Some farmers still need to harvest their 2016 crops
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Producers in Alberta waiting to harvest their 2016 crops before planting this year’s crops should think about planting different varieties or different crops altogether, says Harry Brook, a crop specialist from the Alberta Ag-Info Centre.
Approximately 960,000 insured crop acres remain unharvested as of May 5, according to the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation. But farmers still have plenty of planting options, even as they get further into planting season.
“Say it is quite late but it’s still not much into June and you want to grow canola, you can still grow Polish canola,” Harry Brook told Call of the Land. “(Synthetic) varieties are similar to hybrids. They don’t approach (yield) levels that Argentine varieties do but they are an alternative.”
And if the calendar turns to June before producers begin seeding, some short-season crops like barley could be part of the crop rotation.
“I know it has very poor returns at the moment, but (barley) will produce in a fairly short time,” Brook said, adding that the crop could always be made into silage or grain feed for livestock.
If it’s approaching July and a farmer still has acres to seed, cover crops can be planted to help improve soil health.
“Most (producers) don’t put in a (cover crop) to improve the soil or even the nitrogen that’s in the soil because it costs money,” says Brook. “Whereas if you put in a (cover crop) and it’s a pulse or a legume, you can capture well over 100 lbs per acre (of nitrogen) with that kind of crop.”
And if farmers find themselves into late summer before suitable planting conditions occur, winter crops might be an avenue to explore.
“The big advantage with (winter wheat, fall rye or winter triticale) is that they will produce about 15 per cent higher yield than their spring-seeded alternatives,” says Brook.