The ski season came early for northern Albertans this year, with many crops in the Peace region sitting under a heavy blanket of snow.
Mel and Troy Venning of Fairview had 900 aces of unharvested barley, canola and peas beneath the 15 centimetres of snow received by Oct. 18.
The region was under a heavy snowfall warning, with up to 10 more cm expected that day.
“It’s very unusual to see it this early,” Mel Venning said.
She said a rain-soaked fall hampered harvest operations.
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The 2,500 acres of peas, canola, wheat and barley already in the bin were grading mainly feed, with some needing to be dried.
Conditions were variable in the region, with nearby farms able to finish harvest before the weekend snowfall. While snow fell across most of the Prairies, Peace region farmers had a larger percentage of their crops still in fields.
Steven Kramer finished combining but guessed there might be up to 30 percent of the crop still out there.
Reached by phone Oct. 18, he said snow was falling and highways were in “terrible shape.”
Keith Jaeger, integrated crop management specialist at Grande Prairie, said the crop left out is mainly lodged wheat and some canola. Crop quality is poor this harvest due to the wet, cool conditions. He offered some hope that farmers might still be able to get into the fields this year if the weather improved. Otherwise the crops will delay spring work next year, he said.
Gary Broenner, who farms at Andrew-Mundare, had already called the crop insurance office about the 40 acres of barley remaining in his field.
“There’s not much else a fellow can do about it,” he said.
Rain, hail and cool temperatures downgraded his crop, but Broenner still hoped to take if off as feed for his sheep flock. He said the Peace region is normally later to seed and harvest than other parts of Alberta, but usually winds down by Oct. 22.
“This is a bit of shock to farmers that winter came early,” Broenner said.
Agri-Trend Agrology Ltd. reported milder fall weather through the Thanksgiving weekend allowed southern Alberta to wrap up the harvest.
About 15 percent of the crops are still out in central regions between Calgary and Edmonton. Eighty-eight percent of Saskatchewan’s crop is in the bin, with four million acres still to be harvested. In Manitoba, 20 percent of cereals and up to 40 percent of the canola are still in the field.
The prairie provinces all had snow listed in their weather forecasts this week.
