Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta’s weird winter weather conditions didn’t seem to wreck winter wheat crops across the province, says a local winter wheat agronomist. “From our spring assessment, the majority of the fields has very little damage, even with the unusual winter conditions we experienced across the Prairies,” said Janine Paly of Ducks Unlimited Canada. The Ducks Unlimited […] Read more
Winter wheat weathered Alberta’s wacky winter
Itching to check your winter wheat crop? Wait until spring seeding to give it time to recover, says Janine Paly
Stripe rust update for southern and central Alberta
Reading Time: < 1 minute Stripe rust continues to be reported in southern and central Alberta. Eric Amundsen at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge surveyed winter wheat fields for stripe rust last week and reported finding the disease in five of 12 fields (two in Cardston County, one field in each of Lethbridge County, County of Warner and M.D. […] Read more
Winter wheat stripe rust update
Four Alberta counties reporting, fungicide applications may be necessary in some cases
Reading Time: < 1 minute Stripe rust on winter wheat has now been reported in the following counties: Cardston, Lethbridge, Lacombe, and Warner. Additionally, there was a report of potential stripe rust in the Edmonton area and there is some evidence that stripe rust overwintered in Alberta again this year. Frequent scouting of winter wheat fields across the province is […] Read more
State of Prairie winter wheat still unknown
CNS Canada — Snow cover is rapidly disappearing across Western Canada, but it will still be a few weeks until the extent of any damage to winter wheat across the Prairies is fully known. “It’s still wait-and-see,” said analyst Bruce Burnett of Winnipeg grain firm CWB. The crop won’t start re-growing until the overnight temperatures […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat rises to one-week high on dry U.S. Plains
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose 1.2 per cent to a one-week high on Wednesday, extending four-day gains to nearly four per cent on short-covering and concerns about dry weather in U.S. growing regions. Corn and soybeans also firmed, although renewed strength in the dollar capped rallies. At the Chicago Board of Trade, […] Read more
Arctic blast hits U.S. Midwest, some wheat at risk of winterkill
Chicago | Reuters –– An arctic blast hitting the heart of the U.S. Midwest soft red winter wheat belt this week will put 10 to 15 per cent of the dormant crop at risk of winterkill damage, agricultural meteorologists said Tuesday. While most of the northern Midwest wheat crop is protected by snow from frigid […] Read more
Winter wheat uptake low despite big efforts to convince producers
The Western Winter Wheat Initiative wants to boost seeding to two million acres — but 2014 plantings were just a third of that
Reading Time: 3 minutes The goal is ambitious — convince Prairie farmers to plant two million acres of winter wheat by 2019 — but the backers of the Western Winter Wheat Initiative admit they have a steep hill to climb. Even though winter wheat yields were 32 per cent better than those for spring wheat in 2012 and offered […] Read more
Mild weather poses risks for Prairie winter wheat
CNS Canada — Milder-than-normal temperatures across Western Canada over the past week could raise some issues for its winter wheat crops, though snow cover and conditions through the rest of the winter will also be important. “It’s not ideal conditions for winter wheat, and I’d anticipate that we’d see some damage,” said CWB analyst Bruce […] Read more
South sees overwintering stripe rust
Early-seeded winter wheat appears to be more susceptible even when resistant varieties are used
Reading Time: 2 minutes Researchers are continuing to monitor plots and a few fields for stripe rust survival throughout the winter and early spring. Evidence of overwintering stripe rust was found last year in central Alberta, and Agriculture Canada researcher Denis Gaudet has extended his stripe rust survey this winter to include some evaluations in southern Alberta. Eight winter […] Read more
Arctic air surge puts U.S. SRW wheat at risk of winterkill
Chicago | Reuters — An arctic blast hitting the U.S. Midwest this week will put a third of the dormant soft red winter (SRW) wheat crop at risk of damage, agricultural meteorologists said Monday. “It looks like extensive sub-zero temperatures on Wednesday night in the soft wheat belt will leave one-third of the belt at […] Read more