Most farmers in the Weyburn area are feeling fortunate to have completed as much seeding as they have done, especially working around excess moisture conditions.
Most farmers in the Weyburn area are feeling fortunate to have completed as much seeding as they have done, especially working around excess moisture conditions. Glenn Walkeden, a Tribune area farmer, said, Those of us who are done seeding feel pretty lucky.Another three per cent of the 2010 crop was seeded into the ground, with approximately 76 per cent of the southeast region seeded. There are many farmers in the area who have completed seeding, or are moving forward with other operations with the amount of seeding they had been able to get into the ground.There is the odd field here is there that is only two-thirds done, or those unfortunate fields that were unable to get any crops in, and right now most farmers are moving ahead with their other operations, explained Walkeden. For many farmers this includes spraying, and farmers have been getting out to the field to finish as much as possible as the growth of weeds is an issue.The other thing farmers are doing are assessing the extent of flooding damage to crops, and keeping an eye on new policies to crop insurance and Agri-Stability. There are those who have a lot of drowned-out crops, but we do have some incoming programs that we will be able to apply to, said Walkeden.As for crop conditions themselves, the best results are being seen in winter wheat and fall rye, with 24 per cent and 63 per cent respectively reported as excellent. A lot of winter wheat and fall rye fully headed, and we are just waiting to start haying those crops, said Walkeden.For other crops: Spring wheat is rated as 39 per cent good and 35 per cent fair; durum at 30 per cent good and 44 per cent fair; oats at 41 per cent good and 37 per cent fair barley at 34 per cent good and 37 per cent fair; flax at 35 per cent good and 42 per cent fair; and canola is at 35 per cent good and 40 per cent fair.We have starting seeing a lot of the canola fields in our area flower, said Walkeden.The crops that are causing the most concern are those that are susceptible to moisture. Mustard is 34 per cent crop and 44 per cent fair; peas at 44 per cent good and 33 per cent good; lentils are 37 per cent good and 40 per cent fair; canaryseeds are 20 per cent good and 60 per cent fair; and chickpeas are 33 per cent good and 54 per cent fair.Crop development is variable because some crops were seeded early, while others were just seeded last week. Producers are trying to roll pulses when the weather co-operates. Others are planning to seed greenfeed or to plow down crops to use up some of the excess moisture in the fields. Both hay and pasture lands continue to look good.Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland are reported as 73 per cent surplus and 27 per cent adequate. On hay and pasture land, topsoil moisture is rated at 42 per cent surplus, 57 per cent adequate and one per cent short.
