Crop development is behind due to excess moisture and cooler-than-normal conditions
There hasn’t been a shortage of moisture for farmers in Saskatchewan this summer, but that’s not necessarily good news.
Crops are in good condition after widespread rain on the prairies, according to the province’s most recent crop report, but crop development is behind where it normally is at this time of year due to excess moisture and cooler-than-normal conditions.
Bill Prybylski, a vice-president at the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) who farms in the province’s southeast, said the moisture was welcome early on as it helps crops develop, but the continuing rain and cool conditions slowed things down.
“Recent heavy rainfalls, though, have kind of put a damper on expectations,” he said. “Also, the crops are a little bit slow in development. I think the cool weather, particularly the cool nights, has delayed crop development.”
Prybylski said more rain in most areas of the province would end up doing more harm than good. Most farmers want warmer temperatures, preferably in the mid-20s, which he said would be good for crops.
“It would be awesome if we could get a couple weeks of that and get the crops maturing,” he said.
Despite these challenges, Prybylski said there is still an overall sense of optimism that farmers will pull off a good, average-sized crop come harvest.
But farmers, like many shippers in Canada, now face some uncertainty due to a potential disruption in rail service.
On June 29, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents workers at Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (CPKC) announced their membership had once again voted in overwhelming numbers to give their union a strike mandate.
originally published at: https://thestarphoenix.com/new...