Crop Management
MANITOBA SOUTHWEST Wet conditions hurt development Many crops are suffering from soggy conditions in the region. Crops are yellowing and showing signs of nutrient deficiency. Crops broadcasted onto wet fields are beginning to establish. Pasture is exceptionally wet, and standing water is hindering growth. Higher pasture land is in good condition. Hay crops look promising, […] Read more
Crop Management
Western Producer Crop Report – for Jul. 7, 2011
Sprouting business resists expansion
Mumm’s Sprouting Seeds has come a long way from the kitchen table of a small family farm. Jim and Maggie Mumm started an organic farm near Shellbrook, Sask., in 1972. They raised livestock and devoted a few acres to crops, including alfalfa. Over time, the Mumms found demand for their alfalfa seeds growing, primarily among […] Read more
New barley classification aimed at higher food sales
The Canadian Grain Commission could soon change the way it classifies Canadian barley. It is assessing a plan to replace Canada’s existing hulless barley class with a new food barley classification. The new class, if approved, would include hulled and hulless barley varieties that are suitable for milling, pearling and other food-related uses. Terry Young, […] Read more
Western Producer Crop Report – for Jun. 30, 2011
MANITOBA SOUTHWEST Seeding after June 20 A few days of warm weather may have allowed a few producers in the region to seed a crop after the June 20 insurance deadline. However, less than 30 percent of cropland has been seeded this year south of the Trans-Canada Highway. Producers are spraying cereal crops for weeds […] Read more
G20 countries to share crop information
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said agreements reached during European meetings last week on research investment and creation of ways to control volatile food prices will help Canadian farmers. In Paris at the first agriculture ministerial meeting of the G20 global group June 23, ministers agreed to create an information network that will inform members […] Read more
Crop insurance workers return
Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. reached a tentative agreement with its workers last week after a short strike. The 470 Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union members walked off the job June 21. They settled three days later for a 5.5 percent wage increase over three years plus .25 percent in the third year, as well […] Read more
Stripe rust batters Alberta winter wheat
Stripe rust could wipe out thousands of acres of winter wheat across southern Alberta and Saskatchewan if farmers fail to monitor their fields closely, said a plant pathologist. Denis Gaudet, an Agriculture Canada research pathologist, said the fast-moving disease has reached epidemic proportions in southern Alberta on winter wheat fields and could move to susceptible […] Read more
Harvesting volunteer canola not recommended
Thousands of prairie fields are a mess this year. They haven’t been seeded and are too wet to be sprayed or worked. But some farmers might be looking at yellow fields of volunteer canola and wondering if there’s a golden lining to this production cloud: why not let the volunteer crop grow and then harvest […] Read more
Unseeded area estimates grow
Farm groups in Saskatchewan and Manitoba think there will be more unseeded acres than the Canadian Wheat Board is forecasting. The board released an estimate June 14 of 6.5 million unplanted acres in the two provinces, down from 10 million acres last year. It said the number could be as low as six million or […] Read more
Little seeding expected after insurance deadline
As last week’s crop insurance deadlines passed, many farmers tied up their last frantic seeding efforts. And while some have and might attempt post-deadline seeding, most have put their fields into next year country. “I think it’s (a situation of ) clean it up and get it ready for next year and get on with […] Read more
