Canola, mustard and canary seed are often the same size and weight as the weed seeds in them, so screens alone cannot tell them apart. Vistasort configures specialty crop cleaning equipment around shape, density and fine-tolerance screening, plus dehulling where your market needs it, and tests your sample before you buy.
Not sure what you need? Build your specialty crop line in 10 seconds ↓
Pick your crop and tap what you need to fix. We will lay out the machines in the order your seed runs through them, with a link to each one.
Cleaning something else? Search all equipment by crop or problem.
A typical canola line: aspirator, air screen cleaner with fine wire mesh, gravity separator, spiral separator and VistaSort optical color sorter. Pick what you need to fix to fine-tune it.
Canola, mustard, flax, sunflower and canary seed do not clean the way cereals or pulses do. Most are small enough that a screen sized for wheat or lentils would let the crop fall straight through with the waste. Weed seeds are often the same size and weight as the crop, so screening and even gravity separation can miss them. Shape is often the only difference left to separate on.
That is where specialty crop cleaning equipment differs from a standard line: fine wire mesh screens tuned to very small seed, a spiral separator for shape-based separation and, for sunflower, hemp and a few other crops, a dehulling step that cereals and pulses do not need.
Vistasort has configured specialty crop lines for Canadian processors since 1986, anchored by the LMC Marc gravity separator and LMC Roca destoner, with more than 100 LMC gravity separators running across Western Canada.
A complete line of specialty crop cleaning equipment is built from these machines, listed in the order seed moves through them. Not every crop needs every machine: see the crop table below or use the line builder above.
Pulls ferrous metal out before it damages machines or product.
View → Pre-cleaningRemoves dust, chaff and light material before screening.
View → Primary cleaningClipper primary separation with fine wire mesh screens sized to very small seed.
View → SecondaryRemoves stones and heavy material by density.
View → SecondaryLength separation for foreign seed that is longer or shorter than the crop.
View → SecondaryRemoves light, immature and damaged seed by density.
View → ShapeSeparates round seed from flat or irregular material of the same size.
View → ProcessingCodema VSH-2096 dehulling for sunflower, hemp and more.
View → Final sortRejects discolored and off-type seed by color, one seed at a time.
View → Between stagesGentle handling between machines without seed damage.
View →Swipe to see all 10 machines →
Screens separate by size and gravity separators by density. Neither can reliably pull flat, broken or irregular material out of round canola or mustard when it is the same size and weight. The spiral separator works on shape: round seed rolls faster down the spiral and is carried to the outside, while flat or irregular material slides along the inside, so the two leave at different outlets.
It comes in open spiral and rotary spiral versions, in galvanized or stainless steel, with up to 14 flight designs, and it is the machine on this page with no real equivalent in a cereal or pulse line.
Each specialty crop shares the same core equipment but needs different configuration decisions. Here is the usual path for each. Seed size varies by variety and harvest year, so ask us for exact screen specs.
| Crop | Goal | Key challenges | Equipment path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canola | Remove fine weed seeds; scalp pods and stems | Very small round seed; fine wire mesh needed | |
| Mustard | Remove foreign material from small round seed | Similar in size to weed seeds; off-color seed | |
| Flax | Clean seed for crushing, food or planting | Weed seeds, chaff and light seed | |
| Sunflower | Scalp large debris; food-grade kernels | Long seed needs oblong screens; dehulling for kernels | |
| Canary Seed | Foreign material removal; keep a tiny seed | Very small seed; weed seeds in the same size range | |
| Hemp | Clean hemp hearts for food markets | Hulls, broken hearts and discolored pieces | |
| Quinoa | Food-grade purity | Stones, weed seeds, light and discolored seed | |
| Caraway and Spice Seeds | Precise separation of small seed | Chaff; foreign seed close in size |
Swipe to see all 8 crops →
Dark = the machines that make the biggest difference for that crop.
General guidance only. Screen sizes and grade tolerances vary by variety, harvest year and Canadian Grain Commission specifications. Contact Vistasort for crop-specific recommendations before ordering.
Five stages, not four. Lines of specialty crop cleaning equipment add a shape-based step that most cereal and pulse lines skip.
An aspirator removes light material and dust, and a magnet pulls metal before it reaches the line.
Fine wire mesh screens sized to the crop scalp oversize and remove undersize debris, which is critical when the crop itself is tiny.
A destoner removes heavy material and a gravity separator removes light, immature and damaged seed.
A spiral separator removes material the same size and density as the crop but a different shape.
Sunflower and hemp go through the impact huller when needed, then the VistaSort color sorter makes the final check.
The VistaSort optical color sorter sorts mustard, hemp hearts and quinoa, rejecting discolored, damaged and off-type seed. Models run from the VistaSort Mini through 12-chute, with 200+ systems installed worldwide.
Actual results from VistaSort optical color sorting runs on specialty crops in our Saskatoon lab. The rejects on the left are what the sorter removed; the accepts on the right are the clean product. Tap any photo to see it full size.
* Actual VistaSort lab results, tested in our Saskatoon, Saskatchewan lab. See more results on the color sorting page.
The contamination and grading problems that come up most often on specialty crop lines, and the specialty crop cleaning equipment that fixes each one.
When the crop and the weed seeds in it are nearly the same size and weight, screening and gravity separation alone are often not enough.
Round oilseeds roll differently from flat, broken or irregular material, a difference only a spiral separator can act on.
Some specialty crops need the hull removed before they are food-grade ready, a step most cereals and pulses do not need.
Specialty crops sold into export and food-grade markets are judged on visual purity as much as physical cleanliness. Off-color or foreign-colored material can downgrade an otherwise clean lot.
Swipe to see all 4 challenges →
Anyone can sell you a gravity separator. Configuring a specialty crop line that actually makes your grade takes knowing when screening alone will work, when shape is the only difference left, and when a crop needs dehulling on top of cleaning.
Vistasort has been Western Canada's official LMC supplier for over 40 years, including the Marc gravity separator and Roca destoner that anchor most specialty crop lines. Steven Chivilo holds a Master's Certificate in Grain Operations Management from Kansas State University and is PMP certified. Chris Hammel has spent 40 years configuring seed and grain cleaning lines across Western Canada.
Ship us a sample of the canola, mustard, flax, sunflower, canary seed or hemp you are cleaning. We will show you what properly configured specialty crop cleaning equipment removes, with no obligation to buy.
Local 306-242-9292 | info@vistasort.com
