Farmers breaking a sweat over soaked soil conditions

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This article was published 20/05/2022 (1386 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Westman farmers will be forced to make some serious decisions over the next few days following much precipitation this week, according to Keystone Agricultural Producers president Bill Campbell.

The heavy rain and cold temperatures the region has experienced over the last couple weeks has slowed seeding efforts considerably, which means producers may have to pivot their crop planting strategy to accommodate a later start.

“There was a lot of patience expressed prior to this weekend, but I think now we’ve come to the point where we have to make decisions and move forward and do the best that we can,” Campbell said Friday afternoon.

According to Manitoba’s most recent crop report that was released Tuesday, seeding progress sits at about four per cent provincewide, which is a substantial step down from the 50 per cent completion average for this time of year.

With parts of Western Manitoba having endured between 30 and 70 millimetres of precipitation this week alone, Campbell explained that conditions are not ideal for planting crops, partially because traversing the wet soil in heavy farm equipment is next to impossible.

“I’m not sure when we’re going to be able to travel on the land,” said the KAP president, who also farms near Minto. “The soil temperature and the soil conditions are just not favourable for seeding at this point.”

Hartney-area producer Brendan Phillips shares a lot of Campbell’s concerns, telling the Sun on Friday how delayed seeding can result in a massive societal domino effect beyond his individual financial woes.

“It’s a grave concern for not only us as farmers but also the entire agriculture community that relies on us pulling off a crop and supporting the economic development in the area,” said Phillips, who grows canola, wheat, corn and soybeans.

“And as we get into June, your yields tend to decline to some extent and you get pushed up against crop insurance deadline windows, which [means] if you sow after that day, your crop is insurable at less of a dollar value.”

On the insurance front, producers like Phillips caught somewhat of a break on Friday, when the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation announced it is extending the AgriInsurance seeding deadlines for soybeans in Westman to June 4.

AgriInsurance contract holders who are unable to seed by June 20 due to wet conditions are eligible for excess moisture insurance.

Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers executive director Daryl Domitruk told the Sun that the excessively wet weather does present an upside, especially when compared to the bone-dry conditions that farmers had to endure last summer.

“The crop went in at a good time last year, but we had no rain so it didn’t yield very well,” Domitruk said. “This year, it’s a tough time to get the crop in, but if we do get it in, it should be well supported by a good amount of moisture in the soil.”

Of course, successful seeding before June will depend on the forecast, with Environment Canada predicting a five-day stretch of sunny weather in Brandon starting Sunday.

But in the meantime, Campbell advises his fellow producers to remain vigilant and explore a couple different seeding strategies if the forecast doesn’t turn in their favour.

“It could be the middle or the end of next week before those conditions become favourable for widespread seeding,” he said.

“So there’s lots of thoughts about how we seed the crop and change some of that process … going to broadcast seeding, maybe even aerial seeding. Lots of scenarios are being thought of throughout this weekend.”

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

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