The sudden arrival of spring means Sturgeon County farmers will have close to a normal start to this year’s planting season.
May 1 is the traditional start of planting season in Sturgeon, but that start is often delayed by late melts and soggy soil.
Ron Krywko, who farms grain west of Morinville, said he was worried about a late start a few weeks ago when everything was still frozen, but the recent hot weather has turned things around.
“The fields are quite saturated,” he said, but he predicted they’d be ready for work just a few days after May 1.
We’ve had a late spring this year, but Tam Andersen of Prairie Gardens and Adventure Farm near Bon Accord said she hopes to start work on cold-tolerant crops such as peas, lettuce and spinach by May 1.
Krywko noted some farmers might be in for a later start if they still have to clear the remnants of last year’s harvest. Some seven per cent of all crops in the Edmonton region had yet to be collected as of Dec. 3, 2019 (the date of Alberta Agriculture’s most recent Alberta Crop Report).
Krywko said he is otherwise greasing up his equipment and getting ready to go flat-out seeding as soon as the dirt is dry.
COVID considerations
Krywko said he hasn’t had any problems getting his seeds and chemicals this season due to the novel coronavirus. Most providers now ask that you stay in your truck as their crews load your vehicle in order to limit personal contact. The virus could cause serious problems if it causes grain terminals to close, but it’s unclear yet how it might affect grain prices.
Andersen said the coronavirus had shut down the adventure farm part of her business and cancelled many of the sales she’d normally make to local restaurants.
“We’ve never been busier with online sales,” she added, particular for seeds, which are in huge demand as people stuck at home seek to start their own gardens. Deliveries through the Good Food Box program are also up, likely due to people concerned about the coronavirus disrupting food imports.
Vegetable farmers are feeling the pinch labour-wise due to tight incomes and delayed arrivals with temporary foreign workers, Andersen said. That will mean slower harvests on most farms, which could be a serious problem for large operations that need to harvest hundreds of thousands of cabbages at once. Many local farms are seeking volunteers as a result.
“Our next crunch point is in July, which is our U-Pick strawberry season,” Andersen said.
Andersen said she isn’t sure how she would run the U-Pick, as the province has yet to set out rules for them during the pandemic.
Krywko noted it should be easier for farmers to move equipment between fields with less traffic on the roads. He reminded drivers to give farmers plenty of space and to watch for their signal lights.
Great start
Alberta Agriculture farm meteorology manager Ralph Wright said soil conditions in Sturgeon County are pretty good for the start of planting. Precipitation since March has been below average, which, combined with high winds and warmth, should dry the soil’s surface for seeding. Moisture reserves in the county are at a one-in-three- or six-year high, so those seeds will have ample water to tap once they’re in the ground.
Wright said the next four weeks would be critical for farmers, who want dry weather so they can get seeds in the ground.
“We want the rains to hold off for at least the next three weeks,” he said, and for rains to fall in June once the crops are planted. The word from the Weather Network was that we’d see just one day of rain in the next two weeks.
“Things are looking up.”
