Estevan

Green grass means that pasture turnout is right around the corner. The to do list gets longer than the days do. Checking fence to remove any fallen trees, repairing stretched or broken wires; make sure the water system is operational, and the water itself is safe for the livestock to drink. It all happens before animals can be moved to their summer home. 

This week's crop report shows provincially 85 per cent of the crop is in the ground; that is up from last week's report of 57 per cent and ahead of the 5-year average of 69 per cent. 

Oilseed Specialist Sonia Wilson puts together the weekly crop report and says most of the spring wheat, oats, barley, as well as grain and silage corn have gone in, while progress is also being made on the other crops.

Analysts say Agriculture Canada may have to cut its ending canola stocks estimate in half in response to booming exports

It is highly unusual to see a red number in the sea of black on Agriculture Canada’s monthly Grains and Oilseeds Supply and Disposition report.

But it happened in the May report when the department penciled in minus 609,000 tonnes for its canola feed, waste and dockage (FWD) number for the current crop year.

After more than five inches of rain delayed the start of the season, Grant Palmer of Palmer Enterprises Corp. and his crew are back in the field and pushing to finish seeding by the end of the week. 

“It’s going good,” Palmer said. “We got back at it Monday and hope to wrap up by Sunday night.” 

The best defence against flea beetles in canola is a fast-growing, uniformly emerging crop with five to eight plants per square foot that quickly reaches the four-leaf stage. However, unpredictable weather often forces growers to rely on plan B: foliar sprays.

To reduce the need for multiple sprays, consider these strategies.

Spray when flea beetles are active

The Saskatchewan chapter of the Royal Canadian Legion says it has cancelled events hosted by a group discussing the province's separation from the rest of Canada. 

Chad Wagner, the legion's executive director in Saskatchewan, says he made the decision based on Unified Grassroots' public statements on separation. 

He says such calls don't align with the legion's founding principles and nor do they promote Canadian unity.

Unified Grassroots has an online petition calling on Saskatchewan to negotiate new terms with Ottawa or look at separating from Canada.

The United Way's annual Day of Caring was once again a resounding success, bringing together community members across Estevan for a day of giving back.

Co-chair of the Day of Caring Committee Wendy Gustafson said the event, held under sunny skies and near-perfect weather, went very smoothly thanks to strong community support.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency updated the province's residents yesterday on the currently ongoing wildfire season, as crews are working to get a number of those contained. Currently, Saskatchewan has seen 205 wildfires year to date, with 21 of those currently active across the province.

The year-to-date number is much higher than last year, which was 165, with the five-year average much lower at 124.

Steve Roberts, Vice President of Operations for the SPSA, says the numbers mean there's a lot of work to be done by their crews.

Wheat prices would get a boost if the country’s exports remain as low as much of the trade is beginning to forecast

A big debate is once again brewing about how much wheat the world’s leading exporter will ship out in the upcoming crop year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting Russia will produce 83 million tonnes of the crop and export 45 million tonnes.

SovEcon is forecasting 81 million tonnes of production and 39.7 million tonnes of exports.

Seed N Feed is helping keep farmers fueled this season, even as wet conditions have caused some delays.

Walter Neuman of Neuman Acres Ltd. said seeding started off well, though they were waiting for things to dry up in early May. Several days of rain also led to issues with potholes.

Neuman has been farming since 1986, with help from Brad Lopey and his father. His brother also pitches in during harvest and drives the grain truck, along with occasional seasonal helpers.

Future Four Farms was another lucky winner of Seed N Feed.