Farmers making good progress with the harvest

This weeks crop report shows the provincial harvest has now hit five per cent.

Harvest is most advanced in the southwest where 17 per cent of the crop in the bin, while the west-central area has eight per cent complete. 

Two percent of the crop is in for the southeast, the east central region has one per cent done, while the northern regions are just gearing up.

Crop Extension Specialist Matt Struthers says reports for the southwest and west central areas suggest yields are well below average.

"It's depending on who got the rain and who didn't. Overall, some of the yields coming out of the southwest are quite low and far below average. Whereas, there are pockets of that region that did get a bit of rain and they're a little closer to average. On the eastern half of the province where they have started harvesting in some areas, the crop does look quite good. Compared to last year, they're quite happy with the yields that they're seeing."

So far, 36 per cent of the winter wheat, 22 per cent of the fall rye, 16 per cent of the field peas, 24 per cent of the lentils and two per cent of canola has been combined. 

He notes that grasshoppers caused significant crop damage for farmers throughout the growing season and now continue to cause problems with the harvest.

"It doesn't just stop at them eating your crop, they also cause issues when you combine through them. So lots of producers dealing with plugging up combines and just the mess that the insects make once they go through that combine and get into the seeds. So lots of seed cleaning probably will be occurring especially down in the southwest and anywhere else in the province that is dealing with an overpopulation of grasshoppers."

Struthers adds on top of the grasshoppers, farmers continue to deal with aphids and diamondback moths.