By Angela Brown

Harvest almost done in North West region

Oct 20, 2022 | 9:53 AM

Harvest is close to being completed in the North West region, including the Battlefords and Meadow Lake areas.

The province is reporting 94 per cent of the crop in the bin in the local region in the latest update, far ahead of the five-year average of 60 per cent for the period.

Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture’s crops extension specialist Michael Brown said yields have been very good in the North West region, as a positive sign.

“[They are] even better than the past couple of years,” he said. “We had a few years where there has been a dryness issue. This year, even with the spottier rains, there were [strong] numbers coming in.”

Hard-red spring wheat is yielding over 50 bushels to the acre, oats are hitting 100, barley is just about to reach 80, flax is in the 30-bushel range, and canola is in the 40 bushels per acre range.

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The quality of the crop is looking good as well.

“We had a pretty good fall for harvest operations. We didn’t have any major issues or delays to cause bleaching in grains or sprouting,” Brown said.

For hard red spring wheat, 79 per cent of the amount harvested is graded at #1CW (Canadian Western), the top grade from the Canadian Grain Commission, and 20 per cent at #2CW.

“To have it as a number 1 or number 2 [CW] is fantastic,” Brown said.

The main challenges farmers have been dealing with during this year’s harvest include issues with wind, waterfowl, and wildlife.

Saskatchewan is experiencing a typical windy fall, which can cause swaths from unharvested crops to blow around.

Brown said if there are any standing crops, straight-cut canola or some late flax, for example, the winds could cause those plants to “bang the pods into each other,” and experience a bit more of a risk for shelling out that crop.

Migrating geese and ducks have also been an issue in some areas during harvest.

“If you do have wildlife damage on any swaths or standing crops, be sure to contact your local crops insurance office and talk with them about it,” Brown said.

Overall, the fall weather has been mainly clear, giving farmers an opportunity to make as much progress as possible to finish their harvest in a timely manner.

Brown said while there was some rainfall this fall, it has been patchy and not significant. The region saw more rainfall this year, but it did not take long before the moisture dried up.

“Looking at our cumulative rainfall that we have seen since April 1, the North West region has taken quite a hit on moisture…,” he said. “We’re coming into the fall pretty dry here now.”

Producers next hope to see a good dousing of rain after they have completed their harvest, to start to replenish the soil moisture for the 2023 growing season.

“Once everything is done, I would say [they need] a nice either soaking rainfall for a few days, or a wet snow that melts and freezes into the soil, so we’ve got some good soil moisture to begin with, and allow the snow-melt to really push in next spring,” Brown said.

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angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW