After dry summer, some Sask. farmers surprised by quality of early harvest

Some Saskatoon farmers in the middle of their harvests say they're relieved at the quality of their crops, given this year's dry conditions.

"Pleasantly surprised would be the right term," says Todd Lewis, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan.

"With the dry, dry conditions we've had, we're happy to get what we have."

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Lewis grows durum wheat, lentils, soybeans and some canary seeds at his farm in Gray, Sask., about 40 kilometres southeast of Regina.

'Pretty good quality'

He was halfway through his harvest as of Saturday three weeks ahead of schedule because of the dry weather.

"The lentils are all no. 2 or better and pretty good quality, very low disease," he said.

As for the durum, "The quality of it should be very good."

Not so with his canola crop.

"Not much doubt it's going to be a below-average crop," said Lewis. "We've only had an inch and a half of rain the entire year."

'A little over 2 inches of rain'

Mickey Palfy Sr., a farmer who grows barley, wheat, canola, peas and soybeans in Viscount, just east of Saskatoon, was only 15 per cent of the way through his harvest as of Saturday, but reported similar results so far.

He said the crops he's pulled so far fared "surprisingly well for the amount of rain we had. We just had a little over two inches of rain since the middle of May."

Quantity-wise, his canola is averaging about 30 bushels an acre on par with his long-term average for the crop.

Durum affected by dry conditions

Over at Henri Stringer's small-scale organic farm in Ponteix, in southwest Saskatchewan, Stringer is about 65 per cent of the way through his harvest.

He said his French green lentil crop has turned out to be an "average crop, surprisingly," a result he attributed to the crop's resistance to heat.

"The durum's another story. It was very affected," he said.