While stopping at the farm equipment dealership to pick up a belt for the combine, I thanked them for not having a Christmas tree erected.
It would be rather depressing to see Christmas trees when you’re still combining. It’s bad enough that you have to hear the occasional Christmas carol on the radio.
Of course, you can look at the bright side. If the harvest goes on much longer, the days will actually start getting longer.
Compared to a lot of producers, I can’t complain. My late combining consisted of chewing through some very ugly chickpeas, mainly just to get the material off the field. It’s not a big economic consequence if they stay out until spring.
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Personally, I’ve never combined in November. I remember the old timers in the area talking about a crop back in the 1950s that was left out until the spring, but that was before my time.
For many producers, there’s a lot of dollar value still in the field. Quality and quantity will be further eroded if the crop overwinters. On top of that, crop insurance claims can’t be finalized until all the acres of a crop have been harvested.
October was cruel with very little combining possible. November smiled and many producers made a lot of progress. Unfortunately, there are millions of acres still to harvest in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
For many, harvest started in early to mid-August. To still be grinding away more than three months later is amazing. For a lot of producers, 2016 will set the record for their longest and latest harvest.
And there’s a tremendous amount of tough and damp grain to deal with. As the calendar advanced, producers were willing to take grain at higher and higher moisture contents. Some are used to drying a high proportion of their crop and are set up with proper drying equipment. Others have scrambled to establish drying capacity.
Given the situation, it won’t be surprising to see more bins of grain than usual lost to spoilage.
In some regions, fields are so wet that producers are waiting for the ground to freeze before they resume combining. Expect producers to pick away at the remaining crop until snow makes it impossible. It would be interesting to know how many block heaters have been installed on combines this fall.
It won’t all be harvested over the winter. Expect combines to be rolling again in the spring in many areas. That’s always a worry because it can delay seeding operations.
On a positive note, most crop prices have actually improved as harvest has dragged on. Since early September, canola is up about $1 a bushel and flax is up by even more. Oats have also been on a rally. That’s an incentive to keep the combine rolling.
On the other hand, any durum or wheat that’s still out is likely to be low quality and low value.
It’s difficult to pay attention to other tasks when there’s still crop in the field. As producers, we’re wired to prioritize harvest over everything else. Even when the amount remaining in the field is small compared to total farm acres, it’s hard to turn the page and move onto other jobs.
Fall fertilizer application has suffered. So has planning for the 2017 crop. Family life can be an even bigger casualty. Don’t take out your frustrations on the ones you love.
