First yield reports positive Mustard buyer expects average Canadian yields to fall below last year’s total
A mustard buyer in southern Alberta says he expects the effects of a wet and cool year will be evident when the final harvest numbers are tallied, which could give prices a boost.
However, the earliest harvested fields are showing signs of another successful season.
“Those samples are just starting to come in. For the samples that have arrived, the yields are really quite good,” said Walter Dyck with Olds Products in Lethbridge.
The company, which contracts acres in Alberta, Saskatchewan and some northern U.S. states, is beginning to receive harvest samples from its growers.
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Dyck said last week that his first samples are in the 1,000 pounds per acre range.
Saskatchewan Agriculture projected yields of 1,044 lb. per acre in late September.
“There’s still, I think, more to the story to be told,” said Dyck.
“I would say for that average, that projection, that to me is definitely on the high side.”
Statistics Canada’s most recent forecast is for higher yields this year from 465,000 acres, most of which are in Saskatchewan. Acreage is up 100,000 acres from last year.
Canadian farmers averaged yields of 947 lb. per acre during last year’s record growing season, although Saskatchewan Agriculture data showed that many growers saw yields exceed 1,200 lb. per acre.
Mustard officials said in July that most of the crop had escaped the worst of the weather and flooding issues that had already started to dampen production estimates on the Prairies.
However, Dyck said more weather woes across most regions and the appearance of frost will affect later seeded and harvested mustard fields.
Baine Fritzler, vice-chair of the Sask-atchewan Mustard Development Commission, said in an email that most mustard acres in his area near Govan, Sask., were hailed out. He’s also heard of poor quality and lost acres in Manitoba because of flooding.
“The drop in the yield below last year, I think, was something that I saw as coming down the pipeline,” said Dyck.
Saskatchewan’s most recent provincial crop report pegged the mustard harvest at 81 percent complete Sept. 29.
“That last 20 percent, boy, there’s probably some significant issues with green (seed),” said Dyck.
He said the samples he’s seen are cleaner than last year, showing signs of effective herbicide use.
He said growers with contracts are protected from a decline in spot prices for mustard, which are down from the 38 to 39 cents per lb. for yellow and 33 to 34 cents per lb. for brown in this season’s contracts.
“As we see more samples come in and I think more the yields come down a little bit off the projections by StatsCan or (Saskatchewan Agriculture), I think … maybe we’ll see those prices go up a little bit again,” he said.
