THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011
VOL. 89 | NO. 38 | $3.75
HIGH ROAD TO FIELD | APRESSURE JOB P24
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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HARVEST | FROST
WILDLIFE | DAMAGES
Farmers assess frost damage Sub-zero threat makes farmers sweat | Northwestern Sask. already affected, say producers BY BRYN LEVY SASKATOON NEWSROOM
Canola growers across Western Canada are assessing the effects of this year’s first frost. After a few weeks of generally warm weather, nighttime temperatures finally started to dip across the region, causing frost to hit most areas of Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan. With harvest well underway in most areas, late-seeded crops like canola are most likely to suffer frost damage. Doug Moisey, a senior agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada based near Mallaig, Alta., said it is too early to tell what effect frost will have on canola in his area of northeastern Alberta. “We won’t know until it’s combined. We’ve had everything from -1 C to -6 and -7 C. But I don’t know what the crop stage was. I don’t know how far along maturity was. Typically the less mature plants will suffer more, but as far as downgrades or yield losses, I have no idea. It’s too early to venture and we won’t know until it’s in the bin,” he said.
In Saskatchewan, Ed Schafer, president of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, said that frost hit hard in the area of northwestern Saskatchewan where he farms, near Makwa, Sask. “There was a lot of canola that wasn’t swathed yet. There’s going to be some green seed issues and some yield reduction,” he said. Shafer said it was too early to tell what effect frost damage was going to have on western Canadian canola yields. “Going into this year canola stocks are going to be tight. We’ve got really good demand and an average crop on the Prairies, maybe,” he said. In southwestern Manitoba, Rob Pettinger, president of the Manitoba Canola Growers, said that frost damage was unlikely to
be a major concern, as excess moisture earlier in the year had prevented seeding on a large number of acres. “In my specific area (near Souris, Man.) a big part of the canola was so poor, so early on that the frost won’t be the big degrading factor… there were a few people who seeded late, around June 20, and that stuff will have suffered from the frost, but that’s a pretty small number of acres,” he said. Moisey pointed out that at this time of year, with frost looming, individual producers have to make the decision on when to take off their canola on a field-by-field basis. “The biggest factor is to look at the pod and the actual integrity of the plant itself. If it’s still relatively green or if the pods are still pliable, not basically breaking apart, then the bottom line is depending upon how they feel, and how many acres they’ve got, basically stay the course until they start seeing some colour change or indicators that it’s starting to change,” he said. Moisey also said that if pods are
starting to turn white, or starting to shell, it becomes a question of whether a producer wants to save bulk or push for quality. “The other thing is that if it’s starting to shell you’ve got to be thinking about swathing at night when the dews are on to try and preserve as much of that yield as possible.” Moisey said producers also need to factor in how long canola is going to sit in a swath. He said it’s still relatively early in the fall and there is still potential for warm weather and moisture to rehydrate seeds. “There’s an enzyme in canola that clears chlorophyll, but the seed has to be at about 20 percent seed moisture and 15 C around there, like warm fall days to help keep that enzyme going so that it can break down the chlorophyll within that seed profile. But you need the rehydrating of the seed: you need dews, you need rain,” he said. “If it is being knocked down at this time, remember it is going to take some time to clear, it may never clear, but the idea is to wait as long as possible before you make that decision to harvest it,” he said.
Wild boars pose threat to livestock, crops Producers get provincial grant to eliminate animals BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM
Bob Brickley is convinced he will be waging war against wild boars for the remainder of his life. His battle began eight years ago when 14 boars that had escaped from captivity invaded his farm adjacent to Moose Mountain Provincial Park in southeastern Saskatchewan. The animals chewed through 20 acres of oats and then turned their attention to a quarter section of barley swaths Brickley planned to use to feed his cattle. The boars chased his cattle out of the barley fields, causing a stampede that killed one cow and led to the abortion of six calves. “The cows wouldn’t go near the swaths. They literally stood a mile away and bawled for two days until I brought them home and started feeding them,” said Brickley. SEE WILD BOARS, PAGE 2 access=subscriber section=news,none,none
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Hot, dry days made harvest conditions ideal for swathing wheat east of Allan, Sask., in early September. Frost worries loom large for producers across the Prairies, many of whom got a late start because of a cool,wet spring. FOR MORE ON CROP CONDITIONS, SEE PAGE 5. SEE MORE ABOUT FROST DATES ON PAGE 23, AND SEE OUR CROP REPORTS ON PAGES 28-29. | WILLIAM DEKAY PHOTO
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4