Canada: Only 5-10% of barley crop harvested so far due to continuing rains

Rains continue to plague the prairie harvest. Persistent rains which appear every two to three days in most of the Western regions are causing delays in the harvest. The only regions that have completed the barley harvest are southern Alberta and most of Manitoba. The weather pattern has been one of cool temperatures which are not permitting the fields to dry out. This will lead to more feed grains being produced, CMBTC said on September 5.

At this juncture, only 5-10% of the barley crop has been harvested, with some of the barley harvested at high moisture levels (15-20%), which will have to be dried down with farm dryers. Farm dryers will be an asset this fall. The changing weather patterns of the last few years have promoted the addition of grain dryers on many farms throughout the prairies.

The barley trade is getting nervous as there does not appear to be a change in the wet cool weather pattern for the next few weeks. Note that the projected barley harvest in Western Canada is for 10 million tonnes and the anticipated production of selectable malting barley was estimated at up to 4 million tonnes. With 1 million tonnes required by the domestic maltsters, it was anticipated that Canada could export 2 million tonnes of malt barley. However, if the continued wet conditions persist, malt barley production could be much smaller and lead to lower export levels this year.

Alberta

The southern region, Calgary south, is harvested and as previously reported the yields on the dry land are much lower than normal, averaging 40-50 bushels per acre (bu/ac). The irrigated fields are averaging over 100bu/ac. There are not many irrigated acres dedicated to barley in this region.

The situation in the remainder of the province is very different as wet, cool conditions persist for the central and northern regions of the province. All growing season these two regions have had an abundance of moisture and well below normal seasonal temperatures. There were only three days when the daytime temperatures reached over 30°C in the central region. The low temperatures have resulted in a longer-than-normal crop maturing cycle and has pushed the harvest period back several weeks, with harvest in the central areas just getting started.

Central and northern regions of Alberta are less than 5% harvested at this time. Farmers will take advantage of the small windows of dry weather when they get them to harvest their barley. It cannot be overstated that these two regions require warm dry weather or a large percentage of the malt barley crop will be feed, which will be a large financial burden for farmers as feed barley trades at a CA$50/tonne discount to malt barley.

Saskatchewan

Most of the regions suffered through more rains and cooler temperatures this past week. More small rain events are forecast for the central and northern areas. Combined with cool temperatures, the weather does not bode well for the barley crop. This cool wet weather has certainly hampered the harvest in most regions as only 5-10% of the barley has been harvested. Areas such as Saskatoon have enjoyed better weather and have harvested barley with good results. For some farmers it will be one week before they can get back in their fields to resume harvest while others will harvest when they get a few days of dry weather, and will have to harvest the barley at higher moisture levels and then dry their barley on-farm. The more delayed the harvest is, the more likely the barley will have sprout issues. The province needs sunshine and heat.

Manitoba

Basically the barley harvest is over in the southern area of the province where most of the barley acres are located. Manitoba produces roughly 500,000 tonnes of barley, and this year the majority of the barley is sound and of good quality.

06 September, 2019