. “It fits well in the sandier land that we have,” he said.

Kyle seeded about 320 acres of Smart Earth Seeds Camelina into nice warm ground in early June; it was followed by a nice shower. Kyle timed seeding perfectly. The crop seemed to emerge right away. “Everything seemed to come out of the ground quite quickly and evenly,” he said, adding he was pleased to see how competitively Smart Earth Camelina responded to heavier areas of kochia in his field. “There ended up being a lot of kochia on the piece, which I was very worried about. But come harvest the Camelina had choked a fair amount of it out.”

The Camelina crop did not receive a lot of rainfall – maximum 8 inches (203mm). And with most of the rain coming early, things really dried up in the months of July and August. Due to the drier conditions Kyle’s MIDAS brand Camelina crop was free of any problematic insect or disease. By mid- to late-August, Kyle’s Camelina was ready for a pre-harvest application (glyphosate + Heat) which really helped prepare the crop and address potential post-harvest weed issues. Kyle straight cut his MIDAS crop early September – just 92 days from seeding – with yields in the 30-35 bushel range.

Kyle said he considers Smart Earth Seeds MIDAS-brand Camelina to be a profitable low input crop on his lighter land and said he likes the fact that Camelina can be straight cut and withstands shelling. He predicted that broadleaf herbicide control would help maintain a cleaner field and likely further improve Camelina yields.

Thoughts on profitability of Camelina compared other crops? “We’ve had a good experience,” he said. “On lighter land it’s certainly one of the best, usually in our Top 3 across the board, depending on what the premium is at the delivery point. There’s 800 or so acres that run right beside the lake. Canola has a hard time penciling out if it’s dry, so Camelina has been a really good fit thus far.”

In 2018 the Smart Earth Seeds Camelina Production Contract Price was set at $11.50 per bushel and so producers who achieved yields similar to Kyle would average a gross return of about $345-$402 per acre in the Dark Brown soil zone.

If you’re interested in growing Camelina, our 2019 more information on prices and contracts are available here …

Kyle Laturnus – Midas Camelina August 16th, 2017

Producer: Kyle Laturnus
Location: Tramping Lake, SK
Variety: MIDAS
Seeding Date: June 5, 2017
Soil Type: Dark Brown, but on the sandy side of things
Previous Crop: Wheat
Land Preparation: Heavy Harrowed, Edge (Spring Application)
Seeding Method/Seeding Depth: 5710 Bourgault, 12 inch spacing, roughly 3/4 inch depth
Fertilizer/Application Method: Roughly 60lbs of N-Sulphur mixture, (75-25) through the mid-row banders on the drill, nothing with the seed.
Preharvest: Glyphosate + Heat
Harvest: Sept 5, 2017 (Straight Cut)
Yields: 35 bushels per acre