Frost warning....

[mcfarms]

Leduc - Camrose - Wetaskiwin - Tofield
3:16 PM MDT Friday 14 August 2009
Frost warning for
Leduc - Camrose - Wetaskiwin - Tofield issued

Patchy frost expected tonight.



An unusually cool airmass combined with clearing skies will produce frost in areas through Central Alberta tonight.

[SASKFARMER3]

Dam its coming.

[Burbert]

Frost on the 14th of August, yeah right! Let's terrify already terrified farmers, maybe Angribusiness kin squeeze some more bucks outta guys using some kinda new technology. I say f it, if it freezes in August, we all might as well ferget it an line up at crop insurance or at the welfare offices fer help. Maybe ag stability, or agrisilly or agrivilliny will come to our rescue. Bailouts after all are a good ting for the economy, aren't they after all they are sexy!!!An Harpies boys like sexy, fer example the Ritz cracker leadin us all is sooooo coool.

[grassfarmer]

Skies are certainly clearing as predicted here - we were only at 8C at 11am this morning so it's not a stretch to imagine frost. A swath of land south of me got badly hailed out on Tuesday night. Pretty much a wipeout on anything it hit. Frost would be the final straw.
We had 1/4 inch sheet of ice on the deck on the 1st July so if that was the last of the spring frosts and tonight is the first of the fall frosts that gives us about 45 frost free days. Glad I only grow grass.

[furrowtickler]

There has been frost here every month already in many areas , 4th of Aug already for some, so no suprise to me at all. Overnight lows for the next five hights have dropped in half from this mornings long range. Jack frosr is pissed at mother nature this year!!

[grassfarmer]

Guess we sc****d through - it was 1C at 7am with enough water on everything - no sign of frost.

[LWeber]

Where are you grassfarmer?

There was 30F registered last night north of Edmonton.

[grassfarmer]

West of Rimbey

[checking]

I'd never wish a hailstorm on my neighbour, no matter how much I might dislike him. The reason being that if it were to hit him there would be a significant chance that I would suffer the same fate. Like the hailstorm, what happens is going to happen with frost, so if you are terrified, then you've concentrated energy on an area that your mind should not have gone in the first place. I acknowledge that farmers likely need a major countrywide agricultural disaster somewhere in the world in order to profit. Maybe this is our turn coming to make that contribution.

[bucket]

The difference about making our contribution to the cause (ie. western canadians take the production failure) is that our grain prices won't change thanks to the cwb.

They have already presold what they feel comfortable selling and now they are waiting to see how this crop pans out. For instance durum won't change even after a frost because they know how much they held back for their preferred customers.

Non board crop prices are not moving up because the buyers know farmers have to sell something to pay bills. And the cwb prices are in the tank.

[checking]

Personally Bucket, I would never allow myself to get into the position of having to sell something at firesale CWB prices in order to pay bills. They held back product from 2008 for their perferred customers. Fine. My bins can hold back product from the CWB in the same manner. Unfortunately there are not enough like minded farmers. Bring on the frost, and we'll test your theory.

[bucket]

I agree. I have held back grain (cwb grains as well) to see how this year pans out. And I am willing to sit until the prices move up. It was a battle to get to that position but I am almost there. The rain should start moving pea prices up because harvest is way behind now. The only product the grainco can go after is the product left in the bin and that should make it a sellers market.

Same with the frost. The seller with product should be able to command his price.

[freewheat]

I'm glad for you guys who are in that position. It is a position I would love to be in someday, and strive for. With all due respect, I know of very few who are in this position, especially us young guys. Sure, if we could all hold grain back theoretically that would work, but the truth is we all are in a different boat.

The way you said "i would never allow myself to get in that position" is surely like a kick to the groin at those of us who are managing well, growing well and marketing well, but who just can't get over the hump, because of weather, or a tough start to farming, etc.

If i ever get two years back to back of good harvests, less rain, and more "global wrming", I'll be laughing. Instead, I just have to sit in the position you guys seem to think is a no-no position, through no fault of my own. This along with most younger ones in my region... I mean this with deepest respect, and do not mean to start an argument, and I'm not bitter or resentful, I just am not sure if you know what hail, frost, flooding, or no summer for 5 years in a row is like. I have had to sell oats for crap prices to pay bills many times, and your comments make me feel like a poorer farmer than I am...

You probably did'nt mean it that way, however. Just so you are aware, some of us have been suffering in spite of good farming practices, and good management.

Respectfully
Dale

[bucket]

Been there - that's why I said its been a battle and I am not quite there yet. I feel for you.

This is a perfect example of why no government understands farming. I can't say anyone did anything wrong this year. If you seeded early you got froze, if you seeded late you arew going to get froze and yet not one politician is prepared to say their government will insure you have a farm to farm next year because this is no fault of your own. Its the weather.

You see the government insured that thousands of auto workers and there executives have a job to go to and it was there own fault that their business went broke.

A bailout is a bailout is a bailout....

If this frost thing happens the government has the moral duty to do the same thing they did for the auto sector and provide billions to the ag sector. Wishful thinking.

[checking]

Dang, I was looking forward to an after Sunday church fight when everyone has said their ten hail Mary's, and have been cleansed to start a new week!! You obviously have a worker ant philosophy, and I believe that that places you in a good stead to eventually achieve a position that some entity can't push or force a sell position on you. Being young, you have time on your side for that black cloud to move away. Five years - good Lord, something doesn't like your location. I know a family that stuck it out here from 1930 to 1937 before pulling the pin to live in BC. 1938 was the turn around year. Incidentally, my aim was higher towards the young and older grasshopper heads.