September 2, 2010

Early frost threatens soft wheat bumper crop

Some southern Alberta soft wheat crops are being declared among the best on record this fall, but an early frost could change things dramatically.

Producers are uneasy as temperatures have already reached down to two and three degrees some mornings, evoking fears of an early frost that could reduce the bounty to a poor grade of livestock feed.

Farmers are looking at September 12-15 when the first frost of the season usually arrives. Most soft wheat crops are three weeks later than normal following the extremely wet spring that delayed field operations in most areas.

Meanwhile, more farmers have also switched to zero or minimum tillage practices, mostly to conserve soil moisture in a region that normally records 14-15 inches of annual precipitation.