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Post by kenmb on Apr 10, 2021 8:40:08 GMT -6
Pea stubble has sloughs all over, barley stubble right next to it has no sloughs at all, not even the ones that are normally there all year round. So right now I am guessing pea stubble is going to be low on moisture.
Trees are budding out so this upcoming snow is going to set them back once again like the last few years. Starting to think it is nature's way of cutting back on the foliage in preparation for lower rainfall. Not too often we have an early, warm spring with lots of rain in season to make the trees get a real good long growing season.
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Post by meskie on Apr 10, 2021 9:47:32 GMT -6
If we get the forecasted 10-20cm of snow we will have a good start for moisture. Things are dry around here for this time of year. Just snow left in the bush lines. Not un common for us to get a snow storm this time of year or at the end of April. Last year I was sledding with the kids this time of year.
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Post by victory on Apr 10, 2021 10:40:43 GMT -6
We had excess moisture the last 4 years. Thankfully last fall was a drier harvest. So we have good subsoil moisture and this spring seems average to a bit early for snow melt. Last year we had -20C the beginning of April - don't need that again!
To sum up, looks quite promising for the start of this cropping year. But like you all know, that can change very quickly lol.
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Post by snapper22 on Apr 10, 2021 18:51:11 GMT -6
So far sub moisture is decent I’m worried though about the trend so far. Lerner says we’ll get early rain then it’ll get dry. I’m cutting canola down to wet low fields and upping cereals on hills. Can dry out so easy in the hills.
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Post by Albertabuck on Apr 10, 2021 19:57:18 GMT -6
Hasn't been any rain or snow here recently, been going around so far. Honestly at this point I'm not complaining, we were still wet going into winter and I'm running out of suitable places to hold cattle till pastures stiffen up enough they won't summerfallow the sod. I got corrals where the front diff of the 4850 is dragging in slop, couldn't keep most in anymore, had to let them out where they couldn't damage much. Fields are drying up. Right here at home, got where I fed the cows most of the winter, few more days like this and be able to scratch around with the chisel plow and spread out all the turds from where the silage bunks were. Several acres of stubble and weeds from 2019 in the one corner, was too wet to work last summer so pastured it in fall, be while before I can work that. Neighbor got some canola to combine, last I drove by was still water in his swather ruts. Like I said, we got a lot of carry over water, but things can get dry quick indeed. Honestly I have never seen my dugouts and more as full as they have been this past summer and still now. Snow almost all gone on north side of trees, bit of greening up with few things here and there too. Been actually quite nice here since mid March I guess. Hayland is still soft, don't want to be driving across it, but like pastures, starting to stiffen up.
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Post by Albertabuck on Apr 11, 2021 10:13:56 GMT -6
Well guess I spoke too soon or maybe jinxed myself lol, three to four inches of white stuff on the ground this morning. Since EV Can messed up the radar map I haven't been looking at radar as much lately. While I think of it, I'll post the link here for an AB site that has a lot better map and least you can see whats going on, maybe them fkwits at EV could learn a thing or two from this one. Unfortunately its AB specific. agriculture.alberta.ca/acis/weather-radar.jsp |
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Post by slipclutch on Apr 14, 2021 6:01:20 GMT -6
With all the snow this week. We have more now than all winter.
Lots of moisture in this dump. Well needed.
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Post by garyfunk on Apr 14, 2021 7:04:37 GMT -6
Still dry here and getting dryer by the day. 18% humidity yesterday. It's still early but right now I'm thankful for the last couple years of above average hay crops.
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Post by Oatking on Apr 14, 2021 7:36:07 GMT -6
Well I will be lucky to be in the fields at the end of the month. We are saturated now with around 25 cm of snow and below zero celsius temperatures to the end of april. I would say we are in good shape to get a crop started and get the saline areas pushed down in the soil. I am curious though, a few neighbors seeded at the end of march and the first week of april. I tried to stay busy in the yard to not get too itchy to seed.
How good are the seed treatments these days to keep the seed in good shape if its in the ground for a month?
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Post by kevlar on Apr 14, 2021 8:01:30 GMT -6
We had a snowfall warning for three day, got at the most one inch. Kind of reminds me of the weather forecasts of last year where they kept calling for rains then only got a few drops, well until the nights we got 9 then 6 inches of rain, without any warnings at all! lol Not worried about moisture, never do really, except excessive moisture which seems to be our biggest problem most times. Would almost think it's spraying season with all the wind we have been getting, was retarded last night, if we had gotten ant snow it would have been a whiteout blizzard for sure.
I was wondering about the guys that have seeded as well, I heard of one guy going by Portage at the end of March. I know ant time we have sowed in April it never turns out as good as the rest, always seem to get a cold spell that sets it back and weakens it. Sowed oats one year around April 26ish, it was the last crop we combined that year, it germinated, then I believe it snowed before it came up, turned out ok, just took a month longer than it should have.
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Post by SWMan on Apr 14, 2021 8:40:24 GMT -6
Got maybe 2-3" so probably as much snow as we had all winter, better than nothing. Good stubble is key because the bare fields it all blew around. My super dry pea stubble has enormous bare spots so half the field might germinate after this and half probably won't. But it's good to see something, maybe this primes the pump for some rain at some point.
I have trialed cereal seed treatment over a dozen times(mostly on wheat) and never once seen a yield response, sometimes a yield reduction. Not worth the time to apply it let alone the cost IMO.
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Post by kenmb on Apr 14, 2021 10:11:04 GMT -6
Probably about 6" of snow here. Came with a 40-60k winds so ditches have a fair bit. Might take sleds for one more spin. The snow will be fine for the stubble crops and should melt in but don't think my pea stubble is going to get much help on the high ground since the snow simply blew away from where it is really needed. I had no plans of seeding before May 1 no matter how warm it got so this doesn't change much in that regard.
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Post by garyfunk on May 22, 2021 4:27:37 GMT -6
Update: pastures are brown and the hay stocks are dwindling. Our crop is in and somehow the canola only had to be sown about an inch deep to find moisture. Really happy about the fields that I sprayed last fall and like usual I'm wishing I had done more.
Was toying with the idea of not fertilizing the hayland but the May long weekend is here and they're promising rain so I started yesterday and should finish today. Some of my best hay crops have been from fertilizing after dry springs as it really comes if it does rain, but then again I always fertilize (gotta have a little faith I guess 😀).
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