Crops seem to be in good shape at this point in the growing season, at least that's the case at Froese Enterprise in Reinfeld.
Randy Froese says recent shots of rain have been very helpful in advancing the crop.
"Corn is a little bit ahead of what it normally would be, which is nice. The canola is just starting to bloom (and) we're getting to the point where we'll be putting our fungicide applications on shortly. Dry beans are coming along very, very nicely, as well as soybeans."
As well, Froese says what rain we've had, has been timely.
"We had the early season big shot of rain that came through but, since then, we've managed to get between four-tenths and an inch of rain. So, I wouldn't say we are wet, but we are definitely getting some timely rains as the crop is progressing here."
That being said, Froese says we could use some more heat units, particularly at night.
"The cool overnight temperatures, you can definitely see on the crops that things are not behind, but they are just not pushing like they normally would," he explained, adding some double-digit lows would go a long way in progressing the crop.
"You've got your longest growing days here and you want to try and maximize the heat and moisture, but it is what it is. We can't control that."
Heat will also play an important role as we head into the throws of summer.
"July is always a very important time, especially for canola," said Froese. "A guy doesn't want it too hot for flowering but, at the same time, you want to use the sunlight to its advantage. Same with the corn. The corn loves heat."
On the flip side, that July heat can bring on severe weather.
"You just don't know what you're going to get, and that's out of your control. You just hope and pray that you get good, warm weather but to stay away from the severe stuff would be nice," noted Froese.
As for disease and pest pressures this season, he says it's been very low on both fronts.
And as the season continues with equipment and trucks sharing the road with regular traffic, Froese just encourages everyone to stay safe.