Agricultural News

Spring seeding is officially underway in the Prince Albert area.

According to this week's crop report, seeding progress is at less than one per cent in the northeast; two per cent in the east-central region.

Provincially, eight per cent of crop has been seeded.

The southwest is the furthest along at 29 per cent.

Dry and sunny weather during the past week has helped farmers a lot.

It is simply just too wet.

"Particularly north of Prince Albert, they are reporting 90 per cent of the crop has surplus or excess moisture." said Grant McLean with Saskatchewan Agriculture.

He estimated that seeding in this neck of the woods could be delayed by two or three weeks.

"They were wet last fall and the delay in the snow melt has compounded the situation," said McLean.

Warm, dry weather this weekend will definitely help.

Honey bee populations have seen a fairly high mortality rate in Saskatchewan in the past five years.

Geoff Wilson, provincial specialist in apiculture -- or beekeeping -- said that an average of 23 percent mortality has plagued many beekeepers in the province over the term.

This year, anywhere from five to 90 percent of honey bee populations have faced mortality from reports coming into Wilson.

The extended winter weather has not helped either, according to Wilson.

There has been some growing concern of a possible diesel shortage due to a much shorter seeding season.

"There was talk of a shortage if everbody gets to seeding at the same time and has a full seeding season," said President of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) Norman Hall.

That doesn't seem to be the case so far this year as areas round Lethbridge have begun seeding, with that trend slowly moving east.

Spring seeding could be delayed for farmers in Saskatchewan, another effect the abundance of snow this winter is having.

Jamie Hodson grows wheat, pulse crops and oilseeds on a farm near Grand Coulee.

“As far back as I can remember I haven’t seen a winter drag on like this. Nothing of this significance that most of us can recall and so I’m sure going forward looking into spring it’s going to cause some issues,” he said.

A provincial response strategy to deal with the anthrax disease is in the wings after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) withdrew this month.

As of Monday, the CFIA will no longer investigate and quarantine premises infected with anthrax. They’ve also backed away from carcass disposal – meaning the cost is now left up to the producer to cover.

Saskatchewan farmers can expect eight new Agriculture Demonstration of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) projects for the upcoming growing season.

The Ministry of Agriculture approved funding that totalled $62,150 for the projects and Conservation Learning Centre (CLC) board chair Larry White is pleased they now have the money in place to continue.

With Old Man Winter and Jack Frost teaming up to give Saskatchewan another blast of winter weather, cattle producers face a fresh round of challenges as calving season begins.

The freezing temperatures and wind chill pose a deadly threat to newborn calves in the first few hours of life.

“This is going to go down as one of the worst Marches that I’ve calved through,” said Les Johnson, a cattle producer outside Fillmore.

Kerry and Wally LaClare are still in a state of disbelief after their 14-year-old Angus cross cow gave birth to a set of triplet calves on Tuesday.

“When we go into the barn, we go ‘how in the heck did that happen,’” laughed Kerry LaClare from her Melfort area farm.

The first calf came around 6:30 a.m. and LaClare said they were amazed when the mother cow delivered a second and then a third. “She never gave us an inclination that she was carrying three calves.”

The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) announced Monday the addition of two new pools to its 2012-13 line-up.

The Spring Pool and the Futures Choice Spring Pool are now open to farmers on a first-come first-served basis.

"The launch of CWB's new spring pools is timed perfectly for farmers who may still be on the fence or haven't committed all their grain yet, especially for those who believe next year's prices will be lower" said CWB president and CEO Ian White in a release.

An animal disease mainly found in Saskatchewan is off to an early start in 2013.

A white-tailed deer from a farm in the Yorkton district tested positive on Jan.30 for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) monthly surveillance report that lists confirmed farmed species affected by diseases, which pose health or economic risks.

Federal Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz and his provincial counterpart, Lyle Stewart, were on hand at a cattle industry conference in Saskatoon to announce new research funding.

The feds are teaming up with the province to kick in $3.2 million to the Saskatchewan Agriculture Fund for 23 livestock and forage research projects.