Saskatchewan farmers have finished their 2017 harvest

Oct 27, 2017

Farmers had favourable fall weather during harvest

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

Farmers in Saskatchewan are shutting off their combines for the year, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s final crop report of 2017.

99 per cent of crops have been harvested as of Oct. 23. That number is up from 82 per cent recorded at this time last year.

Only some flax, soybeans and sunflowers remain in the fields.

And crop yields appear to be on par with the province’s 10-year average.

“Average provincial yields at this time are reported as 43 bushels per acre for hard red spring wheat, 34 bushels per acre for canola, 18 bushels per acre for soybeans, 63 bushels per acre for barley, 746 lbs per acre for mustard and 1,369 lbs per acre for lentils,” the Crop Report said.

A few factors came together to enable farmers to have a good crop year.

“Harvest weather was favourable for much of the fall, allowing producers to pull off well-above average crop quality,” the report said. “There were also limited reports of diseases, such as fusarium head blight, impacting crop production this year. The majority of crops are being reported as falling within the top two quality grades.”

But there hasn’t been enough rain in the past few weeks, according to the crop report.

And if rain doesn’t fall soon, there could be problems next spring, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture.

“The majority of producers have indicated that the subsoil is very dry and that seeding conditions next spring will be impacted if moisture is not received,” the report said.

Video: Women in Ag. The Promotion of Female Farmers through Social Media | Madalyn Thayer | TEDxBGSU

Less than 1% of Americans are farmers. The majority of those farmers are men. Many people have minimal experience with farms and agriculture. High schools are getting rid of their FFA programs and many colleges, including BGSU, do not have agricultural programs or classes. There is a new social media phenomenon where women are making content based on their farming endeavors and gaining lots of traction. Education is the one of the most important parts of agriculture, because the more people know the more they will emphasize with farmers and create policy that benefits everybody. Female farmers have taken to social media sharing their experience in the agricultural world. These women are breaking stereotypes and educating everyday citizens about farming which is extremely important for the future of agriculture. Madalyn is 19 years old and will be gradated with her bachelors degree in communication on December 2024. She lives on a farm and have spent lots of time working in agriculture. She has her own farmers market and love learning about all subjects, especially agriculture. She was on the BGSU Firelands Student government from 2021-2023 as a CCP Ambassador and was awarded the 3&1 communication excellency award in April of 2024. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.