If you look to the horizon in early September, clouds of dust usually mean farmers across the province are hard at work taking crops off the field, despite low expectations and challenging growing conditions.
While farmers in certain regions suffered the worst of the drought and grasshoppers, other areas are faring better.
“I think there’s some pleasant surprises out there,” said Ian Boxall, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan. “I’m sure there are some areas that were hard-hit and I feel bad for those guys, but I am impressed with what we are getting out here in the northeast with the little bit of rain.”
Boxall says while grasshoppers were an issue all over the province, the ones in the north didn’t do near the amount of damage as those in the south.
“The grasshopper situation is more regional,” he said. “We have grasshoppers here. There’s different types or varieties of grasshoppers, the ones here didn’t seem to do the damage, but I wonder if that breeds into grasshoppers next year that do the damage. The southern part of the province, Weyburn and Radville, that area, they were hard hit down there.”
Lingering smoke hanging over the province has made it difficult for crops to effectively dry out.
“We need some heat, we need some sun to get it going,” said Boxall. “In the last few days with the heavy smoke that we’ve had, drydown has been really slow.”
West of Saskatoon, farmers say the clear skies on Monday are a nice change.
“Today is beautiful,” said Mike Cote, a farmer with Ardell Seeds Ltd. “We’ve got an intense sun, drying conditions are good, and we’re able to go, but when you get that smoke cover, it doesn’t dry as quickly. But if you get a good wind, that’ll make up for it.”
Having farmed in Saskatchewan since 1989 and on a plot since 2011, despite low expectations early in the summer, Cote says this season is far from the worst he’s ever seen.
“Every year is different,” Cote told CTV News. “We’ve had super great crops some years, and 2021 was a terrible year. Very dry and we didn’t get the rain.”
Boxall says once crops are brought off the field and logged, farmers will know if they are eligible to make a claim for crop insurance.
“Once you have your specific crop off, you can log the data or how many bushels you harvested, and that’ll tell you whether or not you have a claim,” he said. “Let’s hope crop insurance isn’t as hard hit as what they’re predicting, but it’s fortunate that we have that tool to use.”
Despite their best efforts, the farmer only controls a few key moments of the growing season.
“We plan on what we’re going to seed, we seed it, we spray it, and we harvest it,” said Boxall. “The rest is up to mother nature. Sometimes she can be miserable, and sometimes she can be friendly. Let’s hope at the end of the day that the province has an average crop and we continue to distribute our products where they’re looked for.”
