A farmer from the Tourond area says they could now use some sunshine and wind to help them get back on schedule with harvest.
Kate Loeppky of Rolling Prairie Farms says this year they are growing wheat, barley, canola, soybeans and corn. She notes they kicked off their wheat harvest on August 26th.
"We were pleasantly surprised by the wheat this year," says Loeppky. "We were happy with what we got, and the quality was good."
Loeppky says they also wrapped up their barley harvest last week, which proved to be more of a challenge.
"We struggled a little bit with all the rain and humidity," she says. "That suffered a bit more, was a little bit more tricky to get off the field."
But she notes they are happy to report that their barley is now in the bin.
The Loeppkys also started to harvest canola last week. However, rain in recent days has parked their combines, and Loeppky says they could now use some sunshine and wind to get back onto the fields. She adds that everything is ready to go.
As for their long-season crops, Loeppky says the soybeans are just starting to turn colour. She anticipates the soybean harvest could begin by the end of September
And finally, their corn is looking "really awesome," according to Loeppky. "No complaints."
She says they have had timely rains, which have been a huge help for the corn. Loeppky adds they could use a couple more weeks without frost, and those fields should be good to go.
According to Loeppky, their fields received adequate moisture this year, noting they usually got anywhere from two-tenths to an inch of rain weekly, throughout the summer.
"So, we were very fortunate with that," she says.
Loeppky notes they do not need any more rain for the rest of the growing season, as any precipitation now is past the point of usefulness for the crops.
"We've had enough sufficient rains throughout the whole season to kind of carry us up to this point," she explains. "No more rain would be helpful."
Loeppky says their crops have not been spared from hail this summer, noting their canola was hailed on this past week.
"The standing canola definitely got it worse than the stuff in the swath," she says.
Loeppky says a handful of their canola fields received 20 to 40 per cent hail damage.
Loeppky says it was not a bad year for insects on their land. However, she says their newest disease concern is white mould in the soybeans, caused by high humidity and a lack of wind. Loeppky says it is too late in the season to do anything about this mould, and she is hopeful it will not have too much of an impact on yield.
Meanwhile, Loeppky says with enough sunshine and wind today, they are hoping to get back on their fields later this afternoon. She adds it has been a year of patience as a farmer and wishes everyone a safe and happy harvest.