Medicine Hat area farmer and rancher Nichole Neubauer is happy with how the growing season has gone. (Bob Schneider/CHAT News)

By Jesse Gill

ON THE FARM SERIES

Positive outlook for Medicine Hat area farmer, still some things to watch for

Jul 3, 2024 | 4:37 PM

At the Neubauer Farm near Medicine Hat spraying for weeds and bugs was recently completed, said owner-operator Nichole Neubauer.

“We were spraying here the mid part to near the end of June, getting those weeds under control and really giving the crop the very best opportunity to reach its full potential,” Neubauer said.

“There was some challenges with trying to spray in between the showers. A lot of our products have at least a one to three hour rain fast.”

Neubauer said grasshoppers look to be an issue, but they haven’t grown very large yet and a healthy crop can help withstand them.

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“We did put some control measures in the tank when we were spraying for weeds and upon going out and scouting again yesterday, oh they’re still out there and they’re hungry,” Neubauer said.

“There’s thought always that rain slows them down, but I think that the concentration or the infestation was so high that there’s still plenty out there.”

The crops are in favourable shape from the moisture over the past few months, which has also provided an additional water allotment from the St. Mary’s Irrigation District.

“There’s been less demand for water and some of the melt and runoff in the snowpack has actually garnered us another inch of water for our pivots,” Neubauer said.

“We’re up to nine inches and that combined with all of what’s fallen from the sky absolutely puts us in a situation where most crops are going to be able to reach their full potential.”

With continued thunderstorm potential Neubauer said this brings another concern.

“Certainly this year seems like it might be a little more high risk for a hail event because of the convection and the moisture and the constant popping up of thundershowers,” Neubauer said.

“We’ll keep looking to the skies and just hope for the best.”

The wet conditions can lead to dew collecting and create conditions like funguses, leaf spot and rust on the plants.

“Farmers now will be really paying attention to the health of their crop looking for some early warning signs of leaf disease and then we have various fungicide products that we can apply to help manage that,” Neubauer said.

The cattle and their pastures are ideal according to Neubauer.

“The cattle look amazing truly the grasses it has responded in ways that I haven’t seen in years,” Neubauer said.

“Some of the prairie grasses are you know almost knee-high with going to seed now lots out there for the cattle, the cattle are in great shape certainly looking at ours there they’re fat and happy and healthy and the calves are growing like crazy,” she added.

“With the cooler temperatures it’s actually a little bit easier on them too when you’re a black cow and on a hot day they definitely absorb a lot of heat units, so perfect growing conditions for calves. I think all around everybody would be pretty satisfied with the with the season that we’ve had so far.”

After years of drought conditions for farmers and ranchers, Neubauer is happy to see the positive change.

“Mother Nature and the weather is kind of always the be-all end-all she has the final say for us and this year she’s really cooperating and I think that there’s a lot of optimism out there in the region and we’re just really thankful for it,” Neubauer said.