Southern Alberta farmers racing to finish harvest with warmer temperatures

It’s been a busy week for Ryan Mercer.

“We’re taking off hard red spring wheat. And like I said, the quality is still holding Number 2 despite the weather,” said the owner of Mercer Seeds Ltd.

Combines have been travelling up and down fields across the province as farmers try to take advantage of the improved weather conditions.

“Anything that’s in the swath, especially, can be bad,” Mercer said. “If the crop has been swathed, it’s really slow to dry out. Anytime you get rain or snow on swaths, they can start to sprout and the quality can turn for the worse.”

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According to the province’s weekly crop report, the recent dry, warmer weather has aided in about three-quarters of crops in southern Alberta being harvested.

That compares to just over one-third at the beginning of September.

Smoke from the summer wildfires has disappeared, but it also pushed back some timelines.

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“We’re not getting as much sunlight and activity as quickly as what we would normally expect,” said agronomist Dr. Ross McKenzie. “It just kind of slows down maturity and the whole maturity process, therefore delaying harvest.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're not getting as much sunlight and activity as quickly as what we would normally expect," said agronomist Dr. Ross McKenzie. "It just kind of slows down maturity and the whole maturity process, therefore delaying harvest."

Southern Alberta isn’t alone.

Snow and rain in central and northern Alberta has also had an effect on harvesting.

McKenzie said it’s now on farmers to try and get all the key crops out, while the nicer weather holds up.

“Dry beans, canola and wheat that are still remaining … really need this nice, warm, dry weather to get the crop off in good shape,” he said.

The dry conditions in July and August combined with fall snowflakes haven’t significantly harmed the quality of Mercer’s grains.

“Considering how dry the summer was, the yields have not been too bad. So hopefully once we get the crop off, we get some fall moisture here before the ground freezes and replenish some of that subsoil moisture,” he said.

He expects all of his grains to be in bins by next week and is racing against the unknown deadline set by Mother Nature.