Saskatchewan farmers are usually desiccating lentils by this time of year but not this summer.
“Most are finding it still a bit early to do that,” said Dale Risula, cropping management specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture in Moose Jaw.
He said canola is green but should be ripening by now and barley should also be starting to turn colour.
Welcome rains on the Prairies after years of drought can do little to counter unseasonably cool weather and cloudy skies that have slowed crop development.
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In southern Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan, farmers have had 75 percent of normal heat units required to move their crops along, said Wilt Billing, an agronomist with Pioneer Hi-Bred at Morden, Man.
Crops were planted at many different times due to cool or wet weather, further pushing back the start of harvest.
Corn is up to two weeks behind, said Billing.
He said northwestern Manitoba was less affected by the weather as it typically experiences cooler temperatures.
“Provincially we’re behind quite a bit,” Billing said.
Risula said heat units are below normal for Saskatchewan, where crops got off to a slow start due to cooler than normal temperatures.
“Crop development is a little behind normal development as a result,” he said.
The northeast is cooler than the rest while the west-central region is the least affected and closest to its normal crop development.
Farmers forced to plant later than usual this year have not been helped by fewer hours of sunshine, said Ray Gauthier of Pioneer in Edmonton.
“Canola is holding onto its flowers longer as it hasn’t had the heat to push it along.”
Gauthier said cereal crops are less dependent on heat in August because their yield potential is largely set in the spring. Corn has suffered, with poorer quality yields expected.
Heat is required for good starch formation.
Gauthier said Alberta fared slightly better than the other prairie provinces.
“In Alberta, we were able to seed in a more timely manner and the crops are coming along quite nicely,” he said.
