A warm, dry September has helped Sturgeon County farmers salvage what could have been a dismal harvest.
Sturgeon County farmers are in the final stretch of the 2023 harvest season this week, with most set to have all their crops collected before mid-October.
Some 57 per cent of major crops in the North West region (which includes Sturgeon) had been combined as of the Sept. 26 Alberta Crop Report, which was slightly ahead of the five-year average of about 48 per cent. Wind and warm temperatures helped accelerate harvest progress.
“The harvest weather has been really fantastic,” said Legal-area farmer Jeff Nonay, with plenty of warm, dry days during which to bale straw and combine wheat.
“We’ve never been short of work.”
Crop conditions are also robust in the North West, with about 82 per cent of areas reporting their crops as being in good condition and no areas reporting them as poor or excellent, Alberta Agriculture reports. That’s a significant turnaround from last June, where drought-like conditions meant this region’s crop conditions were the worst in the province.
Wayne Groot, who farms east of Gibbons, said most farmers in his region have been pleasantly surprised with how their wheat and barley turned out. This year’s heavy rains were a boon to his potatoes, some of which ended up a bit bigger than he’d like (as he sells them as seed potatoes).
Nonay credited the timely rains of June for this year's above-average results.
“Our corn silage for cows is the best quality and quantity of crop we’ve ever seen,” he said — a huge turnaround from June, when he wasn’t sure if his cows would have enough food for winter.
Fields in the county appear to have a decent store of moisture in them headed into winter, with Alberta Agriculture reporting near normal soil moisture reserves for all of Sturgeon County.
Nonay said many farmers in his region were waiting for the last of their canola to mature as of Oct. 3, as the dry spring followed by heavy summer rains caused many canola plants to emerge late and grow more. (His harvest was on pause for about a week for this reason.)
Groot and Nonay said most Sturgeon County farmers will have all their crops in the bin by mid-October provided the weather holds. After that, most will be busy doing soil samples, equipment cleanup, and any other prep-work they can fit in before the snow falls.
“The clock is still ticking,” Nonay said.
Alberta Agriculture’s next crop report is scheduled for release Oct. 6 at www.alberta.ca/alberta-crop-reports.aspx.
