Being a farmer makes you an eternal optimist, and this season is no different.
A long winter and a quick spring posed its challenges, but so far, things are looking up. Jim Eskeland of the Dalum area says the outlook is positive.
“We have lots of potential and we have been catching the right rains at the right times, and things look good,” said Eskeland. “If we can get another rain by the end of July, and a decent amount, it helps fill what is out there.”
While he has received timely moisture, in many areas farmers are at the mercy of thundershowers.
“We are lucky here because any moisture we have gotten has come easy and I have heard of some people in the Hand Hills that have gotten four inches in an hour, so that doesn’t help anybody,” he said.
So far, he says peas are looking good, and with Canola, it depends on the area.
“Some look fantastic and some look just dreadful,” he said.
He adds that pests and disease are not a great concern this season.
“We haven’t had the ‘dewy’ mornings and showery weather. We have gotten rain and then it warms back up,” he said. “Our biggest concern if it gets up into those high 20s or low 30s and a strong wind, no plant can withstand it. They will start going into survival mode. If they can’t get moisture from the ground, it will start sucking it from the leaves, and you won’t fill that top of the head.”
In Starland County, Agricultural Fieldman Al Hampton describes it as a typical year for farmers.
“It went from winter to summer abruptly. Most of the crop was put in on time, although we thought it might be late… so in general terms, we got off to a reasonable start,” he said.
“In the bulk of the county there has been decent rain, but it varies. We’re living on thunderstorms.”
He says generally crops to the east of Highway 851 are faring a little bit better than in the west.
“We are on target for a normal year so far as maturity. But yields in this area on the whole requires timely rain to get an average or better crop, he said. “We just don’t have the subsoil moisture we had a year ago.”
He says pasture wise, things are looking good, but because of the late moisture, the hay crop may be a little thin.
One more concern is the markets. Right now Eskeland says commodity prices are going the wrong way, and these are global forces.
“Between Trump and India, there is a lot of posturing. India put a tariff on peas a year ago, and this is an election year. So maybe this time next year the tariffs will disappear, but they are posturing for their people’s votes,” Eskeland said.
He adds that Trump’s trade policy has everyone guessing.
“It has become such a game, I wish politicians would stay the heck out of it.”
