Late season moisture has been a frustration for canola producers trying to harvest, although Canola Council of Canada agronomy specialist Angela Brackenreed says recent rains will have less of an affect on quality and yields than it did earlier in the season.

Brackenreed says some producers have had questions on how to handle the wet fields in terms of straight-cutting versus swathing, though she says unfortunately they don't have a solid answer to this.

"It kind of takes a little bit of trial and error -- hopefully without getting significantly stuck," she says.

Wet and humid conditions may also delay the dry-down of stock material, which could make straight-cutting a slower operation. She says crops need to be addressed on a field-by-field basis, though she suggests cutting as high as possible when straight cutting.

"Unfortunately from what I've seen and from my own experience this year, that hasn't necessarily been possible in all situations because a lot of the canola is lodging and leaning over so badly. It has meant you need to cut fairly low to get as many of the pods as possible," Brackenreed says, "so it has just mean being patient, and unfortunately just slowing down that operation."

From what she's heard, Brackenreed says there seems to have been an increase in straight cutting in the south central area of the province.