Morgan Nunweiler was surprised at how well the crops in west-central Saskatchewan were looking as he drove his last durum to the elevator June 28.
“We are a lot closer to normal than we thought we’d be a few weeks ago,” said Nunweiler, who farms in the Kindersley area.
“They’re looking pretty good now. We’re lucky.”
Doug Robertson of Carstairs, Alta., thought the same thing.
“Considering that a lot of people around here got started a couple of weeks late, things caught up pretty quick.”
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Crops across the Prairies look much better than most expected during the late, cold spring. Farmers who were grappling with late seeding earlier this year now find themselves doing most field activities not too far behind normal.
Saturated soil is the biggest problem because it is making it difficult for farmers to finish spraying. Excessive rain has drowned out patches of crop in some areas.
However, the crop that was seeded is not wildly different from what farmers intended to plant in April.
Statistics Canada’s seeded acreage report didn’t show a major shifting of the major crops.
Spring wheat acres are believed to be about 300,000 lower than farmers intended in the early spring, while canola acres are up about 600,000 acres.
Special crop acreage showed the biggest percentage shifts.
For example, Statistics Canada expects lentil acreage to increase by about 20 percent. However, it’s a small crop and the accuracy of the survey is lower, so many observers will reserve their judgment on those calls.
“I’d say lentils are definitely down from last year,” said Nunweiler, whose region grows a lot of the crop.
However, the overall prairie crop looks remarkably similar to what farmers wanted to plant, which is where the surprise lies.
“There were a lot of bets lost, and I lost one of them, that we wouldn’t be able to get into the field by the 20th of May,” said Nunweiler.
“Things got better a lot faster than I thought was possible.”
In Robertson’s area, farmers managed to get most of their acres in before heavy rain hit and a two-week delay ensued.
“There are essentially two crops out there, the main one and a late one.”
Robertson said normal weather in July will create a good crop in most areas, but the prime need now is for soil to dry.
Farmers are having trouble spraying, which is both a crop management problem and a problem for combines in the fall.
“You don’t see any fields without ruts,” said Robertson.
“It’s going to make for some interesting harvesting, that’s for sure.”
