Dry. That was the word to describe much of the Prairies in 2018. With lower than normal rainfall for the second year in a row, drought was top-of-mind for a lot of growers. While it wasn’t unexpected, this was confirmed by a recent poll – 69% of participants told us that drought was their number one challenge last year, beating out grain quality, too much moisture and disease/insect pressure.

What was your biggest challenge in 2018?

— CANTERRA SEEDS (@canterraseeds) January 4, 2019

Take this, combined with the lower snowfall precipitation we’ve seen so far this winter, and some areas may be dry going into spring. It will take frequent, reliable rainfall in the 2019 growing season to catch up from the dry conditions we’ve seen over the past couple of years.

This is where CANTERRA SEEDS’ AAC Congress durum wheat variety can step in. If you’re concerned about future dry weather conditions, we recommend looking at this variety for the 2019 growing season. AAC Congress (CWAD) is a high-yielding variety with low DON accumulation that has been shown to perform well in low-moisture areas. Data over several years has revealed yield stability over varying environmental conditions.

With the drought stress seen in 2017-2018 through a good part of the durum region, AAC Congress has continued to perform very well across all regions. Nick Petruic of Avonlea, Sask., was happy with how AAC Congress performed on his fields last year. “The durum was harvested in great condition and yielded quite well in a drier, more challenging year,” says Petruic.

In addition to hearing growers’ success stories, the 2019 SK Seed Guide released this month also reports great results for AAC Congress. While it performed well in all areas, it was the top-performing durum variety in the typically drier areas (Areas 1 & 2).

*Relative to Strongfield
Source: SK Seed Guide, 2019

With AAC Congress on your side, you can plant using existing management practices with confidence. While many may batten down the hatches and reduce inputs based on expected yield reduction with drought, this isn’t a worry with this CANTERRA SEEDS variety. Rick Love, CANTERRA SEEDS Pedigreed Business Manager is reassuring. “AAC Congress helps stack the deck in your favour and takes away some of the potential risk or downside that comes with dry weather.”

To purchase AAC Congress for 2019, visit our Seed Locator page to find a seed company near you.

For more information on AAC Congress, visit the product page.