Regina Leader-Post

Harvest slightly behind due to weather

- MORGAN MODJESKI mmodjeski@postmedia.com

The arrival of winter weather has slowed Saskatchew­an’s harvest, but some farmers in the south say they were able to get much of the work done before conditions turned sour.

The provincial government’s crop report for the week of Sept. 25-Oct. 1 said 73 per cent of the crop is in the bin, which is slightly behind the five-year average of 78 per cent for this time of year.

Milestone Mayor Jeff Brown, a grain farmer, said producers in his area are close to wrapping up their harvest. He said while it’s the “worst time” to get moisture, many were lucky.

“For the most part in our area guys are pretty much wrapped up, but there’s the odd field here or there that’s still out,” Brown said. “The crops we have out won’t downgrade because of it, it’s just hard to sit back and watch them sit out there, but it really isn’t going to do a whole lot of harm.”

The most recent crop report said harvest is most advanced in the southwest region, where 90 per cent of the crop is now combined, followed by the southeaste­rn region at 89 per cent combined, the west central region at 62 per cent and the east central region at 61 per cent.

For the most part, farmers in the Lanigan area are “halfway to twothirds” through harvest, but that can vary depending on the crop, he said. Regions in Saskatchew­an’s north are at the back of the pack when it comes to harvest. The northeaste­rn region has about 45 per cent combined, and the northweste­rn region reported roughly 33 per cent of harvest combined.

Overall, “yield estimates at this time remain about average,” but they vary across the province depending on moisture throughout the season, according to the crop report.

Saskpower also reminds farmers to be careful operating farm equipment around power lines. In September, 13 instances of machinery coming in contact with overhead lines were reported.

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