With the growing season drawing to a close, the accumulated precipitation maps tell an amazing tale. Since April 1, there has been a record high amount of precipitation over about 40 per cent of the Saskatchewan grain belt. This record spills over into the east central region of Alberta and some northern parts of the Manitoba grain belt, but the majority of the record high area is in Saskatchewan. According to the maps published by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the entire Saskatchewan grain belt has had above normal growing season precip. In the Prairies as a whole, the only area below normal is the Peace River region of Alberta. In fact, most of the Prairies have exceeded normal growing season precipitation by more than 120 mm, which is nearly five inches. The rainfall totals are incredible. Most parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba have received over 400 mm. That’s over 16 inches. Many areas are over 18 inches and some are over 20. The traditionally dry regions are happy about the recharge of ground and surface water. Areas that often suffer from too much rain are wondering when their sloughs and lakes will ever recede. To view precipitation maps, just Google “Drought Watch” and go to the current maps of the Prairie region. I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: accumulated precipitation, agricultural products, agricultural services, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, grain belt, Manitoba, precision agronomics, rainfall, Saskatchewan, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology
Cooler than normal with high humidity and a good chance of showers. That seems to be the forecast over the days ahead. For producers in most areas of the province, it isn’t what they want to hear. Recent warm weather has helped advance crop maturity, but we now seem to be in a cooler, wetter cycle. That’s problematic on a number of fronts. Some areas have received heavy rain that’s lodging crops and re-introducing excess water problems. Hailstorms have also been common. Beyond that, the longer crops hang green, the bigger the threat of frost. Everybody remembers 2004 when a huge chunk of the grain belt had a killing frost on August 20. Some field pea crops are nearing maturity and a few were being combined, but harvest is now delayed. Some lentil crops have been desiccated while others have been swathed. Crop quality is likely to deteriorate as the weather conditions prevent drying. Hopefully, this cool, damp spell will be short lived. Otherwise, it could be costly. I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: agricultural products, agricultural services, crop maturity, crop protection, custom application financial solutions, Dynagra, fertilizers, field pea, grain belt, lodging crops, precision agronomics, producers, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology
The first crop report of the season for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture includes estimates of which crops are going to increase in acreage and which crops are going to decrease. This is based on information from approximately 250 volunteer crop reporters. Durum acreage in the southern and central grain belt is expected to drop by 17 or 18 per cent. With the big carryover of durum and with terrible price prospects, I wouldn’t be surprised if durum acreage dropped even more than that. The crop report is calling for lentil acreage to be up 12 to 13 per cent in southern and central areas. Again, I think the magnitude of the change is being underestimated. Saskatchewan grew 2.3 million acres of lentils last year. A 13 per cent increase would only take the acreage to 2.6 million. Most analysts have been predicting 3.0 or 3.2 million acres and I wouldn’t be surprised if lentil acreage ends up at 3.5. For canola, the crop report is calling for a 10 per cent increase in the south, a seven per cent increase in central areas and a five per cent increase in the northern grain belt. Canola has more opportunity to increase in the south – the north is pretty much maxed out on already. Flax acres are expected to drop 7 to 8 per cent across the province. The best indication of seeding intentions will be the Statistics Canada report on April 26. I’m Kevin Hursh.
Tags: Canola, durum, grain belt, lentils, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Statistics Canada
August is quickly approaching and it will be a frost watch month. In the most frost prone regions of the Saskatchewan grain belt, the first frost is typically by the end of August. For other locations, the average is some time during the first week of September. Areas with the longest frost-free days don’t typically get frost until the second week of September. Over the years, there have been a number of widespread frost events in August that have caused substantial crop damage. Last year was a particularly open fall. Can we be lucky two years in a row? Crops remain behind normal development and a number of areas flirted with frost earlier this month. Frost in August would be ugly. Many people correlate frost events with the full moon. The next full moon is August 5. In September, the full moon comes on the 4th. People who have examined the full moon / frost correlation scientifically claim that there is no relationship. However, a lot of folks are convinced that the two are linked. Whether or not moon phases play a role, the fate of the 2009 crop hinges on how many frost free days we can accumulate. I’m Kevin Hursh.
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Kevin Hursh, PAg, CAC
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Tags: damage, frost, full moon, grain belt
It’s going to take awhile to figure out overall crop conditions following the weather of the past few days. There has been substantial precipitation in most southern regions of the grainbelt. Unfortunately, the moisture didn’t go very far north, largely missing the west central region of the province where soil conditions are the driest. Hay and pasture production is already doomed to be well below normal in this dry region and time is rapidly running out for grain, oilseed and specialty crops. Many parts of the northern grainbelt are also looking for rain. It’ll be interesting to see the accumulated moisture totals to determine exactly which areas received rain and which did not. The other factor is frost. Many areas dropped below freezing last week and frost hit again on the weekend. Frost in June is never good news. It’s getting late enough in the growing season that reseeding a damaged crop is not attractive. Plus, much of the frost damage seems to be in regions where the moisture is too short for establishing a new crop. The crop report from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday should help shed light on the recent events. I’m Kevin Hursh.
www.hursh.ca
Kevin Hursh, PAg, CAC
Tags: crop conditions, frost damage, grain belt, rain fall
