Green feed or grain?

[charliep]

Kernel

The CWB has a good weather summary.

http://www.cwb.ca/weather/wh/index.shtml

Areas I am watching include US corn/soybeans regions (impact of weather on yields), Australia and S.E. Asia in general.

[charliep]

Thanks for the info Charliep.

Tom I"am using Koraplast board (it comes in 4x 8 sheets and is a corrigated plastic) that i'am cutting into strips and fastening to the pickup reel to fill in between the fingers. I have seen this being used on reels in southern Alberta when they have had short crops and have worked good at little expense. It takes soon thought on how to fasten them on each particular pickup reel. Trouble is the lumber yard is now sold out of the board but hope to get some more in in a couple of days. Hope this helps you and others with what I have experenced.

Neighbors are cutting and baling my written off canola for $5.00 a bale and have a long lasting deal with another neighbor who takes the straw (wheat and pea) for $5.00 a bale or we half the straw if I need some. If the neighbor sells any of the straw which he hasn't over the years he will half the cash with me which is only fair. We both have agreed. Most years I have large amounts of straw that are hard to manage without baling it off. I don't like gouging my neighbors when thinks are tough for him or both of us.

[miquelon]

Hey Sewen,

Nothing like gouging your neighbour???? Where was the neighbour that paid a fair price for barley in 1998, 1999, and 2000 when the cow / calf guys were doing well? I sold barley at $1.70 off the yard in the fall of 1999 to pay for $450 / tonne urea. I don't like to put down the cow man but the grain guy is hurting every bit as much as the cowboy and we haven't had the benefit of several good years in a row prior to this drought.

Crop insurance is a joke. Barely covers basic inputs, leaving nothing for rent, capital, interest and living expenses etc. let alone putting in next year's crop. On one thing I think we all are agreed on. If we have another dry winter, then there will be no feed, no pasture, no grain, no straw and a lot fewer farmers!

Regarding greenfeed vs grain, one thing to consider is that presently market values are higher than crop insurance prices per bushel. Any bushel of canola harvested is worth close to $2 more than AFSC is paying for that same bushel. In my operation I would need an 6 - 8 bushel canola crop to pay harvest costs at this differential. Secondly crop insurance is based on total production. If you happen to have a field that was under an extra shower or two, any excess yield over the insured coverage level will discount the coverage value of a poorer field by that many bushels. If I sell the second field as green feed, with the idea that crop insurance will make up the difference. I could be in for a big surprise!

Bottom line? Anybody out there selling crop as feed better be getting the equavalent crop value at today's prices not crop insurance levels. It doesn't take many bushels to pay for harvesting and crop insurance isn't a failsafe backstop.

A third thing to consider is crop insurance is insurance. Higher payouts this year will ultimately lead to higher preimiums down the road. Long term it is our best interests not to farm for crop insurance. Even if premiums are subsidized by govt. that only means less money is available for other support programs that might make real difference to our standard of living.

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie,

I think the title should be "Silage or Grain" with the 2" of rain turning the greenfeed into straw...

At least the pastures are starting to regrow, In a couple of weeks they will help the feed situation...

Some very late crops of barley and canola might benefit with yield increases, the rest are finished... small tillers that did not die are filling but most spiklets in these heads aborted, it will sure be am early harvest for many!

[cowman]

My neighbor asked me what would be a good price for his standing barley crop. Badly burnt in places and now sort of flat in places due to the snow. I told him about $80/ton(not tonne) in the field or $90/ton if he cuts it...providing the nitrate levels are okay. He seems to think he needs a lot more than that and maybe he's right! I wasn't all that interested in it anyway. He's thinking in the neighborhood of $120 a ton. I told him to cut it and I'd bale it for $7/bale and haul and stack it for $2/bale and then he could find a buyer. Do these various prices sound pretty reasonable?

[TOM4CWB]

Cowman,

Getting that barley up in good shape as high quality green feed is a big RISK.

If your neighbour could silage it, the net feed value to livestock would increase... the grain value totally useable... have you guys thought of silage baling it?

[cowman]

Well I don't really want it. I suggested the silage thing to him, as there is a local who has a square silage bale outfit, but he didn't seem very interested. He's an older farmer and doesn't want a lot of hassle in dealing with this problem. I suspect he'll come back to me or else just leave it out in the field. He can afford to let it rot.

[TOM4CWB]

Cowman,

Habit and tradition are hard to change... the weather doesn't care much for either, does not wait for anyone...

It has been a hard year to live with, maybe we can become better neighbours with all the stress and pain?

Hopefully the grain and straw that is produces is harvestable...

Are your pastures starting to show signs of life yet?

[cowman]

It is just short of amazing how everything just perked up after the rain/snow. Right around 2 inches in the rain gauge. Even some really stressed out barley crops look better from the road.
As near as I can figure out the snow must have run in a fairly narrow corrider. Was out at Alix yesterday(about 15 miles east of Lacombe) and they never had any snow and there was hardly any at Sylvan Lake which is about 10 miles west of Red Deer.
It froze fairly hard on Aug. 1st but not on the night of the snow. I doubt either damaged any crops although it froze the beans in the garden even though I hosed them down good.
There is a good crop of Foremost wheat just up the road that I check on regularly and it went down in places from the snow but looks a lot better now. It's in the soft dow stage and looks like it will be a pretty decent crop. Have to get out and check some barley and canola.