Most prairie farmers made considerable harvest progress last week thanks to continuing summer-like temperatures and dry conditions.
Jeff Nielsen wished he were among them.
Contacted in his combine near Olds, Alta., Oct. 8, he said evening showers earlier that week had stopped him and his cousin for a couple of days and that’s been the story of this harvest.
“In this Highway 2 corridor, it’s been a struggle,” he said.
The pair has 2,800 acres to do and was only one-third done before the Thanksgiving weekend.
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“We’re not near the canola yet,” Nielsen said. “I’m kind of worried about it.”
The wheat was grading mostly No. 3 while their barley, which they had left standing, went malt.
Yields have been good.
“Overall, it’s a decent crop and we just have to do our best to get it marketed now,” said the Canadian Wheat Board director for District 2.
Manitoba Agriculture’s Pamela de Rocquigny said excellent progress was made in that province.
Some sunflowers had already come off and that harvest should be in full swing this week.
Grain corn harvest should also be underway.
“They’re drying down (crops) as much as possible to reduce artificial drying cost,” she said, referring to crops still standing.
Because of the Thanksgiving Day long weekend, updated numbers were not available for any of the provinces.
In Saskatchewan, the government estimated 60 percent of the crop was in the bin by Oct. 7 compared to 29 percent the previous week.
Last year at the same time, 76 percent had been harvested, but the five-year average is 85 percent.
The weekly crop report also said most of the remaining crop had been swathed or was ready to straight combine.
However, some farmers are finding that later seeded canola crops, for example, aren’t ready to be combined.
