Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta experienced another week of favourable weather which further enhanced soil drying. Temperatures were generally above average and although showers were prevalent late in the reporting period, amounts were small. Saturated soils throughout the North East, North West and Peace regions continue to hamper field operations. Seeding is underway in all regions. Seeding progress has […] Read more
Seeding underway in all regions, good progress on 2016 crops
Alberta crop conditions as of May 9
Prairie feed wheat, barley at seasonal highs
CNS Canada –– Feed barley and feed wheat appear to be settling into some seasonal highs, according to a market-watcher in Alberta. “Whether it goes up much more remains to be seen,” said Jim Beusekom of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge. “Between Easter and May long weekend, we’re probably at a high.” High vomitoxin (10 […] Read more
Cool temps make for a slow start to seeding in Alberta
Alberta crop conditions as of May 2
Reading Time: < 1 minute Seeding is off to a slow start due to the cool April temperatures experienced throughout the province. In the South, soils have been slow to warm while in the remainder of the province, the cool temperatures slowed the dry down of already saturated soils caused by the wet conditions experienced last fall. Currently, six per […] Read more
Prairie seeding off to ‘shaky start’
CNS Canada — Western Canada will likely see some favourable seeding conditions in the short term, one meteorologist says, though wet pockets in some areas need longer to dry out. “We are getting off to a little bit of a shaky start in some spots, but it looks like the weather pattern is going to […] Read more
Broadcast seeding: A last-resort option may gain traction this season
It’s far from ideal, but broadcasting may be the only choice for some this seeding season
Reading Time: 3 minutes All winter, many Albertan crop producers have had the distinct displeasure of driving past acres — in some cases, the many acres — they were unable to harvest last fall. In a best-case scenario, there will be enough time to harvest any redeemable crop, manage residue, and still seed in a timely fashion. But some […] Read more
Seed will be available for late planting, say marketers
But popular varieties will be in short supply, and germination and fusarium are going to be key issues
Reading Time: 3 minutes Nearly a million acres of unharvested crops to deal with means late seeding will be common this year. But will there be enough seed to meet the demand? Yes, say marketing reps, but farmers need to act quickly and keep their expectations realistic. “This spring, more than ever, timing is going to be of the […] Read more
Here are some options for late-spring seeding this year
Crop specialist Harry Brook says it’s worth taking a look at Polish canola, and checking historical frost dates for your area
Reading Time: 3 minutes Seeding in late spring is fraught with variables beyond producers’ control, but there are some things they can do to hedge their bets, says a provincial crop specialist. Most come down to plant and variety selection, and canola in particular features some strong options, said Harry Brook. “There are varieties out there that do fairly […] Read more
Lack of maintenance could bite you hard this seeding season
Breakdowns hurt even more during a narrow seeding window — here’s some advice on last-minute servicing
Reading Time: 4 minutes Efficiency is likely to be more important this seeding season than ever for many Alberta farmers. To squeeze as many acres into the tight seeding window as possible, the temptation is to jack up travel speed and many wonder if they should invest in higher-tech equipment. Those farmers will be looking in the wrong direction […] Read more
Plant 2017: It’s all about making the best of a bad situation
It was never going to be good, but crop specialists say this seeding season may not be as bad as feared
Reading Time: 3 minutes To say that last year’s harvest season in Alberta was unusual would be putting it mildly. The exceptionally wet fall resulted in 967,569 unharvested acres reported to Agricultural Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) this past winter, representing millions of dollars in seed and inputs that have yet to be recouped. So the big question this spring […] Read more
Deciding on cover crop blends
Figuring out what to use in a cover crop blend can be an intimidating process. What species to use? What seeding rate? When should they be seeded? All would influence how the blend would look, work, and the success of it. There is some science involved, but making it work is as much art as[...]
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