Winter wheat seed might be in short supply this year so farmers planning that crop are advised to find supplies now.
“I think demand is going to be high because of all the unseeded acres,” said Agriculture Canada winter wheat researcher Brian Beres.
“Anybody thinking of planting winter wheat should be organizing their seed purchase now.”
Wet spring weather across much of the Prairies reduced winter wheat acreage. Because last year was also a wet year with many unseeded acres, those who plant winter wheat this fall will likely be sourcing 2011 seed, potentially harvested just a few weeks before it is planted again.
“I think a big factor is going to be how much of that winter wheat that was planted last fall is successfully harvested and turned around, because that’s where a lot of the seed is going to be sourced from,” said Beres.
Winter wheat is ideally seeded in the first two weeks of September, although in some regions seeding can be done into October.
Paul Thoroughgood, regional agrologist for Ducks Unlimited and a Moose Jaw area farmer, is also concerned about winter wheat seed supply.
“There is a huge supply issue right now,” he said while on a crop tour July 21. “The old crop seed in Saskatchewan was gone by the Farm Progress Show,” he said, referring to the June 15-17 event in Regina.
Harvesting of new crop seed might occur later than the optimal seeding date for this fall’s winter wheat, he said, so it will be important for farmers to find a source for seed as soon as possible.
