18 Story Idea? Email Paul.Nolan@Farms.com Better Farming | January 2025 Enjoy Today Photography photo Harvest Review With harvest wrapped up, farmers are reflecting on a growing season shaped by weather challenges. For many pro- ducers, last year required constant adaptation to fluctuating conditions that impacted crop yields and harvest timing. Weather played a pivotal role in shaping this year’s yields, with each province experiencing its own challenges. The fluctuating climate – from early- season frosts that delayed seeding, to late-season heat waves that accelerated ripening – was an ongoing factor for many. Droughts in some regions and heavier-than-usual rains in others contrasted growing conditions across the Prairies, forcing farmers to make tough decisions about managing their land, crops, and resources. Better Farming recently connected with Prairie farmers to hear how this year’s growing season and harvest went for them. Here’s a closer look at how producers in each province fared. Landon Friesen, Manitoba: “This year, we had quality issues in wheat and poor yields in canola. The weather conditions in my area were wet to start, but we had a dry finish, with the ground hard and tight. Overall, for 2024, we found corn and wheat up, peas average, and canola down.” Anthony Eliason, Saskatchewan: “Hot and dry conditions made threshing difficult and hard to clean samples. Harvest was fast – dry weather had everything ready simultaneously.” Gus Lange, Alberta: “This year, we were expecting slightly below-average yields, and that’s what we got. We had hot and dry conditions with very little rain and had higher pressure from wild oats. The harvest wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t the best either.” Daniel Wyrich, Manitoba: “We have issues getting cereals to dry down with high humidity. Overall, we found the earlier-seeded crops did better. Yields went down as the seeding date got later.” Heath Fairley, Saskatchewan: “We had trouble with canola this year. We thought we could get away without reseeding our crops. Wheat turned out fine, but canola was a real problem with variability and regrowth.” Jordan Wiebe, Alberta: “We definitely needed more rain; there were very dry conditions at times. Yields would have improved if we had more rain, and crops would not have been so stressed. The harvest process went smoothly; wheat was pretty good, but canola was down.” Nicolea Dowe, Manitoba: “We had problems cutting canola with severe verticillium stripe infections. Since the stems were weakened, several areas were flat on the ground and were very difficult to cut, and some stalks with pods had to be left behind. The harvest went well. We had great weather and a long open fall to get the crops off and PRODUCER PERSPECTIVES ON THE 2024 HARVEST. WEATHER WOES & MIXED YIELDS BY MARY LOGGAN
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