Humboldt

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.

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.

A southern section of Main Street in Humboldt will be closed to traffic on Thursday, May 29. 

The area between 2nd and 4th avenue of Main Street will be closed to abandon an old watermain.  

A detour will be set up to guide traffic around the closed-off area. 

Work is expected to last for one day. 

A rapidly growing wildfire near the Saskatchewan border in Northern Manitoba has prompted a mandatory evacuation order for the entire community of Flin Flon.

The wildfire, identified as Fire WE024, was first detected on Monday near the community of Creighton, Sask., and has since ballooned in size. As of Wednesday afternoon, the estimated area is 20,000 hectares and is now threatening the community.

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.

As crops begin to emerge across the Prairies, farmers are being reminded to regularly scout their fields for insect activity. Dr. Meghan Vankosky, a field crop entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, emphasizes the importance of vigilance, particularly concerning grasshoppers.

Focusing on the Future is the theme for the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Annual General Meeting and Convention next month in Moose Jaw.

This year’s theme celebrates the resilience, innovation, and leadership of Saskatchewan’s livestock producers while tackling key industry challenges and opportunities.

President Jeff Yorga says after some challenging times, producers are finally seeing some optimism in the cattle industry.