THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2013
VOL. 91 | NO. 27 | $4.25
DRAINAGE ISSUES
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
ALBERTA FLOODS | AGRICULTURE
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DOWN IN THE MOUTH
Agriculture escapes serious damage BY BARB GLEN & MARY MACARTHUR LETHBRIDGE, CAMROSE BUREAUS
AG ESCAPES SERIOUS DAMAGE, PAGE 2
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Dr. Greg Evans of Moore Equine checks the dental work on a riding horse at Calgary Stampede Ranch, where some of the world’s best bucking stock are bred and raised, including the legendary horse Grated Coconut. The Western Producer recently visited the ranch. See page 65. | MARY MACARTHUR PHOTO
AGRONOMY | CROP DEVELOPMENT
Crops faring well despite rain Current conditions | Rains have done more good than harm, says a canola specialist BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM
Prairie crops appear to be thriving despite excessive moisture in much of the region. Keith Gabert, an agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, said torrential rains have done more good than harm based on his recent travels from Peace River to Saskatoon. “There are some fantastic looking fields across that area,” said Gabert, who was working near Red Deer when reached by telephone. “I’m driving past a canola field that could easily keep a commercial cabbage guy happy with how healthy and colourful the crop looks. So I’m going with it’s a great year still.” Neil Townsend, director of CWB Market Research, thinks the rain has added three or more bushels per acre
(Crops) have got a nice dark green to that dark green-blue colour, which to a canola producer is almost like the colour of money. KEITH GABERT CANOLA COUNCIL OF CANADA
to wheat and barley crops. “Right now, on June 28, it’s like a garden plot,” he said. “Crops look great.” June precipitation levels ranged from 150 percent to in excess of 200 percent of normal for much of southern Alberta, western and southern Saskatchewan and eastern Manitoba, according to Agricul-
ture Canada moisture maps. Many of those same regions have received precipitation levels in the 80 to 100 percentile range for the entire growing season since April 1, which means 20 percent or fewer years have been this wet in those areas, said Dan Kulak, a meteorologist with Environment Canada. Gabert said the field he was observ-
ing near Red Deer “couldn’t look much better if the guy bribed somebody.” And that isn’t out of the ordinary this year. “(Crops) have got a nice dark green to that dark green-blue colour, which to a canola producer is almost like the colour of money,” he said. “The proportion of fields that are really starting to look good should be making us optimistic.” He believes farmers are in store for above-average canola yields despite some of the typical agronomic problems that accompany excess moisture. The biggest challenge for canola growers will be sclerotinia, which was prevalent across much of Western Canada in 2012. “The weather conditions this year really are lining up like sclerotinia should be a concern,” he said. CROPS FARING WELL, PAGE 3
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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv-:= JULY 4, 2013 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4 The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240
It’s hard to describe something as lucky when it’s in the midst of an event as devastating as the floods that stormed through southern Alberta two weeks ago. But reports of agricultural damage and livestock losses caused by the flood have so far been minimal. While High River remained destroyed and Calgary continued its cleanup, farmers and ranchers were still assessing flood effects and few had reported major losses as of June 28, one week after southern Alberta’s major flood June 20 to 23. “The way it’s being reported to me is it’s largely a river event,” said Alberta agriculture minister Verlyn Olson.