Canola crops turned from green to yellow a little earlier this year.
With a mild winter and early spring, farmers started seeding sooner than normal this year. It is why we are seeing the onset of flowering already.
Crops across Saskatchewan
The prime weather conditions this year have been ideal growing conditions for the canola crop in particular, according to Shannon Friesen, the regional crop specialist for the Ministry of Agriculture.
"We've heard many reports that crops are actually anywhere from a week to two weeks ahead of schedule," said Friesen.
"Most of that is due to good moisture in the topsoil as well as nice, warm days."
Franck Groeneweg, a canola farmer and owner of Green Atlantic Farms, said he was able to start seeding at the end of April.
"The weather was quite conducive to do a lot of acres right away, and we had some moisture as well to get the crop germinated properly," said Groeneweg.
"Cautiously optimistic"
Despite the good start to the year, those in agriculture say they are cautiously optimistic about the canola crops.
"Never count your chickens before they hatch, but it's looking good," said Groeneweg.
"We have to be cautious because the year is only half way done right now, so there's a lot of things that could go wrong to derail a good crop," said Clinton Jurke, agronomy director with the Canola Council of Canada.
While the moisture and temperatures have been good for the flowering canola crop, Jurke said that, in excess, those conditions could pose a problem.
"With really good growing conditions like this, it's kind of the same conditions that canola diseases like a lot," said Jurke.
The same thing goes for all crops across Saskatchewan.
"With frequent rain showers, that also tends to bring a lot of high humidity, which also helps to spread diseases," said Friesen.
She said that the dampness of top of the soil combined with a humid canopy is the ideal condition for diseases to spread.
"It's a little bit like a bathroom that stays wet all the time," said Groeneweg.
"If we don't clean it up, they'll just get more moldy and more moldy."
Groeneweg also said that no farmer likes to spray, but when it comes down to it, they'll do what needs to be done to protect their crop.
Heavy rainstorms with hail also pose a problem for farmers, and Jurke said the farmers call that "the great white combine".
"It may look very good right now, but all it takes is five minutes of hail … and that five minutes over eight weeks can mean a wreck," said Groeneweg.
Early harvest
With the early start to the season, Groeneweg hopes that he can harvest in August.
"The days are longer and it's usually a bit dryer, versus starting in September when days are starting to get shorter and wetter, and it's harder to get it done later on."
"I'm a farmer, I'm optimistic all the time," said Groeneweg. "We just have to do our best, we do our best until it comes in, and sometimes it doesn't."
Source : CBC