Rain stalls harvest again in northwest
Rain brought harvest to a halt in much of the province last week, including the northwest region.
Producers have 17 per cent of the northwest crop in the bin, according to the crop report for the week ending Sept. 12. Another 62 per cent is ready to swath or straight cut. Daphne Cruise, crop management specialist with the Ministry of Agriculture, said rain kept farmers there, and in many other areas of the province, behind schedule. Humidity was also an issue, she said.
“Lots of dew in the morning, that’s lasting until late in the morning, and then setting in again early in the evening. So a lot of combines, not able to go until noon or after, and then shut down by dusk,” she explained. However she added conditions in the days since have been much better for harvesting.
Progress was farther along in the southern part of the region, including the Battlefords and Hafford, while the area between Meadow Lake and Lloydminster was even farther behind the five-year average. Rainfall in the region ranged from 18 mm at Debden, to 14 mm at Pierceland, and 8 mm at Turtleford.