Cuttin' Canola

Ron Webber, David Brewer and Roy Buenrostro line out the day. Brewer would continue cutting canola while Webber worked on machinery repairs and Buenrostro was looking forward to a parts run for the bankout wagon.

By Tom Peterson

Nothing is usual.
Ron Webber is driving. He’s a 2014 Fort Dalles Bull Riding Champ. He’s got three daughters and a fourth on the way, Georgia. He’s taking me to the combine operating on a ridge east of The Dalles. 
The truck driver is off today. Charles Young, an Alaska Airlines pilot, had to maintenance his camp trailer. The New Yorker, a shirt-tale relative, is helping shuttle grain on this farm in lieu of flying the friendly skies. 
And David Brewer is cutting.
But it’s not soft white wheat, like most farmers in Wasco County.
He’s cuttin’ canola. 
Crawling through the heavy stocks, the sickle bar slices and the header augers in the pods filled with tiny black seeds. Trash flies out the back end of the green John Deere. And the black seeds peter into the hopper behind the cab. He’s moving at 1- to 1.4- mph - a far cry from the 5 plus mph when cutting wheat. It’s a game of patience.
Any faster and you chance plugging the machine with straw and seeds thrash to the ground, not the hopper.  
From the air-conditioned confines of the cab, Brewer called some recent yields “surprising.” 
After planting canola in 2014, he planted a crop of spring wheat  in the same field, and then let the soil a rest. His next crop of winter wheat on the same land hit 95 bushels an acre.
He had been trying to break 80.  
Brewer, who farms southeast of The Dalles on Emerson Loop and Roberts Market Road, said his experimentation with canola, while not easy, has had its moments of success.
And this year is no exception with yields on his canola at 54 bushels per acre, his best showing yet, he said last Tuesday with just two days left of cutting.
He swung the combine around to the parked truck and augered the canola into the bed. They use a semi-truck to haul the seed to Warden, Wash., where it is processed by Viterra, the largest canola oil producer this side of the Rocky Mountains. They generally put out 39 million gallons a year.
Canola seed is bought in units of 100 pounds, which were fetching around $18. It can pay a bit better than soft white wheat, depending on production costs. 
With a high smoke point, the oil is versatile and light - good for frying, sauteing, baking, marinades, and even salads. 
And it packs a punch - 124 calories per tablespoon. A 40 oz. jug at $3.50 will get you close to 10,000 calories. Take that McDonalds. 
Brewer said the crop also had several other merits such as providing food and cover for wildlife. He stirred up 10 bucks recently who were using the crop to shield the sun. Chucker, pheasant and coyotes are also apt to lie under its canopy.
The raw seed, which is the size of a ballpoint , has a light flavor and after chewing several a hint of cauliflower emerges. 
Brewer grows a non-GMO variety called Mercedes. The rotation helps him change up his herbicide applications, noting he could omit Roundup in fields of canola. Diversifying herbicide applications is a good practice to prevent weeds from eventually becoming immune to them.  
On the other hand, Brewer said canola is a bit more finicky, requiring two applications of fertilizer as well as herbicide before it can be cut. And cutting it takes a special header and patience. That additional cost for fuel and wear and tear on machinery eats into the profitability. 
But, he pointed out, the rotation has the ability to bring bigger crops of wheat and reduce cheat grass, a nice side effect.
Canola also saved some of his buildings. 
When wild fires raged through his area in 2018, he said the fire backed by heavy winds just trickled through cut canola stocks which were still green. It gave Brewer and his family time to react and protect their property.
So, David Brewer, what are you going to do when the canola is cut?
Eight hundred acres of soft white wheat, he said.

Ron Webber takes a sample of canola from the back of the truck on Tuesday.

A full canola pod is seen at right with the threshed out black seed from a broken pod to the left.