By Angela Brown

NW region producers focus on protecting crop health, resilience in response to season’s challenges

Aug 9, 2020 | 2:42 PM

BATTLEFORDS, Sask., – Producers in the northwestern Saskatchewan region are hoping for moderately warm temperatures after experiencing a few challenges this season including hail and heat stress in some parts.

Charlie Smith grows canola and wheat on his small farm in the Rabbit Lake area, northeast of the Battlefords.

His crops are developing well overall, although he experienced some hail damage recently. Otherwise, he said his crops are fine and he is looking forward to begin harvesting soon.

“We had lots of rain, but not too much,” Smith said. “It was manageable.”

His cereal crop is looking the best now, while the canola suffered a little bit this year due to the cooler, wet spring. To protect his crops from disease and keep them healthy Smith applies fungicides. Looking ahead, the producer said he hopes conditions remain warm and dry for the immediate future.

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According to the province’s latest crop report, warm weather continued to help crop growth progress throughout Saskatchewan, with most farmers estimating their crops are at their normal development stage. Harvesting is starting is some areas.

In the northwest region, including the Battlefords, Meadow Lake, Lloydminster, and Hafford areas, warm temperatures benefitted crop development. The update stated while most farmers are pleased with the heat and its effect on crop development, some reported heat damage as well as stress from lack of moisture. So some rain is needed in many of the drier areas during the seed-filling stage. Overall crops in the region are progressing well.

Some producers in parts of the region saw crop damage due to wind and isolated hail. There have also been reports of damage caused by insects such as diamondback moths and bertha armyworms, as well as diseases such as fusarium head blight.

Ministry of Agriculture Crops Extension Specialist Sara Tetland said some of the issues farmers in the northwest region are focused on include pest and disease prevention efforts.

In general crops, she said, are growing well for the most part.

“Crops especially with these warm temperatures we have been having these last couple of weeks have really progressed in the northwest region,” Tetland said. “There was quite a bit of rain previously, and farmers did note standing water in fields, which has caused some crop damage.”

Tetland said with some of the cooler temperatures earlier in the season and in the summer, some farmers reported it delayed crop development. However, since it has been quite warm the last couple of weeks, they have seen crops improving. So, many of those crops caught up and are at their normal development stage now for this time of the year.

“Some farmers have noted the strong winds have caused lodging in the fields,” she said, especially when coupled with the rain.

When crops are flattened from the wind force it can cause disease to form and will make the crop more difficult to harvest.

The specialist said one of the challenges some farmers are facing in the eastern part of the region in particular is heat stress. As a saving grace, to some extent the moisture from the rain the northwest region experienced earlier helped protect crop and make it “a little more hardy to those higher temperatures.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @OCoureurDesBois