Update on Wheatland crop growth

Times Contributor  

 

Farmers always have their eye upon the weather, wondering whether there will be the right balance of rain and sunshine to make their crops flourish. 

Alberta Financial Services Corporation crop statistics as of July 29 for the Strathmore area show spring cereals are in late pollination stage and winter cereals in soft dough stage. Canola and field peas are almost finished the pod stage. Most crops were considered average or slightly above average to previous years. Sub-soil moisture ratings were 73 per cent and are good to excellent. Cut dry-land and irrigated haying are all virtually completed. Hay/pastures rated at 70 per cent good or excellent.

Russel Muenchrath, Wheatland County’s manager of agricultural services said that the majority of crops grown in Wheatland County are canola, wheat, barley, peas and then forage (hay) crops like alfalfa.

“Moisture right at the moment is ok, as we have had some rain in the last two weeks; overall, moisture is less than what it has been in the last couple of years, so it will affect dry-land crop yields and we have already seen that the hay yields this year are less than previous years,” said Muenchrath. 

He said heat does have an effect on crop yields.  

“The hot dry weather early in the season reduced hay crop and pasture yields this year. The heat will also affect annual crop yields, and in particular Canola can be affected at flowering by what’s called bud blasting wherein the flower clusters turn brown and can result in greatly reduced yields.”

Pests are always a problem for farmers, but Muenchrath said there are no major problems in Wheatland County to date. 

He said farmers often do field scouting to catch the problems before they progress too much. 

Muenchrath said crop prices are a little lower than usual. Record corn and soybean crops in the USA may cause some downward pressure on crop prices here at home.

Muenchrath said the real story is the recent hailstorms in the area. 

The loss of an entire crop can be a discouraging sight to a farmer, especially when crops are just filling out.

Jackie Sandan, Area Program manager for Agricultural Financial Services Corporation said 6,000 hail claims were filed provincially this year. There are 650 crop claims from the Wheatland area alone. 

“Our inspectors are all extremely busy trying to assess the damage, said Sandan. 

A general overview of hail damage for the Wheatland area is as follows: Heavy damage in Standard area from hail, and a wide strip of moderate hail damage from east to northeast of Calgary into the Hussar/Gleichen areas from two major storms. 

Sandan said hail is the biggest cause of crop loss in this area, and most producers purchase hail insurance for this reason. 

She said the time it takes to complete a claim varies on the assessment, which is based on multiple factors – the crop stage at time of damage, and whether it needs to be deferred, or how many storms have hit that land base. Sandan said it also depends on the volume of claims received. She said it can take anywhere from approximately 10 days to a few weeks before an inspector is able to visit a farm. However, once an inspection is completed and signed off, the cheques are issued within days and then mailed out.