Canada East: Combine header modification and losses during direct harvest

Straight combining canola can save a lot of time during harvest, reduce green seed, and increase seed oil content but can also expose canola to increased pre-harvest and harvest shatter losses. In Ontario several farmers have experimented with modifying a traditional grain head to reduce header losses when straight combining canola. To evaluate the benefit of a head modified for canola, a field trial was conducted in a commercial field during 2012 to evaluate header losses from 3 types of headers. The initial results from the field trial look encouraging.