Friday Crop Report on a Thursday!

[SASKFARMER3]

Yes MB you are correct that is a very good example of what the crop is doing. But the tank is empty on the moisture and the third year of drought, if it happens in 2019, will be totally awful. I said we needed 4 spots of rain and we got three of the four. It was enough but our ground still had lots of moisture reserve so the three just topped off the tank the roots were deep and we had heat to push it along. Yes, spots have shit all on it can tell the soil has something underground there. But the moisture map tells the tale the tank is empty. Can't repeat in 2019 with outfall fill up is best or some snow and timely rains. But if its the beginning of drought years year three takes its toll and the two after well I don't want to think about.

[bigzee]

Yes MB you are correct that is a very good example of what the crop is doing. But the tank is empty on the moisture and the third year of drought, if it happens in 2019, will be totally awful. I said we needed 4 spots of rain and we got three of the four. It was enough but our ground still had lots of moisture reserve so the three just topped off the tank the roots were deep and we had heat to push it along. Yes, spots have shit all on it can tell the soil has something underground there. But the moisture map tells the tale the tank is empty. Can't repeat in 2019 with outfall fill up is best or some snow and timely rains. But if its the beginning of drought years year three takes its toll and the two after well I don't want to think about.

I really feel bad you didn’t get that “fourth” rain!!
Couldn’t imagine how large your crop would be we would never hear the end of it. Instead we are hear complaining. We just can’t win!!
Just wait till the US gets into their soybean and corn crop. If you think prices are bad now... get ready.

[poorboy]

I guess everyone has different definitions of drought and excess moisture. Saskfarmer3 has been talking about excess moisture the last few years and I personally have never experienced it and probably will never fully understand the effects of too much moisture. But I do understand it hurts yield and comes with increased costs.

I have had lots of major droughts in my career though and fully realize that Saskfarmer3 has never really experienced real droughts. He has missed a few rains, but that is not a drought. I have had more than a few years where my harvest was 5 to 50% of normal yield due to lack of moisture. Did not even get my wheat seed back in 2001. This year lucky my yield is 60% of normal, which is remarkable with 3" of rainfall that has fallen with 0.5" as the largest amount. Some of my neighbors are not quite as lucky.

In my opinion a crop yield that is 80% or more of average yield is a normal occurance and part of farming. It does suck seeing others get timely rains or miss rains if you are too wet, but that has been going on for 1000's of years and over the last 100 years has really shown up the farms that have the good climate.

I really do appreciate the crop reports, and felt for everyone hurt in the wet years. It is a little tough to take the drought talk the last 2 years and then hear 80 bus wheat, 100 bus barley and 60 canola. Very hard for most people to imagine that is a drought. Trying to talk the market prices up by always claiming a disaster might sound like a good strategy, but probably is not real effective. If people have a good crop please post, there is sense of pride in growing a good crop and sharing a moment of pride is no different than posting a poor crop to mourn with others.

With every farm having different yields due to climate, soils and management, perhaps it would be better to talk in percentages or comparisons to normal.

In my area east of Calgary the hay crop is 15-30% of normal, pastures are very poor, peas were 60% of normal, barley is 65% of normal, wheat looks to be 60% of normal an canola looks to be 50% of normal.

[SASKFARMER3]

Poor boy, I do know drought as I walked fields and pastures in the SW and West side of Sask. as a summer student in the 80s and my first job with Sask ag and food was working on the drought.

One field west of the national park I remember I said this land should never have been broken up in the 80s.

Back that way in 2010 and saw the most beautiful Canola crop on that same quarter and wondered F#$K mine at home looks worse.

But dry weather is back and I imagine that field didn't look too great this year.

Western Canada is huge but the east side and north are usually wet and the Palliser triangle is usually drier.

It's not climate change this has been going on since Canada was settled or long before.

But good comments keep posting.

[farmaholic]

SF3, you may "know" drought, but have you yourself ever "experienced" drought.

Ì don't know if I can even claim to have gone through the "Big D", we've had some real poor crops but outright failures...not so much.