Uko Akpanuko
Daily Herald
The Conservation Learning Centre (CLC) organized and hosted the Crop Talk 2025 program at the Prince Albert Wildlife Federation building on March 12.
The event addressed a lot of issues bothering farmers in the Prince Albert area ranging from weeds and pest control strategies, tools and resources available for farmers, Agriculture Business risk management, sustainable CAP programs overview and how to manage or control losses during the agriculture season.
“My talk was covering just the past surveys that we do each year here in Saskatchewan and the information that we can glean on that from insects and diseases,” said Allie Noble a Ministry of Agriculture Crop Extension Specialist based out of Prince Albert. “It gives a better understanding for farmers and what they need to watch out for in their fields in 2025.”
Other personalities that were present at the event include Riley Rude from SK Agriculture, Zoe Gallbraith and Aquielle Thorlakson from the CLC, Jared Risling and Marcus Mayall from MNP, Paige Straf and Kaitlin Burns from SK Agriculture, and Shawn Senko from Canola Council of Canada.
Noble said moisture has a large impact on insects and diseases. She said moisture levels typically vary, but they have been higher than usual in the Prince Albert area the last few years.
“We do want to keep an eye out for diseases in the field (and) make sure we are scouting,” she said. “(It’s the) same with insects—make sure we’re scouting. The main message is we have a lot of these information. We can get an idea of what might be on the field but until you’re actually out there and looking for it, you are not going to know.”
Noble said insects and diseases are an issue every year, but can be managed if farmers and researchers keep a close eye on the problem.
Based on disease prevalence from last year, they have a basic idea of what farmers can expect to deal with in 2025. Without a crystal ball, however, she said they can’t say for certain what the impact will be.
Still, she’s confident local producers can manage any insect or disease problems if they stay vigilant.
“There is so much information out there that’s super helpful for producers,” she said. “Keep an eye on what’s going on in the area, keep and eye on what’s going on in the region and also getting out there and scouting in the fields. If you have any questions you call on our regional office and we will be more than happy to help you out on that too.”
Noble said farmers can use the weekly provincial crop report to stay up to date on what’s happening in the growing season.
“(It) gives a good look at what is actually happening in season, what risks we potentially have coming and also help highlight the issues that producers are running into in their regions,” she said.
She also encouraged local residents to sign up to become crop reporters by visiting their website.
“We have a lot of fantastic crop reporters, but we could always use more,” she said.
—with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
