Producers in the Weyburn area hoping to apply to the Excess Moisture Program or AgriStability have until Thursday, Sept. 30, to submit their forms.
Producers in the Weyburn area hoping to apply to the Excess Moisture Program or AgriStability have until Thursday, Sept. 30, to submit their forms. Any unseeded acres by June 20 or seeded and subsequently flooded acres on or before July 31 are eligible for the Excess Moisture Program.
Forage claims and declarations for the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance also have a Sept. 30 deadline. If producers have not completed harvest by this date, they may request an extension of insurance. Several producers will be seeking that extension, since the southeast region only has 26 per cent of the crop combined and an addition 40 per cent swathed or ready to straight combine.
In the southeast corner, crop district (CD) 1A has 32 per cent combined; CD 1B has 17 per cent; CD 2A has 32 per cent; CD 2B has 19 per cent; and CD 3ASE has 29 per cent combined.
"A lot of producers have already applied for the excess moisture program, and they have been estimating their harvest for the forage claims and declarations," said Gord Tonn. "Right now we are seeing that the quality is gone on a lot of crops, with most of them sprouting in the fields. Both wheat and barley will more than likely be feed."
With freezing temperatures reported in the southeast, and more rain leaving little opportunity for harvest, producers were able to make some combine progress of peas, canola, mustard and in most cereals. It was still slow in the fields and most of the crops were taken off tough.
Grades for lentil were reported in the Saskatchewan Weekly Crop Report as rating seven per cent 1 CAN, 27 per cent 2 CAN, 45 per cent 3 CAN, and 21 per cent sample. Grades for field peas are reported as 17 per cent 1 CAN, 50 per cent 2 CAN, 17 per cent 3 CAN and 16 per cent sample.
"It is not looking too good for farmers this year, because we have been standing still for a while," explained Tonn. "The quality is mostly gone of a lot of the crops, with a lot of grounded out acres because of the rain."
"The oilseeds have been handling okay, because they can excel in the moisture," explained Marcel Van Staveren. "But the cereals and pulse crops have taken a beating. Durum is bleeding right now and
"Most farmers are optimistic that we will get good weather, and the 14-day outlook is promising. However, due to the shorter days we basically need the entire month of October to be cooperative to finish our harvest," added Van Staveren.
Another concern was widespread frost that caused crop damage in the area on Sept. 17-18. Many producers are still assessing the extent of the damage as crop maturity varied from one field to the next. Constant rain has also downgraded the crop quality and bushel-weight issues.
Farmers are waiting to get back into the fields to continue with harvest. The crops that were combined are being put into aeration as they were harvested on the tough side. Wet fields continue to be a concern for harvesting equipment.
