Harvest stretching into early March for some Saskatchewan farmers

It’s not common for harvest to stretch into early March, but large quantities of crops left in the field have motivated farmers to get out and combine.

Todd Lewis, a farmer south of Regina and the president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, said mild conditions in some parts of the province are giving some leeway to wrap up last year’s harvest.

“For those producers that had crop left out there, they’re happy to get out now and get things in shape for spring seeding,” he said.

The quality of the crop harvested at this point can vary.

“Some producers are finding crop that is salvageable, and others are just running it through the combine to prepare the ground for spring,” Lewis said.

The conditions in the western half of the province have been more favourable so far this spring. Lewis says high levels of snow in the southeast have made it difficult for farmers in that area to make progress.

“It’s always a time for optimism every spring, but it’s pretty hard to be optimistic for a lot of producers right now when they have so much crop out in the field,” Lewis said.

The fall harvest was affected by poor weather, including early snows in some areas.