Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Sporadic rains and prolonged periods of dryness are taking their toll on forage crops in Alberta and parts of Saskatchewan. According to Terry Kowalchuk, a forage crop specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture in Regina, the eastern half of the province is managing, but the situation is worse in the province’s west. The western […] Read more
Parched Prairie forages hang in under stress
Guenther: Manage risks around weather-stressed pastures, forages
Reading Time: 3 minutes Mother Nature has dealt a weak hand to many northwestern Saskatchewan livestock producers this year as frost, a cool spring and dry weather have hit pastures and hay stands. But there are still a few strategies for producers to make the best — and avoid the worst — of what the weather has left them. […] Read more
Sask. extends greenfeed seeding deadline
Reading Time: 2 minutes Livestock producers in parched areas of Saskatchewan now have until mid-month to seed insured acres to cereal greenfeed. The federal and provincial governments on Thursday announced an extension of Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp.’s deadline for seeding greenfeed to July 15, from June 30. Producers signed up for crop insurance will now be able to seed […] Read more
Dry spring puts Sask. grass, hay in short supply
Reading Time: 2 minutes A dry, cool spring has checked pasture growth in Saskatchewan and a hay shortage is looming. The province’s latest crop report notes topsoil moisture in hay fields and pasture is rated 42 per cent short and 24 per cent very short. Crop district 7A, in west-central Saskatchewan, has the dubious distinction of being the driest […] Read more
Guenther: Rain drops in on NW Sask.
Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers and ranchers in northwestern Saskatchewan received much-needed rain late last week and over the weekend. Tom Brown raises cattle and is a crop reporter for Saskatchewan Agriculture and the reeve for the Rural Municipality of Mervin. His farm at Turtleford, about 80 km east of Lloydminster, received 11 mm of rain on Thursday night, […] Read more
U.S. agency sees El Nino likely to last into 2016
Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — A U.S. weather forecaster warned on Thursday the El Nino weather pattern that can cause droughts in Asia and heavy rain in the Americas will likely last into next year, longer than previously expected and potentially roiling crops and commodity prices. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), an agency of the […] Read more
Dry areas of Prairies still waiting for rain
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada –– The continued lack of moisture across a large portion of Alberta and Saskatchewan is becoming more of a concern for farmers in the region, but there is a chance of rain in some nearby forecasts. Shannon Friesen, a cropping management specialist for Saskatchewan Agriculture in Moose Jaw, said some livestock producers are […] Read more
West’s ranchers sending cattle out to pasture early
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — The late spring has prompted many Prairie cattle owners to put their animals on pasture weeks ahead of schedule, according to three industry watchers. “They are probably three weeks early (in Alberta) compared to when they should be turning them out,” said forage specialist Barry Yaremcio at the provincial Ag-Info Centre at […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
