Applied Research Crop Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Scott Chalmers, calls this spring's seeding season a 'split start', but in the end we're off to a great start!
"So, we had an early start. A lot of people seeded their serials and corn nice and early, and then we had that soggy May long weekend, which was perfect because, you know, when it decided to rain it sure rained and we ended up with 2 1/2 to 3 inches in the area, which laid kind of a really nice foundation for seeding our shallow and expensive crops like canola for example," explains Chalmers.
For the month of May, precipitation was more average, however the heat units have been above normal he says. We can all remember that real hot spell of plus 30-degree days.
"I did look at the numbers and it's between 6% and 22% more heat for the month of May. So, we're well ahead of our schedule, but one of the weird things is this smoky haze could be potentially affecting what they call photosynthetic active radiation available for the crop."
"If you have a haze of smoke in the air, it can affect the crop by 5 to 10% and maybe with our gains of heat have been kind of shaded by the smoky haze that we've been experiencing here."
Chalmers says the potential is here to have some pretty healthy crops going into the month of July, if only the prairie winds would stay away. Still there have been a good number of pleasant days with maybe a slight breeze.
"Those kind of calm days help to preserve moisture in the plant from being dried out in the soil," he says. "So, I think we're sandbagging a really nice crop here. We just need to have those rains come. And I know we just had 1/2 inch of rain here last week, which has really perked things up, helped emergence on sensitive crops like soybean and bean and the canola. We have a really good potential here for a great crop!"
A positive that Chalmers is seeing out in the test plots is there doesn't seem to be as many flea beetles as expected.
"They don't seem to be bugging us, and our crop is accelerating quick enough that I don't think we're going to be too concerned about them. I've also seen lower numbers of cutworms in our sunflowers, which is good news. And that's just one less thing we have to spray," he adds.
Things to watch for going into July
"I think a lot of our canola is a late crop this year so it's still good to scope for your flea beetles and cutworms just to stay on top of that. The weeds will be growing ferociously in this moisture condition with the heat," notes Chalmers.
"One thing to watch again is still disease, even though it's been, you know, fairly dry. We haven't had many rainfalls to bring on disease. It's still good to go check things out, see where things are at.
Chalmers encourages cattle producers to plan ahead for challenges around feed levels and water accessibility, specifically when it comes to dugouts and ponds.
"Check your feed levels in the yard for your livestock, make sure you got enough carry over, and if you need to plan for like an annual forage, now is the time to get that in the ground in order to boost up your feed supplies if needed."
"Keep an eye on your dugouts out there. If they're getting a little on low side," he adds. "And you know, considering we haven't had much fresh water coming in keep an eye on those algal blooms because the algae can create a toxin potentially, and also just to keep an eye on the levels. Make sure the cattle have enough water in those dugouts when they're in pasture."
Other than that ....
"The alfalfa crops look fantastic right now. I think they're diving into that 3 1/2 inches of moisture that we've had. The corn crop looks great. I think we're on par with the heat units that we normally get for that staging."
Weed control is top of mind right now and farmers are in spraying in mode.
"We can almost smell it in the air with these calm days, but with calm days, just watch for the inversions, especially in the evening," reminds Chalmers. "You've got sensitive crops nearby and maybe you're spraying dicamba (a broad-spectrum herbicide) on your soybeans or other crop. Just make sure you maybe have a breeze away from your crop."
Next up!
The WADO Field Day is coming up July 17th in Melita with a full itinerary for about a hundred people.
Registration is now open. Please RSVP with Scott Chalmers to secure your seat on the touring bus.
"They can call my cell number here or message text. That's 204-522-5415 and we'll probably take registrations all the way up to the day of the event, though we do have limited seating," he notes. "So, get your name in. We have seating for up to about 105 people on two buses."
More contact info:
Scott Chalmers, P. Ag, Applied Research Specialist
Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization
Manitoba Agriculture
P.O Box 519
Office: 139 Main St. Melita MB
R0M 1L0
Cell: 204-522-5415