Top Crop Manager

News Agronomy
Crop report: Conditions fair to good in Saskatchewan, Alberta gets more moisture

June 22, 2022  By Top Crop Manager


Prairie crop producers have endured several challenges this growing season due to a number of poor conditions, from excess moisture and standing water in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan to extreme dry conditions in Alberta. However, much progress was made in terms of seeding in the east, while many crops have begun to emerge in the west.

Manitoba

Seeding for Manitoba is now at 91 per cent completion for the week ending June 21, up four percentage points form last week but shortly behind the provincial five-year average for comparable weeks. On average, this is typically the week in which seeding is complete in Manitoba. Despite excess moisture and some colder temperatures hampering seeding progress, this past week crops also experienced stress from extreme heat, which delayed in-crop spraying or caused recently sprayed crops to “flash” yellow. Strong winds have limited good spray days, while wet soils have prevented field accessibility. Weed control on sprayed fields appears good, but some canola and soybean crops reportedly appear dirty.

Spotty emergence is now evident in many crops wherever water pooled for a short time, and crop stands are thinner on those areas or have drowned out. Emergence is better on drained land, depending on which side of a section the field was.

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Flea beetle feed pressure has caused severe damage in many canola crops, resulting in the need for multiple foliar insecticide applications or forced reseed. Ag retailers are also dealing with supply issues of glufosinate (Liberty) herbicide and short-season seed. | READ MORE

Saskatchewan

Most seeding in Saskatchewan is now complete with 98 per cent of crop now in the ground for the week ending June 13. The remaining seeding to be completed is in the eastern half of the province, where small portions of fields were too wet to seed. The province expects that these areas will likely go unseeded given recent rain. Some areas reported minor to severe flooding. However, in some of the province’s western regions, rain was welcome as those areas are in greater need of moisture. The province reports that western regions will still need widespread rains to keep crops from failing. Some areas also received hail, from which the resulting damage is unknown.

The area north of Rosetown received more than 125 mm of rain with some flooding, although most rain was able to soak in. Biggar received 69 mm; Dinsmore 65 mm; Beinfait and Rhein each saw 41 mm; Duck Lake 34 mm; Tyner and Bruno saw 25 mm. Resulting wind also delayed spraying.

Topsoil moisture conditions have improved compared to the previous week; cropland topsoil moisture is rated at seven per cent surplus, 65 per cent adequate and a combined 28 per cent short or very short. Hay and pasture land is rated as six per cent surplus, 61 per cent adequate, and a combined 33 per cent short or very short.

Provincially, 69 per cent of fall cereals, 60 per cent of pulse crops, 50 per cent of spring cereals and 41 per cent of oilseed crops are at their normal stages of development for this time of year. Crop conditions across the province mostly range from fair to good. |READ MORE

Alberta

With seeding complete in Alberta, the focus is now on the condition of crops in the ground. Although late spring was dry for the westernmost Prairie province, throughout the month of June, many parts of the province have received much-needed rain, particularly in the southern half of Alberta. As of the week ending June 14, provincial crop conditions are rated as 75 per cent good to excellent. This is slightly behind the five- and 10-year averages of 78 per cent and 76 per cent, respectively. The south region is currently the most behind, with 63 per cent of all crops and 60 percent of major crops rated good or excellent. This is behind the five- and 10-year averages for the province by more than 10 percentage points, and behind the current provincial average. Growing condition ratings were the highest in the north west and central regions (81 and 80 per cent rated as good or excellent condition), followed by the north east and Peace regions (both at 79 per cent).

All regions now have more than half of their soils in good or excellent conditions. The south region is most behind in this, with a combined 40.2 per cent of soils in “fair” or “poor” condition. Post-emergence spraying in the region is underway, with 45 per cent complete, with rain causing delays for some areas. Flea beetles and gopher infestations are now becoming an issue in some fields. Post-emergence spraying is also delayed in the central, currently at 52 per cent and attributing some of the delay to rains. Similar delays were experienced in the north east, where post-emergence spraying is at 40 per cent complete. It is most complete in the northwest (53 per cent) and least complete in the Peace region (11 per cent). |READ MORE

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