November 10, 2009

The sustained period of dry weather seen late last week and through the weekend provided producers across western Canada with an opportunity to make significant harvest progress, according to a Canadian Wheat Board official.

"The good weather conditions allowed producers in Manitoba and Alberta to generally get most of the crops that had been left on the fields off and into the bins," said Bruce Burnett, director of the CWB Weather and Crop Surveillance Department.

In Saskatchewan, good harvest progress was also made in a number of regions, but there were still a couple of concentrated areas in which another week to 10 days of clear and warm weather will be required to finish up harvest operations, he said.

"I would estimate that in most areas of Saskatchewan, the harvest progressed about 10percent from the level seen last week," Burnett said. "However, there are some isolated areas in which the ground and the crops are too wet and need a few more days to dry down."

The weather forecast for the early part of this week was seen as being conducive for further good harvest progress, Burnett said. Producers in Saskatchewan, as a result, were seen making some further progress in getting the crop into the bin.

However, a system moving through the Canadian prairies Thursday was expected to result in precipitation in the form of snow and slow the remaining harvest activities.

Normally, harvest operations in western Canada would be complete by this time, Burnett acknowledged.

"To actually be getting crops off in the middle of November is a very good thing, but is on the rare side," he said.