The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture has come out with its 2010-11 edition of the Farm Machinery Custom and Rental Rate Guide. This is just a guide. There are various assumptions that go into the calculated rates, and the numbers should be adjusted to suit individual circumstances. Still, the publication is a useful starting point whether you’re doing custom work or getting custom work done. With seeding running late, there will likely be more custom seeding than usual. According to the guide, the average custom seeding rate with an air drill to cover all the costs, including labour and a return on investment, works out to just over $16 an acre. Air drills with independent openers are slightly higher, while air disc drills have an average custom rate of about $17.40 an acre. For land rollers, used on pulse crops, the rate for renting the roller comes out to $2.40 an acre. The average custom rate for land rolling is $5.34 an acre. You can download the complete Farm Machinery Custom and Rental Rate Guide from the Ministry’s website (www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca) or you can contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre in Moose Jaw. I’m Kevin Hursh.
As farmers commiserate about seeding delays, they quote from the latest Environment Canada forecasts and what they’ve seen and heard on The Weather Network. Increasingly, producers are also discussing what World Weather Inc. is predicting. Based out of Kansas, this private forecasting company is gaining a loyal following. For the past few years, Larry Weber of Weber Commodities has raved about Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. Now, many producers are paying the fee to subscribe to Lerner’s daily report. I’m a subscriber and I’ve been impressed. In most cases, Lerner has been days ahead of Environment Canada in predicting major precipitation events. With the last big rains, World Weather Inc. was predicting significant rainfall amounts when Environment Canada was still forecasting a probability of showers. Lerner provides a description of where the systems are tracking and what they’re likely to do. With Environment Canada, you get little of the background. Perhaps Environment Canada could be providing a similar level of service if they weren’t so starved for funding and people. I’m Kevin Hursh.