It’s a waiting game for farmers who seeded their land to grass this year.
While drought conditions might suggest little hope, Saskatchewan’s provincial forage specialist says it will be months before producers will know if the grass became established.
“You really can’t pass judgment until next spring,” Michel Tremblay said.
There may not have been enough precipitation for the seed to germinate, but the dormant seed may be able to take advantage of winter precipitation, he said.
In some cases, emergence was patchy and some reseeding will be required.
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Sometimes a crop looks fine in the fall, but dies the next spring because it wasn’t well enough established before winter.
Tremblay said that unless producers clearly saw seedlings germinate and die this year, there is a chance they will have grass next spring.
“I’ve seen some fields that looked pretty tatty that turned out OK.”
Crested wheatgrass, alfalfas and other grasses with good establishment characteristics should do well even during drought.
“Very few forage species that are commonly seeded in Saskatchewan will simply dry out due to drought,” he said.
Saskatchewan crop insurance offers a forage establishment benefit.
Tremblay added that some producers decided it was too risky to plant forage this year and returned their seed.
Among those who did seed are more than 9,000 farmers who took advantage of a government program offering $15 per acre to seed between five and 50 acres to perennial cover.
Government statistics show more than 350,000 acres were converted under the program. As well, producers planted another 100,400 acres that weren’t eligible for a payment.
Because the province expected only 6,500 producers to participate, the program will cost $1.5 million more than the planned $5 million.
Agriculture minister Clay Serby said money will be taken from other areas of his department’s budget. He said this won’t affect the amount available for the remaining three years of the $26 million program.
He has talked about expanding the program and putting in more money if it was successful.
Last week, he said the federal government has shown an interest in expanding the program. He said Ottawa would at least match the amount Regina is spending, given the federal government’s interest in green programs.
“The federal government is keen about growing the cover program in Canada and in Saskatchewan, for sure,” Serby said. “That would accentuate the speed at which we can convert some of our land and support our livestock industry.”
