It’s harvest time — and that’s important for farmers and consumers
Quality, yield are virtual unknowns until it’s safe in the bin, writes Toban Dyck.
The wheat harvest has begun. It’s an intense time of year. It’s an important time of year. It’s a time when the food that farmers grow gets collected and tallied.
Starting now, and continuing late into the year, farmers will be delivering a vast amount of food to the market, some of it destined to stay in Canada, some of it for export.
The days leading up to the harvest are heavy with rumour, gossip and coffee shop predictions. Following an entire season of watching the weather, fretting over storms, observing and dealing with pests, weeds and disease, the decision to deem a crop ready to harvest is a tough one to make.
Many of us wait for a first mover. Combines are large and merely the sight of one along a gravel road is often enough to fire the proverbial starter pistol on the season.
However and whenever the harvest begins, once it does, Canada is an exciting place to be: Communities across the rural grid hold their autumn festivals, farm implements take over the gravel roads and a sense of optimism permeates the air.
On Aug. 6, my father and I walked a few feet into one of our wheat fields to check if it was ready. The kernels looked full and the heads and stems were ripe and dry. We decided we would try.
In the farming world, there are those who drive red combines and those who drive green. Our combine is red. Case and John Deere share in a rivalry I hear jokingly referenced at least three times per week.
The combine is a big machine, something I’m struck by every fall. Its fine controls belie the magnitude of the machine’s mechanics.
We fired it up, drove it to the field and bit into the wheat, harvesting 100 metres or so — enough to get a significant sample. It was too wet. The kernels still contained too much moisture. The wheat value chain doesn’t want wet wheat and it’s not easy to store or dry in the bins. So, we waited.
Two days later, we tried again and the crop was ready.
The difference between a good crop and a poor one is virtually indistinguishable from the road. Farmers routinely drive by their fields and, for the most part, are easily placated by a crop that is free of weeds, clear of disease and standing as it should.
The quality of the wheat, how many bushels per acre it will yield and, ultimately, how profitable it will be are unknowns that hang over a farmer’s head until he or she begins harvesting. The anticipation and excitement is palpable.
As the ultimate symbol for having endured all that an unpredictable growing season has to offer, the harvest holds a special place for farmers. The news, Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia and trade agreements are sidelined, replaced by the physical work of harvesting and the paperwork of establishing (hopefully) profitable contracts to meet cash flow needs.
At the time of this writing, we are more than half done with our wheat crop. By the time you read this, all our wheat will likely be in the bin, safe from nature’s ravages.
Farmers push because they know better than to take ideal conditions for granted. They work long days because it’s rewarding to have made it through another growing season.
But the wheat is merely the beginning. There are more crops to harvest — canola, for example, is around the corner.
If you have the time and/or the inclination, find out when harvest is starting in your area and take a drive. The sights are impressive. It’s the food you eat.