Producers have combined 61 per cent of the canola in the province
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Farmers are across Saskatchewan are moving full steam ahead with harvest.
Growers in some southern areas of the province wrapped up harvest this week. In contrast, producers in the northern areas really got rolling on canola harvest in the last week or two.
“There were really nice, warm, relatively dry conditions throughout the province, so growers have been able to get that crop off fairly well,” said Sara Tetland.
She is a crop extension specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture and is based in Moose Jaw.
Producers now have 61 per cent of this year’s 11.3 million acres of canola in the bin. An additional 12 per cent of acres are ready for straight cutting and 23 per cent of acres are ready to swath, said Tetland.
While yields are good overall, some farmers note yield loss due to hot weather in August, she said.
“Quite a few farmers noted there was heat blasting canola. So, the flowers were aborting and there were blanks on the plants were there should be pods,” Tetland told Farms.com. “When you pair that with dry conditions, there was some yield loss on those later-seeded canola crops that didn't have a lot of moisture available.”
In the last few weeks, frost also entered the equation.
“Where we've seen the most effects on canola crops is in parts of the central and northern regions with them being a little bit later in maturity. So, some farmers have noted green seed and some pod shattering due to that frost,” said Tetland.
The northern and central regions received some rain in the last week and the weather was humid, said Tetland.
The humidity “caused shorter harvesting days for some farmers. Having more warm, dry temperatures would help those crops dry down a little bit better. … The crop has been coming off a little bit tough and some (growers are placing it) in aeration bins and in grain dryers,” she said.
Overall, canola harvest is going well in the province and farmers look forward to some good weather to help finish things off.
Photo credit: Taryn Milton photo