This year’s flooding of cropland is likely to take a big bite out of farm returns.
All three Prairie Provinces have areas where crops have been lost due to flooding.
Heavy rain leading up to July 1 aggravated an already serious problem.
In the Saskatchewan crop report issued last Friday, 36 per cent of provincial cropland had surplus moisture.
The regions of most concern are east central at 50 per cent surplus and northeast at 52 per cent.
Southeast Saskatchewan isn’t far behind at 41 per cent. Producers in those regions estimate that 20 to 30 per cent of cropland has been lost to flooding and there’s a general feeling that the extent of the problem is not well appreciated.
Land with good drainage has less flooding than flat land where the water has nowhere to go.
Conventional wisdom is rain makes grain, but crops don’t survive very long in waterlogged soil.
Yields overall often benefit from abundant moisture even if some spots are drowned out. However, when flooding is extensive, overall production is likely to drop.
With wet conditions, more fungicide use is warranted and a lot of that will need to be applied by airplane or helicopter since fields are too wet for ground sprayers.
Aerial application adds additional cost. The seed, fertilizer and herbicide already used on flooded acres is lost money and crop insurance may end up being of little benefit.
If you have 1,000 acres of canola and you lose 200 acres to flooding, your overall yield could still end up above your crop insurance guarantee, meaning no payout for the losses.
There are regions where crops look very good.
For a change, southwest Saskatchewan isn’t lacking for moisture with the main toll from excess moisture on lentil crops.
