Advertisement

Bumper harvest coming, but farmers worried about quality

Bumper harvest coming, but farmers worried about quality

A bumper crop is in the forecast for Saskatchewan, but farmers are not high-fiving each other quite yet.

Much of the harvest is still not in the bin yet, and it's been a rainy few weeks in parts of the grain belt.

Troy Wheppler, who grows lentils at his farm near Morse in the province's southwest, says there have been quality issues in the area and the wet weather that came at the end of July is to blame.

"They just got too much rain. We are at about 300 per cent of what we usually get," he said.

"Once those pods touch the ground and if they are wet for two weeks, you are dealing with all kinds of mould issues and discolouration and things like that."

Meanwhile, excess moisture has also been a problem in the Rose Valley area about 400 kilometres northwest of Wheppler's farm.

Jeff Prosko, who's growing oats and soybeans close to that community, said the harvest has been delayed, but he hopes to keep the combines rolling now that drier weather has arrived.

"The forecast is good," he said. "The crew is here and they're raring to go and we just want to get as much in the bin as possible."

Statistics Canada reports that Saskatchewan is looking at the second largest crop on record — 33.6 million tonnes.