Harvest progressing, but not without challenges

Early Sunday morning Greg Gurney and his future son-in-law, Matthew Kowalyshen, removed dozens of bolts and replaced the guards and sickle sections on the combine header.Trying to harvest lentils pounded into the ground after a month of rain was almost impossible. Gurney lowered the combine header flat onto the ground in an attempt to salvage most of the lentils, but it also meant the tips of knives were snapped off as they hit rocks, roots and debris. The Eyebrow, Sask., farmer hasn’t taken a sample of the lentils in for testing, but he’s assuming the extra month the crop spent in the field knocked the lentils down a grade or two and pushed down his wheat from top quality to feed.It’s a similar scene for many farmers across the Prairies as they struggle to harvest what many hoped was a bountiful crop.While good progress was made at the end of September, farmers could only watch in frustration as rain and wet fields stalled harvest for most of September. Saskatchewan agriculture officials estimate by the end of September, 29 percent of the crop was harvested, compared to 72 percent a year earlier.Grant McLean said “significant progress” was made during the past week as farmers took advantage of the low humidity and sunny days.”It’s still behind where we normally expect it to be,” he said.Areas of west-central Saskatchewan have the least amount of grain harvested, but it’s most challenging in the eastern part of the province, where farmers struggle to harvest in water-logged fields. In Alberta, farmers have struggled all fall to harvest any crop.Sporadic rains throughout harvest haven’t allowed farmers to get a good run at harvest.”They are going full out when they can,” said Alberta Agriculture crop specialist Harry Brook.Harvest in the Peace River area of northern Alberta is almost finished, but with disappointing results. Areas hardest hit by drought have dramatically reduced yields. The Agriculture Financial Services Corp. estimates more than 175,000 acres of farm land went unseeded this year, most of that in the southern part of the province.Where the crop was seeded in the south, yields are expected to be high. Frost in central and northern Alberta in mid-September will also affect crop quality, but it is still too early to get a precise assessment.In Manitoba, farmers took advantage of the hot sunny weather during the past week.Pamela de Rocquigny with Manitoba Agriculture said most of the cereal and canola crop harvest is complete. Flax harvest is finished in the east and just beginning in the rest of the province. Soybean harvest has just begun across province, but it will be some time yet before sunflower and grain corn harvest begins.De Rocquigny said harvest yields varied widely across Manitoba and even between fields within a region. It depended on rain, drainage, soil type and the few hot sunny days.”There was no single area that was exceptional. It was on a field by field situation.”Good weather predicted for the rest of the week should help farmers wrap up most of the harvest across the province.”Once guys can get in the field and get going, they can get a lot of acres off.”

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