2020 a bountiful year for crop production

Farmers in many areas were able to get into their fields fairly soon as well.

Roberts also credited farmers expertise in managing their fields to get a healthy crop with a strong yield.

Good fortune also played a role.

“We were also lucky,” Roberts said. “We had some excellent harvest conditions this year, so they were able to get [the crop] off. Last year we ran into problems; we had a really wet fall. But this past season, we had excellent harvest conditions. So very little crop was left in the field anywhere in the province. It was all able to be harvested.”

Some of the crops grown in the province include wheat, oats, barley, canola, lentils, peas, soybeans, corn, sunflowers, quinoa and hemp.

The quality of the crop was also favourable, although there were some challenges in certain spots due to severe weather, from hail storms in July, followed by hot dry weather in August.

In the Battlefords area, we had a few odd little areas of hail that came through,” Roberts said. “Nothing really immense. We have some losses from the hail. And, we went really hot there for a while, so we lost a little bit of yield to premature ripening and heat blasting on our canola. But otherwise most of the time we had some really good moisture come just at the right time.”

“Because we did have some above-average rainfall in some areas, it really got things off to a good start, and it just kept right through for the whole season,” Roberts added.

For the year ahead, the expert would like to see another strong growing season.

“I am looking and hoping for the same average to above-average yields we got this year,” Roberts said. “Mother nature will tell, but I do believe the potential is there for once again having another bumper crop.”

She said the snowfall so far this winter will provide additional moisture coverage to benefit farmers when they return to their fields to seed in the spring.

Roberts is reminding farmers to continue to check their fields for clubroot, a serious soil-borne disease that can affect certain crops such as canola.

The Canola Council of Canada recommends on their website to use a crop rotation practise of at least a two-year break from canola to help prevent major infestations from becoming established in a field, to manage clubroot.

Roberts said because in the North West region of the province there are some issues with clubroot, farmers need to be mindful of how tight they are making their rotations so they don’t end up having a problem with it on their canola fields. If they are uncertain they can still get some soil testing done on their fields. They need to ensure they follow the canola rotation plans they sign up for.

“The wider they can keep those rotations, the better off they are,” she said.

“If they are not certain of crops that might grow there [in their location] or be successfully grown there, please get in touch with one of their crop extension specialists at the Agriculture Knowledge Centre,” Roberts said. “Or, give their regional office a call so they can have an opportunity to discuss widening those rotations. That is one of the best ways if they don’t have clubroot to keep it from getting on to their farm.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW

by Angela Brown

2020 a bountiful year for crop production

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