In an attempt to spray a wet field, a Saskatchewan grower unfortunately got stuck.
Sprayer gets stuck in Saskatchewan.
To fix the situation, a track hoe was brought to pull the sprayer out. Without much success, it was decided to wait until the following day to try again. The next morning, ready to resume their efforts, this is what was found…
The morning after...
Sunk.
Tags: Saskatchewan, Sprayer
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
The long-anticipated Statistics Canada report on field crop production that came out on Friday has a lot of questionable numbers. As expected, there’s a big increase in Saskatchewan’s summerfallow acres due to all the land too wet to seed. Stat Can pegs summerfallow at 9.67 million acres, an increase of 5.5 million acres from last year. However, the provincial government has estimated 8 million acres were too wet to seed. On top of that, millions of acres that were seeded have been flooded out. When you compare the Stat Can estimates of seeded acres versus harvested acres, it’s tough to see where all this flooded land has gone. I also think some of the yield estimates are out to lunch. For instance, the Saskatchewan lentil yield is estimated at 1400 pounds an acre. Looking back at data all the way to 1998, that’s the highest lentil yield in all those years. I have a tough time buying that. While big yields are estimated on lentils as well as mustard and canaryseed, yield estimates are down substantially from last year in oats, barley, canola and wheat. After surveying 4,800 Saskatchewan farmers, Stat Can should have accurate production estimates, but I’m not convinced. 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, barley, Canaryseed, Canola, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fertilizers, field crop production, financial solutions, lentil, Mustard, oats, precision agronomics, production estimates, Saskatchewan, soil fertility, Statistics Canada, summerfallow, Variable Rate Technology, wheat
Saskatchewan’s lentil crop is in big trouble. With about three million acres seeded, an average crop of lentils at prevailing prices should be worth three quarters of a billion dollars. With the weather conditions we’ve been having, there will be heavy losses. Recent heavy rains are flattening the crop canopy and in many cases, the plants are laying in the mud rotting from the bottom up. Most of the production occurs on the bottom pods and those are the ones most likely to degrade. If the weather turns dry and if there’s some heat, it will help preserve quality and quantity. If we continue to get rain and clouds, it’s going to be an ugly harvest. Already there are many producers looking at a salvage operation rather than a bountiful harvest. It’s a big production region and there are still many areas where the crop has good potential, but these are anxious times for lentil producers everywhere. Lentils aren’t the only crop in trouble, just the one in the forefront at the moment. The recent cool, wet weather has slowed crop maturation and many crops in many regions are at a huge frost risk. 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: ag products, ag services, agricultural products, agricultural services, crop canopy, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, harvest, heavy rains, lentil, lentil crop, lentil producers, precision agronomics, Saskatchewan, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology
The rain over the past week was not on the wish list for most farmers. As crops ripen, rain is going to become less and less welcome. Much of the Prairie grain belt has seen record high precipitation this growing season. The weather problems in Russia and Ukraine are the complete opposite of what we’re facing. Last Friday, I received an email from Al Hingston, a livestock consultant from Saskatchewan who is living in Ukraine. He reports that they’ve had temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s for several weeks now, occasionally accompanied by high winds. The corn fields have been blasted and look almost like dead ripe barley – pale yellow white. The sunflowers have finished flowering and the heads are hanging. Hingston wonders how the seeds will fill without rain. He reports that the winter crops have come off not bad, but he says the summer crops are going to take a terrible hit, at least in his Oblast. Reports indicate the hot, dry conditions there are widespread. Meanwhile, the problems of both Western Canada and the former Soviet Union pale in comparison to what people in Pakistan are facing. 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: ag products, ag services, agricultural products, agricultural services, corn fields, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, Pakistan, Prairie grain belt, precision ag, precision agronomics, record high precipitation, Russia, Saskatchewan, soil fertility, Soviet Union, sunflowers, Ukraine, Variable Rate Technology, western canada, winter crops
Saskatchewan crops are later than normal and frost remains a huge threat. However, the earliest seeded crops – crops that were in the ground before the end of April - aren’t very far away from harvest. Over the past couple weeks there has been a marked change in their maturity. I haven’t seen any combines rolling on field peas, but I’ve seen quite a few fields that should be only a week or two away. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are peas being harvested somewhere. The same goes for winter cereals. And there are some marvelous winter wheat crops around. There are also some early seeded canola fields that look absolutely excellent and a few of those are starting to change colour. I have heard of some canola being swathed. I have also heard reports of lentils that will soon be desiccated. However, the lentils I’ve seen in my travels are mostly still very green with only an occasional patch that’s starting to ripen. For the vast maturity of producers in Saskatchewan, any harvest activity is still weeks away, but on early crops in the southern grain belt, harvest is beginning. 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: ag products, ag services, agricultural products, agriculutral services, Canola, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, harvest, lentils, peas, precision ag, precision agronomics, Saskatchewan, soil fertility, southern grain belt, Variable Rate Technology, winter cereals, winter wheat
Most years, there’s a wide variation in Saskatchewan fields. Seldom is it as extreme as this year. In many cases, the millions of acres of unseeded and flooded land is a mess. It was too wet for good weed control early in the season. It’s common to see waist-high weeds that are drying down from a herbicide application with the telltale ruts from the sprayer tires filled with water. In some cases, as the land dries, producers are resorting to tillage to break down the weed residue and fill in the ruts. While some of the crops in the wet zones are stunted and spindly, there are also some good crops, although many of them are two or three weeks late. On the western side of the province where the flooding wasn’t as serious, there are some absolutely excellent crops. If hail and frost stay away, there will be producers who harvest their biggest crop ever. Contrast that with producers who didn’t get a single acre seeded and you get an idea of the tremendous range in fortunes across the province. 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: ag products, ag services, agricultural products, agricultural services, crop protection, crops, custom application, Dynagra, Fertilizer, finance solutions, herbicide, herbicide application, precision ag, precision agronomics, Saskatchewan, soil fertility, tillage, Variable Rate Technology, VRT, weed control, weed residue, weeds
Tags: precipitation, Saskatchewan
This spring marks one of the wettest springs ever for Western Canadian farmers. Around 30% of north eastern Saskatchewan (1 million acres) that is intended to be planted with canola, wheat and barley could go unplanted this spring. Dennis Haw (Business Development Lead at DynAgra) sent me an email this morning stating the following:
“When we flew into Regina last night it was clear and from the air all you could see was water flooded fields and only about 5% of the fields were green and the rest wasn’t touched.”
One million acres not being seeded has a huge impact on the agricultural sector in Saskatchewan. Most of the growers in that area would have already prebought their crop inputs, made equipment payments and paid rent for their land and incurred a number of other costs; to not have any revenue or cash flow from that land will be a hard one to swallow.
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, barley, Canola, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, precision agronomics, Saskatchewan, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology, Western Canadian farmers, wheat
April and May have seen an unprecedented amount of rain over most of Saskatchewan and there’s more rain falling. Precipitation maps compiled by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada show most of the grainbelt has already had more than two times normal precipitation this spring. Much of central Saskatchewan is at a record high. Only the southeast corner of the province is about normal for springtime precip. Everywhere else is above. The area of heaviest precipitation is within the borders of Saskatchewan. The amounts taper off as you move into Alberta and Manitoba. In this week’s crop report, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture is rating topsoil moisture on cropland as 54 per cent adequate and 46 per cent surplus. The surplus rating will rise as the rain continues to fall. The delayed seeding will no doubt cause some alterations in seeding intentions. There may be fewer lentil acres go in the ground and durum acreage could fall even further. On the other side of the coin, it’s reasonable to now expect more barley acres as well as more canola. It will take a while to get a handle on the magnitude of any acreage shifts. 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: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, barley, Canola, crop protection, custom application, durum, Dynagra, fertilizers, financial solutions, lentils, precision agronomics, rain, Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology
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