Some producers in southeast Saskatchewan have finished their harvest operations, while others are nearing completion.
Sherri Roberts, a crops extension specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, said she has seen a lot of clean fields in recent weeks in areas such as Glenavon, Weyburn and Torquay.
“There are a few soy beans fields, and maybe an occasional flax field (that aren’t finished), but most of them are all done, except for the corn,” said Roberts. “If you get around Estevan and Oxbow, there’s still quite a bit in the field.”
The Estevan area has received some precipitation during the harvest season, which delayed progress.
Many of the fields between Whitewood and Carnduff have also been fully harvested.
Roberts pointed out that it’s not uncommon to see harvest finished for some southeast producers at this time of year. They get a head start on harvest, work tirelessly, and are finished by the end of August or the beginning of September.
It’s a far cry from the northern part of the province, which was around 10 per cent complete last week.
“It’s not that abnormal, because of the fact that there is that much of a variability in the crops that are raised down here, and because of the weather that we get,” said Roberts.
Yields in the southeast are inconsistent this year, according to Roberts. Some producers are average or below average, but she has also seen a lot of grain bags out in some fields, indicating a strong harvest.
“That’s either telling me that their grain bins are full, because of the transportation issue, so they haven’t got everything shipped out, or their fields were really good,” said Roberts.
When she asked one farmer northeast of Weyburn about yields, he told her “I’m happy.”
There have been some issues with ergot and mold in the durum south of Weyburn. Green soy beans have been harvested, which Roberts said is a reflection of the extreme heat that occurred during the seed maturation stages.
But there is also some fantastic durum out there, she said, and many producers are happy with the results. Some soy beans in the Fillmore and Creelman turned out great, and she has seen excellent canola and cereals.
The producers in the Oxbow and Carnduff areas are also likely to be very happy.
There has also been a variance on hay yields. Some areas, like Hirsch, Oxbow and Carnduff, have had really good hay this year, but other areas, such as Francis, have been hurting because they didn’t receive sufficient moisture.
The southeast region did suffer a frost that a lot of other areas did not encounter, which cut short the local growing season. Once the frost hit, many producers hit the fields in earnest.
“When we had that huge rain in the Lampman area or the Creelman area, those guys, some of them either had to replant or they ended up planting late. So there were some cereals that didn’t make it.”
Farmers who planted cereal crops for a green feed option should be sure to get those cereals nitrate tested because of the frosts late in the summer.
Some soy bean fields hadn’t reached maturity yet when the frost hit.
Roberts cautioned there could be issues with getting crops to market. Tariff issues with India regarding chickpeas and lentils also haven’t been decided.
“Those market prices are still depressed, and I know there are a lot of producers still hanging on to their lentils, and we’ll see what happens. I also do know a lot of acres of chickpeas were put in this year, and I haven’t heard a whole lot about yields, but the yields I’m looking at are pretty good.”
