One Saskatchewan farmer who s taken the plunge and planted soybeans is Kevin Elmy, who also writes for our FBC sister publication Grainews. Elmy said in a recent e-mail exchange that growers there are definitely interested in soybeans.
He says there s a fairly long list of growers he s worked with in non-traditional areas from Assiniboia to Arborfield to Virden who planted about 6,000 acres of soybeans in 2008.
Elmy has written in past that the current price structure and the growth of local markets, such as Manitoba soybean crusher Jordan Mills, are making the crop more attractive for growers in his home province.
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Major hurdles ahead
Tom Warkentin is a plant scientist at the University of Saskatchewan who s been involved in a number of soybean test plots in Saskatchewan. He describes the results of the past several years in one word: mixed.
In some [years] most varieties matured and produced 25 to 30 bushels an acre of good-quality seed, Warkentin said in a recent e-mail.
In some [years], we’ve achieved this
level of yield, but the seed was immature and low to poor quality, due to lack of maturity prior to killing frost, Warkentin says. In some [years], we achieved very poor yields due to either drought or lack of maturity prior to killing frost.
Manitoba government soybean expert Bruce Brolley says growers have benefited in part from varieties that are adapted to cooler growing seasons, reflected by lower heat unit ratings close to 2200, compared to longer season varieties that require 2400 units and up. However, he also says growers in this region are finding that corn heat units that were developed in Ontario are an imperfect fit for soybeans on the Prairies.
It doesn’t take into account our longer photoperiod, Brolley says. Soybeans have linear growth at night and exponential growth during the day, so our longer days help them mature. In most of our trials we found that the largest limiting factor was moisture, not heat.
Both Brolley and Warkentin say that when new soybean production regions open up, it will largely be determined by the microclimates of growing areas.
We think the best fit will eventually be in the warmest, wettest areas of Saskatchewan, likely in the Regina plains, Warkentin says.
The Pembina Valley is probably our next soybean area, Brolley says of Manitoba. It s really related to moisture how much rain do they get?
This expected growth will also likely be dependent on continued development of new soybean vareities that are earlier maturing and require fewer heat units, Warkentin says.
Brolley agrees, but says another key part of the puzzle will be risk mitigation mechanisms such as eventually expanded crop insurance coverage.
If growers could get just a little coverage even just on their seed I think they d be a lot more likely to try soybeans, Brolley says.
