Forage and grain producers assess situation
Scorching hot and dry conditions are posing a significant threat to prairie crops and pastures.
“How many more days can we survive at 30 degrees?” said Andrew Clements of Agri-Trend.
Nevertheless, he said producers are readjusting their prospects as each rainless day goes by.
“In my area, I’d say we’re definitely looking at half the crop (from last year),” said Clements, whose region covers 150 sq. kilometers near Strathmore, Alta. “Even in areas with some moisture, we’re not going to have the 80 to 90 bushel CPS crops that we’ve had in the last few years. They’re probably going to be 40 to 50, maybe 60 bushels. It’s conjecture right now because we don’t know.”
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He said a large amount of acres was reseeded into canola because it did not germinate, and several farmers seeded barley to take it as greenfeed. That barley is now eight inches tall and has headed out.
Clements said the weather is playing havoc with crops.
“How many potential pods did we lose over the weekend with 32 degrees,” he said. “Anything that is flowering at this temperature is not going to make a pod.”
Clements said producers are also fighting much larger insect populations, which are ravenously feeding on canola.
“As an agronomist, I very rarely ever recommend insecticide, but when you’re so far over threshold levels, you can’t fail to recommend it.”
Cabbage seedpod weevils and lygus bugs are four times over the thresholds in several areas.
“There’s not much alfalfa for them to feed on so any field that’s yellow, they’re heading for,” he said.
“A lot of our guys are nowhere near 20 percent bloom and we have these huge numbers of insects.”
Eric Bach, who farms near Standard, Alta., said this summer’s conditions resemble the drought that hit the Prairies in the early 2000s. 13 millimetres of rain have fallen in his area since spring. He raises cattle and grows wheat, canola, barley and corn for silage.
Like other producers, he has already turned his cattle into the hayland, but is now considering more drastic measures.
“If we don’t get any appreciable moisture within the next 10 days, I’m going to strongly consider turning my cattle out on my cropland,” he said June 29.
His wheat has headed out at about one foot, he added.
“The heads are quite short. It has that sick blue colour to it that it gets when it’s starving for water.”
His canola has started to bloom and is very thin throughout the fields.
“You can see right through the canopy right to the ground,” he said.
Bach said winter feed supply is now on his mind.
“If we don’t get moisture, we’ll have to cut crop for winter feed supply because there is no dryland hay. I’m hearing stories of $250 a ton for hay right now ,and even with good cattle prices, I don’t think that’s going to be a viable option. The other option is to cut more cereal crops for feed, but it’s going to take a lot of acres.”
Rain is forecast later in the week for much of Alberta and into Saskatchewan.
“At this time, it looks like the pattern of widespread thunder storm activity, along with localized severe weather, will return to the province, following a warm, dry weekend,” said Ralph Wright, manager of Alberta Agriculture’s agro-meteorological applications and modelling section June 29.
