Farmer's Busy Scouting Crops

Jun 30, 2021

Recent rains combined with this week's heatwave can be a mixed blessing for farmers.

While it will spark crop and pasture growth and development, it's also the ideal breeding ground for weed and disease issues.

Crops Extension Specialist Shannon Friesen says you want to watch for unusual signs or symptoms showing up in the crop.

"With disease, you most often see some yellowing of the plant first. In some cases, such as lentils, we may even start to see them turn that kind of lime green colour, which usually indicates that we have some root rot issues. Other diseases you know, such as in cereals, we tend to see almost light brown or reddish spots on the leaves. Maybe they're in stripes, maybe they're in spots. Certainly anything that just doesn't look like the normal green colour."

She says with farmers out now checking crops on a regular basis, it's a good idea to set up a scouting kit.

"It should include things such as a magnifying glass. You want to make sure that you have a trowel to actually dig things up. You know, everybody has a camera in their back pocket now, so make sure you have that, as well as anything that can record GPS coordinates."

Friesen notes this week's intense heat could also result in some heat stress in developing crops.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.