Rains stall Prairie harvest
September 13, 2018
September 13 – After a dry, hot summer that took a toll on Prairie crops, farmers had begun to harvest what was still looking like a pretty good barley crop only to see the weather change in early September with rains stalling harvest in many parts of the Prairies. With about 50% of the barley harvest complete, and early reports of average to above average quality and yields, although higher protein levels, the balance of the harvest is likely to see a lot of malting barley downgraded as a result of the wet weather. As a result it will be several weeks before the industry has a good handle on this year’s supplies of malting barley and the quality profile. One bit of good news is that it looks like DON will not be a major issue this year, perhaps a result of the dry conditions. Looking forward, the short term weather outlook is bleak but there may be some drier, sunny weather on the way next week that will allow farmers to get back into the fields and advance the harvest. There is still a long ways to go in many areas, particularly in the western and northern regions of the Prairies.
