The coming three days of rain forecast for the Moose Jaw area will do “absolutely nothing” for local farmers, but they can take solace in the fact that harvest progress in the region is well ahead of the provincial average.
The most recent provincial crop report showed just over two per cent of the 2010 crop had been combined across the province while regionally seven per cent had been harvested by Aug. 23. The five-year average provincially for this time of year is 12 per cent.
Saying area crops seem to be in good condition, agrologist Grant McLean with the Agriculture Knowledge Centre said Moose Jaw producers are in good shape, even if things are still a little behind.
“I think we’ve been very blessed in terms of timing and we haven’t had the extreme excess moisture seen in areas not even that far north of here. That’s certainly been a bonus, and recent warmer temperatures have helped with crop maturation.”
Tom Simpson and Vaughn Crone are two area farmers who were able to start combining last week and both estimate being about 30 per cent done. Rainy days have meant they have not been able to get in the fields every day, but generally, things are going well.
“I’m doing lentils right now. Most are desiccated and for the most part ready to go. The fields have really dried up a lot, there are hardly any wet spots any more,” said Simpson, whose crops are six miles southeast of Moose Jaw.
“We’re quite surprised how good the yields are in the lentils. We’ve got some disease issues with our chick peas, that’s one I’m not too optimistic about getting off in decent shape, but everything else is looking pretty good, we just need more time on it,” he added.
Crone has done much of his lentils and peas in the last week, and has swathed most of his canola.
“We’re pleasantly surprised with what we’ve seen so far. We’d take another three weeks of the heat we had (Thursday). It’s not easy on the truck drivers, but it would help get the crop advanced, there is a lot of immature crop yet.
“I’m hoping at the end of the day when a guy gets done looking at it that the stuff that didn’t end up getting flooded out will help make up for some of those acres that were lost,” said Crone.
Both of the farmers had fields that were not seeded until June, and those crops, mostly cereals, are well behind schedule.
Simpson, hopeful to take advantage of grain prices which have risen dramatically this summer, said he is hoping for at least three weeks without frost to get his crops in. Crone agreed, but has read that frost could come as early as Sept. 8.
According to McLean, crop insurance’s projection — based on 30 years of data — is that the first frost for the Moose Jaw area will occur during the week of Sept. 16-23.
