Aphanomyces levels in Alberta pea and lentil crops plummeted last year because of the drought, but growers still need to be careful planting peas and lentils in fields with a history of the disease. Robyne Bowness Davidson, pulse specialist at Lakeland College, said the only way to know how last year’s drought affected aphanomyces levels […] Read more
Tag Archives Drytimes — page 3
Soy slump delivers a dose of realism to proponents
Soybeans have faced a sobering slap down in Western Canada. From being lauded as the next Cinderella crop and projected by some to assume a core role in most farmers’ rotations, the crop has experienced a big slump. Rather than hitting three million acres in Manitoba, which many expected by now, the crop’s acreage has […] Read more
KAP meeting focuses on drought, supply chains
Getting through the drought and dealing with the supply chain woes of the late pandemic dominated addresses by government agriculture department and farm leaders at Keystone Agricultural Producers’ annual meeting Jan. 25. Long-term issues such as labour and climate change remain a focus for provincial and national players. “While we understand there is a need […] Read more
Effects of drought to linger for forage growers
Lower yields are likely to continue this year because many crops didn’t get a chance to establish due to dry conditions
The effects of this year’s drought won’t be fully felt by members of the Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development Commission until the next fiscal year, the group recently heard. But there are reasons to be hopeful of the state of the industry. “All of us in the business of farming know it was a tough year,” […] Read more
Grain contract issues show system’s flaws
Contracts for agricultural production can provide stability to farmers’ incomes and buyers’ supplies, but farmers bear the main burdens of deal uncertainty. Ironically, contracts are supposed to mitigate farmers’ risk. Grain contracts have been around for decades. Some farmers began using them after the Canadian Wheat Board ended. Others got on board later, when commodity […] Read more
New APAS president sets sights on ag policy, drought
Ian Boxall says the drought is far from over and producers, particularly those who raise livestock, will be in tough shape without rain
Tisdale, Sask.-area farmer Ian Boxall was elected president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan last week. He takes the helm from Todd Lewis of Gray, who was president for six years. The new executive also includes vice-presidents Bill Prybylski of Willowbrook and Scott Owens from Maidstone. Boxall operates a grain and oilseeds farm north […] Read more
Drought leaves nutrients high and dry
Crops took some, soil took some and weather took some, but the true measure of what remains is challenging to assess
High levels of residual nutrients might be available in many prairie fields going into the 2022 growing season because of the drought last summer. Fertilizer expert Rigas Karamanos said inadequate water last summer caused reduced nutrient uptake of applied fertilizer by crops over wide swaths of the prairie provinces. “There is tremendous amount of residual […] Read more
Canadian farmers face cattle feed shortage due to drought, transport strains
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Canadian farmers say they are just days away from running out of feed for cattle, due to severe drought last summer damaging crops needed to fatten them over winter and transportation bottlenecks. The drought devastated Prairie pastures and has now forced feedlots in Alberta, the main cattle-producing province, to […] Read more
Producers demand contract legislation
Saskatchewan crop commissions have passed a resolution calling on the federal government to ensure future grain contracts fairly treat farmers. The resolution that made the rounds at the 2022 annual general meetings calls for delivery contracts to be rolled forward to the next year or terminated without administration fees when a crop failure is not […] Read more
Drought eases but long-term outlook unclear
Snow that has fallen this winter has alleviated some concerns, but problems remain in west-central Sask. and central Alta.
As of Jan. 15, Brandon had 20 to 40 centimetres of snow on the ground. The range is large; one Environment Canada weather station reported 19 cm of snow, while another reported 40 cm. Assuming the actual amount is somewhere in the middle, a 30 cm snowpack should help Manitoba farmers, who suffered through a […] Read more
