(File photo/farmnewsNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

In the Field

Northeast farmers begin harvest

Sep 1, 2019 | 12:00 PM

Farmers across the region are starting their harvest and reflecting on the past season.

Leonard Blocka and his brother grow close to five thousand acres of canola, wheat, barley and oats six miles southwest of Prince Albert.

Blocka is anticipating an average harvest but says it’s just too early to tell right now.

“Crops look decent but I’m the type of person – the whole family is – we don’t count our chickens before they hatch. We wait until it’s in the bin,” he told paNOW.

Growing season conditions varied around the region, but farmers across the northeast were lucky to avoid the extreme weather that plagued their southern counterparts. Farmers in southern Saskatchewan have suffered through one of the driest springs on record, while strong wind and hail wreaked havoc on crops in July.

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Blocka reported a drier than usual season, but says it was nothing as stressful as his friends in the south experienced.

Kerry Peterson, who grows oats, peas, canola and wheat near Shellbrook, says rain was a concern for him as well this year. But he’s still counting on an average crop yield.

“It’s kind of been hand-to-mouth in terms of rain, we’re just barely keeping up in terms of moisture. Some areas were adequate, some areas maybe we’re a little short of rain,” he said.

A bit further northeast, in Smeaton, Bob Reid reported his wheat, canola, barley and peas had gotten “more than enough” to drink.

“I don’t want to see another raindrop until the middle of June 2020,” he said.

As farmers head into the busy harvest season they’re hoping for the dry warm conditions that will allow them to get their crops out of the field quickly and efficiently. If everything goes well, they should be done before the end of October.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom