(Resource News International) — There will be a small percentage of crops that
will go unharvested in the Peace River region of northern
Alberta, according to a provincial crop specialist.
“Right now only 50 per cent of the various crops in the Peace
district have been harvested,” said Harry Brook of Alberta Agriculture and Food’s Ag-Info Centre in Stettler.
Of the 50% that has
not been harvested, a portion is unlikely to be combined before
winter sets in, he said.
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A late start to seeding in the spring and cool,
damp conditions during the fall have resulted in producers still
waiting for crops to mature enough to harvest, Brook said.
“I’ve heard of producers harvesting canola with a 20 per cent moisture content with the hopes of drying it down through
aeration,” he said.
Farmers in the region get about two nice days of
weather, he said, but then it rains just enough to prevent the combines
from rolling.
The temperatures in the region have also not been reaching
the highs required for an appropriate dry-down of the crops.
“The readings in the Peace River district have only been
topping out in the low teens these days, which is not helping,”
Brook said.
Of the area unharvested in the Peace district, canola was
believed to make up the majority, Brook said.
Overall, farmers were believed to be finished their harvest operations in the southern regions of Alberta, almost done in the central districts and mostly done in the northwestern and northeastern regions.
