Pea harvest starting to get underway in Saskatchewan

Despite a late start to seeding, harvest operations are starting to get underway in the Prairies.

Precipitation which delayed seeding activity this spring was welcome in some of the drier areas, while some areas of Manitoba were impacted by too much rain.

The extreme heat with highs into the 30s is now impacting crop potential in some areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan reducing yield and quality expectations.

Mike Brown, the agronomy manager with the Saskatchwan Pulse Growers says heat over the last few weeks has really pushed crop development with harvest operations now getting underway.

"In the Northern United States it started, in Southeast Alberta it started. In Southwest Saskatchewan there's been some pea acres coming off as well. So you know, just a symptom of what we saw with the really hot temperatures in these past couple weeks. It's really kind of advanced crops to a point where they're ready to get desiccated and come off."

He notes it's important that producers review the staging, product information and MRL or Maximum Residue Limit guidelines for desiccation products as MRL's vary from country to country and can change.

"We have staging guides on our website for our pulses, and support the "Keep it Clean" campaign. So making sure that the products you're using are registered on the crops you're applying it on. Then understanding any of the MRL export issues we may have with some of these products and making sure that we've got a high quality crop of pulses that Canada can export."

Health Canada determines the MRL's that are allowed or listed on the products to ensure they are well below any amount that could pose a health concern.