Crop Condition/Moisture Update

[charliep]

What are growing conditions like in your area (let us know where you live).

Nice rain today in Edmonton. Talked to family in Calgary - hadn't got this rain yet.

Have to check to see if the rumor is true that some in Manitoba are looking at building arks or at least considering planting wild rice.

[FarmRanger]

Southwest Alberta
Very dry here. Had 3 to 5 tenths of rain a week ago, but constant southwest wind since then, so that has all disappeared now. That being our first big rain of the year, we could sure use some more. Grass is starting to go dormant already. Fall seeded crops are showing drought stress in places.

[sewen]

Northeast Alberta

Moisture conditions are excellent could use some heat, but I am not going to complain. We've had between 1.5 to 2 inches of rain in May.

Sure is nice to see the sloughs full of water again, along with all the wildlife that goes with it.

[silverback]

East of Airdrie

Ungodly Dry !!!! Considering phoning Government tomorrow to ask for disaster assistance immediately. I am not kidding!. Grass is still brown and crunchy. Cows will have to be on feed for the rest of the summer by the looks of it right now. Grasshoppers are hatching. Canola that did germinate at risk of dying out from being stranded at the surface. It is hell right here right now.

[ALLFARMER]

Silverback sounds like you are having the year I had last year. We cut our lawn 3 times and that was plenty. Allot less smaller/mid size farmers this year and all the land you want to rent some in the <$20/ac most $25

I wish you the best but some times the rain does not come. If only the cost of bad years we built into the margins.

[agstar77]

Manitoba is very wet, farmers are getting stuck. Seeding is at standstill . 25 to 100 % seeded depending on the amount of rain received. Very little of the canola is seeded. Things look good for this week.

[rain]

I drove from Strathmore to Leader Sasks last week. From Dororthy right to Leader looked great. Dugouts full grass is grean spring seeded crops are up and seeding continues. We where in Pincher Creek this weekend. Dry land hay crop will be gone soon without some rain according to locals.

[Yusishen]

Eastern Manitoba...an ark sounds like a good idea! Got 600 acres in but it wasn't pretty. Still lots to go and with 1-2 inches of rain this past weekend, it'll be at least a week before we are back in the fields. Forecast is not nice and there are nasty looking clouds outside as I write.

[grassfarmer]

West of Rimbey, AB, grass is green, seeding all done and crops through very fast. Close to 2.75 inches rain in May (after zero precip. in April)
Silverback how big an area is getting it as dry as you? sounds terrible.
Allfarmer which area are you in?

[silverback]

I am guessing that the top of the dryness is about Carstairs? and south to about Langdon? east to maybe Carbon area? There has been nothing significant here in months and months. Snow all melted in Feb. and nothing has been replaced. A few showers around this afternoon but we need inches now not tenths. We are going to need our own hay drive in this area as there will be none. Anyone with extra hay this year please speak up now. Bye.

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie;

I think the precipitation map since April 1 on :http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/drought/prpgs05_e.htm

says volumes about how we are doing!

[sawfly]

west central sask.Unity wilkie best moisture in years. seeding 80% done in area.but further north i hear there is a lot less done

[sagewood]

Also east of Airdrie, close to highway 9--as Silverback says, ungodly dry. In 30 years of living on this ranch I have never seen it this dry. Looks like just one more disaster heaped on top of another. We have not had any type of good spring moisture since 2000 and last year the snow was scarce and light--we are like a desert. I am with Silverback, am thinking of calling the insurance folks soon and making a claim. Seems like we are in a pocket here, as there is rain all around us. The tame grasses started to green up in April with the high heat and then we had 5 - 8 days of -10 degrees at night and since then the grass has not greened up--2/10th of an inch of rain is what I have had here. I think most of my grass hay is a goner.

[agstar77]

Received another 1/2'' of rain last nite. Some farmers haven't been able to get into their fields. Wheat and canola up in the planted fields. Manitoba is back to the wet cycle.

[dalek]

East-Central Ontario. No measurable rain now for over 6 weeks. Crops are almost all in, grain and early corn are up but not doing much. The oldtimers are calling the hay and pasture the worst they've ever seen for the end of May. Neighbour had to start cutting Friday because he was out of feed but he was just clipping the dandelion heads. With a 12' cut you couldn't see anything coming out the spout on the forage harvester. Bad combination, no moisture and averaging 7-8 degrees cooler than normal.