Reading Time: 3 minutes Between drought and the soaring price of fertilizer, you might want to manage your grain farm a little differently this year. “In a dry year, there will be reduced crop growth and reduced nutrient uptake,” soil scientist Rigas Karamanos said at Agronomy Update earlier this month. “We had plenty of heat, but not moisture. Consequently, […] Read more
When it’s this pricey, handle fertilizer with care
Do a soil test, and realize what has happened to your nutrients after the drought, says expert
Premium discount for crop insurance being axed following record payout
After paying out $1.5 billion for crop losses last year, insurer says 20 per cent reduction won’t continue
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta’s crop insurer will pay out a record amount in claims — and that means the 20 per cent premium discount is being scrapped. Eleven months ago, Agriculture Financial Services Corporation announced it was not only cutting premiums by one-fifth, but would keep the discount for five years barring a “significant wreck.” But that’s exactly […] Read more
Drought assistance deadline is Jan. 31
Reading Time: < 1 minute Phase 2 of the emergency drought relief program for livestock producers is now taking applications — but only until Jan. 31. Producers hit by drought were eligible for a payment of $94 per breeding cow in the first round. In the second phase, they can get an additional payment for extraordinary feed costs (to a […] Read more
Manitoba names new ag minister in shuffle
Derek Johnson replaces Ralph Eichler
Another MLA from Manitoba’s Interlake region has been named to handle the province’s farm file in Premier Heather Stefanson’s latest cabinet shuffle and portfolio restructuring. Stefanson, who replaced Brian Pallister as premier in November, on Tuesday named Interlake-Gimli MLA Derek Johnson as minister of agriculture, replacing Lakeside MLA Ralph Eichler, who has been dropped from […] Read more
Seed quality appears to be better than expected despite heat, drought
Germination rates from fall tests by 20/20 Seed Labs were well above the 90 per cent rate
Reading Time: 2 minutes A “seed quality disaster” has been averted but supply is another story. “For most of the seeds that we tested this season, we expected to see some level of dormancy, but we haven’t seen much of that,” Moses Palmer of 20/20 Seed Labs wrote in an article on Alberta Seed Guide’s website last month. “Mostly, […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Despite declines, signs point to increases for canola
MarketsFarm — Although old-crop canola was falling back midway through the week of Jan. 10, analyst David Derwin of PI Financial in Winnipeg said the oilseed should “grind higher” in weeks to come. “The fundamentals haven’t changed at all — they’re not going to get more canola out of the ground until the fall,” he […] Read more
Gross revenue tally provides ‘interesting’ take on drought impact
If you had average yields and captured high fall prices, your per-acre revenue might have gone up
Reading Time: 2 minutes It won’t be of any comfort for those who had a wreck this year, but high prices mean gross revenue for most crops may have been as good or better for some compared to last year, according to a provincial market analyst. “Using the average yields and prices, there is a significant offset of the […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: South American dryness main source of support
MarketsFarm — After corn and the soy complex on the Chicago Board of Trade shot up on Tuesday following the fats and oils as well as the crushing reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), one trader said he isn’t expecting any surprises to come out of USDA’s supply and demand estimates or grain […] Read more
Drought may have set up weeds nicely for 2022
And while disease levels dropped last year, they could easily come roaring back in 2022
Reading Time: 4 minutes This summer’s hot, dry conditions made weeds harder to manage this year — and that’s not good news for next year. “This year, precipitation was one of the biggest driving factors for what we saw showing up in fields,” said federal research scientist Charles Geddes. “We ended up seeing a lot more flushes of weeds […] Read more
In very difficult times, individuals and governments stepped up
Hay West lifted people’s spirits and the fast rollout of emergency aid prevented a much bigger cull
Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s no sugar-coating it — 2021 was a tough year. “The one thing you know when you’re an agricultural producer is the weather is the No. 1 thing,” said Bob Lowe, owner of Bear Trap Feeders in Nanton and president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. “We’re probably all familiar with droughts, it’s just the size […] Read more
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