What a very interesting week.
On Friday at around noon, we were sitting around the shop and had a visit from a salesman we know. It started to spit and spit and spit. Funny how you look at the sky when it's dry and wonder what the heck is going on. The spit continued till about 3 so headed back to the city. Hit the big hole in the ground and come out the other side to sunshine. Turned on the radar and WTF it is raining at our place. Get to the city and work on my sprinklers and check again and its the same thing raining across the valley. Looked before bed and same. Woke up the same valley on. Went to the lake and it rained up to it but radar showing same. Valley on. To make this story shorter we finally had the rain our farm wanted a nice slow two-day soaker like we use to get. Total 3.2 inches in 36 hrs.
DTN for the Win.
The purple area is our area and where most of the rain did fall and reach its totals.
Well, yesterday at the Farm Progress show another system started up and gave lots of farmers on the West side a very welcomed rain. Wow were they happy?
But the reality is the storm followed a funny path of almost straight north. Didn't move East.
Lots of farmers still haven't seen meaningful rain to end this drought.
But DTN again has the three days looking wet for the Rest to get a good drink.
So yea lets all smile and be happy for the rain and pray the rest get some soon.
Crop Report
For our area like I said earlier the rain event last Friday to Sunday sure helped with this crop. Will the crop of 2019 be like 2018, not a chance the damage was done. HRS at the 3 to 5 leaf determines head size. Yes, it could be a fat little head with 10 rows but this is Canada time is starting to run out so big yield I feel has left the building. Yes, the potential is there for old style big yields but mega is done. 100 Canola for the challenge HAHAHA and 80 HRS I can't see it making those numbers this year for anyone. Frost could be an issue as lots will have seeds germinating that was sitting in the dust.
So most farmers were putting off spraying till a rain or going at it very slowly. We started up two days last week. About 1/3 is sprayed that is Peas are done and HRS is started with some Liberty on certain fields. Keep the fats on we might need them. Also, custom sprayers learn were the farmer's field you are spraying and the next guys start. Funny for a quarter mile you can't tell the difference between a Canola field and barley stubble. Real special people running some machines. You just have to go to make the payments.
There is still being green feed seeded in the area. The organic guys worked fields look really nice after a rain time will tell.
HRS is holding at last weeks levels now that it has seen rain. Some very early fields south of the valley are going to head soon with limited rain it will be interesting to see the size. Our side of the valley the next 10 days farmers need to get fields sprayed and heading will take place.
Barley took it on the chin and needed the rain about a week earlier. It will be tough for malt as all crops will have different stages. Like one friend said yesterday. His fields had 26 stages of growth but the neighbours have 40 to describe the crop in 2019. Ill give ratings next week.
Peas I have to quit growing these suckers. F#$K the Just like meat crowd. The one crop I seem to always have issues with. We had a cold night two days after I sprayed. Can you guess what's going on? Yea yellow but this year hopefully they recover. Now throw the rain event that happened to them it could get real interesting fast. I'm still hopeful for recovery but not putting big hope for an unbelievable pea crop. Also, I have little ones coming and big ones right beside so what some shelling at harvest and others this green shit. Oh, and they are so short this year.
Lentils are filling in and yes lots of peas and lentils in our area. Lots.
Flax fields are coming back from the cold temps and you can see rows.
Oats acres weren't as high as I thought they would be. The rain will benefit this crop.
Pastures and hay land. Well, hayland has issues and the first cut might be not so good. Funny some old fields of alfalfa brome the clusters of alfalfa are about a foot tall and no brome. Or maybe on the good ground some.
Some hard grazed fields from last year are not very nice.
So basically to wrap it up rain came and was very welcomed. Soaked in oh so fast but it was a slow nice steady rain. Today it is raining in Regina already so Dr. Apointment and then visit some people. Yesterday there was a group from Brazil sponsored by Bayer wouldn't that be nice, oh wait this is Canada were they just overcharge us and give a free pen or shirt. This year no pens. Also a German and Chinese group.
Hopefully, everyone gets to empty the rain gauge after this weekend and not smash it with a baseball bat.
Have a great week and yes they are phoning all ready for you to put on fungicides etc because its all about the big yield for their bottom line.
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