Sunny but cool weather allowed Alberta farmers to continue combining last week while showers kept machines idle in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Good harvest progress slowed in early October as rain came and cool weather hampered the drying of crops.
Warren Bills of GeoFarm Solutions in Calgary passed a smattering of harvesting operations during a drive from Calgary to Lloydminster.
“A few machines were finishing up; it hasn’t been a dead week,” he said.
Bills estimated at least another five percent of the crop came off between Oct. 6 and 10.
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He called it a good year for all Alberta crops, with few widespread insect and disease issues reported. Crops were about a week to 10 days behind normal growing schedules but benefited from the Indian summer in September.
Yields and quality are especially excellent in canola, one of the last major crops to be harvested.
Last week, Alberta Agriculture reported the canola crop could approach record yields of 39 bushels per acre for the province, despite the poorer numbers in the dry Peace region.
Environment Canada reported pockets of rainfall not exceeding five millimetres around Cold Lake, Lloydminster and Coronation.
“For the most part there was nothing organized to give much precipitation to Alberta,” said meteorologist Bob Cormier.
He expected the week of Oct. 11 to be dry, but starting out cool and cloudy.
“Not ideal drying conditions.”
It’s doubtful when the rest of the Prairies will finish the few fields still left to be harvested.
Precipitation levels up to 30 mm were expected in southeastern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba over the Thanksgiving weekend.
