A couple weeks ago, there was hope for a quick resolution to Mexican import restrictions on Canadian canaryseed. Unfortunately, there has been limited progress in resolving the problem. Canaryseed exporters in this province say that about half of the canaryseed railcars stopped at the Mexican border have been allowed to enter, but the status of the product now in Mexico remains unclear. A couple weeks ago, there seemed to be a willingness at the ministerial level in Mexico to forge a new agreement on weed seed levels in Canadian canaryseed, particularly in regard to wild buckwheat. That willingness has not been apparent within the Mexican bureaucracy. Exporters close to the situation say there have been communication breakdowns between Mexican and Canadian officials and there’s no estimating when exports will resume. In the meantime, canaryseed is only sporadically being purchased from farmers and prices are soft. Mexico is usually the top customer for our canaryseed and it won’t be a normal market until they’re back in. I’m Kevin Hursh.
It’s been a very different growing season and with that has come a very different in-crop weed profile. Most of my travels are in West Central and Southwest Saskatchewan, and in those regions it’s been a great year for wild mustard. It’s a weed that’s easily controlled in cereal crops and within canola, but it’s a different story within lentil crops. There’s a smattering of wild mustard in nearly all the regular lentil crops and some crops are absolutely polluted. You have to look closely to be sure it’s actually a lentil crop. In Clearfield lentils, much better wild mustard control is possible and those crops are typically much cleaner. It’s also been a great year for Canada thistle. While it’s common to see Canada thistle patches, this year you see more fields where the perennial has taken over large sections. One weed that hasn’t thrived is kochia. Usually by this point in the season big kochia Christmas trees are taking over in some pulse crops. This year, it’s rare to see a crop with a significant kochia problem. Even roadsides have fewer kochia than usual. Wild mustard seeds remain viable a long time and some fields are going to see a lot of seed go back into the ground. Kochia seeds remain viable for only a few years so that weed seed bank should be decreased after this year. I’m Kevin Hursh.