(Resource News International) — Alberta’s farmers are ready to start seeding — at least, as soon as conditions allow it.
Varying accumulations of snow over the past week
have essentially brought any seeding operations in the province of
Alberta to a complete standstill, according to crop specialist Neil Whatley at the provincial Ag-Info Centre at Stettler.
“There was some minimal acreage in the southern and central
areas of Alberta that was planted before the weather began
working against producers,” he said.
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Not a lot of area had been seeded, he said, as soil
temperatures were not warm enough to put a crop into the ground.
“Of the crops that were put into the ground, field peas were
the most common,” he said, noting that this crop has a good
history of rebounding if there is an unexpected frost.
A number of farmers have been anxious to
begin seeding but have had to put those plans on hold in view of
the weather, Whatley said.
“There is a hope among producers that fields will be dry
enough and temperatures warm enough to begin planting by the end
of April,” he said. “At the latest, producers should have
seeding operations underway throughout the province by the first
Precipitation which stymied seeding in
central and southern areas wasn’t a factor in the Peace River
district of northern Alberta, he said.
However, producers there, while not dealing with as much
precipitation as usual, still have to wait at least another
couple of weeks before getting out on the fields.
Based on early indications, Whatley said, winter wheat
and fall rye crops in Alberta were believed to have survived the
winter in very good shape.
“There are some nervous producers who are concerned about
their winter wheat, but the only problem we have encountered so
far was in isolated areas in the south, where snow cover over the
winter was lacking,” he said.
Soil moisture conditions in the province were said to have
improved, but were not expected to result in any major switches
in planned acreage at this time, he said.