Farmers scooping up machinery as harvest panic creeps up

Farmers across the province are gearing up for the final push of harvest.

Terry Swystyn, co-owner of Full Line Ag in Saskatoon, sold three used combines to farmers looking to make up for lost time after a soggy week kept most machines in the quonset.

“People are coming in, and we’re actually selling lower-priced combines so they can get another machine in the field to help speed up the harvest,” he said.

“They don’t want to spend $300,000 to $500,000. They’re buying machines for $100,000 to $140,000.”

The province’s most recent crop report paints a bleak picture as producers have harvested just 18 per cent of crops. The five-year average would have 43 per cent of crop in the bin by now.

Swystyn said spreading a combine purchase over a five- or six-year term is like renting another combine in an attempt to get the crop in the bin sooner and help grading.

While wet weather at this time of year has farmers worrying, the price of grain is chief among concerns for producers this year.

Louis Hounjet is the operations manager at Moody’s Equipment in Saskatoon. Market gloom has kept many farmers from opening the chequebook up until now.

“It’s kind of a mixed bag. Some guys are willing to wait a bit. And if there’s another spell of bad weather, then they will definitely purchase,” Hounjet said, adding that lower-priced used equipment is the hot seller right now.

“Actually, I thought sales would have been higher than they are, but prices are down and guys are being very cautious with their money.”

Many farmers are waiting for crop conditions to dry up so harvesting can resume. Swystyn said many customers walking through his showroom this week projected returning to the field by Sunday night or early Monday morning.

Hounjet thinks many farmers won’t wait that long either.

“A lot of farmers have grain driers, so they will take it off any way they can and dry it even though it’s damp just to get it off (the ground),” he said. “The days are getting shorter. Guys are starting to panic a bit.”

With a few days off to shop for the final weeks of harvest, Swystyn feels it will be his last chance to rest before working around the clock.

“We geared up our staff for long hours because when it’s go time, it’s go time. We have to get this crop off and get it in the bin,” Swystyn said.