Crop specialists across the Prairies estimate harvest is generally one to two weeks behind normal.
For organic farmers, that may be a bit optimistic.
Organic farmers who can’t use chemical to control early weeds must wait for the weeds to emerge and cultivate them before seeding.
That puts most organic crops a week or two behind conventional crops. Toss in a wet, cool year that has delayed crop development and organic farmers are chewing their nails hoping for a long harvest season.
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“We’re not panicking yet,” said Frank Cole of Brown Homestead Farm in Swan River, Man.
“If we have a good September, we will be all right. It’s going to be a good three weeks of good weather before we start to swath.”
Unlike conventional farmers who have the option of spraying a desiccant on the fields to speed the dry down of crops, organic farmers aren’t allowed to use them.
“We just have to wait for the weather,” said Cole. “There is no magic spray in the bottle for us guys. We don’t have a lot of options.”
Marie-Paule De Ruyck of Swan Lake, Man., said the excess rain this spring hampered seeding. They planted a few acres of oats and sunflowers, but the wheat didn’t get seeded. It will be some time before the oats and sunflowers are harvested.
“It’s going to be late for sure. We’re hoping for the weather to stay nice. We depend so much on the weather,” said De Ruyck. “We have to wait for Mother Nature.”
Terry Sheehan of Westlock, Alta., said the hay and grain rotation on their farm allows them to seed early and not worry about early spring weeds.
“With our rotation, there is not a lot of spring weed control,” he said.
Sheehan expects swathing to begin in about two weeks.
Mark Gibeau of Strathmore, Alta., relies on good weather more than other organic farmers. He grows heritage varieties of wheat like Marquis and Red Fife, which take 110 to 120 days to mature.
“I won’t be swathing my wheat until the second week of September,” said Gibeau.
The Marquis wheat is heading into the dough stage now and will need several weeks to ripen.
