COMMENTS ON THE GROWING SEASON
2011 UMOPN
LACOMBE, ALBERTA
Seeding went well. Seed went into good moisture at a normal time. Rain began about 3 weeks later, and continued
throughout June and July, with above normal precip amounts. August was a fairly good month growing wise, but
was cool, and with the rain we had earlier it kept material from maturing. The end of August and all of September
were very nice, with above normal temperatures, so even though harvest was a bit delayed due to maturities, things
came along, and harvest was still able to be completed before the end of September. Total precip for the growing
months was just under 400 mls. The extra moisture and wind meant more lodging and disease was noticed in the
plots as well. Yields are fairly normal.
WINNIPEG, MANATOBA
Seeding was quite late in 2011 due to excessive rain and moisture.  The seed went into good soil moisture and
received quite a bit of rainfall until the end of June.  Then there was no precipitation from the beginning of July until
harvest.  Diseases did not develop to any extent due to the dry conditions.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
The trials had a severe establishment problem at the early stage due to poor soil preparation upon prolonged
rains. So population establishment was a big factor for yield.
URBANA, IL
Timely planting and very good stands established.  Early part of growing season was very wet. Grain fill
period was quite hot and dry.  Oats dried up rather than maturing.
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN
The season was unusually rainy: we did get a break in the rains and were able to seed the nursery reasonably
on-time.  However, frequent rains/high night-time temperatures persisted throughout the season, and harvest
was delayed. We experienced a severe wind/rain storm about 15 days prior to harvest, resulting in severe
lodging and stem breakage. Test weights are lower than typical.
EAST LANSING, MI
Cool wet spring followed by very hot temperatures in early June.  Some cereal leaf beetle activity, but
not diseases.
ROSEMOUNT, MN
Cool temperatures early caused delayed and variable emergence.  Adequate moisture was availble throughout
the season, but high temperatures during pollination probably negatively impacted seed fill.
MORRIS, MN
Cool temperatures during planting was followed by a very wet May.  Slightly above temperatures during June
still allowed for very uniform and high yielding plots overall.
ITHACA, NY
A very wet spring delayed planting by about one month. April and May had double the normal amount of
precipitation. However, June and July only had two thirds the normal rainfall.  The late planting combined with
a very dry growing season greatly reduced grain yield.  The growing season was about two degrees warmer
than normal and rainfall was five inches above average rainfall with a total of 21.8 inches for the growing
season in Ithaca.
CARRINGTON, ND
Nursery lost to hail.
FARGO, ND
Nursery lost to excess water.
MINOT, ND
The Minot UMOPN was planted May 17 which is about a month later than we normally expect to plant.  The
delay was due to cold wet soil conditions.  Uniform stands were established.  The remainder of May and June
were somewhat cooler than normal.  Precipitation in June was considerably greater than normal.  Crown rust
infection was light on most plots, but all 'Gopher' plots developed severe crown rust infection. Growing
conditions were favorable for good plant development during most of the season after planting.
BROOKINGS, SD
We had a miserable wet spring that delayed planting and maturities. The summer was just as miserable with
the heat and humidity. The Brookings location had considerable landscape variability; therefore, a higher C.V.
than normal. I have more confidence in the in the Beresford location data.
WATERTOWN, SD
Nursery lost to hail.
MADISON, WI
2011 started out as a very late season, but due to much hot dry weather, harvest came at a more typical
time. Planting was done on May 6. Mean temperature for May was 57.4 F and we had 2.5 inches of
rainfall. June had a mean temperature of 70.9 F with 4.4 inches of rain. High temperatures began in June, but
rainfall was still adequate. July and August stayed hot with less than adequate rainfall.  July’s mean
temperature was 76.0 F (high mean 93.6 F) and August had a mean temperature of 70.4 F (high mean 92.3 F).
Total rainfall for July and August combined was 5.5 inches. The UEOPN was harvested on July 30th and the
UMOPN on August 6th. The high temperatures and disease pressure, combined with the lateness of planting
caused yields and bushel weights to be low, particularly in the UEOPN. Lodging pressure was light. Levels of
CRS were high and BYDV levels were low to moderate.