Excess Moisture Concerns In Parts Of Alberta

Jun 16, 2020

Some warm, dry weather and no wind is what farmers across Alberta, and many areas of the Prairies would like to see now.

Recent rains have definitely helped to improve soil moisture and pasture conditions but sunshine would help with crop development.

In Alberta, heavy rains in the North West and Peace River areas have resulted in excess moisture and left standing water in the field.

Alberta's crop report shows 98% of the 2020 crop is in the ground, with about 75% of the crop emerged.

AFSC's Product Development Analyst Ken Handford says crop development varies on where you are in the province.

"The crops in the southern part of the province are the most developed where they're actually into well into the tillering stage. Then you have Central Alberta, the North East and the North West where the majority of the crops are in the three to five-leaf stage and the Peace region where they are a little bit delayed. They're just entering the seedling stage right now."

He notes they've had accumulations in the last couple of weeks of up to seven or eight inches so it's resulted in a fair bit of damage and water in the field.

In the south there's been some reseeding of crops due to flea beetles, flooding, crusting and wind damage.

Farmer's who are still working on their seeding operations are being reminded that the seeding deadline is coming up June 20th.

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.