Subsurface irrigation systems deliver water directly to roots using drip lines and is commonly designed to be spaced between rows to allow for water migration and leave space for moisture that falls in the form of precipitation.

The biggest upside for the systems is the potential for more than 95 percent water delivery into crops’ root zone with no surface evaporation. The downside is the high upfront costs.

But for Lawrence Vandervalk of Valk Land and Cattle, there simply isn’t a better way to irrigate in southern Alberta for his wheat, barley and mustard crops as well as his forages.

Vandervalk said subsurface systems run on a 30-30-30 principle.

“Thirty per cent less water, 30 per cent less operating costs and 30 per cent more productivity,” he said.

Vandervalk said a visit to Texas to see how that state’s farmers use the system was an eye-opening experience that made him believe this is the future of irrigation north of the border.

“You’re going to see a lot more SDI (subsurface drip irrigation) come in. There’s just no doubt about it. It’s going to come in like a storm,” he said.

“People are in love with their pivots. Even on a windy day, they are irrigating with a wetted pattern five times as big as normal with an evaporation pattern five times as big as normal.”

According to Vandervalk, some of the best high-pressure pivots yield 65 per cent water delivery efficiency.

But with his subsurface system, “we’re at 96.8 plus a third less operating costs,” he said.

It also allows for stable irrigation on the corners of quarter sections.

“You’re paying taxes on that land, you own that land, it’s a pain to leave those dryland corners and they are susceptible to erosion when you get bad years,” he said.

Vandervalk did concede the installation costs are high and there can be growing pains to reach that point.

Potato crops don’t seem to be able to adapt to the system, he added.

Kees van Beek, subsurface drip irrigation specialist with Southern Irrigation, said the system can be set at variable depths depending on the soil profile.

Irrigation rates can be varied as well to the conditions, he said, with the added benefit of increasing efficiency of fertilizer applications.

“We do that first, we don’t want to have stress, and second, we want to have that even soil moisture profile. So, any given time when the plant needs it, we can add nitrogen or phosphorus or boron or other fertilizers through the drip and have that 98 percent distribution to increase yields,” said van Beek.

About 4,000 acres of subsurface systems are spread across Alberta and Saskatchewan, with much of that developed in the last few years, van Beek said.

He anticipates adoption to increase in the coming years, as is happening in the United States, Europe and Israel.

The post Subsurface irrigation called way of the future appeared first on Grainews.

In southern Alberta, seven of the past 10 years have been drier than average. As the 2024 cropping season approaches, there is concern we may have another hot dry summer. We are in an El Niño winter, which typically results in warmer winter temperatures and less precipitation. This increases the potential for another drier-than-normal growing season in 2024.

We constantly hear comments about variable weather and global warming. For this article, I thought I would reflect on the variability of weather for the past 10 years. In my examples, I have used the Environment Canada weather station at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, in the Dark Brown Soil zone of southern Alberta.

The series of charts, Figures 1 to 10 below, provide the accumulated precipitation and growing degree days (GDD, a measure of accumulated heat) from April 1 to Aug. 31 for the years 2014 to 2023. The red line on the graphs is the accumulated measure of precipitation or GDD; the blue line is the long-term average from 1963 to present. All graphs were created using Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation’s Climate Information Service. For these graphs, a GDD is calculated daily with 5 C as a base, using this formula:

In the past 10 years at Lethbridge, 2014 (Figure 1) was the only year with above-normal growing season precipitation, at 125 per cent. Just one year, 2020 (Figure 7), had near-normal precipitation that was also near-normal in its distribution. In 2016 (Figure 3), total growing season precipitation was near normal, but precipitation distribution was not normal. Precipitation was below normal most of June and the first half of July in 2016, when crop water use was high, resulting in reduced in crop yield potential — but by the end of August, total accumulated precipitation was near normal.

The remaining seven years (Figures 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 had below to well below normal precipitation. Most of these drier growing seasons also had higher than average GDDs. As shown in the table above, six of those years had less than 70 per cent of normal precipitation, which are considered a drought.

Another important factor to consider is stored soil moisture at the time of planting. In years with less than 50 mm (two inches) of stored soil moisture, the chance of drought stress is increased. When spring stored soil moisture plus precipitation is less than 100 to 150 mm (four to six inches) in the growing season, low to very poor crop yields are often inevitable.

The challenge for Alberta and Saskatchewan dryland farmers in the Brown and Dark Brown soil zones is soil and crop management. Some soil moisture conservation practices to consider include:

Direct seeding

Most farmers already use direct seeding systems to minimize soil disturbance. The less the soil is disturbed at seeding, the less soil moisture is lost due to soil disturbance. Further, no-till contributes to improved soil quality and increased soil organic matter over time, which can increase soil water holding capacity. Over a period of years using no-till, a layer of organic mulch can develop on the soil surface, which improves soil water infiltration and reduces water evaporation from the soil surface.

Earlier seeding

Earlier seeding can be helpful. Most farmers seed as soon as reasonable in the spring when soil and environmental conditions allow. Earlier-established crops are typically more water-use efficient, as vegetative growth occurs in the cooler part of the growing season, which can lead to higher grain yield per unit of water. Earlier seeding also contributes to total available sunlight to crops, which is greater for earlier-seeded versus later-seeded crops because an effective crop canopy is active for a longer period before days start to shorten after June 21.

READ MORE: Earlier-than-early seeding

For crops such as peas and canola, yields are reduced by temperatures greater than 30 C during flowering, so earlier seeding and crop establishment can help to reduce heat stress on crops.

Crop rotations

Use more diverse crop rotations. For each crop type grown, select the most drought-tolerant variety available. Consider including crops in the rotation that are more drought-tolerant such as mustard. Diverse crop rotations can also lead to greater water-use efficiency.

READ MORE: Rotations and the bottom line

For example, a deeper-rooted crop, such as wheat, following a shallow-rooted crop, such as pea, can take advantage of deeper moisture reserves that were unavailable to the shallow-rooted pea crop in the previous year. Growing a different crop each year can help increase organic matter content and improve soil structure. In the long term this will promote increased water infiltration and improve water holding capacity.

Check soil moisture levels in early spring

As soon as possible in the spring, check soil moisture to one metre (40 inches) with a soil probe or hand auger at different slope positions in all fields. If soil moisture conditions are adequate, proceed with normal cropping practices. However, if moisture conditions are poor and barely adequate for crop establishment, consider planting cereals and other drought-tolerant crops at slightly reduced seeding rates with reduced fertilizer rates to establish crops.

If you consider soil moisture inadequate in some fields, consider using chemical summerfallow in fields with the poorest soil moisture levels. I am not a fan of summerfallowing land, but in a worst-case scenario, if you are going into an extremely dry growing season, it might be wise to consider having a portion of your land in chemfallow for the summer. Then consider seeding to winter wheat or other winter cereals if soil moisture conditions improve by early September.

Please note, I rarely suggest chemfallow. Summerfallowing contributes to soil degradation including soil organic matter decline, reduced soil structure and quality, increased soil erosion and increased soil salinity.

These are a few of my thoughts when reviewing weather conditions over the past 10 years, with concerns of going into another drier-than-normal growing season. Repeated droughts are very tough on crop yields, farm income, soil quality and farmer mental health. I sincerely hope we do not have to deal with another drought year in 2024.

The post A decade of dry appeared first on Grainews.

After dealing with temperatures in the -20 C to -34 C range over much of the week ended Jan. 17, conditions in the key Lethbridge feeding area have flipped the other way. Daytime highs consistently rose above freezing the five days ended Thursday, and are forecast to remain in positive territory over the next week, according to Environment Canada.

Cattle need to eat more in colder weather, which underpinned prices and led to an uptick in buying interest during the latest cold snap.

“We’re seeing things leveling off now,” said Tracy Green, of Edmonton-based Market Master Ltd.

Buyers were generally well covered for the time being, she said, which should keep a steady to possibly softer tone in the market.

“Buyers are hesitant to book too far out,” Green said, noting end-users were waiting to see how much cheaper spring-threshed grain will be available in April.

However, questions remain over the quality of the grain still left to harvest — and how much will actually come off the fields.

Feed barley is currently priced in the $225-to low-$230s per tonne delivered into Lethbridge. Bids were generally a few dollars per tonne higher the previous week.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

The post Feed weekly outlook: Temperatures rise, Prairie bids cool down appeared first on Grainews.

“The feed market has definitely moved higher,” said Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta., adding “demand is strong through feedlot alley.”

Pens were full and demand was high, he noted. Meanwhile, grain supplies may be plentiful, not necessarily in the key feeding area of southern Alberta.

“We’re going further to get it,” he said. With the resulting increase in freight costs, farmers also expect to see better prices.

“In terms of volume available, there no reason for [prices] to go higher,” said Motz, “but in terms of logistics, there probably is a potential for more upside in the market.

Current bids are in the $228-$232 zone for feed barley delivered into Lethbridge. Feed wheat is priced at roughly $223-$226 per tonne, according to Motz.

Weather conditions have been generally mild for much of the winter so far and have not influenced the feed market to a large extent — but colder temperatures and snowfall across much of Western Canada this week may lend some extra support to prices.

“Anytime you get a cold weather blast, you run into logistical troubles,” Motz said, adding “we have a lot of winter ahead of us.”

— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

The post Feed weekly outlook: Firm undertone to Prairie grains appeared first on Grainews.

“Demand is dropping off here a little bit,” said Allen Pirness of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge.

Feedlots have extended coverage through the spring and into the summer, making it “increasingly more difficult to sell spot loads,” he said.

Meanwhile, some grain farmers with barley in their bins still want to sell before seeding.

“The demand is pretty set, so without a strong outlet on the export market the seller has to meet the bid,” Pirness said, adding that “grain’s been trading on the bid, not the offer.”

After a good export program over the past year, barley supplies are still relatively tight, but readily available U.S. corn imports also remain an anchor on prices.

Barley was trading at $264 per tonne in the Lethbridge market, with feed wheat at roughly $258 and landed corn at around $257.

While barley prices may be off their highs, the market is still solid overall and Pirness expected to see an increase in acres this year.

Canada’s diplomatic dispute with China and the resulting limits on canola exports have also “enticed a lot of grain farmers into planting more barley,” he said. Many farmers had been pushing canola acres a little too hard to begin with.

“If every farmer plants an extra field of barley, suddenly we’ll be swimming in it again,” he added.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

The post Feed weekly outlook: Barley bids soften as attention turns to new crop appeared first on Grainews.

“Right now (we’re seeing) some of the best prices on barley for farmers that have been seen in Alberta for a while,” said Joshua Boyko of CorNine Commodities in Lacombe.

According to Boyko, the price rally has stayed consistent over the last week for feed barley. Between farmers being bullish and locking their bin doors, and relatively full cattle placements at feedlots, demand has been on the rise.

Feed barley bids in Alberta are now sitting at $5 per bushel or slightly above, for on-farm pickup.

Factoring into the rally has been some increased uncertainty around rail delivery of corn from the U.S. and Manitoba.

A rail strike was temporarily averted Friday after Labour Minister Patty Hajdu ordered Canadian Pacific Railway conductors, engineers and signal maintainers to vote on the company’s latest offer.

According to Boyko, whether the strike happens or not, it will start to have an impact on the market around mid-May and early June.

Feed wheat prices have also benefited due to the tight supply. In Alberta, feed wheat is sitting at $6.25-$6.50 per bushel, for on-farm pickup.

“With a tight carryout for both on barley and wheat coming into this marketing year, as each commodity’s availability starts to (dwindle), the supplies start to tighten, then you’re going to see a rally in all of the pricing,” Boyko said.

Reports of flooding in southern Alberta aren’t having an effect on the market yet. According to Boyko, it’s still too early to tell how the flooding will impact seeding. Over the last couple of years, planting in southern Alberta has been relatively delayed.

“I think if you’re looking at a 10-year average we’re probably not nearly as behind as that average indicates… (in) our area, Lacombe, Ponoka, (people are) still (hopeful to be) getting crops in by the end of May,” he said.

The flooding mostly hasn’t affected feed grain shipping either, Boyko said. There have been a few disruptions where alternative routes had to be used, but annual spring road bans have been more disruptive, he said.

— Ashley Robinson writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

The post Feed weekly outlook: Prairie grains continue strong rally appeared first on Grainews.

Adverse weather continues to plague southern Alberta. Snow and freezing temperatures followed by brief melting periods have resulted in very poor pen conditions. Overland flooding is also wreaking havoc in some areas. Cost per pound gains are increasing and current pen closeouts are hovering in negative territory. Barley prices continue to percolate higher and astronomical straw values have increased yardage costs.

In central Alberta, Simmental-blended medium-frame steers with heavy to medium flesh weighing 970 lbs. traded for $154 while mixed heifers averaging just over 900 lbs. sold for $147. In central Saskatchewan, tan steers weighing 925 lbs. were quoted at $162. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in Mitchell, South Dakota, 900-lb. steers sold for US$135 (C$170). Stronger values south of the border appear have caused yearling exports to increase over the past couple of weeks. It’s also that time of year when yearling supplies tend to decline and sales volumes are dwindling.

Calf prices appear to be holding value for the time being. A small group of black steers weighing just over 500 lbs. were quoted at $238 in central Saskatchewan. Charolais-blended steers averaging 620 lbs. traded for $212 in southeastern Saskatchewan. Manitoba has received less than 40 per cent of normal precipitation over the past 30 days, so conditions are quite favourable for backgrounding and feeding.

I’m looking for a bounce in the feeder market over the next couple of weeks. The blizzard conditions in Iowa and Nebraska should strengthen the fed cattle market and this will spill over into the feeder complex. It’s that time of year when feeder cattle supplies decline. Feedlot are shopping for feeder cattle deliverable in two or three weeks, in an effort to secure supplies when pen conditions improve.

— Jerry Klassen manages the Canadian office of Swiss-based grain trader GAP SA Grains and Produits Ltd. and is president and founder of Resilient Capital, specializing in proprietary commodity futures trading and market analysis. Jerry consults with feedlots on risk management and writes a weekly cattle market commentary. He can be reached at 204-504-8339.

The post Klassen: Feeder market stabilizes appeared first on Grainews.

Gophers have been reported causing problems in southern, central and northeastern Alberta for canola crops and pastures, according to the provincial Crop Report.

“It’s been dry again this year and that triggered them; it’s been quite a problem,” said Phil Merrill, Alberta Agriculture’s pest specialist in Lethbridge.

Cereal crops have seen some damage; however they are able to outgrow the gophers before too much damage is done, Merrill said.

Canola crops don’t seem to be as lucky. “It’s very hard on canola crops,” Merrill said.

“It’s also devastating for pastures as far as mounding and damage to the pasture… for driving across it and machinery and stuff like that.”

Due to the dry spring last year, he said he expected gophers might rear their little heads, but producers seem to have been caught off guard.

“We tried to get the message out, but I don’t know how successful we were… at this point it’s too late to control (the gophers) with bait, that has to be done in March or April.”

Crops in Saskatchewan have avoided any damage so far, but have seen an increase in gopher population due to drier conditions, said Scott Hartley, pest management specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture in Regina.

“One of the things that seems to keep (the gopher) population down is a good spring runoff,” said Hartley.

“When that runoff is coming they’re wet and cold, and there isn’t enough of a reasonable food source for them to keep body heat… Last winter there wasn’t a huge amount of runoff so that’s part of it.”

Manitoba crops have also escaped the tiny jaws of gophers, which isn’t abnormal, said Rejean Picard, farm production advisor with Manitoba Agriculture at Somerset, Man.

“In my 28 years I’ve never seen a (gopher) epidemic,” Picard said. “Sometimes you see them take up a corner of a crop here and there, but this year I’ve heard no reports of any issues.”

— Erin DeBooy writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting. Follow her at @ErinDeBooy on Twitter.

The post Little critters causing big problems for Alberta crops appeared first on Grainews.