‘Days are long’: Moose Jaw-area farm family in midst of harvest

The Tremblay family was on the move Thursday.

It was the 11th day of harvest for the Moose Jaw-area farming clan and the focus was changing.

“We are actually just going to finish up our lentils today and then we’ll switch over to durum tonight; (that) is kind of our hope,” Jolyn Tremblay said on Thursday’s Greg Morgan Morning Show. “Knock on wood everything goes well.”

According to the weekly crop report issued by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, five per cent of the crops are in the bin in the province. That’s slightly behind the five-year average of eight per cent for this time of year.

Farmers in the southwest region had made the most progress, the report said, with 17 per cent of their crops harvested. Producers in the west-central (eight per cent), southeast (two per cent) and east-central (one per cent) regions also were making progress, while large-scale operations hadn’t started in the north.

The report also noted producers in the southwest and west-central areas of the province were reporting yields that were well below average.

According to the ministry, 36 per cent of the winter wheat, 22 per cent of the fall rye, 16 per cent of the field peas, 24 per cent of the lentils and two per cent of the canola in Saskatchewan fields has been combined. Many other fields have been swathed and are nearly ready to be combined.

Tremblay said her family’s operation — which is growing lentils, durum and canola this year — is seeing better results than it did during 2021’s drought.

“We didn’t catch the rains like we were hoping to (this year),” she said. “We started out really strong with a beautiful spring rain that we haven’t had in six years. Everything came up perfectly even. (But) Mother Nature just didn’t co-operate as much as we would have hoped for.

“So moisture’s low, but we’re sitting a lot better than we were last year.”

The ministry said there was rain in every region in the province during the latest reporting period, but it may not help farmers in some areas.

In fact, the report noted producers in the Saskatoon-Outlook region received less than six inches of rain during the growing season “and their crops, pastures and hay land have been impacted similarly to last year.”

“Rain is now too late for annual crops in the driest areas of the province, although it could benefit cattle by increasing the amount of available drinking water and allowing pastures some relief from the hot dry weather,” the report added.

Cropland topsoil moisture is considered three per cent surplus, 60 per cent adequate, 24 per cent short and 13 per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as two per cent surplus, 58 per cent adequate, 24 per cent short and 16 per cent very short.

Some crops in the province were damaged by hail during the week, with some farmers reporting their crops were completely destroyed.

Grasshoppers also have been an issue, with the report saying some farmers are dealing with plugged equipment from harvesting fields that were full of the pests.

“Last year, we didn’t have an issue (with grasshoppers),” Tremblay said. “This year, the beginning of the season didn’t seem too bad, but as it filled in, we got way worse. Right now, they’re probably the worst that they’ve been.”

The Tremblays’ son is helping with harvest, marking the fifth generation of Tremblays to farm the land. They’re veterans of harvest and are well aware that the work never stops.

“Days are long,” Jolyn said. “It’s still early in the season, so everyone’s still well-rested. But midway through, it’d be nice to have maybe a little shower to get that break.”