winterkill Archives

winter wheat roots, southern manitoba, april 2025

How farmers can tell if their winter wheat survived the cold

Green leaves are great to see, but that’s likely last year’s growth

By Greg Berg May 28, 2025

The green leaves of a winter wheat field may look encouraging to an untrained eye, but it’s not always the best measure of how well your cereal crop has survived the winter. So, how can you assess your winter wheat or fall rye to give you peace of mind that the crop will grow once […] Read more

Crops, Features, Winter Wheat

Tips for planting a successful fall crop

Seed expert says farmers who start planning early and have everything ready to go at seeding will have a smoother time

By Mark Halsall May 5, 2025

Growing crops that overwinter, such as a fall hybrid rye or winter wheat, is a different way of farming in some ways than a spring crop, so producers need to be aware of that, Greg Stamp says.

Some winterkill in winter wheat doesn’t necessarily mean the surviving crop is unsaleable

Crops, Features, Weather, Winter Wheat

Conditions ripe for winter cereal wreck

Snow cover decline, temperature flux, pooling, freezing all potential problems

By Jeff Melchior April 17, 2024

Glacier FarmMedia — Minimal snow cover, frigid temperatures in mid-January and above-average temperatures after that may have set the stage for winterkill in winter crops. The risk is high enough to cause concern among crop specialists. “The eastern Prairies are in a little bit better shape than (Saskatchewan and Alberta) but there’s huge swaths that […] Read more

Researchers now recommend allowing one or two years between terminating an old alfalfa stand and reseeding.

Columns, Forages, Practical Tips

Alfalfa replant disease and related disorders

Whatever the cause, we can realize it's a problem and try to avoid it

By Ieuan Evans March 1, 2024

Back in the 1980s I spent a lot of time on alfalfa diseases, particularly the verticillium wilt disease problem that was spreading across the Prairies, particularly in southern Alberta. In a few snow-free and cold Decembers in those years, a lot of damage was done to alfalfa, winterkilling entire fields of three-year-old stands. Even white […] Read more

Corn seedlings in southern Ontario in 2021. (Farmtario photo by John Greig)

Crops, Weather

Spring planting well underway in Ontario

By GFM Network News May 13, 2022

MarketsFarm — Farmers are well into seeding their crops for 2022, according to Wednesday’s crop report from Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). The report noted planting of corn, soybeans and spring cereals started late last week — the exception being where there are heavier soils. OMAFRA projected planting could be 80 […] Read more

Crops, Weather

Seeding already behind in Saskatchewan

By GFM Network News May 5, 2022

MarketsFarm — Saskatchewan Agriculture on Thursday issued its first weekly crop report of 2022, showing only one per cent of all crops in the ground. The report cited cool temperatures and spring snowstorms holding back many farmers getting into their fields. The overall five-year average at this time of year is five per cent complete. […] Read more

CBOT March 2021 wheat with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

Crops, Markets, Reuters

U.S. grains: Wheat retreats after cold-weather rally

Corn, soy futures consolidate

By Julie Ingwersen, GFM Network News February 17, 2021

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell two per cent on Wednesday, retreating from a two-week high set in early moves, as concerns eased about cold-weather damage following a frigid weekend in the U.S. Plains, analysts said. Corn futures firmed slightly, consolidating below multi-year highs established last week, and soybean futures closed mixed. A […] Read more

K.C. April 2021 hard red winter wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Crops, Markets, Reuters, Weather

U.S. grains: Weather worries push wheat futures higher

Soybeans firm, corn slips

By Mark Weinraub, GFM Network News February 13, 2021

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Friday, supported by concerns that arctic temperatures in key growing areas could damage the dormant crop during the weekend, traders said. “Cold temperatures, chiefly domestically, lesser so abroad, will keep the wheat trade watching winterkill prospects over the weekend,” Matt Zeller, director of market information at […] Read more

CBOT March 2021 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Crops, Markets, Reuters

U.S. grains: Soybeans end lower, after rising on demand optimism

U.S. winter wheat threatened by cold weather

By Christopher Walljasper, GFM Network News February 5, 2021

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures ended lower on Friday after trading higher earlier on expectations of continued export demand eating into already tight U.S. stocks. Corn futures traded slightly lower as traders assessed mixed crop prospects in South America, while wheat ticked up slightly on fears of winterkill across the U.S. southern Plains […] Read more

Crops, Forages, Weather

Forage supplies starting to dip on dry Prairies

By GFM Network News May 16, 2018

CNS Canada — Forage supplies are starting to dwindle across Western Canada following a long, cold, winter and rain is needed soon to make for a good forage crop this year. “People tended to kind of blend hay this year and they managed to get through. But the prolonged cold spring really I think put […] Read more

Alberta crop conditions improve: report

U.S. grains: Corn sets contract lows on expectations for big US crop

U.S. livestock: Cattle strength continues

GFM Network News