Harvest quality is now the focus for producers in Saskatchewan after a September delay. Across Saskatchewan, 97 per cent of harvest is now complete, according to the latest provincial crop report covering Oct. 13 to Oct. 19. Harvest is relatively on schedule for completion considering the delay in early September due to weather, particularly rain. The province experienced large bursts of localized rain this year, especially in early September, pushing start dates for many producers’ harvest. The southeastern strip of Saskatchewan saw the most rainfall during production season this year, totaling over 475 millimeters, according to crop reports. Areas east of Estevan are the only regions in Saskatchewan under 80 per cent harvest completion. But it isn’t the only area delayed. “Most everybody didn’t really get going until after September 18th…. 15th to 20th September so that’s like a 20–30-day delay over last year and the year before to start harvest,” explained Devon Walker of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS). Walker said those late September rains don’t only hurt producers’ timelines, but the quality of the crops themselves. “You lose your density, like the crop will take on moisture and swell and dry again and it becomes puffy, so you lose your density, you lose your quality,” he said. Despite the late rains, a stretch of good weather from mid-September until Thanksgiving created conditions needed to catch up to harvest projections and finish fields across the province without the loss of this year’s crop. “We’ve had worse years …The crop conditions seems to be average, maybe slightly above average at the end here. It’s not all doom and gloom. I think everyone is happy to be close to the finish line or done this year and have this crop behind us, that’s for sure,” Walker said. While harvest comes to a close in Saskatchewan, the next and final provincial crop report will be issued on Nov 5.
