Saskatchewan Hay Yield Is Down

Jul 23, 2019

Producers are busy working on cutting this year’s hay crop.

Dr. Paul Jefferson a consultant in the Forage Industry recently released his 2019 hay yield estimates report for Saskatchewan.

He’s expecting the provincial average hay yield this year to be down around .96 tonnes per acre.

A lot of the drier areas of the Province this spring finally saw some rain in June, unfortunately, it came too late for this year’s 1st cut hay crop.

“By the end of June many of our cool-season hay crop plant species are at the end of their maturity cycle; so there less responsive to rainfall. So it may actually be a little bit of an overestimate but its an estimate that people can take and maybe do some planning around."

He notes the rainfall that many areas received in June is not as effective as rainfall earlier in the Spring when the temperature and rainfall are more moderate and the plants are still actively growing.

He notes with the cold winter we had last year, a number of producers will be short on feed and looking at other options like straw chaff, seeded annual crops that be damaged or downgraded, as well as short-season crops like barley or millet.

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Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.