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Volume 6 #1 - Spring 2002		Agvantage News		Page 1
Editorial: Rob Brown Communications -- Printed layout: DB2 Pre-Press Consultants

Cropping Plans for 2002

Jim Pratt, P.Ag., Soils and Crops Agrologist Sask Ag.and Food - Swift Current

Producers spend a good deal of their winter hours putting together cropping plans for the coming season. Usually by mid-March, their plans are pretty well in place with only last-minute fine tuning required as seeding time approaches.

This year is different. Talking with producers at our Southwest Market Outlook Conference at the end of February, it seemed there was more indecision than usual about what to plant this year. This is not surprising considering all the uncertainties.

The largest concern is still the drought conditions. Stubble moisture last fall was virtually non-existent and summerfallow moisture was low. Winter snowfall to date has not done a lot to improve this condition. This may lead to an increase in summerfallow or chemfallow acres for 2002. With the prospect of poor pasture, producers may opt to seed a crop that could be used as green feed if necessary. The possibility of high grasshopper numbers may have an effect on seeding decisions.

The use of top quality seed is important for all crops, but especially so for those affected by disease. Pulse crops continue to be an important part of rotations in the Southwest. Disease was a concern in the 2001, especially in chickpeas. There is now a registration for Crown as a seed treatment against seed-borne Ascochyta. When sourcing any seed, ask for the disease level from your seed dealer. If using your own seed, make sure a disease test has been done. Choose seed with the lowest possible disease level.

Producers should familiarize themselves with this year's changes to Crop Insurance. Details were released in mid-March.

You may want to consider a contract for a portion of production from special crops you grow, or forward-price a portion of production from other crops. A list of contract companies is available at Rural Service Centres. You can contact them to find out the crops they contract and the prices being offered for this year.

Sask. Ag and Food has Crop Planning Guides for the Brown and Dark Brown soil zones. With these guides, you can work through budgets for crops you may be considering and use your own cost and return figures to determine the bottom line for each crop. They can be a useful tool in finalizing your cropping plans. Another important source of information is your local farm supplier and all the backup resources at his disposal.

Each year seems to get more complex when it comes to making cropping decisions. It becomes more so when you throw something like drought conditions into the mix. I hope you have been successful in mapping out a plan for 2002 and that the rain falls abundantly on your farm.