It’s a tough time of year for farmers, especially when all they can do is sit and wait.
The recent wet weather has stalled farmers in the field and halted harvest. This combined with cooler temperatures has farmers waiting.
“As far as harvest, things are delayed,” said Fallon Sherlock, Land Care Coordinator for Kneehill County. ”I think many were at about 40 per cent and then the rain hit and now it is just playing the waiting game.”
She says at this point the cool weather isn’t threatening to most crops.
“I think if we get a warm October, I think we’ll be okay. We are at the mercy of Mother Nature,” she said. “Guys are saying we are at about 40 per cent. They got a quick start there because everything was quite dry at the end of August but then we did have to call it quits.”
“A lot of the Canola is still laying in the field, so we’ll have to wait for that to dry out.”
Much is the same case in Starland County says Ag fieldman Al Hampton.
“It is humid and damp and cold, It’s not that nice,” he said.
“It’s that time of year where we are running into the equinox, and then the days are shorter than the nights. Evaporation is less and less of a factor. Unless you get a really full-blown chinook or something like that it can stay damp for a while.
He says at this point it is not putting most crops at risk.
“I think it is very irritating. The real situation right now is if you are looking at cereal crops to bring in. If you have barley and wheat it is going to take a few days, at least a week of decent weather to dry out,” he says.
So what do farmers do in the meantime?
“Primarily they fix things, and discuss the weather amongst each other,” Hampton chuckles. “I don’t think too many are VLT fans, I think farming is a big enough gamble, a VLT is the last thing most of them will do.”
As of the September 11 Alberta Crop Report, in the central region, about 41 per cent of crops are still standing, 27 per cent are swathed and 32 per cent are combined.