Army worms to bother Lake Diefenbaker area

Irrigators in the Lake Diefenbaker Development Area planted more wheat in 2018 – 16,500 acres compared with 12,700 the previous year. Wheat accounted for nearly one-quarter of the 65,400 irrigated acres in the region. The other major acreage change in the area, according to an irrigation survey, was in alfalfa/ grass with 8,200 acres, an increase from 6,200 in 2017. Reacting to price, lentil acres fell from 4,300 to just over 1,000. Vegetable crop acres fell about one-third to 215 acres from 373 acres while potato crops dropped to 3,289 acres from 3,594.

Hemp fell from 584 acres in 2017 to 167 acres. Corn/corn silage acres increased to 1,225 from 1,040. Since 2013, irrigated acres in the three irrigation districts around the lake have increased by 11 per cent to 67,480 acres, but dropped 273 acres in 2018.

In 2013, cereal crops took 34 per cent of acres compared with 28 per cent in 2018.

Oilseed crops took 33 per cent of land, down from 36 per cent this in 2018. Forage went from 11 per cent to 12 per cent while specialty crops went from 10 per cent to eight per cent of irrigated land over five years.

Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net A modest infestation of Bertha Army Worms is forecast by Saskatchewan Agriculture this year for a grasshopper-shaped area from north of Outlook down the lake south to Hodgeville, then east nearly to Moose Jaw, angling north to Watrous and Anaheim. A more sever infestation will happen just south of Outlook. Most of the province will have little or no infestation of these pests.