Well…it has been quite the seeding season so far…
With all the snow we had in winter, and the 10-15′ drifts that blew into the treelines – combined with late (cool) start to spring, seeding was delayed until May 11th. Even then, it was hit and miss which fields we could try and seed. Our south land was significantly drier, so we were able to get started there. Even though our north land is only 20km away, it was a different story. The snow continued to melt in the treelines, and water from the melting snow kept flowing through the fields in water runs. By the time we finished seeding our south land, we were able to pick and chose which fields we could get into up north.
We had ordered 2 new Bourgault air drills for the 2022 planting season. Just like it seems with everything else in the world right now, there were delays. Our first drill arrived at the start of May, but our second one was delayed a few more weeks. Due to this delay, we were able to keep one of the units we had traded in last year. When our 2nd unit arrived, we had the luxary of running with 3 units — and with the later start to seeding, that is paying dividends. We usually try and find newer used drills rather than buy them brand new – but there were no units that were available this time around. The new style drills and carts from Bourgault also had some nicer features which are significant upgrades such as individual weigh cells in each tank. We also switched from a “QDA” style opener to an “XTC” style, which provides better seed placement through all our water runs. We were finding our openers would not penetrate as we went through these runs and seed would stay on the surface. Then through the year we would get troublesome weeds such as foxtail barley starting to populate in these areas.
Soil conditions are much better this spring than we have had the last 3 seasons. Soil moisture is optimum at the moment. The downside is the water runs we have to drive around and some of the low spots that have water laying in them yet. During the drier springs we would turn at the headland and hit the autosteer engage button and go to next headland. This year the drivers need to be more vigulant that they don’t get stuck.
We are fortunate to once again have an excellent crew. One of our seasonal employees is from Ukraine and he was unable to get out of the country prior to the Russian invasion. Everyone has done a good job to date filling in, although it has made it much busier for logistics! We hope the best for Alex and that he has a safe return to Canada soon.
This is all I have time for update right now, will try and get on a regular Monday schedule for updates for the remainder of the growing season.
