Harvesters are longing for an Indian summer to help them get off the last of this year’s crop.
Alberta is furthest behind at about 65 percent complete, compared to 87 percent in Saskatchewan and a largely complete harvest in Manitoba.
Northern Alberta’s Peace region is the most weather challenged at 28 percent done, with rain returning every other day and preventing crops from drying.
“They just can’t seem to get any warm dry periods of weather up there,” said James Wright, project manager with Agriculture Financial Services Corp. in Lacombe, Alta.
Read Also
Interest in biological crop inputs continues to grow
It was only a few years ago that interest in alternative methods such as biologicals to boost a crop’s nutrient…
Crops are harvested tough at up to 20 percent moisture content and need to be dried, he said.
Wright said Peace soils do not dry easily and clog up implements when farm machinery gets on them too early. Central Alberta between Edmonton and Calgary is also slower than normal, with only half the crop in the bin.
“We’re waiting for an Indian summer,” Wright said.
Generally, yields in Alberta are average to slightly below average, something Wright said is better than expected after crops were seeded late due to a wet spring and then burned up in the heat of July.
Harvested crops have been reasonably good with good protein levels but the quality will deteriorate the longer they sit in the field, he said.
On a positive note, those planting winter wheat in the province’s south are feeling more optimistic about their success now that rains have improved moisture in the zone.
Lack of subsoil moisture continues to be a concern in eastern Alberta near the Saskatchewan border where farmers will be hoping for good winter and springtime precipitation.
In Saskatchewan, the northeast is struggling to finish the last half of the harvest amidst short fall days, rain and few drying days, said Terry Bedard of Saskatchewan Agriculture.
“There haven’t been a lot of them,” she said of warm, windy days.
Most producers are starting late in the day because of dew and fog and find the crops going tough in the evening, she said.
Bedard cited the case of a Tisdale farmer who combined all night when windy conditions kept the crop from getting tough.
Grain dryers are well used this fall because of the high moisture content of harvested crops.
“This year the grain price economics makes a little more sense to spend the money drying it,” she said.
Cereals are hardest hit, causing many farmers to shift to harvesting crops with better prospects before returning to clean up the most deteriorated crops last.
Frost is also taking a toll, with more damage than expected.
“It’s just one more weathering thing that’s happening,” she said.
Bedard expected Saskatchewan to harvest an average crop this year.
“It’s not a great year, but not a bad year,” she said.
Manitoba has fared well despite cooling fall temperatures and scattered showers throughout harvest.
Quality is very good on cereals, with most grading number one with good bushel weights and lower than expected fusarium levels.
Canola yields are variable and less than expected due to heat damage in July.
Harvest in Dauphin and Swan River lagged behind central, eastern and Interlake areas, with flax, soybeans, grain corn and sunflowers among the only crops left to be harvested in the province.
The Manitoba Crop report indicates corn silage operations are underway in northwest, central and Interlake regions with yields between 10 and 20 tonnes per acre.
Grain corn moisture is at 23 percent in eastern zones, with average yields of 115 bu. per acre expected when harvest is in full swing this week.
