New Crop Ideas

[charliep]

Just looking for ideas of what is going on in your communities (let us know a general idea of where your farm is located.

1) Soil moisture conditions (top and sub soil).

2) Shifts you are doing/seeing in your community relative to normal crop rotations and plans earlier this past spring (as an example, do you see the higher oilseed and lower cereal acres forecast in Statcan seeding intentions).

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie;

We got a letter from a M on April 6th, telling us to only grow wheat or smart Canola on land we used "sunburn" on last year... this will increase our wheat acres no doubt...

Residual problems may influence acres more than many would think... because of the dry weather...

Had half an inch of rain at Killam on Thurs... looks good for weed growth... soil temps were warming up well... this weekend will cool things back down...

[ianben]

Hi Tom

What is sunburn and what are problems with it?

Can you tell how your winter wheat has survived yet?
What will be your growing plan?

Here we would give it 50units N in March growth stage30. Then 90units growth stage 32/33 which will be next week.

Winter barley has awns just emerging and winter canola is in full flower.

Been a very dry warm spring here but getting a few showers at moment so spring canola might grow a bit better. Been very slow uneven germination, we are not used to dry springs here and lost too much moisture and drilled too shallow.

Too early to tell yet with yeilds but looking promising with are usual weather patterns.

[TOM4CWB]

Ianben;

"Sunburn"(Sundance) is a Monsanto group 2 herbicide THAT has had a history of problems... first with lingering in application equipment... spoiling many broad leaf crops that were hurt from minute carry over problems... now with soil residual problems far beyond labeled statements on the herbicide label. Monsanto sent many of us letters on April 6, 2003... saying that lack of rainfall stops us from planting many crops that the application label allowed.

Our Winter Wheat has greened up quite well on average! The less the surface trash the better the crop came through winter.

We have had 25mm rain in the last couple of weeks with above average temps (over 20C) which has started weed growth winter wheat with a good start!

How are your crops looking?

[charliep]

How far east has the snow gone in Alberta.

[wedino]

Charlie, Surface & subsoil moisture is adequate,(SE Sask.)can push a rod 2 ft. Got 12 in. rain yesterday. I plan to plant a quarter to Desi Chickpea this week, then on to the RR canola.

[TOM4CWB]

Ianben;

Our Winter Wheat was 2-3 leaf, then got frozen off... then a foot of snow!

Moisture is very welcome!

Moisture is becoming abundant... sure looks like the drought is broken!

[northhope]

Hi from 75 km. north of Saskatoon. We had 1 inch plus of rain and snow Sat. afternoon to Sun. noon. Freezing overnite. Things just greening up. Barely adequite soil moisture here to seed. Have a 100 acres of winter triticale that people told me would not winter over but came through beautifully and is aout 3-4 in. already. Hope the frost tonite and tomorrow doesn't hit it too hard. Drought not over yet. A few little potholes have some water in them.
Am seeding canola, barley, greenfeed, and a little wheat. Am getting more into cattle. Seems to be more promising than grain

[brian99]

No moisture over the weekend in Medicine Hat that I know of.A couple of inches of snow on the ground Sunday morning in Brooks. An inch of rain and no real snow that stayed south of Brooks. Calgary got the worst. My uncle in Airdrie had 6 foot snow drifts. Took four hours to clear enough snow to get the cows out of the corral and into the field to feed 'em. They had at least a couple of feet on the level. Southern Alberta is wet!