Producers in the region certainly made the most of the recent stretch of good weather to bring in the harvest, says Grant Lastiwka, with Alberta Agriculture in Olds.
Poor, wet weather at the end of September threatened to leave a great deal of the harvest in the fields, so the turnaround has been very welcome, he said.
“Things have really turned around,” Laskiwka said Monday. “Producers have really made the most of the good weather. They’ve even gotten together to help each other. As one group got finished you’d see more combines added to the next group.
“Without a doubt the weather being favourable has been very important. It could have been much, much worse. We have come pretty close to getting it done.”
The poor weather in the early fall has, however, had a negative impact on quality, he said.
“The wheat and the cereal crop quality dropped,” he said. “The majority is going to be (animal) feed. That is something we will hear more about. There are losses in yield and in quality. The losses in yield are specifically in standing crops.”
Much of the harvest in the area has now been completed, he noted.
“It’s a minor amount left to be done now,” he said.
According to the Oct. 23 crop report from Agriculture Financial Services Corporation, 75 per cent of major crops in the region have been combined and 14 per cent are in the swath. Canola is on par with major crops at 73 per cent and 18 per cent swathed.
