Our annual canola survey
is my favourite part of the summer! As a life-long resident of Alberta, I love
visiting fields across the Peace River region, especially areas in Alberta and
British Columbia that I would not regularly go. As someone who loves to spend
time outdoors during the summer, I really enjoy the long canola survey days
spent sweeping the Peace. You will sometimes see us out surveying as late as 10
PM and making the most of the extra daylight hours we get in the summer!
Figure 1. Maddy
sweeping a canola field near Deadwood, AB during the 2022 Canola Survey. Photo credit: Shelby Dufton-AAFC Beaverlodge.
During the survey, we
travel across the entire Peace River region which is an enormous area! Our
survey covers 260 km from east to west and 400 km north to south. Last year during
our annual canola survey, I travelled 5 hours north to High Level which is the
furthest north in Alberta that I have ever been. On this trip, I was able to
take the La Crete ferry which was one of my favourite days of canola survey. We
use the La Crete ferry as well as the Shaftesbury ferry to access some of the
more remote canola fields in the Peace River region.
Our annual canola survey
is an excellent learning experience for students. It provides valuable
information on pest insect populations1, 2, species diversity, and beneficial insects
throughout the region. This
year, I am looking forward to another successful canola survey with the help of
the generous farmers that have agreed to allow us to enter their fields. If you
would like to be a part of our survey more information can be found here!
Author: Madysen Jones