Melissa Guillaume and her family farm in Marquis and recently won the Farmer Appreciation – Spring Seeding Edition prize by 800 CHAB, Country 100, and Silver Star Salvage & Recycling — she said they’re almost done seeding already, and they’re not giving up on canola.
“(Seeding) is going pretty good, pretty steady so far,” Guillaume told 800 CHAB’s Rob Carnie. “We do need rain soon. We’ve got canola, lentils, wheat, and some durum.”
Guillaume said that when it comes to canola, the unpredictable ups and downs in tariff negotiations with both the US and China have persuaded them, at least, to just plant and hope for the best.
“You have to have a rotation when you’re planting, you can’t plant the same crops on the same field, so it’s kind of a seed we need,” she explained. “And you know what? He just goes back and forth so much — actually, everybody just goes back and forth so much. So, we’re just planting it and carrying on.”
Crop rotation is necessary because the various crops absorb different nutrients out of the soil, while restoring others. Planting the same crop year after year would quickly destroy the soil, possibly even making the field barren without intervention.
Guillaume speculated that replacing canola with mustard or canaryseed might work in the rotation, but they’re optimistic that canola will still be needed and profitable this year.
“We’re almost done (with seeding)!” she added. “We’re hoping before Wednesday.”