Saskatchewan farmers wrapping up seeding operations

Jun 17, 2022

Seeding is nearly complete in Saskatchewan.

According to the weekly crop report from the Ministry of Agriculture, 98 per cent of the crop is in the ground in areas where seeding was possible.

The ministry said some fields in eastern Saskatchewan were too wet to seed and, with recent rains, those fields likely won’t be seeded this year.

That rain caused minor to serious flooding in some areas, but was welcome in other regions where fields were dry.

“In the west, the rain will hopefully allow crops to recover from the drought conditions, but due to the localized nature of the rainfall, much of the western regions will need more widespread rains soon to keep crops from failing,” the report said.

“Some areas received hail over the past week. Damage is currently unknown since many crops have not yet emerged, but enough hail was received in some areas to make it appear as if it had snowed.”

That was the case last Thursday in the Grand Coulee area.

An area north of Rosetown got the most rain during the week, with more than 125 millimetres falling Monday alone. According to the ministry, most of the water in that area soaked into the ground due to dry conditions.

The rain helped improve topsoil moisture conditions in the province. Cropland topsoil moisture now is rated at seven per cent surplus, 65 per cent adequate, 19 per cent short and nine per cent very short, while hay and pasture land is rated as six per cent surplus, 61 per cent adequate, 24 per cent short and nine per cent very short.

“For some hay fields in drier areas, the rain might have come too late and the hay crop may not be ready for first cut in a couple of weeks,” the report said. “In areas where moisture was abundant, the crops look very good.”

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Video: How to fix a leaking pond.

Does the pond leak? Ummmm....possibly a tiny bit. Well, more than a bit...ok, the darn thing leaks like a sieve!

QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Damit is not plastic. Therefore, there are no microplastics. I wish I had not mentioned plastic, but that is a very common polymer and I mentioned it as an example of a polymer. A polymer is simply a chain of repeating molecules, or "monomers." Cellulose is a polymer of glucose molecules. Starches are also polymers of various molecules such as fructose, maltose, etc. We have many polymers inside our bodies. In other words, just knowing something is a polymer doesn't make it bad, toxic, harmful, etc. However, this also doesn't mean all polymers are safe.

The specific polymer used for Damit is a trade secret, however, it has been closely scrutinized by multiple health and safety authorities. This includes the governmental authorities of Australia, the USA, Europe, and Asia. Not only have they determined that is safe to use in earthen ponds, and not harmful to fish, but it is considered safe to use in human potable water systems in all of these areas. And of course, they know the exact makeup of the polymer when making this determination. I'm told that the same polymer is in use by many municipalities to keep potable water storage tanks leak free. I can't tell you exactly what the polymer is, because I don't know, but given the confidence with which the governmental authorities have authorized its use, I would bet it is made of a monomer that we are exposed to all the time, like fructose or something.

It also breaks down in a matter of years, and does not accumulate in the environment. The end products of breaking down are CO2, water, and base minerals like potassium. The SDS reports no need for concern with ingestion, inhalation, or contact. If in eyes, rinse with water.

End result, can I say for sure that it is 100% safe? No, I don't know exactly what it is. But given people who do know exactly what it is, and have scrutinized it, have approved it for use in human potable water systems, I'm pretty comfortable putting it in an earthen pond.