The Rural Voice, 1989-06, Page 36W
CROP SCAN:
hile April and May (up to
May 15) have certainly been
cool and wet, the amount of
precipitation has not been as much as I
had anticipated. I had expected soggy
April and May field conditions leading
to compacted and lumpy soils which
would spell certain peril once the dry
weather hit.
While rainfall amounts have not
been large, they have been timely,
allowing for excellent germination
and emergence of spring grains and
spring -seeded forages.
The cool temperatures have not
allowed for rapid early season growth
of established forage stands. But with
Last year's drought conditions coupled
with October cuttings of alfalfa stands,
the cool, moist weather is allowing
this stressed crop to gather root
reserves before making rapid growth
under heat conditions.
Many dairymen lost their alfalfa
stands this past winter and have had
to scramble finding a local field to
purchase (if there is one) and/or direct
seeding this spring in hope of satisfac-
tory, harvestable tonnage in August.
Fertility management is always more
crucial under these stress conditions.
Looking at the weather conditions
further afield:
American Winter Wheat
The Kansas hard red winter wheat
crop is now rated as 55 per cent very
poor and lags behind last years' devel-
opment, according to the Kansas Agri-
cultural Statistics Reporting Service.
The Kansas crop was 55 per cent
very poor, 25 per cent poor, 13 per
cent fair, 4 per cent good, and 3 per
cent excellent. Hard red winter wheat
is the most popular American wheat
and Kansas is the biggest producer.
The Texas crop is rated 20 per cent
very poor, 25 per cent poor, 47 per
cent fair, and 8 per cent good.
The Oklahoma wheat crop is rated
12 per cent very poor, 8 per cent poor,
50 per cent fair, and 30 per cent good.
There has been some precipitation
in the grain belt of the U.S., but more
will be needed in a timely manner to
NORTH AMERICAN
RAINFALL
AND
MOISTURE
RESERVES
Mervyn Erb is an independent
crop consultant and agronomist.
ensure the germination of corn and
wheat.
In Iowa, the largest corn -producing
state, topsoil moisture reserves were
estimated at 93 per cent short and only
7 per cent adequate, with subsoil 95
per cent short and 5 per cent adequate.
Indiana and Illinois, two major
corn states, are in better shape and are
believed to have sufficient moisture
for good germination.
Nebraska, another major corn state,
was reported to be 90 per cent short of
topsoil moisture and farmers were
holding back on their corn planting
until more rain came.
The agronomists I've talked to in
most areas of the American grain belt
say there is an inadequate reserve of
moisture in the subsoil and the 1989
crop will have to rely almost entirely
on timely rainfall.
Prairie Precipitation
In Alberta, the Grand Prairie
district is rated as dry with only 25
to 60 per cent available moisture.
Lethbridge to Calgary and east to
Saskatoon and Regina is still in the
grip of the drought.
Soil moisture conditions in most
of Saskatchewan are rated fair to poor.
The only areas of adequate topsoil
moisture are in the northwest corner.
The weather was reported to be cool
and dry in April and strong winds had
caused extensive soil drifting through-
out the central and southern regions.
On the brighter side, Oil World,
the German -based newsletter, is very
concerned over the world's supply of
oilseed stock. It is predicting a gener-
ally tight supply/demand balance and
firm prices. And I quote: "There is
no reason for the market to be com-
placent and take an ample oilseed pro-
duction for granted ... The expected
carryover stocks of 21 million tonnes
will be sufficient only if favourable
weather and a very sharp recovery of
world oilseed production occur."
If these factors do not materialize,
prices will rise steeply to or through
this season's peaks, predicts Oil
World.0
34 THE RURAL VOICE