Farmers across the province are working tirelessly to bring in this year’s harvest off the fields, and in the South and Central regions, which encompass the counties of Kneehill, Starland, and Wheatland, harvest progress is above the five and 10-year averages, though slightly behind the 2021 harvest.
According to the Alberta Crop Report, approximately 74 per cent of major crops such as spring wheat, barley, and canola, have been combined in the South region, while the Central Region has combined nearly 62 per cent of major crops as of Tuesday, September 13, some 59 per cent of major crops have been combined across the province.
Kneehill County Reeve Jerry Wittstock says farmers in the Kneehill area faced some challenges with high precipitation levels in June, but says they were glad for it.
“If we had to rely on precipitation in July, August, and September we would have had no crops,” he tells the Mail.
Despite these challenges, he estimates cereal grains and peas in the area are about 99 per cent harvested. Farmers are seeing adobe average harvests on wheat and barley, with about 70 to 75 bushels and 110 to 115 bushels per acre respectively. However, due to issues in spring, canola harvests are down from about 60 bushels per acre to around 35 to 40 bushels.
Wheatland County Agriculture and Environment manager Russel Muenchrath tells the Mail, “It’s been a good year for the most part, with many producers having completed harvest or are near completing with good yields being reported.”
He adds some “timely rains” mixed with the hot, dry weather over the summer months helped to bring on an early harvest this year, though he notes there were more reports of equipment fires in 2022 compared to previous years.
Mr. Muenchrath notes one of the biggest challenges producers have faced this year have been escalating costs and supply chain issues. This was also echoed by Reeve Wittstock, who said in Kneehill County he has heard of farmers ordering equipment in 2021 and only receiving it after harvest is already completed and they have spent additional funds to repair or rent other equipment.
Starland County Agriculture Fieldman Ryan Hallett shares producers in the region began the season dealing with some lingering drought conditions from 2021, which prompted some concerns.
“During June and July, enough rain fell to carry this year’s crop through the hot and dry August that emerged,” Mr. Hallett tells the Mail.
He noted, although crops ripened early due to the hot conditions seen in August, yield “appear to be average” for most of the county. Mr. Hallett adds this is very welcome compared to the previous year.
