October 16, 2009
September weather saves Ontario soy crop
Warm, dry weather during much of September allowed the soy crop in Ontario to mature enough to harvest, according to a provincial government official.
"The harvest of Ontario's soy crop is only about 10 to 20 percent complete as wet and cool weather has prevented producers from getting out on the fields," said Horst Bohner, a soy specialist for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and Rural Affairs. "September made the soy crop as it was looking pretty dire at the end of August."
Producers haven't had many opportunities for harvest activity thus far, but warm, dry conditions have been forecast.
"If we can get a couple days of dry and warm weather, the soy harvest in Ontario would progress at a very rapid pace," Bohner said, adding that harvest activities could be wrapped up by the middle of next week.
The soy harvest is definitely later than it should be, Bohner said.
He noted that the soy in the fields is fine despite the wet, cool weather conditions, due to the maturity of the crop. The soy crop is also not vulnerable to a frost as the crop was past the point that damage would occur.
The quality of the soy that have been harvested to date have been better than expected, as have yields, Bohner said.
The area planted to soy in Ontario during the spring of 2009 totalled a record 2.4 million acres. In 2008, 2.1 million acres of soy were planted in the province. The previous record was established in 2004, when 2.3 million acres of soy were seeded.
Bohner speculated that soy area in Ontario in the spring of 2010 may be able to duplicate this year's record level.
"Right now there is the possibility of less area being seeded to winter wheat due to the late soy harvest, and that area could go back to soy next spring," Bohner said. The higher-than-anticipated yields for soy could also be a factor in the decision to plant soy.
"However, the main deciding factor, as it is usually, will be the price for soy and the weather conditions at the time of seeding in the spring," Bohner said.
